BOOK, DVDs: RECENT AMAZON REVIEWS

Zelazny turns to crime, 22 Sep 2009

So, is this recently discovered thriller (written in the early 70's) by the legendary Science Fiction writer as good as his SF of the period?

Well... It shares a number of characteristics in common. There are the unmistakable attention-grabbing chapter openings and the well constructed sentences. There are the extremely, if occasional, long paragraphs such as a main character delivering plot exposition for a page and half without a break. There's the not always sympathetic character who (like the author at the time) smokes a lot -so many I was surprised he wasn't dying of lung cancer by the end of the book. There's the casual erudition and display of knowledge which is relevant to the plot -in this case Paintings (with a capital P for Art). And the purveying air of cynicism by the protagonist.

Otherwise... It's a moderately efficient thriller which wouldn't have been harmed by about 10,000 words of pruning. There's a twist which I'm sure Zelazny was neither the first nor the last to use and which I spotted early on. The story develops into something more and morally higher than it first appeared which you will have to find out for yourself as I'm not doing any spoilers here.

I had to make a little effort to keep reading early in the book but by the end was racing through it. However, the answer to the question mooted above is: no. Whatever this novel's virtues and it does possess them, Zelazny does not bring the magic apparent in his Science Fiction and I speak as someone who has just ordered the first four volumes of his complete short stories and whose favourite novel is Lord of Light. I also speak as someone who enjoys crime novels a great deal.

You aren't wasting your time buying this, and it is a nice pulp-pastiche edition from Hard Case Crime, but you aren't getting the real Roger Zelazny.

4 stars, a very strange kid's movie.

Let's get the basics sorted out right now. The target audience is approximately 9-14 years old, though it can also be enjoyed by older age groups and I certainly liked it. I would be very wary, however, of showing it to younger children without the presence of an adult. Apart from the scary aspects of which there are many and I'll mention them later, it deals directly with the death of a parent and could be upsetting on that level alone. Also it's immediately preceded by what may be a trailer for a sequel and is far scarier than anything in the film.

Okay, on with the show. Kitaro is a character who has been around in Japanese culture, in one form or another, since the 1930's and is half-human, half-yokai. The yokai are essentially forest spirits who appear in a variety of forms and with a variety of natures. In appearance they can be cute, human-like, spooky, hideous, and downright pants-wettingly scary. Their natures are friendly, mischievous, selfish, nasty, or downright malevolent and all shades in between.

The movie opens with a protest against a development which infringes on the forest and also involves destroying peoples' homes. A young boy writes to Kitaro (in whom his sister doesn't believe) for help. Kitaro turns up in time to save people from yokai employed by the selfish Ratman who is in turn employed by the developer. But this is only to set the scene for the real story which involves an evil stone falling into the hands of the boy's unemployed father with disastrous consequences such as being hunted by wolfman-like foxe spirits. I won't say more as it would only spoil what follows which involves a lot of action, some scary yokai, humour, a little tentative romance, and tragedy.

Visually this is an engaging film with very good special effects and some of the most weird and wonderful creatures ever seen in a live-action movie. While not perfect and not following rigorously through on an important sub-plot, I enjoyed this much more than I was expecting. Older kids will certainly enjoy it as will anyone with a taste for the fantastic.

It's in Japanese with English sub-titles (surprisingly not dubbed given its target audience) and the only extra is an hour-long collection of pieces from You Tube in which the trailer is repeated several times -could have been edited out.

The most original vampire movie you will ever see, 20 Sep 2009

This is simply an amazing piece of work that succeeds because it avoids every cliche of the horror movie. It is not structured like a horror movie and it does not behave like a horror movie. While the violence is explicit and the horror is real, there is no attempt to build up to a shock. The viewer can anticipate almost every moment and there is little attempt to surprise and shock. Events proceed clearly photographed in a pristine manner. For example we know one character becomes intensely disfigured at one point but the reveal is gradual and partial before the full genuinely gruesome exposure. It isn't filmed like a horror movie, it isn't scored like a horror movie, and the actors don't act as if they're in a horror movie. All this makes it completely refreshing as it overturns your every expectation of what a horror movie should be.

While steeped in traditional vampire lore and also going in unexpected directions, the take is radically different. Eli the vampire is not a monster, just someone who has been 12 years old for a long time and who needs human blood to survive. That she kills after drinking is a consequence of her condition. Despite what she does, and some of it is very brutal, she is and remains a figure of pity. The young actress who portrays her does a stunning job.

I could write a long review extolling the many virtues such as the use of music and the photography but I'd end up giving away too much and this really should be experienced with as few preconceptions as possible. Alas, I had read the equally excellent original novel, to which this film is very faithful, a couple of years ago. However, while I doubt if I'll be rereading the book, this is a movie I'm sure I will be returning to more than once.