James Bond – Page and Film : Moonraker

Moonraker is a sort of oddity among the James Bond novels written by Ian Fleming. For one thing, our villain, Hugo Drax, isn’t viewed by Bond to be a true antagonist until the third act of the book. For another, the love interest isn’t a paper thin husk that succumbs to Bond’s charms immediately and spends the rest of the narrative clinging to him like a lifeless parasite. Fleming’s female characters didn’t tend to get any sort of development of their own, but Gala Brand diverts from the path with gusto.

At the same time, Moonraker is quintessential Bond in so many other ways. The first section of the novel is spent with Bond and M playing a game of bridge with Hugo Drax and a luxurious English country club in an attempt to undermine the man’s suspected cheating habit. The tense back and forth of the gambling scenes are so fervently Bond-ian in nature that it is somewhat hard to keep in mind that this is only the third outing for the character. These moments have been played with in the film world of the character so much that it is hard to disassociate high-stakes games of chance from James Bond in any incarnation.

The rest of the story reads like a detective pulp. Bond is assigned to investigate a strange murder case that skirts Drax’s operation in developing a missle defense system called the Moonraker that Britain’s government is heavily invested in. Bond infiltrates the organization and soon finds himself surrounded by suspicious characters and attempts on his life. The book culminates with a fantastically written car chase that gives us a little insight into why James Bond is such a fantastic wheelman (apparently he has a fascination with the racing world, name dropping references to Le Mans and the Nurburgring) and a finale that has Bond willing to sacrifice his life for the good of his country. It really is one of the better Bond stories I have read.

Compare this to the film version, which is all sorts of dreadful. Hugo Drax, such an extravagant and overpowering villain in the novel, is reduced to almost an afterthought. None of the elements of the book make it into the movie aside from using Drax’s name. Brand is replaced by Holly Goodhead, who is a competent female sidekick in her own right, but the dynamic between herself and Bond doesn’t resonate the way Brand and Bond do in the novel.

Honestly, this is one of the top tier Bond novels and it translated into one of the most ridiculous of the film adaptations. If you did not like the film, and I suspect many fall into that category, I implore you to read the book and find yourself pleasantly surprised.

James Bond – Page and Film : Live and Let Die

Live and Let Die is the second James Bond novel by Ian Fleming. It deals with the rise of the African-American Gangster and Voodooism and reading it more than fifty years after the time it was written, the culture shock can be intense. The way Fleming throws around descriptions of the black gangsters and goes around painting certain characters as typically “negroid” can leave the reader shell-shocked. In the context of its time period it may have been accepted but in today’s politically correct society such descriptions are jarring and take away from the narrative. It is hard to get lost in the story when you’re so amazed that society viewed a section of the population through this sort of lens. I’m sure all sorts of essays have been written about the racism in Live and Let Die, but the simple fact of the matter is that it is simply a book of its time and arguing about it doesn’t do anything to alter the content of the book at all. It is the first sequel in a series featuring one of the most prominent characters in pop culture history and there is enough there to see why several more stories were yet to come.

The novel deals with a shadowy criminal figure named Mr. Big who found himself allied with the Russian spy community after World War II which he had spent working for the American secret service in France. He has the same sort of intelligence background that 007 has without being painted as a “spy.” Here, James Bond is fighting a criminal mastermind with tactics normally reserved for fighting other spies. As such, it gets those around him hurt, namely his friend Felix. I feel as if the choice of the villain and his tactics was meant by Fleming to show the versatility of 007 as a character. That his opposition wouldn’t be repetitive communist strawmen. In that regard, the book is quite good. Even Mr. Big’s plan comes across as somewhat original and lucrative. The best part of the book is truly the villain, as the threat of his power feels palpable.

Contrast all of this with the film version, which shares very little in common with the book that shares its name. Part of that comes with twenty years in between the release of the novel and the film, turning Mr. Big into a caricature mired in Blaxploitation tropes. We never really even see that much of him in the film. The intimidating presence so well displayed in the novel is lost in the adaptation. His plan is also overly simplified, trading hidden gold treasure for heroin fields. Live and Let Die is a horrible when viewed as an adaptation. It is a serviceable James Bond film, but only when completely divorced from his literary counterpart.

When stacked up against the debut of Casino Royale, Live and Let Die is a bit of a misfire in some regards, but still an interesting book and well worth reading for anyone who wants to dive into the depths of the James Bond canon.

Book Review – The Wettest County in the World by Matt Bondurant

A few months back I saw the film Lawless in the theaters and found it to be a pretty good bit of cinema. Director John Hillcoat adapted that film from a novel entitled The Wettest County in the World, and while I had wanted to read the book prior to seeing the film, I was unable to obtain a copy in an orderly fashion and so I went into the theater with nothing to stack the film up against. A few months later I found a copy of the book in a clearance section of the bookstore and I picked it up with eager arms. I had heard the book would appeal to my sensibilities rather well, with the prose style being similar to the lyrical writings of Cormac McCarthy. My favorite novel, if pressed, would probably be Blood Meridian so this was a welcome revelation.

The style is indeed similar, with a lack of quotation to denote the speaking of characters and a muted description of whirlwind violence that treats the flowing of blood and the loss of life with such triviality that it can oftentimes leave the bones of the reader chilled. Stylistically speaking it helps to reaffirm the time period of the novel. It feels folksy. It feels as if you are hearing a story told from the mouths of disenfranchised southern folk living in depression era Virginia. The book itself is very well written. The narrative is framed around writer Sherwood Anderson’s visit to Franklin county to find the story of the bootlegging blockaders called the Bondurant Brothers, ancestors of the writer himself. What is fact and what is fiction here is explained by the author in the afterword, but the legitimacy of the tale isn’t really an issue. Truth or fabrication, the story is a compelling tale. The dialog is minimal and instead we get flighty lyrical descriptions of a bygone time swathed in the red hues of blood violence. While the framing device may lead some readers down a path of confusion, the story moves forward in a carefully constructed pattern that builds up steam to a thrilling conclusion bookended by a somber and melancholy connection to the portions framing the story being told.

I feel like I have to compare it to the filmed version and for those wondering there are considerable differences. Characters in the film are given a little more to work with, extrapolated from the guarded and mysterious depiction that they have in the novel. Some parts are amalgamated or twisted for the sake of drama but I will say that the understated simplicity of the novel feels more genuine while the film played with that tone while miring itself in the melodramatic theatricality of some of the actors present. In the film, only Tom Hardy and perhaps Gary Oldman felt like they belonged. Everyone else was adapting something else entirely.

Put simply, this is an amazing novel that tests people’s expectations and rewards them with something exceptional. I’m sure I will give it another read sometime down the line.

Latin Fusion – Why The Right Wing Is Justifiably Scared

I promise that I’m not turning into some blogging politico, this just happened to come up today and I felt like putting it out there because it is an important social question with regards to the future of the American political landscape. You don’t have to read it if you don’t want to. I’m sure some of the Republican readers might want a trigger warning on this particular post. I’m not trying to ambush anybody personally but this post does have a number of references to my reasons for disliking the GOP on a whole, even though I do have some more conservative leanings on certain issues. I don’t think anyone with as many handguns in their home as I do can ever register as a democrat. There are probably laws. I don’t know. I’m just spitballing.

Anyhow, onto the post.

Gail Simone asked a question on Tumblr re: the right-wing response to Latino turnout in the election this year:

Okay, I am sure I’m just being naive…but something in the Republican narrative strikes me as a little weird.

From the numbers I’ve seen, most of the polling says that other than straight white people, most voting groups skewed towards Obama. Bit of a simplification but black people, Asian people, Latino people, and lgbt people, for example, all leaned towards re-electing the president.

Yet in the narrative of the Republican loss, all they talk about is Latino voters. You see over and over how crucial Latino voters were to Romney’s loss.

Okay, fine, that’s fair. But all these other groups also skewed heavily towards the President. Why are Latinos the only group being talked about?

In some cases, it seems almost like scapegoating, which fits in with the continual narrative that illegal immigrants want to take all our Milk-duds or whatever. Not only are they coming over the border illegally, but even registered Latino voters are siding against Republican values, blah blah blah.

In other cases, it seems more that they are attempting to court the Latino vote, but that seems a little more rare, and this seems a very strange way to go about it.

My question is, what’s the message here…why are Latinos being pointed at as THE cause of the Republican losses, when all these other groups, with their very large populations in swing states and key areas, ALSO voted Democrat by majority?

I feel like I’m missing something…but it seems to be a mix of trying to make some groups less visible and less important, while throwing blame on one particular group.

I know there’s a strategy here, the message is just too consistent, it comes down word for word from the key Conservatives. But I don’t see what it actually IS.

What do you guys think, am I completely misjudging, here?

To which my reply is;

I think what you are saying is accurate. They are at the same time saying that Latinos are responsible for Obama’s election painting them as the enemy of the GOP while also hinting that they are a major factor that needs to be enticed to their cause without explicitly stating as much. They won’t mention the black vote because tying that to Obama makes them sound racist. They won’t mention the LGBT community because they don’t think of them as people.

The GOP is killing itself. They know they don’t have enough of the country to maintain power and that younger generations and ethnic groups that the republicans have shamed and talked down to for decades simply will not be won over by their rhetoric. They are in panic mode right now and they are looking for a scapegoat as a talking point.

I live in Texas, which swings red pretty heavily. But by the next election there will be a flood of young Latino voters who have been slapped down by the republicans since the day they were born who will probably spin the state on its own axis and turn it blue when the election results come in. If not in 2016 then definitely by 2020. The republicans cannot continue to be the furiously anti-female, anti-ethnic, anti-LGBT group they represent at present and continue to win elections.

I consider myself socially liberal but fiscally conservative. There are some republicans who don’t fit the mold I’ve mentioned above the same way that there are scum-sucking democrats. I don’t want to generalize but if you look at the Republican party as it defined itself this election cycle, their candidates embodied the spirit of ignorance and sometimes pure hate.

A change in the political winds is coming. Everyone can see it. Even the republicans. How the landscape will eventually settle is anyone’s guess. But the current republican party is going to see itself splintered into the more extreme far-right members and those who know that they can’t say that 47% of the country can go to hell and that rape is a blessing from Jesus.

Book Review – Patriot Acts by Greg Rucka

Patriot Acts is a damn fine novel that has one truly fatal flaw; that ending. I won’t spoil it, but to suffice to say that all the buildup that Rucka does over the course of the novel fizzles with anticlimax the way I have never truly experienced before. I understand the reasoning behind it. I do not think that it worked. Everything leading up to that point however is some of the best action-thriller writing I have ever absorbed. Rucka turns Atticus Kodiak into something completely different with Patriot Acts and by extension the series morphs into something new as well. The story structure seems different in many ways, although Rucka’s form of breaking the book into sections that started with “Shooting at Midnight” remains intact.

The pacing, the plotting, and the narrative are all solid. There is some feeling of nagging questions lingering above your head as a reader at certain times with regard to where other characters have gone or how they are reacting to the progression of Atticus’ story when they had been pretty integral supporting pieces earlier in the series but Rucka’s focus on Atticus and only Atticus gives the book a real sense of definition, though some might not be too happy about what that definition is.

Of course it is…

I think we all saw this one coming, right? No? Maybe?

 

Film Review – Skyfall

A good friend of mine from high school may be the biggest James Bond fan in existence. I’m pretty sure his inner monologue has a backing score by James Berry. Back in the day, which really is only about ten years ago but let’s roll with it, I was one of those obnoxious kids who spent way too much time caring about film history and cinema. I wanted to make indie films and got to film school at UT and become the next Wes Anderson. My friend was equally well versed in obscure movies and we introduced each other to a lot of films we probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Each of us had our own little niche that we loved but didn’t seem to fit into the pretentious pre-film school selections we protested that we loved so much. For me, it was old action films like Commando and Cobra. Stuff that couldn’t pass for an art film if it tried. I know I was supposed to think that if Michel Gondry didn’t direct it I shouldn’t enjoy it, but already I had started to move into the mindset that genre films have a lot to offer and it was what led me into discovering the old pulp stories and comics that put me on the path to writing fiction instead of trying to put everything on film. My friend, though he loved high art films as much as the next cinephile, was absolutely obsessed with James Bond films because his family had dual citizenship with the UK. This man was like a walking encyclopedia of knowledge containing the entire history of James Bond on film and we connected on some level because we both enjoyed the series so much, albeit for different reasons. I always liked James Bond because I thought it was the true successor to the serial adventure genre. Borne out of the cold war to bring a fresh look at a familiar archetype. It fit in with my love of action movies but was also something in and of itself that intrigued me.

Of course, then Die Another Day happened and both of us had to put the James Bond love into a deep dark hole because that shit was just embarrassing. Both of us could tolerate The World is Not Enough, Denise Richards; Nuclear Scientist aside. But the final Brosnan Bond outing to us was the equivalent of nipples on the Bat-suit. By the time Casino Royale came out and it was okay to love Bond again, my friend and I had drifted apart because college will do that to high school friends. But I imagine if we were talking about it right now we would be discussing whether Skyfall is Daniel Craig’s best Bond film or simply the best Bond film.

Skyfall is most definitely the best of Craig’s run. By a wide margin. I’ll discuss why in detail but the bullet points are that the direction, cinematography, editing, script, acting, and characterization are the best they could possibly be. Choosing Sam Mendes to direct and hiring Roger Deakins to film Skyfall is one of the smartest franchise moves ever made. Mendes is a prestige director. He knows his stuff. He cares about the story. Deakins could shoot a bowl of cereal for four hours and somehow make it the most striking, beautiful thing you have ever seen. The work he does in Skyfall is as good as his work has ever been. He certainly brought his A-game. The script is a major upgrade from Quantum of Solace, although that’s not saying much. What is saying much is that the story works better than Casino Royale because while the running time is about the same, Casino Royale had a tendency to drag because of the narrative structure. Skyfall has a classic sort of four-act plotting that blends within itself to tell a very smooth story. Craig is in top form here and gives us the most depth we’ve ever seen in Bond. Judi Dench gets to really dig in and give M some definition in a way the character has never had before, which just adds to how refreshing the film is on that level. And Javier Bardem is quite possibly one of the best villains of all time.

Javier Bardem is what makes so much of this movie work. He is a credible threat. He plays the character with a menace that has been lacking in Bond villains for quite some time. I think the last time we had a villain this effective he was played by Sean Bean. Bardem is going to go down as one of the most effective Bond villains of all time and there will be controversy surrounding his performance simply because of some of the choices made with the character. He is clearly a sociopath. He has gone made with rage and while his performance is equal parts subtlety and flamboyance, audiences may interpret him in a variety of ways. By now its no secret that in a moment of cat-and-mouse (or rat-and-rat) he makes intimidating sexual advances towards 007 that Bond rebukes by implying that it would be nothing new to him. This could swing viewers in any number of ways. Is Bond just showing off false bravado? Is he truly so sexually promiscuous that he’s been intimate with a man? Does it matter? The more frightening question is whether it is implied that Bardem’s sexual flamboyance is as a result of the trauma that turned him into a sociopath or if it was something previously existing. I know some people will have a field day with it, but honestly I see it as something where Bardem’s character knows what vibe he gives off and was trying to play mind games. It seems in line with his character, although I could just be making too much out of the issue. The fact remains that his performance is absolutely stunning and he has definitely left his mark on the series.

What I liked most about the film was how it equally serviced the lore and history of the franchise while at the same time doing things that have not been done before. The climax of the film is not something you will typically find in a Bond film. In fact, I would say that it was done in a manner that subverts the typical Bond climax and turns it on its ear. And it is in that climax that Roger Deakins really gets to shine. The shadows and light that are cast by the fire in total darkness are beautiful and it really gives the film a distinct look that no other film has matched. I really cannot gush enough about how well shot this film is and the fact that Deakins got to shoot one of the best Bond adventures in years only adds to it. If he had shot Quantum of Solace it may have looked amazing but I still would have been let down by the limp narrative.

To make a long review short, my opinion is that this is the best 007 film on record. It hits every mark it should. No other film nails it the way this one does. As far as I am concerned, Skyfall  is the perfect 007 film.

Happy 50th, Anniversary James Bond.

In Which I Get A Little Politcal

If This Doesn’t Offend You, There Is Something Wrong

Tuesday was an enormous exercise in self-restraint. The hotly contested presidential election came to pass and at the end of the day, Barack Obama was still holding the keys to the castle. I have my own problems with Obama’s policies. I’m very moderate in my politics, or at least I like to think I am. I approve of his destruction of the DADT initiative and it is because of “Obamacare” that I have had health insurance for this past year while I was technically unemployed. I know I write these books but I’m not exactly James Patterson. I don’t have a deal with any publishers so money coming in was a trickle at best. I certainly didn’t have any sort of medical benefits due to my work. I was able to get an extra year on my family’s insurance because of it, though. I am supremely thankful for that. That said, I disapprove of his endorsement of drone strikes and think he hasn’t been as effective as his boldness in campaigning hinted he would be. I do not think he is trying to turn the country into a communist state. I don’t think there is any conspiracy regarding his birth. I don’t think he’s a Muslim, nor would I care if he was. The reasons I had for considering voting for a new president were borne out of evaluations of what he has done versus what he has done. When Mitt Romney emerged as his competitor, I knew that Obama was the better choice. I do not like Mitt Romney or ANY of the things he stands for. The fact that he is such a waffling flip-flopper with no true sense of political identity makes that a frightening issue. What does Mitt Romney stand for? Who knows? It all depends on who he is trying to please at that given moment. I have no respect for Mitt Romney.

What am I trying to get at here, you may ask. The election has come and gone and there’s no reason to pontificate now. What I want to talk about isn’t the election. It is the aftermath. In the wake of the election I have seen things typed and heard things said that make my fucking blood boil. Here’s the deal America. You are free to say whatever you want. Freedom of speech. It is a thing, as those of you who I have confronted about the downright nasty things you have said are ever willing to point out. What I want to point out to you is this; freedom of speech does not mean you are immune to criticism for the things you say. If I hear you say “That damn nigger Muslim stole our country” (Which I did hear. I live in Texas.), I have the right to inform you that you are a hateful, ignorant bigot who lacks the development of reasoning necessary to vote in the first place. I can say you are a danger to our country and tell you that you should go penetrate your own rectal cavity with a saguaro cactus. That, my friends, is free speech as well. I have suffered through arguments to no end in the last few days that have ended with “you have to respect my opinion.”

No I don’t.

You have the right to have your opinion but I do not in any way have to “respect” it. The opinion does not require respect, merely acknowledgement of its existence and the right thereof. I do not have to take you seriously or sit there and allow you to continue making a fool of yourself. I cannot physically stop you from saying it, though sometimes I might wish I could, but I can rebuff you every bit as much as you can spew your ignorance. I’m not some dirty liberal trying to silence a persecuted minority as some of my more far-right leaning Christian fundamentalist acquaintances have accused me of. I swing conservative on more issues than you imagine, and those issues are private and I don’t want to start another argument. All I am saying is that I am tired of letting ignorance go unpunished. If you want to say something stupid, please know that I and others like me, will be more than willing and able and within our right to let you know.

This is what free speech is, people. Don’t ever forget it.

Technical Difficulties

For those wondering, I got off to a good start on NaNoWriMo and it is a blast to write in Ian McGrath’s voice again. He has the same sort of sarcasm that I try to keep in check so it is always fun to let that side of me free. I’m now more than a little bit behind because the computer I was writing on has decided it didn’t want to perform anymore and so I invested in a new machine. I don’t have ANY software for writing aside from some trial version software that has not been kind to me at all. So I’ve been sketching out ideas with pen and paper so that when I get everything installed I can sit down and move at a faster clip. I’m still willing myself to write 50,000 words this month, but I think I knew going in that there were going to be some roadblocks. Unfortunately I have to admit that my day job takes precedent over writing. Also my girlfriend Tori who I’ve spoken of at great length, deserves my attention as well. With our respective work schedules that doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for writing. For those of you who care, you shouldn’t be worried. Whether or not I actually get 50,000 words done this month or not, the sequel to Grave Danger will be completed in due time. It just might take a few months longer to get into your hands. Just be grateful I’m not George R.R. Martin.

I don’t want anyone to think that I am not trying my hardest to get my stories down. I do believe that despite the rocky start I can still manage the deadline if I make myself go at it harder than usual on the weekends when I have the full day at my disposal. I’ve got the ideas on paper for the first half of the story and I have a firm idea of how the narrative ends. Once I start putting words in the characters’ mouths things seem to snowball at a pretty fast clip. So I’m enthusiastic and positive that things will work out to my satisfaction. The only one who truly cares if I meet the NaNoWriMo goal is myself. It doesn’t affect you, the reader, in any real way. I just want you all to know how much I care about this so you don’t think I’m jerking you around.

I’ll update you again once I have some more material done on the manuscript, perhaps with a snippet for your reading pleasure.

NaNoWriMoToMoRrOw

November 1st marks the start of NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month. The goal of course is to write 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Last year yielded the book that would become Grave Danger and this year I’m working on a sequel. Tentatively title Life Among The Living, the new novel brings back Ian McGrath and puts him in a dangerous position where he has to protect someone he doesn’t truly care about from almost certain death if he doesn’t want to be at the forefront of a supernatural race war. I think I have a few ideas for where I want to go with the series and this is the springboard for that. My original plans for what Ian’s journey would be and where he actually will go seem to have diverged, but I like what I have planned and hopefully you will too.

I encourage anyone who has any interest in writing at all to give NaNoWriMo a chance because the deadline really pushes you to think on your toes and power through to the finish line. The novel I’m planning won’t be complete in a month as I’m expecting with the outline I have on hand for the finished product to be closer to 90,000 words because the ideas and story for this book are much bigger than the first. As they should be with any good sequel.

I’ll try to post updates and excerpts whenever I can. That should keep things lively along the way, don’t you think?