February 2020 Recommended Reading/Viewing

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

It's Leap Year, everybody! I don't know what difference it makes in your life (aside from paradoxes in being apprenticed to pirates), but I just thought that I should remind everyone of that. I can't say that my choices for this month are any more special than other months, but they're definitely fantasy related to some extent.

Reading: Kull: Exile of Atlantis (2006) by Robert E. Howard

The forerunner to the later, more renown Conan stories, Howard's Hyborian Age first came into being with these introspective yet exciting sword-and-sorcery tales featuring the Atlantean king of Valusia. Only three of the stories (one being a crossover with another serialized character) were published in Weird Tales during Howard's tragically brief lifetime, which is a shame, because they all resonate deeply as adventures of courage, heroism, and swordplay. Filled with action and evocative images, this collection is not be missed for those interested in the pulp origins of fantasy.

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Kull-Exile-Atlantis-Robert-Howard/dp/0345490177/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1580590333&sr=8-1
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Kull-Exile-Atlantis-Robert-Howard-ebook/dp/B000MAH7PE/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1580590333&sr=8-1



Viewing: Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)

The middle child of Gilliam's loosely connected "trilogy" (which includes Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen), this Orwellian satire follows a lowly employee in a bureaucratically dystopian future who finds himself assigned to rectify an error which caused an innocent man to be mistaken for a terrorist; in the midst of his frequent daydreams of escape, he becomes embroiled in the real terrorist's disruptive actions and eventually finds himself a target of the government's machinations. Blending the usual Pythonesque humor with bleak social commentary, the film is something of a high point in Gilliam's career, a European success that managed to achieve cult status in the States. If you liked Bandits and Munchausen, you'll not want to miss this one.

Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Brazil-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray-Jonathan/dp/B009D004X6/ref=tmm_mfc_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1580590666&sr=8-4
Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Brazil-Jonathan-Pryce/dp/B00D6BQQ0S/ref=sr_1_1?crid=HRQK2H62KE4R&keywords=brazil+1985&qid=1580590666&sprefix=brazil+1%2Caps%2C311&sr=8-1


I know it's quite a mishmash of styles. I had trouble finding a movie - I had an idea, but I think I'm going to save it for another month, probably during the fall holidays. Anyway, I hope you enjoy them if you have time (and the money) for them. See you next month!