Nick Bryan

Archives for April 2013

#FridayFlash: “Lawnmower Man III”

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This week’s Friday Flash is not really a direct sequel to the terrible 90s virtual reality movies, but does involve a man and a lawnmower. It’s also quite short, because I didn’t think it needed to be longer.

As ever, more Friday Flash available at the Friday Flash website.

Lawnmower Man III

“Honey, I’m just off to mow the lawn!”

“Phil, wait!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Ellie says she doesn’t want you to hurt the grass.”

“Hurt it?”

“Cut it down.”

“Okay, well, it’s seven at night, she’ll be asleep soon enough.”

“She might hear the lawnmower though.”

“Mandy, she’ll have to learn about grass decapitation eventually.”

“You could use the secateurs?”

“If you want the lawn cut one strand at a time, Amanda, you’ll have to do it yourself.”

“How about the electric carving knife? It’s like a tiny chainsaw!”

“… Actually, that does sound like fun.”

“You could pretend to be a miniature lumberjack!”

“Okay, let’s not get carried away.”

The Hunger Games Book To Movie – Adaptation Injuries

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The Hunger Games - Filmy Edition

I saw the film adaptation of The Hunger Games over the weekend, having read the book six months ago. A very topical choice, as the publicity is just revving up for the November release of the second movie.

So, how was the adaptation? What interesting choices did they make? Did I enjoy it? All that and more!

(Note on spoilers: there will be some.)

Tracker Jacker, Tracker Jacker, They Will Sting You In The Face…

The original Hunger Games novel was largely written in first person, and it works nicely for the main action: it’s a load of survival violence in a wooded area, and the desperation and ingenuity of Katniss is well-portrayed by her breathless internal monologue.

Obviously, that’s tricky with a film, but to their credit, they make a real effort to recapture it here. The wordless storytelling on display during the Games sequence is impressive, even if it does mean large chunks of this film you can’t easily watch whilst checking Twitter.

And the rest of the time, they cut to the news coverage or control room to give us exposition – about what the hell a Tracker Jacker is, for example. ( I assume not just me who started singing Tracker Jacker to the tune of Swagger Jagger there?) But they never stick with the outside characters long enough to take the focus off Katniss.

Fight Fight Fight Win Win Win

Yes, a few bits are cut: for example, not many of the Games players, beyond heroes Katniss and Peeta, get much development, but there’s only so much a filmmaker can do. Ultimately, like many reasonably faithful book adaptations, they’ve kept to the spirit of it, but if you want more detail, you can always read the book.

One omission that did slightly disappoint me: the violence. The Hunger Games in novel form was surprisingly visceral and unpleasant for a teen-targeted book, but the screen version sticks to very clean, off-screen or weirdly bloodless death. A few shots of flesh wounds and that’s about it.

This may make me sound like a monster hungry for blood, but I felt one thing the book did well was showing us horrific real life violence rather than a clean video game, and the film comes close to going back the other way. Still, the reactions of the actors (especially the excellent Jennifer Lawrence) do a lot to sell the horror.

Obviously, the filmmakers wanted their 12 certificate – although I gather a 15-cert “uncut” edition is available and the differences are tiny. Nonetheless, aside from that one issue of commercial reality, they realise the world nicely – I hate Gale, but I hated him in the books too. Good film, looking forward to the sequel.

#FridayFlash – “Don’wanna”

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Another week, and this time, we’re off to Subway. This one wrote itself, and is probably odd, but I was happy with the tone.

More Friday Flashes on the Friday Flash site.

Don’wanna

Steve and Yam were having a Subway. After the Subway, they were probably going to hit the pub. After a few equalising pints, maybe a game of pool, then home. It was six o’clock on a Thursday.

“What did y’think of the girl serving?” said Steve, jabbing his thumb at the sandwich area.

“Alright,” said Yam. He’d stared at her so hard whilst queuing for his dinner, he didn’t need to look round again.

“Better than alright,” Steve decided he did need another look, “I reckon.”

And then she looked up at him, and Steve quickly went back to looking at the sub.

“Maybe,” said Yam, pretending he hadn’t noticed that.Before either of them could finish their mouthful and speak again, the door slid open and a kid stormed in. Well, a young person, in a beanie hat and a big jacket. There were a few other people in the sandwich shop, and all of them turned around to look at the kid, including Steve and Yam.

He looked like he was talking to himself at first, pretty angrily, and the entire sandwich-buying public inspected his body as one, until they satisfied themselves that he was wearing a handsfree kit. But even though he had someone to talk to, he was getting weirdly agitated. “I don’t want to,” he’d say, before waiting a few seconds, then saying “No, you ain’t listening, I don’t want to! I just don’t!”

He got into the short line for a sandwich, insisting more of the same. He looked up briefly to say: “Yeah, footlong wheat bread, ham, no salad,” then went straight back to protesting down his in-line mike.

Not once did his eyes linger on the hotness of the girl behind the counter, Steve and Yam noticed that and exchanged glances.

“For fuck’s sake, I said I don’t want to, how many fucking times?”

He handed over his money for the sandwich, without looking up or saying anything, taking the change with a nod.

“Look, I seriously don’t want to, okay?”

The kid took a tall plastic table, a few across from Steve and Yam. They both watched him for a while, as he trotted out his unwillingness a few more times, but they eventually decided it was safe to turn their eyes back to each other.

“So, what do y’think?” said Steve. “Psycho?

”“Maybe someone wants him to go to Lloyds on the high street?” offered Yam.

“True facts, mate. That place is a shithole,” agreed Steve, who once slipped over on a wine puddle there and kicked his then-girlfriend in the crotch very hard.

“Or he just doesn’t wanna go back to whoever’s at home.” Yam pondered.

Steve slapped Yam around the head. “Come on, he’s too young for that.”

Yam glared at him, then back at the girl behind the counter. Then at the kid again.

“Look, please, I really don’t want to, can’t you just leave it?” His voice had dropped very quiet, Yam had to strain to catch that last one.

Yam took another look at Steve, then sucked the last few drops out of his drink. “Yeah, do you want to head down the pub? If we don’t get down there now, some prick will probably swipe our table.”

“Sure you don’t want to swoop in and give that kid a cuddle?”

“Sure I’m sure.” Yam said, and he really didn’t want to. They left Subway, and he beat Steve 4-2 at pool, then feel a bit better. He made sure to drink enough to put him to sleep.

SEQUEL UPDATE: Well, sorta. Fellow Friday Flash writer Kath Kerr has written her take on the other side of the kid’s phone conversation.

Always interesting to see someone else’s take, and also, does this count as my first fanfiction? Pretty cool either way, check it out.

London Falling by Paul Cornell – Book Review

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London Falling - Paul Cornell

Today’s book review is London Falling by Paul Cornell – a writer I already liked for his excellent Captain Britain And MI13 comics, as well as the Human Nature two-parter on Doctor Who, one of my favourite David Tennant episodes.

So I had expectations of London Falling, described in the authorial blurb as his “first urban fantasy novel”. It’s the beginning of a mooted Shadow Police series, introducing a team of enjoyably grounded police folk, who find themselves thrust into the messy world of supernatural evil lurking beneath the surface of the one they already knew.

Detective Inspector Britain?

The big selling point here, for me, was not the fantasy stuff but the air of realism – Cornell has done his research to give us a plausible glimpse into the life of UK police. There’s a nice balance between the driven-for-justice fictional lawman and more complicated characters, who struggle with personal demons even before the literal ones turn up.

Which brought me to another realisation: I would happily read a completely straight realistic crime novel by Cornell about these characters. Having said that, his take on how the police try to bring the weird shit down to their level is very logical and intriguing.

He balances his ensemble cast and their multiple perspectives deftly as well, which shouldn’t surprise those of us who read Captain Britain.

Mind’s Eye VS TV Eye

Interesting to note from the acknowledgments at the back that this was once developed as a TV idea – I can see how it would’ve worked on-screen, maybe one day it still will, but I think Cornell is able to do some more interesting things with the magic imagery here, sequences that would be a struggle to visualise effectively. (Especially on a BBC budget, it has to be said.)

Oh, there is a big reveal towards the end which was guessable quite a while earlier. I’m curious how intentional that was – if it was meant to be a jawdropping surprise from nowhere, didn’t quite work, but perhaps Cornell was fully aware some would get it.

Anyway, another TV-like quality: it’s clearly setting up the Shadow Police elements for a series, and happily, the sequel sounds like it’s definitely happening. I admit, I won this book in a competition on the generous Bleeding Cool blog, but I’ll be spending hard cash on the follow-up. If you want a thoughtful, grounded take on supernatural cops, London Falling is definitely worth a read.