C. L. Norman

Sunday, my adorable husband took me to see The Green Hornet movie and I came out with mixed feelings about it.

On one hand, it was fun and fast paced and I adored the Kato character. He is definitely of the rogue variety; he has nice moves, fun skills, and one-liners that zing. And we know how I love rogues.

On the other hand, I had issues with their “bad guys fighting other bad guys” persona. In fact, it made it hard to like the characters, especially in the middle section of the movie.

Let me explain (hopefully without any spoilers).

During the scene that inspires them to take on the Green Hornet and silent partner personas, they are fleeing capture by the cops and one of the police cars flips and crashes in a spectacular and deadly fashion. The police officer in the car is probably dead or at the very least seriously injured. I can understand how in the heat of the moment, they don’t give it a second thought. Later, however, they are celebrating their first success as ‘heroes’ and the news is on the TV.

In my writer mind, the scene played out like this. News announcer comes on and announces the death of a cop in the pursuit of unknown vigilantes. Britt AKA The Green Hornet and Kato see this and feel some guilt and vow to be more careful in the future. Then the scene continues on from there.  Instead there is no mention of the cop and in fact, they run cops off the road in an equally as deadly fashion at least two more times during the movie.

Add that to Britt’s cavalier and abusive attitude to every one around him and I wanted  him to fail and for Kato to take over and do the superhero thing better.

To sum up, I had fun which I suppose is the point of a movie but I will probably not see it again as I was unsatisfied with the character growth/consistency.

Did you see The Green Hornet? What did you think of the movie?

        

This new trend in movies, making them all 3D is driving me batty.

Years ago my family went and saw Jaws 3D at the 2 dollar theater and it was neat, scary, and most importantly, different. Now it is the new trend or maybe the new vampire. If a movie is in 3D, it is suppose to be cool. I don’t agree.

Movies in 3D like to show off that they are in 3D. They have shots and effects put in solely for the purpose of making the audience go “Oooo.” These shots have very little to do with the story and everything to do with planting a sign in their yard saying “Look how cool we are.” They might as well have pulled back the curtain; exposed the wires and let us see around the edge of the backdrop.

Advances are apart of life and movie tech will change and evolve. The 3D thing has to stop or stop being used as it currently is. Concentrate on the story and forget about showing off please.

        

• Water cooking in the sun on a concrete sidewalk smells like my childhood.

• Annie and Auggie need to begin a romantic subplot on Covert Affairs. Their chemistry is my favorite part of the show so far.

• Writing outlines is hard. I usually am a seat-of-my-pants-type writer. A challenge/assignment for my writing group has us writing an outline for a novel due next Thursday and my brain keeps resisting it. I will do it!

• Abbie on NCIS is cool.

• Having my oldest child out of the country for the Fringe Festival makes me feel old. The first faint feelings of empty next syndrome are stirring in my heart.

• Cast in Chaos by Michelle Sagara is a great book. My one complaint with it had to do with the part just before the ending. Something about the way it was written made me feel almost like things went into slow motion. Can’t wait to hear more of Kaylin’s adventures.

• As Lie The Dead by Kelly Meding kept up the pace of the first book. Coming back from the dead never was so cool.

• Step Up 3D was a good movie but gratuitous 3D effects are annoying.

• Visiting amusement parks on a Saturday in August is not as fun as it may sound.

• And finally, keep your eye on the blankie. If you don’t, your son will make you go to extraordinary means to get it back.

        

Hope you all had a happy 4th. Here I am with another list of movies being released this month that I want to see. Maybe after I tell you which ones I am looking forward to, you can tell me which ones you want to see.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice opening on July 14th: I know only three things about this movie; 1. Nicholas Cage (with some cool hair) stars in it, 2. A lot of eye candy is on display in the trailer, and 3. There is magic in this here movie. Those three things are enough to get me to the theater to watch, with my mouth hanging open and my hands fisted in excitement.

Inception opening on July 16th: As I have mentioned before Leonardo DiCaprio‘s name is enough to draw my attention to this movie. Throw in the special effects revolving around a strange ability to delve into people’s dreams and I am intrigued. Include the information that Leonardo’s character is a cop trying solve some sort of mystery and I am so there.

Salt opening on July 23rd: A spy movie! I love it. Mistaken identities and action scenes; I hope that I get a chance to see this in the theater as I love this kind of movie.

Charlie St. Cloud opening on July 30th: This stars Zac Efron (who I am rapidly becoming a fan of) and looks like a tear-jerker to me. Most of the time, I am not interested in tear-jerkers but this movie, about losing a brother but holding onto his memory, hits close to home. In fact after seeing the trailer for this, I am seriously considering buying a copy of the book it is based off of despite it being outside the normal genres I am attracted to.

So what movies are you looking forward to?

        

Hi, guys. Another week, another post.

Reading

Daemon’s Mark by Caitlin Kittredge. The fifth in the Nocturne City series and another heroine shapeshifter. Luna Wilder is the main character in these books and she heads up the Supernatural Crimes Section of the police department. In this book, (despite the mistake on the cover blurb) Luna gets caught up in an investigation into a Russian sex slave ring. Young supernatural women are going missing and Luna is compelled to help them. An ex makes an appearance and her new boyfriend asks a question complicating Luna’s already full plate. This book is one I could not put down, and why would I even try? It is that good.

Revenant by Phaedra Weldon. Mental note: Ask Zoe Martinique how she keeps track of all her mental notes. Zoe Martinique started off this series as a plain old investigator who just happened to have the little talent of being able to go Out of Body (OOB) and spy on people incorporeally. Handy trick that. By this time, as a result of a connection with a certain Vin Diesal look-alike from the Abysmal plane, she is now Wraith. Wraith with a capital W, complete with scary black wings and killer bunny slippers on her feet. Irreverent and funny, Zoe’s friends are being threatened by a series of attacks on Revenants AKA vampires (but not the kind you’ve been reading about) and is off to save them. By the way, you can blame Zoe for my Sunday post being posted on Monday morning.

TV

Lie to Me. Cal is back in business, rooting out the liars and having fun doing it. In the season opener, Cal is after a serial killer. Everyone else doesn’t see it, but Cal pushes forward and proves himself right, again. Doctor Johnny Fever saw a UFO and his career was saved. Ok, so maybe it was the actor, Howard Hesseman, playing a professor who saw the UFO and as everyone thought he was crazy his career was in jeopardy. This show is one of my favorites. The team dynamic, the irreverent Cal, and the “who-done-it” aspects of this show hit all the right notes with me and I am happy it is back for the summer.

Good Guys. I’m on the fence about this new series. On one hand it is a cop and partner show. Two partners who are completely different are out there solving crimes. On the other hand it is a tongue-in-cheek spoof of a cop show, poking fun at the genre with a lot of strange, but funny, flashbacks.  ”I finally figured out how to use the computer machine.”–Dan Stark as he wedges the laptop into the car to hold down the accelerator.

Stargate SG-U. Wow. Season finale and it won’t be coming back until October. I think there were tears in my eyes when I knew how long it would be before I FOUND OUT WHAT HAPPENS TO EVERYONE! The season finale has the potential for new faces (and another faction) to be added to the Destiny. It also has the potential for several favorites to be leaving. I am loving this show and I am going to be counting the days until the next season starts.

Writing

You might think with all this reading and watching of the TV, I didn’t have time to write. You would be wrong. While my word count might not be that impressive, I did make progress on my current story. I am also seeing the path I want to start down with the next scene or two which is always nice. The path is fog shrouded and murky, and I think I hear some creepy music playing, but there is some excitement down there I can’t wait to explore.

Movies

Karate Kid. I told you that I wanted to see this movie and so I took the family with me to celebrate the kids’ last day of school. I really enjoyed it. There was enough of a balance between the familiar and new, that everyone could have fun with this movie. Jaden Smith has a lot of his dad in him (or at least a lot of what his dad shows on the screen) and Jackie Chan is, as always, awesome. Fun, fresh, and most importantly, this movie teaches kids to do their chores and respect their elders. You should see it.

How was your week? Any summer plans you are jumping into already?

        

I took yesterday off from the computer. I needed a break from my normal routine and so this post is a day late.

Reading

I read Ilona Andrews‘ Magic Bleeds, fourth in the Kate Daniels series. I enjoyed this book, as I did all the others, greatly. The pacing, the voice of the character and author, the setting; all these things suck me in and keep me reading until the last page. And then looking for more pages and being disappointed when I couldn’t find any.

Writing

I turned in the first 10 pages of my rough draft for group and it was critiqued last week. I was hesitant to turn in something unfinished and so rough but I am determined to finish a novel length project this year and so I didn’t want to write a short story just for group. My critique raised a bunch of questions and pointed out some holes in the story so far that are helping generate new ideas. I will have to remember how that helped and try showing some pages to a close friend or two when I get stuck in this story.

Movies

My daughter begged for some time with me, asking to go see Letters to Juliet. Y’all know I wanted to see that movie and to spend time with my oldest daughter just sweetened the deal. Together we went and laughed and cried and enjoyed the story. The movie is fun and watching the relationships between Sophie and Claire, and Sophie and Charlie, develop was very entertaining. The one sour note for me was that I couldn’t believe Sophie had ever been in love with Victor, her fiance.

That was my week. How was yours?

        

Or maybe the day after Monday. Here goes. June’s here and new movies will be popping up in theaters everywhere. Here is a list of the movies I would like to see, if I had the time and money to see them all.

The A-Team opening on June 11: I was/am a fan of the original. From that stand-point, I am wary of seeing this movie and having it suck, ruining my fan status. Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper are marvelous actors and clearly, the makers of this movie are fans of the original. With that in mind, I know this movie will be fun and full of gratuitous explosions. And if they put Liam Neeson in a Swamp Thing costume smoking a cigar, that won’t be a bad thing.

The Karate Kid opening on June 11: June 11 is an unofficial take back the 80′s holiday and the theaters are jumping into it with both feet with this second remake. When I first heard that they were remaking The Karate Kid, I reacted with revulsion. No way can they re-do Daniel-san and Mr. Miyagi, and if they tried, I wasn’t going to go see it and I would actively tell anyone who would listen to go watch the original. Luckily, this is a whole new kid and a whole new teacher. The trailers look fun and fresh, and who wouldn’t want to see Jackie Chan show a kid some kung-fu moves? I will even try to take my kids to this show and maybe after we will come home and I will have them ‘paint the fence’.

Wow. June is a slim month for movies. I know, I know… Toy Story 3 is opening on June 18th but to be honest I am one of the very few who never got excited about those movies even though I love Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. They are fun and well done but just not something I ‘have to see’.

So what movies will you be sitting down, in front of a big screen with a gallon of popcorn, to watch?

        

Good morning all. Another week is drawing to a close and it is time for my weekly post.

Happy Mother’s Day

Today is mother’s day. A day for spending time with your kids and the mothers in your life. My grade school kids have special things they have made for me and my teen daughters will hold in their attitudes long enough to mumble “happy mother’s day, mom”. It is a family day. Hope you enjoy yours.

Reading

This week I read Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris as I promised I would last week. I have to say I enjoyed it. I have heard some people complain that it is slower paced than the previous novels. I agree with this but it felt right for Sookie and Co. to have that breather. To me it feels like the lull before the storm. This book is all about family. Sookie and her brother get close again. Sam is still worried about his family and their reaction to the Great Reveal. Even Eric has some relatives come to town. There is still a lot going on but more of it has to do with relationships. There is even an appearance by Russian nobility. Fun.

I also read The Sweet Scent of Blood by Suzanne McLeod. I can’t rave about this book quite as much. It is the first in the series and all the different things that were introduced in this book were confusing in places. I did enjoy most of it and found it interesting take on vampires and fae. Also the character of Finn is a satyr and you just don’t see many satyrs in fiction these days. I like him. The vampire nobility that involve themselves with Genny’s life are darkly mysterious and their motives remain in the shadows. That said I will be reading the next one in the series. Now that I understand (or think I do) what is going on with Genny and her past, I am ready to dive forward in her world and see where things go.

Movies

I saw Iron Man 2 on Friday with my husband and two boys and I loved it. My 7 year old has dubbed it the third best movie of all time. Tony Stark has more snark than can fit in that suit and Vanko was sufficiently smart and creepy to be a worthy adversary. The action was eye-popping and fun, the way superhero action movies should be. I recommend this movie to comic fans, action fans, and comedy fans. It even has a bit of something for fans of romance.

Writing

I am still working on that “sitting down and writing everyday” thing that I need to progress further in this dream of mine. I have a conference coming up on Saturday where Terry Brooks is the keynote speaker. I have been a fan of his since I was in high school. In particular I have a soft spot for his character Allanon from the first Shannara series. Allanon had that black cloak that obscured his features and his motives wonderfully well. The first time through the books I didn’t know if he was just pretending to be a good guy or not.

 I also will be heading to a convention and participating in a writing workshop May 28th through the 31st. I found out who is critiquing my submission and now my husband is begging to pretend to be me and go. I will share with you who it is after I hear what he has to say. I can say that I am totally looking forward to hearing what he has to say.

How was your week? Are you enjoying your Mother’s Day?

        

Another month has come bringing with it more movies to look forward to watching. Here is a list of the ones I am eyeing.

Iron Man 2 on May 7th: Robert Downey Jr is back as Tony Stark and ready to suit up and it promises to be a wild a crazy ride. I had fun with the first one and I see no reason why I won’t have even more fun with the second. Action, humor, and superheroes in one movie? Count me in.

Robin Hood on May 14th: I love Robin Hood stories. Movies like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Disney’s Robin Hood. Books like Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley and Jennifer Roberson’s Lady of Sherwood. The story of Robin Hood is all about a do-gooder rogue with a bow. Which puts it squarely in my area of interest. Russell Crowe stars in this version and I can’t wait to see how the story is told this time.  

Letters to Juliet on May 14th: A love story, Verona (where Romeo and Juliet takes place), and Amanda Seyfried in one movie? I am so there. I have mentioned before my love of romantic comedies and this one looks especially touching.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time on May 28th: While I am not familiar with the game, the fantasy element of this movie is very attractive to me. Add in a magic dagger that appears to have some sort of time travel powers and I’m hooked.

That’s my list for May. What’s yours look like?

        

Happy Easter, folks. In honor of the holiday here is a link to the Washington Post Peeps Show IV. I hope you enjoy it.

Reading

This week I read and adored Patricia Briggs‘ new Mercedes Thompson novel, Silver Borne.  My place of work was even mentioned briefly in it. Pacing and characters and their attitudes make this a fun read.

Writing

To put it bluntly I blew it this week. I do have the excuse of not having a day off but in reality my shifts are pretty short and so it isn’t really valid. I know in my head and my heart what I want to do but the physical act of breaking bad habits and writing regularly is much harder. I have always had issues with self motivation. Working for others, paid or not, I take the extra steps to do the job perfectly but for myself I procrastinate. Let’s see if I can do better this week.

Movies

Saturday we went to see How to Train Your Dragon with our two sons. The movie is very good; pretty to look at, easy to relate to, and laugh-out-loud funny. While it has a good message, it doesn’t beat you over the head with it. As my husband pointed out, the Vikings are very close to fantasy dwarves complete with bushy beards, stout bodies, and a love of bashing things. In the words of my 6 year old, “The best movie ever.”