Dark Christmas: The Nightmare Before Christmas

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I confess--I didn't watch this movie until recently. I'm not a huge fan of stop-action animation. And I don't much care for skin...

Books to Movies: Y is for Why Authenticity?

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How authentic does authentic need to be? Windwalker , the novel, was written by Blaine M. Yorgason. The movie stars two white dudes, in part...

Books to Movies: The Battle of the Five Armies, Boring War Bits, and How to Make a Scene Memorable

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"The Gathering of the Clouds" The politics of Thorin being unwilling to open up his property to suddenly needy neighbors is very...

Books to Movies: X is for the X-Marks-the-Spot Quest of History Movies

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What should a history movie do? Be visually stimulating? Be a story? Be accurate? Can it be accurate? I occasionally show my College Writin...

Love as Hard Work in Elementary

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This time of year is a great time to discuss the belief system of  Elementary 's Holmes. I love Elementary in part because Miller's...

Happy National Letter Writing Day!

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Although I'm not a huge fan of epistolary fiction (fiction in the form of letters), I am a huge fan of actual letters and cards. I think...

Books to Movies: The Arkenstone & Getting Characters from Point A to Point B

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The Arkenstone   Smaug: "I am almost tempted to let you  take it." Bilbo remembers Smaug's words. In "Not At Home,"...

Books to Movies: Rear Window and Rear Window

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I originally intended this post to tackle the issue, What about when the movie is better than the book? I choose the wrong "book"...

All the Ms: Mackey to Mackintosh

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Mary Mackey: The Year The Horses Came , a Stone Age to Bronze Age novel, is not devoid of interest. But I find “wonderful goddess societies ...

Perilous Interference: Why Not to Get Involved in a Christie Investigation

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*Spoilers*  One of the stranger Poirot novels is Peril at End House . Poirot helps a young woman who he is believes is being stalked by a ki...

Books to Movies: Desolation of Smaug, the Dragon, Pay-Offs, and the Dragon's Treasure

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"Inside Information" Bilbo's discussion with Smaug is more direct in Jackson's film, person-to-dragon. The ring is only p...

Books to Movies: Verne and the Problem of the Travelogue Continued

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Can the travelogue have a successful narrative arc? Like most seeking-for-parents/family movies, In Search of the Castaways is a shaggy dog...

Books to Movies: Verne and the Travelogue

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A few years ago, I read some Verne books and watched a great many Verne movies. Links to reviews and other commentary are listed below. Thi...

Books to Movies: Desolation of Smaug, Lake-Town and Character Investment

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The Lake-Town chapters are somewhat different from the same scenes in the Jackson and Rankin films. In the Rankin film, Bard is the captain...