There were a ton of previews at my movie today. Would I pay theatre prices to see them? Briefly:
Avatar - pass - Sam Worthington (Terminator: Salvation), Zoe Saldana, Michelle Rodgriguez. Director James Cameron.
A wheelchair bound marine goes into a program where he is given control of an avatar and sent undercover into an alien indigenous community with the mission to make them move their village so humans can mine their planet for a special mineral. He ends up falling in love with one of the aliens and going native, working with them to stop the invading human forces.
That's what I got out of the preview anyway. Generally, I really like action movies from James Cameron, but the actual "avatar" part looked more cartoony and amime-like that CGI, which is not my thing.
***
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - yes - Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Artenton
In Ancient Persia, Prince Dastan gets his hands on a dagger that can rewind time. He joins forces with a young woman to deliver the dagger to a safe location to protect it, and they must fight their way through various overlords to get there.
Not sure on the plot, but it looked like it had great effects and lots of action.
***
Grown Ups - pass - Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, David Spade, Kevin James
Thirty years later, a bunch of former childhood friends reunite for the 4th of July weekend. I'm sure that beer-capades, fart jokes and other male bonding ensues.
* * *
Invictus - YES! - Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon. Director Clint Eastwood.
During Nelson Mandela's first term as President, he hires Francois Pienaar to put together a winning rugby team to help unite his racially divided country.
Seriously, it looked amazing and I don't think you could possible go wrong with this trifecta.
***
Did you hear about the Morgans? - yes - Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker
A soon-to-be-divorced upper-crust city couple gets put into witness relocation in Wyoming.
I'm not always a rom-com fan but this one had me laughing out loud in the theatre. It looks promising.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Thought of the day
I refuse to believe that humans evolved into the only beings on the planet with opposable thumbs just so we could learn how to text.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
I must be getting old - Books I gave up on
Life is too short for bad novels. Whether they are badly written or I don't like the content, I have finally learned that I am not required to read the whole thing anymore. Much to the amusement of my friends, I still occasionally try to read "literature" to improve my brain. Here are a couple books that didn't last until page 10.
***
"The Flying Troutmans" by Miriam Toews
This may have been a good book. However I wasn't able to tell because Ms. Toews decided that quotation marks are optional. Seriously, there were no quotations marks in the entire book. That is not a writing style. That is poor grammar. (This goes for you too, Cormac McCarthy.) It is similar to saying that a lot of spacing and indents and different fonts make a bunch of words a freeverse poem. They don't.
***
"World War Z: An oral history of the Zombie War" by Max Brooks.
I like horror books. And I'd never read a zombie book. This one was recommended by a friend. I read the first couple pages. Then I flipped through and read a couple more pages. Then I returned it to the library. It was well written. But it seems that zombies really disturb me. I should have realized this before hand; I watch horror movies but not zombie movies.
***
"The Gargoyle" by Andrew Davidson
I wanted to like this book. Hometown boy makes good and all. But I got it out of the library twice and never even cracked the cover. Perhaps my subconscious is trying to tell me something.
***
"The Flying Troutmans" by Miriam Toews
This may have been a good book. However I wasn't able to tell because Ms. Toews decided that quotation marks are optional. Seriously, there were no quotations marks in the entire book. That is not a writing style. That is poor grammar. (This goes for you too, Cormac McCarthy.) It is similar to saying that a lot of spacing and indents and different fonts make a bunch of words a freeverse poem. They don't.
***
"World War Z: An oral history of the Zombie War" by Max Brooks.
I like horror books. And I'd never read a zombie book. This one was recommended by a friend. I read the first couple pages. Then I flipped through and read a couple more pages. Then I returned it to the library. It was well written. But it seems that zombies really disturb me. I should have realized this before hand; I watch horror movies but not zombie movies.
***
"The Gargoyle" by Andrew Davidson
I wanted to like this book. Hometown boy makes good and all. But I got it out of the library twice and never even cracked the cover. Perhaps my subconscious is trying to tell me something.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Good Eats!
My good friend Ms. Gwennie Pennie has set up a food blog called The Foodie Housewife.
I can personally vouch for many of the recipes as I print them and try them almost as soon as she gets them up. I particularly enjoyed the Zucchini Fruit Loaf (if you have any zucchinis left) and the Pasta Carbonara.
These recipes are much easier than they look. She also thoughtfully provides pictures so you can see how it is supposed to turn out.
She does recommend certain ingredients and brands that we may not have north of the border but she has been very helpful in coming up with substitutes and, in some cases, telling me what the heck she's talking about.
So check her out and try some stuff. Next up for me is the Quick and Easy White Chili, provided I can find some green salsa.
I can personally vouch for many of the recipes as I print them and try them almost as soon as she gets them up. I particularly enjoyed the Zucchini Fruit Loaf (if you have any zucchinis left) and the Pasta Carbonara.
These recipes are much easier than they look. She also thoughtfully provides pictures so you can see how it is supposed to turn out.
She does recommend certain ingredients and brands that we may not have north of the border but she has been very helpful in coming up with substitutes and, in some cases, telling me what the heck she's talking about.
So check her out and try some stuff. Next up for me is the Quick and Easy White Chili, provided I can find some green salsa.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Review: FlashForward - the book and the movie
"FlashForward"
6 out of 10
You might have heard of this little show on ABC. It's only been advertised in every commercial break for the last month. It aired on Thursday and did very well in the ratings.
It opens with the world starting to spin again. Actually, everyone on Earth is waking up after passing out at the same time. The whole planet blacked out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds and, while they were out, they caught a glimpse of what they were doing six months in the future.
Main character Mark Benford is an FBI agent. He sees himself working on the Mosaic Collective, the FBI investigation which is trying to determine why the global blackout (GBO) happened. His wife Dr. Olivia Benford sees herself with another man. His best friend sees himself with his daughter, who was reported as KIA in Iraq. And on it goes, except for Mark's partner Demitri Noh, who had no vision at all because - they assume - six months from now he's dead.
As individuals try to come to grips with their lives, they fight against the notions of predetermination vs free will. Olivia refuses to believe that she'd cheat on her husband, while recovering alcoholic Mark is convinced that because he saw himself drinking he will fall off the wagon and there is no hope for him. Some people are desperate for the future not to come true while the FlashForward has brought hope to others.
Running through everything is the mystery of what caused the GBO. Everyone passed out at the same time, so who could be to blame. It turns out that one mysterious figure at a baseball game remained conscious through the blackout. And the FBI is eager to speak with him.
Overall, the episode was pretty good. I liked it much better than the book. Sometimes an adaptation just needs to take the idea, not the framework and that is what they did. I'm not big on some of the casting choices but I can live with them. I'm a little worried that they moved the date from 22 years in the future to 6 months - what will they do next year, another flash? I think 2 years would have worked better. Also, nice addition of additional story lines and a nice mix of characters, including their jobs, relationships and mindsets.
***
"FlashForward" by Robert J. Sawyer
c 1999
Rating: Readable
I'm not much for science fiction but when I heard that they'd decided to turn this book into a series I wanted to know what the fuss was about. It was a well-written book in all the ways that one should measure the actual writing. It was the whole concept which I found to be a little disturbing. Not the science part. I understand that it is science "fiction." Mostly I'm upset about the way that the author portrayed the world's population. I admit, it would be cool to see into the future. But because I don't understand the way the writer thinks, I don't understand the themes behind his work.
The main character believes that there is no free will; what he saw in the future is absolute and there is no way to change it. (This was proved false because one person who had a flash of being alive 21 years from now killed himself. This, while sad, at least gave an argument for free will, which I believe in.) He is prepared to throw away his fiancee and possible future happiness because he saw himself with a different wife and his fiancee lived somewhere else with her daughter who, at the time, he believed was not his. Because he got divorced in the future, he felt it was better not to get married in the present since failure was inevitable.
Another character, who found out he was shot to death the day before the flashforward, spends the next 21 years trying to solve his own murder. 21 years of his life, gone, wasted, trying to fix something that hadn't even happened yet. He lets his present slip away.
Most of the other characters feel that way too. Some are glad that they are alive in the future, that they know things are good. But most people are not satisfied with what they saw. It wasn't good enough so they changed their lives in an attempt to achieve perfection.
Knowing that you are dead in the future would admittedly suck. But if you had twenty years between now and then, wouldn't you want to make sure you lived them as well as you could rather than fixating on something that far away? I'm not saying you shouldn't try to stop your own murder. But who knows what you will do between now and then. Meet the person who will kill you? Meet the person who could save you? Find the person that makes the 20 years worthwhile? It's not much different than people who have fatal medical conditions. You know your expiry date. You can fight the disease and try experimental treatments but in the end you had better live the time you have left or the fight will have been for nothing. You are fighting for a life, not a breathe-in breathe-out existence.
I don't get it. I don't get sacrificing two decades for the sake of two minutes. Yes, we all want happily ever after. But that is the journey, not the destination. Life isn't perfect. Work hard, love hard, eat dessert first. It's all you can do.
Personally, as much as it would be cool, I wouldn't want to see the future. I like surprises. I'd rather have today - however good or bad - than fear tomorrow. I think I'll adopt as my philosophy the T2 Sarah Connor epilogue narration:
The future, always so clear to me, had become like a black highway at night. We were in uncharted territory now, making up history as we went along. The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it for the first time with a sense of hope, because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can, too.
6 out of 10
You might have heard of this little show on ABC. It's only been advertised in every commercial break for the last month. It aired on Thursday and did very well in the ratings.
It opens with the world starting to spin again. Actually, everyone on Earth is waking up after passing out at the same time. The whole planet blacked out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds and, while they were out, they caught a glimpse of what they were doing six months in the future.
Main character Mark Benford is an FBI agent. He sees himself working on the Mosaic Collective, the FBI investigation which is trying to determine why the global blackout (GBO) happened. His wife Dr. Olivia Benford sees herself with another man. His best friend sees himself with his daughter, who was reported as KIA in Iraq. And on it goes, except for Mark's partner Demitri Noh, who had no vision at all because - they assume - six months from now he's dead.
As individuals try to come to grips with their lives, they fight against the notions of predetermination vs free will. Olivia refuses to believe that she'd cheat on her husband, while recovering alcoholic Mark is convinced that because he saw himself drinking he will fall off the wagon and there is no hope for him. Some people are desperate for the future not to come true while the FlashForward has brought hope to others.
Running through everything is the mystery of what caused the GBO. Everyone passed out at the same time, so who could be to blame. It turns out that one mysterious figure at a baseball game remained conscious through the blackout. And the FBI is eager to speak with him.
Overall, the episode was pretty good. I liked it much better than the book. Sometimes an adaptation just needs to take the idea, not the framework and that is what they did. I'm not big on some of the casting choices but I can live with them. I'm a little worried that they moved the date from 22 years in the future to 6 months - what will they do next year, another flash? I think 2 years would have worked better. Also, nice addition of additional story lines and a nice mix of characters, including their jobs, relationships and mindsets.
***
"FlashForward" by Robert J. Sawyer
c 1999
Rating: Readable
I'm not much for science fiction but when I heard that they'd decided to turn this book into a series I wanted to know what the fuss was about. It was a well-written book in all the ways that one should measure the actual writing. It was the whole concept which I found to be a little disturbing. Not the science part. I understand that it is science "fiction." Mostly I'm upset about the way that the author portrayed the world's population. I admit, it would be cool to see into the future. But because I don't understand the way the writer thinks, I don't understand the themes behind his work.
The main character believes that there is no free will; what he saw in the future is absolute and there is no way to change it. (This was proved false because one person who had a flash of being alive 21 years from now killed himself. This, while sad, at least gave an argument for free will, which I believe in.) He is prepared to throw away his fiancee and possible future happiness because he saw himself with a different wife and his fiancee lived somewhere else with her daughter who, at the time, he believed was not his. Because he got divorced in the future, he felt it was better not to get married in the present since failure was inevitable.
Another character, who found out he was shot to death the day before the flashforward, spends the next 21 years trying to solve his own murder. 21 years of his life, gone, wasted, trying to fix something that hadn't even happened yet. He lets his present slip away.
Most of the other characters feel that way too. Some are glad that they are alive in the future, that they know things are good. But most people are not satisfied with what they saw. It wasn't good enough so they changed their lives in an attempt to achieve perfection.
Knowing that you are dead in the future would admittedly suck. But if you had twenty years between now and then, wouldn't you want to make sure you lived them as well as you could rather than fixating on something that far away? I'm not saying you shouldn't try to stop your own murder. But who knows what you will do between now and then. Meet the person who will kill you? Meet the person who could save you? Find the person that makes the 20 years worthwhile? It's not much different than people who have fatal medical conditions. You know your expiry date. You can fight the disease and try experimental treatments but in the end you had better live the time you have left or the fight will have been for nothing. You are fighting for a life, not a breathe-in breathe-out existence.
I don't get it. I don't get sacrificing two decades for the sake of two minutes. Yes, we all want happily ever after. But that is the journey, not the destination. Life isn't perfect. Work hard, love hard, eat dessert first. It's all you can do.
Personally, as much as it would be cool, I wouldn't want to see the future. I like surprises. I'd rather have today - however good or bad - than fear tomorrow. I think I'll adopt as my philosophy the T2 Sarah Connor epilogue narration:
The future, always so clear to me, had become like a black highway at night. We were in uncharted territory now, making up history as we went along. The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it for the first time with a sense of hope, because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can, too.
Review (Book): " Dead to Worse" by Charlaine Harris
C2009
Rating: Readable
I'm feeling generous. There is nothing wrong with the latest entry into the "Sookie Stackhouse" series. However, in my opinion, not much happens. Here's a quick look.
The were-animals have decided to go public. This freaks out several people, including Sam Merlotte's step-father who shoots Sam's mom. Were-dog Sam rushes home to see here and is gone for the rest of the book.
Jason's soon-to-be ex-wife Crystal is found crucified behind the bar and Jason is once again a suspect. However the culprit is revealed to be Jason's fellow were-panther Mel, who was jealous that Crystal dissed his man.
Quinn, the were-tiger (and my personal favourite of all of Sookie's suitors) makes a reappearance but is quickly run off by Vampire Bill, who is following Eric's orders. He doesn't come back.
Vampire Eric tricks Sookie into getting engaged to protect her (he says) from the new King of Louisiana.
Arline, Sookie's former friend and fellow waitress - now rabid member of Fellowship of the Sun - pretends to want to overcome their differences and sets Sookie up to be crucified in the same way Crystal was. Sookie escapes and they are unable to charge Arline and her co-conspirators with murder since the cross-wood could be used for anything, not just crucifixion. They do confess to hanging Crystal from the cross although they didn't kill her.
Niall, Sookie's full-fairy great-grandfather who first showed up in "From Dead to Worse", takes on a rebel faction of fairies and draws Sookie into the middle of a fairy war. Sookie is kidnapped and tortured by the rebels and Eric saves her. Niall manages to defeat the rebels but decides that it is too dangerous to stay in contact with the human world and seals the portal between the two worlds, leaving Sookie forever.
So with all that, how can I say nothing happened? Because it happened just that quick. The were-animal reveal came and went in the first couple chapters. Crystal was dead one minute, and then Sookie overheard Mel's thoughts and caught him. Arline is buckets of crazy, tried to kill Sookie, and pretty much got away with the attempt. For goodness sake, if you blinked you would have missed Sookie and Eric's engagement. No discussion, no freaking out, it happened and let's move on to the fairy war, which is based on a character we met in the last book and will now never see again.
Any three of these story lines, covered in depth, would have made a delicious book. But Ms. Harris threw so much into one novel that I wasn't able to appreciate any of it. It almost seemed to be "hurry up and resolve these storylines so I can get to some good stuff in the next book". I have enjoyed many of the other books in this series, so this was a real disappointment. I'll read the next book but I hope I find it more satisfying.
PS: HBO's "TRUE BLOOD" is based on the books. Roughly based. Barely. Mostly they use the same names and biological forms (psychic, were-animal, vampire) for Sookie, Sam, Bill and Eric. Everything else is optional. Especially clothing.
Rating: Readable
I'm feeling generous. There is nothing wrong with the latest entry into the "Sookie Stackhouse" series. However, in my opinion, not much happens. Here's a quick look.
The were-animals have decided to go public. This freaks out several people, including Sam Merlotte's step-father who shoots Sam's mom. Were-dog Sam rushes home to see here and is gone for the rest of the book.
Jason's soon-to-be ex-wife Crystal is found crucified behind the bar and Jason is once again a suspect. However the culprit is revealed to be Jason's fellow were-panther Mel, who was jealous that Crystal dissed his man.
Quinn, the were-tiger (and my personal favourite of all of Sookie's suitors) makes a reappearance but is quickly run off by Vampire Bill, who is following Eric's orders. He doesn't come back.
Vampire Eric tricks Sookie into getting engaged to protect her (he says) from the new King of Louisiana.
Arline, Sookie's former friend and fellow waitress - now rabid member of Fellowship of the Sun - pretends to want to overcome their differences and sets Sookie up to be crucified in the same way Crystal was. Sookie escapes and they are unable to charge Arline and her co-conspirators with murder since the cross-wood could be used for anything, not just crucifixion. They do confess to hanging Crystal from the cross although they didn't kill her.
Niall, Sookie's full-fairy great-grandfather who first showed up in "From Dead to Worse", takes on a rebel faction of fairies and draws Sookie into the middle of a fairy war. Sookie is kidnapped and tortured by the rebels and Eric saves her. Niall manages to defeat the rebels but decides that it is too dangerous to stay in contact with the human world and seals the portal between the two worlds, leaving Sookie forever.
So with all that, how can I say nothing happened? Because it happened just that quick. The were-animal reveal came and went in the first couple chapters. Crystal was dead one minute, and then Sookie overheard Mel's thoughts and caught him. Arline is buckets of crazy, tried to kill Sookie, and pretty much got away with the attempt. For goodness sake, if you blinked you would have missed Sookie and Eric's engagement. No discussion, no freaking out, it happened and let's move on to the fairy war, which is based on a character we met in the last book and will now never see again.
Any three of these story lines, covered in depth, would have made a delicious book. But Ms. Harris threw so much into one novel that I wasn't able to appreciate any of it. It almost seemed to be "hurry up and resolve these storylines so I can get to some good stuff in the next book". I have enjoyed many of the other books in this series, so this was a real disappointment. I'll read the next book but I hope I find it more satisfying.
PS: HBO's "TRUE BLOOD" is based on the books. Roughly based. Barely. Mostly they use the same names and biological forms (psychic, were-animal, vampire) for Sookie, Sam, Bill and Eric. Everything else is optional. Especially clothing.
Review (Book): " Skin Trade" by Laurell K. Hamilton
c2009
Rating: Readable
After the debacle that was Blood Noir, it seems that Laurell K. Hamilton remember to put a plot into her latest Anita Blake novel (book 17 in the series). I was unsure whether or not I wanted to read this book but decided to take it out of the library on the train-wreck premise. (You know, something you shouldn't really watch but can't bring yourself to turn away from.) It was worth a check-out.
Anita Blake is at work when a former enemy mails her the head of a fellow US marshall. The postmark is from Las Vegas, and there is a time crunch (he will strike again soon) so Anita takes off leaving her harem behind. She arrives in Las Vegas to find Edward, Bernardo Spotted Horse and Olaf already on scene, working with the equivalent of Las Vegas Supernatural SWAT. The serial killer is Vittorio, the vampire who escaped from Anita in "The Harlequin". She runs the investigation with her new paranormal friends and with some help from the Vampire Master of Vegas and his were-tigers (some of whom, if you will remember, Anita orgied with in "Blood Noir"). Vittorio has been regaining his vampire powers, which were originally taken away by Marmee Noir. This is one of the reasons Marmee has been after Anita; she wanted to use Anita as a tool to kill Vittorio. In the end, Anita manages to bring the bad guy down by distracting him with her sexual exploits on his captives while an unknown group kill of Marmee Noir.
See, a story. And there is only one orgy, and since it only involved two vampires/men, it could really be called orgy-light. There is another orgy where Anita sleeps with all the were-tigers in Las Vegas but fortunately we only have the "waking up after being influence by Marmee Noir" scene where Anita discovers that she slept with a 16-year-old boy, but we shouldn't be troubled because 16 is the age of consent in Nevada.
Here's the thing. Richard and the werewolves (except for Jason) don't make an appearance. Micah, Nathaniel and the were-leopards don't make an appearance. Asher and Damian don't make an appearance. Jean-Claude is notably absent (well, Asher and Jean-Claude are dead to the world in one scene and Jean-Claude calls Anita on the phone a couple times.) RPIT doesn't make an appearance; neither do most of her coworkers. No were-hyenas, were-rats, were-swans. No zombie-raising. With the exceptions of Edward, Bernardo and Olaf, if you appeared before "Dance Macabre" (book 14) you don't matter anymore. Probably because Anita's has already slept with you or, for RPIT, made it impossible to work along side her anymore. It's only new blood.
Anita Blake is part of a triumvirate with Richard and Jean-Claude; Richard had one scene in "Blood Noir" and Jean-Claude has been relegated to phone calls. Every bit of mythology that Laurell Hamilton has created has fallen to the wayside in her quest to find new characters for Anita to have sex with. And it's not even particularly good sex. The men are helpless to resist her and Anita has fully given up on trying to keep down the number of men in her harem. Anita Blake used to be a strong female character. Now she's a sexual Mary-Sue. How the mighty have fallen.
So, it's better than "Blood Noir". There is a bit of a story. But that's all I can say for it.
Rating: Readable
After the debacle that was Blood Noir, it seems that Laurell K. Hamilton remember to put a plot into her latest Anita Blake novel (book 17 in the series). I was unsure whether or not I wanted to read this book but decided to take it out of the library on the train-wreck premise. (You know, something you shouldn't really watch but can't bring yourself to turn away from.) It was worth a check-out.
Anita Blake is at work when a former enemy mails her the head of a fellow US marshall. The postmark is from Las Vegas, and there is a time crunch (he will strike again soon) so Anita takes off leaving her harem behind. She arrives in Las Vegas to find Edward, Bernardo Spotted Horse and Olaf already on scene, working with the equivalent of Las Vegas Supernatural SWAT. The serial killer is Vittorio, the vampire who escaped from Anita in "The Harlequin". She runs the investigation with her new paranormal friends and with some help from the Vampire Master of Vegas and his were-tigers (some of whom, if you will remember, Anita orgied with in "Blood Noir"). Vittorio has been regaining his vampire powers, which were originally taken away by Marmee Noir. This is one of the reasons Marmee has been after Anita; she wanted to use Anita as a tool to kill Vittorio. In the end, Anita manages to bring the bad guy down by distracting him with her sexual exploits on his captives while an unknown group kill of Marmee Noir.
See, a story. And there is only one orgy, and since it only involved two vampires/men, it could really be called orgy-light. There is another orgy where Anita sleeps with all the were-tigers in Las Vegas but fortunately we only have the "waking up after being influence by Marmee Noir" scene where Anita discovers that she slept with a 16-year-old boy, but we shouldn't be troubled because 16 is the age of consent in Nevada.
Here's the thing. Richard and the werewolves (except for Jason) don't make an appearance. Micah, Nathaniel and the were-leopards don't make an appearance. Asher and Damian don't make an appearance. Jean-Claude is notably absent (well, Asher and Jean-Claude are dead to the world in one scene and Jean-Claude calls Anita on the phone a couple times.) RPIT doesn't make an appearance; neither do most of her coworkers. No were-hyenas, were-rats, were-swans. No zombie-raising. With the exceptions of Edward, Bernardo and Olaf, if you appeared before "Dance Macabre" (book 14) you don't matter anymore. Probably because Anita's has already slept with you or, for RPIT, made it impossible to work along side her anymore. It's only new blood.
Anita Blake is part of a triumvirate with Richard and Jean-Claude; Richard had one scene in "Blood Noir" and Jean-Claude has been relegated to phone calls. Every bit of mythology that Laurell Hamilton has created has fallen to the wayside in her quest to find new characters for Anita to have sex with. And it's not even particularly good sex. The men are helpless to resist her and Anita has fully given up on trying to keep down the number of men in her harem. Anita Blake used to be a strong female character. Now she's a sexual Mary-Sue. How the mighty have fallen.
So, it's better than "Blood Noir". There is a bit of a story. But that's all I can say for it.
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