BOOK: The Meowmorphosis (2011)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The MeowmorphosisYear: 2011Author: Coleridge Cook and Franz KafkaLength: 208 pages The Quirk Classics have been an amusing experiment of mashing together a public domain classic and a vastly different genre to create something new. Most people know about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and my favorite from the set was definitely Android Karenina. The only one I hadn't read yet was The Meowmorphosis, an adaptation that uses Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis as its base. Unfortunately, the fundamental aspect of the Quirk Classics mashups doesn't work with such a bizarre novella like The Metamorphosis. Part of what makes the other books in this series click is how the original text remains mostly unchanged in a way that the addition of zombies or sea monsters enhances the narrative. With the primary change in this book being that the main character changes into an enormous fluffy kitten instead of a cockroach, it's hard to keep most of the original text intact and still benefit from...
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MOVIE: Elvis (2022)

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Elvis Year: 2022 Rating: PG-13 Length: 159 minutes / 2.65 hours Elvis Presley is one of those notable public figures that I couldn't quite wrap my head around. How could this singer not only cause teenage girls to lose their minds when he shook his hips but also have a military career while making Holywood movies, only to end up performing in Las Vegas until he died? It almost seemed like these were three separate individuals when, in reality, Elvis really did it all. I wasn't aware of the unfortunate relationship he had with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), but Elvis (2022) helped piece all the parts of Elvis' life together in an entertaining package. I don't think there is any director who was better suited to bring this story to the big screen than Baz Luhrmann. His tendency to create musical mashups blended so well with Elvis' background in both Gospel and Blues. Seeing this popular white man using his clout to...
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BOOK: Public Works Steampunk presents Jane Eyre (2021)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Public Works Steampunk presents Jane EyreYear: 2021Author: R.A. Harding and Charlotte BronteLength: 941 minutes / 15.68 hours I heard about this book during a convention I attended earlier this year. Jane Eyre was required reading for one of my High School English courses, so it intrigued me that someone would make steampunk additions to this literary classic. The original book naturally fits into the steampunk timeframe, so I'm a little surprised this mash-up hasn't been done before. Unfortunately, because Jane Eyre is so compatible with steampunk, it didn't feel like Steampunk Jane Eyre added anything to the narrative. Perhaps my expectations were skewed for this modified classic from my experience with the "Classical Literature Monsters" series from Quirk Books. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters only add a little eldritch horror to a mostly unmodified book that's in the public domain. However, these minor changes make a significant shift in tone that ends up creating a...
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