Prince Caspian the movie

We went to see Prince Caspian yesterday, and despite some very significant departures from the plot of the book, it was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Edmund was badass. They all were, especially Susan (she was really a lot more badass than she should have been, since she's supposed to hate violence, but it was so cool to see her fight on the same level as her brothers than I cannot bring myself to mind) but aside from the fact that Edmund has always been my favorite character, I was just thrilled to see him essentially get in the last and loudest word on a certain key character relationship. My sister and I cheered.

(Thoughts on Edmund and later Eustace: they are particularly dear characters because they have redemption stories. Both of them start out as somewhat warped, unlikable and rather unhappy people, and both of them become better, happier, and fundamentally more decent because of their associations with Narnia. Most of the other human protagonists start out better off than that, so they don't struggle in quite that way.

God, I hope they do make a The Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie. I can take or leave the rest of the books, and have no special desire to see them made into movies, but these adaptations have been a lot of fun, and Voyage is all about the fun.)

Prince Caspian is a hunk. I admit to having blinked a bit over the Susan/Caspian vibe, because in Voyage, Caspian flirts with Lucy, who in this movie is about ten, but they didn't push it too hard, and you can't really blame Susan. Caspian's hot! I'd make googly-eyes back at him, too!

bookblogging

Novels/prose books:

Heyer, Georgette: They Found Him Dead
(Heyer's mysteries are as lively and lovely as her Regency romances. I enjoyed this one particularly, not for any special reason).


Graphic novels/comics/cartoons

Watson, Andi: Little Star
(more Oni Press. I almost put this one down without finishing, although not because it was a testosterone-drenched adventure with a jeep--about the only thing it could be said to have in common with the testosterone jeep adventure was that it was a story about a man trying to find himself. Little Star is a book about a man struggling for balance between his part-time job as a ceramics painter and his role as the father of a fussy toddler and husband to a full-time wife. It is poignant, nuanced, intelligent, genuine, well-crafted, and I didn't love it. I don't really know why, I just didn't).

Runton, Andy: Owly: The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer, Owly: Just A Little Blue, Owly: Flying Lessons, Owly: a Time to be Brave
(these are horrifically cute. The whole time I was reading these--I think it took me about twenty minutes total--I kept complaining to the friend who owned them about the worm who carries around umbrellas and slings things over his shoulder even though as a worm, he lacks a spine, shoulders, and hands. My friend informed me that there were magically invisible robots to do these things for Wormy. However, I'm a little concerned that the target audience, i.e. kids, will not pick up on this important fact, and will be as confused as I was).

Petersen, David: Mouse Guard: Fall 1152
(gorgeous art; I was distracted while reading and did not pay attention the plot, which may have been gripping).

Morse, Scott: Magic Pickle
(the lame vegetable puns, ow).

Barnes, Bill and Gene Ambaum: Unshelved, Unshelved: What Would Dewey Do?, Unshelved: Library Mascot Cage Match
(this is like a series of really awesome textbook cartoon inserts on how not to handle the reference interview. Don't do what Dewey would do. Plus, WWDD has a foreword by Nancy Pearl, Action Librarian).


Manga:

Gakuen Alice vol. 1
(it's sufficiently in line with the anime that I didn't feel a need to keep reading. It's a bit wacky and sketchy cute, and I do recommend it).