The Odyssey / Oh Brother, Where art thou? / Report

The Odyssey

The Odyssey was the book credited to Homer, a supposedly blind storyteller who was telling the story of Odysseus in his quest to get back home. In a 20 year period where he would be captured by gods, attacked by ogres, eaten by Cyclops, and making their way down to Hades’ underworld, it was one of the first recorded ‘Epic’s of human history.

The beginning, surprisingly, doesn’t start with Odysseus, but his house, 12 years after the story actually starts, where his wife, Penolope, and his son, Telemachus, who are currently holding off hordes of suitors who are making themselves at home, eating and drinking Odysseus’s food and wine. Telemachus goes off to quest for information about his father, while the suitors plot his death for when he gets back.

Then we get shown the pass, when Odysseus is just released from the god who has kept him captured for 6 years, trying to make him immortal. He uses a raft to escape, and while Poseidon wrecks his raft, he manages to make it to the island of the Phaeacians, where he makes friends with the royal family, participates in sports, before finally telling his 2 year long story to the king and queen.

Odysseus’ story does not start at the start of his journey, but when the fleet splits after a argument installed by Zeus. From there, he finds the land of the Lotus Eaters, who almost steal away three of his crew, to the land of the Cyclops, who destroys a ship and eats some of his crew, and the underworld itself, where he would meet with a seer, his mother, and Hercules himself.

After having his crew all slain by wrath of Poseidon and the sun god, he’s shipwrecked on the isle where he meets the goddess, and spends 8 years. He is then given a large tribute, and is given straight passage to the land of his house. He disguises himself as a beggar and scopes out his house, finding who is loyal him and who isn’t. The gods to come back, and with help of his swineherd and cart pusher warn his son, Odysseus kills the suitors.

Oh Brother, Where art thou?

Oh Brother, where art thou? was a 2000 film, where experimenting with CGI was just beginning. Using a color filter and some CGI, this film that’s mostly based of The Odyssey is a great tribute, changing the B.C. epic into a 1930’s based flick, and it is a GRAND masterpiece.

The beginning starts at the beginning this time, with us seeing Ulysses (The N.A. name for Odysseus) escaping with Pete and Delmar. After a quick vote to see who really is the leader of the outfit, they meet a blind seer who tells them of the road ahead. They meet with Pete’s brother, who betrays them. His son, however, uses a car to help them escape.

After having the car bust down, (and not being able to find proper hair gel), sell a trinket from Pete’s brother to buy a new one. They pick up a black man named Tommy, who ‘sold his soul to the devil’ in order to play guitar reeaalll good, and then become the Soggy Bottom Boys for 60$ dollars after making a soon-to-be hit ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’.

After a near miss with the police that sends Tommy running and loses the car, the crew gets picked up by a George Nelson, 10 feet tall, who’s a robber who hates cows more then coppers. Pete gets turned into a ‘horny toad’ after a mishap with sirens, and then Delmar and Ulysses buy some lunch, get into a conversation with a one-eyed bible salesman, who robs them and squishes ‘Pete the Toad’. Delmar dies inside.

Pete, who was captured by the police, spills his guts about the treasure, but after seeing a picture show where he was able to meet the others, he gets busted out. He’s extremely sad and annoyed at himself for telling them about it, and then Ulysses says that there is no treasure and never was a treasure. Pete attempts to kill Ulysses. Delmar follows them as they roll down a hill, where they see a KKK ritual in progress.

Tommy was taken prisoner by the KKK, and the crew attempts to rescue him. Cyclops reveals them before they can, so they run using the confederate flag as a missile. Cyclops catches is, but then the cables for a burning cross snaps. Cyclops dies. They escape to a Homer Rally, where they see that Homer was the leader of the KKK. They disguise as the Soggy Bottom Boys, where they see that the song has been extremely popular.

Homer attempts to get the crowd against them after he recognizes them, but he gets run out on a rail. His political opponent takes advantage of this, pardons the group, and gives them a position on his brain trust. As they leave, they see George Nelson getting brought to the electric chair, 11 feet tall this time. Homer and the crew go to the old cabin where the treasure ‘was’ and the ring that he needs is, but gets captured by the ‘devil’. The flood saves them, and they find the ring.  The movie ends happily.

Divergent: Book Report

Divergent is a popular book by Veronica Roth. It's a book from a first person view, in which the reader follows Beatrice/Tris as she goes thru changing her alignment, the initiation, and the collapse of several factions.. The New York Times bestseller (Yup, second one.) has a cast of people as the antagonist. I shall begin posting larger sentences in the next very long and definitely not a paragraph sentence. (Warn-Warn-Warn: Spoilers.) Behold:

The first part is about  Beatrice choosing who she actually wants to be. After test results for her in the simulations are inconclusive, she debates with herself about which faction to join, and why she had a non conclusive report. During the ceremony, she is suprised that her brother joined a different faction then she thought he would, and chooses the guardian faction of dauntless. The last time she sees her father in a while is when he's glaring at her traitorous skin.

The second part is her getting trained in the art of fighting. She makes friends and enemies quickly, and sees someone fail before starting and another one die with the trip there. She meets with the counselors, gets a short rest, then begins training with the others. After a large amount of training, the person who came in first got a stab in the eye, removing him from the lead. She gains muscle, power, fighting techniques, and best people who are much bigger then her.

The third is about training about facing her fears. She accidentally discovers that she can trick the serum that makes the simulations, letting her win in record time. She goes and begins winning the simulations like heck. However, once the rankings show up, she gets kidnapped and almost killed, but gets saved by a counselor. Everyone gets injected with a special serum that lets them be tracked, then the party happens as they are all finished with the initiation. After the wild party, everyone goes to sleep (Or stays in a intoxicated state.). The section ends with her going to sleep.

The fourth part is about the final showdown. The serum mind controls most of the guardians, who begin suiting up. She and one of the other counselors can control the serum, and managed to escape it. They try to escape, but fail. She gets captured and they try to drown her, but she gets saved by her mother. Her mother dies shortly after, but she manages to escape, even though she has to kill one of her mind controlled friends to do so. She meets up with her brother, and they manage to go and find the base which is controlling the serum. She goes and fights with the counselor, and finally manages to turn it off.

Somehow, it's been finished.

Adventure Van, out.

I am the Cheese: Book Report.

I am the Cheese was a book by Robert Cormier. It's a book from a first person view and a tape recorder view combined, in which the reader sees Adam as he goes to find out where his father is, while having a interview from a separate time period. It's a slightly weird book, so be warned about reading it. Slightly creepy, too. I shall begin posting larger paragraphs in the next paragraph. (Warning: Spoilers! Duh.) Tada:

  One half is about Adam going on a trip to visit his father on his bike. He leaves his town, talks with a couple of men, debates in his head if he should have had his medicine, and slowly and eventful manages to make it along. He gets into confrontations with dogs, gets his bike stolen, and gets pushed off the road. He slowly realizes all is not well after trying to call people who aren't there any more. He falls unconscious and goes into a laboratory like place.

The other half (They go on in a variation.) is shown thru several interviews. While talking with a interviewer only known as Brint, Adam goes and slowly delves into his history, sometimes cooperating and sometimes not. He withdraws into himself, and slowly reveals that his entire childhood was a lie. Thru the tape recordings, the reader is shown that Adam's father was part of Witness protection, his entire outer family being dead was a lie, and that someone named Mr. Grey comes every once and a while. The ending conclusion is shown that he was actually just dreaming about visiting his father, and that he has a mental illness from being shot by people trying to kill his father. The book restarts with the beginning part.

And.... DONE. Sorry, but it's creepy.

Adventure Van, out.

Book Report: The Maze Runner

Maze Runner is a popular book by James Dashner. It's a book from a fixed third person view, in which the reader follows Thomas as he tries to figure out where he is, why, and how to escape. The New York Times bestseller has a large moving maze as the antagonist. I shall begin posting larger paragraphs in the next paragraph. (Warning: Spoilers.) Behold:

The first part is associated with Thomas getting a grip on where the heck he is. Waking up in a dark elevator with your mind wiped is not very helpful with that, but he slowly gets a idea of where he is, thanks to help from an annoyed Alby, a helpful Newt, and a talkative Chuck. He almost immediately gets into a fight with Gally, a 'keeper' of the builders who 'recognizes' him. He accidentally sees a boy who was 'stung' by one of the robotic Greavers and is quickly ushered out, and then goes of to the homestead and falls asleep.

The second part is when things begin going cuckoo. For the first time ever, a girl is sent up, the girl breaks the cycle of when people come up, she's in a coma, and she's the last one. Also, a 'dead' Griever is found. However, when Alby and Minho ('Keeper' of the runners) go to check it out, it 'stings' Alby and almost kills both of them. At the last moment, Thomas slips in, saves Alby, and then saves Minho. Gally accuses him of being a spy, and then disappears.

The third and final part is the end. The sun leaves, the doors don't close, the maze stops moving, and the Grievers go and kill one of the kids every night. Thomas figures out a code, then the kids make a final stand. In a large fight, Thomas, Chuck, and the girl jump into the Griever hole and enter in the code. The Grievers all shut off, and the exit opens. Gally reappears, and throws a knife at Thomas. Chuck takes the knife, and dies almost instantly. The survivors get rescued by a group, and the book ends.

Okay, that's it. Tada!

Adventure Van, out.