Reading Journal 2024: Thornhedge
Author: T. Kingfisher

A fascinating, and very brief at just over 100 pages long, reimagining of the aged fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty. Characters are swapped and reshaped in ways that turn the story upside down and and sideways and backwards, so much so that it makes the unfolding tale nearly impossible to predict. And in so doing, it allows its voice to challenge our conceptions and assumptions at the same time, exploring themes of good and evil, and how such notions frame our tendency to judge the exterior rather than to allow ourselves and hear and see those internal realities that lie hidden beneath the surface, or beyond the thornhedge. As the book suggests, this is just as true of ourselves as it is of the world we live in, both in a material and a spiritual sense.

In this sense, T. Kingfisher has written more of a myth than a fairytale, one that challenges some of our modern trappings and resistance to a reality framed by more than simply one side of the Thornhedge. Myths are important, and necessary, because they challenge our tightly guarded conceptions of reality and epistimology. The minute we decide that this is what reality must be, is the very moment reality, should we be willing to see and hear, bears itself out as something not content to  simply exist within our manufactured restraints. Thus why one of the central characters in this story is a seeker, and the other a protector. It is when these worlds collide that the hedges can be cleared away and greater realities allowed to break in, which brings with it danger and struggle, especially when it comes to our firm grasp on reality, but also beauty and great reward.

Reading Journal 2024: MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios
Authors: Dave Gonzales, Gavin Edwards, and Joanna Robinson

A bit of a niche exercise, intended for those who have not simply interest in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), but in Hollywood and the American film industry.

Most important thing to know about this book is that it is written from an outsiders perspective, and one that, taken from the authors note, was stonewalled by  the Disney enterprise once word got out that this book would be a journalistic exercise that would be engaging in some digging.

Did that stonewalling, by which I mean limiting access to official sources, hurt the overall end product? Maybe. I don’t know. There are moments where one can hear and feel the forced speculation, even if it comes as no fault of their own. I also got the sense that it added a certain drive to dig harder into the spaces where they could.

This isn’t some kind of tear down of the MCU. You can tell that the authors carry a deep affection for what is in fact a historical and unprecedented time, something they do not want to take for granted given that it seems like this time has come to an end. It shaped who they are as one of the most defining cultural moments in America, and even beyond. It was a once in a lifetime moment, and for those of us alive and around to experience it a moment contained to a parituclar lifetime. Something that defines an era.

It is also true to say, as this book does a decent job of showing, that such an experience comes at certain expenseses, much of which the casual and the not so casual moviegoer is admittedly likely ignorant of. And that’s not a criticism as much as its a reality. How you feel about having that curtain pulled will vary from person to perseon, of course, but one thing to keep in mind is that such a historical moment could have arrived and been achieved in no other way. What that says about reality is up for discussion, cruel as it can be.

I do have to say, I was a bit let down by the fact that it stopped short of exploring one of my all time favorites- The Eternals. I was really looking forward to hearing the story behind this film, and seeing how it fit into the larger narrative of the rise and decline of the MCU as this book documents. But alas, it reaches its end without it.

Worth listening on audio, as it was made for that format.

Reading Journal 2024: Anonymous: Jesus’ Hidden Years…and Yours
Author: Alicia Britt Chole

Definitely overplays its hand, moving from an intriguing premise- imagining how the fact that Jesus’ ministry didn’t arise out of nowhere, and the idea that his hidden years, the spaces that we do not know much, if anything about, contains the necessary roots of the person who’s ministry we do know much about, can be applied to our own lives much in the same way, suggesting that who are and who we are becomming is the product of the hiddden spaces and seemingly insignifcant years of our lives that we rarely give much thought to at all- to a repetitive exercise. And the more repetitive it becomes, the more aware we become of the imagination the author is employing to bring the idea to life.

And I’m not suggesting that such an imaginative exercise is bad or wrong. I actually embrace such approaches to exercises like this. It is more that the premise can only stretch so far before it loses its allure and mystery.

There was enough here though to compell me towards some reflection on my life. We often see our stories as the big, memorable events, transitions, hardships, successes. But most of our story is told from the day to day exercise of moments that do not garner our attention. In fact, it is often the case that we seek those memroable events in orer to make it seem like our life has meaning or purpose and trajectory. In truth, they rarely define us, at least not in the same way as the formative force of time and experience, even if that feels and appears to be mundane. It might not make for good fodder when it comes to telling our story, but we all would do well to spend more time thinking on and thinking about how those hidden spaces and hidden years have shaped us along our journey. It can help us undersand how and why it is that we respond to the memborable events the way we do.

Reading Journal 2024: Small Mercies
Author: Dennis Lehane

I’m typically not a mystery-thriller guy. I find them difficult to get into and usually not very interesting. This is especially true when they have a murder mystery element. There are, however, a couple of authors that are must reads, and even must buys for me from this genre. Dennis Lehane is one of them, having penned one of my all time favorite reads (Mystic River). Once again he has written a winner in Small Mercies, which, while deviating ever so slightly from the more complex narratives of his earlier works, retains his ability to breathe genuine character development and important thematic focus into his genre based stories.

Here he is utilizing a familiar motif and genre construct to explore the real world setting of Boston in the summer of 1974. I could feel the period piece dripping off the page with some wonderful and subtle uses of descriptive. I also felt the palpable energy and urgency of the racial tensions plaguing Boston at this time, revolving around the infamous implementation of a busing plan as a way of tackling the segregation problem, which had led to the rift between inner city and suburb. Whatever tropes might be in play here, they feel new and fresh and vibrant.

The context also feeds into one of Lehane’s great strengths, which is establishing the moral complexity of the themes he is exploring. Much of this centers on the book’s main character, a single mother who’s daughter has gone missing during an especially fraught and dangerous time. The moral questions reach from segregation and racism to the different internal and spiritual crisis that she faces over the course of the book. Most of the book is told from her perspective, so we spend a good deal of time with her specific arc, one that is then accented by the handful of characters that surround her, including the detective. It is defintiely a propulsive read to this end, having a really strong sense of the slow build, but one which unfolds with a fervent pacing from chapter to chapter.

Love when I find authors who are so reliable for me personally. The thrill of waiting for the next one, picking it up upon release, and ultimately diving in. Only to start the process all over again.

Reading Journal 2024: Ireland: A Novel
Author: Frank Delaney

Delaney’s imaginative exploration of the identity and history of Ireland hinges on this one, single conviction- you cannot come to know Ireland simply through a distant and cold articulation of historical facts, you can only truly know Ireland by hearing and experiencing its stories. The stories of its people, the stories of its places. If the blurring of lines between facts and imagination might leave a modern reader uncomfortable, it is perhaps the modern reader that has become resistant and incapable of grappling with truth. This is, after all, the nature of myth and myth telling, not to anchor us in untruths, but to open us up to something that is more true, about ourselves, our world, about the greater realities that shape our world… about Ireland.

History can never be understood as facts, it can only be rightly be understood as story.

Delaney frames his novel about Irelands storied history around an interconnected relationship between a young boy and a traveling storyteller. As this young boy listens to the storyteller, he learns about Ireland. And as he learns about Ireland, he learns about himself. And as he finds himself in the story of Ireland, he comes  to learn about the world.

The book is structured around different stand alone stories that form its chapters, with the story of the storyteller and this young boy forming a connective piece between the chapters (stories). As the novel progresses, the boy grows into a man, and with this Ireland grows into a people and a country. Disconnected stories come alive in a singular narrative arc.

As someone with Irish blood, and as someone who has yet to have the privilege of visiting this land, I have long understood the Irish connection to this land. The story is one rooted in the cycles of exodus and return, but just as this connection persevered the imagination and the art of storytelling in the midst of one of the worlds darkest periods, so does it preserve this same imagination today. One of the most remarkable things about Ireland is its undying sense of preservation and its unique spirit in the face of change. I often wonder if this spirit is ingrained, even in those with Irish heritage who have never set foot on the land, in some connective fashion. When I encounter its story, something in me feels heard and understood. As though my love of story, my fascination with the spirit, my longing for myth to recapture my imagination and liberate it from the trappings of modernity, has a root and a reason. Where this need to fiercely hold on to wonder understands its nature as having a context.

This is the stuff Delaney helps to bring to the page. I have to imagine that this book is meant to be heard rather than read. A way of recovering that deeply held connection between Ireland’s literary history and its surviving oral culture. Perhaps when I revisit it I will take this approach.

Film Journal 2024: Kung Fu Panda 4
Directed by Mike Mitchell

In terms of the franchise it’s a step below. Given that the franchise is one of the better ones, this fourth installment still stands taller than much of the animation that it shares space with. Thanks in large part to its beloved characters and its mix of human drama and high flying adventure, both of which are still very much alive and well.

Part of the issue, if I could take a stab at locating what that might be, is the weight that comes from needing to justify your existence in light of an already completed and stand alone trilogy. This is not a spoiler, as it makes this known in the opening minutes of the film, but the approach the filmmakers take here is essentially taking the story of the trilogy and wrapping it up in the notion of finding a successor to our now infamous Dragon Warrior. What it wants to suggest is that his arc cannot be fully complete until he becomes the very thing that helped bring him to where he finds himself at the end of the trilogy- a spiritual master or guide.

On paper it works, and is maybe even inspired. The challenge then is, to find a way to supersede the now predictable nature of the established premise, to breathe something unexpected, and indeed necessary, into the trajectory of the story. To give us the thing we didn’t know we needed from what is essentially an epilogue. On this front, it flirts with potential ideas, but it never really commits, leaving this an enjoyable but ever so slightly watered down version of its familiar self. What makes matters even more muddled is dealing with the obvious implications of its premise- will successor mean extending the shelf life of this IP until its dead in the water? If this is the case, it makes it even harder to justify this epilogue. Here it could have done well to take notes from Toy Story 4, a fourth installment that I feel belongs as the poster child for how to do an epilogue well (and it takes one note from that film, following its lead with narrowing in on Woody’s story and choosing to keep the Furious 5 out of the films focus).

For the moment though, it is definitely still worth seeing. More adventures with the beloved Panda is far from something that needs resisting, even if the inevitable reality of the sought after cash cow is.

Film Journal 2024: One Life
Directed by James Hawes

If I could make one, simple case for this film, it would be this- One Life is a family movie. And a necessary one at that.

Now, to be clear, the film deals with tough subject matter. It could be a lot for younger viewers. But where I think the film takes strides to wade gently into this darkness, it does so with a visible intention to celebrate the joy and the light. As the film’s main character suggests at one point in the film, a true to life and self proclaimed ordinary Britain who felt compelled to do whatever he could, precisely because he could, to help countless children caught in the most horrific of circumstances (Nazi Germany), we need the power of the imagination to both foster and sustain hope. An imagination the main character needs as he finds himself caught between the dueling forces of defeat and perseverance.

I imagine this film inspiring dialogue across the generations that represent the family, each whom are given a voice and perspective in this film. It might be the case that Hopkins, who plays the aging version of this true to life character, gets most of the focus, but he is simply a starting point. A point of legacy that is both personal and collective. It is from this point that I think the dialogue can reach from the old to the young in ways that make sense of how it is our lives connect.

Speaking of Hopkins, if this film did nothing else it would surely invite us to reflect on his legacy, and what an icon he is as part of the film industry. It is fitting that he plays an aging persona taking stock of his own legacy nearing the end of his life, wrestling through the different ways to tell his story. Which, thematically speaking, is the thing I think the film as a whole really wants to explore. The tension lies within the sometimes insurmountable gap between these two thoughts,
Save one life, save the world
Set alongside this subsequent response by Hopkins’ character when it is suggested he had done enough. He replies by noting, “but it’s never enough, is it.”

The thoughts of a man facing the darkness, desperate to be a light, but doing so in the face of a reality that continues to threaten his ability to imagine that light. And if there is one place this tension pushes him, and us as viewers, it is towards the notion of community.

The final half hour of this film is especially powerful, and will be sure to generate a good deal of tears. A powerful conclusion to a compelling and harrowing journey, one which tries to reconcile tragedy with promise, despair with hope. Fitting then that such reconciliation might come from that connective image of the aging man and the innocent child walking side by side.

Film Journal 2024: Road House
Directed by Doug Liman

Did we need a remake? I’m not sure. But if you’re going to do it, casting a buffed up Jake Gyllenhaal in the role of Dalton is the way to go.

It is definitely by the numbers in a lot of respects, but the brooding, uncertain vigilante thing is still fun enough to give this thing that necessary spark.

Boasts a few memorable action sequences as well, featuring some understated stunt work. Definitely decent enough for some Friday night home viewing.

Film Journal 2024: Love Life
Directed by Koji Fukada

A film about loving from a distance. Or perhaps about loving through the distance.

As an intimately drawn human drama, grief creatss this distance. Pain creates this distance. The complexities and struggles of relationship, especially familial relationship, creates this distance. Muteness and the physical barriers to communication create this distance.

On a functional level, the fact that so much of this film speaks using Korean sign language becomes a powerful tool for imagining the idea that love can breach this distance. On a spiritual and philopshical level, it is the simple presence of peope thrust into the shared space of mutual experience that becomes a way of understanding how love can breach this distance. Not as an abstract and culturally conditioned word, but as a lived expression.

Film Journal 2024: Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell
Directed by Bên trong vỏ kén vàng


Features one of the most engrossing and powerful opening shots I’ve seen in a long while. A single take shot that establishes the films thematic interest in a profoundly visual and visceral way.

This debut (and yes the fact that this is a debut is astonishing) will challenge even the most patient of viewers- this is slow cinema with a richly drawn contemplative edge- but for those willing to invest it offers a transformative experience that explores the edges of some of life’s biggest questions.

A crucial aspect of that opening shot establishes a studied contrast in sensibilities. We meet three individuals, one who is a devout believer, the other a skeptic and an atheist, and the third an agnostic who states a desire to believe in the face of very real ambiguities.

It is this middle ground that frames the journey, following this third individual as his world is unsettled by sudden tragedies. He seeks the mystery that the films controlled approach, filled with roaming long takes and quiet detail, keeps present but hidden at the same time. If nothing else, what the film reaches to uncover is an inner longing, that desire to believe, suggesting that such a truth is compelling in it’s own right, even if we aren’t able to fully grasp the thing we long for. It is, nevertheless, the thing that keeps us seeking, the thing that continues to push and pull us forward amidst the ambiguities, or perhaps into the ambiguities.

And if the films title has power, it is precisely because these are the spaces where we are able to be formed and transformed by the unseen realities that run underneath. The spaces where the hidden begins to become visible, where once our eyes glanced over the spaces and details around us, fresh details and awareness begin to emerge. The essence of a spiritual awakening, one not built on certainty but on a willingness to seek.