Why Fight Naked?

Or…A Writer’s Review of Eastern Promises

Every once in a while you see a movie, read a book, or hear something on the radio and it reminds you that the world isn’t just Disneyland and ice cream sandwiches (which, by the way, I often think it is). A piece of work that makes you look at all the people you interact with on a daily basis in a much different way than you had the day before.

No, I’m not talking about Meet the Spartans (although, there’s probably an argument for looking at people funny after seeing that, which I haven’t, and probably won’t). I’m referring to Eastern Promises.

Is the Cold War Over?

Eastern Promises is one of those movies that you finish watching and go, “Wow, this is true.” And the realization of that fact suddenly makes you look around and say a little prayer of thanks. I won’t give away too much of the movie, but let me say that it’s set in modern day Britain and deals with the Russian mob. More specifically, it involves the Russian mob and the seedy underworld of the sex trade.

What does the movie do well? It gives us a glimpse of a world most of us will never see (the fortunate ones). Culture, heritage, desperation, and despair wrap themselves around a small group of people divided by right and wrong.

This movie does one thing extremely well, it shows us its characters and it engages us in their lives. The characters in Eastern Promises are memorable. They’re interesting. Most importantly…they change, and they grow. It’s expertly done, and it’s fun to watch. As each character’s multifaceted sides come forth we begin to see the bigger picture, and it’s not a Kodak moment.

The Conclusion

Pros:

• Characters.
• Plot and pacing.
• Performances (the actors do an amazing job here).
• Nothing gets in the way of the two things listed above…well, almost nothing…

Cons:

• There’s a nude fight scene starring Viggo Mortensen (the lead actor). But why? What’s the point? Sure, they want to show off his…tattoos. But, they could have done that without showing off…(insert hilarious joke). Personally, I think it was to draw attention to the movie, and I think that’s pretty lame. It gets in the way of the storytelling rather than adding to it (at least it doesn't make you laugh like Beowulf did).
• The movie is about the horrors of the Russian sex trade, and we get that, but I think some of that focus is lost as the movie focuses more onto Viggo’s character and his development. It’s not bad, but it does distract from the message just a little bit.

I highly recommend Eastern Promises. It’s always refreshing when a writer can view another writer’s work and appreciate it. Most of the time, we’re left going, “Ah, see, I would have done it way differently.” I didn’t feel that way about this movie.

Have you seen it? Any additional thoughts? Does Viggo deserve an Oscar nod, or just a loincloth?

Why We Write

Selling Words on a Page

It occurs to me that the title of my blog has many meanings. The first is literal-exchanging thoughts typed or written onto a page for money. That's an ideal that many writers dream of. Even successful writers have limited monetary success. Published authors who write excellent books making no more than $30,000 a year (without benefits!) or less. Of course, for every billion writers in the world there's a Michael Crichton, a Dan Brown, a Stephen King, a Jeph Loeb, a J.K. Rowling, a Robert Ludlum. They sell a million books, they make movies, and they make bank.

The second meaning of my blog title is still fairly literal and relates directly to the marketing side of things. Without a strong push for people to actually read the material, it doesn't get read. And trust me, there's no lack of trying on behalf of these writers.

There's another meaning that's not so literal. It refers to getting an audience to buy into a work of art. The art of selling the words to the reader. Creating a believable world, a compelling storyline, interesting and dynamic characters, and strong emotional connections. It's putting what's in your head onto the page and eliciting a positive response from your audience.

My Writing

I write because God gave me the desire. It's that simple. When I was a kid I used to pretend I was part of movie trailers. Give me a wiffleball bat and I became a knight fighting off hordes of ogres. Eventually, I started putting the thoughts onto a blank page of paper. And I didn't always just write. Sometimes I illustrated pictures. It didn't matter as long as I had the opportunity to express what was going on inside my head.

And then a couple things happened. I started reading more. I started writing more. I studied the art of it (I still do!). All of the sudden I was a writer. I even intended to major in Creative Writing in college (fortunately, I learned just before registration that writers don't make money). I've even tried to stop over the years, but I keep coming back to it.

I've published several stories, been interviewed by a local paper, and I started TimeSlingers.com with my friend, Nathan Scheck. I'm very fortunate. I consider it a gift from God, and I'm grateful that He's given it to me.

Part of what I've always hoped to do is to use writing as a means for ministry. I'm not a great evangelist, probably never will be, but I can write. So, it's with great pleasure that I am able to say that when stories like The Arena (published several years back in Dragons, Knights, and Angels Magazine) and Understanding (on sale now at Amazon.com as a part of the Infinite Space, Infinite God anthology) have been released to a larger audience.

It's not just about money. It's about the art itself, it's about ministry, and it's just fun. So, thanks to everybody out there who has read the anthology, and to those who have taken the time to check out TimeSlingers.com. I appreciate it, and I hope God continues to give me the ability to write, because I really enjoy it.

With that, I leave you with a little self-promotion (it's titled "Selling Words on a Page," okay?). Here are some reviews of Infinite Space, Infinite God (I happen to like the first one best):

http://cfrblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/infinite-space-infinite-god-day-7.html

http://snoringscholar.blogspot.com/2007/08/review-of-infinite-space-infinite-god.html

http://isigsf.tripod.com/id19.html

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=213660556

http://www.catholicfiction.net/2007/08/06/interview-with-karina-and-robert-fabian/

http://thewritingjungle.blogspot.com/2006/12/infinite-space-infinite-god-virtual.html

http://elysabethsstories.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html

Until next time...God Bless!

Spiderman vs. Fantastic 4

Clash of Titans - Battle #1

This past weekend I watched both Fantastic 4 movies, saw American Gangster, and then proceeded to watch Spiderman 3 as well. Needless to say... too many movies. And, as a writer, I have to admit that I tend to over-analyze the things that I watch. My writing professor in college told me that it would happen. I denied it, but here I am. A critic. It's a good practice, I think, for writers to analyze other works, because hopefully you can use those insights to write better stories.

Since I write adventure stories, I thought I'd share my thoughts about the comic book movies I watched over the weekend. I'd love to hear your thoughts as well.

The Characters

When I watched X-Men for the first time, I really liked it. It mainly focused on Logan's (the Wolverine) story, but branched out into others as well. It worked. But, then, in the two sequels, there were a lot of mutants running around, and no single character was the focal point. In analyzing Spiderman and the Fantastic 4 I draw the same conclusion. Stories need to be focused on just a few primary characters.

Why? Well, let's take Spiderman. We're constantly following him. We see him when he's happy, when he's sad, when he can't control his emotions, and when he rises to the occasion. The character has different sides, different moods, and different postures. Just like us. It's his story, and we can relate to that.

When you take on a story with more characters, I think it becomes very important to concentrate on a single, primary character. Sure, the other characters should be multidimensional, too, but we can really only focus on one. We can really only watch one person struggle. Spiderman does. The Fantastic 4? Well, not really. There's four of them, and for the most part they only show us one or two core emotions. They do grow, but the growth seems superficial.

Winner: Spidey

Action, Adventure, and Storytelling

To be continued next post...