This morning, I watched Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service for the first time. It made me so happy. A 13-year old witch-in-training leaves her home to offer magical services in a town by the sea. It has all the charms of a Miyazaki film and provides sensibilities that only a young witch can impart. While in the seaside town, she loses her mojo but regains it by convalescing in a cabin in the woods. The feeling is not unknown to Baguio babies who seek their fortune in far-away cities, but come home to the mountains to recharge.
I'm reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. The book, first in the Percy Jackson series, is now a film. Lem and I saw it and thought it was okay. Although it's unfair to make comparisons, what I've read so far is much more satisfying. Events are more meaningful and characters are better turned out. I've read favorable reviews for The Lightning Thief and the rest of the series on numerous book blogs; they have yet to be proven otherwise. No disrespect to Edith Hamilton, but I wish this book existed when I was a kid.
Update, 25 February: The Lightning Thief movie had some pretty, major memory gaps. In the book, Percy and his friends have a fearsome opponent who is all but absent in the film. I suppose chunks of the novel were taken out so the storyline would be palatable to a mainstream audience. On the other hand, I'm baffled by the decisions the screenwriters made in editing. I would think the villain was integral to the story...For the Greek mythology nerd, the book is loads of fun. In the film, they fail to mention the name of Percy's sword (and every good sword must have a name). In Ancient Greek, it is called Anaklusmos, which translates in English to Riptide.
2 seen below:
I started reading The Lightning Thief a few days ago, and I've realized that the key to enjoying the movie is to not read the book first. I liked the movie and couldn't understand why some fans are disappointed by it. Now I know.
I was thinking the same thing :)
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