The Island versus Never Let Me Go

I am in the midst of preparing to head out to Mushroom Pot for dinner. And probably get more STIKFAS figures. Muahahahaha.....

Just caught The Island. Not a bad movie. There is a lot of potential for the story to break away from the normal vehicle bang up and parades of arsenal. BUT this is a Michael Bay movie. So....the second half of the movie became something like Bad Boys but with a fine pair of caucasians of both sexes.

Anyway, no time to do this now. Would want to compare the movie with another similar novel i read recently about cloning. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I have procrastinated for too long and never really gotten down to blog about the book...

after dinner. and more stikfas later.....

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No STIKFAS figures. Dinner at Mushroom Pot wasn't as fantastic as I thought. we should stick to zi char stuff. not expensive, quality can't be too much off.

anyway....i'd like to blog about cloning. not about the ethical issues. but about the book i read (Never Let Me Go) and the movie i saw (The Island). first, let me say that Scarlett Johansson is
so beautiful. she and natalie portman epitomise the whole woman/girl thing. there's kirsten dunst as well. and julia stiles. okie. better not wax lyrical on them. v will not be happy.

Never Let Me Go is actually the title of a fictitious song from the album Songs After Dark by this female songstress named Judy Bridgewater. Don't bother googling for the song. There isn't. The story revolves around three main characters. kathy h, tommy d and ruth. in my mind, if this novel was ever to be made into a movie, i'd have kirsten dunst to play ruth. kathy h will be scarlett johansson and tommy d, well....probably Gael García Bernal. ron howard or robert zemeckis can direct (sticking with hollywood). james ivory who did remains of the day (also by kazuo ishiguro) can do the honours as well. if wong kar wai or zhang yimou helms it in an asian version, please let christopher boyle do the cinematography. but would really rather lee ang do it. or stanley kwan. ruth will then be Zhang Ziyi. kathy h will be Angelica Lee. tommy will be daniel wu.

enough of the imaginary stuff.

There is a strong similarity between the novel and the movie. they are both about clones being reared apart from normal humans. both are sheltered. their ends are the same; death. the former has the clones being told since young that they will one day be harvested and then wasted. while the latter has the clones being tricked into thinking they are special people waiting to go to the last pathogen-free island once they win a lottery that picks the winners "randomly".

the novel was tragic. the sombre tone was carried throughout the book. the character development was so strong and you start to feel so much for kathy and tommy. they were hopeless from the start, two clones resigned to fate (did they have one?). they knew they will eventually be harvested for their parts. maybe once, twice, thrice even. but death was iminent. halfway through the story, they were given a glimmer of hope to lead normal lives together but as they pursue this track doggedly, they only met with disappointment and that death for them, was inevitable.

the movie had potential. the products were given hope so that they had an aim. albeit collectively. they will work hard, hope to win the lottery, so that they can be sent to the island which was the prize - utopia. they were special because they were able to survive this supposed "mass contamination" that occured on earth. the non-existent island was the impetus. they will work happily thinking that they will one day leave for the island. never questioning and always docile. if the movie's second half was coherent with the first and make the viewer grapple with tough issues concerning the right to live and ethical aspects of clients versus cloners versus products and such, it would have been great. but michael bay made the second half into bad boys and girls, with smokin' guns and flying motorcycles......it was like the potential was never fulfilled. I'm sure many liked the movie. it seemed to have many aspects. action, bits of sci-fi, morality, romance, blah....but, the topic was ripe for weightier issues. i'm just nit picking...

saw the trailer for the Corpse Bride. it's got the same animation as Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas, naturally, as he is directs this as well. helena bonham carter and johnny depp voice the main characters. one's his wife and the other is his onscreen hero. gonna be a blast. was there ever a better pairing in hollywood between a director and his leading man?