Bryan Caron's Blog, page 22

Where Writing Faulters

No protagonist can rise to become a hero by avoidance. Any plot that simply involves a character trying to stay away from something is only partway there.

via Three Ways To Add the Sizzle to Fiction That’s Fizzled — Kristen Lamb’s Blog

IndieBook Reviews – I Am the Lion

I Am the Lion — A Novel by Andrew Toy

All artistic endeavors can have real emotional power. Whether it’s film, sculpture, art or writing, artistry at its core has the potential to latch on to a piece of you and push you to burst out with laughter, or crash to the floor in a pile of tears. Usually, you never know what to expect, or when it might happen, but when it does, it feels like a breath of fresh air. The real magic lies in the fact that no one piece of art will affect any two people the same, as art triggers subconscious feelings and emotions, tapping into the background, the personalities and the state of mind of each individual viewer. Everyone’s past experiences — our joy and pain, our dreams and failures — are different, and thus what may cause one person to laugh may cause another to cry or be offended. At the same time, their are some works of art that are universal in nature, meaning that the majority of people have experienced what the artist is attempting to convey in some form or another. In relation to Andrew Toy’s coming-of-age novel, I Am the Lion, it’s hard for me to believe that anyone wouldn’t somehow be affected by the story of grief and loss, and the journey to find a way to live without a love you once possessed.

The story revolves around a young girl named Lydia, who recently lost her mother, Elizabeth, to a violent attack at the mall. Attempting to cope with this tragedy, Lydia has closed herself off to the world, refusing to speak to anyone, including her father, Henry, who has all but shut down emotionally in the wake of his wife’s murder (and occasionally “blacking out” to the point of having bipolar episodes in which Elizabeth is still there with them). They both love each other very much, but without Elizabeth, neither knows quite how to communicate with the other, causing a tension to build up between them that they don’t know how to rectify. One major reason for this is Henry’s refusal to allow anyone — including himself — to talk about Elizabeth, desperately hoping to bury her memory deep down where it won’t hurt either of them. All this does, though, is keep both Henry and Lydia from truly healing.

This interesting father/daughter dynamic allows Andrew to craft some very intense and emotional sequences between them and those they begin to reach out to for help. It may be ironic that Andrew’s narrative shines brightest when he digs into the deepest, darkest of places. One scene in particular, when Lydia’s teacher, Norman, whom Henry has asked to stay with Lydia after school to help bring her back to the lively child she used to be before her mother’s death, has her circle words on the whiteboard that remind her of her mother. The scene is so gut-wrenching, I felt Andrew’s heart pouring out onto the page as he crafted such elegantly heartbreaking prose. It’s a shame, then, that I couldn’t find as much masterful passion throughout the entire book. Compared to scenes like the one mentioned, there are numerous moments when the writing feels extremely labored and forced, or dialogue comes off as amateurish, as if Andrew was simply filling in the gaps so that he could get to that next moment in his outline. It causes the story to feel extremely rushed; there’s more to the story we’re not being told. On top of that, there seem to be a lot of ideas or plot points that are set up and then forgotten or discarded without any real mention as to why.

Lydia’s story, as well as her emotional growth and development, is very well told. Andrew never loses track of this thread and does well to guarantee her journey is a complete portrait. Her relationships with other characters, especially Norman’s wife, Kelly, are outstanding and compassionately written. Henry’s journey, on the other hand, doesn’t flow quite so well, mostly because it doesn’t feel as if Andrew knows exactly how the story should be told. Should it be exclusively through Lydia’s perspective (at times referencing Norman and Henry as Mr. Hill and Lydia’s father, respectively), or should it be through an omniscient narrator? One major example would include Henry’s encounter with Rachel, a psychiatrist Norman encourages Henry to meet so that she may assess his state of mind and help him come to terms with his loss. Their interaction is terrific, and I wanted to see more, however, after that first meeting, and a short second meeting to refer him to another psychiatrist, we never see him in actual therapy (because it doesn’t seem he never goes), which I believe is a disservice to the character and his eventual growth. We never get to witness any type of evolution, thus eliminating the power beneath the surface of any possible transformation or breakthrough in character and personality.

Another small issue I had, aside from a narrator who talks as if he’s telling a story from the future (and sums things up as if we’re watching a movie based on true events), was with the twist near the end. There’s kind of an awkward time jump a little more than halfway through the book that leads us into the summer and a pretty big revelation that I’m not sure does much for the overall theme of the book. Mind you, a majority of the scenes that this twist bring about are terrifically written, especially when dealing with the metaphor of Lydia’s stuffed lion being her courage and how she needs that courage to deal with her pain. But I’m still not sold on whether the twist does anything for the characters that couldn’t have been done the same way without it, making the twist feel as if it’s there simply for the sake of having a twist that, for a book like this, isn’t needed at all. The true strength of I Am the Lion is in the father/daughter relationship and how they are able to find a way to survive without the glue that held them together in the first place.

My Grade: B+

Andrew Toy

Andrew is an author, entrepreneur, father and husband. He’s currently in the process of Beta Reading his third book, a supernatural romance, and is knee deep in his biggest endeavor — building his very own publishing company, Endever Publishing Studios, which has officially begun soliciting manuscripts and is in the midst of their second writing contest. Andrew’s been married for seven years, has a daughter and is in the process of adopting a son.

Check out all of Andrew’s social media platforms:

• Blog/Website

• Facebook

• Twitter

• Goodreads

If you are an independent author and would like your book reviewed, let me know in the comments section with a link to where I can purchase the book. If I find it intriguing, and it’s something I think I’d like, I will purchase a copy and add it to my reading list. I will be doing one independent book review per month, so not all requests will be accepted.

Movie Mayhem – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

If you’ve ever seen some of the those SyFy original movies that pit some weird creature against another, you know that the creatures rarely ever actually fight one another. Mega Shark vs. Kolossus, Mega Shark vs Mecha Shark, Dinocroc vs Supergator, Megapython vs Gatoroid (yes, these are all actual movies) — they all have one thing in common (besides the eye-rolling names): the title characters fight for only a few minutes at the end of the movie before one or both are “destroyed” until the sequel. Up until that point, the story focuses on a set of stock characters that may or may not have anything to do with the other up until the creatures finally hit the ring. I couldn’t help be reminded of this format while watching Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, albeit with a much higher budget, better performances and strong cinematic appeal.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice — 2016; Directed by Zack Snyder; Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg. Jeremy Irons, Laurence Fishburne, Holly Hunter and Gal Gadot

As we wait for the ultimate battle between man and “god”, there are three plots being juggled that are seemingly disconnected at first, only to be brought together in a somewhat convoluted way to incite the royal battle. The first follows Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) as he becomes infatuated with a story based out of Gotham (which, luckily enough, just happens to sit right across the bay). The Batman, it seems, has begun to jack up his mercenary tactics by branding his victims with a bat insignia to all but guarantee their death sentence in prison.

At the same time, the “superhero” status of Superman falls into question when his most recent acts in some unknown desert location (where several men die, but not by his hands) while rescuing main squeeze Lois Lane (Amy Adams) causes a Senator (Holly Hunter) to wonder how much power is too much power. But what about the destruction of Metropolis that happened in Man of Steel? Shouldn’t that have been the basis for these inquiries, as opposed to some small incident in which Superman wasn’t really involved at all? There’s an unnecessary eighteen-month time jump between Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice that keeps us from feeling the impact of Superman’s actions to the extent we’re meant to feel them.

I know this because we’re given a taste of that impact at the beginning of the film (after once again having to endure a quick recap of Batman’s origins) as we follow Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) through that very destruction. I was one of the people who was wary when it was first announced Affleck was cast as Bruce Wayne, but with his fantastic turns in Argo and Gone Girl, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. It turns out, he’s one of the best parts about Dawn of Justice, especially knowing that he’s tasked with carrying the majority of the film on his shoulders. Being there with him as he witnesses his building collapse and the ramifications of that event pulls you into wanting to seek justice for all of the men and women Superman inadvertently killed while fighting Zod (Michael Shannon). Instead, Bruce spends most of his time in the film hunting down someone named “White Oleander” for a reason that’s never really clear.

So why does director Zack Snyder return to this event if we’re just going to all but ignore it? We got to see the destruction from the street through Perry White’s (Laurence Fishburne) eyes in Man of Steel, but to see it again from the perspective of someone who has spent a lifetime seeking justice for the murder of his parents gives the sequence a lot more weight. One of the victims (Scoot McNairy) caught in the destruction of a Wayne Enterprises building loses his legs and never recovers. There were real-life consequences, but other than a small connection between this and one other (unimportant) event later in the film, the entire incident is left wanting.

One of the other major issues I had with the bloated two-and-a-half hour running time (which, come to think of it, actually goes by quicker than I would have expected) is the way Snyder advances the story, which leads to some confusing character motivations and narrative progression. Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) is the focus of the third story line, which also involves Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), as he seeks to collect all of the Kryptonian assets to create a creature that will defeat not only Superman, but all of the other “meta-humans” (including the Flash (Ezra Miller), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Wonder Woman) he’s somehow found and collected information on. In fact, Lex seems to know a whole lot of stuff that maybe he shouldn’t, which is never really explained beyond his being a psychotically eccentric billionaire.

Marvel’s cinematic universe and DC’s television multiverse (including the terrific The Flash, the darker Arrow and the still finding its voice Legends of Tomorrow) are terrific examples of a team of filmmakers who have fun and are fully invested in the world’s they create. In other words, there’s an unrelenting passion behind every frame. Unfortunately, like all of Snyder’s films, that love affair with the material is missing from Dawn of Justice. It’s like watching a master painter working on a piece of art he has no connection to except for what it might bring financially. There’s no motivation to put his heart into the piece, thus there’s no life to the vision. It becomes a paint-by-numbers artistry in which Snyder connects the dots and does everything he’s supposed to do, but doesn’t know how to make it sing because he’s not truly invested, causing the film to feel bland and emotionless where it should sing with excitement and power.

No more evident is this than in the limited amount of fight sequences, which, like Man of Steel before it, or devoid of any hunger. The final action sequence in particular, which begins with the title battle, is simply a barrage of explosions and chaos and destruction that all starts to blend together without much interest attached to it. I’m totally on board with what happens at the end of the film, finding it to be a brave, bold decision… if only it had any genuine emotional impact. The way it stands with the first two films in what DC hopes to make into a major Marvel-like franchise, all it seems I can look forward to is a continuously cold, dark wasteland of missed opportunity.

My Grade: B

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Next week, new movies include God’s Not Dead 2. If you would like to see a review of this, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.

Meet Lauren Mead – The Spirit Of…

Next up in my series of character introductions for my new novel, The Spirit Of…, is Lauren Mead, best friend and fellow archaeologist of Matthew Stevens. The two met nine years ago as part of the same expedition to Egypt and have been basically inseparable (professionally, that is) ever since. My theory for this is her deference for Matthew. Lauren’s history with men hasn’t been remarkable — in fact, it’s been downright brutal — and there was a kindness in Matthew I believe Lauren became attached to, and hasn’t been able to give up since.

If I’m honest, Lauren’s relationship with Matthew is one the oddest ones I’ve ever encountered. The friendship and the bond the two of them share is undeniable, but being around them, it’s hard to tell whether they’ve ever been involved and are trying to hide it, or whether it’s simply a love of respect that somehow transcends what we’re able to understand. (No matter how much I tried, I could never crack that mystery.) Sometimes it feels as if they’re in love with each other, flirting and carrying on as if they were soul mates, or speaking with each other through some kinetic, telepathic energy. At other times, their bond feels much more like brother/sister, squabbling over the smallest things only to turn around an hour later and hug it out or support the other in some way. One thing’s for sure — Lauren will defend Matthew to the end of time.

It’s a lot (and I mean a lot) different than her relationship with Matthew’s protege, Henry Green. Lauren is a very kind person and has gotten along with everyone Matthew’s ever worked with. But when it comes to Henry, there’s a layer of animosity there that keeps her from connecting with him. And I don’t believe it has anything to do with Matthew doting on him in any way. Henry, I’ve come to learn, is the embodiment of everything Lauren believes is wrong with mankind. When she’s around him, she’s only able to see how the men in her life have wronged her, which puts a bad taste in her mouth. But she’d never seek to have him fired from the team. That’s just not who Lauren is. She’ll do all she can to find something good in Henry for as long as it takes.

There’s not much else to say about Lauren. She’s a beautiful New Yorker who’s not shy about her body, her health or her appearance, but in no way does she flaunt it. There isn’t an ounce of arrogance or egotism in her body. She is what she is, yet she uses her smile (and in some ways, Matthew) to cover a pretty dark past, one which I’m disinclined to discuss at the moment. She was reluctant to give up any information about her past when we first met, and would occasionally become extremely closed off, but as she started to warm up to me, she became much more open. It might be weird, but I want to protect her privacy on the matter, at least until the novel is released.

I hope you can respect that decision.

Learn more about Matthew Stevens.

Pre-Order the digital copy of The Spirit Of… today. Available in all ebook formats, including Kindle, Nook and iBooks. (Unfortunately, the print edition is not currently available for pre-order.) The Spirit Of… is set for release on June 3, 2016.

Amen Dello Keli.

The Spirit Of… A Novel; Written by Bryan Caron

Movie Mayhem – The Divergent Series: Allegiant

Unlike The Hunger Games or Harry Potter, I have yet to read Veronica Roth’s Divergent novels (though I do have them sitting on my bookshelf). The reason I bring this up is because it means I have no basis for comparison. With The Hunger Games and Harry Potter, I knew the story, knew all the secrets and knew where they were headed… and when the filmmakers changed things up, the reaction was anywhere from mild annoyance to mind-numbing aggravation (really? you’re going to cut out Voldemort’s entire back story?). Divergent is entirely different. Because I have no frame of reference, my enjoyment for this series comes directly from the filmmaker’s vision. I have no idea how much may have been changed or altered to better fit the cinematic adaptation. All I have are what’s come before, and through that, The Divergent Series: Allegiant may have its issues, but is still a good continuation of the series thus far.

The Divergent Series: Allegiant — 2016; Directed by Robert Schwentke; Starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Jeff Daniels, Naomi Watts, Ansel Elgort and Miles Tellar

After officially taking down Jeanine (Kate Winslet, only in spirit) and learning that the citizens of Chicago are nothing but an experiment to help procure the betterment of the human race by an unknown community living in the wastelands, Tris (Shailene Woodley) is eager to see what’s on the other side of the wall that’s “protected” them for so long. Standing in her way is Evelyn (Naomi Watts), who capitalizes on Jeanine’s demise by filling the leadership hole and utilizing her band of factionless thugs to lock down the city and punish the Erudite and Dauntless faction members who held a strong allegiance to Jeanine, including Tris’s brother, Caleb (Ansel Elgort). This power trip not only upsets Tris, it aggravates Johanna (Octavia Spencer), leader of Amity, to the point of changing their faction name to Allegiant and igniting a war against Evelyn for peace and cooperation.

But where would Tris (and the plot) be without her amazing amount of stubbornness? Still locked in blind numbness, most likely, which would make for one boring story. Tris isn’t about to let Evelyn tie her hands, so she enlists her band of misfits, including best friend Christina (Zoë Kravitz), frenemy Peter (Miles Teller) and boyfriend Four (Theo James), to break Caleb out of Evelyn’s trial and escape the wall. Luckily, all of the factionless have worse-than-Stormtrooper aim and allow the gang to escape to the apocalyptic world on the other side of the wall, a baron wasteland where the sky “bleeds” because of past radiation. How this rain, which is pretty constant, doesn’t ever  make its way into Chicago is beyond me, but let’s not think about that. The point is, there’s very little to see, and hope for a better tomorrow is all but lost for our beloved heroes. That is until they realize a section of the wasteland is hidden behind a fancy wall that hides another city — the Bureau of Genetic Welfare — full of wild and exciting new technology and opportunity.

The Bureau is a very welcome place. The newcomer’s are treated as celebrities, as the citizens of the Bureau have essentially been watching them their entire lives, and are integrated quickly into the daily lives of the new system. Four and Christina are assigned jobs in the military faction — er, division? Establishment? Section? — while Caleb and Peter are given duties as what amounts to spies, watching the city all day for anything important to report. Tris is special; she’s sent immediately to join the Bureau’s director, David (Jeff Daniels), in his penthouse laboratory, where she will help him find the final pieces in creating a “pure” human specimen. Or so he says. But is there something more sinister lurking underneath the supposed truth of the past? Of course there is. Can anyone be trusted in this series, other than our titular duo?

There are a lot of secrets plaguing the plot of Allegiant, which begs the question — how much manipulation can one movie administer before it becomes too much? What is David’s ultimate goal? Who are the Counsel, and what is their end-game? How much control does David have in dealing with the citizens of Chicago? How many other cities are out there, if any? Who are the people living out in the Fringe, and how have they survived in the radiated landscape, if the radiation is even a factor? Can David be trusted, and if so, how much of what he says is actually the turth, or just a means to an end? And then there’s Peter…

Peter has always been a jumble of mixed messages, but one thing’s for certain — he’s going to look out for himself at every turn. But as the writers continue to twist him around so often, the question becomes, how does anyone trust him? Or better yet, how does he continue to get manipulated? Yes, he’s full of himself and believes that he’s all but invented manipulation, but to continually use and be used, sometimes at the same time, he constantly makes the same bad decisions. There really isn’t any character growth there, nor is there any growth in any character but Tris, who does continue to grow, albeit slowly, into the leader she’s destined to become. Then again, that growth always seems to be two steps forward, one step back… which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if it wasn’t for her development being riddled with her own manipulative emotion coaster. When she’s put through the decontamination shower upon arrival at the Bureau, Tris is understandably hesitant about everything. But the moment she meets David, and is told her mother was born in the Fringe, she automatically trusts everything he says?  The logic is a bit strained.

I’m not a big fan of producers and studios splitting the last chapter of a book into two movies just to stretch the series out as long as possible and make a few extra bucks, but unlike Mockingjay Part 1 (and in some ways, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) at least Allegiant didn’t feel like simply a prologue. It has a life of its own, everyone continues to deliver very good performances (even those who don’t last long), and though there was less than stellar special effects in multiple cases, I’m looking forward to finding out how the Divergent series will come to a close.

My Grade: A-

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Next week, new movies include Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. If you would like to see a review of one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.

Meet Matthew Stevens – The Spirit Of…

As you may know, my new novel, The Spirit Of…, is being released on June 3, so in an attempt to build some anticipation for the book, I’ll be introducing you all to the major characters over the next three months.

First up is Matthew Stevens, archaeologist and Professor of Archaeology at Yale University. At least he was a professor before he squandered all of his grant money on a fool’s attempt to locate the city of Atlantis. And this wasn’t the first time he’d ruffled feathers in the scientific and archaeological communities. His theories and ideas have never been widely excepted. Some even went so far as to dub them blasphemous. Just reading a snippet of his graduate thesis gives you some insight into why:

To know a Pharaoh was to know a witch. The Pharaoh was not only rich, with idols of gold laced upon their walls, but very fluent in the art of witchcraft. In the Bible, stories are told of men parting seas and changing water into wine. Though these attributes were linked to the God of Abraham’s almighty power, there is concrete evidence that these ‘Acts of God’ are in fact acts produced by the sorcery of the Pharaoh, who, upon death, would use this power to haunt the realms for which they slept. Disturbing their realm, though it makes the soul angry, does not cause the supernatural to occur. It goes much deeper than the act of entry, and in fact draws its power from the mind of the man that enters the realm. The ‘curse’ left behind by a Pharaoh was not one of disdain or hatred or pain or evil. It is an attribute to the heart of a man and the purity for which that man enters the realm of the sleeping God.

He would continue comparing pharaohs to gods, making several connections to Biblical events in the process. It’s a bit of an understatement to say his name and reputation were tarnished for a long time, but even then, it never stopped him from pursuing the truth of what sparked the stories in the first place. But that’s exactly what led him to discovering more than he bargained for, events that have been chronicled in The Spirit Of….

The man himself is a good, honest man who’s also rather reserved and jonesing for Indiana Jones-level fame. Nonetheless, there’s no denying he’s very passionate about religious and historical artifacts, highlighted by his drive and determination to prove his wild theories. You probably wouldn’t know it from the bio I pulled from the Yale University website before they officially terminated him.

Matthew Stevens is Professor of Archaeology and a historian at Yale University (New Haven, CT), specializing in religious and Biblical artifacts. He earned his MPhil in Archaeology from the University of Cambridge, where he specialized in Egyptian Archaeology. While studying or his graduate degree, Matthew spent time in Egypt, Israel and Jordan, and has gone on to continue his research in Egypt, among other locales, studying the pyramids as a Yale University professor. His research interests are in religious artifacts, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Mesopotamian, Palestinian and Roman history. His work has been published in a few prestigious publications, “Archaeology Magazine” among them, and has plans to write a book detailing his various expeditions and findings.

Those expeditions, which included the search for pieces of Noah’s Ark and the staff of Moses, would make him a very sought after archaeologist before his reputation once again caught up to him. That didn’t stop him from financing expeditions based on theories very few people, including his daughter, accepted. But those who did would become part of his team, and in turn, his family, for over two years. It did take a bit of a toll on his daughter, left to fend for herself for the majority of that time, as the passion for his work always seems to get the better of him. It’s probably why his wife, Jaime, left him when she did. He still loves them both, that’s quite obvious in how he talks about them, but there’s still an underlying regret for all that’s happened, and what will happen in The Spirit Of….

Pre-Order the digital copy of The Spirit Of… today. Available in all ebook formats, including Kindle, Nook and iBooks. (Unfortunately, the print edition is not currently available for pre-order.)

Amen Dello Keli.

The Spirit Of… A Novel; Written by Bryan Caron

Movie Mayhem – Zootopia

To understand Zootopia is to understand one specific scene you’d never expect to see in a kid’s film, much less a Disney movie. At one point during newly-minted cop Judy Hopps’s (voiced with enthusiastic glee by Ginnifer Goodwin) investigation into the disappearance of an otter (one of a dozen missing animals) leads her to an awkward encounter at — wait for it — a nudist colony. Aside from the hysterical sequence in the sloth-infested DMV Disney introduced us to during the initial full trailer, this has to be the funniest, if not the weirdest scene in the film, mostly because of the reactions clothed animals have toward their naked counterparts. The real reason it works is the reason the entire film hits all the right notes — writers Jared Bush and Phil Johnston, who sprinkle the script with so much wry, ironic humor, they make cringe-inducing absurdity feel right at home  alongside honest, genuine emotion and… racial commentary? Yeah, it’s that kind of movie.

Zootopia — 2016; Directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Jared Bush; Starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons and Jenny Slate

The fun begins when Judy’s just a little bunny, narrating the history of the animal kingdom and their evolution to a civilized society in a cute little stage play. Describing the way predators attacked their prey, Judy uses red ribbons and ketchup to denote spraying, sputtering blood. It sets the tone for the rest of the movie, which jumps right into Judy realizing her dream of becoming a cop after defeating the impossible tasks she’s faced with in her trip through the police academy. Judy’s drive and unwillingness to give up get her assigned to the most prominent police division in the city of Zootopia… and immediately becomes a meter maid. Judy makes the most of this lackluster assignment by making it her goal to write tickets faster than a hare.

It’s only when a distraught otter (Octavia Spencer) urges the police to help find her husband (the aforementioned otter) that Judy gets her chance to shine as a real police officer. Hating that the mayor, Lionhart (J.K. Simmons), has made it his mission to integrate more diversity into the lives the city’s citizens, Chief Bogo (Idris Elba) gives her 48 hours to locate the otter or else resign from the force. Judy agrees to the challenge, and upon receiving the one-page case file, finds her first clue. It seems the otter has a connection to a sly fox named Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), whom she met conning the owner of a ice-cream shop for an elephant-sized Popsicle that he subsequently melts down to make his own mini Popsicles to sell on the street. Judy uses his own wily tricks to recruit — nay, blackmail — Nick into helping her locate the otter.

All of the voice actors do a terrific job building relationships with their own characters, as well as everyone else on screen. No one is expendable, not even the side characters that really have nothing to do in relation to the plot, but fill a much deeper meaning within the film. You see, Zootopia isn’t just a cop procedural, or a kidnapping mystery, or a cute little comedy. Bush and Johnston infuse the film with layers of current affairs. Race relations is the most obvious, as we see a conflict build between the predatory animals and what’s deemed to be their prey, the heart of which is the tension between Judy and Nick.

Fearing their baby girl might get hurt in the big city, Judy’s parents (Don Lake & Bonnie Hunt) give her Fox Repellent, which is basically pepper spray for bunnies. Judy doesn’t like the idea of carrying around something that is so “racially” biased, as her view of Zootopia is so utopian, but she carries it anyway just in case, which leads to a moment of the film that is quite affecting. There are other biases, prejudices, racial tensions and political maneuvering that occur during the film (including moving the front desk officer to the evidence locker simply because he’s a “predator” and may scare people if that’s the first thing they see; or making Judy the “face” of the police force because she’s “cute” and harmless), but it’s never blatant or preachy. It simply uses the current atmosphere of our world to tell their story and deliver a fun, intelligent piece of entertainment.

And that includes very organic comedy, which stems directly from character and plot. I will say, there are a lot of easy jokes that Bush and Johnston hit you over the head with, from all of the references to bunnies multiplying and movie references that will go over the little one’s heads but slap a nice smile on the faces of their parents. But they still work, mostly because there are plenty of other things that help them rise above the knowing jokes. There’s one action sequence in particular that’s perfectly executed. When a weasel (Alan Tudyk) steals some crops from a store, he leads Judy (who’s in hot pursuit) into mouse town, one of several districts that make up the metropolis of Zootopia (which also includes the rain forest district and the the tundra district). Everything in mouse town is scaled down, of course, making it feel as if we’ve entered some faux Godzilla movie, with Judy acting as the giant lizard saving the mice from the weasel’s Mothra.

Which brings me to my final point. Bush and Johnston do a really good job of making sure that nothing in the film isn’t wasted. Plot wise, the connections are well-done and complete. There are very few, if any, plot holes or missed opportunities and all the subplots are wrapped up nicely, including an awesome tag at the end of the film. When Disney released that first trailer, I remarked that if the rest of the film was as funny and intelligent as that DMV scene, Zootopia would be a terrific film. I’m happy to say that Zootapia hits it out of the park, joining Bolt, Tangled, Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6 as part of Disney’s catalog of recent classics that have nothing to do with Pixar.

My Grade: A

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Next week, new movies include 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Perfect Match, The Young Messiah and The Brothers Grimsby. If you would like to see a review of one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.

IndieBook Reviews – Shizzle, Inc.

Shizzle, Inc. — A Novel by Ana Spoke

Comedy is subjective. Like snowflakes, no one sense of humor is the same; everyone has their own personal humor thermometer. In essence, you’re either a Simpson or a Griffin; a Murray or a Carrey; a Zucker or a Wayans. I’m aware there are some who love them all equally, and still others who hate them all just as equally. None of it’s wrong; it all comes down to taste.

The reason I mention this is because Shizzle, Inc., the debut novel by Australian author Ana Spoke, is a full-blown comedic romp with plenty of hits and plenty of misses, all rolled into a tortilla that’s oddly offbeat and manic at times, but then heavily structured and realistic at others, leading to a mixed bag of humor that some may find hilarious and whimsical through and through, and some may find too unstructured and chaotic for their tastes. Me? I I fall somewhere in between.

From the chapter titles alone, you know Shizzle, Inc. will be an interesting bag of kittens. What follows each of the fun taglines are very passionate prose that indicate Ana is having a lot of fun with the world and the characters she’s created. She knows them well and breathes life into them with a clear and authentic writing style. So it felt odd that I couldn’t quite seem to really connect with any of it. At least during the first half, before I changed my perspective and grasped the idiosyncrasies of the voice Ana was using to drive the narrative. You see, the book is written in first person from the point of view of our heroin, Isabella “Isa” Maxwell, and Isa is extremely delusional and and not very reliable. It was only when I grasped this idea, and started reading through that lens, that the book started to make sense — and a little more fun.

Isa, a newly-minted community college graduate seeking fame and fortune but unsure of how to get there, is a stereotypical “dumb” blonde with a heavy naivete that makes her very childish. On some level, I understand why she wouldn’t know what a marketing strategy was, but based on her age, I find it very odd and unrealistic that she wouldn’t know what an entree (or, as she puts it, “ontre”) is. She’s also a blatant liar who will do or say anything to reach her goals, no matter how hard it may bite her in the ass later on —  when it’s discovered that she never went to Harvard, or doesn’t have any experience with financial reports, or doesn’t know a lick of Japanese. Because of this, it’s hard to tell if the events that happen are true or simply an exaggeration on her part, a way to make everyone else seem as naive and childish as her so she can feed the superficial narcissist that demands to be seen and loved by everyone (believing in some small part that everyone she meets is falling in love with her) and bury the sense of inadequacy and unimportance she tries so desperately to hide from.

When Isa sees a commercial for an open position at Shizzle, Inc. (a billion dollar corporation that isn’t clearly defined as to what they actually do, other than promote the “Shizzle Spirit”), she’s quickly taken under the boisterous wing of Mr. Hue, the narcissistic and somewhat foolish owner of the company. Mr. Hue has a penchant for seeing everything through rose-colored glasses; the world is nothing but what he believes it to be, everything covered in silver linings. So when Isa literally slides into the interview on water from a vase she accidentally knocked over, Mr. Hue takes a liking to her “specialness”, consistently promoting her for doing what amounts to foolish things. I was never fully on board with this set-up, as I never believed the relationship Mr. Hue formed with Isa. There wasn’t enough strength behind why he does it, making it come off rather false.

The world Isa describes as she goes about her attempts to be someone she isn’t is very  fantastical and hyper-realistic. This is evident in things like the contract she has to sign after being hired at Shizzle, Inc., or the way she describes her friends and family, both of which are incredibly done and show Ana at her finest. One of the best and most on-point sequences Ana puts together — which involves a futuristic-looking limo, a broken slip and a kidnapping — is so well-written, funny, exciting and emotional all rolled into one, it goes to highlight some of the flaws from the rest of the book, where it feels as if Ana is trying too hard to be funny instead of letting the comedy come naturally through the characters. Take the chapter when Isa is unwillingly tasked to watch her twin nephews for the afternoon. At least half of it feels entirely unnecessary and doesn’t ever go anywhere, to the point that if it had been cut (with the exception of her sister’s semi-breakdown, which is important to what happens later), it wouldn’t have been missed.

This roller coaster ride isn’t only entrenched in the comedy either; it infects the dialogue as well, which at times feels fresh, exciting, fluid and credible, and at other times, simple, blatant, choppy and unrealistic. The characters are also a mixed bag — a box of chocolates that have some really delicious treats (such as Isa’s father, a well-drawn, charismatic and flawed human being) and some pieces that you’re not quite sure what to make of (such as Harden, who seems far too uneven, though that may just be because of the mask he wears in his profession as opposed to his personal life).

But what hit me as being the most uneven part of the book was the final three chapters, which fly by so quickly, it felt like Tim Curry rehashing events to wrap things up. So much happens within these last few chapters, I almost felt cheated, wishing Ana had slowed down and given us a little more to chew on. The thing is, these last few chapters are also the best written chapters of the book. Despite the rapid speed of events, the pace is nice, the dialogue works and Isa’s revelations come across clearly. There’s no denying Ana’s passion for the written word, and if she’s able to channel the energy of the last three chapters into the rest of her prose moving forward, I have no doubt she can become a fantastic author whose comedy stylings can and will affect at least half of the world who will cling to her zaniness, quirky style and passionate voice. The other half? She shouldn’t worry about them.

My Grade: B

Ana Spoke

Ana Spoke is an Australian (where she lives with her fiancee) who started a blog for the sole purpose of tracking her writing endeavors and experiences. She now uses the blog to discuss her experiences with marketing and self publishing, and has officially taken on writing as a full-time endeavor, starting with her next novel, the sequel to Shizzle, Inc.

Check out all of Ana’s social media platforms:

Blog/Website

Twitter

Goodreads

Amazon Author Page

If you are an independent author and would like your book reviewed, let me know in the comments section with a link to where I can purchase the book. If I find it intriguing, and it’s something I think I’d like, I will purchase a copy and add it to my reading list. I will be doing one independent book review per month, so not all requests will be accepted.

Farewell to American Idol

Back in the height of American Idol‘s success, I used to try to predict the outcomes of each season. Once the finalists got down to the top ten, I’d list each one in the order of how I felt they’d be ousted, based not only by what I thought, but by what everyone else was saying. And I have to say, barring any surprise Sanjaya’s, I didn’t do a terrible job at it. In season 6, when Jordan Sparks won, I had the top 4 picked perfectly; and in season 7, I had David Cook over David Archuleta the whole time. But over the last few years, aside from Philip Phillips, I just haven’t been all that excited by many of the contestants (if any), so I stopped trying to predict the outcomes. Well, now that Idol is in its last and farewell season, I thought I’d take one last spin through the prediction whirlwind and see if my prognostication skills are still in tune with the general public’s.

Lee Jean and Gianna Isabella

#10/9 – Gianna Isabella and Lee Jean

I’m sorry to say, but these two just aren’t ready for the limelight. Their inexperience and youth really showed through in their performances last week, leaving them to be swallowed up by their competition.

MacKenzie Bourg

#8 – MacKenzie Bourg

He’s a multi-talented kid with a great future in front of him as both a singer and songwriter, but he has to mature just a little more before he’s able to truly compete with the big dogs.

Avalon Young

#7 – Avalon Young

This may just be a me, but I’ve just never felt Avalon connected well with the audience. Her laid back style and tomboyish charm are overrun by a lack of genuine emotion, which should send her home early.

Trent Harmon

#6 – Trent Harmon

Unlike the other three judges saves, Trent is the one they missed the mark on. He’s good, but he seems a little too reserved, which may leave the public bored — unless he’s able to pick it up and really start to commit to his vocals and performances.

Sonika Vaid

#5 – Sonika Vaid

What she was able to do following La’Porsha’s performance last week was outstanding. More performances like this will definitely propel her into the top five. Unfortunately, that’s where she’ll putter out.

Tristan McIntosh

#4 – Tristan McIntosh

Many think she’s far too young and inexperienced, but the country fans out there who have propelled many artists through the competition, should keep her around long enough for her voice to mature and make her the dark horse of the competition.

Olivia Rox

#3 – Olivia Rox

She’s cute, she’s fun and she’s got a stellar voice. But like season ten’s Haley Reinhart, there are two singers that will keep her out of the finale.

La’Porsha Renae

#2 – La’Porsha Renae

I know a lot of people are going to lambaste me for this, but La’Porsha isn’t going to win this season of American Idol. There’s no mistaking her powerful voice and strong stage presence, but she’ll shy just short of the big prize.

Dalton Rapattoni

#1 – Dalton Rapattoni

Dalton may not have the best vocals at times, but if I were to define what an American idol was, Dalton Rapattoni would fit that description to a T. He’s got the looks, the charisma, the stage presence, and yes, when he’s on fire, his vocals will knock you out.

So there you have it — my predictions for how this season of American Idol will go. What do you think? Did I miss the mark on anyone? Is there something I’m not seeing in your favorite singer? How would you rank this year’s top ten?

Movie Mayhem – Eddie the Eagle

It’s very rare for a film about sports to not ooze with inspiration. After all, sports are all about winning… wait, no, that’s wrong. It’s not about winning, it’s how you play the game. And because sports movies are almost always about the underdog (someone who comes from a less-than-stellar background who will do anything to make his or her dreams come true) persevering among better, more capable athletes, it’s easy to root for that young kid, or the less-than-athletic competitor bleeding tenacity to prove they belong with the best. It’s about never giving up, no matter how hard the climb, or how much adversity must be faced. No more is this idea manifested than in 1993’s Rudy, which did a brilliant job pulling the viewer in with a relatable character who didn’t let anything or anyone keep him from achieving that dream. Eddie the Eagle tries to capture that same magic with its true story of an underdog ski jumper, but no matter how likable the characters are, or how inspirational the film may aspire to be, the filmmakers fell a little short when it comes to the one element of a film that can’t be measured in words.

Eddie the Eagle — 2016; Directed by Dexter Fletcher; Starring Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Jo Hartley, Keith Allen and Iris Berben

Actually, when you think about it, Eddie actually has more in common with Cool Runnings. Just hear me out. A has-been Olympic athlete is reluctantly roped into teaching/coaching a team of kids in a winter Olympic sport they have no purpose being a part of, only to become attached to them like family as the team rises above adversity to show the world they can compete with the best of them. Replace “team of kids” with “a kid” and you’ve basically got the logline for both films. And though Eddie doesn’t break any of the rules, or stray at all from the formula set by inspirational sports films of the past, what’s missing is the rousing excitement that begs you to stand on your feet and clap for the accomplishments that were achieved, by which I mean, I could see director Dexter Fletcher struggling to find that right mix of humor, drama and inspiration.

Michael “Eddie” Edwards (an unrecognizable Taron Egerton) is a young kid from England whose only goal in life is to one day make it to the Olympics. From a small child with bad knees (having to wear a leg brace for the first ten or twelve years of his life), he’s done everything he could to find a way to reach that goal, even after the doctor told him that he shouldn’t participate in sports. His mum (Jo Hartley) is super supportive, encouraging him to pursue his dream at every turn, even letting him “run away” to the Olympics at eight years old when he deems himself worthy enough. His dad (Keith Allen), of course, is exactly the opposite, constantly pushing his son to explore more realistic options and do something that will actually pay the bills. After all, what does it pay to be be an Olympic athlete? But when his dad takes him to a job site that sits just outside of a winter sports training facility, Eddie forgoes his dreams of making the summer Olympics, and instead turns his attention to making it to the winter Olympics as a skier.

No one makes it easy for him. On the cusp of trials for the 1988 Calgary Olympics, Eddie’s told by the British Olympic Committee that he’s not good enough to join the downhill skiing team. The announcement is devastating, but just before hanging up his skis for good, Eddie gets a new idea: how about ski jumping, for which Britain hasn’t had a participant since the 20s? With the help of his gracious mum, Eddie heads to Germany to start training, never once letting the fact that he’s never jumped before deter him. There he meets Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), a retired (washed-up?) ski jumper whose only jacket is a flask of whiskey. The only reason Bronson even considers helping Eddie (other than keeping him from getting killed) is to get the annoying kid out of his hair. But as time passes, and he witnesses Eddie’s persistence to build and grow a talent that is anything but natural, Bronson learns the life lessons that he was too bullheaded to learn when he was the same age.

Egerton and Jackman are a good pair, working together to strengthen each other. But aside from the genuine relationship Eddie builds with Bronson, I found it fascinating how fast Eddie acclimated to a sport he had never done before. Not only was he unwilling to give up, even after crashing and burning several dozen times in a row on one of the smaller ramps, but it only took him around six months to go from the smallest, easiest jump to the highest, most difficult jump. That right there shows true grit and bravery, and is the real inspiration layered across the film. Eddie’s original goal was to reach the Olympics, but once there, the goal becomes more to prove to everyone that he isn’t a sideshow; that even though he got in on somewhat of a technicality, and isn’t anywhere near ready to be there, he takes the sport seriously, needing to show the world he’s the real deal.

The good thing is, it doesn’t come off heavy-handed, even though the way it’s done can get a little cheesy. But there in lies the fun of this experiment. The movie takes place in the late 80s, and Fletcher does everything he can to make it feel like an 80s film, right down to the overabundance of electronic music that feels as if it was recorded in that era. (I have to admit, when I first heard that synth start to play, I couldn’t help but smile a little.) Not to be outdone, somewhat cheesy special effects and somewhat cheesy sentimentality all add to a nostalgia that I never knew I wanted. But at the same time, Fletcher tries a little too hard to throw what he can into the mix, and with that, the overall feel of the film becomes a bit labored — but not by much. In the end, Eddie comes together to do what it was meant to do. It may not be at the same level or the same caliber a movie as Cool Runnings or Rudy, but it’s still able to win your heart.

My Grade: A-

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Next week, new movies include London Has Fallen, Zootopia and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. If you would like to see a review of one of these, or any other film out next week, please respond in the comments below.