Shall We Dance?

I have always been fond of dance movies (or movies in which dance plays a huge part), though I have only had a one-hour dance lesson, one that happened before a swing dance session. Now that I think about it, I had a one-hour line dance lesson also. So, two hours is the extent of my dance lesson experience.

My love of dance movies started with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly movies shown on TV. Like An American in Paris (Gene), Funny Face (Fred), Singing in the Rain (Gene). I only saw bits and pieces of the movie for which this title derives: Shall We Dance (Fred).

   

Which brings me to two of my favorite dance movies: Strictly Ballroom  (Note: If you do not like spoilers, do not click on the trailer)

and Dance with Me. (Note: If you do not like spoilers, do not click on the trailer)

Now, you might wonder why movies like Step Up (and its sequels) didn’t make the cut. I never saw any of the Step Up movies. I know. ☹ What a Philistine.

Baz Luhrmann directed Strictly Ballroom, while Randa Haines helmed Dance with Me. The films couldn’t be more different. Yet they have ballroom dancing in common.

   

The thing that I love the most about these films is the dancing. You’re probably screaming, Oh my goodness, how profound! You have such a gift for stating the obvious! Seriouslly, I love the energy and beauty of the dances. When I’m feeling worked over by problems, I might watch either of the films entirely or dance sequences from either. There’s something about someone busting a move that feels freeing and also rebellious at the same time.

And now to segue to the winner of Through His Disciples’ Eyes by L. [Lori] Virelli! Jill Weatherholt, you can dance all the way to your mailbox because it is coming to your house!

   

Thank you to all who commented!

Do you have a favorite dance movie? Do tell below!

Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly movie posters found online. Other photos by L. Marie with the exception of the book cover, which is courtesy of the author.

The Emasculation of the Hero

Last week, Charles Yallowitz had an interesting discussion on tropes at his blog that got me to thinking about the subject of this post.

When I was in graduate school, I read The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. I was fascinated by the hero’s journey monomyth. Still am. Growing up, I loved stories like Star Wars, Beowulf, The Iliad, The Odyssey, Treasure Island, and comic books like Superman, Thor, Iron Man, Spider-Man, etc.

And yes, I am female—a female with two brothers, a dad, about a billion male cousins, and a number of male friends. And no, I’m not selling out myself or females in general because I love heroic adventures. I also love Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl, etc. I wrote my critical thesis on the heroine’s journey in middle grade fiction, following the steps of the hero’s journey (the call to action, etc.).

Back when I was a kid—a time when everyone had a pet triceratops—I used to watch a show called The Avengers. This is not the Avengers you saw in Marvel movies. It is described by Wikipedia as “a British espionage television series.” It starred Patrick Macnee as John Steed, Diana Rigg as Mrs. Emma Peel (left photo), and when Diana left the show, Linda Thorson became Steed’s partner, Tara King. I loved Emma Peel and Tara King, because they knew karate and could beat a dude down. As a kid, I often felt helpless, especially living in a rough neighborhood where guys ignored the “don’t hit a girl” rule parents used to enforce back in the day, and would pick a fight with a girl. I got into two fights in middle school with boys, which is why my older brother taught me to box.

 

Even with that love of seeing powerful women on an old TV show, I can’t help noticing how the hero has undergone a metamorphosis in some stories these days. Either he takes a backseat or is rendered weak and ridiculous—the constant butt of a joke. But I can’t laugh at this. Before you say I’m anti-humor, there’s a difference between a character with humor who doesn’t take himself too seriously (Tony Stark/Iron Man in the Marvel comics and movies), thus causing us to laugh with him, and someone who is deliberately written to look weaker and less intelligent than the female characters, which causes us to view him with contempt. I understand that some are glad to see this, believing this aspect to be “just desserts” due to the past. Maybe I’m old school, but I don’t like this. (And yes, I saw and laughed at the movie, Dumb and Dumber. But the characters, when compared to males and females, were considered silly. We laughed like we laughed at P.G. Wodehouse’s Bertie Wooster.)

I’m reminded by many on social media and in other places how this is the time of women and how we need strong females in literature. While I agree with the need for strong females, if a female character can only be strong by making the male characters weak or stupid, how is she strong? That would be like calling yourself a weightlifter, but you only lift weights made out of marshmallows.

A while ago, I read an article in Entertainment Weekly about the need for strong heroes who are the match to strong villains and wrote this post and this one on it. Often you see a weak, dull hero with an interesting, powerful villain or a powerful hero and a lackluster villain. The article talked about the need for strength on both sides. Well, there’s a need for strong females yes. And strong males also.

What I loved about the first Avengers movie (2012) was the fact that Black Widow’s strength as a character didn’t cancel out the strength of her male teammates. They enhanced each other.

Dune 2021 has a hero—Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet)—as well as strong women, like his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) and others I will not name due to spoilers. Granted, this is an adaptation of a book written in the 60s. But it was a hit.

Anyway, this is something I’ve been thinking about and couldn’t rest until I had written this post. I know people have the right to write whatever they want. But I know what I like and what I don’t.

Diana Rigg photo from somewhere on Pinterest. Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow poster from somewhere online. Book cover from Goodreads. Generic hero from pngarts.com. Photo of Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson found at vanityfaircom. Photo by Chiabella James. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Chris Evans as Captain America from news.doddleme.com.

I Didn’t Know I Needed Dune (2021)

I don’t know about you, but my soul is weary these days. I’ve struggled to write anything—especially a blog post (though freelance deadlines also played a part in that).

When a friend suggested a trip to the movie theater—first time in about nineteen months—to see Dune (2021), I jumped at the chance, having watched a reviewer give a glowing review of it. I’m not normally swayed by reviews. If I want to see a film, I’ll see it without watching any reviews beforehand. I watched a review this time, because I was afraid that Hollywood would mess this up. Gotta be honest. You see, I’ve read three of Frank Herbert’s Dune series and loved the 2000 miniseries adaptation of some of the books. So I was wary to say the least, as was the friend who invited me to go.

Have you seen the movie? This is not a review, but rather, a post about how a beautifully made film can assist in the restoration of a weary soul. Dune (2021) is the only film I’ve seen by the director—Denis Villeneuve (who also cowrote the screenplay). And though I majored in radio/TV/film 800 years ago, I didn’t learn much. (That major was short-lived anyway, lasting only a year.) So I can’t speak with any sort of authority on cinematography or any other aspects of filmmaking. You know how you can look at something and know it’s good, but you don’t understand all the ins and outs of what makes it so good? That’s how I felt while watching Dune.

I knew what I expected to see—an epic saga taking place on a desert planet. A reviewer called Dune (2021) a sandy Game of Thrones. Apt, but a little unfair, since the first Dune book debuted in 1965 and George RR Martin’s first book didn’t roll out until 1996. So maybe Game of Thrones is a stony Dune. But I understood why the reviewer said that, since most people might know Game of Thrones while knowing next to nothing about Dune except for a movie that some disliked.

Anyway, what captured my attention in the film the most were the seeming simplicity of the camera shots and the moments of silence. Characters often stood gazing at the scenery or walked together in silence. On screen, we might see one image highlighted—like a woman whose diaphanous train blows in the wind or a close up of the face of the main character (played by Timothée Chalamet, below).

Many films seem cluttered in comparison, with characters and objects crowded on the screen. You don’t know where to look first. But in this film, certain images arrest you as the camera pans.

Watching Dune reminded me of Seven Samurai and other foreign films with less dialogue. Moments would go by without the characters saying anything. That felt like ma space—a rest between intervals of action. .

In a day of constant chatter through text messaging and a never-ending stream of images on social media, I cherished the choice moments of silence and stillness. This is not to say that the film lacked action. I used the word epic for a reason. Lots of fight scenes ala Lawrence of Arabia. If you’ve seen that movie, you can picture what I mean.

Anyway, I needed it.

Photo of Chang Chen playing Dr. Wellington Yueh found at filmfed.com. Timothée Chalamet found at jacketscreator.com. And yes, you can purchase a coat like that. Dune movie poster found somewhere else that I forgot to notate.

Creating Conflict

I recently broke one of my rules by deliberately reading a spoiler-filled book. Though I have not yet seen the animated movie WolfWalkers (now on Apple TV), I read with delight the pages of The Art of WolfWalkers, a book by Charles Solomon that is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film. The film (click the movie title above to learn more about the movie) has some fantasy elements, but is based on real events in history. Click here to read more about those events.

  

The book was given to me by a friend (thank you, Sharon). I don’t have Apple TV, so there is no telling when I’ll see the film. But I love the work of the studio that produced it (Cartoon Saloon), and the director behind it—Tomm Moore, an Irish filmmaker who has helmed some of the movies that are now among my all-time favorites: Song of the Sea (2014) and The Secret of Kells (2009). So I’m usually interested in anything that helps me learn about his creative process.

  

An exercise the book mentions intrigued me:

Tomm heard Jim [Capobianco, a story artist whose work Moore admires, who had the idea for the film Ratatouille along with director Brad Bird] say that when he’s trying to come up with ideas, he writes two lists: things he loves and things he hates. Obviously, all good stories have conflict, so he would make the lists to find the conflicts he needed. That’s what Tomm and Ross [Stewart, the co-director of WolfWalkers] did. (New York: Abrams, 2020. 15)

I found that fascinating, because the creation of conflict(s) in a story has always been challenging for me. Yes, I know that conflict is essential to the plot and comes from the way characters relate to each other, based on their characteristics and beliefs. And this is not to say that making these lists is the thing to do for every story. But if you’re stuck, you might give the list making a try. I plan to do so!

If creating conflicts comes easily to you, got any tips you’d like to share? While you think about that, I will move on to the winner of Rural Voices, an anthology of stories acquired and contributed to by Nora Shalaway Carpenter. For the interview with Nora, click here.

  

The winner of that book is Marie!

Marie, please comment below to confirm. Thank you to all who commented.

Song of the Sea DVD cover from dvdsreleasedates.com. Secret of Kells DVD cover from mysfreviews.com. Tomm Moore from purepeople.com. Book covers and author photo courtesy of the author. Photo credit: Chip Bryan. Other photos by L. Marie.

Adaptations

I recently watched and loved Enola Holmes, a Netflix original movie starring Millie Bobby Brown in the title role.

What’s unusual about this, at least for me, is that I hadn’t read even one of the books by Nancy Springer prior to watching it. (Not sure how I missed reading the first book at least when it debuted.) So I can’t say if the movie is a faithful adaptation or not. But watching it made me want to read the books. It had a great cast, an exciting plot, and decent production values.

  

Usually, if a film is adapted from on a MG or YA book or series, more than likely, I would have read the book first. Twilight? Check. The Fault in Our Stars? Check. Harry Potter? Duh. Hunger Games? C’mon. You’re not even trying.

  

One of my pet peeves is when the movie adaptation is so far removed from the source material that I wind up questioning why the film company optioned the rights in the first place. Why bother if you plan to completely change it? And I know: sometimes changes are made because the producers think new fans won’t care, since they probably didn’t read the book in the first place. If that’s the case, at least make it good.

When I think of my favorite adaptations, my go-tos are LoTR and the Harry Potter franchise. I also love Howl’s Moving Castle, though it is very different from Diana Wynne Jones’s classic novel. But since it is a Miyazaki film, I couldn’t help loving it.

  

I won’t go into my least favorites, because that would I don’t want to add a negative rant to this post. I’ll say this much: both begin with the letter E. I shudder every time I think of them.

What’s your favorite adaptation? While you think of that, I’ll move on to the winner of A Home for Her Daughter by Jill Weatherholt.

    

The winner is Ginger!

Ginger, please comment to confirm! Expect a signed copy of A Home for Her Daughter to be sent to you.

Thank you so much to everyone who commented!

Enola Holmes poster from vitalthrills.com. Deathly Hallows Part 1 poster from collider.com. Return of the King poster from goldposter.com. TFIOS poster from WordPress.com. Enola Holmes series covers from Goodreads. Other photo by L. Marie.

The Visionary

The other day, I glanced over at Lazy Buns (her actual name, yes; and no, I didn’t come up with it), still in bathrobe and curler mode, and realized I had the same attitude about the world building I had not yet completed for a middle grade science fiction novel I’m writing. There was so much work yet to do, but I was feeling lazy.

“Join meeeeeeee,” Lazy Buns hissed in her best Darth Vader imitation, a voice incongruent with her small stature.

To snap out of the trance I’d fallen into, I turned to some behind-the-scenes DVD documentaries. I’ve mentioned before that I love documentaries on the creative process. I’m particularly fascinated by authors and filmmakers who envision possibilities not previously foreseen, even in the face of criticism. We think of them as visionaries.

The other day, I watched one of the documentaries on the Attack of the Clones DVD. I’ll pause here to give anyone who hates this film the opportunity to judge me for having it (or if you love it, to praise my good taste). . . . Are we done? Moving on . . . in the documentary, George Lucas talked about the challenge of working in a new medium called digital technology. According to this Red Shark News article:

George Walton Lucas, Jr., entrepreneurial filmmaker, creator of Star Wars and Indiana Jones and industrial empire builder, drop-kicked Hollywood into the digital age with the release of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones—the first major Hollywood blockbuster to be shot 100% digitally.

Keep in mind this film came about in the early part of this century. We take digital filmmaking for granted nowadays. But Lucas took a lot of criticism for going the digital route. After all, digital was nontraditional. But nontraditional thinking is the mark of a visionary.

Lucas pushed his staff beyond where they thought they could go to achieve the vision he saw in his head. This was par for the course for Star Wars, a franchise that sailed in uncharted waters when it first debuted.

The Star Wars franchise is very controversial these days. Fans are divided over the current crop of movies, now owned by Disney. And let’s face it, even when Lucas had control of the company, fans complained then too. But few people debate the fact that George Lucas is a visionary writer-director. You can see that if you take just a cursory look at the world he created.

For years I have also been inspired by book authors  like Ursula Le Guin, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, L. Frank Baum, Frank Herbert, Charles Yallowitz, and others whose expansive worlds I’ve visited again and again. They remind me that world building takes time and effort—two words that are contrary to my current lazy bones attitude.

 

 

So I have an attitude to shake off. Here I go—back to researching galaxies, designing star systems and the terrain of planets.

Sigh. I need cake.

What fantasy or science fiction worlds do you love to visit? If you aren’t into either, who is someone you consider to be a visionary?

George Lucas photo found somewhere in the internet. Dune cover from Goodreads, since I can’t seem to locate anything I own of this series. Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie poster from inquisitr.com. Cake from clker.com. Other photos by L. Marie. Pop Hair Pets are a product of MGA Entertainment.

The Peanut Butter Falcon—Dream a Little Dream

This past weekend, a friend and I headed to the theater to see a movie neither of us knew much about: The Peanut Butter Falcon, which was written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz. (Don’t worry. There are no spoilers in this post.) Shia LaBeouf, Zack Gottsagen, and Dakota Johnson are the stars of this drama/adventure. Though Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson are more well known and are very compelling in this, the main draw of the film is Zack Gottsagen, an actor with Down syndrome—only the second time I’ve seen representation onscreen like this, the first being a TV show called Life Goes On. Zack plays Zak (yes, Zak), a young man who fervently hopes to become a professional wrestler, a fact you learn in the trailer.

The film premiered at the South by Southwest film festival this past March. As my friend and I discussed the movie afterward, we talked about how these days we’ve seldom seen such a heartfelt journey story, one that critics describe as Mark Twain-esque—a very apt description. We were impressed by the messages of the film—follow your dreams; treat others with grace and dignity even if it means going the extra mile for that person. (By the way, what dream are you following?)

In a day when many are pilloried on social media, and spewing hateful comments is deemed a fundamental right, I can’t help being inspired by a pair of director/writers who chose to present an alternative to negativity. (Click here to see an interview with the actors.)

I can’t think of a better segue to a giveaway of some books by Jill Weatherholt, an author whose goal also is to provide an alternative to negativity. I interviewed her in my last post, which you can find here.

   

The winner of A Mother for His Twins (which would sound really funny if you heard someone say this out of context) is Lyn!

The winners of the Autumn Hearts anthology are Charles and Clare!

Winners, please comment below to confirm. Thank you to all who commented.

Having been inspired by The Peanut Butter Falcon, Tia Tigerlily has made a practice of giving at least one affirmation a day to her mini-me, whose dream is to own a flower shop someday.

Peanut Butter Falcon poster from justjared.com. Book covers from Jill Weatherholt and Goodreads. Author photo courtesy of Jill Weatherholt. Other photo by L. Marie. Tia Tigerlily Shoppie doll is a product of Moose Toys.

Quiz Time!

Who doesn’t love a good quiz?? (If you don’t, just play along.) For each question below, choose the color attached to the answer that best fits you: Pink [P]; Blue [B]; Green [G]; Red [R]; Orange [O]. You can only make one choice for each question. Ready?

1. Favorite season of the year

A. Spring                                                B
B. Summer                                             R
C. Fall                                                     O
D. Winter                                                G
E. Any season with televised sports       P

2. Movie you enjoyed recently
A. Aladdin                                                           R
B. Avengers: Endgame                                       P
C. Anything on the Hallmark Channel                 B
D. John Wick 3                                                    O
E. None of the above                                          G

  

3. Most pleasing shape (in your opinion)
A. Circle                     R
B. Pretzel                   O
C. Parallelogram        G
D. Square                   P
E. Diamond                B

4. Convenience you absolutely cannot live without
A. Microwave                 O
B. Phone/computer        P
C. Television                  R
D. Dishwasher               B
E. Car                            G

5. Philosophy that is a good fit for you right now
A. The wheels on the bus go round and round. R
B. To thine own self be true.                              G
C. Sunshine? I’m good.                                     O
D. Live and let live.                                            P
E. I never met a coupon I didn’t love.                B

Mostly Pink [P]? Click here.
Mostly Blue [B]? Click here.
Mostly Green [G]? Click here.
Mostly Red [R]? Click here.
Mostly Orange [O]? Click here.
Rainbow assortment? Click here.

Okay. Maybe you’re ready to hurl stones at me. But did you really think a quiz I made up had deep insight into your psyche?

Or perhaps you’d hoped the quiz would lead to something a little more entertaining, like the Buzzfeed quizzes, which dole out fun facts about yourself or confirm your greatness by comparing you to a popular superhero.

But a quiz can’t really convince you and me how great we are if we don’t really believe that going in. Hence the final destination of the above quiz. I hope you already know who you are—someone wonderful, inspiring, and brave, even if you don’t always believe that.

Quiz image from clker.com. Sunshine from clipartpanda.com. John Wick 3 poster from movieweb.com. Avengers: Endgame movie poster from impawards.com. Other photos by L. Marie.

What Gets You Through It?

See, it was like this: I wasn’t looking forward to my birthday. Accepting that I have reached this age took time to process (and no I will not share what age). Not only that, the master cylinder on my car had just decided to quit working and was demanding a pension. And I had deadlines on the same day. And rejections.

Still, I felt celebrated thanks to the well wishes of family, friends, and acquaintances, and the many meals out that I have enjoyed with family and friends, one of whom treated me to this . . .

. . . . which graciously premiered on my birthday. OF COURSE I WON’T SPOIL THE MOVIE! What do you take me for? Stop shaking your finger at me, please.

So anyway, I came out of my pre-birthday funk, though the days after my birthday looked like this . . .

   

(Yes. You are seeing correctly. That is snow. I think of the past weekend as Revenge of the Sith or The Empire Strikes Back. Winter was determined to get the last word in when I told it to leave.)

Recently, I felt a nudge at my elbow. When I turned, I saw this:

Me: Um, what’s this?
Henry: I’m giving you Boo Bear.
Me (noting Henry’s trembling lips and teary eyes): I can’t take your bear.
Henry (bravely): I want you to have him. He helps me when I’m sad.

I thanked Henry for the lovely gesture and decided to stop whining about birthdays and snow and master cylinders that conk out when I’m in the middle of driving.

Henry reminded me of the coping methods people use in challenging times. Henry has Boo Bear. Malik meditates on his own awesomeness.

Even Kitty chimed in with the fact that therapy has helped. In fact, she has enjoyed her sessions with her therapists, especially since she only has to pay them in Skittles.

What gets you through challenging times? Comment below to be entered into my birthday giveaway. What am I giving away? Certainly not Boo Bear. A $25 Amazon gift card. Nothing cheers me up like giving stuff away. I love to give presents similar to what I’ve received. So, it was either give a gift card or these:

  

Winner to be announced when I post next. (Sometime next week. Hopefully Monday or Tuesday.)

Avengers: Endgame movie poster from impawards.com. Other photos by L. Marie.

Do Something Different

      

   

     

If you saw the 2018 Sony Pictures production, Searching, starring John Cho and directed by Aneesh Chaganty (who also co-wrote the film with Sev Ohanian), you know it had an innovative approach to telling a story: using the screens of smartphones and computers. Let’s face it—a movie about a man searching for his missing daughter sounds pretty common right? (CoughcoughTakencoughcough) But with this film, the filmmakers subverted convention by telling the story a different way.

While this format might not be everyone’s

it is a unique way of telling a story.

Sometimes, you have to

to breathe new life into a genre.

I can’t help thinking of novels in verse or even epistolary novels (where a story is told through letters, diary entries, newspaper clippings, emails, or even tweets). These formats are great ways to experience the beauty and variety of storytelling.

What is the most unusual format you’ve seen someone use to tell a story or to get a message across? What intrigued you about that format? How did it inspire you to try something different (if it did)? While you think about that, check this out. This is a wrapper from a Halls Breezers throat lozenge. I love that the company included a pep talk on each wrapper.

   

A great video on the production of Searching can be found here at the Lessons from the Screenplay YouTube channel. It has spoilers though.

Searching movie poster from flickeringmyth.com. Envelope gif from figuringitouted.blogspot.com. Cup of tea from worldartsme.com. Halls Breezers image from gethalls.com/breezers. Other photos and screenshots by L. Marie.