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.