Death Defying Acts

When I was seven or eight, I was enthralled with Harry Houdini. I read several books on Houdini and remember seeing Tony Curtis in the 1953 movie Houdini. So, I couldn't pass up Death Defying Acts, starring Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Mary McGarvie, a psychic trying to con $10,000 out of Houdini. Knowing a fair amount about Houdini, this "what if" story about the last period of his life was a little hard to square with his biographies. The film explores Houdini's obsession with the after-life and discrediting fake spiritualists.



Pearce does a decent Houdini. He has the physique Houdini was known for and really looks the part. Saoirse Ronan is wonderful as the psychic's daughter and partner in crime. The character of fake psychic Mary McGarvie seems a little undeveloped. The movie amounts to a romance with some sparkling performances that's far from the documented history of Harry Houdini.

If you're interested in reading about Houdini, I would recommend The Secret Life of Houdini, The Making of America's First Superhero by William Kalush and Larry Sloman. Houdini was an amazing man. He was an escape artist, pilot, movie star, fake spiritualist exposer, and maybe even a secret agent.

The Adventures of Robin Hood

Errol Flynn really shines as Robin of Locksley in The Adventures of Robin Hood, co-starring Olivia deHavilland as Maid Marian. I love the Robin Hood theme in general. And this movie doesn't disappoint with a light hearted spectacle of sword play and archery prowess. Basically, it's a great movie with great costumes and sets, and an Oscar award winning score.

My favorite scene is the archery competition. I really like the costume of Robin in disguise. There's also a nice sword fight between Basil Rathbone, which has an early example of silhouetted fight scenes.

I noticed this cool medallion on Robin's costume. I'm always looking for cool things from movies and fiction to replicate, design and build. I'll put this on my list of possibles.

You Know My Name

Being a fan of Sam Elliott and westerns, I decided to pick up You Know My Name. It's a kind of quiet story based on the real life story of lawman Bill Tilghman, played by Elliott. Tilghman was once a partner of Wyatt Earp who survives the era of the gunfighter, moves on to create a silent movie of his exploits, and is then thrust back into the role of lawman in a oil boom town where the tommy gun and automobile is common.

Sam Elliott is clever and charming as usual, and there are beautiful images of Oklahoma during this clash between two eras in American history. I said a quiet story because there is not a lot of action, but interesting interactions between characters. Tilghman is a family man with two sons and a wife played by Carolyn McCormick. She captivates your attention in all her scenes. The film making feels a bit like a TV movie, but with a great story and nice performances from Elliott and the supporting cast.

King Arthur

Reading "the Change" series by S. M. Stirling made me want to watch King Arthur again. It's a great sword and bow movie directed by Antoine Fuqua, starring Clive Owen as Arthur and Keira Knightley as Guinevere. It's kind of a new take on the Arthurian legend, exploring possible historical origins in the Dark Ages with the Romans, Sarmatians, Britannians and Saxons. I'm sure there are a lot of historical inaccuracies, though it's more entertaining than educational, since the origins of the legend are unknown.

Merlin and Guinevere are Britannians wearing leather and blue paint with tattoo like markings. I think this is mainly there war dress. I like that it is free of "magic", though Merlin is clever and you could see superstition leading people to think he has powers. Mostly his enemies, I think. The action is great with each of the knights having distinctly different weapons and fighting styles including Guinevere.

My favorite knight is Tristan, played by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen. He's the scout, falconier and expert marksman. His sword fighting is elegant and zen like using a curved backsword (single edged), reminding me of samurai. He's the silent deadly warrior with few lines in the movie.

Keira Knightley is great as a warrior Guinevere, who's not afraid to get her hands bloody. She's a great counterpoint to Arthur, trying to get him to stay and fight for his people, being half Roman and half Britannian. Visually, this is just a beautifully filmed movie. A great addition to the legend.

Dies the Fire

I've just completed "the change" trilogy by S. M. Stirling, starting with the first book, Dies the Fire. This title somewhat describes the basis for this new world, post technology, return to feudalism that takes place in 1998. Basically an apocalyptic event happens, which is referred to as "the Change", in which all modern technology fails. All electronics and electricity stop working, gunpowder won't ignite, meaning no more firearms. So, there is no more law enforcement or government or communication, including TV, radio, or phones. General chaos ensues.

If you like reading about archery, swordplay, horsemanship, cannibals, and witches (wiccans), then you'll probably like this series. There are some great male and female leading characters, though I found the villains not to be as interesting, with the exception of the last book, A Meeting at Corvallis. Stirling includes a lot of references to Lord of the Rings, with one of the first characters, a girl of fourteen, that's obsessed with Tolkien and is an accomplished archer pre-change.

Sometimes I found the books a bit slow with much description of things I wasn't interested in. All three books are a little long, around 600 pages. Maybe that's just me wanting to see the plot advancing faster. This got me reading about bow making and looking up medieval weaponry online. I'd recommend the series if you like reading about swordplay in the modern era, or postmodern era or post technologically I should say. I should also mention the covers illustrated by Jonathan Barkat, which originally drew me to the books.