| DVD: Romeo et Juliette, Gerard Presgurvic version |
[May. 17th, 2008|07:12 pm] |
And in the continuing adventures of Beth versus actual commercially available DVDs of musicals, I've finally watched something I've had for a while - Romeo et Juliette, the Gerard Presgurvic version, as recorded in 2001 in Paris. I have to say that even with all the pop music, this is one of the most artistic musicals. The French seem to have a gift for them.
( Amazingly fun musical. Why did no-one tell me it had Death in it? )
Unfortunately, this DVD is out of print at the moment. But the good news is, enterprising people have uploaded all of it to Youtube :) Between them, "selenityrose" and "faelivrinen" have all the tracks. Some samples:
Verone (first song of the musical
)
J'ai peur (originally a Mercutio song, given to Romeo because he's the only one not noticeably shorter than Death)
C'est pas ma faute (Tybalt angst) |
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| Elisabeth in Berlin |
[May. 5th, 2008|12:20 pm] |
I saw two shows in Berlin, May 1 and May 2. The cast was almost the same - the only exception was Sophie, with the understudy the first time and Christa Wettstein (first cast) on Friday. The shows, however, were dramatically different, mostly because on Thursday, Bruno Grassini (Lucheni) was phoning in his role, while by Friday he had recovered.
( Detailed review )
End verdict: I'm glad I've gone, for reasons of Uwe (and to a lesser extent, Annemieke and Oliver), but this production is craft rather than art. And I'm very happy I have tickets booked to Elisabeth in Budapest next month, with the full second cast (Máté, Bernádett and Nikolett, Ádám Bálint and Tamás Szaraz) confirmed for both shows I'm attending. |
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| Phantom of the Opera, Roma theatre, take two |
[Apr. 11th, 2008|08:33 am] |
On Wednesday, I found myself in the possession of someone else's media passes to Phantom. It would have been somewhat foolish not to go, even though it was Damian on again as Erik. Mind you, the rest of the cast was entirely different - I think only Madame Giry was the same one I saw the first time.
( Huh. They got better. )
I have my next set of tickets for the 23rd. Don't know if I'll go yet, waiting for the cast to come up. Wanna 'nother Phantom. |
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| Dracula: Entre l'amour et la mort |
[Apr. 6th, 2008|09:57 am] |
I first noticed Bruno Pelletier in Notre Dame de Paris, as recommended by ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) fyrie, about two years ago. On Youtube, there were clips of him doing various things, including appearing in something that looked... strange. The music was great, the French lyrics had vivid imagery, but the costumes? The flames? I googled it and came up with Dracula: Entre l'amour et la mort.
The CD has been out for a long time, and it gets regular airtime in my house. The DVD of the musical was recorded in November 2006 and came out last month. I now have it in my hands and all I can say is: Whoa. This is what a Dracula musical should be.
( Rambling review, hampered by my half-fluent French )
And some Youtube clips to whet your appetite:
Dracula and Lucy's meeting (promotional video)
Concert version of the philosophical discussion between Dracula, Jonathan and Renfield
Digest of DVD scenes |
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| Phantom of the Opera - Warsaw Roma theatre |
[Mar. 29th, 2008|10:58 am] |
Obligatory pre-review disclosure: I like Phantom of the Opera, a lot. I adored the small stage version put up by the Palladium Stage theatre (clips available here), and after the first two rounds of auditions for the full Roma theatre non-replica production, I was overjoyed to hear that my favourites were also the judges' favourites for Erik and Raoul. Then they were abruptly cut, due to in one case "not enough acting ability" and in the other, current engagements keeping him from attending the audition. On top of that, I heard a lot of rumours that the musical's main sponsor fancies himself a director and meddled immensely in both casting and directing.
I saw the show yesterday. Verdict: Very good show. Can someone put the first Phantom out of his misery?
( Detailed review ) |
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| Black Ships: review proper |
[Mar. 19th, 2008|03:59 pm] |
I've finished reading Black Ships by jo_graham for the third time. I've a feeling it won't be the last.
( Thoughts and analysis )
Incidentally, I'm currently working on a story set in Greek mythology for ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) lgbtfest. Re-reading Black Ships, I was reminded of two major issues about that pantheon - how powerful and mysterious was the female, and how dreary, thought-losing, the afterlife. Endless fields of grain under an eternal sun. I hope no-one will mind if I swipe that sentence. |
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| Pre-review: Black Ships |
[Mar. 11th, 2008|08:05 pm] |
Since the Amazon US publishing date was yesterday and jo_graham's first reading and signing is coming up, I think it's time to post this. Or at least the first part ofit. I've read the book twice now, once piece-meal as it was created and once in its whole bound form, but now that I've sat down to write about it, I see I'll have to re-read for a proper analysis.
The book is Black Ships.
It's a story of the Aeneid, narrated by a priestess of the Lady of the Dead. It's a whole and more than a whole: it's the first meeting with characters I've had the privilege of reading about in at least four other incarnations throughout history. It's a woman's story, and a mystical journey. The quiet narrative paints ink sketches that catch you and come to you again in dreams, months later. And did I mention it's all historically accurate Age of Bronze Greece?
You can't nail this book down as just historical, fantasy, roadtrip (seatrip?), literary. It's all of these. And it'll haunt you, but it's a beneficial spirit.
In the interest of full disclosure: I know jo_graham and I've had the privilege of following the tail end of the creation of Black Ships and now the next book, chapter by chapter, providing comments. I was wholly unsurprised it got picked up by a publisher. I have a review copy, but I was damn ready to buy my own thrice over.
(And yes, I recced it here when it was still nascent, two years ago. If you remember, she prefers her other name unmentioned ;))
Now, to force someone to cough up my copy and give it another read :) |
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| Books: Diana Gabaldon |
[Feb. 13th, 2008|11:35 am] |
One of the things that helped me last through the week in bed I had to undergo recently was the fact I had just received a stack of books. To wit, almost the entire Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, plus the two Lord John spinoffs.
I first read Outlander/Cross-stitch (depending on the US versus UK edition) when I got it from he library, in Polish. I do read silly romance novels on occasion, but the plot - a time-travelling woman from the 20th century ending up in the 18th century and marrying a Scottish rebel - sounded far-fetched even for those standards. If not a recipe for Mary Sue disaster flavoured with faux-Scots. It was only because I'd already read and adored Lord John and the Private Matter that I decided to give it a try.
Not only are the books readable, they're addictive. The mix of romance and adventure tilts heavily towards the latter, with political plotting added in Dragonfly in Amber. Then just as that formula threatens to tire, the series becomes a Caribbean adventure, then one of the American frontier. I'm missing The Fiery Cross, and I can't wait to read it and the last book. And then wait impatiently for the next volume in the series.
The one thing I appreciate about Outlander is that the usual romance tropes are either ignored or subverted. Rape is one (non-graphic, though chilling); LGBT themes are another. At first I was rather miffed by a certain gay villain, but the way he was developed was so non-stereotypical that I have to applaud. And then there is Lord John Grey.
Lord John, I gather, was supposed to be a brief cameo in Dragonfly in Amber that reappears in Voyager to explain Jamie's survival. The plot device turned out to be a lovely, sarcastic and elegant blade who incidentally is also gay (and this fact is a facet, not the entire definition of his character). As a slash writer, it's amusing to see the signs: "Look, I've got a nice plot device." "Look, there he is again." "You know, I should add him here, too." "I know, I should write a short story where he solves a mystery." "That was fun. I'll write another." "And it's 400 pages long.... ooops?" "And he wants another one. With smut. Quick, who can beta-read a gay sex scene for me????"
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade, in particular, is a delightful tapestry of emotions and adventure. It catches on so many themes, and manages to define the emotional web that supports high-class eighteenth-century males, from family to love to duty. It's a book I will read and re-read, and not only because the dachshund is perfectly characterised. It's a jewel.
(And for the record, I ship Lord John/Stephan von Namtzen. I really, really want to write a story where they're beautifully broken together, but it'd kill me.)
If you're interested in more:
Diana Gabaldon site
Excerpts from the Lord John series |
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| Elisabeth-related incoherence |
[Jan. 5th, 2008|07:38 pm] |
I think fyrie called dibs on the post title of "Warning: Low-Flying Lucheni", so this one is going to be much less coherent ;)
I didn't get to see Máté Kamarás, because the git went and got a cold. Hopefully he'll be on tomorrow, so if the stagedoor people are as friendly as they were today, we can get them to haul him in by the ear. But still, not all was lost.
I am more convinced than ever that Máté's bounciness is due to a special drug, because it looked like Szilveszter Szabó drank it by mistake. I mean, I've seen this guy on video at least three times, and he's always been nice, but very muted and aloof. This time... not so much. Crackling energy, emotional spill-over and an actual dynamic with Rudolf. Either he was on crack or someone took him over telepathically ;)
And then there was the Amazing Bouncing Lucheni. Honestly, the guy should have a circus act. And it didn't hurt that he's handsome, has a great voice and a charisma that means you look at him exclusively. (Unless Death is onstage, in which case their interaction is - let's just say I have bunnies with very sharp teeth.) But hey, don't take my word for it:
( Youtube: Tamás Száraz in Milch )
Bernadett Vago was a lovely Elisabeth (and her voice is gorgeous!), Ádám Balint was the best-acting Franz-Joseph I have ever seen, and Dávid Szabó presented a Rudolf with believable power, which is a first.
More impressions later, I think. Once I have a comparison ;) Not like I'm seeing the show tomorrow again... oops. |
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| Recommended reading |
[Dec. 30th, 2007|02:17 pm] |
At the seaside, I was purposefully out of my usual reading material, and thus raiding the grandparents' collection of Important Works of Literature. Isaac Singer's The Estate is a very nice insight into Belle Epoque Jews if only one can look past the characters, which are the whiniest bunch I've seen since Neon Genesis Evangelion. The Godfather would be a perfect read if at least three characters in my head weren't ogling Michael Corleone with illicit purposes. Mann's Buddenbrooks faltered a bit in the middle, but the teenage slash at the end redeemed them (okay, the other bits were interesting, too). Doctor Zhivago caused me to facepalm over my Russian ancestry.
All in all, it was a relief to come back to an open yuletide archive.
This year I've been damnably lucky with my gifts - I received two full-length stories and a vignette. No idea yet who they're from, but all are gorgeous:
Ourobos - Tanz der Vampire behind the scenes; a different interpretation than my own, but I can imagine Thomas Borchert and Jakub Wocial in these roles far too easily.
Conversations with the Dead - Elisabeth, the deaths of Sophie, Rudolf and Franz-Joseph: the amount of historical detail is delightful.
And Black And Black And Blacker Still - Elisabeth, a heartbreaking Rudolf moment that reaches to the core of his character.
And from other stories that I've skimmed, four so far had me glued to the screen and exclaiming with delight:
The Invisible City - a sequel to Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere that should damn well be official. It's like turning a page and finding a lost epilogue to the story. This could be Neil writing.
By No Miracle or Majestic Means - for all that I avoid Vorkosigan fanfiction like the plague, this story of a young Miles's caper is perfectly in tune. It suffers a little from rush - I know well the lack of time to balance the plot at the end - but the language is Ivan's, the characters are vividly themselves.
The Sixth Heaven - the Beauty and the Beast TV series has always remained with me, and this AU with Catherine and Vincent meeting as children captures the magic perfectly.
The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down - You've probably seen this Who Framed Roger Rabbit story recced by others. All I'm saying is, hold on to your hats. |
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| Beowulf: 3D headache |
[Nov. 26th, 2007|08:45 am] |
I guess I may have been expecting too much from Beowulf, with a Gaiman script and actors like that. They do a decent job, though without the magic; I liked some motives (Queen Wealthow could have used expansion, for example) and generally I think it could use a rewrite as a female story. Graphically, it's gorgeous, though it suffers from the usual animators' penchant for "look what we can do with slime!" Best dragon since Dragonheart, that's for sure.
And all of this would have made for a more than satisfying outing if not for the fact that despite not watching it in 3D - on account of fearing just that effect - my head started hurting during the final fight. I managed to stumble home while opening my eyes for a blink every thirty seconds, then lay in a dark room for hours just to get the pounding to stop.
Note to self: 3D movies are to be watched on the small screen. |
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| Movie: Day Watch |
[Sep. 15th, 2007|07:37 pm] |
I saw Dnevnoy Dozor, the sequel to Night Watch, today. I liked the original movie for its slightly mad take on urban fantasy, Russian-punk style, even if the plot could use work, and I like the original books (completely different from the movies).
Day Watch left me reeling. It's - post-modern is probably the wrong word, but it's a mad ride of tropes and plots and postcard-like scenes that stay with you. Fate and inescapability and escape. Lots of emphasis on father-son issues, and two of the main characters (Olga and Anton) body-switching and the actors having such complete fun with it. They must have spent ages studying each other's body language, because Olga in a male body was to die for.
It's such a decadent, oneiric movie, and at the same time the plot is tight. Every moment pushes the action forward. Visually, it's stunning - less elf-punk grime and more New Russian shine, and effects are gorgeous in their simplicity. Let's just say that for the four million (USD) total this film cost, they blew up Moscow, got Tamerlane to invade Samarkand, and filmed the best ending to a truck chicken-fight ever. If you asked me to name a budget figure for the effects alone, I'd say forty million and wouldn't be surprised at twice that.
So yes, recommended, especially if you want to see the East-West divide in action, mentality-wise - it's such a Russian movie. And I think it woke up certain characters of mine, which is good, because it's been ages since I wrote Flowers of the Frost. |
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| Harry Potter and the ordinary work week |
[Jul. 29th, 2007|11:15 am] |
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - meh. It felt like a series of disjointed illustrations. Good ones, mind you, but there was absolutely no plot to it. ( Details )
In other news, my older cat managed to scratch my younger cat in a way that left poor Lestat with a forming boil on his front paw and fever upwards of 40 C. Guess who'll have to get him to the vet's for antibiotic injections each morning through the next week :/ |
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| Obligatory Deathly Hallows commentary |
[Jul. 21st, 2007|08:58 pm] |
I finished this one in three hours (took me four for HBP). Overall verdict is approving, with certain reservations.
( Spoilers within, brief )
All in all, a nice bit of escapism in a period devoid of it. As if it wasn't enough that last week had Weather From Hell and I'm busy enough at work to make me beat my head against a wall, now I'm also worrying about people :S |
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| Berlin part 1: The Music |
[Jun. 10th, 2007|11:26 pm] |
My main aim in going to Berlin was to see a "proper" version of Tanz der Vampire. Original costumes and more elaborate sets than the Warsaw symbolism and Vienna anniversary lack of any sets whatsoever had an appeal, and so did fyrie's squee on said sets. I had tickets for 10th row on Thursday and ended up switching to 9th row because there were free places in front of us.
( Very tired vampires )
In the Theater des Westens, everyone I talked to told me to go to Theater am Potsdamer Platz and see Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. I was indifferent to the idea, though I’d wanted to see Yngve Gasoy-Rohmdal in something, and Mother was having doubts, but I shelled out the money for 2 last-row tickets on Friday even though Yngve wasn’t playing. How was it? I was in first row centre the next day, too. I think that tells you a bit.
( Die Schöne und das Biest: sometimes Disney gets it right )
Part two will probably be squee on the various museums I went to, but that’ll wait until I get the photos sorted out ;) I can safely say I’ve hit on a winning mixture for a short vacation with maximum relaxation: run around sightseeing all day and catch a show every night. Next time, I just have to remember to book a hotel with working internet (argh!) and let my guts know they’re not allowed to rebel while I’m away. |
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| Eurovision yay |
[May. 13th, 2007|07:15 am] |
Eurovision wasn't nearly as fun as last year's (the first time I actually voted \m/), but it was entertaining - sometimes in the fun way, sometimes with actual fun.
( thank gods for Youtube )
Of course, Serbia won. So? Still was fun to watch all the ways people tried to top Lordi \m/ |
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| 2007 international Moniuszko vocal competition (VI edition) |
[Apr. 28th, 2007|07:55 am] |
I was waiting for Polish TV to get off their collective behinds and put up the final concert online before I would post about this, but it looks like they decided the competition's over and so are their obligations. Still.
I spent most of the week before last listening to opera. The VI International Moniuszko Vocal Competition was ongoing, and Polish TV was kind enough to transmit all auditions online. By the time the third and final stage rolled around, I had firm favourites and ended up attending the last day of auditions - I have to say I am very impressed with young operatic talent these days.
People to keep an eye on:
Mika Nisula (Finnish tenor): lovely dramatic and sweet voice who would have gotten Third Male if not for nerves. He managed to bollix up an easy Faust aria completely, being off-key on the one long high note and everything. He then closed his eyes, decided to hell with it and launched into a much, much more difficult aria from Moniuszko's Haunted Manor in a way that made me cry, in a good way. I hate that song - emo-est piece of emo "wah, my mummy's dead!" crap ever - and he was perfect in it, emotional and dignified and everything. Finnish people should take note, he does a lot of work in Helsinki :)
Anna Markarova (Russian mezzo): great voice of the bring-the-house-down kind, but most of all stage charisma and dignity. She doesn't look it, but I could see her doing Empress Catherine or someone - when she's on stage, she's blinding.
Azamat Zheltyrguzov (Kazakh baritone): The guy's 20 and and if he ever switches to musicals, he'll be another Yamaguchi. That kind of velvet voice and stage presence. He didn't make it past 2nd stage, but he knocked enough people flat that the Cracow opera club funded a special, unplanned prize and gave it to him :D
Kristina Kapustynska (Ukrainian mezzo): I was very much reminded of a female version of my favourite Polish guy ;) Same looks, gestures, stage presence and girl version of his voice, from the deepest caverns to a very credible upper range. A year or two and I think Kristina'll be able to sing everything from tenor to soprano. Her voice reminded me very much of the best Takarazuka otokoyaku, and judging by her final concert dress, she'd be a Zuka fangirl in a flash ;) Second Female, and very deservedly so.
Malgorzata Olejniczak (Polish soprano): Third Female and very lovely lady, with a haunting stage presence and energy. For the longest time I didn't know who could be a Polish Elisabeth, but now my dream cast is complete :)
Alexey Markov (Russian baritone): First Male, and missed the Grand Prix by a hair. Knocks you flat, especially at the final concert - the TV studio people criticised his projection the day before, and he did his best to blow out the sound equipment. Musicals-wise, I was reminded of Borchert's stage presence, but the voice... oh, so dreamy :)
And just so I'm not talking about random abstracts, here's Polish TV mutilating the looks of the contestants (trust me, it's the lighting - they're all 100% prettier live :P)
April 20th - click on the picture and go to 5:30 for Olejniczak, 24:00 for Kapustynska
April 21st - click on the picture and go to 21:19 for Markov |
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| This entry sponsored by drugs |
[Feb. 2nd, 2007|10:28 pm] |
I've been missing in action not so much due to fyrie, as to a lurgy that was too close to what ailed me in Ireland for comfort. Still, antibiotics took care of it and I even managed to spend a full day at work today before hitting the theatre.
As fyrie said, Akademia Pana Kleksa, the new musical at Roma theatre has:
a singing robot, Frankenstein, Mortal Kombat, Cirque du Soleil, roller skating, digeridoos, ninjas, mad hairdresser villains, and 8-9 foot dirigible flying around the audience, slingshots, Albus Dumbledore's younger, insaner brother, a Harry Potter clone, an egg-head Elvis, origami puppets and a giant frog conducting the orchestra
The bits she missed are the samba dancing (ON rollerskates), scooters, high-wire acts, invisible dogs, House of Flying Daggers dancing, love potions, a mermaid in love with a crab, conveyor belt almost killing someone, ironing a beard, and a song about a weird duck who turns out to be a roast rabbit. With a side dish of beetroot.
And on top of it all, the music is quite nice. I need to go again, I think. Luckily my nephew wants to visit :> |
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| The Prestige + The Fountain |
[Jan. 21st, 2007|09:07 pm] |
In the past week I've seen two movies that I can't tell you exactly the plot of, except for one thing: SEE THEM NOW.
The Prestige is a Chinese puzzle of a Victorian story, boxes and mirrors and stage machinery whirring somewhere in the smoke. Christopher Nolan's storytelling is beyond masterful: I've now read the book, and I can tell you frankly that the movie's better. I can't think of a single possible improvement. And when you throw in Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as adversaries - not to mention a cameo by Jareth and Gollum!Igor David Bowie and Andy Serkis as the mad scientist and his henchman - I just squeed. Loudly. And the complexity is stunning: for once there is no right or wrong. Only the show.
The Fountain once again pairs Hugh Jackman with a stunning director. Darren Aronofsky's forte is emotion and imagery, and he delivers in spades. There are layers upon layers, self-referential and closing in on themselves, and there is the Inquisition and cancer research and space travel. And it all makes sense. Hugh, Hugh, Hugh - if you ever had doubts he could act, here he carries the entire movie, tragically and beautifully. For all the stunning images, this is a very simple story. Death happens, and then we move on.
Those are also two movies I'd recommend for anyone who ever plans to write. The Prestige, to see what plotting and layering and Chinese-puzzle structure can do when you make it jump. The Fountain, for how to portray cathartic grief, in all stages, in a way that leaves the audience with smiles on their faces, the kind of smile a good memory of a departed loved one brings with it.
(The Fountain is also remarkable for a wonderfully sensitive image of animal testing. Just in case you're as allergic to it as I am - no animals die onscreen or off, no pain is shown, and the researchers truly care for the animals as living beings. For once, I didn't mind this motif, though I'm usually extremely allergic to it.) |
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| Book: Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto |
[Oct. 8th, 2006|07:22 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | review | ] |
| [ | Mood |
| |  pensive | ] |
I've had a soft spot for Banana Yoshimoto's quiet prose since picking up Lizard on a whim a few years ago, charmed by the author's strange pseudonym. She writes strange, semi-detached and timeless stories about Japanese women, and what strikes me most about her writing is how she can take the strangest configuration of relationships and bring out their innate humanity. I've read once that she's considered an icon for Japan's current twenty-something to thirty generation of women.
Asleep is a collection of three novellas, each dealing with issues of sleep. I think I liked the first one best, the one about mourning and time for love and the line between familial and romantic love, but that might have been because I read it in the best place for reading a story like that one: an airport, waiting.
The other two - one about a woman dreaming of an old lover's other lover, and the other about a woman involved with a man whose wife is in a coma, and how she finds herself falling asleep more and more often - are also quiet and charming and so female. What I really liked was the way "normal" cliches are not followed: there is empathy between the rival lovers, and the girl in the last one makes a choice to persevere in her relationship, find hope in a hopeless love.
Sleep in Asleep is a metaphor for depression. Mentions and fears of suicide - passive suicide of pills and simple giving up on life - appear in every story. Yet it's all so quiet and, in the end, uplifting: even if the ending isn't happy, there is a joy in the moments of life, and missed chances are acknowledged and forgiven.
I pick up Banana Yoshimoto books when I see them, not look for them on purpose, so I still have quite a few left to go. I'm looking forward to reading them once the next one falls into my hands :) |
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| Tanz der Vampire: Dear gods, the wrong |
[Sep. 24th, 2006|07:35 am] |
Those of you who have read this LJ between October 2005 and January 2006 surely remember my whining each time I had tickets to Tanz der Vampire and it turned out that the understudy/second-cast guy would be playing von Krolock. Each time I managed to sell the tickets, and I must say there was a tiny bit of vindictive joy when I heard he tore a ligament and wouldn't be playing in the May-June run at all. Then I saw him at the promos and had to admit he's a lovely guy with immense energy, a great sport and a personality that has to be summed up as his other role - Ram Tam Tugger in Cats :)
During this run, I even made special reservations for a Saturday matinée that he always took, but when it turned out that Lukasz (who, to remind you, would be first von Krolock and the vampire in this photo) wouldn't be playing the first Saturday evening and Pawel would be taking the stage at the first show I saw of the run, I wasn't too upset. ( As it turned out, it wasn't a particularly wise decision )
So yes, Tanz season is open again. I have tickets to performances every week until October 22nd, which is when it will close for good. And then Berlin. And quite possibly Budapest.
And did you notice I now have a set of moodtheme icons with Lukasz in them? :D |
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| Phantom of the Opera - Warsaw Palladium Stage |
[Sep. 19th, 2006|09:17 am] |
Tanz der Vampire only opens on Friday, but I've attended my first show of the season yesterday. I've mentioned Jakub Wocial here before (also see: Herbert, squee, recitals, photos, squee), and since I'm a fan of the Phantom of the Opera, I had to catch his small-stage version. His "Palladium Stage" theatre is just a rented room at a community centre, but what he did with such limited means is amazing.
( And I don't just mean the voice, either )
A small sample: Jakub and Sabina singing Phantom and Music of the Night |
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| On Bram Stoker's subconscious |
[Apr. 27th, 2006|07:51 am] |
Over the past few days, I've been re-reading Bram Stoker's Dracula. I've managed to misplace my old copy, so I acquired a new one - the 2003 Penguin Classics edition with new prefaces by Maurice Hindle and Christopher Frayling. All in all, I recommend this edition, as the prefaces and the information they give on Stoker himself are quite enlighting.
( Musings on the prefaces and the book itself; mostly character-oriented )
In other news, I'm still in thesis-land. Do not taunt on pain of being crushed with motorways and rail links and airports, all constructed cheaply and efficiently with hybrid PPP financing structures. Yo. |
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| Review: Shadows of the Empire |
[Mar. 17th, 2006|03:15 pm] |
One of the few rules I have is that I don’t do Star Wars Extended Universe. Basically, it’s movie or bust for me – I might gleam a gem or two of inspiration from an interview with Lucas or from the novelisations, but if it wasn’t in the movies, it’s not canon. I also consider 99% of the EU to be mass-rpoduced drivel.
Shadows of the Empire, which fyrie made me read, is part of that 1%.
I’m not saying the book is perfect. But it’s highly enjoyable. All characterisations ring true, all interactions seem real, intra-movie introspection is plausible. And then there’s Vader.
Shadows takes place between TESB and ROTJ, so Vader is. And he’s written perfectly – impressive, impulsive, and just bratty (in a mature way) enough to make me believe this is both the villain I adored in the Original Trilogy and the rebel Jedi I grew surprisingly fond of in the prequels. Mind you, the book came out in 1996 – several years before we even got a look at Yippee Kid in TPM, never mind Hayden.
It’s not a dazzling intellectual endeavour – hello, Star Wars – but it’s certainly enjoyable. I would have preferred for Xizor to get his arse kicked worse, though: this was one fictional character that I was plotting how to assassinate fifty pages into the book. (I decided sabotaging his physical-training machine would have been the most elegant way.)
In other news, I’m still working on the Coldfire FST. I was listening to HIM’s version of Wicked Game yesterday and I realised it’s the perfect Gerald/Damien song:
The world was on fire, no one could save me but you
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do
I'd never dreamed that I'd need somebody like you
Yes, this FST is going to be highly on crack. |
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| Brokeback Mountain |
[Feb. 26th, 2006|06:12 pm] |
I know it's late, but in this backwater, Brokeback Mountain just premiered yesterday.
I think this movie can be summed up by three sentences: Wyoming is pretty. Jack is pretty. Ennis is dumb.
I can't point to any particular scenes or points that clenched it for me, but I liked it. There's a timelessness to it that makes it a story of star-crossed lovers, period, not particularly tied to any period of time or space except maybe the macho mythos of men-don't-cry and extrapolating from that, men-don't-have-any-emotions-except-anger (see: Men Are Dumb). It felt soft and quiet and real, and I walked out of the cinema with a sad smile.
(Also: this is the director of Hulk and the star of A Knight's Tale. Just for the transformations, Oscars for both of them, please :>)
In other news: a very happy belated birthday to kiraboshi - sorry luv, completely slipped my mind :S |
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| Review: C.S. Friedman, The Coldfire Trilogy |
[Feb. 20th, 2006|10:38 am] |
On the distant world of Erna, four people--Priest, Adept, Sorcerer, and Apprentice--are drawn together to battle the forces of evil, led by the demonic fae, a soul-destroying force that preys on the human mind.
That’s the plot summary for Black Sun Rising, the first book of the Coldfire Trilogy (the other two are When True Night Falls and Crown of Shadows). Sounds like a bad RPG scenario, doesn’t it? And instead it’s one of the best fantasy books I’ve ever read.
C.S. Friedman is a highly skilled writer, with a tight visual style that carries you straight into a character’s head until you’re inside looking out. She has also built a fascinating world: Erna is not “once upon a time”, but a planet in the far reaches of our own Galaxy, on which a colony ship lands when the choice is between it and sailing on into starless space. On this planet, energy fields (the fae) can manipulate and be manipulated by the human mind, and in both cases the results are often disastrous.
Just this world, in which a warrior-priest can slice demonlings to shreds in one breath and perform an operation to correct a congenital heart defect in the next, a world where faith can really work miracles, would be interesting enough. But that’s not the reason why I gulped down three 600+page books in as many days.
Damien Vryce (warrior priest, healer, professional pain in the ass) and Gerald Tarrant (vampire, sorcerer, prophet, winner of the title of most stubbornly proud man on Erna for the past nine hundred years running) are two of the most fascinating characters I’ve had the pleasure to encounter. Gerald, evil and corrupt, is all that Damien hates; Damien, devoted and conflicted by the dichotomy between his faith and his magic, is all that Gerald doesn’t want to remember. Fireworks? Try WMDs.
Other characters are painted almost equally vividly, and the author has a talent for making the reader see all sides of the story. The surface plot of each book is a quest, but it’s the inner journey and character transformation that’s the real story. A character-driven fantasy book is rare enough; one this well-written is a gem.
And it doesn’t exactly hurt that Gerald and Damien are made for each other. If any slashers need enticement, highlight this (minor spoilers, nothing that’ll diminish your enjoyment of the book): midway through the first book, Damien allows Gerald to drink his blood in order to form a bond that’ll allow Gerald to feed on his fear by weaving nightmares for him. The one adjective Damien always uses when describing Gerald is "seductive". Gerald will literally or verbally bite off the head of anyone who opposes him – except Damien. Damien is also the one person who can touch Gerald, or whom Gerald willingly touches. Whenever Gerald’s upset about something, he storms out (slamming doors if any are available) and then waits for Damien to come reason with him. And that’s not even mentioning what happens in the third book.
Word of warning though: the first book starts with a prologue that drives home just how nasty Gerald is – and that’s very nasty indeed. If you can’t forgive a character for killing his own children for his own means, Coldfire might not be for you. Or maybe just read the main book until the earthquake and then come back to read the prologue once you know you can root for Damien either way ;)
I'm not saying the books are perfect, because the pacing suffers sometimes and I have issues with the ending, but Coldfire is fascinating, rich, compelling, with a thousand possibilities – my current pet theory hinges on the way human subconsciousness influences the fae and vice versa, also known as "he’s not that evil, he’s just written that way". If you like fantasy in the slightest, do read it. If only so that I can have more victims for the Coldfire fics I’m writing. |
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