How do you film a psychological thriller about alien plants? With a not-insubstantial effects budget, I would imagine. About a year ago, I reviewed the novella Annihilation, with the intent of eventually comparing it to its film adaptation. Here we are. In many ways, the film Annihilation is pretty conventional as far as adaptations go,… Continue reading Lessons in Adaptation: Annihilation
What happens after the monster is defeated? What happens when the hero has to settle down and re-acclimate to an ordinary life? I’ve always loved stories that ask these questions, that treat the usual climax as a secondary focus, prioritizing the emotional journey the character faces even if they’ve stopped moving their legs. Scott Pilgrim… Continue reading Another Day – Scott Pilgrim, Book Five
This is the book I've been rearing to write about. The Scott Pilgrim books are all enjoyable, but the latter half of the series raises the stakes to much more than relationship drama and magical battles. I love both of those, but now they have layers. Now the books charge ahead with all of the… Continue reading Figures in the Distance – Scott Pilgrim, Book Four
The culmination of tension in the past two books as to the identify and significance of Scott’s former squeeze precipitates here as we finally meet the mysterious Envy Adams. To further complicate matters, she’s here with Todd, Ramona’s third evil ex. Unlike the short fights in the previous two novels, this one extends through the… Continue reading The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Scott Pilgrim, Book Three
I’m always on the lookout for creative fantasy stories, given that so many of them feel like loose replicas of The Lord of the Rings. I feel I do a bad job of finding them much of the time. Thankfully, this YA novel by Nnedi Okorafor provides a perspective I didn’t even know I wanted,… Continue reading Magic Isn’t Everything – Akata Witch
Relationships are hard, what with boyfriends and girlfriends and friend-friends, some of whom have secret evil exes that attack you at random with lethal weaponry and sick finishers. It's a common problem. We rejoin Scott and company as they struggle through the difficulties of Canadian adolescence, Scott with the dual quests of breaking up with… Continue reading Meals and Mimickry – Scott Pilgrim, Book Two
Not all is well with this episode, but it’s much more of what I’d expect from this series: wacky and lightly offensive nonsense filmed beautifully, juxtaposed with moments of existential dread for both the characters and the audience. The season isn’t out of the woods by any means, with the characters all in fundamentally the… Continue reading Cowards – Preacher, Season Four, Episode Three
See? I told you I would do more on some of those recommendations. To be completely honest, though, I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to recommend either version of Good Omens. I like them both. I liked their better aspects quite a lot, actually. About a quarter of the way into the book, I was… Continue reading Lessons in Adaptation: Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
The world is a cold place. Life takes a lot out of you, even when the stakes are as low as they can get. This series is about a lot of things. It changes as you get older and see new ways to interpret its subjects. It’s more than it appears on its surface.… Continue reading The Deserts We Make of Ourselves – Scott Pilgrim, Book One
Update 9/23/2020: I wrote this a while back, but since then a certain author has fully outed herself (See? Pronouns aren't that difficult, Rowling, you crybaby) as a misogynistic, transphobic asshat. I feel like if I'm going to be talking about her work, I ought to use the space to promote something more useful, so… Continue reading Lessons in Adaptation: The Harry Potter Film Series
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