Frankenweenie

Living in a small town, Victor only has one true friend--Sparky, his adorable and faithful dog. When Sparky dies, Victor uses his smarts and unwavering love to bring Sparky back to life. But trouble follows and Victor must find a way to save their town and return life back to normal.

After the Tim Burton disaster that was Dark Shadows, I was a little hesitant walking into the theater for this movie. Many people say that Burton is loosing his touch. Others said that he never had it to begin with. But Frakenweenie reaffirms that Burton has a gift for making wacky and creepy entertainment for families. Frakenweenie is no Nightmare Before Christmas but it is a story that will make even the coldest of hearts melt. Yes, that means even my father shed a few tears watching this movie...but you didn't hear that from me.

The style and design of the characters in this film are very similar to Burton's The Corpse Bride. And like TCB, Burton played with color to tell his story. Frankenweenie is completely in black and white. The lack of color compliments the somber tone of the film and makes the film stronger as a result. Other than the black and white style, there are many homages to old horror films including the plot and character design.

Sparky--the Frakenweenie of this film--is nothing like the monster of yore. Even after he's come back from death, Sparky is lively and thirsty for adventure. Burton chose to make Sparky a very realistic version of a dog making it even easier to fall in love with him. But while I enjoyed Sparky, there were a few of the characters felt like stereotypical representations. Toshiaki in particular felt like a stereotypical Asian-American. He spoke in broken English, was very intelligent, and was ruthless in his pursuit of success. It felt like a poor choice--intentionall or not--that only serves to perpetuate negative stereotypes and poor race relations.

Overall, Frankweenie was one of the sweetest movies released this year. The plot isn't terribly fast paced and some younger kids might lose interest. But, it is a must see for elementary aged children and for people who are just young at heart. Frankenweenie is a dog movie for the supernatural-obsessed generation. And anyone who has ever lost a pet can sympathize with Victor's plight. Although, I'm sure the number of electrified dead pets in the United States will increase in the near future. This is my warning to parent's taking their kids to see this film. Beware!

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Hotel Transylvania

Hotel Transylvania is a place for monsters to relax without fear that humans will find them. Count Dracula runs the place single handedly while still finding time to be an extremely overprotected father to his only daughter, Mavis. On the celebration of Marvis's 118th birthday, a human named Johnny finds the hotel and falls in love with Mavis. Count Dracula--and the rest of the monsters--must find a way to get past their hate for humans. And the count must also find a way to let his daughter go.

Hotel Transylvania should have been a Halloween classic. It all the right ingredients--a great cast, a fantastic premise, and an audience willing to be dazzled. But in many areas Hotel feel flat. Adam Sandler's voice is almost unrecognizable as Count Dracula but many of the bits are overused and fall flat. He is the main character of this tale and despite what the trailers wants us to believe, Hotel isn't about his daughter falling in love with a human. No, this movie is about Count Dracula falling in love with a human. This movie feels incredibly long--too much time at the beginning is dedicated to Dracula trying to hide Johnny from Mavis. The young couple is not given a lot of time to interact and allow the audience to fall in love with the idea of them together.

Mavis, played by Selena Gomez, is beautifully designed as a character. It was adorable that the animators gave baby Mavis black lipstick and nail polish like her older self. She looks gothic and girly and modern--all at the same time. I had reservations about Gomez walking into the theater but I left knowing that she was as strong--if not stronger--than any of the characters in the film. One character is easily out shined as Johnny the human played by Andy Samberg. Johnny is the weakest character thanks to the animators, the writers, and Sandberg. Johnny is meant to be carefree and youthful burst of energy in the hotel but he came off as loud and obnoxious. It was hard to like Johnny and everyone I went to see the movie with agreed that the film would have been stronger without him. Unfortunately, Johnny and Dracula commandeered most of the screen time while Gomez and the other monsters were relegating to supporting roles.

Hotel Transylvania is a film that will entertain the kids but it isn't a guaranteed hit with their parents. There are moments that are humorous and sweet but they can't makeup for the languid pace and uninspired plot. There was so much potential but director, Genndy Tartovsky, was unable to translate the success he achieved with animation on the small screen to a successful movie on the big screen.

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The Mediator #3: Reunion

Suze has been busy since moving to California but it's only about to get busier when Michael, her fellow classmate is being target by a group of four ghosts who recently died in a car accident. Suze believes that it is her duty as mediator to protect Michael. But Suze quickly discovers that the car accident wasn't an accident and the killer is not done yet. And this time the killer's target hits a lot closer to home.

Meg Cabot is a great writer but this one fell a bit flat. She is great at creating this funny, strong female characters that are easy to relate with even if they happen to have supernatural powers like Suze.  I've always thought that her strongest books are the ones she writes for adults but even when compared to her other YA novels, The Mediator series isn't her strongest. The characters aren't incredibly developed and the narration is geared towards a much younger audience. I liked the past two novels in the series--although I never did a review for the second book--but Reunion is easily the lowest point out of the three.

The plot deals with a situation where the lines of morality are very blurry. But instead of taking the chance to explore the complex nature of right and wrong--Cabot took the easy and very boring route of letting the police handle the situation. Anyone who has ever watched the news or seen an episode of Law & Order will know that the law is a flawed system and justice is not always served. It would have made for a much better book if Cabot had taken a different route and allowed the reader to explore the morality of the situation with a bit more depth. Yes, I understand that it is a YA novel but that is no excuse. 

I was disappointed by the murder-mystery part of the novel but I was also frustrated because I have read three books and the relationship between Suze and Jesse [the dead boy who hangs out in Suze's room] hasn't moved forward. She spends a lot of time thinking about him--mostly his incredible abs--but nothing has really happened between the two. I am waiting and waiting but I am growing increasingly impatient. Since the plot was so lackluster it would have been nice to see some development in that area of Suze's life but...nothing. If you are planning to read The Mediator series and want to save some time, skip book three. You aren't missing anything.

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A Mango-Shaped Space



Mia Winchell has lived her entire life seeing sounds, numbers, and letters in bright colors. It isn't her strong imagination or a sign that she is losing her mind--Mia has synesthesia [although she doesn't know it]. Mia first realized that she was different from everyone else in third grade. Afraid of being labeled a freak, she keeps her gift a secret from everyone including her family and closest friends. Years later, Mia is in middle school and is still struggling to understand why she is different.

I'd never heard of synesthesia until I read this book. It isn't something that I think most people really hear about. But synethesia is a "neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway" (Wikipedia). In A Mango-Shaped Space, Mia can see sounds and each number/letter has a color associated with it--so when she reads, she sees the color associated with the letter not the black ink that it was typed in.

It sounds fascinating, right? And it is. But as interesting as it is to hear about synesthesia, there are parts of the book that feel a bit like reading a pamphlet about the neurological condition rather than a novel about a girl. Mass finds it difficult to avoid throwing in so many facts that it can often get in the way of Mia's story. A Mango-Shaped Space is written for a younger audience--late elementary school to early junior high--and it isn't a book that I think most adults would enjoy reading it on their own. The language and story are almost too simple. I may have enjoyed this book ten years ago but right now I found it slow and contrived.

A Mango-Shaped Space is a book that many young readers will love. I can only imagine how helpful it will be for children and the parent's of children with synesthesia--to help them know they are not alone. And for that reason alone I tried to fall in love with it but I couldn't seem to connect with the story or the characters. If you are interested in synesthesia, this book would be an excellent place to start. But understand that this is a children's book and it may not be able to entertain an adult for long.

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A Bone to Pick

A Bone to Pick is the sequel to another Charlaine Harris book I've read and reviewed, Real Murders. Since the events of Real Murders, most of the members of the club [a club where members would meet to discuss famous murders in history] have lost touch but when one of the  members, Jane Engle, has left almost everything to Aurora "Roe" Teagarden, Roe begins to wonder if Jane'd had pure intentions when she'd written her will. After finding a human skull hidden in the old woman's house, Roe realizes that Jane wasn't the sweet old lady she had once thought her to be and that it was very likely that she had been murdered.

Although Charlaine Harris is known for her Sookie Stackhouse novels, she got her start in murder mysteries--without the super hot vampires and werewolves.  A Bone to Pick was an incredibly easy read--I already had this connection with Aurora from the first book and it was easy to get settled into that small-town, southern feel again. Her love life is a little all over the place but Aurora is someone that any single girl can sympathize with--in fact I would argue that her personal life is a bit more interesting than the actual murder mystery, which for most of the book seemed unfocused. Aurora didn't do a ton of investigating work--other than casually interview her neighbors and searching the house for clues--and it felt like most of the clues [and even the identity of the murderer] fell into her lap by pure chance. I understand that Aurora isn't supposed to be a trained detective but she was sleeping with a cop for how many months? She must have learned something!

Also, when the big reveal happened at the end it was very anti-climatic. The murderer confessed and the confession wasn't even that compelling. I thought the story was well-written but the murder-mystery part of the plot was all-in-all rather lackluster. With Real Murders I wanted more romance, so Harris gave Aurora more lovey-dovey drama--hopefully in the next book she can get the perfect mix of murder and love.

In comparison to her other work, I find that this novel is somewhere in the middle. Her Sookie Stackhouse novels are such a guilty pleasure and every time I can't wait to get my hands on the new book, while her Lily Bard mysteries are bit too short and shallow for my taste. A Bone to Pick is a good summer read--something to pass the time and nothing too incredibly complicated. It isn't a must-read but if you get the chance, I would say go for it.

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Snow White and the Huntsman

This is a story that on the surface everyone knows. As a young girl, Snow White (Kristen Stewart) lost her mother and her father, the King, was devastated. Shortly after her mother's death, the King met a beautiful and alluring damsel in distress. This damsel, Ravenna (Charlize Theron), proved to be more cunning than anyone expected when she murdered the King on their wedding night. Snow is sentenced to a life in the dungeon and Ravenna rules the kingdom with an iron fist. Snow White escapes and the queen sends a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth)  into the dark woods to retrieve the young girl.

From the looks of the trailer, Snow White and the Huntsman was sure to a fantastical, action-packed modern-interpretation of a well loved fairy tale. And as is often the case with these things, the trailer promised a lot more than the movie could deliver. It is titled Snow White and the Huntsman but a more apt title might have been The Evil Queen feat. Snow White. Charlize Theron is deliciously evil in this dark fairy tale. She radiates power in every frame and it doesn't hurt that she looks absolutely stunning at the same time. In the story, she may have had to worry that Snow White was the fairest in the land but everyone watching is wondering why. Theron--even as an old crone--possessed a quality of elegance that Stewart never seems to come close to matching.
 

The pacing of this movie felt slow and discontented. A lot of time was allotted to development of the evil queen's character--her rise to power and her struggle to kill Snow White--but Snow White and the Huntsman received surprisingly less screen time than one would assume in a movie named after the pair. The second half of the film was rushed--Snow White's revival, an epic battle, and Snow White's coronation in half an hour to make up for the slow pacing earlier in the film. This film also suffered from overcrowding. The Queen was given a brother, the prince a father, there were eight dwarves instead of seven, and a whole slew of other characters were thrown in for good measure. It's confusing and with every character vying for screen time it is hard to create a connection with anyone--much less remember their names. The dwarves were all played by brilliant British actors--it's a shame that none of them got to show off what they could do.

Visually, the film was fantastic. The special effects were breathtaking and impressive. But expensive special effects and Charlize Theron's performance can't overcome a poorly paced, poorly written film with inconsistent actors. Kristen Stewart tries her best--even giving us a British accent that was some what believable--but she doesn't wear damsel in distress very well. She doesn't really wear lovestruck teenager living in Forks, Washington very well but what do I know? I'm not a casting director.

This film takes a few twists from the traditional Snow White story that we all know and love. But other than the expansion of the roles of the Huntsman and the Evil Queen, many of these changes hurt the film rather than help it. I must admit that I watched this for the first time after the Kristen Stewart and Rupert Sanders cheating scandal erupted. I tried not to let that influence my opinion [to be honest I've never been a big fan of Kristen Stewart's work] but at least I don't feel guilty for enjoying the film that broke up Robsten.

I gave this movie two stars becausein my humble opinion there were only two stars in this film--Ms. Theron and the special effects team. I'll be the first one to admit that it's hard to recreate a classic and make it better. The screenwriters and director were a bit too ambitious--there was too much story to be told in two hours.

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Atonement

During the summer of 1935, Briony Tallis is standing on the brink of adulthood. She is beginning to notice the world around her but she doesn't quite understand it. She is frustrated by her cousin's unwillingness to listen to her and she is confused by the flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie, the son of a servant. In a moment of naive youth and misunderstanding, Briony accuses Robbie of an act he did not commit. But her lies, malicious or not, have repercussions that no one could have predicted.

The overall plot of Atonement is, in actuality, very simple. But McEwan takes this simple plot and infuses it with heart. Briony, Cecilia, and Robbie start the novel as entirely fleshed out people. They seem so real, their emotions and motivations so clear, that it is almost as if they could walk off the page. As the novel drags on, Cecilia's voice is lost when McEwan decides to no longer narrate from her perspective. That may be one of the reasons that Part One is the most striking section of the book. It is beautifully written--taking the time to really explore the ideas of misunderstanding, intentions, and transformations. McEwan does not take the easy route in this novel, instead he creates an honest and real story. He does not simply paint Briony as this villainous, self-centered monster nor does he portray Robbie and Cecilia as wounded victims.

The second and third parts seem to loose focus--McEwan takes a lot of time and many pages to recount monotonous details about military and nursing life during World War II. The story of Cecilia and Robbie becomes a bit lost. In the end of Part Three and in Part Four, the story refocuses its lens away from war and death to the main trio. The ending speaks to our desire for happy endings in a world filled with tragedy. Briony needs Robbie and Cecilia to be together. She needs their love to be stronger than the pain of war and the consequences of her actions. She needs to atone for her actions. We like to think that we abandon the need for fairy-tale endings when we grow up.

Atonement is a difficult read. I tried it once before. I even remember reading it while I waited in line to get my driver's license. It's only been three years but I read the book completely differently. It's probably because I matured a bit--because I know for a fact that it's pretty much stayed the same. It is a hard book to tackle but in the end it is so rewarding. It challenges readers to think about the things we take for granted--like the moment when our unconscious thought becomes action--and to think complexly about the world around us.

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The Choice

Gabby moves to a new town to be closer with her boyfriend of four years, Kevin. Just her luck she happens to move in next door to a very attractive, very single, very charismatic man. But she isn't interested in him. No. She has a boyfriend. Then why did she find herself spending so much time with him? And thinking about him...a lot? As she gets to know Travis, she begins to realize that she has to make a choice. But that is nothing compared to the one Travis is forced to make. A choice that can't be undone and will change their lives forever. 

Normally, I find Nicholas Sparks novels slightly pretentious and forced. It is one of the reasons I haven't finished one in years. It is the same routine over and over again. Two people fall in love. Someone dies. Whether it's the dog, or the friend, or the woman, or the man. To be fair Sparks tries to push himself by adding different woeful tricks to his novel--a cancer patient here, an autistic son there--but a lot of the time, it can seem like just that--a trick. Sparks is searching for another tragic twist that will leave his readers bawling but by now he is grasping at straws. This can cause his writing to appear mechanical, stiff, and coerced. On the surface, The Choice wasn't significantly different than the other NS novels I've started and then quickly abandoned in the past. But this time it works--well, sort of. Probably because the true "tragedy" of the novel didn't become evident until I had already become invested in the story. 

The story of Gabby and Travis is cute. It seems like something that could happen to a friend or a sister. It is a sweet story about a boy and girl who fall in love. It is predictable and sappy. But when you pick up a Sparks novel, you are in the mood for sappy. But a little sap goes a long way. That is something Sparks seems to forget. The Choice cute summer read. It tries a little too hard in places but we can forgive--and try to forget--because the central couple is so adorable. And as a reader, I couldn't help but root for them. Don't we all wish we could find a good boy who likes to travel the world, scuba dives, likes children and wants a family, owns a lot of land, has an amazing body, and brings in a vet salary? Oh, Nicholas Sparks. You really know how to get a woman's heart pattering. 

The Choice is an enjoyable book to pass the time. It isn't life-altering and it is quite forgettable but there is no denying that it is cute. It isn't quite the tear-jerker that Sparks is known for but it is sweet and easy to read. 

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Never Let Me Go

Kathy H. is a student at Hailsham. She is a clone who, at the right age, will donate her organs to save the lives of the humans she was created to save. Kathy and her fellow students never question this. It is the way it is supposed to be. The guardians at Hailsham are quick to remind the students how special they are but as Kathy and her friends Ruth and Tommy get older they begin to hope for a different future.  

  

Since the real plot of the story is only hinted at for the first half of the novel, this novel is very character driven. Thankfully, they are, in most cases, extremely well-fleshed-out motivated by commonplace desires and fears. Ruth is a horrid character but her desire to be included and her fear of loneliness makes it clear that she is not a the bad guy to Kathy's good guy. They are both imperfect creatures but it is easy to side with Kathy because as readers we are inside her mind. Kathy seems so human in her narrative, it is often easy to forget that she is in fact a clone. Her tangents are a large part of that--even if the overall effect is to make the book more dull. It is like when your friend is telling a funny story about their cat and they feel the need to describe the color of shirt they were wearing when it happened. Ishiguro also does a brilliant job of inserting little moments that are so innately human that they are easy to overlook.

  

In the strictest sense Never Let Me Go is a science-fiction novel that presents an reimagined image of our past where clones were created to serve as organ donors. But it is so removed from any science-fiction that I've ever read that it is hard to lump this book into that category. It is not an easy read. It is a book that very much requires the correct mindset. It is not a happy book, to say the least. But it is a powerful one. The scene that sticks out especially in my mind was the one with Kathy dancing with the pillow when she was a young girl. I can see it so vividly in my mind, from Madame's point of view and from Kathy's. It is such a simple scene but a truly beautiful one.

  

Never Let Me Go is not an obviously good book. It doesn't fascinate and ensnare readers at first glance. In actuality, it is a terribly hard and boring book to read at times. The prose can feel long, overly descriptive, and a bit monotonous in parts. It is not until moments after the last page has been read and the book lays closed on your bedside table that the beautiful haunting spirit of the novel finally hits. The story of Kathy and Tommy and Ruth. The tragedy and the pain of letting go to our dreams and the people we love. The experience is heighten even more with the movie adaptation's soundtrack playing in the back of your mind--particularly this little gem, Reprise.

  

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