The Geek and Inkwell

Amy Adams as Dr. Louise Banks and Jeremy Renner as Dr. Ian Donnelly Genesis chapter eleven records a story of the people of the ancient world electing to come together and build a tower tall enough to reach the heavens.  For reasons undisclosed to us mortals, God, having observed this concerted effort, which was apparently destined to succeed, scrambles communication between his peoples.  " If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this," he says, "then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.  Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other" ( New International Version , Gen. 11:6).   The engineer could not understand the architect.  The brick layer could not understand the engineer.  It was the last time all of humanity worked together in perfect cooperation.  It was the last time all of humanity spoke a common language. In the story of the Tower of Babel, a universal...

Readers should be informed that leading up to viewing "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and also following its release, I have deliberately avoided reading anything about the film.  Obviously, the purpose behind this prior to the film being released is that, like many Star Wars fans, I didn't want to see any spoilers.  The biggest spoiler of all would been to hear any news as to whether J. J. Abrams had managed to resurrect the feel of the original trilogy (Episodes IV, V, and VI.)  Having felt burned by George Lucas on several points in Episodes I, II, and III, even knowing Abrams and Disney were in charge, my trust could only be earned back by a viewing of the film.  The reason I have not yet read any reviews  of "The Force Awakens" is that after having finally seen it, it is sacred to me.  I neither care nor want to know what critics think, because when it comes to this franchise - a franchise that is pretty unique in that the fans believe it belongs to t...

Last night, across the nation, Fathom Events hosted a special early screening of "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" extended cut.  The roughly 20 minutes of new footage was enough to earn the extended version an "R" rating.  However, if you saw the original theatrical cut of BotFA or took your children to see it, you are probably safe doing the same with the extended cut.  Yes, more "classic Peter Jackson" outrageous battlefield deaths occur in the extended cut, but just the fact that they are indeed so Peter-Jackson-esque means that they are played for laughs, somewhat ridiculous, and there's no gore seen up close.  And this is "The Hobbit," after all - this is fantasy violence - orcs beating on dwarves, dwarves beating on trolls, trolls beating on elves, etc.  The MPAA chooses to stand firm on some types of content, such as long, sustained scenes of violence, therefore the "R" rating pops up despite the added scenes not...

I have been waiting with bated breath for six months to see Kornel Mundruczo's  "White God."   You don't have to be a dog-lover to appreciate the powerful and hair-raising sight that is two hundred dogs sprinting through the streets of Hungary.  And the best part is that not a shred of CGI was used to achieve this scene.  It was the sight of this army of dogs, which I viewed in the trailer in March 2015, that intrigued me.  Knowing full well that these well-trained (and extremely photogenic, I might add) dogs were most likely part of thinly veiled political commentary, I settled in for the wait for this story to come to Netflix.

The title of  Alex Garland's  film " Ex Machina " is a truncated form of the Latin phrase "deus ex machina."  The translation is "god from the machine."  The phrase conjures similar imagery to the idea of the "ghost in the machine" from Cartesian dualism, especially in the context of a film like "Ex Machina" which deals with an artificial intelligence.  The meaning is much more literal, however.   Deus ex machina refers to a device from Greek drama in which a crane (a machine) would suddenly lower an actor playing a god onto the stage, whose appearance typically provided a convenient solution to a seemingly unsolvable dilemma and wrapped everything up in a nice little package. Most likely "Ex Machina" as the title of this film, however, was meant to carry dual meaning.  Yes, hardware or machinery is the means by which a superior being enters the stage, but there are also undeniable overtones of what it means to play g...

Image source:  showbizcafe.com The typical space odyssey throws mankind into the arena either with a much more intelligent and evolved species whose involvement is meant to guide us, or with any number of extraterrestrial adversaries, truly "alien" in both their appearances and their ways.  The Enterprise took us on a tour of colorful worlds full of humanoid beings who could teach us more about ourselves and more about peace.  The Obelisk showed up to nudge us toward technological advancement and progress, for worse or for better.  Then the Xenomorph burst onto the scene (forgive the pun), but unfortunately, "In space, no one can hear you scream."  Then we borrowed the tall, blue-skinned physical forms of the Na'vi with which to have all manner of adventures among the gorgeous phosphorescent plant life.

 With both irony and triumph, clever storytelling and genuine feeling, Disney is bringing us a new kind of fairy tale. As much love, fondness, and respect as I have for Disney, the company's name is still the one we most commonly associate with the age-old misconception that a princess is usually in need of rescuing.  In the traditional story of Sleeping Beauty, this "heroine" sleeps through the majority of her own fairy tale.  Almost a literal demonstration of the concept in critical theory of the female as the object of the male gaze - the princess lies unconscious, her person-hood negated, while the admiring prince looks on and, eventually, is the catalyst to her awakening.

If nothing else, Darren Aronofsky's " Noah " is a film of beauty, albeit cold and disturbing beauty.  The cinematography, the visual effects, and the score by  Clint Mansell  are all very stirring and epic.  The stark Icelandic landscape in which "Noah" was filmed is a believable backdrop for a world in which - as Aronofsky's tale goes - man is an eco-terrorist and has spoiled and consumed nearly all of God's creation.  God communicates to Noah through dreams and hallucinations that all people save for him and his family will be destroyed by water as judgement for their wickedness.  The loneliness of Noah as he prepares for the flooding of the earth is felt acutely by the audience, since there is often nothing but his tiny family in the vast expanse of the uncivilized land.

"The Wind Rises"  has to be my favorite Miyazaki film since  "My Neighbor Totoro."   While still whimsical, beautiful, and fantastic, "The Wind Rises" will be much more appreciated by adults than by children, which isn't always true for Miyazaki's work.  The story follows the career, aspirations, struggles, and romantic life of Jiro Horikoshi - a Japanese airplane engineer who designed aircraft for the Japanese military during WW II.  The film has themes of corrupt and flawed governments, life-threatening illness, and war, much of the dialogue about which might be a little bit lost on younger audiences.  But just because "The Wind Rises" is animated doesn't mean it cannot entrance adults.  It is a very artfully told story.  The scenes in which Jiro is dreaming are especially beautiful and really showcase Miyazaki's unique style. My favorite parts about the film were the cast chosen for the voices of the main characters - John ...

There are a lot of reasons to see "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," but I thought I would cut it down to fourteen - thirteen plus one for luck. Beware of spoilers after the break!

 For the next couple years, Peter S. Beagle and his crew will be hosting special screenings of the 1982 animated movie "The Last Unicorn" all across the United States and Canada.  The tour happened to be in my city on December 2nd, and the event was a relatively intimate gathering of a couple hundred people.  The wonderful part about this was that Peter was able to stay and speak to/do signings for everyone in attendance who was interested.  In fact, when the movie was about to start, the tour facilitators walked down the line of fans waiting to get an autograph and assured us all that it was okay to go get a seat in the theater - Peter would stay as long as it took after the show to meet everyone.

Image Credit: The Brothers Hildebrandt Beorn the skin-changer in  The Hobbit  is one of those characters from Tolkien about whom you can't help but wonder.  He has animal servants and speaks to them in a mysterious language that is not English, he vacates his great wooden house in the night only to be replaced by fearsome bear noises outside, and - oh, yes! - there's the fact that he can change his form into a bear's. As any fan of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has known for some time, the appearance of Beorn is coming up in the next installment of the three-part epic - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.   Just a few days ago,  TheOneRing.net  announced that they had discovered a very low resolution image - but a legitimate image, nonetheless - of Beorn himself on the back of a 2014   Hobbit calendar.  The picture has made its rounds on the Internet, and although I am not permitted to show it here, it can still be found...

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, dear Geek and Inkwell! Happy birthday to you! Today marks one year to the day that I began writing on this humble little virtual tavern - The Geek and Inkwell. Of course, keeping shop around here would be no fun without readers, so I would like to issue a very heartfelt thanks to anyone who has ever stopped by and to everyone who continues to stop by. We live in a very exciting time for geeks, nerds, and for casual fantasy or science fiction fans, as well, and I feel so fortunate to be able to share my musings and enthusiasm so easily through the invention of the internet and consequently, a blog. Honestly, I am honored that anyone at all takes the time to read and give me feedback on the thoughts I post here. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Screenshot taken in Frostbluff in  The Lord of the Rings Online So, if you are having a glass of anything tonight (hard cider is my favorite!), give it a little raise for o...

 Peter Jackson's  "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"  is the first feature film to be shown at 48 frames per second, as opposed to the usual 24 frames per second, but even so, I loved this film so much that I'm not sure there could ever be enough frames of it to make me happy. As a longtime Tolkien fan, I can assure you that if you are a reasonable person who understands that books and film are two very different mediums, then you will be pleased with - and maybe even excited by - the changes that Jackson brought to the adaptation of our beloved story. The pace is ever so slightly slow in the beginning of the film (not complaining!), and this is understandable because audiences - especially those who have never read the book - need to hear quite a bit of exposition and background before the tale can proceed. Once the quest of Thorin Oakenshield's company is truly underway, however, the pace is breathtaking and there are mishaps and perils at every turn....

Not everyone concedes the genius of Peter Jackson and his adaptations of  The Lord of the Rings  and, more recently,  The Hobbit , into film.  It's a free country and you can hold whatever opinion you like, so that's fine.  But I'd like to point out an example of why his creativity and interpretation of Tolkien's beloved books adds just the magical touch needed to make the films as beloved (or almost as beloved) as the books. What most caught my attention in the first visuals to emerge from the making of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," including stills, photo shoots, the first trailer, and so on, was neither how perfect Martin Freeman seems for the role of Bilbo (which he is) nor how exciting it was to see a hobbit hole again (which it is).  Rather, I was struck and delighted by the attention Peter Jackson and his scary-artistic, visionary team paid to the thirteen dwarves.  While watching  the first trailer , I marveled at how ea...

Because of Christopher Nolan's Batman films, over the past seven years, I have gone from caring only marginally about Batman, to wanting to name my future son Bruce. I believe that "Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight," and finally, "The Dark Knight Rises" ought to belong to the canon of films that deal with the age-old subject of good and evil in depth and with intelligence. Bane and Batman go head-to-head Nolan (at least with his Batman films) always throws in a character with all the trappings and demeanor of a seedy criminal who then surprisingly makes a selfless sacrifice. Or vice versa - he throws in a character we want to trust and has that winning smile, but becomes twisted and then serves up the most breathtaking of betrayals. I don't think this is intended to deconstruct the idea of good and evil. Rather, I think the artists behind the films want us to more deeply explore what it means to be heroic, especially in a world where...

If you aren't already following  The Hobbit Blog  - the official production diary of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" - you should go ahead and begin immediately. You can start by watching the tear-inducing production video below, which The Hobbit Blog has recently posted, in which Peter Jackson lets those of us who, unfortunately, weren't able to attend Comic-Con this year in on all the action. I love hearing the actors and crew share about how close they've become in the process of creating this film, just as I loved hearing it while watching the special features for Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. It makes me wish Tolkien was fully aware of how many people he has brought together and affected through his work. Who knows? Maybe he gets to look down from where he lives now and is aware of it after all.

I'm telling you, Joss Whedon makes all the difference. I feel that one of Joss Whedon's specialties as a writer and director is balancing a large group of characters, giving each character depth, a background that motivates them, and an equal place in the friendly (or not so friendly) banter that is inevitable when you've got a wild assortment of personalities in the scene. The Avengers team Joss certainly did not hide this talent of his when he was creating " The Avengers ." I can't praise this film enough. It was funny and exciting sans the lame dialogue that often accompanies superhero movies, and it was family-friendly so that all the young fans out there can go see their favorite icons in action.

Last night I re-watched "Revolver"   - a cerebral film masterpiece by Guy Ritchie - for the first time in a few years. I was struck once more, as I was at first viewing, by the powerful beauty of so many of the shots and the mesmerizing performances of  Ray Liotta ,  Andre Benjamin ,  Mark Strong , and of course, the peerless  Jason Statham . Without a doubt, "Revolver" is a film that forces you to think. I believe I first watched it around the time I graduated from college and had just finished up a couple courses on critical theory (varied frameworks for examining literature and language), so I can't watch this movie without reflecting on Freud and how many people he said potentially dwell in our heads. My ego - the person I think I am - is not really who I am. The person I really am paces back and forth like a caged beast deep in my unconscious (or subconscious), just like the person you really are does. The beliefs, traumas, loves, etc. that swim around ...

"The Hunger Games' Secret Romance!" reads the title of Ok! Magazine, just under the photos of Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth. "Intimate hotel room rendezvous!" Obviously, I will never know to which apparently scandalous event Ok!  magazine is referring, because the cover has precisely the opposite effect on me that it is meant to have. I am sure the editors of Ok!  were betting on grocery store or book store or eReader customers being tempted enough to discover these young stars' "juicy secrets" that they would purchase the magazine. I sincerely hope they were disappointed in the number of sales they actually made. When you consider a story like "The Hunger Games," trashy, sensational magazine cover-speak such as that featured on Ok! positively reverberates with irony. I loved "The Hunger Games" film adaptation. It was one of the best and most respectful adaptations I have seen, and the creators c...