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Puss in Boots
by Philip Pullman / Ian Beck, illus.

I'm not impressed.

It's been a long time since Philip Pullman made a splash with His Dark Materials and its associated works. It has been nearly as long as Pullman gave his readers other great pieces of work, such as Clockwork and The Scarecrow and His Servant. Given the span of time that has passed since the author last wowed us, maybe it's time to reclassify Pullman, not as a star but as a comet--a body that shone brightly for a while, but eventually disappeared from the literary sky, perhaps never to return again.

It's not that this version of Puss in Boots is bad; Pullman does a serviceable job of presenting the traditional story; there are no passages in his tale that make the reader want to throw the book across the room or anything like that. But Pullman expands upon Charles Perrault's tale, including scenes with a hermit and some ghouls which, frankly, don't particularly add anything special to the story.

Reel Reviews

The LEGO Movie -- There's no way that this movie would have been given nearly the high appreciation it received upon release had it not been for the fact that the animation involved all those billions of blocks. Everything in the film is formulaic; we've seen it all before--the misfit hero, the vaguely inaccessible love interest, the odd mentor(s), the cliches about belief and everyone's intrinsic value, all set in a fantasy world. If the visuals were not as impressive as they are, this brick flick would have passed by without nearly as much praise. But the blocks have a following, to be sure, and that almost guaranteed success regardless of the script. I guess it's not awful, but this one never really grabbed me at any deep level. Chances are you could entertain yourself more with a few buckets of bricks and a free afternoon.

Reel Reviews

Zathura -- Standard issue, mild juvie entertainment, with a half-and-half feel. Some good stuff (nice visuals, some nice character moments, a blissful lack of skateboards), some bad (the kids are a little grating, the usual product placements). Blend it together an you get a decent, though not especially engaging, movie. Kids will probably like it; if you're uncritical, maybe you will too. Posted 9/30/06.