Thursday, July 03, 2003
This is mine and Spooky's first anniversary. It feels weird, in a very good way.
Yesterday, I wrote 1,072 words on Chapter Five of Murder of Angels, but did not reach the chapter's end. Hopefully, that'll happen this afternoon. Also, Spooky and I proofed Chapter Seven of Low Red Moon.
I'm realizing that there will probably be some considrerable and unintentional variation between the Subterranean Press edition and the Roc edition, since I've not been able to proof them simultaneously, as I'd hoped, and apprently I'm too disorganized to have devised a scheme to insure perfect continuity between the texts. Well, the continuity would never have been perfect, as there will be some intentional differences between the two editions. For example, the Subterranean Press edition does not cower before the gods of TM, and "realtor" and "laundromat" both appear lowercased (replaced, respectively, with "real estate agent" and "laundry" in the Roc edition) and frelling "ping-pong" is not capitalized. I think I actually avoided using the word "dumpster" anywhere in Low Red Moon, because I knew I'd be foreced to capitalize it or find a suitable, non-trademarked synonym (none exists).
Last night, we went to see Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Afterwards, I read Roger Ebert's review and discovered that this is one of those rare instances when he and I are in almost complete agreement on a fantasy/sf film. To read Ebert's review, click here. He gives it two and a half stars. I'd have probably given it two, at best. Yes, I was disappointed. And be warned, SPOILERS!!!! follow.
Despite the inevitable problems that arise whenever a story decides to play with ideas about time travel, I'm quite fond of the first two Terminator films, and the second is something of a minor favorite for me. Sadly, the third installment falls far short of the expectations set by its predecessors. The first half hour or so is almost unwatchably bad and I thought I'd come out hating this film. But it picks up a little once the first car chase begins, a chase that essentially continues for the remainder of the movie. Whereas the first two films recognized the paradoxes they posed and tried to address them, this one seems determined to make as little sense as possible. It doesn't even attempt to explain how Skynet survived destruction after the events of the second film, or how the Air Force has developed the technology that will lead to Judgment Day. Claire Danes is completely unbearable (no surprise there) as John Connor's wife-to-be and Linda Hamilton's presence was sorely missed. In a role fit for Stargate SG-1, David Andrews gives a perfectly wooden performance as the military bigwig who unwittingly hands the world over to the machines. The film is riddled with self-referential nonsense (such as the brief appearance of Sarah Connor's tormentor, Dr. Peter Silberman, played by Earl Boen) and slapstick humor (it has moments straight out of a Warner Bros. cartoon). Arnold Schwarzenegger does his part, but the script forces him to waste much of his time repeating or lampooning lines from the first two films ("I'm Back."). And one is left wondering exactly how the T-X is an improvement over the T-1000. The relatively fragile robotic endoskeleton beneath its mnemonic, polyalloy skin seems a severve handicap.
When the actions starts, the film at least becomes watchable, and, at times, enjoyable and quiet funny. Think It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World meets Terminator 2, and you're halfway there. But I came expecting apocalyptic sf epic, not screwball comedy. I've often bitched about how an audience's expectation can weigh unfairly on a film or novel, but, in this case, I think the film takes the burden on itself and deserves whatever hernias and slipped disks ensue. There are a few good things about the film. Nick Stahl does a decent job as the twenty-something John Connor. Kristanna Loken's T-X has presence (and a kickass red leather ensemble), even if she lacks the suave creepiness of Robert Patrick's unstoppable T-1000. There's a neat bit with the magnetic field generated by a particle accelerator. And, for what it's worth, the ending took me by surprise and was, I think, the right ending. If Terminator 3 had been a good film, the ending would have served it well. Yet, even here, it somehow sabotages itself, managing to turn the horror of global nuclear war into little more than an "ooh" and "ahh" CGI light show, and I was reminded of how Dr. Strangelove made much better use of black-and-white stock footage, to the same end.
Sadly, I think my advice on this one is, "Wait for the DVD." T2 didn't have to be followed by a great sf film, but it at least desverved to be followed by a good one.
Tomorrow: Why commas and hyphens drive me apedren.
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