Ready Player One has a new Screenwriter

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a divisive book.  Sure, it’s a popular geek property that plenty of folks love.  But it’s a bit like Star Trek, especially the Original Series.  It’s a designer drug tailored for a specific audience.  In this case, white American males who spent their childhood or adolescence in the eighties. The dividing line forms somewhere a few standard deviations away from that point.  It’s clearly demarcated between, “It was awesome,” and some combination of the references not inciting dopamine surges and actual recognition of the grim state of both the world presented in the text and the sort of depressing realization that gaming only makes the protagonist better at gaming.

I’m in the awesome camp.  I know, as surely as I know anything, that the criticisms are valid; but the dopamine surges make it all okay.  Since it relies heavily on existing images, it’s incredibly easy to visualize.

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.

Warner Bros. snagged the film option for Ready Player One before it was published, but there’s been precious little news since then.  Four years ago.  So I was terribly excited when news began to spread last week that Zak Penn had been hired to get the script, initially adapted by Cline, ready to shop around to directors this fall.

Penn’s resume includes Last Action Hero, X:2, and Avengers.  He’s also working with Guillermo del Toro on the recently announced Pacific Rim 2.  He apparently developed a friendship with Cline while filing Atari: Game Over, a documentary about literally digging through the garbage of the past in the name of eighties nostalgia.  Sounds like a perfect match.

 

Children’s Book Review: Sunne’s Gift by Ama Karikari-Yawson

I really wanted to love Sunne’s Gift. Here’s the publisher’s description that had me intrigued:

God imbues Sunne with the power of the sun. Sunne’s siblings, Earth, Watre, and Winde have unique powers of their own. When Sunne is teased by siblings because of Sunne’s different hair, Sunne desperately tries to change. Join Sunne as Sunne learns that there is beauty and power in difference.

I’m all about the elemental powers of the universe as a pagan-y mom. Hope #1 was that it would introduce my toddler to these concepts.

The author’s bio made me even more expectant of greatness:

Ms. Yawson[‘s] unique understanding of social issues, business and the law has enabled her to become a relevant voice on issues as varied as race relations, women’s issues, dating, parenting, self-love, hair-bullying and entrepreneurship.

In 2013 a painful experience in which a barber called her that her son a real “nig***” and said that his hair was not pretty and should be shaved off inspired Ms. Yawson to venture into writing children’s books. Her first picture book, Sunne’s Gift is about a magical being with spirally hair that grows toward the sun named Sunne. Sunne’s three straight-haired siblings, who also have magical powers, poke fun of Sunne’s hair. Sunne starts beating the spirals of hair to fit in, but as a result the sun stops shining.

With this story, Ms. Yawson hopes to affirm afro-textured hair while promoting a culture of love and acceptance in which readers learn that there is beauty and power in difference and that celebrating diversity is not just “nice to do,” it is essential for our survival.

What a great way to make something positive of a horribly offensive experience. And what a magnificent, mythic way to make a point about the value of diversity and personal gifts and traits. Man, did I want this book to live up to the premise.

But I’m sad to say it doesn’t. The artwork is just a touch amateurish, like a fairly gifted high schooler illustrated it. That would be forgivable though. The bigger fault is the changing tone of the book. It begins in the mythic register of diction, sounding very much like some culture’s creation story. But when the other siblings mock Sunne, they use contemporary playground taunts, and it just doesn’t jive.

So as much as I wish I could recommend this, I sadly cannot. But I hope perhaps there’s a chance for a second edition that could right these sophomoric mistakes to achieve the greatness of concept.

Star Wars Saturday: Stars Align with Rian Johnson, Celebration Ensues

Rian Johnson will be writing and directing Star Wars Episode VIII–SQUEEEEE!!!!!

In my youth, the movies I adored were often epic-scale adventures with a touch of intelligence and a dollop of romance. So big favorites then included The Goonies, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Princess Bride, and, of course, Star Wars. Now, in my 30’s, my tastes in movies tend toward the smaller-scale, more personal stories. Rather than the sweeping stories of good versus bad in science fiction, I tend to prefer the more nuanced depictions of moral gray areas. I like Indie films. I like noir. I like postmodern, meta-fictional deconstruction of genre. Some current favorites: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Big Lebowski, Cabin in the Woods, and Brick.

George Lucas’s use of Joseph Campbell’s theory of The Hero With Many Faces made Star Wars more than just a dopey sci-fi story. It made it mythic in the most universal of ways. Unfortunately, I think the prequels failed to deliver that same universality even though they followed some of the same pathways. Instead they seemed to shallowly rehash elements of the first trilogy. They seemed like empty, soulless clones. In my wildest of dreams, the new Star Wars films will take back the tarnished reputation and elevate the franchise to greatness again. It will be as fantastic and influential for my son as the original trilogy was for me. J.J. Abrams did a great job rebooting Star Trek, but Into Darkness was a misstep of character development and a disappointment. I suspect he will likewise be a great first reboot director for Star Wars, but I’m overjoyed the next film will be in the hands of Rian Johnson for these reasons:

• Brick was Rian Johnson’s first feature film, which he wrote, directed, and edited on his Mac. It was fast and cheap movie-making, but it is a delight to behold. Based off of Dashell Hammet detective fiction, it sets Joseph-Gordon Levitt’s character, Brendan, on a search to find his missing ex-girlfriend that leads him into the corrupt, dope-dealing underworld of high school. It is a neo-noir, where high schoolers fill the character tropes of 1940’s noir films and use the stilted language:

Brendan Frye: Your muscle seemed plenty cool putting his fist in my head. I want him out.
The Pin: Looky, soldier…
Brendan Frye: The ape blows or I clam.

And one would think this would be weird in a high school setting, that the whole thing would be off, or cheesy, or disingenuous. But instead, because of the finesse Rian Johnson gives it (and great performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lucas Haas), it works. It works so well it actually brings new insights into high school and teenage angst.

It proves Johnson can work, rework, and own genre. He can take what’s great about Star Wars, maintain its soul, and give us something new but familiar. He’s even done this within sci-fi–see his third feature film, Looper.

• He uses genre to explore character. What makes The Empire Strikes Back the best of the franchise is its development of character. Each of the main players is challenged, undermined, and grows. Empire set a kind of precedent for this in blockbuster franchises. Consider the dark turns even lighter sci-fi films take in their sequels–Iron Man 2 is a great example. Into Darkness even calls attention to the movement in the title and fails to pull it off without undoing the good of the first film. Again, with Brick as exemplar, Johnson knows how to balance the light and dark, to challenge and deepen characters without breaking the fun. Brick, despite all of its darkness, is having tremendous fun with the genre tropes.  The Brothers Bloom is lighter all around, but still maintains a gravitas to the character relationships.
• Johnson writes great dialogue AND he does great visual storytelling. He’s not a director of epic spectacle; he is a director of intimate character drama through the tropes of genre. That’s what I want out of new Star Wars. We’ve had plenty of mindless spectacle with the prequels and Clone Wars. Let’s get some actual character-driven substance up in here!

If you’re not familiar with his work, check out this succinct intro to Johnson’s films and work on “Terriers” and “Breaking Bad”. Then jump in somewhere. You can thank me later.

Frozen Friday: Don’t Call Me Elsa

You’ve probably seen this already.  During a performance last Friday, June 20th, at Stadio San Siro in Milan, Italy, Pearl Jam inserted the chorus of “Let It Go” into a medley of “Just Breathe” and “Daughter.”  And it was awesome!

Responses varied from the factual (Rolling Stone) to the dismissive (io9) –

This is it, folks. The end of the line. The shark has been jumped, cleared, and bludgeoned to death by a water-ski-wielding Fonz. Thanks to everyone for playing along at home – it sure was fun while it lasted.

– to the affectionate (Consequences of Sound) –

Eddie Vedder gives the song as much emotional sincerity as he does any of his own work, and I swear by the end you can hear the crowd singing along. Come on, you know you would be too.

– while others speculated that Vedder’s daughters might have inspired the surprise.  That last might not be too far from the truth.  Last year, the band’s bassist called the group the “ultimate dad band,” and Vedder added, “I can only practice once a week, after 8 o’clock, after the kids are in bed; maybe Thursdays after the carpool.”

I suppose if they own it, then I have to as well.  I’ve loved Pearl Jam since the moment I first heard them.  And I loved this because of our toddler.  And so.

Here’s the full medley.  I really like how the lighting is Frozen themed when he breaks into “Let It Go.”

Romance with Shared Dreaming? *cue Inception sound* – Book Review: Darkness Falls by Erin Kellison

Oh, hey, romance genre! I haven’t read you in…what’s it been?…gosh, it must be 14 years if it’s been a day! 

The last romance novel I read was in grad school for a class on young adult literature. It was a true bodice ripper, set in ye ol’ fantasy times. I’ve never been a romance fan. Except for Twilight. Except for Pride and Prejudice. Except for those X-Files Mulder/Scully slash fanfic stories.

Okay, so I’m more game for the genre than I’d like to admit I am.

One nice thing about reading on the Kindle is that the shame quotient from reading romance goes down because I’m not confronted by the cheesy cover all the time.

Enter NetGalley, where I’m invited to read hundreds of titles before or soon after they’re published. For free. Or rather, for an honest review. Like 1/3 of these offerings are romance novels. So I figured I’d check one out. That lucky novel was Darkness Falls (Reveler #1) by Erin Kellison, and I was happily surprised by it.

Imagine if Inception were a romance novel. *cue Inception sound* See, it’s already got you. So, no joke, the premise here is that shared dreaming has become a major entertainment, but like with all hot commodities, it’s being exploited. To combat the abuse of Rêve (the shared dreamspace), there are something akin to FBI agents who travel across dream boundaries to bring in the dream criminals. Our hot, rough around the edges bad boy is one of these agents, damaged from years of dreaming psychopaths’ nightmares. Plus he’s got a special nightmare of his own that he can barely keep at bay. Our hot, feminine but strong protagonist is a Rêve newbie with unimaginable raw talent for lucid dreaming. Bad boy wants to recruit her to the good side. Others want to use her talents for crime. She doesn’t know who to trust. But DAMN is that bad boy electric!

The book reads incredibly fast. It’ll get its hook in and not let go till the end. (I think that’s one of the draws of romance novels.) I flew through it in only a few hours.

I liked that the novel uses a shifting third-person semi-omniscient narrator. Part of the time, it was with our bad boy, Malcolm Rook, and part of the time, it was with Jordan Lane, our lead lady. There was no forced assumptions based on perspective, ala Pride and Prejudice and then reworked in Twilight. And my prior experience with romance novels almost exclusively sticks with the woman.

Jordan is a bit of a Mary Sue, but that’s better than her being some wilting damsel in distress, I suppose. Any Princessiness is of the Leia variety.

I also liked that the world they navigated their hot bodies through was actually interesting. The Rêve set-up kept me interested, even when they weren’t mid-fondle.

This is the first of the series, and it does end with a clear path to the next part of the Rêve adventure, but it also ends with a satisfying closure to one particular character conflict.

Pretty sure I’ll be seeking out Revelers #2, even if I don’t become a wider reader of the romance genre.

Radio Free Albemuth opens Friday!

Radio Free Albemuth, the latest Philip K. Dick screen adaptation opens  this Friday, June 27th. Unfortunately, it will only premiere in ten theaters across the United States: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cleveland, Chicago, Phoenix, Atlanta, Seattle, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and New York.  International dates will follow and the film will be available on digital platforms. The project was initially shown at film festivals where it received enthusiastic accolades from science fiction fans.  Philip K. Dick aficionados embraced it as the most faithful reproduction of the source material yet.  Inspired by the positive response, the principals decided to Kickstart a limited theatrical release. Radio Free Albemuth began as a novel attempt to explore Dick’s gnostic theophany which was rejected by his publisher.  He later wrote the story into the VALIS trilogy, wherein a movie with a similar plot was planned.  The original book was published posthumously.  Now that’s a movie.  Sounds a bit like a Phil Dick novel, doesn’t it? I’d call myself a PKD fan, I guess.  But it’s complicated.  Most of what I like about his work is the stuff, the people, that it influenced.  William Gibson, Grant Morrison, Rudy Rucker, even Patrick Rothfuss.  With Dick’s own work, I tend to be enthusiastic through a couple books but find the third infuriating. He wrote dozens of novels and short stories.  I’ve been through that cycle many times.  For that reason, I came to Radio Free Albemuth fresh.  I found it tight and engaging despite a point of view switch about half way through.  There are echoes and germs of persistent themes in his other works, but I think it stands on its own. I’d recommend it as an introduction to Dick’s catalog.  Given the fan enthusiasm for the upcoming film, I’m willing to be reckless and recommend it, too.  Clarity and concision are rare descriptors for his work.  When people tell you to read the VALIS trilogy, they’re asking you to hurt yourself.  I’m not kidding. Dick’s books have proven difficult to translate to film.  I know this is a common refrain for all books, but there are exceptions.  The gearhead endorsement here is a plus. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is, on the whole, better than Blade Runner.  Now, before you indulge that knee jerk reaction, listen quietly.  I own five versions of that movie.  I’ve read several books on it in the dark corners of a university libraries.  I’ve read Burroughs’ Blade Runner, you know, for completeness’s sake.  And while the mood and some of the imagery from the film is fantastic, I’d say I think about Mercerism more often than tears in rain.  It sticks. The opposite is true for A Scanner Darkly.  The book will twist you inside out.  You’ll get a feeling for how being the protagonist feels.  That’s great.  And terrible.  The ending, in the book, is great; and terrible.  The rotoscoped movie gives you a better sense of who’s who and what’s what and the valuable distance.  You can evaluate the situation rather than the individual consciousness.  The movie was a triumph.  It sticks. This one seems like it’ll benefit from some detachment as well.  Here’s the trailer.  Check it out and let us know what you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovH_-mQxCok

An Enigma Wrapped Inside a Tardis Wrapped Inside a Time Capsule – A Review of The Bunker Vol. 1 by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Joe Infurnari

At the end of July, the first trade paperback of The Bunker, chapters 1-4, will hit the shelves, and if you’re a fan of Lost, The X-Files, or the mixed up machinations of trying to save the world using time travel, you should pick it up.

The Bunker’s premise: Five college friends decide to bury a time capsule out in the woods, but when they go to dig the hole, they hit metal. The door to an underground bunker. It has their names on it, and inside they find letters written to them from their future selves describing the horror the world becomes and their roles in getting it there.

These letters shake their world, their individual senses of self. They move forward and grow away from each other as they attempt to make sense of the secrets their future selves have set before them. Each step and decision takes them closer to the annihilation of humanity unless they can figure out which parts of themselves to turn away from.

The Bunker is full of heavy questions of morality, trust, and fate. But it’s also edge-of-your-seat exciting as the twists of the story unwind before you. It is engaging on levels of both character and suspense.

The art is rough-edged and a little dream-like. It matches the story well in this regard–the five friends live in a surreal understanding of the world after they discover the bunker, but it is a world of hard choices. Can the deaths of a few save millions? And if it can, are those deaths a worthwhile cost?

I am anxious to see what the next volume holds. Hopefully I won’t have to wait too long to find out.

Graphic Novel Review – I Was the Cat by Paul Tobin and Benjamin Dewey

I Was the Cat by Paul Tobin and Benjamin Dewey

The concept drew me in immediately–an online blogger gets an invitation to ghost write the memoirs of a mysterious man who turns out to be a talking cat who then goes on to detail each of his eight previous lives as a major player in various historical moments.

As the blogger and her friend learn more about this cat’s past, they get pulled into a global catspiracy.

The story starts out exploring the cleverness of how a cat could be behind the scenes of major time periods and famous events–pretending to be a god in Ancient Egypt, becoming the cat from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, or being the brains behind Napoleon’s conquests. Each issue covers one of Burma’s lives–so warning for the squeemish–each ends with a depiction of his death.

This is a fun, multi-layered mystery of sorts that (I believe) is complete in this trade paperback, so the ending brings a satisfaction and closure.

I Was the Cat will hit bookstores in August in this collection but is currently available in issues at your local comic book store.

The art is like continuity editing–it works in such a way that it almost never draws attention to itself; it just tells the story. But looking back at some pages and panels, I realized there was much more artistry to tell the relationships of the characters, foreshadow events, and evoke emotion than I initially recognized. I’m an art snob with comics, but I felt Benjamin Dewey’s drawings were an excellent match for Tobin’s story. Furthermore, there are fun cameos–besides the obvious historical figures and celebrities, Jules and Vincent from Pulp Fiction show in one panel, Neil deGrasse Tyson in another.

With each issue/chapter of the graphic novel progressed, I became less interested in the story of the past cat life and much more engaged in the larger conspiracy as it was unfolding. If I have one complaint, it was that the flashback recitation for the memoir became more and more shallow and disengaging as I went on, and I wanted more of the present-day story telling.

Bedtime Story Review – Sleep Tight, Little Bear by Britta Teckentrup

There is a subgenre of children’s book that is finely tuned to lull a child to slumber. In these books, a child or animal-child is taken through a going-to-bed routine with the hope of normalizing the activity for the child audience and soothing her into peace with falling asleep. The mother of all of these is Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. But there are plentiful lesser known gems. Here’s the collection we own: Guess How Much I Love You, The Going to Bed Book, Time for Bed, and Pajama Time!. And then there’s the  parody Go the F**k to Sleep, which understands the nightly Herculean/Sisyphean task set before parents with humorous insight and clarity.

Sleep Tight, Little Bear by Britta Techkentrup, due out in August, fits perfectly into this niche subgenre. It is the start of winter in the book, and Mommy Bear and Little Bear are getting ready for hibernation. As part of their preparations, they say good night to their many woodland friends, some of whom also will hibernate, like Badger, and others who assure Little Bear that they will look after them during hibernation, like Wolf. After this part of the routine is done, Mommy Bear and Little Bear snuggle into their cozy den, and Little Bear asks a few questions of Mommy Bear, including, “Will you be next to me always?”

The illustrations are minimalist but beautiful, reminding me a little of scrapbook paper cutouts, easy for a child to recognize and engage with. The many animals interested my son, who identified “owl!” and “rabbit!” and learned “badger” and “fox”. The first part had the nice repetition that soothes the child into pre-slumber peace, while the final questioning by Little Bear to Mommy Bear reassures the child that sleep will not leave him alone or vulnerable, that his parent will be there with him.

I found it to be a sweet book and one I would recommend to keep next to the crib or child bed for the nightly routine. Bonus: It includes educational information on hibernating. So this is especially recommended for the little ones fascinated by the natural world.

Star Wars Saturday: Toddler Unimpressed with A New Hope, Hope of Parents Dashed

The only legitimate DVD print of the original theatrical version of A New Hope – Thanks, George.

Gretchen, stop trying to make Star Wars happen!

Just a brief record of our first attempt showing our 2-year-old Star Wars: A New Hope. He was attentive but unengaged. It has gotten less discussion than Space Jam.

First, let me assuage any concerns you might have about the situation and version presented. We have the Original Theatrical Release, made through digital transfer from the laserdisc printing and appearing as a special feature on an early DVD limited edition set. So Han shot first. There’s no stupid digital Jabba scene. And there’s no explodey ring coming from either Alderaan or the Death Star. But the color is more subdued than the special editions, and there are fewer bells and whistles (and stupid, throw-away dewbacks) that might appeal to a very young child.

Watching it with a toddler, I was struck by how talky and languid the film is. I don’t see that as a bad thing–I think the prequels are a chaotic mess and could take some good cues from the slower pacing of the original films. But it was clear that it wasn’t action oriented enough, and the dialogue was largely over the toddler’s head.

He did get excited when Chewbacca showed up, calling out for his Chewbacca action figure and repeating: “My Chewbacca!” And he was pulled in by the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader. But that was the most response we got out of him.

Clearly Star Wars needs more musical numbers. Are you listening, Disney?

We’ll try again next year. It’ll capture his imagination and passion next year, right?… Right?