Archive for 2013
Elysium Review
Four years ago in 2009, Neil Blomkamp took the science fiction world by storm with a little diddy called District 9. That movie did everything right with excellent direction, great acting, and perfect world building. So, you can imagine how excited everyone was when Blomkamp announced his next endeavour, Elysium, would be another heavy science fiction film. We all waited with baited breath to see if this movie would live up to Blomkamp’s first feature film, and now it’s finally here. The Casual Vacancy Review
So I finally finished reading J.K. Rowling’s first non-Harry Potter book: The Casual Vacancy, which shows us just what Jo is capable of. This political comedy-drama is miles away from everybody’s favorite boy wizard, but I enjoyed reading it nonetheless. So is it worth adding The Casual Vacancy to your summer reading list?
Sea of Monsters Review
The sequel to 2010’s Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was a long time coming. The Sea of Monsters is an action-packed adventure that is fun for the whole family, that is, if your entire family is twelve years old. Yeah, it’s a kids movie, like the first one was, but it’s still fun to see the characters return to the big screen, along with a few new additions. Read on to find out more about the movie while I break it down.
Red 2 Review
Way back in 2010 (it really does feel like a long time ago), we were introduced to a hilarious rag tag team of Retired, Extremely Dangerous individuals. They provided us with a hilarious, action packed spy film that was 111 minutes of non-stop awesomeness. Now, three years later, the gang gets back together to stop another threat, but this time, things are a little...different. The Percy Jackson Series
Okay, the official title of the series is Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but that’s a bit long to fit into a blog post title. Either way, in light of the impending theatrical release of The Sea of Monsters, the movie based on book two of the series, I thought I’d give a rundown of the series written by Rick Riordan for those of you unwilling to read five books written for children.
The Conjuring Review
Most of you know that I’m a little girl at heart. I know that is an odd way to start a review, but just go with me. What I’m trying to say is: even though I scare very easily, I still really enjoy a good horror movie. But recently it’s been hard to come by a really excellent horror film. We had Cabin in the Woods, which was excellent, but more horror comedy than anything. And we also had Insidious and Sinister, which were superb horror films. But those have been the exceptions. Most of the horror films that come out nowadays are all about jump scares and graphic murders. This fact made me very hesitant about how good The Conjuring was going to be.
The Host Review
Everyone’s heard of Twilight, the supernatural teen romance series from author Stephenie Meyer. Well, it’s no surprise that after the success of that series, Hollywood would try to adapt another of Ms. Meyer’s works for the big screen. The Host is a novel published just after the last Twilight novel Breaking Dawn, and thankfully it’s only a stand-alone novel, not a series. So how did The Host turn out as a film? Is this a better lovestory than Twilight? Does the main character have more facial expressions than Kristen Stewart?
Brilliance by Marcus Sakey
Lets see...how do I start this review... Brilliance. It was brilliant? haha that was cheesy, but really it was a phenomenal book. It is nothing like anything I have read or watched before. Some people relate it to Heroes, but honestly I don’t see it at all.
RIPD Review
This summer has certainly had a lot of blockbusters, and it’s not over yet. I can hardly keep up with them all. Of all the movies I’ve seen so far this year, RIPD is not the worst one, although not the best either. RIPD is a supernatural comedic action flick with a bit of romance thrown in, and is overall an enjoyable film to watch. So what’s it all about anyway?
The Wolverine Review
Remember back in 2009 when they released a solo Wolverine movie and everyone was super excited? Yea, me too. I mean, how can you go wrong with an independent adventure a la X2, focused solely on the badass predator, Logan? Then we all saw that steaming pile of crap and lost all faith in a genuinely good solo Wolverine film. Thankfully, James Mangold came around and tried to make a faithful adaptation that would renew our faith in X-Men films (trying to wash out the stale taste of X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.) I’m so glad to say that he (mostly) succeeded. Pacific Rim Review
In a summer filled with ridiculous sequels (like Grown Ups 2) and even the good sequels (Despicable Me 2) it’s always nice to see an original property. And when that property involves a phenomenal director like Guillermo Del Toro, you have yourself a bona fide blockbuster. While the trailers didn’t offer a lot to be genuinely excited about, I still had faith in Del Toro to deliver something in the realm of Hellboy or Blade II. And, to a certain extent, he didn’t disappoint. Only God Forgives Review
Way back in 2011 the world was taken by storm by a little indie film called Drive. Though director Nicolas Winding Refn had been around the block a few times before, this was his first film to get huge recognition. It was nominated for numerous awards, but, disgustingly, lost most of them. I absolutely adored the film (in fact, it made my top five of 2011), so I was ecstatic when I heard that Gosling and Winding Refn were teaming up again for a potentially awesome film. Despicable Me 2 Review
Like many people, I absolutely loved Despicable Me when it came out back in 2010. So, just like most people, I was really excited to see the return of Gru, Agnes, Margo, Edith, and (of course) the minions. Everyone loved the first movie for its hilarious plot and phenomenal voice acting and with new additions, like the hilarious Kristen Wiig, Despicable Me 2 delivers a new, but oddly familiar kid’s movie that was almost as enjoyable as the first. White House Down Review
I won’t lie: I make judgements about movies before I see them. Some movies either look stupid, or the director has a bad track record, or a combination of the two. But since I have started writing movie reviews, I have forced myself to see some of those movies that I didn’t think looked any good. White House Down was one of those movies. It looked like a stupid action film, and it didn’t help that it had a not-so-reliable director behind it. Thankfully, everything I assumed about the movie was wrong.Late to the Party: Cassandra's Dream
I don’t think anyone is going to argue when I say: I watch a lot of movies. Even with the obscene amount of movie watching that I do, I am bound to miss a majority of films every year. I try to keep myself aware of as many films as possible in a given year, but it is very difficult. Inevitably, many great films slip past me. Thankfully, due to the internet and my movie loving friends, I get some great suggestions about films that I should watch, though most of these suggestions come years after the release. So, I decided I would start a recurring article where I will talk about those hidden gems (which are sometimes not so hidden...) that I’m finally getting around to seeing. The Lone Ranger Review
I have no idea what it is about Johnny Depp that makes people go absolutely nuts about movies he is in. I genuinely can’t remember the last live action performance of his that I really enjoyed. Maybe Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl? I think that he is, for the most part, a one note actor. He has played one character since the 90’s, and that is the weirdo. So, you can imagine how unexcited for this film I was. Did I really want to see Johnny Depp play the same character that he always plays...again? No. But did I want to see Gore Verbinski (potentially) make one of few excellent westerns in the 21st century? Hell yes. The Heat Review
I don’t think anyone needed much convincing when they heard that Bridesmaids director Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy were getting together to make another film. Throw Sandra Bullock into the mix and you have the makings of the phenomenally raunchy, buddy cop film. I was definitely on board with the concept and, luckily, the film delivered exactly what was promised. Best Philip K Dick Film Adaptations
Deadpool: The Game Review
Let me just say this upfront: Deadpool is, hands down, my favorite comic book character ever. I absolutely eat up anything he is in. I’ve bought every single comic that he was in for as long as I can remember. So, you can only imagine how excited I was when they announced (a really long time ago) that a video game was in the cards. My brother pre-ordered the game for me for Christmas last year (thanks again, Nick!) and so the countdown began. Thankfully, the game came last week, and I got my Deadpool fix for the week. And boy was it good.
Sequels Better than the Original: Video Game Edition
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Review
Yes, it’s a long name, but it’s definitely eye-catching. Ransom Riggs’ novel is a unique combination of YA fiction, sci fi, and old black-and-white photographs. It’s a unique work of art full of colorful characters and terrifying monsters, and a fantasy universe that you’ll love to dive into. Without giving away too much of the plot, I’ll attempt to tell you why you should read this book, and you definitely should.
Top 5 Philip K Dick Novels
As lots of you probably know, I love Dick. I know how that might sound, but I obviously mean the acclaimed science fiction author Philip K Dick (get your minds out of the gutter!) I remember when I was first introduced to Dick, which was all the way back in freshman year of high school. In my English 9 class, we were reading a bunch of sci-fi/dystopian books/stories, so we read Ayn Rand's Anthem, Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, and then Philip K. Dick's short story, Minority Report. In just five pages, Dick painted a beautiful story, with an elaborate world and great characters. I absolutely fell in love with his writing and went out and bought all of his books. I didn't read them all immediately, but eventually (five years later, in college) I finally got around to reading all of his novels, as well as his short stories. I plowed through a lot of different parallel universes, alternate realities, dystopian futures and loved every minute of it. Since he has way more short stories than novels, I thought it would be a good idea to just focus on his novels for this list. So, let me share with you my five favorite novels by my favorite author: Philip K. Dick.
Top 10 Vampire Movies
With Byzantium coming out this Friday, I thought it would be fun to do a countdown of my favorite vampire movies. For any of you who are unfamiliar with the films, I’ll give a brief description of the plot so you can get a feel for if you should see any of the movies!
The Purge Review
When I talk about my favorite science fiction books or movies, I tend to bring up one topics over and over again. And that topic is world building. In order to succeed at making a quality sci-fi film, in my opinion at least, one needs to first focus on the world building, and once that is established...then comes the easy part. So, when I first saw the trailer for The Purge, I got a little excited, because it looked like it established a really cool not so distant dystopia where lots of weird stuff could happen. I was right about part of that.Great Soundtrack Composers: Randy Newman
As stated in my blog bio, I love listening to movie soundtracks; in fact it’s probably my number one music genre. There’s a long list of soundtrack composers which I’m a fan of, and so I thought I’d start writing blog posts on these composers. In honor of the recently released Monsters University, I’ve decided to write this one on Randy Newman.
Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Back in high school, I went through a phase where I read a lot of fantasy books. A few of those were written by a little guy called Neil Gaiman. Ever since then, I have followed his career by buying all of his novels, and, honestly, loving every last one. Ocean at the End of the Lane is a phenomenal addition to Neil Gaiman’s already stunning bibliography. With novels like Stardust, Neverwhere, Good Omens, and American Gods, it wasn’t hard to believe that this novel would be another home run. And I’m so glad that it was.
World War Z Review
Back in 2007, my sophomore year of high school, I read a book that floored me. That book was Max Brook’s Zombie Survival Guide. It isn’t a narrative novel, but boy is it good. Max Brooks paints an excellent picture of what the world would be like if zombies existed. He makes up facts that become completely believable. This man was a god in my eyes. Then, my friend told me he had already written another zombie book. I was sold before I even opened the front cover. But then a few years ago I heard they were going to make this novel, World War Z, into a film. Confused as to how this might happen, I was cautiously optimistic about the outcome. Horns Review
Joe Hill’s novel, Horns, is a terrific page-turner, and will soon become a major motion picture starring Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe. Ignatius “Ig” Perrish awakens one morning with a wicked hangover and horns growing out of his head! This is the last thing he needs, because he has many other problems in his life at the moment. For starters, his former girlfriend was recently raped and murdered by an unknown perpetrator, and to top it all off, everyone thinks he did it, although the police never found enough evidence to charge him with anything. Are these problems of his related in any way, or is this guy just generally unlucky?
Man of Steel Review
Superman is, debatably, the greatest superhero of all time. He is almost definitely the greatest of the DC heroes (with Batman a close second.) So it is kind of a mystery, at least to me, why there hasn’t been more of a push for a quality Superman movie in the last, oh, two decades? Yes, we had Superman Returns, which blew, so I ignore that. What was the last good Superman film? 1980’s Superman II. So what was the idea behind the newest incarnation of Supes? Let’s revamp Superman II and try and make it new and original, while still being awesome. And I must say...they succeeded...to an extent.Monsters University Review
Pixar has come a long way since Toy Story. They excel in creating lovable characters and heartwarming stories that entertain children and adults of all ages. As their first ever prequel, Monsters University is a great addition to the Pixar résumé, and it reminded me why I love Pixar films. It was great to see Mike and Sully back on the silver screen for another fun-filled adventure.
E3 2013: Nintendo
WARNING: LARGE WALL OF TEXT APPROACHING
Full
disclosure. I’m a Nintendo fanboy. When I was younger you couldn't have
paid me to have a Sony or Microsoft game product under my roof. I’m not
as bad as I used to be. Hell, I even own a PS2 and Xbox 360 now.
However, when push comes to shove, I will back Big N to the grave.
Naturally this means that I was super excited for the recent Nintendo
Direct that came out of E3. At first I was a little skeptical with the
fact that Nintendo was eschewing the traditional big show, but after all
has been said and done, I’m very pleased with the result.
Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant
Anyone who knows me knows that I love anything to do with zombies. But I've already talked in length about my love for zombies in my Warm Bodies Review. So, when I went on vacation in April, you can imagine that I was looking for a good zombie story to enjoy while sitting by the pool. And I can confidently tell you that I found it.
Sequels Better than the Original: Movie Edition
In my life, I have seen a lot of movies. And that includes a fair amount of franchises. Whether it be a trilogy, septology, or anything in between, there are lots of movies out there that have one (or more) sequels. It has become fairly standard that franchises decline over time, peaking with the first installment and then gradually losing steam. But there are a few exceptions to this rule, below I have listed some of my favorite sequels and how they improved upon the original installment in their franchise.
Game of Thrones Season 3 Storylines Ranked
Well, season 3 is over, and we’ll have to wait a long time for season 4. There’s been a few deaths, a few marriages, and a lot of nudity. One of the things I like about the series is that there are so many storylines that all intersect. I’m going to attempt to rank the storylines of season 3 by how interesting I found them, how much character development occurred within them, and generally which ones had the coolest things happen within them.Mitch Albom's The Timekeeper Review
Mitch Albom, the author behind Tuesdays with Morrie and a few other books, published his most recent novel in September 2012. It’s called The Timekeeper, and it’s a delightful tale about the origin of Father Time and the reasons behind man’s constant counting of the hours.
