The Unwritten: Volume 07 (2013)

The Wound (2013)

Author: Mike Carey | Illustrator: Peter Gross | Page Count: 144

'There were no winds. It came on them in complete silence. The perfect whiteness of an unwritten page.'

The opening chapter / issue of Volume 07 is another of those secondary character asides that Mike Carey is damn good at. It doesn't even have Tom Taylor in it, but it's great and was my favourite part of the book.

It's followed by a four-part story, the one for which the collection is named. Tom features in it, but he's in the background often, allowing a few more of the supporting cast to have time in the spotlight, including an Australian police officer who's investigating The Church of Tommy.

The Church is a religious cult whose doctrine is based upon the Tommy Taylor™ books. The boy-wizard's most recent novel had some Christ-like parallels, which is the kind of happening that can cause such fanatics to crawl into the light, believing they have something to prove.

Ring: Kanzenban (1995)

Ring: Kanzenban (1995)

Dir. Chisui Takigawa

Japan's first filmed adaptation of author Koji Suzuki's Ring (1991) novel, about a cursed video tape that heralds the death one week later of anyone that watches it, was made for TV. As such, it didn't have the kind of money or resources to play around with that Dir. Hideo Nakata would subsequently have for his more famous version.

Still, it does an admirable job with the story and packs quite a lot in. It's not a horror, per se, so don't expect to be hiding behind the sofa at any time. Interestingly, it's the only one of the film versions to keep the protagonist male. In fact, at time of writing, it's the most faithful to the book.

Unfortunately, neither the supporting cast nor the music is much good, which lessens its impact. But with that in mind, if you're a fan of any part of the Ring franchise, then it's an interesting addition.

Charmed: Season 1 (1998-99)

Charmed: Season 1 (1998-99)

22 episodes, approx 42 mins each.

Three sisters, the Halliwells, are reunited when they inherit their grandmother's house.

The middle child, Piper (Holly Marie Combs), tries hard to keep the eldest, Prue (Shannen Doherty), and the youngest, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), from constantly butting heads, but with underlying abandonment issues needing to be worked through, it proves difficult.

The trio soon discover that their ancestors, stretching back for many years, were good witches and that they've inherited the gift.

Known collectively as The Charmed Ones, the revelation brings the bickering sisters together, and as they explore their newfound powers they begin to bond like never before.

Classics Illustrated: The War of the Worlds (2008)

Classics Illustrated: The War of the Worlds (2008)

Author: H.G. Wells | Adaptation: Harry Miller | Illustrator: Lou Cameron | Page Count: 49

'There being no further movements from the pit, horror gave way to an uncontrollable curiosity and I began moving closer.'

For thirty years (1941-71) the Classics Illustrated comic books adapted literary classics into the comic book medium for a younger audience to enjoy. (It can be more accurately thought of as 'Classics Adapted, Illustrated and Abridged', but that's not a catchy title.)

Originally issue #124, H.G. Wells' science fiction novel The War of the Worlds (1897) was chosen to be the first issue in a digitally recoloured reprint for a modern audience. I'm not an advocate of recolouring artists' works, but if it helps younger readers discover the stories of yesteryear, then I'll roll with it as best I can.

I won't be attempting a traditional story synopsis, but will share some thoughts on the book, in general.

Yojimbo (1961)

Yojimbo (1961)

Dir. Akira Kurosawa

Toshirô Mifune stars as the titular yojimbo (bodyguard), a rōnin (masterless samurai) who's feeling the economic pinch of the era in Akira Kurosawa's much-imitated jidaigeki.

The character positions himself between two rival bosses, one at each end of a small town, and cautiously but skilfully outmanoeuvres them both. He knows that being in the middle is a dangerous place to be, but it offers him the best possible view of both sides.

One of the film's greatest strengths is its straightforward delivery. For both director and actor actions are more important than words, while the old man that shelters the rōnin (Eijirō Tōno) provides backstory for the viewer, followed by the yojimbo advancing the plot as and when the story needs it.

In contrast, Mifune's role is multifaceted, and yet he somehow makes it seem as effortless as his character's manipulation of the antagonists.

Doctor Sleep (2013)

Doctor Sleep (2013)

Author: Stephen King  |  Page Count: 485

"When you couldn’t sleep, when you were afraid to look around because of what you might see, time elongated and grew sharp teeth."

A very belated sequel to King's The Shining (1977) novel. While many of the author's current fans probably weren't born when the first book came out, it's assumed that anyone reading Doctor Sleep will have read the previous book, and I'll be proceeding under the same assumption, so there will be at least one major SPOILER for The Shining hereafter.

For anyone that actually wanted a sequel, thirty-six years is a long time to wait. A similar amount of time has passed for the book's main protagonist, Danny Torrance. Despite his experience as a boy, Danny has taken on some of the more vile traits of his father, including his self-destructive alcoholism.

But for much of the novel Danny is a hospice worker in a small town in New Hampshire, attending to the terminally ill. It's a role in which his peculiar ability, his 'shining', can play a productive part.

Star Trek VII: Generations (1994)

Star Trek: Generations (1994)

Dir. David Carson

There's a feeling in Trek fandom that when it comes to the movies the odd numbered entries generally aren't as good as the even numbered ones – at least, up to a point. I don't know if it's a majority feeling or merely a more published one, but for me it rings true. Generations, being film number VII, is an odd numbered entry.

Even though it has Captains James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard in the same film (Oh my!), it's simply not as good as the even numbered features that came immediately before and after it.

It begins in the TOS era (2293), with three of the original cast members doing a kind of royal visit - followed by a news crew, they watch the maiden voyage of the Enterprise-B. Kirk is antsy that he's not in the big chair, but deep down he knows change is inevitable: the torch must be passed.