Thursday, May 28, 2009

W.

Something I have recently learned about Oliver Stone movies: They make lousy theater flicks - but they're great to watch on DVD.

Think back to JFK, Alexander, and now W. all of these films are too long for a theater showing. Even W., clocking in at 2 hours, seems to stumble on forever.

But they're good on DVD because you can turn them off and go live life, and come back to engage once again.

W. stars:

Josh Brolin as George W. Bush
Toby Jones as Karl Rove
Jeffery Wright as Colin Powell
Thandie Newton (MI:2) as Condi Rice
Scott Glenn as Donald Rumsfeld
Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney
and James Cromwell as George H. W. Bush

This film documents George W Bush's rise in politics, his family life and the process that led to the Iraq War.

I like how they spun this film: Like him or love him, George W Bush is one of the most controversial persons of our time.

This film doesn't cater to any one point of view; they show his drinking problems, they show his turn to faith in Jesus, they show his presidency.

I enjoyed this film, but next time, I'll be sure to hit the pause button a few times.

Marley & Me

Marley & Me is exactly what you think it will be: funny for the first third and incredibly sad for the last.

Starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston as two newspaper reporters who get married and begin a life together, this film goes through the life of one dog, Marley, whom they pick out of a litter.

From the beginning, you know this pup will be trouble as he destroys the garage while waiting for the two to return from the airport.

All through his life, Marley wreaks havoc, but he has the unending love of a puppy. And that is what's truly sad about this film.

Why are all animal movies like this? You always know what's going to happen, why put yourself through it. The only reason I can see is if you need a good cry and haven't had the excuse for a long time.

The filmmakers really do milk the crying/emotional aspect during the film's final moments, but while you're watching it, you don't care enough to complain. You're too busy making a mess of your shirt.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The Rook by Steven James

The Rook is the second novel in The Patrick Bowers Files.

Patrick is the main character. He solves crimes. There is usually a Mission Impossible-like plot to the story.

Someone is setting fires to buildings. Someone is kidnapping girls and drowning them in tanks, then posting the videos online.

Someone is trying to create a machine involving sharks.

And somehow they're all interconnected.

Patrick Bowers has to figure out the mastermind of these crimes before something terrible happens. And, of course, his step-daughter is in the thick of it with him. So you know she'll be involved.

I enjoy Steven James' novels. They're full of detail and suspense. You truly never know who the villain will be until he unveils him and then you smack your head because it's so simple.

His books are great for the problem solving/Sherlock Holmes-loving readers.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

I attempted to read one more "classic" story - H.G. Wells' The Time Machine.

The way people wrote stories back in the day is very different than what I'm used to. For the books I read, I don't know all the answers until the final twist.

For books that fall under the genre, "Classic" (i.e. Jekyll & Hyde, Invisible Man, etc...) you already know how things turn out.

Take this book for example. The Time Traveler invites his audience to his flat for dinner. As they are waiting for him to join them at the table, he stumbles out of a doorway and proceeds to tell them the story of his adventure traveling through time.

There shouldn't be any suspense because you already know that he survives the ordeal. Perhaps the purpose of this book, like it's classic cousins, is to inform the reader of some deeper point than just to deliver an action adventure story.

Having said all that, I am glad I finally picked it up and finished it.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Star Trek

J.J. Abrams has directed a beautiful motion picture called Star Trek. He and his writers decided to re-boot the story and take us back to Kirk and Spock; before the original series.

When a Romulan miner goes through a wormhole, he goes back through time to destroy a planet (I won't spoil too much). Because of this change in history, Jim Kirk's father is killed before he's supposed to and we're given an alternate history.

Many Star Trek fans are not happy with this new spin, but the film's creators wanted their own take on the franchise and this was how they could do it.

Chris Pine plays James T. Kirk. Having never heard of this guy before, I was a little worried. But fear not. Pine does a fantastic job at the brashness of Kirk. He will make a fine starship captain. Except, it seemed as if he was getting beat up all through film.

Zachary Quinto plays Spock. We get to see what it was like for him to grow up on Vulcan and being teased for being half-human. He is the one who designed a training exercise that Kirk cheats at to win. They aren't the best of friends we've known them to be at the beginning of this film. Once again, Quinto does a nice job at Spock and making it some of his own.

Eric Bana is the villain, Nero. We don't get much of his story or see much of him. But we was terrific as the bad guy.

Karl Urban plays Dr. McCoy (Bones) and you believe him as soon as you meet him. The voice and his paranoia is perfect. Great job by Urban.

Finally, Simon Pegg plays Scotty. He's a funny guy and I was surprised at how his character joined the Enterprise family. I didn't really care for his small assistant as if Pegg needs someone to help him with comedy.

Star Trek is a great summer ride. It's fun and funny. Lots of action and crisp looking shots. If you aren't a Trek fan, you should still give this re-boot a try. You'll probably end up enjoying it.

Monday, May 4, 2009

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is full of characters.

Most of which have less than 5 minutes of screen time. The cast includes: Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth, Kevin Durand (LOST) as Blob, Dominic Monaghan as Bolt, Taylor Kitsch as Gambit, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, and Tim Pocock as Cyclops. Plus many many more.

But like I said most characters are a fleeting guest. This movie revolves around Wolverine vs Sabertooth vs William Stryker. An officer who is trying to "build" a team of super-humans. I quote the term build because it's a plot device. I don't want to spoil the film if you haven't seen it.

The movie shows Sabretooth and Wolverine to be related. They both survive multiple wars until they are recruited by Stryker.

Things have a way of going bad and Wolverine quits.

Flash forward a few years and someone is killing off the team of super-humans on Stryker's team.

But there's more to Stryker than building a team.

This film has some cussing in it. The violence is PG-13 which means there's hardly any blood (if any). There's no sexual content except for a scene with Wolverine and his girlfriend? resting in bed.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a good summer eye-candy flick. Some of the diehard fans of certain characters won't be happy with what was done to their favorites, but I thought it was a fun film.

Be sure to stick around after the credits for a short scene.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Star Trek: Countdown

Star Trek Countdown is a graphic novel telling the story of what happens before the major motion picture, Star Trek.

We learn that the villain of the movie, Nero, is a Romulan miner. They discover a star that is going nova (utter destruction) and, with the help of Ambassador Spock who now lives on Romulus, attempt to persuade the Romulans to ask for Vulcan assistance or meet their doom.

The Romulans refuse and their planet is destroyed. That's right; the planet from Star Trek Nemesis is destroyed.

Nero takes his Borg-amplified ship to seek out and destroy Spock. While in pursuit both ships get pulled into a black hole.

Thus begins the movie.

Star Trek: Countdown is a fun adventure all on its own. It gives fans a little background to this new villain while building on the anticipation for the film.

It also answers some of the questions concerning Captain Picard and Data/B4.

I'm not sure what non Star Trek fans would think of this...the artwork is great! So there's that much for them.

Aliens vs Predator: Prey by Steve Perry

This was a romp down my days of youth. I remember reading this and wishing for the movie to come out.

Since then, they've made 2 movies and they are both something awful!

Prey deals with a desert-like planet of ranchers who are raising something like a cow.

The Predators travel to the planet to hunt the Aliens. And, you guessed it, the humans get trapped in the middle.

The pack of Predators are full of students. They are learning how to hunt the Aliens. Their teachers, who gets wounded, befriends a woman and they hunt the Aliens together.

Aliens vs Predator: Prey is based on the Dark Horse graphic novels.

It's a very short book, but it brings back the memories.

This one was just for fun!