Re-Post: Final - The Hobbit

So for my redo I decided to write about Tolkien’s The Hobbit again. In my previous post about the Hobbit, I had vaguely mentioned that the level of background information made it more enjoyable and believable. However that’s not the only thing that made love this book. I can’t get over the idea of an old unfit man (hobbit) going on an adventure to fight dragons, wargs, and spiders. I love that he is such an unlikely hero. Another the reason why the Lord of the Rings was so captivating to me as well. I admit that I tried to read the Lord of the Rings with little success. It was one of those “I bit more than I could chew” books for me. The Hobbit, however, was an easy read, and a book I think most people could easily get into. At times, it was hard to understand some of the phrasing, but in general with Tolkien’s in-depth descriptions on terms and names, I felt like we don’t get that lost in this new middle earth world. Very much like a story teller sharing a story, he make sure that everyone can understand it’s context and setting even if it means sidetracking and explaining the significance of certain elements. I also like that it is a rather clever book. It isn’t all slaying and hero action. There are riddles, and characters that must problem solve, rather than just fight head on without thinking. There’s some strategy involved that is fun to see through. For instance, when they are captured by trolls, I was interested in seeing how this would play out, and how Bilbo and the other would get out of such a mess. It is interesting to see how the characters were able to get out of the many dangerous situations they were in with the use of their wits, and little bit of luck. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and will eventually give Lord of the Rings another go.

City of lost children

I love this movie! It’s so weird but interesting. Kept me asking questions through out the whole thing. At first I thought it sort of confusing, but after skimming it a second time, I think it finally came together for me. The beginning scene was horrifying. Even thought it was meant to be a nightmare, the character of Krank is very unsettling. All I can think of when I look at him is of the victim for sloth in the movie S7ven. I love this type of film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Very much like Amelie. He is able to capture life’s oddities in the characters. My favorite character in this film is by far Miette. She’s very mature, but what I really like about her is her no-nonsense attitude. I like her role in taking care of One. I have always been intrigued by the thought of a big strong man being and behaving very much like a child. In it’s most creepy sense I could almost compare him to the Big Child ghost from 13 ghosts. A small mother and a huge son that can’t live without her. Other elements that I thought were interesting were the Cyclops people, the flea that would turn people crazy, and of course the clones, which were my favorite creeps.

Children of Men

Depressing. At first when we hear that the youngest person in the world has died, we know it’s a big deal especially when we see how the people react to this, but it’s not until later on that we realize how much it has affected the world, and its social structure.
I watching it, was stressed the entire time. Always asking who can be trusted, and who will be able to keep a secret. Theo was such an interesting character. I think he is very brave. In my opinion most people in that situation would flee. When he finds Kee, the pregnant girl, I think his decision to get help to the Human Project is immensely courageous considering all the risks it involves. I was rather sad when his ex-wife was shot and when they had invaded the house of their friend, Jasper Palmer. This was an overall depressing movie. Even at the end, he dies alone. All we can hope is that, what was risked for Kee and her child was worth it. Through out the movie I was still a bit wary of this Human Project. I think the movie made me so paranoid about everyone that at the end I was almost left with the feeling that the Human Project was another trap.

Idiocracy

This was such a creative and funny movie. More so than I could have imagined. At first glance it might seem like a dumb comedy, but I think there had to be a lot of thought put into this film. It is rather clever. It also kind of scary to see this happening, because I’ve met some people who at times act the way the dumb people from “Idiocracy” do. I also liked the message that Not Sure gave to Rita about how she should go back in time and send out a message for people to do things with their lives, because he himself hadn’t done anything with his life. It’s almost as if he was sent to this other “world” and learns something about himself. I was very happy about Frido’s character. He was a dumb lawyer, but he still was able to help a great deal. I was very glad when he filmed the plants and was able to overcome his stupidity, even if it was just for a moment. I’ll admit that my favorite character however was the President. Mainly because I find Terry Crews hilarious, but also because of the way he governs. If people don’t agree, he pulls out a machine gun and scares them, but you can also see that just for a few moments his feelings were hurt when people started ganging up against him. He had such a diverse range of emotions and personalities.

Master by Angela Carter

I must say I enjoyed this story far more than Carter’s Erl-King. Even from the very first paragraph I was very interested in the story. I had always been a fan of abnormal psychology, and the first paragraph of this short story said it all. It immediately reminded me of the movie, the Cell. In this movie, the serial killer would become sexually aroused when his victims died, but what pushed him over the edge were his victim’s final body spasms, much like the character from Carter’s Master. I like the way Carter began by explaining what he was like as a boy and then worked her way to the what he has become. This is very much like how documentaries on Ted Bundy, Ed Gein, and others were structured. There’s also a similarity. They all began with small signs of violence or odd habits and then they slowly worked their way up to murder. One of the things that I enjoyed, even though it was disturbing, was the way the author didn’t hesitate to describe how he killed. For instance, “young women whose flesh he lacerated with teeth, fingernails and sometimes his leather belt”. I like that she doesn’t hold back. This is another approach to horror. It is more in your face than in H. P. Lovecraft’s What the Moon Brings, and even Carter’s Erl-King. A thing that made this somewhat more frightening was how believable she made the character and the story seem. I think a lot of that came from the amount of description and detail she put into the story. For instance, she mentions the names of some of the motels where the killer would bring his victims. She must have obviously done research to see how the mind of a killer works. I had noticed that one of the characteristics she described of him was that he praises his own work. He isn’t satisfied by harming women, so he moves on to killing animals. I supposed it’s somewhat better than killing humans, but the way he goes killing them so mercilessly is still disturbing. He is made out to be such a greater hunter that he pretty much eliminates most of the big cats in Africa. He slaughtered the animals.
This story mainly reminds me of again, the Poughkeepsie Tapes. It’s all in the name. It pretty has the similar concept of taking a girl as a slave. The waterstreet butcher from the Poughkeepsie tapes also makes the girl refer to him as master and uses her as an object. It was rather interesting watching the hunter fall apart after he leaves his jeep. It is also rather interesting how he uses the killing of animals to help him feel less lonely. Another thing connects this further to the Poughkeepsie tapes, is the fact that the “brown girl” or slave slowly becomes somewhat of an apprentice. The thing that was different in the “Master” however, was the fact that the “brown girl” soon surpasses the hunter’s skill. She also seems to enjoy it. She laughs every time she kills and she populates her side with fresh ghosts. You can see as she herself slowly changes into an animal. It was very odd when we find out that the hunter has grown so desperate that he now kill jaguars and leaves them behind with the pelt still on.
The ending was what threw me off, which I enjoyed. I had a certain expectation as to where this was gonna go. However, when he ran out of alcohol and was left with his malaria, I didn’t think she would become much like the jaguar he had hunted all along. It just suddenly hit me, even though it had been a slow transition. I think my favorite phrase from the story is “But soon she grew bored and bounded away.” The idea that after all that she had been through with him, she simply grew bored after attacking his corpse for a bit, is unexpected.

What the Moon Brings by H.P. Lovecraft

This story actually reminds me of a dream I had when I was 5, 6 years old. I used to be afraid of the dark, not the moon in particular. This short story, for me, effectively captures the time when you realize that moon and the dark make everything look different. No matter how familiar you are with your surroundings, the darkness and the moon can make it seem sinister and uninviting. It makes everyday object actually seem like entirely different things. Lovecraft describes how walls turned to a never ending garden. In my experience everyday objects, always seem to turn into people hiding in the dark. I guess that how I’m imposing my own personal fear into what I see in the dark. This was a rather short story, but I think Lovecraft captures the feeling of being alone in an unfamiliar and menacing place.

The Erl King by Angela Carter

This was such a weird read. Even though it was a short story, it took me a while to get into it. I still don’t think I get what happened. However the imagery and the descriptions were both colorful and highly disturbing. At first it seems to be about someone simply getting lost in the woods and describing his surrounding. It almost reminded me of Snow White or Merlin from the Disney version of Sword in the Stone. Just someone who lives in the forest and that gets along with the animals. I had almost forgotten I had found this short story in the J-Horror section. Then much like in Bloodchild, we start noticing small things that creep you out until the end of the story where we know that the Erl-King is someone’s worst nightmare. Also much like in Bloodchild, I can somewhat compare the character of the Erl-King to T’Gatoi. They appear to be nice superficially, but they have hidden motives and/or plans. To some extend I found this story slightly more disturbing than Bloodchild. This is might seem surprising but this is only because it seemed like the narrator was still somewhat in love with the Erl-King as if he was under some kind of spell. In Bloodchild, Gan was quite aware of the situation and his predicament. I think the part of the story where I knew that something was definitely wrong was when Carter writes, “he lays me down on his bed of rustling straw where I lie at the mercy of his huge hands. He is the tender butcher who showed me how the price of flesh is love; skin the rabbit, he says! Off come all my clothes.” That is straight out of some serial killer’s journal. It reminded me very much of the waterstreet butcher from the Poughkeepise Tapes movie.

Hitchhikers Guide

For this book, I just listened to the audio books. It was very amusing. The characters were very sarcastic, but I love that kind of humor. This was a very easy audio book to get into. The only thing that kept throwing me off was the voice effect that they used for the Vogons. It wasn’t cold or menacing. As for the main character, I thought he was very funny. I think the reason I get annoyed with him sometimes, is mainly because I am jealous of his situation. I would love to have experienced what he has experienced. I also like the whole idea of things happening and actually recognizing the probability of that happening. I bet many things happen in our everyday lives that are highly improbable that we don’t think twice about. When the improbability of things is told to us in the book, it makes what has happened slightly more amusing. “What are the odds!”. I think Arthur Dent must be one the luckiest men in Hitchhikers. He just happens to have a best friend from another planet that saves his life and happens to know a lot about the universe because he is a researcher. I do like how the deal with the Vogons. They almost mock them. I especially love the part where the Vogons are reading poetry, and when Arthur and Ford give them compliments on their poetry.
One of the most curious parts of the book for me was when the Ultimate Answer was revealed to be the number 42. I knew ahead of time that the answer would obviously be inconclusive. It wouldn’t suit the book to try to give a legit answer. However I loved the idea of given a number as an answer to the meaning of life. It adds to how amusing and unpredictable this book was for me when I first read it.

Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler

What I found the most disturbing about this story was how Butler wrote it. It doesn’t hit the reader right away what is happening or what the story is really about. At first I was confused about certain things, but as the story progresses, it becomes clear that this story is rather twisted. I had wondered why this T’Gatoi was trying to fatten up Gan. It also explains why the mother acted so strange at the beginning of the story. I don’t know how I would feel if I knew that I was to be the host for some parasites. Personally, I don’t see how getting to know the creature, who will eventually use me to home her parasitic children, make her putting eggs inside me any less disturbing. I’m already creeped out by the fact that women have to give birth. I find the idea of a living thing coming out of me, really strange and disturbing. I don’t think I could handle living the way they do. I imagine myself acting like Qui. I would try to find a way out. I don’t really know how even the mother could watch as her children get used for other species’ reproductive purposes. I think Butler did a great job in making this concept relate to large group of people. She didn’t make it so that only women could connect to the book, but I feel like she succeed in making this relate to men as well.

The scariest thing about T’Gatoi was her personality. She was strangely nice and caring but at the same time she could be cold and very business like. She knows what she wants and how to get it. This character reminded me a lot about the “other mother” from Coraline.

The Devil Plant By Lyle Wilson Holden

This short story was among the “Best of Weird Tales” PDF. Well this story was pretty much a story of revenge. I liked it because he explains why he is doing it at first. Also because the story is from his point of view, I immediately side with him. After explaining how Silvela ruin his life, he tries to figure out a way to get him back for what he did. I still can’t make up my mind about how to feel for Silvela. He had wronged the Rodrigez. According to the Rodrigez himself, he had done so unknowingly. Also Silvela is a “poor idiot” because he doesn’t know that his friend has been conspiring against him all along. What really intrigued me about this story was the choice of weapon for carrying out his scheme. I love the idea of an exotic plant killing things. I found it fascinating how the Rodrigez lured Silvela to the “devil tree”. He didn’t have to do much. Silvela’s curiosity did get the best of him. I think the part of the short story that I paid most attention to, was the description of the devil tree as well as the part where Silvela gets killed by it. It was a brilliant idea of the Rodrigez to choose an exotic plant was the weapon of choice, because it could be easily overlooked as an accident. The first thing I wanted to do when I read about the devil tree was draw what I thought it would look like. Even though it was a fairly short story, I liked the way Holden took the time to describe Silvela’s death. It was really tense when Silvela was on the tree about drink the elixir and oblivious to the devil tree’s tendrils. The end was rather disturbing. Rodrigez mentions that he will forever carry Silvela’s distorted form writhing in close embrace of the devil-tree’s snaky arms. I can almost picture him with a twisted grin of his face while he thinks of that.

Troll Bridge by Terry Pratchett

This was a very interesting read. I still don’t know how I feel about it. It a pretty funny short story because of Trolls and Cohen’s talking horse. However towards the end of the story, the situation isn’t as funny. The sudden realization that things are changing, and that the “good ol’ days” are actually over is rather sad for me. It kind of reminds me of the feeling I get when I finish watching a good fantasy movie. We wish there was more but we know there isn’t. That’s also how I felt after reading this story. I wished the ending wasn’t true. Of course there aren’t trolls running around in our world. However, with science nowadays I feel that everything I once thought to be magical is unveiled. It doesn’t seem as special anymore, like rainbows. I used to look at them with wonder, now I know how they are created they aren’t all that special. I think what most hit about this story was that I had a similar experience to that of Cohen. I returned to the Savannas in Venezuela and to my surprise the place was completely different. I remember when I was little it was all nature, there weren’t even roads. The next time I visited, you could see that human had been everywhere. There were houses, and roads everywhere. I fully understand why Cohen would give the Troll from under the bridge all the money he had left. The Troll was my favorite character. He tries against all odds to stick to tradition. In my eyes, he inadvertently was trying to keep the folktales and magic in that world. It almost felt wrong reading about trolls in the lumbar business. A character that I didn’t like was the Troll’s wife. It seemed like even though she was his wife, she was always putting him down instead of supporting his decision. I could understand that she wanted a better life, but if it meant giving in this new ways of being ordinary. I don’t think it’s worth it.
Another character I thoroughly enjoyed was Cohen’s horse. I loved the way he both mocked and looked after Cohen. I also like the irony in this story. It is almost as is Cohen is saving the world he used to destroy during all those years as a legendary barbarian. I did like that he in a way saved that troll from under the bridge by giving him money. He almost understands that this new world, where trolls don’t hide under bridges anymore, is partly his fault. One of the reasons I decided to read this story was the way the first few paragraphs were written. I enjoyed reading it because Pratchett did a really good job in describing Cohen and how worn out he was.

Seventh Voyage by Stanislaw Lem

This short story was not what I expected at all. This story was rather humorous. I felt for the poor man, but mainly I just laughed at all the misfortunes. He’s stuck out in space with a wrench and good sirloin steak revolving around him. The help that he could get from his future self to fix the rudder, he ignored because he thought it was a dream only to realize it wasn’t. It got a bit confusing when he started bringing the days of the week into play, especially when he argues with Wednesday self about their ability to fix the rudder. It was only a small portion of the story though. It was both amusing and interesting watching both sides of his arguments and conversations. His future self is always more knowledgeable and becomes frustrated by his past self. It’s weird to think that we learn so much in just a few hours. Of course our future selves would be wiser, but I had envisioned this to be us 30 plus years from now. I had never considered whether I would be that much wiser a few hours from now. Not to the point where I would frustrated with myself for being so stubborn and clueless. I felt so bad for Ichy when he finds out about Friday him and Sunday him. This means he has been there and is going to be there for a while. It’s quite curious because now he has more than enough people to fix the rudder, so it makes you wonder why there’s a Sunday him in the first place. Also seeing his future-self hurt must not be such an easy thing. I would in constant fear of the injury happening any second. I like that as you read on you encounter more problems. It makes it interesting again. Just when you think the problem is solved, we find out that there is only one spacesuit available and that now that there are more that one Ichy, there are more people to feed. I found it really funny that he had to trick himself ending up in a fight between his various selves.

Anansi Boys

I rather enjoyed this book. At first I wasn’t sure whether I would get into it, but then after watching Neil Gaiman’s interview in class I decided to give this book a shot. I like the way he very cleverly integrated both reality and fantasy elements. I think what I liked most about this read was that it resembled a storytellers way of sharing stories. It is almost as if he sometimes gets sidetracked trying to explain things, and then eventually returns into the telling the story. A thing that I found surprising was that it revolved around African mythology. I vaguely recall in class the mention of the characters being black, but I guess that hadn’t fully registered because I was still surprised when I read the book. I love the idea of incarnations. My favorite character had to be Spider. At first he annoyed me because he kept doing things like pretending to the Charlie and getting him into trouble and sleeping with Rosie, but his character is just very cool. I liked the part where he made a little spider out of clay while he is imprisoned by Tiger. I can actually live with the ending where Spider and Rosie end p together because it didn’t seem like Rosie should’ve ended up with Charlie if she couldn’t tell that Spider wasn’t really Charlie. The bird woman was also a very intriguing character, and it was rather odd that she would want claim over the Anansi bloodline.