Just to make sure there are cross-references from one fun thing to another, here’s a reminder that my book list of titles to be read (or reread) in 2012 is over at Pinterest >>
And, on occasion, I contribute to the wonderful writing community over at Scribbler’s Cove >> so be sure to check them out if you have an inclination toward the art of the written lie. 
I, like so many others, like to indulge in a family movie over the holidays. This time, it was the new Sherlock Holmes film. I enjoyed the first one, but this one looked even better, as they introduce Holmes’ nemesis, Professor Moriarty. That makes it more interesting from the start.
The story is a fun romp through clues (as any good mystery should be) in a steampunkish world that I found appealing. Now, there was a time when I would have torn the science apart, and surely there are many that already have for this film, but it didn’t bother me. In fact, what they’ve made of Holmes is a superhero. Superhero worlds have shoddy science. Think Bruce Banner. Spiderman? Please.
Yet don’t we all love a superhero story?
I don’t want to spoil too much of the fun if you haven’t seen it, but I want to say that I was impressed with how high they set the stakes in the first part of the film. I was firmly invested after we see what Moriarty is capable of… especially important because, as a superhero movie, we know Holmes (and Watson too) are not in any real danger of death, or even of not winning.
Other good things: the musical score!
And, the comedy, boy, was it funny. The guys have a real rapport that comes through, but the sparkle is in the situational comedy and dialogue of some very witty writers. Had a bit of a Pirates of the Caribbean feel to the humor. Very in-world. Let’s check who has writing credit… Michele and Kieran Mulroney, whose other main credit is a film I’ve not heard of: Paper Man. Hmmm. Looks a bit off-beat, but maybe I’ll check it out.
It’s interesting that on a big-budget film with strong acting and directing, riding on the shoulders of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the credited writers are relative nobodies. Kind of encouraging for other aspiring writer nobodies who shall remain nameless.
If you miss it in the theaters, it’s at least worth a Netflix. It’s head and shoulders better than the first one and makes you want to delve into the novels if you’ve yet to get around to them. For me, the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes has made it onto my reading list for the first time as a result of this fun film. Check it out!
I like to read widely, but for some reason, I haven’t picked up too many high fantasy books, let alone high fantasy mixed with YA romance. So it was a nice surprise that I enjoyed Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt.
The story starts on the day sixteen-year-old Keturah meets death — but death comes in the form of a stately, cloaked man. She tries (as many have surely done) to talk her way out of the inevitable, but because her storytelling is better than most — and she refuses to tell him the ending — he stays her sentence for a day with the promise that she’ll come back and tell him her story’s ending the next night. Her only way to avoid death on the morrow is to find her true love.
Now, as a rather gentle heroine, she must help her town and seek her true love in order to get out of going with Lord Death full-time. Especially because he has promised to take her to wife when she returns.
The strength of this story is in the language the author uses. It’s warm and pleasant like a candlelit bath, you just want to sink into it. It’s a fairly quick read at 52k words so it’s a great way to whet your appetite for more high romance.
Great for younger teens, too, sweet love and no raciness. If you’re a middle-schooler who likes romance, this is better reading than Twilight, IMO. Stake and burn me now, if you dare.
Oddly, this is my second post with this title, but this time it refers to the movie Stranger Than Fiction. But maybe it’s not odd, since there are no less than six different films — unrelated — of this same title. But I’m talking about the Will Ferrell one from 2006. The other night, while staying up to catch the lunar eclipse, I popped this movie in. Anyone who writes fiction will love this movie for obvious reasons, but so will everyone who enjoys consuming stories… as well as people who identify with slight obsessive-compulsive tendencies. And IRS agents. And people being audited. Basically, this movie is for everyone.
There are early clues that this story is going to be told in an unconventional way, as writing appears right on the screen during the opening sequence to give the audience a visual display of IRS agent Harold Crick’s (Ferrell) affinity for numbers and counting. Soon, we are introduced to the idea that the soothing female voice doing voice-overs (Emma Thompson) is actually audible to Harold. I mean, he notices her talking about him, narrating his life. The stakes are set when we hear our trusty narrator forecasting an early death for poor Mr. Crick.
From here it gets a little confusing as the story starts some seemingly unrelated threads of other characters. Don’t worry, you’ll get it on the second viewing. This is one of those lovely movies that brings it all together at the end and ties a neat bow. This is a feel-good movie that has some intelligent fun with fiction, IRS agents, literary professors and bakers, with a twist of romance mixed in.
You’ll enjoy it. Here’s a cute clip. Notice how Harold sits in the accordion part of the double bus. The whole movie is smart yet subtle like that.
Four nods to this one!
It’s PG-13, but personally I don’t know what age I’d recommend on this one. I watched with my preteens, and since I’m a nazi about people not sleeping together on the first date, I didn’t even have to say anything. They know where I stand. Other than that, I don’t recall language or violence issues — unless you count the multiple ways the narrator imagines of killing herself… but I found those comical. Sick me.
Since I mentioned My So-Called Life last post, I thought it’d be fun to review the short-lived TV series that first sparked my passion for storytelling for young people.
I was a big fan of this show when it first aired in 1994, and was devastated when it was pulled after a mere 19 episodes, leaving the romantic storyline forever frozen in a sad cliffhanger. Apparently they were looking for another 90210, when what they got was a non-glamorous, tender, real portrayal of one teen girl’s life, including all the people that surrounded her. The show was neither glitzy nor gritty. It walked the extremely-fine line of averageness — even made it beautiful — so that it has become a treasured favorite of regular-ole people like myself.
I don’t understand how the studios messed this up: when they hired Winnie Holzman — who had worked on The Wonder Years and thirtysomething — to create My So-Called Life, they should have known they’d get something more nuanced and deeper than your average teen drama. I have a favorite scene in the series, where Angela removes her new-looking boots to trade them for a homeless girl’s shoes. It shows her thinking about it, then unlacing and switching the pairs of shoes. Sounds pretty ordinary, doesn’t it? But it was cinematic music… it held the beat just a little long to emphasize something without even saying a word.
So, in case you were too old or too young, or too busy or too male to enjoy it on first run, please go add it to your Netflix queue today. Don’t be afraid of a little flannel and a lot of “like”s and “I mean”s. It’s the Pride and Prejudice of its era, transcending the trends of its day, just as enjoyable today as when it first came out. See the episodes in order, and tell me what you think!
This modern classic gets an unabashed five nods from me:
Not really for kids. Deals with teen issues of sexuality, guns, drugs, so it’s great to see as a teen or with a teen.
Here, I’ll get you started. Enjoy:
