Ye Olde Modern Day Legend

After about an hour of pondering, thinking, and musing; I've decided it's high time to talk about my most recent read. Stephen R. Lawhead's rendition of the tale of King Arthur was not was I was expecting. This simple fact was laid out plain in the first few pages. At first, when I started the prologue I thought: perhaps this is JUST the prologue, perhaps the actual chapters will be set in Arthurian England. But as the words progressed and the pages turned; it was not to be so. Intrigued that I was completely unprepared for a modern day novel, I pressed on both excited and directly apprehensive to what the book would actually be about. In my humble opinion, I do believe Lawhead has a distinctly curious and enticing imagination.
Not only did he bring together a cast of likable (and Unlikeable) characters to play their specific parts accordingly, he also tied it very well into the well known legend. Though, my first choice would not be to have reincarnation type visions, they lent themselves well to the story development. One thing for sure is if he'd leaked these 'visions' to the press, he would have not been king for long. So it was in the best interest that something like that not be written in. But then again; that's just my mind stirring up controversy.
Much like with his book Hood, Lawhead's use of a bard character was duly enjoyed. However, in this case, questions were raised on this bards own age and whatnot, yet that triviality seems unimportant with the rest of the fantastical events and occurrences of the story. One event in particular drew me in more than I thought it would. Nearer to the end of the book, when I was already looking for a way for events to start wrapping up, and they continued to develop. I was waiting for something immensely dramatic to happen and throw me off guard so that I would throw my copy across the room, then storm off and swear to never read a Lawhead novel again. Here again, I was genuinely surprised that I was both appeased and denied in my want for drama. I was not angered by the dramatic events, but instead; drawn further into the story and what was happening. I could not and would not set down the book and leave the story. The great detail given to the action taking place in later chapters quickened my reading pace. I saw all of the pieces of the puzzle coming together nicely and didn't feel that any of the parts were specifically rushed too much or drawn out too far. As soon as I started to think "come on, move on already." The story gave some pretty little details that, had I been skimming through due to boredom, I would have missed. I am glad I took the time to devour this book over time and chew all of the pieces. It was a good read and did not subtract in any way shape or form from Arthurian Legends of Old. I do recommend Avalon: The Return of King Arthur if you enjoy a bit of fantasy and/or even historical fiction., even though it wasn't actually historical.

A New Hood for an Old Outlaw

Much like The Scarlet Pimpernel, I am a BIG fan of all Robin Hood lore, and other stories that take place in that same time period. This glimpse of knowledge kind of gives insight to some of my former likes and dislikes of movies reviewed... And not reviewed but meant to.
Not so recently I was perusing the shelves at my local library with nothing specific to pick up, but with plenty of time to read. Usually, in cases such as this, I pick up a book based on it's title and cover, or maybe the author if I've heard of any and have them in mind. This case was no exception to it. I picked up  Patrick: Son of Ireland by Stephen R. Lawhead. I enjoyed it so much that I remembered the Authors name. More recently than this, I was again at my new local library and in need of a book to read. I recalled his name and went directly to the appropriate section of the stacks. Long Story, already too long to be short. I picked up Hood, the first book in the King Raven Trilogy. The book is a retelling of the beloved tale set a bit earlier than we may be used to. The time and some of the characters and maybe even the location of the story may be different, but Lawhead was able to capture the spirit of the essence and spirit of the legend exquisitely. I specifically enjoy the introduction of bard characters in all of his books and more specifically this book. The way he weaves spirituality, mysticism, and ancient feeling magic into a common (or not so common) thing for his characters, and helps you believe because they believe is done so well that I wish for a time and place that these actual events happened to be true. I was intrigued while reading to discover each of the characters that I know so well in new skin. When each of them was revealed there was a lot of build up in my mind and I was not disappointed. There were times that I was so excited that I showed it physically and when the payoff came, I shared it audibly. I would share more, but the read through is not as fresh in my mind as it should be.
Needless to say: I am very much anticipating the next installment of the trilogy. I now have Scarlet in my possession and hope to have time to delve into it within the next day or two.

Parts to be left wanting.

There comes a time when you watch a film; and it looks good. Yet it leaves you thinking: "What?" It's not that you don't understand what happened. It's more you don't understand why. You feel misled in some ways. Hoping that something even minutely on the side of epic would happen. There was even music that built the suspense so high, that if Hollywood had done it; you know there would be some climactic scene about to follow... Yet; nothing.
Valhalla Rising was not a bad film. Rather, it was very thought provoking. There are not a whole lot of lines in the movie, and it's based on a book. The film itself was broken up into "Parts" which I can only assume is done so like the book. It had all the feel of independent film, with long stretches where no one spoke to boot. It was placed in the genre of Action and Adventure, there are very few scenes in it that lend itself to that, unlike what the preview showed. I did like watching it. I enjoyed my time spent with it. I do not wish to have that hour and a half of my life back... But I'm at a loss for words on how to describe it. Parts of it were very graphic, and even other parts went unexplained. I'm not saying it was great. I am also not saying it was bad. Check it out and see how you feel about it. It's the type of movie that needs to be discussed.

Valhalla Rising

(P.S.: Based on the Novel by Clive Cussler)

A Gem in a Pile of Rubbish

Some films are highly overrated. There is so much build up and hype surrounding their box office debut that; I'm not so sure it's actually the film that has done well, or the advertisers. There is a lack of originality and art to the films that do best on most occasions. Granted; this is not true for all films, but it is for many.
Other films don't even get to see the light of day, as far as advertisement goes. Some of this days greatest works are completely neglected due to not meeting the requirements of box office stamina. Some movies go unnoted simply because they lack the funding or origin that Hollywood prefers. And then; some are just lost in the shuffle of time.
Tonight I have seen a good film. One of those films that you watch and are (even before the end is near) immediately added to your favorites cue. I found this film to be unpredictable, (I did try to predict it on numerous occasions) Enticing, Entrancing, and just plain good. The acting was done well; as far as I'm concerned it seemed believable as the time it was set in. The language was also pleasing. All around; Arn: The Knight Templar was a good film.
While perusing for a film to watch, we happened upon a good looking cover and settled on trying it out. We were pleased with this choice almost as soon as it started to play. It drew me in and made me feel for the characters. There was very little I didn't understand, even with all the language changes, and before I even knew it was the end; I found myself wondering why I'd never heard of it before. Why was such a gem never mentioned to me amongst talks of films like Braveheart? I can only suppose that no one else has seen it either.
Now I truly and honestly don't want to talk it up too much. I don't want it to be a disappointment to anyone if they do happen to see it. However, I was genuinely pleased that I did like it so much. I'm sure I've not seen a film of this caliber for quite some time, especially in it's own genre.
So; instead of going on and on about it; I will merely recommend. One of my new favorite films. Please watch Arn: The Knight Templar.

Check it out!

(p.s.: This film was based on the trilogy by Jan Guillou)