strange and random happenstance

Scott Pilgrim is a bizarre cultural anomaly. Edgar Wright made the most Edgar Wright film in the history of Edgar Wright and suddenly everyone knew who Scott Pilgrim was, making it a cult classic if not a box office success. The star studded movie brought the beloved characters from Bryan Lee O'Malley's comics to life in a way that incorporated their comics origin. Problems and all. And that's the thing. Behind all the whip pans and utterly surreal cameos, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a problematic film. Not even touching the whole Scott's dating a teenager whom he then cheats on, he and Ramona have no chemistry, the League of Evil Exes don't really explain their endgame, and it's misogynistic overtones and "girl fight" just plain haven't aged well. Scott Pilgrim is an underdog hero who you actually don't like that much. Which makes it an odd choice to readapt as a cartoon. In this day and age. With the entire original cast from the movie doing the voices of their characters for the English language version. Many people, me included, assumed that Scott Pilgrim Takes Off would just be an animated retelling of the movie, which, to be honest, I had no interest in. Therefore I was planning on skipping it. And then I read a major spoiler, Scott Pilgrim dies. Though dies should be "dies." Which made me instantly want to watch it. Because this show is basically launching the Scott Pilgrim Multiverse. AKA a Multiverse I could get behind. And I can see Bryan Lee O'Malley's point. They didn't want to retell the same story, just as I didn't want to watch it. This refocuses the narrative on Ramona and actually develops her character beyond just being a plot device. She's a three dimensional character who goes on a journey of discovery and confronts her exes and helps them and herself to move on. This is about letting go of all the emotional baggage you hold on to. It's about finding out who you really are and what drives you and what makes you run. I never thought in a million years to find a Scott Pilgrim adaptation to be deep and meaningful and yet, here we are. Don't get me wrong, it's still bonkers crazy. In fact at times it's a bit too frenetic with fights and music and all the meta. I mean, seriously, all the meta is insane. From Simon Pegg and Nick Frost having a random Hot Fuzz reunion to Edgar Wrong to ultimate vegan powers to Knives finally having a purpose and the musical deep cuts. There was just so much going for it and yet at the same time I kind of feel I've moved beyond Scott Pilgrim. This show gave me closure. The film and what it meant to me at that time in my life is over and done with but I liked revisiting old friends and not having to cringe at their behavior. I'm not saying I'll never watch or read Scott Pilgrim again. In fact the books have kind of been calling to me to incorporate the present and the past. But for now I'm good.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Animation, Byran Lee O'Malley, Comics, Edgar Wright, Hot Fuzz, League of Evil Exes, Meta, Multiverse, Nick Frost, Romana, Scott Pilgrim, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Sex Bob-omb, Simon Pegg

Truths, Half Truths and Little White Lies by Nick Frost
Published by: Hodder Stoughton
Publication Date: October 8th, 2015
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Nick Frost's early life was marred by loss. When he was ten his older sister died of an asthma attack. At fifteen his parents lost everything, including their home, and they moved in with the neighbors. His mother took solace in cooking and drinking which might have helped precipitate her stroke. Nick left school in order to help support his family. The times when he found peace as a young man was when he went on kibbutz in Israel. He might have stayed there forever if possible. But family would draw him home and he took up a variety of low paying restaurant gigs to get by. He got through the monotony of his days by filling them with humor. Making his coworkers laugh with impressions and caricatures. And it was at a North London Mexican restaurant where he would meet Simon Pegg and the course of his life would change forever. The fast friendship that formed between Frost and Pegg is legendary. They're still together when the women they were both with when they first met are long gone in the past. They were even roommates who snuggled down in the same bed. But it's the opportunity that Pegg presented Frost that changed everything. Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes née Stevenson were working on a television show for Channel 4. The show about slackers looking for a place in the world, in particular a place to live, is now, rightfully, a cult classic. But more importantly, the twenty-seven year old Frost was introduced to the world of acting and his character of Mike Watt on Spaced isn't just beloved, but was Frost's own creation that he worked on to entertain his coworkers in the various restaurants he worked at. He might never have thought that an acting career would be in his cards, but Frost and Pegg became household names. They went on to make the Cornetto Trilogy with Edgar Wright, who directed Spaced. But the fame, the acclaim, the cult following, most of that is in the future. This book only takes us up to Frost on the brink of fame. He's still ghost hunting with Pegg, he's still having wild parties with mates at their flat. He's still talking about the kibbutz lifestyle. For now, this is the formative years of the legend that is Nick Frost. How's that for a slice of fried gold?

Do you want to learn about Nick Frost's life? Probably pick up another book. Do you want to learn about kibbutzim? Well then, this book is for you. And yes, that is what baffles me most about this book. We get little glimpses of his life with a dark, nihilistic bent, but most of the book is about the peace he found while on various kibbutzim. I'm happy he was able to find a place where he was at peace that wasn't the rapidly approaching grave which he mentions. Often. But, I mean, didn't someone at some point go; "Hey, Nick, why don't you talk more about your friendship with Simon Pegg? You know when you talk about your ghost hunting experiences? That was awesome. And that is what we're looking for more of. Not, you know, another kibbutz." This book literally had only two outlooks on life, we're all going to die, or we will be temporarily saved from the inevitability of the grave by going on kibbutz. Nick Frost's early life was filled with death and loss and he doesn't really talk about how that affected him. We can see that he turned to humor and drugs and alcohol and food as coping mechanisms, but it's more inferred than spoken outright. This isn't a deep dive, this is a morose wade. I wonder what it would be like to be his child. He often talks about this book being the way his child will get to know him because he assumes he'll die young. Well, if you want to be there for your kid, now kids, wouldn't you, I don't know, try to change the habits that could result in an early death? Yeah, sure, there's genetics, but also, might I counter, there are doctors? There are ways to get healthier. I mean, dammit, this book was so fatalistic. He's a comic genius and he downplays how he created the character of Mike Watt on Spaced, but here's the thing, he created this classic character and I would really like to know more about that than his premonitions of an early death. His followup book, A Slice of Fried Gold, looks to be even less about himself, now almost being a cookbook. I just, I just don't know. Is it because he has created so many coping mechanisms that he can't talk about himself or does he just not want to talk about himself? Because, if you don't want to talk about yourself a memoir isn't really what you should be attempting to write.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Slice of Fried Gold, Autobiography, Cornetto Trilogy, Edgar Wright, For the Love of Book Clubs, Israel, Kibbutz, Mike Watt, Nick Frost, Nihilistic, Simon Pegg, Spaced, Truths Half Truths and Little White Lies

You've Got Red on You: How Shaun of the Dead Was Brought to Life by Clark Collis
Published by: 1984 Publishing
Publication Date: November 23rd, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 424 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Shaun of the Dead is one of those films like Twister that whenever you catch it on TV while flipping the channels you can't help but keep watching it. The humor, the pacing, the pathos, the music, everything is perfection. I dare you to listen to "Don't Stop Me Now" without wishing you had a pool cue in your hand. Of course it wasn't an easy film to make. At the time Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg were only known for their quirky cult comedy Spaced and here they were pitching a major motion picture that was very zombie niche. In fact, they would have been happy had this film only had an audience of one if that audience was George Romero. And if he liked it. They really wanted him to like it. This was an epic love letter to the man and the aesthetic he had created. But it took a lot of convincing to get everyone on board with their vision. At times the studio was pushing for "names." Which means, in an alternate universe Nick Frost isn't in this film but for some reason Gillian Anderson is. Which could have been a little awkward given how Tim Bisley felt about Dana Scully.... With new interviews from the cast and crew and complete access to Edgar Wright, You've Got Red on You shows a detailed behind the scenes picture of how this zomromcom came to life. The long hours shooting without air conditioning. The people whose entire job was just to maintain blood spatter continuity. What it's like being covered in blood spatter in that heat. The fact that David Bowie was really "funny" about the Labyrinth soundtrack and therefore a zombie was attacked with the Batman Soundtrack instead. I mean, Prince was their first choice, but it didn't hurt to have a backup. And then once the film was wrapped, would anyone watch it? Thankfully George Romero approved and anything else was a slice of fried gold. They didn't realize though that it would be so successful. But this was down to clever marketing. In order to break the US the trio of Pegg, Wright, and Frost toured the US. They did an old fashioned hard sell going town to town, and because of this they didn't just create a fanbase, they created true fans. Fans that would come out on their next two tours when they promoted Hot Fuzz and The World's End. Fans that would repeatedly buy all the different versions of the film that were released and would follow them to the ends of the Earth. Or at least to the pub on a Sunday afternoon.

I don't know how I first heard of Shaun of the Dead, I'm guessing a trailer before another movie in the summer of 2004, but I was an early convert. I was a member of the "Shaun Street Squad" which was a website designed to spread the word about the film and where you could earn sweet sweet swag by doing fan art and fanfic. And yes, I actively participated, cashing in my points for a pint glass and then some. And then opening day I was there in the theater having dragged my friend Matt along with me to see this film everyone was talking about. After that first viewing I became an acolyte of Simon Pegg's. Spaced, Hippies, Asylum, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), and branching out, Black Books, and Little Britain, where Monty Python, Red Dwarf, and Blackadder were my formative years of British sitcom, Simon Pegg came in to inform my early post college years. So I had one question going into this book, could it give me any revelations? The answer is not really. Aside from David being written for David Walliams, which makes everything make sense to me. But it's such a well laid out and eminently readable history of the film that a lack of anything new didn't really bother me. It was also, for the most part, pretty unbiased, showing Edgar warts and all with an ongoing feud he had with the director of photography David Dunlap. And while Edgar admits to this feud Edgar himself might be the only real problem with this book in that it was Edgar's voice that was predominate. His view of how things happened. Yes, others were interviewed, but Edgar's voice and Clark Collis's reverence for him carried the narrative. And as for Collis.... It's his inferences in the end that make the book not achieve it's full potential. Because in the final analysis the author places too much cultural importance on Shaun of the Dead. Yes, it's was culturally important in bringing about the more romcom side of zombies, but was it THE REASON that zombies because popular again? No. That would be 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead comics, which were released in 2002 and 2003 respectively, whereas Shaun of the Dead was released in April 2004 in England, us in the states had to wait for a fall release. Also, I found it odd that Collis never once mentions iZombie which in comic and televisual form were both heavily influenced by Shaun of the Dead. And of course THE MOST IMPORTANT FACT was omitted from this book. Because of Shaun of the Dead we got Hot Fuzz, perhaps the most perfect movie ever.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 28 Days Later, Clark Collis, Edgar Wright, For the Love of Book Clubs, George Romero, Hot Fuzz, iZombie, Nick Frost, Shaun of the Dead, Simon Pegg, Spaced, The Walking Dead, You've Got Red on You, Zombies

Rarely do you come across an adaptation that is perfection, which is probably why Netflix abruptly cancelled it. They couldn't see genius right in front of them that they commissioned and instead just made more Bridgerton. Not that I have anything against Bridgerton as a cultural phenomena, I have very highly specific issues which if I was to livestream would be me yelling about the music and sticking closer to the books. I love those books. But this review isn't about Bridgerton. Seriously it isn't. OK it is a little because Ruby Stokes quit playing Francesca on Bridgerton to play Lucy on Lockwood and Co.. But I swear that's the end of it. This is about the genius of Joe Cornish's adaptation of Jonathan Stroud's books. He literally brought the books to life. I know that's a cliched, hackneyed phrase, but do you really realize how rare of an occurrence this is? There are millions of adaptations out there, and many that I like, and a few that I love, but rarely does it happen where the book and the adaptation feel so aligned that the changes made don't annoy me. You could go in the opposite direction and pull a William Goldman, but I honestly think that William Goldman and both of his versions of The Princess Bride are a once in a lifetime event. And to have someone who isn't Andrew Davies pull it off? Well, tip of the hat to you Mr. Cornish. Though I shouldn't have been surprised once I realized so much of the production team were friends and colleagues of Edgar Wright and they did nail his flare for the perfect song at the perfect moment. From the second the opening credits rolled I knew this show was for me. Not only did it give background on The Problem with amazing infographics that I would have killed to have been talented enough to design, but the music has this Unsolved Mysteries meets The X-Files vibe that made me not only not "skip intro" but occasionally I'd watch them more than once. But this isn't a case where a bad show has amazing credits, looking at you final few seasons of Mad Men, the quality of the credits carried through to the show. The casting was perfect, the set, while it wasn't how I had pictured 35 Portland Row it was still 35 Portland Row. And as for how they were able to maintain Lucy's voice through her tape recorder taking the place of her first person narration, genius. I mean, if you want to quibble, some of my friends think that the show could have done a better setup with describing the different levels of ghosts, but seeing as I've read the books I don't think I'm able to speak to that because I've read the accompanying glossary in every volume so these facts are ingrained in me now. I'll say that I wish George had been more body positive, but at least with casting Ali Hadji-Heshmati they were able to still show inclusivity. Also Lucy tends to drop her sword a bit too much. And the pacing was a little too breakneck... But as you can see these are literally nitpicking. Because while Louise Brealey skeeved me out, she was meant to! I just am bereft that there is going to be no more of this show. I mean, it's not as bad as say the fate of Willow, I still have the books so I know how the story ends, but this, THIS was something special. This was it for me.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Bridgerton, Edgar Wright, Francesca Bridgerton, Joe Cornish, Jonathan Stroud, Lockwood & Co., Lucy Carlyle, Ruby Stokes, The Princess Bride, The Problem, The X-Files, Unsolved Mysteries

OK, I know with what I'm about to admit everyone is going to be shocked, but until this miniseries I had not heard of or watched the original movie adaptation of Rumer Godden's book that is a classic starring Deborah Kerr. Black Narcissus won Oscars and accolades when it was released in 1947, eerily on the day that would be my birthday come the seventies. So, putting aside my lack of a complete film education, what it meant was I was going into this series fresh. In fact I saw an ad only a day before it aired and it was being touted as Diana Rigg's last appearance, that is until Edgar Wright admits defeat and releases Last Night in Soho to streaming, so I said, let's see what this Black Narcissus is all about! Also I have probably rightly pissed off Edgar Wright now by not knowing this movie and saying that movie theaters are dead and streaming is the only safe option in this day and age. Oh well, I'm still looking forward to Last Night in Soho... So this version of Black Narcissus, compared to no other, was a wonderful little idyll of nuns trying to do good against all odds in a very haunted place. I mean this miniseries just oozed Gothic vibes, it was delicious! I constantly love how the building blocks of what is considered Gothic can be changed time and time again to create a whole new slant that you'd never think of. Nuns tend to align themselves more with the horror genre, and to tackle their desires and damnation in a human and real way within the Gothic sphere felt fresh to me, and again note I haven't seen the original film. Though the driving force of the three episode miniseries is Sister Ruth and her going more and more off the rails in this remote location. I don't know if you're supposed to hate Sister Ruth and long for her corruption and death, but I totally did. Her obsession with the male caretaker, Mr. Dean, and her delusions about Mr. Dean and Sister Clodagh make her more and more unstable and I loved every minute of it. I think this was all enhanced by the performace of Aisling Franciosi as Sister Ruth. I knew I knew her from somewhere and wherever that was I hated her in that. Turns out it was The Fall, the Gillian Anderson/Jamie Dornan show, which is, in my mind, the most overrated piece of shit I have ever watched. It is easily one of the worst shows I've ever seen and wish I could forget I ever saw it. Anyway, Aisling was the shitty teenager in love with the father of the kids she babysat and who knew he was a killer and was all OK with that. So yeah, I liked seeing her suffer in this. But does that say more about me or Black Narcissus?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Aisling Franciosi, And the Emmy Goes To, Black Narcissus, Diana Rigg, Edgar Wright, Gillian Anderson, Gothic, Jamie Dornan, Last Night in Soho, Mr. Dean, Nuns, Rumer Godden, Sister Clodagh, Sister Ruth, The Fall

Scott Pilgrim Volumes 1-6 by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Published by: Oni Press
Publication Date: August 18th, 2004 - July 20th, 2010
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★ (averaged)
To Buy Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little LifeTo Buy Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
To Buy Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim and The Infinite Sadness
To Buy Vol 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It TogetherTo Buy Vol 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The UniverseTo Buy Vol 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
Scott Pilgrim is finally moving on, if dating a High School student could be considered moving on for a 23 year old. Though nothing is really happening with Knives asside from riding the bus, and that's just fine by Scott. Scott goes through life wallowing in his past and not wanting to think of the future. He mooches off his gay roommate Wallace, known as the one with the money between the two of them, with all his spare time being devoted to his band, Sex Bob-omb. Then one night he dreams of a girl on Rollerblades only to find that she does exist. Scott now has a reason to live, the mysterious Ramona Flowers. As luck would have it she seems genuinely interested in dating Scott, he fails to mention Knives. The only problem is that he must defeat her seven evil exes in order to be allowed the honor of her boyfriend. The League of Ramona's Evil Ex-Boyfriends must be defeated and one by one they slowly are till nothing stands in Scott's way but his own personal baggage and an angry Knives. From an ex who is the rock star Envy, to all the women in his past, Scott easily has enough baggage to equal Ramona's. Everything must be overcome to win and is Scott up for the challenge?

I picked up this series because of the movie coming up, I can't resist an Edgar Wright film, but I also can't resist reading the source material. I'm surprised I hadn't actually heard more of the comics before now seeing as they are pretty tailor made for my generation of geeky gamers. I will proclaim ignorance of their existence, mainly because I don't troll the manga sized comics, so it's not really my fault... though I might have to troll that section of the bookstore more often. I totally enjoyed the comics, even though they were very uneven. Initially I didn't know if I would like them because the whole Scott dating a highschooler seemed kind of icky, but I was able to get past that. I also enjoyed the surreal elements of it with power ups and extra lives and sword skills being a part of everyday life, just like a Zelda game. I think where it failed was in the repetitive nature that having seven villains, all of which are some variant on the dating Ramona theme. You can't make each fight one up the last and not get into absurdity. Of course, just to make it more "interesting," one of the exes is a girl half-ninja while another is a set of twins who have robots. There's funny and then there's straining credulity. And yes, I know that sounds absurd when you're killing someone who drops coins, but killer robots and lesbian half-ninjas, while funny, can wear on you a bit. But my main problem was with the ending. The final battle seemed rushed and just pointless. What was Gideon up to? There were cyrogenically frozen women who rejected him and he apparently wanted Ramona to join their ranks. But why!?! That's what I was left with at the end. After three awesome comics and three middling comics I was left with why. You shouldn't be left with why at the end of a series. I need closure and I didn't get it! Plus, that whole bit with Ramona being a slave to Gideon, eh... ew and weird. I'm sad the comics are over because I genuinely loved the characters, once I was able to figure out who was who, they all kind of look similar so the character cheat sheets starting in volume two are very handy. But mainly I'm sad they're over because I didn't get a satisfactory ending... who knows, maybe the movie will deliver? Thankfully it's now out on DVD...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Book Review, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Edgar Wright, Gideon, Half-Ninja, Knives, Ramona Flowers, Scott Pilgrim, Sex Bob-omb, The Leagure of Evil Ex-Boyfriends, Wallace, Zelda