I’ve been collecting a bunch of small fragments of ideas about various movies and books. Figured I’d put them up here.

Movies

9

Good stuff

• set some ideas up about teamwork
• complete setting
• simple story

Bad stuff

• half constructed metaphors
• schizophrenic themes
• So surreal one couldn’t connect
• screaming bad guys
• consistent repetitive omnipresent human failure
• plot holes

The Tale of Despereaux

Good stuff

• metaphors seemed to be really awesome and complete
• The “death” mouse and the pit. That whole setting.

Bad stuff

• seemed to drop metaphors and themes in mid stride
• Near the end they jump from location to location; this seemed easy, but should have been very hard! (it was much harder earlier)

Emperors New Groove

Good stuff

• Good moral
• Got the serious/goofy mix just right for the genere
• Incredibly quotable
• Dynamic archetypical characters
• Clear plot, convoluted into an interesting story

Bad stuff

• Permissive/lying/stupid father figure
• Poorly resolved moral tone?

Batman, Dark Knight

Good stuff

• Believable and powerful villain (Joker)
• Awesomeness

Bad stuff

• No “good” person will kill others
• Contrived choices, fallacy of false alternatives
• Godless grasping for a basis of right action
• Dumb idiot villains (Anyone but The Joker)

Megamind

Good stuff

• Excellent dialog
• “Clean” in action and speech, while still presenting real struggles
• Fantastic yet believable characters

Bad stuff

• Continuing confusion over what “evil” really means
• Power of Eros to create Agape ex-nihilo
• Mocking overtones

Books

Dragon Spear

Good stuff

• uneducated main charcter (makes exposition easy)
• Main character isn’t a jerk, but also isn’t a manly-woman

Bad stuff

• Friendly dragons.
• Farmer dragons.
• Generally good dragons. Better than most people even… seriously
• elementary style and vocabulary
• Too much repetition

The Ballad of the White Horse

Good stuff

• Believable “good guys” and “bad guys” who have real thoughts and self-deceits.
• Profound insight into the timeless struggle of right behavior.
• This:
  • For our God hath blessed creation,
  • Calling it good. I know
  • What spirit with whom you blindly band
  • Hath blessed destruction with his hand;
  • Yet by God’s death the stars shall stand
  • And the small apples grow.

Bad stuff

• Usually too high-minded to grip the heart
• difficult to follow but with exceptional concentration.