Sunday, December 4, 2016

Week 8, Urban Fantasy


Remy Tost, October 10

So before I read The Wood Wife by Terri Windling, I was curious as to what I was in for. Not looking for spoilers, mind but a general direction. And I’m glad I did because it pulled me closer to the book before I even read it. Apparently this book is one of the four-fairy book that Brian Froud (one of my favorite artists of all time) made a series out of called FaerieLand. Also, many of the characters are artists and apparently Windling made readers wish they could see it. I appreciated this because as an artist who loves fantasy there aren’t too many main characters who are, well, artists. Many tend to be outcasts, not so popular. Many have ordinary jobs as well which I believe to make the transition for reality to fantasy within story more of an impact. But as I began to read I was intrigued by the descriptions of Ana’s art and style. I stopped I the middle not because I didn’t like it, but because I needed to focus on my other classed. However it is safe to say that I will finish this story. This story almost reminds me of Skelling by David Almond because it was about identity, discovery, mystery and finding out where you stand in this world. In Skelling, two kids finding out who they are and their friend, a mysterious angel they found in their home while in The Wood Wife she fins out more about her dead friend Cooper in his old house as well as herself. I do hope however that Windling expands more on Ana and her art and backstory. I know quite a bit about Cooper, time to know about the other main character who is still living.

As for the movie, I was reluctant to watch Lady in the Water but that’s because I am a hipster and find it easy to go with the flow of the people and hate everything M Night Shamalan has ever touched in career as a director. And yet I remember watching The Village when I was in middle school and I have to say that movie freaked me out, surprised me and left me feeling satisfied and not ripped off. Maybe I was easy to please then, I don’t know. I haven’t seen the movie since then but with the changes I’ve gone through as a person growing up in the world I wondered if this movie would too make me feel satisfied. Or better still allow myself to be satisfied with it even though my new bias may tell me not to.

So I watched it…it was not awful. It was okay. And honestly Paul Giamatti saved the
 movie in my opinion. Obviously I knew there would be twists, but not M Night himself basically (a weird writer). And the fact that they never expanded on the “Blue World” that Story was from also irritated me to bits. I loved the concept of the Narf and Scrunt. But I wanted more of that and less M Night talking about his story. I wanted to see it instead. So I was disappointed with the direction but intrigued by the concept. I’ll give it a C.

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