Stories ancient archaic & modern; current
What does one do during the long summer vacation when everything around is closed and all that is left is the luxury of sleep? One digs up the big screen and replayed on television. Or one ventures into one of those new action series aiming to hopefully become another Thor or Captain
America or Spider-Man. Which is exactly what we did in reading the Philippine edition of Jules Verne’s A Journey to the Centre of the Earth and watching the kiddie version of Agent
Cody Banks.
We have never been to Iceland, and can’t stand cold. But when we started reading this pocket book A Journey to
the Centre of the Earth which told of the Norwegian princes who ruled Iceland in the 12th century, something in its ancient and archaic storytelling made us continue reading ’til the end.
Professor Hardwigg was a weird sort of person, a geologist who studied the “runes” language of the ancient Icelanders. A famous 15th-century explorer Arne last voyage which started on the western coast of Iceland, past its capital city Reykjavik, through mountains and craters, all of which would lead to the center of the Earth. Hardwigg studied the notes, convinced they were meant for him, prepared his nephew Harry Lawson to accompany him, enlisted a guide and climber Hans Bjelke, and they were ready for the journey.
on foot, by boat, through volcanoes and down craters, encountering dead ends, a cold unlike any other expe- rienced by climbers, loss of food and water, near starvation and reached its destination and was duly honored.
The Philippine edition is a handy booklet that can be carried inside one’s bag. It is apparently one of those abridged versions, translated from French into English, meant for an English class of Junior High School, that landed on our lap. Even the names of the major cast in the book have been changed, and although others are disturbed by this practice, we welcome it as merely an innovation that helps make youngsters understand the story better. After reading the booklet, the students will be better prepared for the other famous Jules Verne classics
like Around the World in Eighty Days, 20 Thousand Leagues under
the Sea and Five Weeks in a Balloon. Another summer adventure we enjoyed ourselves tremendously if unexpectedly, was watching the TV version of the initial screen showing of Agent
Cody Banks subtitled Save the World. Get the Girl. Pass Math. For a change, we told ourselves, we were on to something modern and current.
Fifteen-year-old actor Frankie Muniz as Cody Woody which is actually a training camp for young CIA agents. His parents hope that through the camp, Cody will overcome his shyness. After all, he is already in his teens, but can barely bring himself to approach a schoolmate. As Agent Cody Banks in the MGM is introduced to her genius of a father who has been working on the creation of indestructible robots.
Much of the ever, deals with the romantic relationship between Cody and Natalie, until he begins to lose his shyness, reveals his actual role as CIA spy to Natalie, and after a series of interesting action sequences with enemies of the CIA, Cody ends up kissing Natalie at the movie’s ending.
Upon reading of a sequel, we tune in on Agent Cody Banks
Part 2 Frankie is the only actor retained. He has been given a new love interest. Even the original director had been changed. Although Agent Cody still has its summer training camp based Cody’s new assignment brings him to England to track down a doubleagent who has experimental mindcontrol machine.
We don’t know if it has to do with the changes in casting, but Part 2 did not perform even close to Part 1. We have not been appraised of what will follow.