On Speaking Too Soon, and Movie Recommendations.
Sun 2005-10-09 09:19:21 (in context)
- 51,448 words (if poetry, lines) long
- 92.50 hrs. revised
No, no no no. Chapter 11 is not the chapter when Brian meets the shark. Chapter 11 is when he meets the mermaids. And there is much angst. It's a pretty angsty damn novel. I really, really hope that it does not evoke the reader reaction of "I wonder if this author had a lot of angst to exorcise?" Because that would suck. Because next-door to that is the reader reaction of, "OK, I get it, I'm supposed to feel the angst here. Jeez, you don't have to beat me over the head with an angst stick."
Kinda like Fushigi Yugi. We got to the first Very Sad Part last night. Or second, depending on how much you care about the previous Very Sad Part. The authors didn't seem much to; they rather swept it under the carpet for the sake of another plot point. But the next Very Sad Part, we got to it, and for once I was the only person in the room not crying over it. I guess it worked for everyone else, but I felt as though the authors were hitting me over the head with a cry stick. "OK, this is the part you're supposed to cry at, see? What, you didn't get it? Well, we'll have each character in turn have a total meltdown until you do get it!"
Meh. But it works for some.
You wanna know what works for me? Mirrormask. I saw that movie twice this past week, once with John and once with a friend who totally needed to be dragged off to a good movie. I liked it that much. It was beautiful and magical and 100% good for the soul. If you liked Labyrinth, but you wished Labyrinth had a bit more psychological depth and a better lead actress, Mirrormask will be good for what ails you. Or if you ever wanted to actually step inside Dave McKean's head, this comes very close. There's eyes on legs, chicken gorillas, sphinxes in all sizes from tiny bundles of very cute menace to larger bundles of befuddled incompetence, creepy goo that comes out of walls and kills you, windows that open on things that aren't physically on the other side, and lots of circus music all in the right places. And Neil Gaiman wrote the script. Dude. Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean! When those two get together, miracles happen!
This is a Damn Fine Movie. Go see it now. Oh, don't give me that "but it's not showing in my state" excuse. Aren't you overdue for a road trip, anyway?
Addendum: Read this review of Mirrormask. Then follow the links and buy the soundtrack.