The collector, A chilling insight into the impossibly infatuated.

Why is it that whenever I think originality is dead, nature finds a way to prove me wrong every time? In any case, I love being proved wrong, without a doubt. If I was never proved wrong, I would never learn anything. This time John Fowles provided the lesson with his first book, “The Collector”. This book is startling original, so many years after it was first released.

The story follows the life of Frederick Clegg, a lonely, impotent man who spends the majority of his time collecting butterflies. He has been stalking a girl for months now and he has a plan to collect her. When he wins the equivalent of $1,000,000, he buys a house in the country, fixes it up and abducts her and takes her to the house. What follows is a chilling insight into the mind of the obsessed and insatiable Frederick.

The element of obsession has never been scarier than in this novel. I believed that I was obsessed with DS when I bought it (And indeed, I believe that I still am) But the level that Fowles’s character has gone to with his infatuation is unnerving. There is no word strong enough to describe the intensity of his obsession with this girl, it is just so powerful. It is what gives the book such originality.

The language used is interesting in it’s simplicity. Clegg is by no means an intelligent character, so his narrative is quite easy to read. But what makes it interesting is the way he narrates. There is such conviction that one cannot help but wonder if John Fowles is relaying first hand the thoughts of Frederick from his own experiences.

This isn’t a book for the faint of heart. The concepts it deals with are strong in nature and frightening in reality and practicality. But those that do brave it will be rewarded with a view of the world that many never realised existed before.

Score:

4.5/5: Original, insightful, thought provoking and creepy. John Fowles is still a master of literature even after so many years.

Death at a Funeral. Black Comedy at its most Cringeworthy

Frank Oz was always a strange man. Having only ever appeared (to my knowledge) as a small, green alien in the most successful science fiction series of all time, I always saw him as a one act wonder. Hell, I started to imagine that he was more like Yoda than most people thought. I.e. spoke in alliterations just to seem wise. Then I saw “Little Shop of Horrors” with Steve Martin and Rick Moranis singing about a “Soul” plant, and I realised that he was, in fact, very clever in his film crafting.

With this introduction, I have to hand it to him. “Death at a funeral” kept the audience I was with, and myself in hysterics for a large majority of the film. Black humour is a very tricky thing to deal with because of its nature to become sick and twisted if it strays to far from being funny. In any other situation, “Death at a funeral” would be a drama. But the viewer is fortunate enough to be able to laugh at the unlucky souls in the film without being involved (which is the point of any film, but is more apparent here)

The reason it is good is because it is Cringe worthy. You spend a lot of the time thinking “they wouldn’t do that….o god they just did, OHH they took it further, oh god no more. What else can go wrong? Oh, that can.” The British have cringe down because of three reasons. Their swearing is actually effective in the context it is used, instead of just being used to “Strengthen” the language. Their knowledge of the human and its surroundings is complete, and their range of accents allows for such a bendable cast of characters.

From when the morgue delivers the wrong body to the funeral to when the geriatric, foul mouthed uncle has a bad reaction to “Valium” (See the film to see why that is quoted) the film deals with everything that could go wrong, and indeed, some things that just shouldn’t happen in any circumstance. The cast is fairly low profile, but only in fame. Their ability to perform is what gives the film its sharp edge. All the cast together work better that most big budget films and this gives the film urgency and a sense of realism that makes black comedy so much more potent.

Of course, there are some points that do go a bit too far, but all in the name of comedy. As an actor myself, I know the importance of exploring the “Red line Area” in order to get laughs. But “Death at a funeral” really takes this to the next level.

Score

4/5: This film isn’t for everyone, but there is a laugh for everyone in it, Guaranteed

Faerie Tale. They don’t make them like this anymore.

My confidence in the fantasy genre of books had taken a beating from reading “Brisingr”. Fantasy shouldn’t be about the politics of an entire world. Books like “Lord of the rings” were made immortal because of their epic scale and time line, not by their kings and queen talking all the time. Fantasy to me is a break from the ordinary. Since reading “Deltora Quest” (I know it is for younger readers, but the story is priceless) I thought Fantasy had reached its limits. That was until I encountered one of Fantasy’s greatest and brightest. Raymond E Feist.

Raymond E Feist, It rolls of the tongue with an ease unlike any other name I have heard of yet. That made me interested of what he was on about. I first started reading “Magician” when I was twelve, and finished it when I was fourteen. It kept me going those years. It spanned over forty years of book time, but the plot was always moving, the characters were always developing, new ones were constantly introduced and the vision was always there. I was in Midkemia, fighting for Crydee for two years. And I loved every second of it.

But then I read “Faerie Tale”, and things went from good to brilliant.

“Faerie tale” is a contemporary story told in modern day America, where a family has moved from the Suburbs to the country, hoping to get a change of air. What they don’t realize is that the house they have bought is situated in top of ancient magical grounds. This alone doesn’t make the book brilliant. What gives it is flair is that it is original.

People who are familiar with my other blogs will know I am a fan of the Original. But also, I am a fan of the well written. Stories such as the “Twilight Series” while very original are so tedious to read because of their corny disposition, that the idea may as well be old. Yet “Faerie Tale” is Original and Well written, and this gives it instant credibility.

It is a story of survival and power. Feist writes like he is painting a picture of the human emotions, so vividly does he describe the emotions. He transports you to that place, he puts you through almost unbearable suspense and rewards you some of the most amazing images ever written. I now know that Fantasy is not dead, it was just waiting for the right artist to come along and tell the right story. Raymond E Feist is the Right Artist and “Faerie Tale” is the Right Story. It needs no more than that.

Score

5/5: Suspenseful, daring, sometimes confronting and always magical, this book has a place in my memory that will never be removed.

Wall-E. Unscripted Brilliance

There is very little doubt that Pixar are still the most professional, most honest, most authentic and most original company to have ever made films. From Toy-Story, we saw two of the most successful actors come together and create a classic. 8 films later, all of which are stand out successes, along comes their greatest hero, Wall-E!

For those that missed it, Wall-E is a film set of in the future. Mankind has abandoned the earth and left the “Wall-E” to clean up. We start the story with only one Wall-E left, our hero. The character of Wall-E is by far one of the most inspiring I have ever seen. His curiosity leads him to make simple, everyday objects into pieces of comic art. From ring cases to those annoying ping-pong bats with the ball tied to the bat, he makes his way through all of them. Every discovery he makes lets the viewer enjoy the simple pleasures in life, like getting a new toy or having an old one fixed.

The story is original in every respect of the word. For those that haven’t seen it, be prepared to read between the lines. Since the script for this film is only about 20 pages long, most of the story is told through actually seeing the story unfold. This is a bold move by Pixar and it has payed off. With the alleviation of the script, the animator has been able to really develop the characters at a level not possible except in books, and even then only really long books.

The animation is very much the same style that Pixar have used in their other films. That is to say, smooth, realistic and without equal. Of course, Pixar have that reputation already, so what’s new? Well, they have never done something this big. The entire universe is there for our entertainment and that is truly magnificent.

The characters, Wall-E, EVE, M.o, Auto, Gopher and an assortment of other robots; makes for a highly versatile series of events. The humans don’t play a centre role in this film, even though they are the reason for the story taking place. It is obvious in this that mans creations are in control. Films that have tried to do this before, I-Robot, 2001-A Space odyssey to name a few, generally make a good impression, but have a huge cold blanket over them, since the robots can’t really be human in any way. In this film, the robots are more human that the humans. The turn is truly spectacular.

With an enlightening score and Randy Newman once again writing a song that is stuck in my head for weeks after seeing the film, and with huge suggestions about our future and warning about consumerism, government oppression and the simplicity of life being what to live for, this film is for children and adults alike.

Score

5/5: Original, Funny, Inspiring and without a doubt the finest piece of artistic motion to surface this century.

Wall-E