8 Art
ulture
Clackamas
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
“OR MOVIE
Kyle Steele
The Clackamas Print
Blockbuster season has finally
arrived.
Marking its advent is the Marvel
superhero movie “Iron Man.”
Directed by Jon Favreau, and star
ring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth
Paltrow and Terrence Howard, it
is the type of film that one might
expect to bring in the summer movie
time that is traditionally filled with
explosions and other random acts of
violence.
However, “Iron Man” is not mere
ly another mindless summer movie.
Based on the comic characters
created by writers Stan Lee and
Larry Lieber, and artists Jack Kirby
and Don Heck, the film follows bil
lionaire weapons manufacture Tony
Stark (Downey) just as he is starting
the worst day of his life - as a bomb
built by his company detonates, leav
ing him with shrapnel in his heart
and imprisoned by a terrorist. Only
through the intervention of another
captured scientist does he survive.
Following his escape with an early
incarnation of his famous suit, Stark
is a man with a change of heart, lit
erally and figuratively.
Even though this is a big-budget
film, Favreau does his best to pres
ent dialog that is witty and meaning
ful while action unfolds on-screen.
Assisting him is an impressive cast
led by Downey, who flawlessly plays
Stark as an eccentric geni
world has turned upside do
Paltrow is also perfect!
her role as Stark’s assistai
Potts, and is convincing as
ter who has a long-standii
with her crazy boss.
Howard as fan-favoriti
ter James Rhodes, along
Bridges as the villain Obad
round out a stellar group
might imagine seeing on
winning drama rather than
blockbuster.
The film uses its actc
fullest, making the movie,
tastic, feel very believabl
Some of the scenes are ent
but do not seem out of
those in some bad super!
of the past.
This is definitely a n
both the standard film-ws
the rabid comic fan car
ate - the rabid comic fan
one who can easily be
as the individual who wi
the theater until the very
credits.
“Iron Man” is a great I
to the start of a new M
franchise. It’s also nice to
take the source material
but still have fun with a un
set of characters that ha'
years of history behind th<
The biggest problem is
viewers will have to wait
to watch the next installmi
Intriguing plot twists cunningly mixed with viole
and fantasy backdrop make for interesting read
Jess Sheppard
The Clackamas Print
Will is an orphan - all he
knows about his heritage is
that he is at least part human
and part elf. Overall, he is
unremarkable, except that
he might be the heir of His
Absent Majesty, the King of
Babel.
“The Dragons of Babel,”
Michael Swanwick’s newest
book, chronicles the travels
and transformation of Will le
Fey from an awkward outcast
to the finest trickster the city
of Babel has ever seen.
Will’s troubles begin when
a war dragon from Babel crash
es in his village. Although his
wings are destroyed, his iron
hide is ruined and his mis
siles are spent, the dragon
is still cunning and deadly
enough to set himself up as
dictator, with young Will as
his acting lieutenant.
The setup may seem
romantic, like the novel is
an elaborate fairytale, but it
is no gentle children’s story.
In the first 50 pages alone,
six children die in an explo
sion, the village collaborates
in two first-degree murders
and the dragon advises Will,
in detail, as to how to sexu
ally violate a woman.
Obviously, “The Dragons
of Babel” should not be read
by the faint of heart and
would receive an R rating in
an instant.
What makes it so gripping,
however, is not the vulgarity.
Rather, it is the combination
of modern crudity against a
backdrop that could only be
seen in high fantasy.
A great example of this
idea is the resurrection of
Will’s best friend, Puck, after
the explosion. "The healing
women of the village per
form a three-week-long res
toration process using herbs,
chants and five cubic centi
meters of detroamphetamine.
Afterward, Puck and Will
have a short argument that
ends in Puck giving Will the
finger and leaving.
Throughout the entire
book, Swanwick challenges
the fantasy stereotype with
these sudden quips.
At first, it’s hard to imag
ine characters in an epic fan
tasy throwing 21st-century
profanity at each other. Only
slightly more difficult to grasp
is the character Alcyone.
Unquestionably, Alcyone
has the most dramatic entrance
of all. The high-elven woman
first appears to Will riding
her hippogriff. Upon seeing
him admire her beauty, she
smugly flashes her breasts at
him and promptly flies away.
Thus, she becomes Will’s true
love.
In addition to Will and
Alcyone, two other charac
ters make up the cast of the
story.
Thffre is Esme, an eternal
child who Will meets on the
road shortly after he is cast
out of his home.'Esme knows
a thousand things, but she is
forever locked in existence as
a young child, fearless of
everything and able to sur
vive on the luck and
innocence of adoles
cence.
Finally, there is
Nat. Will encounters
him briefly in Camp
Oberon, a refugee
haven for victims of
the war between the
empires of Babel and
Avalon, but it isn’t
until they are deport
ed to the capitol that
Nat takes Will under
his wing and teaches
him the ways of a
con man.
It is Nat who helps
Will weasel his way
into the nobility and
politics of Babel.
Ultimately, the pair
organize a plan to
dupe the city into
making Will the new
king so that they can
rob the palace.
But something is
a little too perfect
about Nat’s scheme,
circumstances and
tidbits of fact. It
makes both Will and
the reader wonder,
“Is it really just a
trick?”
From the time Will
is forced out of his
village, to his grit
ty adventures in the
slums of Babel, to
his moment of truth
before the Obsidian
Throne,
“The
Dragons of Babel”
remains pleasantly
shocking, imagina
tive and addicting.
MICHAEL
radons
&