lars and the real girl

Okay, I've got to admit I thought this movie just looked silly. And I don't mean silly in a good way. Oops, bad of me because this, fellow movie fans, is a great film.

In a few weeks, loads of North Texas Romance Writers will gather for the NT Two Step, with guest speaker Michael Hague (screen-writer). Honestly, I don't know what all great stuff he's going to teach us, but I can't wait. I do know that he will be dissecting the film 'lars and the real girl' during our Sunday morning workshop. To that end, I finally broke down and watched a movie that from the snippets I'd seen appeared too 'silly' for words.

Well, it maybe seem that 120 minutes of a man who totes around a mannequin is silly, but news flash to all us disbelievers, this is a poignant story of loss and redeemation, of a town's deep and abiding love for one of its residents, and the journey from wishful reality to the-real-deal.

I cried for the last twenty minutes. Now, who's silly?

What was the last movie you watched that surprised you? Good or bad?
And do tell your take of 'lars and the real girl'

Barbequed on the back porch tonight. In the 50s and that's warm enough for me. Best part? Nary a bug in sight. Ah, I'll miss this treat in June and July. Also, I didn't have to sweat while BBQing and my wine stayed chilled. How sweet it is?
Drop by the porch again.
Until then
~Sandra

To theme or not to theme . . .

It's not really a question of 'can I theme or not'. Because the bottom line for writers is they must possess an ability to craft their words around theme.

I've posted before that themes and I don't get along, see eye-to-eye, hey, we don't normally exist on the same planet. I scandalously use my critique partners, my English Liter-major collegiate daughter, even my two kids still at home to grasp the concept of theme and shove it one more time -- forcefully -- into my brain.

Image my delight, okay, it was more like downright squeals of excitement when I discovered while teaching (4th grade) today, an insider's tip for building theme.

Three simple ideas, really!

FIRST LEARNED LESSON -- The theme is the author's statement. Not an explanation that really works for me since I don't think of my writing as 'statement' oriented. However, and it was the perfect however when I read further and found, 'Theme is the lesson (or lessons) on life the author is trying to show'. That was a simple enough description even my brain could understand.

So, I started a list:
overcoming a challenge
courage
survival
friendship

then the movie idea struck:
love conquers all -- The Count of Monte Cristo
life goes on -- Steel Magnolias
valuing one's self-worth -- Where the Heart is
acceptance -- I, Robot
individuality -- V for Vendetta (also huge theme in The Fountainhead)
the power of truth to conquer lies -- Serenity

Other themes for you? Don't skip ahead to the comments section yet, but be sure to stop there before leaving my blog. Remember, I'm theme-challenged so all the themes you can share will help.

SECOND LEARNED LESSON -- The theme can be a moral. Examples given were: 'look before you leap', and 'haste makes waste'. Hardly morals that I would use to titillate readers in a romantic suspense novel, but the point was well made.

My elementary experience lead to thoughts of Disney movies. Here was a virtual kaleidoscope of moral teachings.

I thought of:
'Don't judge the Ogre by his cover' from Shrek.
'Just keep swimming' from Finding Nemo.
'Under the skin/fur, everyone is the same' or 'family is more than blood' from Ice Age.

Before you say I missed it with themes on these movies, consider that many books and movies will have more than one theme.

Can you think of other 'Disney' or children's book morals? Share in the comments section.

THIRD LEARNED LESSON -- is to turn from a statement and form the question:
'The lesson I want my readers to learn from this book is . . .'

Do you have additional questions that help cement the theme of your book? Please share.

4th grade is turning out to be a very good year for me -- even if it is the second go round.

It's cooling off a bit here in Texas, meaning we're seeing lower nineties instead of the high version. That means it almost back porch time again. I've been sweeping -- it hasn't rained in weeks and the dirt is in epidemic proportions -- and even managed to scrub down the BBQ grill for another go round. Do stop in again.

Until later
~Sandra

Summer Movies

Ooh, I just love summer for the laziness that comes embedded in the forever days. While some of you are sweating and working away -- whether under the blast of overworked A/C units or in the blaze of Texas sun -- a few of us find a certain moment each day when 'Summer Time' shows up. It's more a state of mind than an actual tick on the clock. It could show up first thing in the morning, when I'm trotting my dog around the block before the sun becomes ferocious. It could be late evening, when I'm swatting away mosquitoes and cussing the latest device I've purchased that guarantees 'nary a skitter for a mile' (apparently the ad companies idea of a mile and mine are a mite different). It could be mid-day when I'm headed to the water park to bake my feet on so much concrete and boil in the pretense of sun-block. But at least once a week or so, I find 'Summer Time' rolled into a movie.

The massive Hollywood producers swear their studios save the best films for when kids are loose from school and driving 'Miss Daisys' or alias their moms around the bend. Perhaps summer films are really better. Perhaps, we, Miss Daisys, are plain-and-simple more desperate to shoo the rugrats out of the house for awhile. And perhaps, sliding into the coolness of A/C that someone else is supplying and paying for, sucking in the tantalizing scent of buttered popcorn, and experiencing the thrill of low lights, loud sounds, and larger than life heroes and heroines makes summer movies so attractive. Whatever the combination, I'll admit to being drawn into the advertising scheme of those Hollywood producers.

This past week, my youngest daughter and I went to see IRONMAN. Robert Downy Jr. still has great eyes and does a decent job in this film and Gwyneth Paltrow has always been one of my favorites. The plot is predictable, but works fine. Actually, it does have a bit of that anti-war sentiment if one considers where part of the film takes place, but I liked the 'whole' higher-learning, we-can-become-more-than- what-we've-always-been angle. And the film wasn't preachy, if that's a concern. Robert Downy has a great character arc in this movie. Overall, it's just one of those fun summer films and the exact anti-dote for a hot Texas afternoon.

As it's Sunday afternoon, and the heat is still baking the ground, we're headed out to lite up the grill. Nothing fancy, nothing automated about our grill -- still done with a serious dose of lighter fluid and a box of kitchen matches at our house. Don't stand to close now, you hear.

But do come by the porch again soon. I'll be sipping something cool and chasing mosquitoes. They just love fresh meat.
~Until later,
Sandra

Atonement

Went to see the movie, Atonement, last night.

Definitely not intended for the entertainment-ONLY bound movie goer.

Atonement should be recognized for its brilliant directing, a deep 'wow, I got think about this' plot-line, and a symbolic use of color that I've seldom enjoyed in a film.

I told my daughter, an English Lit major, that Atonement really is a must-see film. The English papers she could write alone from this one movie would make it well worth the $9.50 entrance fee.

The only hint I'll give to you who haven't seen it . . . be prepared that the movie is a series of flashbacks. Each scene is replayed twice. First, from the main character's POV, and then from reality.

I was a bit disappointed with the ending, however. I didn't find that the main character ever achieved atonement, or that her life was any testament that she'd truly tried to find it.

The ending also begs the question . . . are some mistakes in life, truly, deeply, unforgivable?

With that pondering thought I'll leave you.

I'll be posting tomorrow at Sparkle This! It's a combination story, told by 7 authors. Time travel, suspense, and set in Paris. What's not to love?

Character Name

What’s in a character’s name?
How does a writer select the perfect name?

Is it the symbolism behind a name? Some personal preference? Just what comes to mind?

I recently watched I, Robot. Great film, heavy symbolism, terrific imagery – well worth the invested time to watch. However, it was one character’s name that stopped traffic for me, one name that held center stage, the robot: Sonny

The meanings behind such a simple name captured my attention. Was the robot so named because . . .

1) The doctor considered himself to be the figurative father of all these robots, but specifically this one that existed only because of his creative powers. He made Sonny personally – rather like fathering a son.
2) Or did the original creator of I, Robot, author Isaac Asimov, mean to enact a more literal link: Sonny as the actual son of God. Certainly, the imagery exists for viewers of the movie, I, Robot to make this connection. Watch the closing seconds of the film. Sonny stands atop a hill in front of a destroyed bridge (that closely resembles a cross) as thousands mass beneath the hill and turn expectantly toward him and the insight he can provide. What will these gathered masses learn? Sonny has the secret. All are created with the ability to choose – the ultimate freedom. It does smack of Christianity, does it not?

Whether you're a writer, a reader, a TV/Movie buff, you have an opinion on a favorite character’s name. Share and tell why. Are you a parent? How did you pick your children's names? Family tradition? Favorite name? What you'd like to be named? Come on -- do share!

Disturbia

It is in fact a disturbing movie, definitely not for the under 13 crowd, maybe even not for the over 13 crowd if serial killers bother you.

Disturbia brings the serial killer right into the suburban neighborhood, which is where most are said to lurk, and makes the film very creepy.

Growing up, we had a next-door neighbor who was notorious for her partially open blinds, night and day. She was a lonely little (or not so little) woman who’d never had kids and didn’t get the constant noise and fracas the neighborhood group made. We thought she was creepy—spying on us—but maybe she was on to something.

In Disturbia, spying turns out for the best. If not for Shia LaBeouf’s (Kale in Disturbia) boredom due to house arrest and his consequential spying spree on all the neighbors, a serial killer, played by a very convincing David Morse, would have continued his vicious killing cycle.

A couple of things really worked for me in this film: without giving away too much something tragic happens to Kale’s (Shia LaBeouf) dad, and the young man is changed into an uncommunicative, sullen teenager. Okay, this describes most teenagers, but this kid has an excuse. In one scene, Kale’s Spanish teacher, who is clearly put-out with his student’s lack of scholastic achievement, attempts to ‘guilt’ him into reacting, to participating in class by bringing up Kale’s dad—Kale does react, by punching the teacher in the nose. Okay, for all you teachers, I don’t condone the violence, but Kale stayed true to character, reacting from the gut. I thought this scene was well done and not overacted.

Another scene: when Kale’s mom has been taken prisoner—sorry, needed to let you know that—by the crazy serial killer neighbor, Kale goes after her. He doesn’t hesitate, even though his fear is palpable on the screen. While in the neighbor’s house, Kale makes a number of macabre discoveries, any of which would send most normal folks into the street and waiting for the cops to arrive. Not Kale, he stays after his mom, calling out to her, opening creepy secret doors, and traversing through gruesome rooms even though he knows the serial killer is probably in the house. Again, he stayed true to character, putting his mom’s safety before his own.

Disturbia is a dark, suspenseful film—definitely not date movie type stuff—but it works on a number of levels.

Seen any great (or not so great) films lately?

Classic Movies

This week celebrates John Wayne's 100th anniversary, and one of the networks is running 100 hours of marathon John Wayne. Does it date me to admit I remember watching his movies for real and not as re-runs?

Tonight they played the classic Red River. True heroism in every sense of the word . . . oddly enough the real hero of the movie wasn't John Wayne, alias Dunston, but the young boy he'd adopted by the name of Matthew Garth. Great hero name--down to earth with real meaning behind it.

A mature Matthew Garth, hardened by the Civil War, returns to Texas and Dunston, his surrogate father, only to find the ranch he loves and help birth in desperate straights. Why? Carpet-baggers and money-grubbers abound in the state of Texas after the war. The only solution is to drive Dunston's herd of 9,000 + cattle further North to a railroad. During the cattle drive, things go bad, as of course, they must for any western to be a classically good western. Unfortunately, Dunston (Wayne) loses his prospective in this die-or-lose-the-ranch campaign. Who's strong enough to stop Dunston when he crosses the humanity line? Reluctant hero Matthew Garth steps in and stills Dunston's atrocity. I'd say any character who could face down John Wayne is hero material for me. It was a great study of heroism for future characters.

The romance (always my favorite) was a bit corny, but true-to-heart and therefore, perfectly redeemable.

Red River was well worth my invested time. How much TV can we say that about these days?