C.S. Lewis... IN SPACE!

Growing up I drank, ate, and breathed the Narnia Chronicles ever since my dad read them to me as a kid.  I reread the series every year, despite the fact that I could probably recite it to you from The Magician's Nephew to The Last Battle without blinking an eye.  Last summer I enjoyed The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity just as much, but for different reasons.  At this point, I'm sure you can imagine how high my expectations were for the space trilogy.

So, did I enjoy the series?  Yes and no.

I have to be honest, if there were a race between the plot of any of the three books and a tortoise-sloth-snail hybrid, the hybrid would be wearing the gold metal right now.  Fifty pages in, I found myself still wondering when we were going to get to exploding spaceships, battling aliens, and death-defying stunts.  For the main character Ransom, not much... happens.  Instead there are long descriptions of Malacandra and Perelandra (Mars and Venus respectively), which are fascinating to read in contrast to the Silent Planet (Earth).  Ransom's interactions with the inhabitants in the first two books open up a philosophical conversation about spiritual conditions in the different planets that I thought was delicious food for thought.  Sometimes I felt like I was looking into an alternate universe of what Earth could have been, yet at the same time I could clearly see how the events on Earth influenced the rest of the planets.

Despite their status as fiction, I came out of the first two books feeling like I had read a combination that was 80% Lewis' theoretical Christian nonfiction (such as in Mere Christianity) and 20% Lewis' imaginative Christian fantasy (such as in Narnia Chronicles).  It threw me off to have this experience, which wasn't necessarily bad, but it was different from the thrilling action and character interaction that I had expected.  One element from the Narnia Chronicles that Lewis heightened, however, blew my mind in the best possible way.

In a few of the Narnia books, Lewis briefly inserts himself as someone who actually talks to the characters about their story.  The first example that comes to mind is this moment from Voyage of the Dawn Treader:

And suddenly there came a breeze from the east, tossing the top of the wave into foamy shapes and ruffling the smooth water all round them... It brought both a smell and a sound, a musical sound. Edmund and Eustace would never talk about it afterwards. Lucy could only say, "It would break your heart." "Why," said I, "was it so sad?" "Sad! No," said Lucy.

In the first two installments of the space trilogy, Lewis becomes a character/first-person narrator who has whole dialogues with Ransom.  I had thought it could be a random unnamed narrator, but Ransom actually calls him "Lewis."  LEWIS!  C.S. Lewis is writing about himself as if the events have occurred in his real life in his real time period.  It's meta on so many levels, and I missed seeing it in the trilogy's final installment.  Speaking of which...

Lewis makes a disclaimer in the preface that although That Hideous Strength concludes the trilogy, it can be read on its own.  That fact is true, so true that for most of its duration I wondered if it belonged in the trilogy at all.  We start off with a fresh batch of new characters going about their business in, as Lewis admits, "hum-drum scenes" in the first half.  No one at any point (spoiler!) goes into space, which makes me question whether it fits into the science fiction genre.  There are fantastical elements, but I had a more magical/Narnia vibe from them rather than the scientific/alien.  Maybe I just don't know what science fiction is supposed to be.  All in all, this last book is so different from the other two that it might actually have deserved its own review if I wasn't so busy binge watching all the shows I've wanted to see when school was happening.

I appreciated various aspects in the three books as a Christian thinker and as someone who likes reading Lewis' writing.  However, if given the choice between this series and the Narnia series, well, you've got to go with the classics.  Am I right?

Star Wars: My Inner Geek Awakens

I have a confession: as a kid watching the original trilogy, I thought that Star Wars was just for lame sci-fi geeks like my dad.  Coming out of Episode VII, I realized that I am now one of those geeks.  Thanks a lot, J.J. Abrams.  You ruined the last shred of dignity I had as a nerd who spewed random Marvel facts and liked reading books for fun.

I can't tell you how cool it is to watch Rey, a female character, rise up as this generation's newest and most badass Jedi.  It's obvious this story is mainly about her realizing her connection to the Force and Luke Skywalker, even though there are plenty of characters old and new that also stole their share of screen time.  Alongside Rey, we have Finn, a guy who tries so hard to do right and who made me laugh on more than one occasion due to his natural adorableness.  Speaking of which, BB8 is the cutest android since, well, R2D2.  Who knew you could express so much excitement and emotion in a series of beeps?  For the nostalgics, we also have Chewbacca and Harrison Solo - I mean, Han Ford - I mean... never mind, same difference.  Just remember their unfailing bromance in the original trilogy, and know that it is as beautiful now as it was then.  Then Leia.  We need more Leia, people.

Between the quest to find Luke Skywalker and the light saber duels and the laser gun battles, I had not thought I would experience as many light, humorous moments as I did.  I already mentioned the comedy from Finn being Finn, but of course Han Solo had some of the best lines ("That's not how the Force works!").  However, the movie was not all banter and laughter.  I won't go into into any more detail than that because SPOILERS, but y'all should be prepared to tear up at least once. *sniffs*

Of course, the danger that all sequels must face is falling back on old tropes and plot devices to drive their story forward rather than coming up with something different.  Despite the fun it has, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is somewhat guilty of this.  Everyone wants a hold of an android with critical information in its hard drive, but that android ends up getting captured and becomes buddies with the film's protagonist (if that also sounds like Episode IV, that's because it is).  Then that protagonist wants to find a Jedi master, who happens to be the last of his kind (if that also sounds like Episode V, that's because, again, IT IS).  Not all classic elements are bad to have in a new chapter, such as Han Solo's ship making a reappearance or the Darth Vader-esque mask that the villain Kylo Ren has in order to pursue Vader's legacy.  You just have to be careful not to use those elements at the expense of your own storytelling and originality.

All in all, between Rey's mysterious backstory, Finn's fight v. flight dilemma, and Kylo Ren's very complicated origins, I'm honestly so excited to see where the sequels takes the characters next.  Will Rey become a master Jedi?  Will she defeat Kylo Ren, or will the Dark Side finally win?  Tune in next week for Star Wars: Episode VIII.  Heck yeah.

(source: tumblr.com)

The Beard Must Die

Happy December, everybody!

I recently participated in BOP Journal's "Oh Facially November" contest, and although I didn't win, they have put my flash fiction story "The Beard Must Die" on their site.  You can check it out here.

Also, I have a new Twitter account if you want to follow me there: https://twitter.com/goldengatebrdg2

Peanuts Movie: The Classic Modern Charlie Brown

First off, if you have never read a Peanuts comic strip, I hope that what I have attached above has educated you on the awesomeness that is Charles Schulz's work.  When the news first came out that a CGI-animated Peanuts movie was coming out, I had hardly dared to hope that it would have the same style, humor, and heart that I was used to--both from the comics and from the 2D animated movies.  Thankfully, I did dare.  My nostalgia was more than sufficiently fed with familiar tropes such as Lucy's psychiatric help stand, Snoopy's imagined battle with the Red Baron, and Charlie Brown's struggle with, well, pretty much everything.  As a bonus, there are flashes of the original comic style whenever the characters have a thought bubble and whenever exaggerated 2D lines create the character's expressions.  At the same time, the movie does not entirely follow its predecessors and truly came into its own.  Mild spoilers ahead.

One of my favorite parts involved Charlie Brown's relationship with his dog Snoopy.  Snoopy serves as an encouraging wingman for his owner as he tries to woo the Little Red-Haired Girl, whose face we actually see despite my expectations.  Snoopy's interactions with Charlie Brown are always so sweet, which in the comic strip has not really been the case, and every time I saw them together on screen, I wanted to run over to them and have a group hug.  When he's not helping out Charlie Brown, Snoopy pretends he is in a wild adventure that involves rescuing his true love from the infamous Red Baron.  This leads to several hilarious moments, such as when you remember that instead of inching across a broken bridge over a high drop, he's just hanging from a few Christmas lights in front of Peppermint Patty's house.

Meanwhile, as if I hadn't found Charlie Brown endearing enough already, the movie presents several moments where he chooses to do the right thing rather than take his chance to impress the Little Red-Haired Girl.  When he makes a fool of himself to rescue his sister Sally from embarrassment in the talent show, sacrificing his own magic act, I literally had the "awww" sound on loop in my head for pretty much the rest of the movie.  Of course I don't want to give away all of his moments of glory, but know that he is a precious cinnamon roll and deserves about ten billion kisses.  I really like how Charlie Brown, at his root, is simply a good kid.  It gives me hope for humanity, even if he is just a cartoon.

The movie does not entirely follow the comic strip, but describing that in detail might be going too far into spoiler territory for some of you.  You were warned.  Basically, at its end we see Charlie Brown actually gaining a few victories, which Schulz never wanted to have happen while he was alive.  His reasoning, as I understand it, was that Charlie Brown is supposed to be a character that keeps hoping even though things never go his way.  All the same, I can't help but find it satisfying as well as surprising for the character to at least have a few of his wishes fulfilled.  I don't think it takes away from the spirit of hope Schulz was going for, and with a movie as funny, adorable, and heartening as this one, I would not be surprised to see a Peanuts 2 movie coming in the near future.

57 Chevy

Before “57 Chevy,” which my acting class took a trip to see on Wednesday in Los Angeles, I had never seen a one-man show, which made me initially have doubts about the play’s ability to keep me engaged for an hour and a half.  How could one person, one character, maintain a presence so engrossing that they didn’t need anyone else on stage with them?  As you can probably tell, I was thinking of a one-man show as more of a really long (boring) monologue than a play with diverse characters interacting with each other in a meaningful way.  Coming out of the play, I am glad to not only have had my misconceptions cleared up, but also to have been thoroughly entertained in the process.

The main character Cris “Junior” Franco, played by Ric Salinas, narrates his life story through the lens of his beloved father’s Chevy, the symbol of the Franco family’s American Dream.  Junior seamlessly transitions from playing himself in the present day to himself as a child, to his father, to his mother, and to a multitude of minor but hilarious characters.  I was really impressed with Salinas’ ability to adopt the mannerisms, inflection, and tics of people of different ages, ethnicities, and attitudes.  Within a few moments, I had a good sense of each character’s personality and truly believed that Salinas was whatever he was acting as.  His exaggerated gestures and voices contributed to the comedy that kept the play light while dealing with deeper issues of race.

Salinas also made excellent use of props, especially the two desk tables that he writes on in the beginning, in order to help the audience visualize what was happening.  The tables filled in for almost everything--from the front door, to a coffin, to (of course) the Chevy itself.  Combining props with realistic movement and the projection of images in the background, Salinas always made clear where the character was and what he was doing.  My favorite moment was when Junior talked at length about the “stalker gringo Jesus” (which, if you are Mexican, you’re probably very familiar with) while the picture was displayed behind him just in case you haven’t seen it before.

We see all the play’s events through the perspective of Junior, who at ten years old has to deal with moving from the familiar South Central L.A. to the “Same” Fernando Valley.  The tensions between his immigrant family at home, the white people at school, and his distant relatives in Mexico are expressed poignantly through a series of anecdotes of his day-to-day experiences.  His father is shown over and over again to be an important figure in his life as he undergoes this process.  I understood the father’s desire for his son and daughters to achieve, especially in light of his background and the love he clearly possesses for them; he becomes a sympathetic character alongside Junior as a result.  Junior’s navigation through issues of identity and race is a political one, but personalizing it through childhood memories and a strong relationship with his father makes it more subtle yet also real.  As a fourth-generation Mexican American, I fundamentally appreciate the Latino Theater Company for producing a piece of art that I was able to partake in, even if I couldn’t relate to everything that happened in Junior’s life.

Hotel Transylvania 2

If you want to remember the quirkiness from the first Hotel Transylvania, you'll certainly get it in its successor.  The sequel features Dracula and his daughter Mavis once again, but this time with Mavis' son Dennis, who has yet to get his vampire fangs.  Worried that Mavis will move her family away to live with humans, Dracula wrangles the hotel gang in a series of hilarities to bring out his grandson's monster side.  Also, Dracula's dad shows up.  That part of the plot is shoe-horned as ungracefully in the movie as it is in my synopsis, but more on that later.

I really liked Mavis and Johnny getting together in the first movie (what, I'm a romantic, SUE ME!), so I enjoyed even more watching them get married and having possibly one of the cutest, sweetest animated kids to ever exist.  When they go to see Johnny's family, his mother embarrassed me on so many levels, like a true mom.   She had obnoxious Halloween decorations to make Mavis "feel at home" and invited "mixed" couples of a monster and a human to have dinner.  Unfortunately, one of the couple members told her that he wasn't a werwolf like she thought.  #Awkward!  Anyone else see the parallel with mixed-race couples?  Just wondering.  In general I liked seeing her and other humans interacting with the monsters in the classic fish-out-of-water trope.

From the preview, I knew that Dracula's dad would get incorporated in Dracula's quest to make Dennis a vampire.  I expected him to come into the movie a lot earlier, but instead he showed up in about the last fifteen minutes.  His conflict with the family about Dennis' half-human identity and the swarm of creepy bat monsters he brings with him are resolved too quickly to feel real.  His appearance didn't fit well into the overall arc of Dracula embracing all aspects of his grandson, which had thus far created quite a bit of entertainment for me, and it did not turn into a satisfying father-son reconciliation to make up for it.

Hotel Transylvania 2 is a fun animated kid's movie, although in the end it's simply that: a kid's movie.  I don't mean that negatively, because I laughed and awwwed several times in the theater.  However, when you put up this movie's amusing yet silly characters against the glory of, say, Toy Story, you remember that Hotel Transylvania 2 is not the classic, universal film that adults and kids get nostalgic about generation after generation.  It may be enjoyable for families, but it's missing the substance that takes a movie from decent to great.

Remember My Satire?

My lovely followers, I have an announcement, which you may have already heard but I'll share it again: my satire about Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey has finally been posted on BOP Journal.  I submitted it in the spring (I think), but some issues with the images and other things delayed its publication.  If you want to relive the laughs that the satire gave you before, go to this link: http://www.bopjournal.com/message-to-christian-grey-no-one-knows-how-to-win-middle-aged-womens-hearts-except-me-by-edward-cullen/

Some things have been changed to make it child appropriate, but hopefully it hasn't lost any of its overall humor and wit.