The Beast (1996)

This great TV miniseries takes the classic story of Peter Benchley and brings it to the small screen. It tells the story of Graves Point, Washington a small fishing village that has fallen on hard times. Some are trying to solve the problem by trapping fish, others by improving the tourist trade to the town. All bets are off when a giant squid moves into the neighboring waters. It is up to a group of townsfolk to try to defeat the Beast in its own habitat. Such a great monster movie and yet another reason to stay out of the water!

My Fair Lady (1964)

For a couple of years now I have been having a blog both here and on Wordpress. I have decided that this is silly. I have decided to keep my Wordpress account as my fantasy blog and this one I will take in a different direction.  A friend of mine has a book entitled 501 Movies You Should Watch Before You Die. I also feel the need to watch the movies I own and find out if they do indeed “spark joy.” I will be varying between movies on the list and a post I am calling every movie I have ever owned. You can probably guess which ones are which simply by the quality of the movie!

First blog post: My Fair Lady (1964)

A classic musical where the young Eliza Doolittle, a cockney flower girl, decides to get English lessons from one Professor Henry Higgins. Higgins belittles her and tries his best to turn her into a high class lady. How they both change and improve over the course of this movie is the basis of the story. Even though Higgins is still a jerk at the end of the movie he admits that he needs Eliza, which is in itself a miracle. It is a great musical with such memorable musical numbers as “Why Can’t the English” and “Wouldn’t it Be Loverly.” One of the best musicals of all time.

The Snow Queen (2002)

One of my favorite versions of this story because it’s one of the more accurate adaptations that I have seen. The magic, evil mirror is here, this time made by the Snow Queen to make everything icy and cold (reminds me a little of the White Witch in Narnia). When Kai is pierced by the pieces of the mirror, the snow queen steals him away in order to extract the pieces to put back into her mirror. Gerda then goes on a journey through the different seasons to rescue him and bring him home. A great movie from Hallmark.

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal

I’ve heard Shades of Milk and Honey described if “Jane Austen wrote fantasy stories.” I can see where this idea comes from, for this book is a regency novel that reminds me some of the best of Austen’s work. In it accomplished young ladies know how to apply glamours to make the world seem slightly better than the actual surroundings. Music can have magical light dancing through the air, a room can look like a forest. The ever practical plain Jane is the true glamourist in the family, but it is Melody who attracts the men due to her pretty face. When unscrupulous men try to manipulate Melody in order to get her dowry, it is up to Jane to stop them and perhaps find a love of her own.

The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

Do you love Sherlock Holmes? Then you’ll love this classic Disney take on the great detective. Basil of Baker Street (named after Basil Rathbone who many consider the greatest actor to play Holmes) is the mouse that lives in Holmes’ house. He and his companion, Dr. Dawson must solve the mysteries of Mousedom and save the queen from the evil Professor Rattigan. A fun example of a great classic!!

Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack by Shannon Hale

Rapunzel’s Revenge is a graphic novel version of the classic tale. It places Rapuzel in a Old West setting where she is imprisoned in a massive tree instead of a tower. She breaks out all on her own and uses her cunning and mastery of her way too long hair to get revenge on Mother Gothel and free her real mother from the mines where she works for Gothel. On the way she meets a boy named Jack. He had some problems with some giants and beanstalks back east… 

The second book, Calamity Jack, is Jack’s story. In it Rapunzel and Jack return back east to confront the giants and save the day. Both are fun examples about how you can take a fairy tale and rewrite it in your own way.

The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

The Forbidden Kingdom is one of the few Kung Fu movies I actually enjoy, although I do admit that I haven’t really seen a lot of them. This is the story of Jason Tripitakas, a modern Boston teenager, who is sent back to Ancient China by a magical staff in order to free the Monkey King. He meets legendary Kung Fu masters Jackie Chan and Jet Li along the way which teach him real Kung Fu. It is a fun contemporary view of an ancient myth, Jason’s last name hinting at the original monk in the Journey to the West.