The Man from Earth - Rental Recommendation

Professor John Oldman has announced his retirement from the university, effective immediately. His colleagues, unwilling to accept his sudden departure, follow him to his home where he reluctantly lets them in on a secret. He is 14,000 years old.

Naturally his colleagues; consisting of an archaeologist, an anthropologist, a psychiatrist, a biologist and a Christian literalist; are unwilling to believe his story. He eases them into it, setting it up in the beginning as a science fiction story he is contemplating then progressing into a first person narrative of a man who has lived fourteen centuries, born as a Cromagnon man and then simply not dying.

As the story progresses, his colleagues grow both fascinated and angered by the story, coming to the eventual conclusion that it neither be proven or disproved. Seeing their reactions and regretting what his confession has done to his friends, he takes it all back, revealing it to be a test. He wanted to see how his story of the immortal would be received, and to iron out the kinks through their reactions. As they all prepare to leave, it is a student, who had accompanied one of the professors to the gathering, who locks in on his name: "John Oldman, that's a pun, isn't it?" she asks with a smile.

At the risk of turning away would-be viewers, I have to apply the disclaimer that The Man from Earth is slow. It is also captivating. There is a shallow climax about an hour into the hour and half feature but it never gets truly action-packed; if that's what you are looking for, look elsewhere. The end of the film, however, is fully worth the wait. And the rental fee.

Book Recommendation: The Dresden Files

I got into the book version of the Dresden Files after getting sucked into the short lived television show based on the books on Sci-Fi channel. Unfortunately, Sci-Fi didn't see fit to continue giving us weekly glimpses of Chicago's....ahem, underworld but on the upside, author Jim Butcher does.

Harry Dresden (the book version; we've left the poor unfortunate television version behind now) is Chicago's only professional wizard. Unfortunately, for Harry, he is not Chicago's only wizard. So far in the series (there are currently 10 books available and one more on the way in October) he has done battle with other wizards, sorcerers, demons, plant monsters, trolls, power hungry fairies, vampires and an assortment of other otherworldly creatures and characters.

The Dresden Files could easily be a what-if look at what could happen if Harry Potter were to move to Chicago and enter the witness protection program (although that wasn't what Butcher had in mind when he set out to create Dresden). Both Harrys are orphans with natural abilities and mothers with questionable associations. Both Harrys have seen first hand the power dark magic can give them and fought to resist it...Which, I supposed is a good place to start when creating conflict in a book about a wizard...

I am just starting the seventh book out of ten, Dead Beat, and have to say, if you are a fan of quick, easy reads, these are fantastic books to check out. I picked up Storm Front, the first book in the series, last summer and have about an hour worth of time each week to devote to reading. That means in a cumulative total of about 25-30 hours I have read five books (that's not counting the one that I read in four days between Christmas and New Years because I had nothing to do but read). The stories are page turners. Butcher has gifted Dresden with a quick wit and quicker tongue - and the stickier the situation gets, the quicker his wit becomes. And the secondary characters (CPD Lieutenant Karrin Murphy, Knight of the Cross Michael Carpenter, half-blood succubus Thomas Raith and mob boss Johnny Marcone, for example) are as 3-dimensional as Harry. Butcher doesn't let a single character go flat.

I am recommending the Dresden Files to anyone looking for a quick read story about a witty wizard. I haven't found one yet that I didn't like.



Completely unrelated side note: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street won the Oscar for Best Achievement in Art Direction. We here at bending spoons aren't exactly sure the prereqs for winning, or even qualifying to win in this category, but we really don't care. It's still a shiny, sparkley trophy for Mr. Burton and Co.! Yippee!!!