Pride and Prejudice and Zombies // Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith {Audiobook}

Wow, that freak pocket of thunder-lightening-downpour was pretty cool. Good thing I had my car windows down.

>:[ 

Why I'm reading
Fantastic work of literature that goes way beyond most of the romantic drivel it has inspired, in both form and depth? Check. Zombies? Also check.

Where I got the book
Audiobook, Greenwich libraries.

Expectations
Pride and Prejudice… and, uh, zombies. I’m not sure how they’re going to combine the two, but I’m guessing just added blocks of text in between chapters, probably involving the army that’s stationed near the town.

So how was it?

It’s a lot more absurd than I thought, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s also a lot more integrated into the book itself -- which is only possible because it’s absurd. I guess I was expecting a zombie outbreak happening just sort of… in the background. Like a romance during times of war. Nope, Grahame-Smith wove it right into the story by turning the Bennett girls into awesome badass ninja zombie fighters.

Despite the zombie spin, the romance is alive and well -- although by necessity lacking some of the wit and subtlety -- and where it survives, the underlying social commentary is wry and absurd.

Recommendation
Fans of Pride and Prejudice who can take a little bit a lot of absurdity; fans of cheesy zombie and/or ninja movies.

Feels
Tongue-in-cheek.

Favorites
Honestly, all of the best parts were from the original, and it just made me want to re-read Pride and Prejudice.

Least favorites
I did enjoy it, but it isn’t anything ground-breaking. Some of the action scenes were repetitive (which will work much better for the movie adaptation) and the absurd humor didn’t always hit the mark. I really hated that certain things were cut out of the original.

Some of the references to "Oriental" combat training got uncomfortably... uh... Victorian, i.e. racist. I'm not sure if I can call that a "least favorite," though, since it isn't entirely inappropriate to the era. 

Writing style
A shockingly good pastiche of Jane Austin’s writing style, although it sometimes gets a little too bombastic when talking about the “deadly arts.” A few subtle jokes about balls, too.

The King of Comedy // Stephen Chow {Movie}

The story of an out-of-work actor / acting coach who sabotages himself by being a terrible extra, and the hostess club worker who goes to him for acting lessons.  

Why I'm watching
Movie night with friends… theoretically bad movie night, but more along the lines of confusing movie night. Plex pulled it in wrong, so Dan was pushing for it because he was expecting a different movie.

Where I got the movie
Sitting on Alan’s server for who knows how long.

Expectations
None, really. I was advised that it was something like Shaolin Soccer (same director).

So how was it?

Well, that was pretty random. It follows an aspiring actor who fails miserably at being an extra, teaches acting for free, and makes pretty much every wrong choice possible. He keeps getting kicked out of his extra roles when he “gets into his character” and tries to steal the spotlight. His love interest is a club hostess, looking to become a better actress for College Girl Night. She gets beat up ; he eventually makes it big, then fails. Then he’s briefly an undercover cop. They get together. Then… suddenly cans of Pringles, and a huge crowd outside their little theater for some reason?

Recommendation
If you’re looking for a little bit of recreational cognitive dissonance...

Feels
Satirical and random (no, no sporks involved).

Favorites
The Jackie Chan cameo, the main character nagging zombie-like extras, and the hugging gag.

Least favorites
They pretty clearly had no idea how to end it.