Coraline Redux- Harry Selsnick

Just a small one today. I've made no secret of my fawning admiration for the work of Neil Gaiman, and I've even reviewed the film adaptation of his book Coraline on this blog. I thought that today, on a slow news day, I'd do a quick update urging anyone who hasn't to see this film, and for those of you to have, to see this film again. It came out on DVD and Blue Ray on July 21st, and I just wanted to take this opportunity to urge as many people as possible to see this movie.

The DVD comes with four sets of 3D glasses so you, the home viewer, can take in all of the visual magic that Selsnick crams into his narrative. The film has has its scarier moments (the "Other Mother" is admitedly horrifying and evil), but overall the visuals and the story come across as stunning and adventurous, and Coraline is a hero that we can all relate to. If you didn't before, I highly recommend you take the opportunity to check Coraline out, and if you've seen the film, then, take it from someone who already has, it is definitely a worthy addition to the home library. Seriously, gentle reader, Coraline stands alone, not just as a great film adaptation of a great book, but as a great film.

But Did You Read It First?- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Welcome back to "But Did You Read It First?"- Anbaric Lights' quasi-regular (I might have to come up with another prefix that means even less often than quasi as there has been only one previous entry in the series, a review of Coraline from last February) column dealing with film adaptations of children's literature.

Wow, the entire preceding paragraph was one (admittedly parenthetically-enhanced) sentence. The fact that I occasionally get paid to teach tiny people to write boggles the mind. But that is neither her nor there. I'm already two paragraphs into the review and I haven't even mentioned the film yet. I really need to work on my meandering and often disorienting introductions to these reviews...

Before we go any farther, there are some assumptions. I assume that you are familiar with the Harryverse (Harry Potter Universe). I will not go into detail about describing the characters, and mild spoilers from previous entries in the series may be revealed. If you are not familiar with the events leading up to The Half Blood Prince (the sixth book and movie of the series), then you may not want to read any further.

Still with me? Good, let's have at it!

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint all return as Harry, Hermione, and Ron respectively. The rest of the cast is also back to in roles of varying sizes. The only new major addition to the series is Jim Broadbent as Professor Slughorn, the sixth Defense Against the Dark Arts professor the students have had in six years. David Yates (director of the previous installment, The Order of the Phoenix, and the forthcoming two movie adaptation of Book 7, The Deathly Hallows) returns as director.

The story should be relatively familiar with anyone still reading this post at this point. Harry has returned to Hogwarts for another year. Voldemort is back and Harry and Dumbledore are using the pensieve to investigate his childhood and career at Hogwarts. They realize that he has accomplished extraordinarily dark magic, through acts of murder he has divided and stored his soul in an object called a horcrux. Thus, even if the body is destroyed (as Vodermort's was the night he tried to kill Harry as a baby), the soul lives on and one is never really dead. The Half Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows both focus on the attempts of Harry and his allies to locate and destroy these horcruxes. There are seven in all, and it is revealed that Tom Riddle's diary from The Chamber of Secrets was a horcrux. Dumbledore also destroyed one (a ring that once belonged to Voldemort's grandfather), but injured his hand severely in the attempt.

Throughout the film, Harry is using a potions textbook that belongs to "The Half-Blood Prince," and as a result of the wisdom therein, he is rising to the top of his potions class. He even learns a septum severus spell that has unintended and deadly consequences in one scene in the film.

Ron and Hermione become involved in a love triangle with Lavender Brown, and it's refreshing to see that despite the gloom and doom of Voldemort's return, that the characters are still teenagers dealing with the same things that teenagers everywhere, magical or otherwise, deal with. Harry gets a romance of his own when his relationship with Ginny blossoms into something more than just friendship.

Draco Malfoy has been tasked by Voldemort with a deadly serious task. He is shown throughout the movie becoming increasingly drawn and desperate as he tries to maneuver his plan into place. Tom Felton, who hasn't had much to do with Draco in the previous films other than to sneer and serve as an obvious foil to Harry, does a solid job depicting Draco as a boy who may have bit off just a bit more than he can chew.

Throughout the tension and danger that Harry and his friends must deal with (Deatheater attacks! Fenrir Greyback! Curses, Hexes, and poisons!) is nicely balanced with humor (love potions, a eulogy for Aragog, Slughorn's habit of "collecting" promising students), and Yates and company set the stage for the final confrontation with Voldermort in The Deathly Hallows.

SERIOUS SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
DO NOT READ ON UNLESS YOU HAVE EITHER
SEEN THE FILM OR READ THE BOOK

My one main complaint is the film's climax. The battle at Hogwarts depicted in the book is violent, chaotic, and terrifying. Snape's apparent betrayal and murder of Dumbledore hits like a punch in the gut. This scene in the movie occurs as almost an afterthought, and as much as I love Alan Rickman's portrayal of Snape, he seemed to be far to obvious in his role in Dumbledore's death. I know Yates had to cut some of the book down in order to make it movie length (it still runs a good 2.5 hours!), but I do feel that these last scenes were where I felt the missing material most. I hope The Deathly Hallows begins with Dumbledore's Funeral, because that scene is beautiful and heartbreaking, and deserves to be shown.

All in all, it was yet another solid and dependable HP adaptation, and I am very excited to see the conclusion. Part I will be released in 2010, and Part II in 2011.

What did you think of the movie gentle reader(s)?

The 39 Clues Book 2: One False Note- Gordon Korman

I found the first 39 Clues book, The Maze of Bones, to be a pleasant surprise by the end of its opening chapters, and decided to pursue the series further with book 2, One False Note. This book, written by Gordon Korman, picks up immediately after Rick Riordan's Maze of Bones left off. (Apparently each volume of this series will be penned by a different author.)

Dan and Amy Cahill, grandchildren of the recently deceased Grace Cahill, are embroiled in a worldwide scavenger hunt for the "39 Clues." They are competing against other members of the enormous extended Cahill clan, a family that has included some of the most powerful people throughout history. The ultimate prize is not stated, but it is intimated that it includes wealth and power beyond imagining, the power to shape and change the entire world. Suffice to say, all of the competitors are incredibly motivated, cunning, and ruthless. Intrigue, alliances, and double crosses abound.

Mild Maze of Bones plot spoilers are contained in the subsequent paragraph.

Book 1 highlights their relationship with Benjamin Franklin and has Dan and Amy traveling from Boston, to Franklin's old stomping grounds in Philadelphia, to Paris, where Franklin was treated like an 18th century rock star by the adoring French. By the end of Book 1, Dan and Amy have found the first clue and are headed off to Vienna, Austria to investigate the life of yet another one of their famous, distant cousins, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

One False Note opens with Dan, Amy, their au pair (never call her a babysitter within the range of Dan's hearing) Nellie Gomez, and their finicky cat Saladin are on the train from Paris to Vienna. They are trying to stay ahead of their many competitors: The psychotic, quasimilitary family the Holts, former KGB spy Irina Spasky, Natalie and Ian Kabra, rich, brilliant and deadly, Jonah Wizard, teenage hiphop star, actor, and all around megacelebrity, and Allistair Oh, who is down on his luck after making a fortune inventing the microwave burrito.

The Cahills, arrive in Vienna (after a harrowing runin with the Holts on the train) only to find Jonah Wizard, under the auspices of an European press junket for his new TV show, Who Wants to Be a Gangsta?, a step ahead of them. After a thrilling heist in Vienna, they are soon on their way to Salzburg, Mozart's childhood home. Soon after that they are on their way to Venice, one of the stops on Mozart's 1770 European tour.

In Venice they stumble upon the stronghold of the Janus Branch of the Cahills. Notable Janus Cahills throughout history in addition to Mozart have included Walt Disney, Beethoven, Mark Twain, Elvis, Charlie Chaplin, Dr. Seuss, and Snoop Dog. They are the branch of artists, musicians, authors, and other creative people. Jonah Wizard, actor and musician, is a Janus, and it is revealed that his mother is a very high ranking official within their organization. Book 1 introduced us to the Lucian stronghold in Paris. They were the great political and military leaders throughout history. Presumably, later volumes will introduce us to the two other Cahill branches: Tomas, and Eskartina. When you register at the website, you can take a short quiz and determine what branch you belong to. I'm an Eskartina.

After fleeing the Janus compound (suffice to say their infiltration of it does not go unnoticed or appreciated) with vital information from Mozart's sister's diary, Dan and Amy lead a merry boat chase through the canals of Venice before trying to find the next clue. Somehow, they escape the Janus', only to run afoul of Ian and Natalie Kabras. Will Dan and Amy be able to outsmart the two of them in order to find the second clue? I'm sure you have a pretty good idea about the answer, but you'll need to read on to find the answer.

Overall, I found the book to be sufficiently thrilling in its own right (the search for the second clue), but it did little to advance the overall mystery of the series. I guess if there is going to be a book for each clue, then the authors can afford to let the reader in on the bigger secrets veeeeeeery gradually, but it can be a bit frustrating. Who or what are the Madrigals? What's the deal with the Man in Black? Can Mr. McIntyre be trusted? All of these questions are raised in the book, but frustratingly little is revealed. I guess if you really want to know, you'll need to read book 3, The Sword Thief. Although I did not enjoy this book as much as The Maze of Bones, I guess I'm going to have to stick with the series. At least until they find the Eskartina stronghold. What do you think gentle reader(s)? Is the series worth pursuing? Can anyone be expected to commit to 39 books in a series? Let me know in your comments.