girl with spinning wheel / the dark is rising

030507art2
Originally uploaded by megan_n_smith_99

this is a painting from last year. uh, spinning wheels are hard to draw. have you ever tried? they are. i forget how big this painting was, but probably around 5x7". i wanted to post something but i have not been making much art this week -- i am down with one of those spring flus that makes you want to sleep for a decade or so. i have done a little knitting, a little reading, and a lot of sleeping.

on sunday i watched the movie for the dark is rising. i believe it is actually called the seeker: the dark is rising. anyway, i am sorry to say i was disappointed.

the movie is based on susan cooper's novel, the dark is rising, which is part of a series. i loved these books as a kid, and still do. there were several changes made in the movie, and i will not post any spoilers:

1) in the film will is several years older than in the novel.

2) in the film the stanton family is an american family living in england, rather than a british family.

3) the film is set in contemporary times, and features camcorders, google, digital watches, and other such modern things. perhaps this was done to make modern audiences feel more comfortable, but i think they should have given the viewer more credit. after all, the Narnia movie was not set in the present and was very well received. (thank goodness they did not modernize it!)

4) since will is older, a love interest is added. i did not feel this enhanced the plot.

5) will's relationship with one of his siblings has changed, in a way that could have enhanced the plot, but in my opinion did not.

6) some things about physics were added which could have enhanced the plot if the writing had been a bit better.

7) a major character was cut, though i believe some of the scenes were filmed and just not used -- why?

8) the relationship between will and meriman was much more interesting in the novel.

the actors were all well cast, at least there is that, especially will, gwen, and the old ones.

so. sadly. i just can't quite recommend it unless you are dying of curiosity. i am not sure if they intend to film the other books in the series, but if they do i hope they do a better job. it was such a good novel, i really feel they could have come up with a classic if they had stuck to the original story and taken a little more care. as it said the acting and casting were pretty good, just the script was not..