Month: November 2005

Movie Wrapup

Writer guy

Three, three, three movie reviews in one! Been a long time waiting, for certain, and here’s a multi-movie review wrap up.

Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire
Oh boy, another solid adaptation of the Harry Potter series, this episode is two hours and thirty minutes of fun. These films are loved universally, so I’ll not squander breaths nitpicking. I must say, though, those children are rather oldish looking these days. Maybe that’s a good thing. Also, what the hell is up with the catcalls from the audience when half naked Harry slides into the bath? Note to tomcats on the prowl: fourteen will get you five. Unless you live in Mississippi, where fourteen will get you twenty. So let us hope you’re a female teacher from Florida, because that only draws probation.

Verdict: Theater, matinee. Needs a big screen for full effect.

Saw II
There’s a soft spot in my heart for well done serial killer movies, and this one fits the bill. Enter Jigsaw, the manipulative mastermind who lures his victims into a game situation and lets them decide between life or death. I love suspenseful movies with twist endings, and particularly liked this one. Fans can see the first film — or walk in cold — but I recommend a Saw, Saw II double bill. Definitely not for the faint of heart, lots of blood and gore. Advice for dieters: come to Saw II with an empty stomach; it’s a surefire appetite suppressant.

Verdict: Theater, full price ( if you’re cool ). DVD purchase ( if your wife refuses to come along )

A History of Violence
A man. A family. A small town. A killer. An interesting premise halfway realized. This film has lots going for it: an excellent cast, a well-written story, and a man on a journey back from a violent past. Unfortunately, the director made some…different sort of choices, and squandered lots of screen time on what could have been a slow buildup to the question, is this small town hero the same man the Mob claims is a contract killer? I wanted to keep guessing a lot longer. It’s still a good movie, but it had the seeds of greatness, which makes the ending harder to accept.

Verdict: Theater matinee, DVD rental.

Tracking Seven

Writer guy

After a few false starts, work resumed on A Time for Dying. Budgeting a few days of percolation proved a sound decision after all. I sliced out two paragraphs which will likely find a home later in the story and charged again. Overall, I like the 16 pages, or roughly 4,700 words.

I’m itching to meet with the rest of The Eight and close the feedback loop on the novel, but they need more time. Can’t exactly complain. Free advice is the best there is. As it stands now — barring disaster — five are on track for a November finish. The first reader delivered ahead of schedule. The remaining two are wild cards, they might make early December, they might not. Only the passing of days will tell.

One down

Writer guy

Working with a member of The Eight today felt like a first date, as in the first date ever in my life. The early moments were anxious and awkward. I might have drooled. Yes, I wanted the meeting, but all the same, I could wait another day. Or week. While I felt decent about the manuscript, one can never be one hundred percent certain of what one wrote. Did I neglect key points? A few minor ones, yes. Was the narrative lacking clarity or flow? Only in very small tracts.

The real win: the meeting eradicated my biggest fear, that based on reader feedback, months of hard revisions lay ahead. Not that the effort is a problem, it’s just that deep down, I considered the manuscript 90-95 percent in the pocket. And that was certainly one of The Eight’s opinion. Good thing, because to hear that it was 75 percent there was not something I could stomach, even over Eggs Benedict and sausage.

Tonight I shall sleep, and not dream about a suck story secretly replacing mine.