Tag: review | Amy C. Shaw

Review: Monsters University

July 18, 2013 • 8 Comments

I’ve been a little upset with Pixar lately, between their run of sequels and the strange movie Brave, and have been impressed while their competition Dreamworks really stepped up their game with How To Train Your Dragon. Well, I finally saw Monsters University over the weekend, and while a prequel, it finally felt like a step in the right direction – back to Pixar’s glory days.

I plan to keep this review short. The movie is a prequel to my personal favorite Pixar movie, Monsters, Inc., which I loved so much because of its unique story and fun characters. So for me, the idea of giving this movie its own prequel could either be a total disaster or a fun ride, and thankfully it was the latter! As usual, Pixar paid close attention to every detail, and you can see it in every scene of the movie. The various monster characters are all one of a kind, each complete with their own personality. And not only did we get to see how much Mike and Sully did not get along when they first met, but we also learn that Randall was actually a nice guy at one time! Before ~~Nathan Fillion~~ Johnny Worthington’s fraternity Roar Omega Roar got the better of him.

I also loved the messages in the movie. Mike works extremely hard to be the best scarer ever, as it’s all he’s wanted since he was a little monster. But he learns that he’s actually not all that scary. However, that doesn’t mean he’s worthless. He’s great at training others how to scare, and is hard worker, and these things will help him in his future career. But of course, while in the middle of everything he is going through, it’s hard for him to see.

Working hard pays off, and so does pursuing your dream, but sadly, we all cannot do exactly as we dream to do, but we can do something else, something we may realize is even better for us.

I give Monsters University four stars for delivering a fun time, a good message, great characters new and old, and for not ruining Monsters, Inc. It’s not quite among my elite favorites, but I’ll definitely be adding the movie to my Pixar film collection.

Have you seen Monsters University? What were your thoughts? And what’s your favorite Pixar film?

Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars

July 16, 2013 • 11 Comments

I knew I had to read this book when I heard that it was basically Jane Austen’s Persuasion meets genetic engineering, and I’m glad I did!

Generations after tampering with genetic experimentation has gone wrong and caused the Reduction, Posts are being born, descendants of the Reduced who are no longer limited to the docile state of the Reduced. Meanwhile the Luddites rise to power, placing protocols in place to ensure that such a disaster never occurs again. Elliot, born and raised a Luddite, was once forced to choose between helping her family and their estate or running away with the Post boy she had grown to love over the years. When he returns four years later, the consequences of her choice continue to haunt her daily, and she comes to learn just how much the world is changing as Posts gain more wealth and power.

There was so much I adored about this book! It was not perfect, but let me outline some of my favorite elements…

The unique adaptation of Persuasion. I have not read Persuasion, though I have seen a film version of it and after reading this book, it has jumped much higher on my TBR list. Despite my limited exposure to it, it was obvious how much influence of the story was included. Not only is the basic premise there, but even the writing felt a bit Austen-esque (though more modern-day friendly). And the world-building supported it. The world-building in this story, I felt, was pretty strong. Somehow, Peterfreund was able to craft a world that was believably a part of the future, but also somewhat rooted in the past. The nobility structure of the Luddites mirrors the time in which Austen lived in, where estate owners live in wealth and where it is not uncommon for families to inter-marry (I guess Luddites really don’t worry much about genetics! o.O). I just loved how she merged the past and the future to create the technology-scared world as the perfect setting for an Austen-esque story. I loved the details that married past and future with the sun-carts that were used and the fashion the Posts wore.

I loved the MC, Elliot. She was independent but still loved and leaned on others. She was smart and stood her ground. She was fiercely loyal and self-motivated. I related to her a lot, at least personality-wise. But instead of irritating me (except when she wouldn’t give Kai a chance to talk to her, but more on that later), she inspired me. But she was not perfect. She constantly struggled over the beliefs of what she was raised to believe versus the changes she was seeing in her world. Sometimes others had to guide her and remind her that they were there for her and that she didn’t have to fight her demons alone.

The supporting characters were all unique in their own way. I did not feel any of the characters were one-dimensional. Though Elliot does paint her sister and her father out to be that way, we learn that there is more to both of them than meets the eye. Even Elliot’s Reduced friend, Ro, has a personality that can be clearly seen through her actions. I don’t have minor character that stands out as one that I really love, but I did appreciate them all in their own way.

The letters throughout the book. Elliot and Kai grew up together, and one of their favorite pastimes was writing letters to each other. At first the letters feel like basic background information, but then we see an increase in their relevance, as we see the philosophies of both Kai and Elliot forming at a young age. I like how through these letters, we can understand how the characters have developed to who they are when we meet them in the book.

The feels! Elliot goes through a wide range of emotions in this book, all for understandable reasons! When she practically hated Kai, I did too. When she grew hopeful maybe things would change back to the way they used to be with Kai, I felt my heart hope that for her too.

But this book was not perfect. Here’s what I didn’t love so much…

Kai was just a little too mean for a little too long. Again, I have not read Persuasion, but in the movie I don’t remember Captain Wentworth being just so flat-out mean. Kai deliberately stirs up Elliot’s anger for a good portion of the book, to the point where I wondered if I even really wanted Elliot to get back with him! Thankfully, he realizes how awful he’s been and tries to make it right, but Elliot will never talk to him for more than five minutes. Anytime the guy was trying to apologize or tell her he cared or anything, she would never listen very long. Even towards the end when she’s not as mad at him, it’s like she won’t trust herself to talk to him for more than a few minutes. The guy has to write out a letter to explain what he wants to (of course, that’s perfect given the nature of their relationship… but still)!

The sometimes slow pacing and long passages of time passed by. The first few chapters of the book felt clunky to me, not long, but like a strange, slow way to start a book. There’s an early chapter where we meet Ro, but other than the purpose of meeting her specifically as well as someone who is Reduced, it feels really pointless. We do learn things about Ro that carry throughout the book, but I really would have like to have seen something more from the chapter. I feel like Elliot explains a lot early on as well, instead of letting us discover things as the reader through dialogue and such, but thankfully this wanes over the book.

There were also times when periods of time would pass and we would only get a few sentences on what happened. I don’t mind this when used scarcely and when used correctly, but it happened a few times and there were times it felt awkward. Like Kai and Elliot would seem to be close to having a moment when their conversation is interrupted, and then we skip to months in the future with the indication that they have not interacted anymore in that time. I suppose in the nature of the story it is plausible, but it was utilized more times than I personally prefer.

The ending was rushed and not quite as emotionally satisfying as I was expecting. So Elliot finally figures out what Kai has been trying to tell her, that he cares for her still, and yet she continues to completely ignore him and intends to do so until he leaves. Then suddenly he leaves the letter explaining how she feels and she is running out the door without a care in the world, singing that she is going to actually run away with her love this time. I had no problem with this idea really, but it felt so crazy fast, and when it all came down to them finally being open to one another, I didn’t feel the tug at my heartstrings I was anticipating. (I did re-read the ending a second time and it did feel a little more emotionally satisfied, but it wasn’t to the degree I was hoping.)

I was left wanting more. Elliot spends the entire time struggling between what she was raised to believe, what choices Kai has made, and what the world seems to be becoming. I know there is another book coming out soon that is set in this same universe, and I’m glad Peterfreund did not leave us with an absolute answer of what is definitely right and what is definitely wrong in terms of what we do with genetic engineering, but I would have liked for Elliot to at least have either some sort of resolution or reconciliation… not necessarily to all her questions, because that might take a lifetime, but as how she will go forward with Kai and the Posts while still staying true to herself, as it was clear she had not completely converted to their beliefs, and I honestly don’t think she needed to, especially not just for the sake of love. I just wanted to know what she was thinking at the end when it came to all that, but the romantic story dominated at the end and wrapped the story up.

However, even with these problems, I just adored reading the book so much. I felt giving it 5 stars was too much, but 4 seemed too little, so I’m doing another half rating of 4.5 stars.

I will definitely be checking out Across a Star-Swept Sea, which is not about Elliot and Kai but takes place in the same world. It’s a very fascinating world and I can’t wait to learn even more about it!

Content Advisory: One mild word, no sex, no violence. Very clean!

Have you read For Darkness Shows the Stars? What are your thoughts on it?

Review: Till We Have Faces

June 29, 2013 • 10 Comments

Sorry, but this review will be a little different due to the fact that this was a hard book to review. I bought Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis in college after a recommendation from a friend, but it has taken me this long to finally get around to reading it. There were a couple of times that I tried to start, but it’s not the sort of story that grabs you from the beginning. In fact, the whole story is pretty slow-paced, though the book is not all that long. It’s “a myth retold” of Psyche and Cupid, who I knew nothing of going into this. It might have helped to know beforehand, but knowing after did not help me feel an absolute resolution from the end. Nor did it help me fully understand all the things I know C.S. Lewis was probably trying to say and I feel I did not quite understand. This book could be slow, confusing, captivating, clear, mysterious, or thoughtful, and who knows, maybe that’s the point.

The ending did not feel very resolute for me. At some point, I found myself connecting with the main character, Orual. I wanted the answers to her questions just as she did. Why did the gods demand her sister? Or did they? What happened to her on the evening she last saw her? Why would they make her suffer? The ending that I felt was supposed to reveal all this did not give me all the answers I hoped for. Maybe I missed the point. Or maybe the point was we can’t know all of God’s mysterious ways.

While reading reviews of the book on Goodreads while still trying to process it all, I learned that C.S. Lewis started writing this book when he was an atheist, but at some point stopped, and then picked it up years later when he was a Christian. I didn’t see any clear parallels to Christianity or theology, which again, makes me wonder if I missed something. I saw a couple of theories and ideas in reviews, but I didn’t want to read too many of them because I wanted to figure it out myself. Well, over a week later I haven’t. Maybe years from now, I’ll try re-reading it.

Here’s what I will say. This book is based on a myth, and mythology does not really interest me much. C.S. Lewis was a much smarter man than I am, so I believe there is a message in here I am missing. Though it was slow in parts and not always exciting, there were parts that piqued my interest and kept me turning the page.

I’ve had an extremely hard time deciding on a rating for this, and nothing feels right. 3 stars feels like a slap to Lewis since this was his favorite work, and four stars makes it seem like I was just a little bit more into it than I was. I don’t want to do a half rating, and I can’t for my Goodreads rating, but I’m giving it a 3.5 anyway. I liked it. I almost really liked it. It was just a hard read in the sense that I just don’t completely understand it and that frustrates me.

If you’ve read Till We Have Faces, please let me know your thoughts! And if you haven’t read it but are considering it, I would recommend you check out multiple reviews before deciding if it’s your cup of tea, unless you really love Lewis and just want to read it for that purpose alone. I don’t believe it would be a waste of your time.

What book was hard for you to process?

Review: The Book Thief

June 13, 2013 • 17 Comments

Where do I even begin?

First, I am going to steal like Liesel and post the beginning of Goodreads’ user Tamara‘s review of The Book Thief (Is it stealing if I credit her? I mean, I don’t actually want to steal her words and her be mad at me should she ever see this!): “I give this 5 stars, BUT there is a disclaimer: If you want a fast read, this book is not for you. If you only like happy endings this book is not for you. If you don’t like experimental fiction, this book is not for you. If you love to read and if you love to care about the characters you read about and if you love to eat words like they’re ice cream and if you love to have your heart broken and mended on the same page, this book is for you.”

I have to say, if I had read those words before reading the book, I might have been more hesitant to read it. But the choice to read this was actually a whim, based solely on the fact that I found I could borrow it as an e-book from my library without having to wait, so I thought, Why not?

But… Not a fast read? Maybe I’ll read it later when I have more time. Not a happy ending? I definitely don’t want to check that out. Experimental fiction? Well, I don’t know how I feel about that.

But wow, the words… the way Markus Zusak crafts words in this story is truly magical, and as an aspiring writer, that alone makes this book a worthwhile read. But then there are the people inside, whose story is so simple and tragic and believable and you cannot help but root for them.

I could quote so much of this book, because the book permeates beautiful imagery that you experience with all five senses, but I will let you discover the words yourself when you read them. What you need to know is that the narrator of the book is Death, and despite what you might think, he’s not all bad. In fact, he’s fascinated by colors in the sky and by the spirit of humans who are living and dying. And he is particularly taken by the story of Liesel, a young girl sent to live with a foster family while living in Nazi Germany.

Her brother has died, she has been separated from her mother, she never knew her father, and she feels all alone in the strangers’ house with an empty bed beside her. But she grows to love her new Papa, she makes a best friend named Rudy that the people in town find strange, and she makes it her personal mission to learn to read the book that she stole at her brother’s grave site.

I won’t delve any further into the story, except to say that books, reading, and words all play an important part in Liesel’s life throughout the story. This is what carries her through hard times and what bonds her with certain people. I love when a book focuses so much on words.

I will say, however, that The Book Thief is not a perfect book. I actually found the pacing slow at first, because the story is so simple (and the first chapter or two is confusing I think because of Death’s narrative), but the more you read, the more you care about the people. Also, about halfway through the book Death gives you a major spoiler alert for the end. I guess in a way this was good, to soften the blow as he even says (plus he hates suspense!), and it made it less hard later. Yet, it also made it maybe a little less emotional as well. But don’t get me wrong, I still cried at the end.

And then there’s the language. There’s a lot of it, a lot more than I prefer. I considered knocking off a star for it, but it felt wrong to give this book the same number of stars as other books I did not feel nearly as inspired by, so I give it five stars with that caution of language. There were not any f-bombs, but there was a large amount of “moderate” language.

This book is very stylistic. If you can’t get on board with what the author is doing, you won’t like it. But I hope you give it a chance if you haven’t yet. And while the book is incredibly sad, there is some hope in the epilogue (without it, this may have been a four star review instead). Though it’s small and I wish there was more, it was poignant and was probably just the right amount for proper closure.

Stephen King once said: “There are books full of great writing that don’t have very good stories. Read sometimes for the story… don’t be like the book-snobs who won’t do that. Read sometimes for the words–the language. Don’t be like the play-it-safers who won’t do that. But when you find a book that has both a good story and good words, treasure that book.” I believe this book is both good story and good words, a book to treasure.

Content Advisory

Language: A large amount of moderate language, as mentioned above. You can also read more about it at Rated Reads.

Sexual: None, except a mention of imagining someone naked, but there is no description.

Violence: Mild/moderate. There is death in this book, but it’s not described in too much detail. There is also some other violent incidents, some which are mentioned with some detail, but nothing too graphic.

I know this is a favorite for many. If you’ve read The Book Thief, what were your thoughts?

Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

May 20, 2013 • 21 Comments

To review this movie without giving away any serious spoilers would be difficult at best. So let me say what I can first…

I laughed and I cried.

This movie is largely about Kirk’s development as a character.

Benedict Cumberbatch gave a stellar performance.

Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy is still my (and my husband’s) favorite character in the reboot universe, as he was in the 2009 movie.

You can enjoy this movie with limited Star Trek exposure (you should probably at least see the 2009 film), but the more Star Trek you have seen, the more you will appreciate the movie. And if you do enjoy J.J. Abrams’ Trek films, you should really go back and watch the original source. It’s not as polished and sometimes it’s hokey, but the heart is there, and you can more fully grasp the meaning of what happened in this film.

And let me warn you, I’m about to get super Star Trek nerdy.

Now for the spoilers! I have whited out the spoilers so you can scroll down to comment without fear if you’re not ready, so highlight the white parts to read if you are ready. (Also, any links you click on will contain spoilers for various series in the Star Trek universe and other movies, so do so at your own risk!)

Comparisons to the Original Source

So there was a lot of talk about John Harrison when he was announced as the villain. Even before, it was widely speculated that he was actually Khan, who long-time Trekkies know from The Original Series episode “Space Seed,” and the movie Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (Wait, this wasn’t Star Trek 2? No it wasn’t! In fact, it’s the 12th Star Trek movie.) Some believed it, some didn’t. Most of the time, I was in the camp who believed he wasn’t. I mean, Benedict Cumberbatch looks nothing like Khan! (Click here for a picture reference) I thought I would be disappointed if he was Khan. But I also wanted to keep an open mind.

When watching the movie, probably about ten minutes in there was a dead giveaway for me that Harrison was either Khan or involved with augments somehow (if you don’t know what augments are, your homework is the aforementioned “Space Seed,” as well as the Star Trek: Enterprise episodes “Borderland,” “Cold Station 12,” and “The Augments), and that was when he told that man that he could save his daughter’s life. Genetic engineering was clearly involved.

I also nearly cheered aloud when Section 31 was mentioned (Your homework to learn more about Section 31 is the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes “Inquisition,” “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges,” “When It Rains…,” “Tacking Into the Wind,” and “Extreme Measures,” as well as Enterprise episodes: “Affliction,” “Divergence,” “Demons,” “Terra Prime.” (Those these episodes will make more sense and mean more if you watch the entire series, so essentially I’m telling you to watch everything. 🙂 )), and am glad that brought it up. I think Section 31 is a great element of the Star Trek universe because it shows a darker underbelly of the Federation and that it’s not perfect (I know Gene Rodenberry is rolling in his grave as I type this, but it’s true). Though I found it odd they didn’t debrief Kirk and crew about how they shouldn’t mention to anyone ever. Hmmm…

Anyways…

I decided to embrace Cumberbatch’s character as Khan while watching the movie. And then when Kirk went into that radiation zone, I once again knew what was going to happen…

Seriously, you need to watch Wrath of Khan.

Kirk was going to die. Spock was going to see him die. It would be the reversal of The Wrath of Khan, where Spock died it Kirk had to watch. And I was stunned that J.J. was actually doing this! Was is a rip-off or an homage? I mean, this is a alternate timeline, so I suppose a lot of it can play out similarly yet different (but don’t get me started on how different the uniforms and interior ship designs are and yet most of the Enterprise crew is the same… I’ve always had a problem believing alternate reality stories. But anyway, tangent over…). But I was crying in the theater, tears rolling down my cheeks, as I watched the scene between Kirk and Spock as Kirk died play out. So I accepted it. (By the way, to see a comparison between the death scenes in this movie and in Wrath of Khan, click here.) I decided I really appreciated most of what J.J. portrayed in this movie with this timeline, borrowing from original elements that Trekkies already know and love.

The Characters

I thought the film did a good job in continuing Kirk and Spock’s relationship as we saw how it was set up in the 2009 film. Though Spock is half human, he generally chooses his Vulcan side, which drives Kirk, who is very much human, crazy, but he also has a lot of respect for Spock. And though Spock doesn’t always show it or even always know if himself, he has a lot of respect for Kirk. I think the death scene was so poignant for me because of how well-developed this relationship was in J.J.’s version of Trek, because when I cried, I cried for these characters, not the original ones. BUT I also think the background I have with the original ones certainly added to the emotional element. And though I still find Spock’s relationship a little unlikely (which was how I felt with the 2009 film), it was nice to get some human moments from Spock that helped lead up to later in the movie (“I choose not to feel…).

Have I mentioned that Benedit Cumberbacth was awesome as John Harrison/Khan? Because WOW, he was. Even if you are a Trekkie and know better than to trust Khan, it was easy to find yourself halfway wonder if there was any way this Khan might be different. But he isn’t! It’s true, he does love his crew like family, but he does not care about anyone at Star Fleet one iota. I find it kind of interesting that Star Fleet and Section 31 actually woke him up to work as an intelligence agent… and when I say interesting I am not sure if I mean that in a good way. It just seems unlikely, since they have banned genetic engineering after all. But who knows. Maybe they were truly desperate. But despite this, I thought he was a good villain, much stronger than Nero from the 2009 movie.

As mentioned before, Karl Urban as McCoy is my favorite of J.J.’s Enterprise crew. He just hits him dead-on without being just like DeForrest Kelley. It’s the perfect blend of new character with old character. I can’t say enough good things.

Simon Pegg as Scotty would probably be my second favorite. I really enjoyed him in the last movie and this one.

The rest of the supporting cast was great as well, though Sulu and Chekov’s air time was pretty limited (as my husband said when we talked about Sulu’s time in the movie: “at least he got to be Captain for a little while.”). Zoe Saldana as Uhura again portrayed her as a strong yet feminine character, and I felt Alice Eve did the same for new character Dr. Carol Marcus (well, new to this film because, you guessed it, Carol Marcus is also in Wrath of Khan). I wish we could have seen more of Marcus in this film, but hopefully we will in the future.

Overall Story

I enjoyed the story overall, and once I accepted the borrowed elements from Star Trek past, I embraced those elements and thought the new twists that were added all worked together nicely for this film. I love how the story opens feeling very much like classic Star Trek with bright colors and an alien planet, and then descends into a darker feel much more reminiscent of series Deep Space Nine and Enterprise. I felt the pacing was mostly on point, though the last maybe ten-ish minutes were a little off in some ways. I’m not unhappy with the ending, but it felt a little strange to have the big climax of Kirk dying, then this chase scene with Khan and Spock, and then have a wrap-up after Kirk is saved and the movie tries to quickly tie things up so much so that we leap forward to a year in the future so we can see a new Enterprise and be all set up for a third movie (or a new TV SHOW!!!! Which I want so badly, but due to rights issues is not very likely to happen). I did love seeing Khan frozen again, with a hint of a smile on his face, and though before this movie I was not gung-ho for anymore Khan (despite how much I’ve told you to watch The Wrath of Khan I don’t entirely love it the way most Trekkies do), I DO like the concept a lot and I felt this movie did a lot for it, to the point where I would be completely happen to see a return in another movie. Though preferably a TV show. Sigh.

Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned the TRIBBLE! Watch “The Trouble with Tribbles” and “Trials and Tribble-ations” ASAP. You will thank me.

I think I’ve said enough now. So if you saw the movie, what were your thoughts? If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?!