Review: The Bartimaeus Trilogy
I didn’t know these books existed before my serious relationship with Maayan. And when I first came over and saw her room, I noted them among her many books. A while later, when I was told of the great meaning of the shelf on which they stood, I filed them away on my list of books to read sometime in the future, maybe. Still later, at one point, she raved about how good they were, how well they were written and about how awesome Bartimaeus’ character is. So I bumped them up my list to the point of to read when I have time. And then she outwardly told me to read them. So what could I do? Say no? One more preface: this is a series of books Maayan keeps in both the original British version (seen to the left) as well as in the Hebrew translation. That’s saying something. The only other books who fit that category are the Neil Gaiman books. So Bear that in Mind. In short, The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem’s Eye and Ptolemy’s Gate follow Nathaniel, a bright and aspiring young magician in a world that is a sort of urban fantasy where the urban is represented by an early 20th, late 19th century tech level and the fantasy is represented by an elite class of magicians, people with the talent and the know-how to summon spirits to do their bidding. This leads to a Britain ruled by magicians who treat the common-folk like slaves Continue Reading →
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Review: The Long Kiss Goodnight
The Long Kiss Goodnight is the story of a high school teacher with retrograde amnesia who, upon meeting a scamming private detective, starts to discover her hidden past and find that there are very bad men out to get her. That is because she is an ex-government assassin and not a chef like she thought she was. I remembered The Long Kiss Goodnight as another one of those great action movies that are not as appreciated as it should be. So before I even started rewatching it, I looked it up. And I found this guy, Shane Black. He’s the screenwriter. He wrote this movie. And he wrote The Last Boyscout. And he wrote the Lethal Weapon series. And the Last Action Hero. All awesome action movies. Because they are written as action movies and not just action scenes with a semblance of plot or movies with some action in them. And the most important thing, they had awesome dialogue. Here are some examples: Mitch Henessey: [singing] Putting the keys in my left pocket. Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm. Gun in the right-hand side. Samantha Caine: It makes a bulge, people can see. Mitch Henessey: Ya want me to stick it in my pants and shoot my damn dick off? Samantha Caine: Now you’re a sharpshooter? Mitch Henessey: What I’m saying is, back when we first met, you were all like “Oh phooey, I burned the darn muffins.” Now, you go into a bar, ten minutes later, sailors come runnin’ out. Continue Reading →
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Review: We Bought a Zoo
“It’s a zoo.” Is not something you would expect to hear when looking for a new place to live. But that is one Benjamin Mee hears when he thinks he’s found the perfect place to start a new, six months after his wife dies. His little girl Rosie is thrilled. His son Dylan, not so much. His new staff is skeptical and especially his new Zoo Keeper Kelly. But he is determined to make it work. For his family, for the grounds, for the crew and for the animals. That is how We Bought a Zoo stars. And if you’re as movie-savvy as me you might be quick to classify it in the “Getting back on your feet after a tragedy” set of journey movies under the umbrella of light-drama. And you’ll be right. It is that kind of movie. And it’s a stellar example of its kind. The first thing you probably don’t really need to know is that We Bought a Zoo is based on a book, a memoir actually, written by Benjamin Mee who actually lived the story portrayed in this movie. Obviously certain dramatizations occurred but the basic story is true. This happened. And if you know this, I think the movie will be more powerful for you. Matt Damon is a capable actor in many respects and as he gets older, he allows himself more serious, emotional roles. Scarlett Johanssen shows us again why she is a very sought out actress. Their building relationship is subtle, not Continue Reading →
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Review: John Carter
I don’t think John Carter‘s problem was being late to the field. I think the story, at its base, is decent enough if a bit cliched. There are some plot threads that are left hanging and it could use a little boost of intelligence but it has spunk. The characters are cool, John Carter himself is cool and the white apes fight reminded me of the Rancor fight. This could have been good. I think the main problem are the actors. The chemistry is almost non-existent, between the two leads and pretty much anyone else. The two bad guys seem like stupid Disney villains… they’re villains… in a Disney movie… well, you get my point. And even though Princess Lynn Collins is the most talented of the bunch, she’s not that great either. And Taylor Kitch pretending to be Batman pretending to be John Carter of Mars is almost completely unrelatable. I mean, his back story, which I remember working in other movies (even in Star Wars) simply did nothing for me this time around. So, it’s not John Carter’s fault, me thinks. With a tighter script, just a bit more cohesion and a set serious actors (Like the cast of Chronicles of Riddick – which was very similar and awesome, don’t argue), this could have been a good movie. But like this, I would recommended you avoid it unless you really have time on your hands or a serious movie freak like me (because time is still a luxury).
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Review: The Matrix DeZIONized
Basically, the second and third movies of the Matrix trilogy pulled into one with out any of the Zion scenes. The end result: A two and a half hour movie that actually has better pacing, allows you to follow the plot, is tighter and doesn’t really delve into stupidity. Too much. There are the occasional moments where you think this might be silly or cliche but hey, it’s the Matrix. They popularized if not invented this shit. Over all, there are two thing I can say about it. I consider it the definitive ONLY sequel to the great movie that is the Matrix. It’s not a perfect one but it’s better than Reloaded and Revolutions combined on their own. The editors are right. Sometimes, less is more. So, I would recommend it on that regard. The second thing is, if you haven’t seen the Matrix sequels yet, you should probably watch this. It’s better. If you have, you probably have one of two opinions. You either thought the movies were somewhere between ok and good. Or you think they were somewhere between shit and an abomination. If you are of the latter category, there is probably not a lot I can say that would convince you. If you are of the former, I urge you to give this another go. You might be surprised.
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Review: Journey 2 – The Mysterious Island
Some years after the original Journey to the Center of the Earth, Josh Hutcherson returns (without Brendan Fraisier or whoever played his sister) to the second movie. This one is about finding Verne’s mysterious island, also known as the island of the Liliputans, Treasure Island and probably Laputa as well. I have to say, I kinda liked the previous Journey. It was kitschy and kiddy but kind of cute and fun and a good use of the 3D tech. This one however was so silly and dumb that I wanted to punch pretty much every single character. The motivations and mechanics of plot are illogical. It seems that every character is more stupid than the last and pretty much nothing makes sense. It basically looks like they had great fun writing it and great fun making it but nothing else. Skip it. And probably the one that will be coming in 2014.
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Review: Act of Valor
Act of Valor began as Navy only movie about seals in an attempt to show actual operations and procedures. It evolved into a Hollywood-sized production including some known actors and an actual storyline. First of all, Act of Valor includes actual Navy seals and actual seals hardware and techniques. This means two things: The acting is flat and unconvincing and feels like they are reading plaques more than actually acting. And the story is no better than your average counter-terrorism plot of a modern-day first person shooter. But, the action sequences are one of the best modern warfare scenes seen on film in, probably, ever. They are realistic, brutal and highly professional which makes my inner child’s OCD very happy. So, if you can stand the cliched plot, the almost-non-existent acting, the characters who are barely relate-able and have almost no back story, then this is one of the best modern action films available.
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Review: Terminal Velocity
Terminal Velocityis about a not-so-stand-up skydiving instructor who takes up a strange client and ends up being involved in some Russian smuggling conspiracy. Basically, it’s a standard nineties action flick centered around high-flying escapades. The premise is very basic, the start off point is kind of silly, the acting is decent, the action is… well, nineties. But still, even 18 years after the making, it has some exciting scenes. The parts involving free falls are especially great. I mean, I can see the stunt doubles and the puppets but when you fall off a plane in a car, it’s exciting. I wouldn’t call it a must, I wouldn’t compare it to The Last Boyscout, I wouldn’t even call it a keeper. But if you’re fond of nineties action, this is one of the good ones.
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Review: Jagged Alliance – Back in Action
Honestly, I was really excited about it. It’s a Plan & Go tactical game only this time with mercenaries and real-world guns and not with aliens and phaser weapons. I mean, I love the new UFO trilogy and part of what makes it good is this awesome mechanic. So anything with that mechanic should be good, right? Wrong.I’m not sure where this game fails. Maybe it’s the many bugs and hickups not even three patches managed to fix. Maybe it’s the fucked up authority on who can aim and hit what and where. Maybe it’s the insane difficulty that ramps up as you go along. Maybe it’s strategic area of the game that makes almost no sense. And maybe it all adds up to a lot of tedium and repetitiveness that gets you nowhere and the fact that winning conditions in every single area, from mission parameters, through single shootouts up to gun statistics, seem completely arbitrary. I ended up quitting roughly half way through after the fifth time that my team of three was dying in front of one sniper they couldn’t hit, despite the fact that he was making headshot after headshot. At the end, it just seems like this game could have been really good but fell on its face due to lack of polish. And I probably won’t play the original Jagged Alliance because I can’t really get back to that style of playing right now. Which also makes me sad because I would probably also Continue Reading →
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Review: Hugo
Haven’t read the book but the movie is excellent. It’s beautiful, charming, touching and exciting. Like I said to my lovely wife, “That’s Ben Kingsley. Ben Kingsley does two types of movies: the ones that get Oscar nominations and the ones you wish you could ‘disinvent’.” This movie is of the former category. And also, it is always great to see Sacha Baron Cohen playing a serious and deep character and not one of his silly comedic types. It’s interesting all the way, sports deep and involving characters and has a touching and beautiful final sequence. If you haven’t seen it yet, put it on your list. Preferably, near the top.
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