R.K. King's Blog: Words and Worlds....Worlds and Words, page 3
September 11, 2017
Summer Views
It's high time I get back to the idea of blogging. It's an aspect of a writer's life that I admittedly tend to avoid. Perhaps a part of me thinks the time spent would be better served working on the next book or story, but that's a weak view. More often than not, I'm not using that time in that way anyway. So it's far better to actually do the blog. It's an excellent tool for practice and keeping that writing tool sharp.
Here we go;
Amidst my other writing endeavours, I like the idea of a quarterly review corner dedicated to the stories I've consumed over the past few months. Wether these come from books, movies, or wherever, they shall get a place here. Let's start with this past summer...
Books:
Misery by Stephen King
Goodreads review: http://bit.ly/2gZkjA0
The Troop by Nick Cutter
Goodreads review: http://bit.ly/2wTJXMP
Movies:
The Mummy (2017)
Unfortunate is the one word that springs to mind. I was stoked for the idea of a shared 'Dark Universe' franchise connecting all the classic Universal Monsters. It really could have worked too, if they had had the balls to go R rated. Imagine a movie franchise that dared to do something different. Instead of a retread of the endless superhero fare, they could have had a dark and gloomy horror universe for the big kids to really sink their teeth into. Instead we got a watered down attempt at what was done just fine before in the Brendan Fraser films. Forgettable.
Rating: C
Spider-Man: Homecoming
I'm going to be a little controversial here. I didn't love Homecoming. There, I said it. Don't get me wrong though, it was very enjoyable and Tom Holland makes an energetic Spidey. Michael Keaton was the shining star of the film to me, he managed to take a mediocre villain and really give the character some meat. One of the few Marvel villains I actually cared about actually. But one glaring thing ruins so much of it for me; Parker's over reliance of the Stark Tech suit. The longer that suit is in play, the less and less Peter Parker the character i see. A stronger characterization of Parker would have him throwing that suit away at the end of the film so he can rely on his own sense of self. Unless that is an actual plot in the next film, I don't see myself caring much about this version of the story...
Rating: B
War For The Planet Of The Apes
I love this whole trilogy. One of the few that every instalment in the franchise really succeeds at hitting those notes. Andy Serkis is one of my favorite actors because of this. He took a completely non-existant character, Ceasar, and breathed so much life into him through body and voice. Maybe my favorite movie of the year so far.
Rating: A
Dunkirk
I didn't anticipate the multi-tiered plot lines that worked to line up more as the story progressed. But I sure fell into it. Nolan wasn't kidding when he claimed this was one meant for the theatre. The atmosphere is the real character here, from the droning of incoming enemy planes to the endless wash of the foamy sea, to the cries of fear in the stranded soldiers. The best parts didn't even have any dialogue; just scenes of these characters trying to make their way, all tied to an unspoken bond of survival.
Rating: A
The Dark Tower
Oh, Uncle Stevie, how did this happen?? Years and years of anticipation, an expectation for the next Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, and we got....what was that anyway? They basically took one element from the second/third book, threw in random elements from later books, and ended it before it even ever truly had the chance to begin. Focusing so much on Jake was a mistake. Roland is the reason the story thrives. Maybe one day there can be an actual adaptation, as in book-by-book? Please? The world needs to see the darkly mesmerizing universe of the Dark Tower on screen. But do it right, even just a little bit.
Rating: C-
Shows:
GLOW (S1)
A new Netflix show, I loved the 80s esthetic and soundtrack, plus most of the cast were really great. As silly as the premise was (and yeah I later realized GLOW was an actual thing in the 80s, which made it even more endearing to me), I really found myself rooting for those gals. I do feel some of them were still under-utilized though, but a hopeful 2nd season could fix that.
Rating B
Game Of Thrones (S7)
Yes, that ending rocked. And yes, there was a reason the Night King and his dead army just shambled around for two years. Think about it.
It's unfortunate the traveling time was sped up to warm-10 levels for the season, it was so bad it's inspired meme after meme to insult it. I get it though. Shorter season=less time spent on travel. The script is far from perfect through, and plot-wise I'm feeling more and more of a weak point the longer the show goes without the source material around for structure... man, that undead dragon though.
Rating: B-
Marvel's Defenders (S1)
I'm not a fan of the casting of Iron Fist. Or maybe it's just the story choice. Either way, I'm not diggin the hippy millennial Danny Rand and it really brings some of the show down for me. Everyone else though are a hoot. A couple nice twists thrown in kept me interested, but 'frankly' I'm more excited for the Punisher show.
Rating: B
Things I still want to see;
Baby Driver, Atomic Blonde, Lycan, The Monster Project, Pilgrimage, Preacher, Zoo, Killjoys, The Strain, People Of Earth, Rick And Morty, Mr Mercedes, The Mist
And so this was the gist of what I consumed through the summer. Keeps the creative juices flowin' as they say. And indeed they are, for I'm wiling away at the next project, of which there may be a next-step announcement or two soon. Stay tuned...
Here we go;
Amidst my other writing endeavours, I like the idea of a quarterly review corner dedicated to the stories I've consumed over the past few months. Wether these come from books, movies, or wherever, they shall get a place here. Let's start with this past summer...
Books:
Misery by Stephen King
Goodreads review: http://bit.ly/2gZkjA0
The Troop by Nick Cutter
Goodreads review: http://bit.ly/2wTJXMP
Movies:
The Mummy (2017)
Unfortunate is the one word that springs to mind. I was stoked for the idea of a shared 'Dark Universe' franchise connecting all the classic Universal Monsters. It really could have worked too, if they had had the balls to go R rated. Imagine a movie franchise that dared to do something different. Instead of a retread of the endless superhero fare, they could have had a dark and gloomy horror universe for the big kids to really sink their teeth into. Instead we got a watered down attempt at what was done just fine before in the Brendan Fraser films. Forgettable.
Rating: C
Spider-Man: Homecoming
I'm going to be a little controversial here. I didn't love Homecoming. There, I said it. Don't get me wrong though, it was very enjoyable and Tom Holland makes an energetic Spidey. Michael Keaton was the shining star of the film to me, he managed to take a mediocre villain and really give the character some meat. One of the few Marvel villains I actually cared about actually. But one glaring thing ruins so much of it for me; Parker's over reliance of the Stark Tech suit. The longer that suit is in play, the less and less Peter Parker the character i see. A stronger characterization of Parker would have him throwing that suit away at the end of the film so he can rely on his own sense of self. Unless that is an actual plot in the next film, I don't see myself caring much about this version of the story...
Rating: B
War For The Planet Of The Apes
I love this whole trilogy. One of the few that every instalment in the franchise really succeeds at hitting those notes. Andy Serkis is one of my favorite actors because of this. He took a completely non-existant character, Ceasar, and breathed so much life into him through body and voice. Maybe my favorite movie of the year so far.
Rating: A
Dunkirk
I didn't anticipate the multi-tiered plot lines that worked to line up more as the story progressed. But I sure fell into it. Nolan wasn't kidding when he claimed this was one meant for the theatre. The atmosphere is the real character here, from the droning of incoming enemy planes to the endless wash of the foamy sea, to the cries of fear in the stranded soldiers. The best parts didn't even have any dialogue; just scenes of these characters trying to make their way, all tied to an unspoken bond of survival.
Rating: A
The Dark Tower
Oh, Uncle Stevie, how did this happen?? Years and years of anticipation, an expectation for the next Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, and we got....what was that anyway? They basically took one element from the second/third book, threw in random elements from later books, and ended it before it even ever truly had the chance to begin. Focusing so much on Jake was a mistake. Roland is the reason the story thrives. Maybe one day there can be an actual adaptation, as in book-by-book? Please? The world needs to see the darkly mesmerizing universe of the Dark Tower on screen. But do it right, even just a little bit.
Rating: C-
Shows:
GLOW (S1)
A new Netflix show, I loved the 80s esthetic and soundtrack, plus most of the cast were really great. As silly as the premise was (and yeah I later realized GLOW was an actual thing in the 80s, which made it even more endearing to me), I really found myself rooting for those gals. I do feel some of them were still under-utilized though, but a hopeful 2nd season could fix that.
Rating B
Game Of Thrones (S7)
Yes, that ending rocked. And yes, there was a reason the Night King and his dead army just shambled around for two years. Think about it.
It's unfortunate the traveling time was sped up to warm-10 levels for the season, it was so bad it's inspired meme after meme to insult it. I get it though. Shorter season=less time spent on travel. The script is far from perfect through, and plot-wise I'm feeling more and more of a weak point the longer the show goes without the source material around for structure... man, that undead dragon though.
Rating: B-
Marvel's Defenders (S1)
I'm not a fan of the casting of Iron Fist. Or maybe it's just the story choice. Either way, I'm not diggin the hippy millennial Danny Rand and it really brings some of the show down for me. Everyone else though are a hoot. A couple nice twists thrown in kept me interested, but 'frankly' I'm more excited for the Punisher show.
Rating: B
Things I still want to see;
Baby Driver, Atomic Blonde, Lycan, The Monster Project, Pilgrimage, Preacher, Zoo, Killjoys, The Strain, People Of Earth, Rick And Morty, Mr Mercedes, The Mist
And so this was the gist of what I consumed through the summer. Keeps the creative juices flowin' as they say. And indeed they are, for I'm wiling away at the next project, of which there may be a next-step announcement or two soon. Stay tuned...
