monsters | Lorelei By Starlight

I finally made it to see 47 Ronin last weekend, and I am happy to say that it definitely delivered! This movie had so many things that I love: epic Japanese drama, beautiful fantasy cityscapes, and exceptional CGI monsters.

The story focuses on an underdog half-Japanese orphan, Kai, who has grown up surrounded by the elite samurai warrior class, while being constantly reminded that he was of servant class or lower. Of course, the high lord of the estate has a daughter, Mika, who takes pity on the boy and becomes his only friend, a friendship that continues into adulthood. Mika’s father is tricked into dishonoring himself, and Kai joins forces with the other dishonored samurai (ronins) as they seek to find and kill those responsible for the death of their leader and regain the honor of their land.

I really enjoyed the plot of the movie and the casting. Keanu Reeves plays Kai as the worn and sad man that he would be after a lifetime of being scorned and abused through no fault of his own. His stoicism and loyalty are matched by his physical skills, and the character rings true. Hiroyuki Sanada is well cast as the samurai Oishi and delivers the proud, heroic character in a way that I have grown to expect from seeing him in other period pieces. Ko Shibasaki was new to me, but she plays Mika as much more than the typical high-class rich girl. She is considerate and kind, but also crafty and watchful, and works well as a complement to Kai.

The settings for the movie are beautiful. This is a gorgeous movie! Fantastic cityscapes are contrasted with lush, exotic landscapes and seascapes. There are darkly shrouded temples, complete with intricate carved pillars and perfect dusky lighting. The cities are reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings, and show an attention to detail and mood.

Best of all, there was no skimping on the CGI for monsters, which are what make this movie not just your typical Japanese epic. There is a witch who shapeshifts from gracefully trailing green silk into fox, human, or dragon form. There is a monstrous unidentified beast who rampages throughout the countryside. There is a crazy underground monster fight club. And, there are creepy demons and ghost warriors that infest a haunted bamboo forest.

This movie makes the blog, though, because it is most definitely dark fantasy. Where dishonor is concerned, there is no happily ever after in this society, only the hope of some kind of retribution and that honor might be regained. Both the human and magical elements are cruel and unforgiving, and our heroes fight on in a task that has only limited opportunity for success. There is very little humor in this movie, and when it appears it is well placed in that it surprises you, but also brings the dark mood of the movie more clearly into focus. I loved this movie and it is definitely one that I will be adding to my own collection, to be watched over and over.

One of my favorite new character finds is Repairman Jack from F. Paul Wilson’s series. The first book of the series, The Tomb, introduces us to Jack. He’s a sort of detective “fix it” man, who takes on jobs that no one else wants — and solves the problem in pretty much whatever manner works best. He’s not really too concerned with laws. Jack lives off the radar – no bank account, no social security number, no way to trace the guy. He has an elaborate scheme of forwarded telephones and post office boxes across New York. At first glance, he seems like bad news. But, Jack has a human side to him, and some ethics. He loves old movies and typically has them continuously playing on the TV in his apartment, which is stuffed with all kinds of old movie memorabilia. Most of the time, though, the movies Jack is watching are old horror flicks.

The job that Jack takes on in The Tomb is pretty much something out of a horror movie. There is a magic necklace, shady foreign characters, and eventually we are introduced to one of the more scary monsters that has been dreamed up. The rakosh are humanoid creatures covered with shark skin and sporting shark-like heads. There are a boatload of them and they do their master’s bidding with a vengeance. They are fast, vicious, and hard to kill. And, of course, Jack ends up having to kill quite a few of them. If you try The Tomb and like it, there is a novelette, The Last Rakosh, that follows up Jack’s adventures with these creatures.

I think my favorite thing about Repairman Jack is that he is one of those everyman heroes. Things don’t always go as planned, sometimes he gets hurt, and he definitely has some weaknesses. He’s like the Indiana Jones of his profession, and this makes it easy to identify with him and root for him. While he can be a lethal and merciless killer, he never takes on work that isn’t justified. He helps damsels in distress and people unfairly targeted. If monsters or unsavory folks get in his way, he deals with the problem.

This first book got me hooked on the Repairman Jack series, and fortunately Wilson has written several more. Not all of them have supernatural or horror aspects to them, but when they do they are always fresh and interesting ideas. Wilson has also done some interesting cross-over between the Repairman Jack series and another series, The Adversary Cycle. The Tomb is the second book in The Adversary Cycle, the first of which is The Keep, a title that may be more well known based upon the rather horrible movie that was made from it. (Just as an aside, the book is better than the movie, as is usually the case.)