Dark Tower: The Long Road Home by Stephen King
rating: 4 of 5 stars
This continues the fantastic first few issues. The artwork is amazingly detailed, and the story is well adapted. Each place they come upon makes me want to know all of the details and history behind them… the Citgo fields, the psychic enhancer, Maerlyn’s orbs… I can’t wait to read the next installment!
Take the Princess Bride, put it in a blender with Monty Python’s Quest for the Holy Grail, drop in a couple of doses of your favorite hallucinogen, and you’ve got this movie. There’s quite a few cameos by Monty Python players, as well as (I think) some famous British actors from the 80’s. It was in
If you’re going to start the movie by having a nurse hit somebody with a car, and then follow up with an angel sex scene, do it up right. No, seriously. Neither the accident nor the scrumping are gratuitous. They’re integral to the plot, and that made me happy. The sequel keeps the same fast pace that the first had, complete with kicking angels out of hell, and discovering that humanity has paved over Eden (in California, of course) and turned it into an oil refinery. Mr. Walken gives another amazing performance as Gabriel. Creepy with class. Four stars.
“This is how legends are born.” Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time. It’s time for one of Aidan’s favorite movies! Nearly every morning, when he’s gotten up, when he’s done with his cereal, I hear him say, “Daddy, I watch Ghost Rider.” or “Daddy, Ghost Rider now please.” Though, to be accurate, it sounds more like “gho riyer”. I think that the mispronunciation might be an integral part of his cute beam design. Ah, but I digress. We’re talking about a comic book movie.
I generally like comic book movies. It should also be noted that I’ve never read the Ghost Rider comic, and never really had much inclination to. Dude with flaming head on a motorcycle. And? Anyway, every review I’d ever heard or read about this said that it was full of suck. I’d have to agree, when it comes to the villain named Blackheart. There is one scene in the entire movie in which the actor does not do his best to embody suck. Through and through. For those that have seen the movie, it’s the scene where Johnny Blaze has just fully become flaming skull head guy. He actually emotes and gestures and convinces me that he -is- the character in that one scene. He fails at every single other scene. And then there’s Nicholas Cage, who very nearly graduated from the Kevin Costner school of acting. Two stars.
I don’t usually expect the main character to get shot to death at the beginning of a movie. By a blind man. Who is carrying a bible. And yet, it worked perfectly for this movie. Christopher Walken, playing a now-human Gabriel, plays a more humble and learning angel than in the past. Hell couldn’t temper him, but humanity somehow has. The ending left a LOT to be desired. There was such a build up about the angel, whose name meant light, that stayed on Earth after the first war in heaven. The climax was weak, and the resolution seemed too easy. However, the epilogue scenes were amazing. Three stars.
I’d always thought that this compilation of animations had been released between the first Matrix movie and Reloaded. It turns out, according to IMDB, that it was released between Reloaded and Revolutions. That’s three releases in a single year, which was four years after the first movie. It’s safe to say that I now know where all of the good animation went that was missing in Reloaded. All of the skillful CGI was sucked out like a Ross Perot description of the economy, and shunted into the Animatrix.
I think again, like I did when I’d seen this for the first time, that this should have been essential viewing material when it comes to the Matrix storyline, not optional “add-on” animation. For all those that complained about a lack of depth in the second and third movies, these animations may have filled in the gaps. Like the chapter introductions in a fantasy novel, these shorts would have divided the second two movies up nicely. I rated this one five stars when I joined Netflix, and I’m going to have to continue that rating.
When a two year old loves a movie, it gets watched. A lot. Over and over. As a consequence, I can quote a great deal of Ice Age. I have to say that my opinion has risen, as well. The Tae Kwon Dodos crack me up every time. Zeke the sabertoothed tiger steals the show from the other sabers, and the non-speaking humans (Neanderthals?) show an amazing amount of heart. “Hey, Lord of the Flame, your tail’s on fire.” Four stars out of five.
Another of Aidan’s favorites. I had mostly dismissed these CGI movies out of hand, like most kids’ movies. This one had character development, plot progression, and I actually cared about what was going on. Of course, I’ve seen this one about a trillion and one times, as well. “This might be a bad time, but you owe me thirty-four thousand dollars in legal fees. Uh-huh.” Heh. Four stars out of five.
This one has nothing to do with Aidan. No, really. I think I saw this one for the first time back when I was seventeen and working for Blockbuster. My memory of it was hazy, but I had a favorable impression of it. So, I added -all- of the Prophecy movies to my queue. Overkill? Perhaps. But that’s how I do things. :) Anyway, this one was as good as I remembered it, if not better. Christopher Walken as Gabriel, constantly referring to humans as “talking monkeys”, and needing them for “talking monkey things”. It was dated, sure, and setup was sacrificed for pace, but that didn’t seem to detract from my ability to suspend disbelief. Five stars out of five.
The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children by Ross W. Greene
rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was loaned to me in an effort to better understand my soon-to-be stepson and to understand myself. I was extremely cynical about the methods proposed in this book, but the author raised the same issues, and addressed them with respect and without sarcasm or dismissal. Definitely worth the read. I might suggest an addition to the already long title: “and Parents”
Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born by Stephen King
rating: 4 of 5 stars
A faithful and quality interpretation of the beginning of Roland’s life, if not the beginning of the actual Dark Tower series, if ye kennit. It was so good, I asked for the next one for Christmas from my parents. I may be a thirty-something geek, but I’m not living in their basement. And I asked them anyway. :)
Powers: Definitive Collection Volume 1 HC by Brian Michael Bendis
rating: 4 of 5 stars
Two human detectives work homicide in the Super Powers devision of the city’s police force. It started out as noir as I expected, took a snarky turn with the addition of the detective’s partner, and then added stupid LARPers.
LOVE. IT. Also, fear the dimension hoppers.
Kids
Changing dirty diapers has moved to the easier end of the scale. It’s when the human waste ends up on the -outside- of its intended receptacle that it becomes difficult.
Christmas shopping for the boys is done, and we’ve been out shopping for either that or the house nearly EVERY day of the week.
And we all know how much I LURVE shopping.
Hunter’s been with his Dad for the last few weekends, plus the Mondays and Tuesdays. I miss him a bunch. Aidan’s been clingy enough to make up for it, though.
Netflix
Okay, so this is a classic. Like my not having read Dune (despite having seen both versions), not having seen Blade Runner plunked me into the “unread heathen” category of Science Fiction fan. Let alone having the cred to write. So, out of all of the different cuts and edits of the movie, I figured the “Final Cut” was the best. It being final and everything.
It’s likely that I wasn’t impressed because I’ve seen these tropes over and over and over again. Granted, this was the movie that originated them, but it wasn’t the first that had hit me, so it was the same-old same-old for me. I totally dug the noir aspects of the movie, the “more of the same” future that is shared by Firefly/Serenity, and the human/replicant love interest. I disliked the thuggishness of the main character, but I admired his tenacity. If I had seen it earlier in my life, it would have probably made more of an impact. Three stars.
This anime was just as psychotic as I remember it being. Eyebrows. Robots popping out of heads. Guitars as weapons. Sexual innuendo… er… more of a beating you over the head. Less of the innuendo. Factories that look like clothes irons that aren’t really factories. Other robots that look like hands. Eyebrows?! Three stars.
Job
Still only had two interviews. I have applied for nearly forty jobs. Still going. Working on another possibility. We shall see how that develops. Vagueness will continue until something concrete is developed.
I hope that everyone can stay sane this Holiday season. :)
While Waiting by George E. Verrilli
rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a quick and simple book that explained a bunch of the process of the alien podling’s development inside of the host female’s abdomen.
Um. I mean, the baby’s development in the uterus, and the resulting effects on the mother. Definitely covered a list of do’s, don’ts, and suggestions. Since I’m a total newb at this, and my partner is not, I’ve been able to ask her the questions that this book raised.
So, it wasn’t complete, but it wasn’t written to be. It was a very good introductory book, and prepped me for more in-depth books that are to come.