I had ridiculously high expectations for this movie, which I didn’t really expect to be met. But the sixth book was one of my favourites, and this instalment was directed by David Yates, who did a good job with the last one...

( HP6 Review: Beware Spoilers )

CORALINE: Beware slight spoilers in the second paragraph in you haven't read the book.



Based on Neil Gaimen’s book of the same name, this film tells the story of Coraline, a pre-teen girl with blue hair, and the creepy otherworld she discovers after moving into an aging Victorian house with her parents. This stop-motion animation was directed by Henry Selick, the same guy who did the Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, so it should be no particular surprise that the film has the same gothic sensibilities of its predecessors. Coraline, however, lacks the same dark whimsy of the Nightmare Before Christmas: her real world is dull and grey, her otherworld spectacular but slightly eerie and, as the plot progresses, quite terrifying. It’s definitely a lot of fun.

One thing I found quite interesting was how, in the real world, Coraline’s father was the (rather under-skilled!) family chef. This was reversed in her otherworld, where Coraline’s Other-Mother was the family’s domestic Goddess: merrily haunting the kitchen for a large section of the film, whipping up sumptuous meals for her daughter. It’s something I’m not quite sure how to interpret – did Coraline actually want her mother in a more traditional role, or was it just creepier to show a supposedly solicitous, ‘perfect’ woman morph slowly into something else?

The movie is playing as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival, and will probably come back afterwards. It’s already out on DVD in America.

I'm reading Dante's Inferno at the moment - just reached the 7th circle of hell. It's pretty entertaining if slightly dense at times, hence my time wasting with the quiz below...

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Moderate
Level 2 (Lustful)	Moderate
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Low
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Moderate
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very High
Level 7 (Violent)	High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Moderate

Take the Dante's Inferno Test

And according to another silly quiz, my sin of choice is wrath. No surprises there, lol.

I’m currently revising for a human geography paper I took that was loosely Auckland themed (and terribly frustrating, but I won’t rant about that...).

One thing I will rant about, however, is the stupidity of the ‘creativity index’ created by Richard Florida to measure the ‘creativity’ of a city. Basically this involves collating the ‘bohemian,’ ‘gay,’ and ‘diversity’ indexes for a region. So the more high-tech workers, musicians, artists and gay people, the more creative it will subsequently (supposedly) become.

Oh, and this is desirable because ‘creative people’ boost a city’s economic development. So just attract more of them into your town and everything will run smoothly, no need to focus on sewage or infrastructure. Hummmmm. Right.

I’m not sure if I’m more offended by the idea that us lesbians are more ‘creative’ than the majority of the population or the fact that Auckland still has a similar policy. It’s flawed on so many levels.

My geography lab this week was on cafes in Auckland, which meant delicious overindulgence in caffeine for credit (yay! even though the lab is only worth 6%...). I had to visit two coffee shops: one 'pure' space and another 'hybrid'. Isn't academia brilliant?

Ended up visiting Gloria Jean inside Borders for the hybrid space - which was surprisingly nice for a chain. Although after sitting there for about ten minutes I began to notice how carefully constructed their 'second-hand' look was; they'd dimmed the lighting slightly to make it seem cozier than the rest of the store and the (seemingly mismatched) fabric on the armchairs matched some of the padding on the wall. Hummmmmmm. It made me want to leave (and I would have if I I wasn't reading Dearly Devoted Dexter hehe) since I really dislike marketing and fake comfort.

Which I suppose Dexter is also an expert in, but that's besides the point.

It's been ages since I've posted anything here - I've kinda been neglecting my dear lj recently aside from its handy French communities. But I'm bored at work and excited about books, so...

City of Glass is finally out!
I was killing time in the university bookstore today when I saw it being put out of the shelves, and swiftly snatched it out of the hands a somewhat bemused employee. It's ridiculous to be so excited by a book that I don't even expect to be that good (and especially for the third in a series that I barely remember the plot of) but Cassandra Clare once wrote HP fanfic and her work is decent urban fantasy, if a bit cliche at times. So yay. Hopefully I can find time to finish it this week XD

I also ordered Banewreaker from Borders last week, and am just starting chapter three.
And yes, it is fantastic. The prose so far is standard Jacqueline Carey, by which I mean grandiose, epic and entirely delectable. Now the story is getting started properly I can't wait to finish it, although the idiot who wrote its blurb should be shot; it makes the novel sound like the worst type of derivative blather yet three chapters in I can't wait for more.

Now if only Isobelle Carmody would hurry up and write Darkbane I could finally die content.

So. I finally saw Waltz with Bashir, almost a month after the film opened at work to rave reviews. And I have to say, after seeing the movie for myself, that its many accolades are well earned. Written, directed and produced by Ali Folman, the film centres on his experiences of the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, blocked for twenty years by the horrors he witnessed/ participated in.

( The movie starts slowly, unwinding with hauntingly realistic animation in shades of yellow, black and grey... )

Just joined a writing community called linebyline - every week they have a prompt that you take and use to inspire a drabble/poem/short story of your own. This weeks prompt was "transient beauty" which is admittedly a bit emo, but I suppose that works well for poetry.

I used it for a short fantasy story however, happily violating the characters I hope to some day encourage into my distantly planned YA novel. Hehe. It felt good to write something again, even if it does tend towards the wanky and epic.

Title: Journey South
Word Count: 766

( Perhaps there was magic in the soil )

YAY. Finished off season 3 of Doctor Who, and felt inspired.

Title: Homecoming
Summary: Martha could never settle for being second best. But after the Doctor has left and the world restored, what will become of her? One-shot, at least for now.
Rating: PG
Warning: Contains Season 3 spoilers.

( In which tea is drunk, an old room explored, and the ghost noise of a spaceship echos relentlessly... )

Review of the movie STARDUST - Beware Spoilers.

I've just finished watching Stardust (for the second time - watched it once at the movies in English then just downloaded it in French, yay) and I mostly liked it, although it was frustrating sexist at times. Plus Charlie Cox, who played Tristan Thorn, was gorgeous with his white coat and quiver of lightning. If only he was a girl...

I don't remember much about the actual book, so I can't ramble on about how the movie differed. I recall liking the writing and being impressed at how the plot fitted together, however I was disappointed with the royally dull, bog standard fairy-tale solution. And the ending was worst in the film due to cinematic time pressure.

But my main problem was with Yvaine and her hopeless starlet act. In the book I definitely remember that she was a lot more bitchy than in the film, where she only gets a couple of irate lines before reverting to being a shimmering girl again. All she does is get rescued, look pretty, declare her love for Tristan, and get rescued some more. Honestly. If a wicked witch was dragging you away to cut out your heart and you had no clue someone was coming for you, and if the only person who could possibly rescue you didn't even know where you were... would you come nicely? Would you lie tranquilly on a cold stone surface and wait for the love of your pathetic life to undo the buckles that strapped you down while you had your hands free anyway? ARGGGGGGGGG.

It was terribly stereotyped. While Tristan was learning how to fight Yvaine practiced upon a piano and danced. I know what I'd rather do; I'd swordfight in a second if my elbow had healed enough for me to use it again. And those sparkly blue dresses... blah. If you faced a long trek through muddy fields and uncertain encounters, wouldn't you at least choose an outfit that had sleeves and pockets?

But yes. Tristan Thorn was very, very sexy. I want his white coat. And his sword. And his horse. And his shoulders. Although I don't fancy being a King draped in factory farmed furs; I’d rather be campy Captain Shakespeare (who I don't remember from the books either, but I’m feel no urge to complain about dancing gay pirates).

Summary: Stardust is a clever, romantic fantasy with an excellent plot. But the gender politics in it are frustratingly standard, with the main female character another passive beauty like Buttercup from The Princess Bride or even Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Oh, and the trailer in French can be found here. Tis so very pretty.