And it gets better.A wizened old mentor teaching a young pupil to let something "flow" through him. A scene in which someone rides the back of a dragon while whooping and cheering. A young hero rushing off to save his friends despite being warned that such actions spell d-o-o-m. An explanation from a henchman to a villain detailing why he came back empty-handed.
Children's literature is not for the weak. It is a ruthless cutthroat business with lots of gnashes of the teeth. Children's librarianship, in contrast, is a sweet sweet ride. Now you can hear me as I growl, gargle, and kvetch my way through news, reviews, and interviews. Kidlit podcasting = scary new world.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
The Cinematical Review of Eragon
Why see the movie when you can read a delightful review of this bit of treacle firsthand? Here is the list of things that reviewer Scott Weinberg does NOT want to see in a movie ever again.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThat deleted comment was mine. I had inadvertently signed in with my (gasp) real name. I was just wistfully thinking about what Eragon might have been like had Miss Snark given Paolini some advice about his "hook."
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like all that was wrong with the book stayed wrong with the movie; I had some hope that a visual translation of the book would improve it, and that scriptwriters would also help.
ReplyDeleteI guess it was beyond saving.
I have to say, I love the review. It's spot on; but still, the 4th grade boys adore this book because they have no idea that it isn't original. It would be an interesting study to see what they think when the encounter the original material.
That said, the must read for bad fantasy is Diana Wynne Jones' the Tough Guide to Fantasyland, recently reissued. Too funny for words, especially when it talks about capes. and stew.