sandramcdonald (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} sandramcdonald) wrote,@ 2008-04-18 10:34:00 |
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The Mist
Netflixed "The Mist," based on Stephen King's book, and was disappointed. First off, I would have thrown Marcia Gay Harden's character out the loading dock door within five minutes of her opening her mouth. It was pretty obvious that sticking a bunch of lights at the front of the supermarket was bound to attract bugs, don't you think? How come the other little bugs didn't skitter up everyone's legs? But most importantly of all, the ending totally stinks. Horror is not about people being afflicted with random bad fate; it's about bad fate earned or unearned *and* the struggle to free oneself of it, usually culminating in even worse fate due to human flaws other than just stupidity. At least, that's what I look for in horror. Many of King's favorite themes are on display in the movie -- religious mania, collapse of civilization, fear of the military - but it grew tiresome very quickly.
This week's reading includes Suzanne Brockman's Hot Target, which is escapist and fun and showcases her gay FBI agent Jules Cassidy, and a collection of David Sedaris's essays called Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. Sedaris's stories are often funny and appalling at the same time -- smart, sharp, soft, frail, all wrapped up together. I adore him.
Hugo-nominated author Vera Nazarian wrote an essay that provoked a bit of controversy right here last week. Some of it I agree with, some of it I don't. I do find the whole post-Buffy-school of fantasy writing to be a bit tiresome. One of my favorite essays about the fantasy and science fiction genre is Barbarian Confessions, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. One of Rusch's key assertions is that not enough sf today is like Star Wars: stories that allow readers to escape their mundane realities and follow heroes on journeys that will end triumphantly. Stories that are entertaining, not just clever. Definitely an essay worth reading.
Netflixed "The Mist," based on Stephen King's book, and was disappointed. First off, I would have thrown Marcia Gay Harden's character out the loading dock door within five minutes of her opening her mouth. It was pretty obvious that sticking a bunch of lights at the front of the supermarket was bound to attract bugs, don't you think? How come the other little bugs didn't skitter up everyone's legs? But most importantly of all, the ending totally stinks. Horror is not about people being afflicted with random bad fate; it's about bad fate earned or unearned *and* the struggle to free oneself of it, usually culminating in even worse fate due to human flaws other than just stupidity. At least, that's what I look for in horror. Many of King's favorite themes are on display in the movie -- religious mania, collapse of civilization, fear of the military - but it grew tiresome very quickly.
This week's reading includes Suzanne Brockman's Hot Target, which is escapist and fun and showcases her gay FBI agent Jules Cassidy, and a collection of David Sedaris's essays called Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim. Sedaris's stories are often funny and appalling at the same time -- smart, sharp, soft, frail, all wrapped up together. I adore him.
Hugo-nominated author Vera Nazarian wrote an essay that provoked a bit of controversy right here last week. Some of it I agree with, some of it I don't. I do find the whole post-Buffy-school of fantasy writing to be a bit tiresome. One of my favorite essays about the fantasy and science fiction genre is Barbarian Confessions, by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. One of Rusch's key assertions is that not enough sf today is like Star Wars: stories that allow readers to escape their mundane realities and follow heroes on journeys that will end triumphantly. Stories that are entertaining, not just clever. Definitely an essay worth reading.
