"Phantom of the Opera" review

Every once in a while, a new movie is made that leaves a lasting impact. Every once in a while, there is a really good musical out in theatres. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera, directed by Joel Schumacher, fulfills both these criteria.

The film is a romance-- a love triangle, a swashbuckling action film, a musical whose songs soar to new heights of the imagination, and a thriller all rolled into one package. And it doesn't disappoint. The sets are lavish, the costumes are lavish, the singing is lavish, and it can't get much better than this.

There are many out there who have seen the stage musical in countries all around the world, and the plot isn't exactly a secret: a Phantom (Gerard Butler) lurks inside a Parisian opera house, where he finds a girl named Christine Daae (Emily Rossum) with great singing talents. He soon falls in love with her, becomes obsessed with her, and takes her down to his layer. He seduces her, sends her back, and pulls some strings at the theatre to ensure she gets the lead. About this time Christine's childhood sweetheart, Raoul (Patrick Wilson), appears and falls in love with Christine again. The Phantom turns murderous, and both he and Raoul begin vying for Ms. Daae's affections.

The acting is pitch perfect. Gerard Butler establishes firmly an inner torment that balances sympathy and fear in our minds. Patrick Wilson is not too good-looking to be real, and his singing is bewitching. But Emily Rossum's performance is truly the one that makes the heart soar, her vocals masterfully beautiful in every scene, and she steals the show, almost, from the Phantom himself.

The songs are as wonderful as ever. "Music of the Night" is lush and floating, "Point of No Return" is tense and gripping, "All I Ask of You" is sweet, lifting, and romantic, and the title tune is sung to an extent seldom matched in a musical.

The movie's on DVD now, and everyone should surrender to its darkly cast spell.

"Isle of Swords" review

Wayne Thomas Batson unleashed his first non-Door Within book upon an unsuspecting populace this September. It's a move away from his original style of fantasy. It's Isle of Swords. It's about those OTHER pirates of the Caribbean, and it's Batson's best yet.

The book opens with Captain Declan Ross, an honest pirate. He doesn't hurt those he steals from, he's got a system of honor, and his crew looks up to him. His daughter wishes to be an official crew member, but he won't have it. Trouble is, they're low on loot, and there's a leak in his ship that will cause it to sink... in a week.

So they go to an island, where they find a boy, brutally injured, with no clue of who he is. Declan Ross and his men take him aboard, where they name him Cat. Eventually, they sail to an island with some monks who know the secret of a treasure. The treasure is located on the Isle of Swords, which is, of course, not on any written maps.

But there's a catch: Bartholomew Thorne, the most ruthless pirate on the sea, is after the treasure too.

This book is perhaps the grittiest and most intense of Batson's work, and in my opinion better than the Disney movies. They're a departure from the traditional Hollywood pirates, and more real and compelling as a result.

Hey, it beats the Disney ride, too.

"The Final Storm" review

It's hard to look back and see who Aidan Thomas was not long ago: a boy distraught about moving, overweight, unhappy. Now, he is one of those few who have been called to save Alleble, and the Realm, from the forces of Paragor. Antoinette Reed was a normal girl who lived a normal life, not quite fitting in. She too, is in the Realm-- now trapped by Robby Pierson's Glimpse-twin, Kearn at the Gate of Despair. Robby himself was a sports star, the ultimate "cool kid". Now, his future is in doubt.

It's time for the final storm.

Paragor has unleashed the legendary Wyrm Lord upon the Realm, whose fires are deadly in the extreme. Other forces are at his command as well, and Alleble and its allied kingdoms are suffering crushing blows. The future is uncertain, to say the least. It seems Paragor even has a prophecy that predicts Alleble's downfall. And yet, the war goes on. When it seems there is no hope left, Paragory and Alleble prepare for the last battle, which will leave an impact on the Realm forever.

This is the greatest and most emotional of the Door Within Trilogy. The characters do what the characters would do. The danger is more intense than ever. There are moments to make the reader cheer, and moments to make them cry, all executed pitch-perfect by Wayne Thomas Batson. You care intensely about what's happening at the moment. There is great fulfilling of foreshadowing, great moments from all the characters. This is the sort of book that makes you want to give the author a round of applause after you've finished.

Well done, Mr. Batson. Well done.

"The Rise of the Wyrm Lord" review

The Door Within was the first novel by Wayne Thomas Batson, and the first in his trilogy of the same name. It told the somewhat allegorical, but never preachy, story of Aidan Thomas, who was whisked to the Realm not long ago after finding a set of incredible scrolls that told its history. Upon leaving, successfully completing his mission and simultaneously saving his father and his father's Glimpse-twin, he saw his best friend, Robby Pierson, had red eyes. This meant he was a servant of the dark lord Paragor.

Now, Aidan is beginning to settle back into his normal lifestyle. One day, though, he meets a girl named Antoinette Reed, a magnificent artist, a skilled fighter, and a firm believer in Alleble and its king, Eliam. He realizes her Glimpse-twin is Gwenne, his love from the Realm. Suddenly, Antoinette is called just as Aidan was in the first book to go to Alleble as the Twelfth Knight, in a desperate attempt to stop Paragor from unleashing his greatest horror yet upon the Realm: the Wyrm Lord, an ancient dragon of evil.

Congratulations are in order for Mr. Batson, as his second book far surpasses his first-- and the first was good. The characters are more fleshed out, including the villains, the perils seem more real, and his writing style is better as well. Be prepared for a surprise cliffhanger ending, though-- you'll want to have Book III, The Final Storm on hand.

"The Door Within" review

I've posted on this book before, but seeing as there's a new book out by this author, Isle of Swords, I figured I'd do more substantial reviews for his past books.

The Door Within is a compelling fantasy novel by a Christian author who's getting bigger by the day: Wayne Thomas Batson. In it, he tells the story of Aidan Thomas, a teenage boy whose life has just turned upside-down. No, he hasn't found out he's king of the trolls or something ludicrous like that. No, he has instead moved hundreds of miles away from his old home and his best friend, Robby Pierson. He doesn't know anyone, and so has suffered a crushing emotional blow. In his new home he is living in with his grandfather, he decides to go searching through the house one day. That's when he finds the scrolls.

The scrolls contain the story of a magical kingdom called Alleble which exists parallel to our own world. Alleble is part of the Realm, where King Eliam reigns in peace. But one of his trusted men, Paragal, betrays him and murders him in front of his people. His name is then changed to Paragor, and he and his servant, Rucifel, go to make a kingdom in his own image: Paragory. But in Alleble, Eliam's influence is still strong, and his spirit still abides in his kingdom.

Aidan is stunned, and rightfully so. These stories, he feels, are true, although his parents say otherwise. Angry, he shuts himself away from them and sees the scrolls have more written on them. There is a poem, a riddle, and with the help of his grandfather, Grampin, Aidan figures it out. He then finds himself in the Realm where it seems he has a mission waiting for him. He is the twelfth in a group of Glimpse knights. (Glimpses are the "humans" of the Realm. They each have a twin on Earth, and each is affected by the other. Their eyes change from blue- servants of Eliam- to red- servants of Paragor- to green- undecided- depending on where their loyalties lie.) In this group are characters such as Captain Valithor, Grampin's Glimpse, and Gwenne, whom Aidan takes a liking to instantly. And he journeys to win over the Glimpses of the neighboring kingdom for Eliam.

There isn't a slow moment in this story, and for this I'm grateful. Only occasionally does the story show the trappings of a first-time author. Wayne Thomas Batson certainly has talent, and he uses it to create a whopping good yarn, one that makes one wish to instantly progress onto Book II, The Rise of the Wyrm Lord.

Belated June 2007 Book Reviews (with some July on the side)

The Name of the Wind: Wow. This is a debut from Patrick Rothfuss, a fantasy author who is absolutely amazing. I can't say enough about this book. Just read it, okay?

Thr3e: The first novel I've read by Ted Dekker, and it won't be the last.

Showdown: An epic novel by Ted Dekker, and very original. Even better than Thr3e.

House: Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti bring us a great standalone novel that also manages to fit inside Ted Dekker's compelling world of Showdown.

Saint: A great book by Ted Dekker, with touches of The Bourne Identity and The Matrix. One catch-- you have to read Showdown and possibly House.

Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon: A gripping book containing mention of the 600 Grand Canyon deaths.

The rest of July later!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow...

Tomorrow at midnight, the Harry Potter series ends. Spoilers are everywhere, and Harry's life is in doubt. The search for Voldemort's horcruxes, as well as the Deathly Hallows, is about to begin. Who lives? Who dies? Who falls in love? Will a rat's life-debt be repaid? Will an old man's life have been lost in vain? Does the title Harry Potter and the Forest of Shadows have anything at all to do with this? Will Bill and Fleur get married? Will Harry go back to Hogwarts? Will he go to Gordic's Hollow, and if he does, will he like what he finds? Will Voldemort discover a fate worse than death? What does Kreacher do? What was that gleam in Dumbledore's eye about in Goblet of Fire? And when Harry and Voldemort face off in the end, who will emerge victorious?

The answers come July 21.