"The Lego Batman Movie" (2017) -- Initial Thoughts x 4

My kids and I just finished watching The Lego Batman Movie together for the first time.  Here are thoughts from them, labeled by whether they're my 12-yr-old, 9-yr-old, or 7-yr-old speaking, or just me, so you know who's saying what.

12: Everything is awesome!  No.  Um.  Um.  Somebody else talk.

9: Unikitty wasn't in it :-(  Must stay positive!

12:  I think Lord Business should have been in the Phantom Zone.

7: It was less cool than the Lego Movie.  It was more boring.  It was all "I'm trying to do the same thing" over and over.  In the Lego Movie, they did more random stuff.

12: About half the movie was embarrassing dithering before anything exploded.

9: Wyldstyle should have been in it.

12: Also, the Talking Brick's boss (and voice) should have been Unikitty.

Me: What's something you liked about it?

9: It had lots of explosions.

7: I don't really have anything that I liked about it.  Except Robin was cute.

12: It was all Lego and not like the Lego Ninjago Movie. Also, Batman's riff on "Everything is Awesome" was funny.

So... they kind of weren't big fans of it.  I think that's probably because this was their first Batman movie ever, so a lot of the jokes about Batman history stuff weren't funny to them.  And come to think of it... the only other superhero movie they've ever seen is The Incredibles, which is ALSO a loving spoof of superhero movies... and if you don't know the genre, spoofing it isn't very funny.

Which is why I totally loved it, since I adore superhero movies, as you may have noticed.  All the little nods to Batman history and to the superhero genre in general were AWESOME.  Just, so funny.  Robin saying "Holy family photo, Batman," and all the little snippets of the previous Batman movies/shows ("that weird one in the sixties" cracked me up so much), plus that thing where they did the sound effects as words ("Bam!" POW!") and just... it was perfect.  I totally dug it.

And can we talk about the bad guys they gathered?  Voldemort, Sauron, Daleks, King Kong... that was brilliant.  (And I was just heartily amused that Ralph Fiennes was voicing Alfred, and then Voldemort showed up, and... that made me laugh.)

Plus... as my son said above, it looked like Lego bricks, just like The Lego Movie.  Not just animated cartoon characters who sorta looked like Lego people wandering around a generic animated world (not a Lego Ninjago Movie fan, gotta say).  Totally dug that.

The story line of "everyone needs a family" and stuff was a little touchy-feely, but that's what made it funny, cuz Batman was so "I'm allergic to touchy-feely things".  (And then he's addicted to rom-coms -- sooooo amusing).  Plus, even God says it's not good for people to be alone, so... not gonna argue with it.

That's about all I have to say about it, I guess.  Don't think it's one I'll watch over and over and over, but it's definitely something I'll pull off the shelf for a laugh from time to time.

"The Quick and the Dead" (1987) -- Initial Thoughts

Okay, so I know this is an '80s HBO movie.  I'm cutting it a lot of slack on the strength of that fact.  And honestly, for being made-for-TV in the '80s, the production values are pretty solid.  Nice locations shooting, good cast, okay script.

But man, it really felt like a cheesy '80s take-off of Shane (1953).  Only they took all the things I love about that story and reversed them.  Whyyyyyyyyyyy?

At it's core, it's got the same basic story-line: quiet, inscrutable stranger wearing a fringed buckskin jacket meets a little family composed of husband, wife, and young son, and repeatedly helps them avoid death and destruction.  So far, so similar.

But in this, the stranger (Sam Elliott) is overtly attracted to the wife (Kate Capshaw), repeatedly tells her husband how pretty she is, and even kisses her.  SO much less interesting than the restrained, nuanced, never-acted-upon attraction that Shane and Marian Starrett have for each other.  In this, the stranger and the husband (Tom Conti) are antagonistic and wary, constantly rubbing each other the wrong way.  SO much less interesting than the deep, steady friendship that grows between Shane and Joe Starrett.  And in this, the stranger and the boy do develop a bit of camaraderie, but there's no hero-worship to be upheld or dashed, no one trying to live up to a little person's ideals about them... it's just in all ways so much less interesting to me than Shane.

I'm not saying this is a bad movie.  It's not.  It's got some fun twists, and Sam Elliott is always a good time.  If I didn't have both the book and movie of Shane so deeply ingrained in me, I might have a cheerier disposition toward it. I'm going to have to find the book this is based on, cuz it's by Louis L'Amour, and I'm wondering if it feels less like a Shane do-over than the movie does.  We shall see.

Is this movie family friendly?  Um, not exactly?  One of the bad guys says early on that he has first dibs on the woman, because it's been a long time since he's had a woman who smelled good, and he's pretty focused on finding and attacking her, though the word 'rape' never gets mentioned.  (Spoiler alert:  he never gets a chance to touch her.)  There's some kissing, and there's one scene where Kate Capshaw is taking a shower under a waterfall in a very see-through white cami and petticoat or bloomers, I forget which, and Sam Elliott walks in on her and is appreciative of the sight, though he doesn't approach her.  There's some bad language of the cable-tv-in-the-'80s variety, and some western violence.

2019 Tolkien Blog Party Tag

This year, I decided to do something a little different for the Tolkien Blog Party tag.  It's a "would you rather" tag!  I've finally grabbed a minute to answer them myself.  You can join the party yourself in the kick-off post here on my book blog, where you'll also find links to everyone else's posts, my giveaway and games, etc.

Would You Rather...

1. ...join Thorin's Company or the Fellowship? 

The Fellowship.  I love Bilbo and Gandalf, and I like the dwarves in Thorin's Company (even if Thorin himself exasperates me), but I love every member of the Fellowship and would happily spend as much time with them as is given to me.

2. ...ride Shadowfax or an eagle? 

I love horses, so I choose Shadowfax.  He's amazing.

3. ...travel through Moria or Mirkwood? 

Moria, all the way.  Sure, there's a Balrog.  And orcs/goblins.  And they have a cave troll.  But there are giant spiders in Mirkwood and I am not having that, thank you very much.

4. ...learn to make elvish rope or mithril chainmail? 

Elvish rope.  Rope is infinitely useful, but chain mail is kind of only useful in a battle.

5. ...try to outwit Smaug or Saruman? 

Smaug.  Saruman has that power to sort of hypnotize you with his voice, so there's no way I'd come out of that a winner.

Besides, where there's Smaug, there's Bard.

6. ...spend an hour with Grima Wormtongue or Denethor? 

Denethor.  If I have to spend an hour with him, that presupposes that he has to spend an hour with me, and that means I would have a whole hour to tell him exactly what I think of him and his utter lack of parenting skills.

7. ...attend Faramir's wedding or Samwise's wedding? 

There's always at least one question in these tags that I KNOW I'm going to have a terrible time answering, even though I created the questions.  This is that one for this year.  I mean, a Hobbit wedding would be extremely fun, with the eating and dancing and eating and general abundance of cheer.  But... a wedding between Gondor and Rohan, with all those beautiful Rohirrim horses in attendance... wow.

Okay, I'm just going to have to go with loyalty on this one and choose Samwise's because he's my second-favorite LOTR character.

8. ...have to care for the One Ring or the Arkenstone for a day?

The Arkenstone.  Dragon Sickness appears to be pretty easy to cure/avoid, unlike the all-corrupting influence of the One Ring.

9. ...have tea with Bilbo or Frodo? 

Bilbo!  I have a lot in common with Bilbo, and I admire him greatly.

10. ...fight alongside Boromir or Eomer?

Boromir.

I mean, Eomer is awesome and, presumably, if I was fighting beside him, I'd be a Shield Maiden of Rohan, which has been the desire of my heart for many a year now.  But...

Boromir.  Is my beloved.  Always.  Forever.  As he goes, so goes my nation.  I will always choose Boromir.

By the way, the giveaway ends tonight, so if you haven't entered that yet, you have a few more hours to do so!

Interviewed at Fairy Tale Central

I'm so excited to share this with you!  I've been interviewed by the charming folks at Fairy Tale Central about my book Cloaked as part of their focus this month on Little Red Riding Hood!  You can read that interview here.

Also... keep an eye on your inbox for my author newsletter this week because I'll be announcing something special and fun in it.  Not a subscriber yet?  Sign up here!

Our Path to Here -- Article at Blest the House

Today, I've got a short article called "Our Path to Here" posted on the new homeschooling blog Blest the House.  My article is part of a series on how different families arrived at the decision to teach their children at home.

I'll be writing more articles for Blest the House, so stay tuned for those!

The Five Songs + Five Characters Tag

Do songs ever remind you of fictional characters?  Do fictional characters ever remind you of songs?  If so, this tag is for you!  If not... read on to see why characters and songs remind me of each other all the time.

Rules:

1.  Pick five songs that you relate to fictional characters somehow.  They can be characters from books, movies, shows, myths, etc.  If you're a writer, they can be your own characters.
2.  Share the songs somehow -- embed them in your post or link to them.
3.  Explain why those songs connect to those characters for you.  Is it lyrics?  The melody?  What?
4.  Tag some friends to play too.

Here are my five!  They're in order of how long I've been associating that song with that character.

#1

"With or Without You" performed by U2

reminds me of Angel (David Boreanaz) from Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I first heard this song my sophomore year in college, which is also when I got introduced to the shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.  The two quickly became connected in my mind.

To be perfectly honest, this reminds me of Angel's stormy relationship with Buffy more than only Angel himself.  But that's all tied up in who Angel is now, who he used to be, and who he's becoming.  Buffy and Angel both suffered a lot for each other, and at each others' hands.  Finally, Angel realized that he feels like he can't live without Buffy, but she will be better off without him, and so he really can't live at her side either.  He leaves... but he's still waiting for her too, just from a distance.  The waiting is painful, but he's willing to endure it.

#2

"Wish You Were Here" performed by the Rednex

reminds me of Sawyer (Josh Holloway) from Lost

I'd known this song for years and years before I started watching Lost.  It's one my husband introduced me to after we got married, and I listened to it a lot while writing my first novel.

It makes me think of Sawyer in a really personal way because when I became a fan of Lost, I got very obsessed with the show, and Sawyer in particular.  I would count the minutes until my two little kids would go to sleep every afternoon so I could watch as much Lost as possible before they woke up.  Whenever I wasn't watching it, I was thinking about it, especially Sawyer, and I would sing this song in my head, about him.  Sawyer liked to project this Southern good-ol'-boy vibe a lot of the time, so the "country man" moniker totally fits him.  And, yeah, I missed him when I wasn't watching Lost.  And sometimes minutes felt like days when I was waiting for my chance to watch the next episode.

(WARNING: THIS SONG HAS THE WORD "h*ll" IN IT REPEATEDLY.)

#3

"Real Love" performed by the Beatles

reminds me of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) in Days of Future Past

The first time I went to see Days of Future Past (2014), this song was on the tape (yes, cassette tape) my husband had in the tape deck of the car I drove to the theater.  I listened to it over and over that summer because it instantly reminded me of that movie and how happy I was for Wolverine at the end of it.  The chorus of "Don't need to be alone/No need to be alone" in particular made me think of him in that film, but also his overall journey over the course of the X-men movies, from total loner to the glue that holds a team/family together, to the guy willing to die to protect others.

#4

"The Sweetheart Tree" by Bobby Darin

reminds me of Jedediah Jones in Dancing and Doughnuts

The first time I heard this song, it gave me images of a very sweet, gentle romance.  It's all about finding the sweetheart you've been waiting for, and it's just a soft, lovely song.  

Well, I wrote a book last year called Dancing and Doughnuts about Jedediah Jones, a drifting cowhand just looking for a temporary job.  He ends up finding love with a girl who's not necessarily looking for love either.  And the imagery of magical trees runs all through that book too, because it's a retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses."  As I wrote that book, I listened to so much of Bobby Darin's music that I ended up dedicating the book to his memory, and I realized during revisions that I'd actually written the sweet, gentle romance that this song always makes me imagine.

#5

"Hurt" performed by Johnny Cash

reminds me of Hamlet in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

I actually did a whole post about this last year, so I won't delve deeply into it here.  Basically, I was on my way home from seeing the Benedict Cumberbatch version of Hamlet at the theater when I listened to this song, which I have loved ever since Johnny Cash's version was released in the early 2000s, and I was struck by how much the lyrics related to Hamlet.  Hamlet spends a lot of time remembering everything and wishing he didn't, trying to figure out if the pain he feels is helpful or something he wants to end, and pondering what he's become.

Time to tag a few friends!  I hereby tap the following bloggers on the shoulder to see if they want to play:

DKoren at Sidewalk Crossings

Eva at Coffee, Classics, and Craziness

Heidi at Along the Brandywine

Katie at I'm Charles Baker Harris (And I Can Read)

Play if you want to!  And hey, if you're reading this and want to do this tag, but I didn't name you, go ahead and consider yourself tagged!

Autumn 2019 To-Do List

I love autumn.  I am always super productive when the weather starts changing, for one thing.  For another, I hate being hot, so the cooler weather is a welcome relief after the relentlessly hot and humid summers here.

(All photos are mine from my last trip to Colonial Williamsburg)

So anyway, here are some things I'd like to get done this autumn.  There are a ton of movies on here, and I don't honestly expect to get to see all of them, but why not dream big, right?

~ Finish the second draft of my western Snow White retelling

~ Read 3 titles from my Classics Club list

~ Read 6 books off my TBR shelves

~ Read 3 books from the library

~ Watch 5 movies off my TBW shelves

~ Go see Rear Window (1954) on the big screen

~ Go see Gemini Man

~ Go see Midway

~ Go see Charlie's Angels

~ Go see The Good Liar

~ Go see 21 Bridges

~ Go see A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

~ Go see Frozen II

~ Make a new skirt

~ Help my daughters sew dresses for their dolls

~ Crochet a blanket for my 7-yr-old's bed

~ Try a new bread recipe.  I've got lots saved on Pinterest -- I ought to try some more of them.

~ Repaint my living room

~ Host an Oktoberfest shindig at our house

That ought to keep me busy, don't you think?  How about you -- do you have any fun plans for this autumn?