Review of the Road

 The road is a movie about a father and son as they try to survive a nuclear winter and all the death and decay it brings. Most movies of this type usually follow how the lead characters survive the actual event but this movie shows what is happening five years after and the collapse of mankind and how food has become scarce and the chief fear is cannibalism. This is a very depressing movie with very few and far between light moments, which fits the story and mood of the film. The movie is very long as well clocking in at nearly two hours. I honestly don't know if I'd recommend it, Viggo Mortensen delivers a great performance but I don't think it's enough to recommend the movie on. If you like apocalyptic movies then give it a whirl, but it may not be worth your time if you don't enjoy that genre.

Read Through the Looking Glass

I read through the looking glass in hopes to shed a little more light on the new Disney movie. While there were Some things mentioned in the book, it was not the book the movie was based off of. I wonder if the movie is based off a book at all or just the Alice universe. This book, like all the books in Wonderland, seems filled with udder nonsense. The version I had did not have any of the poems (it was the free version) so I may have missed out on a little. There were a few things in the movie that are mentioned here, like catching a bandersnatch, but this book seems to be about a romp through a chess game with strange Wonderland creatures on each different square that Alice must cross. It was a short read and if you are caught up in Alice in Wonderland fever then by all means pick it up.

Dual review of Time Machine

Similar to War of the Worlds, I read and watched the time machine. Once again the book and the movie differ , but this time it seems they vary greatly. The book once again takes place in London while the movie follows an American professor. One thing the book does that is very unique is that it never assigns a name to the main character, it just calls him the time traveler. The movie makes the traveler's goals of creating the machine a little less noble and more selfish, but many of the book's values remain intact. Questioning the industrial revolution and man's self destructive nature. I like how these classic books usually have a moral of some sorts, so we can better ourselves by reading them.
To cap it off, I would recommend the book highly, the movie could be missed without much detriment.

Review of Alice in Wonderland

I got to see the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland and really enjoyed it. I heard a few bad reviews, but I think most of them were really misinformed and were basing the review off the Disney cartoon. I am under the impression that this is based off the second book, "Through the Looking Glass". I have yet to read it but the movie is really well made. It follows an older Alice as she heads back into wonderland. Most of the wonderland characters are CG animations with the actors faces imposed on the body. The effect was executed beautifully and fit well within a Burton universe.
All in all I recommend this movie, the story was enjoyable and the imagery was amazing.

See Princess and the Frog

Disney's latest animated film got released on DVD this week and I was eager to see how it was. It seems like it has been a while since there has been a Disney animated movie, they have been computer graphics in the flavor of toy story and cars. This movie was also the first time Disney made the princess black and not dependent on a prince charming to swoop in and give her the happily ever after she dreams of. I really like the movie's message of wishing gets you part way there but hard work will carry you on through. Also I really have to give Disney credit for executing this film flawlessly. There were many racial pitfalls to dance around but they did an awesome job of it.
The story was good, a more modern take on a classic, and the music was very enjoyable.  All in all, it's exactly what you expect from Disney.

See Boondock Saints 2: All Saint's Day

I've made it a St. Pat's day tradition to watch Boondock Saints and last year they released the sequel to theaters without much fanfare ( I think largely due to it competing with Avatar) and now the DVD release just in tome for St. Pat's is perfect. I love the first one and this one keeps the same mood, tempo and feel. If you haven't seen the first one won't enjoy this one as much than if you know the character's back stories.
This is a great sequel and will be added to my St. Pat's tradition!

Dual review of War of the Worlds

This is going to be a dual review of War of the Worlds. I read the classic novel this week and wanted to cap it off by watching the recent movie with Tom cruise. I'll start off with my thoughts on the novel. It was written some time ago so the verbiage can be difficult to grasp at times and it's set in London and I'm not too familiar with that area, but the author does a great job of relaying the curiosity that turns to terror as the Martians land and start ravaging the human race.
The film adaptation grasps the general feel of the book, but varies greatly. It's set in more modern times in America and it follows a father with his children instead of a husband. The imagery is very well done and it does line up with what a lot of what I think the Martians would look like, but there is a lot of creative license taken to stretch the book to two hours of movie.
I enjoyed both and think it would be a great idea for teachers to get students to compare and contrast them so they get exposed to the classic literature s well as pop culture version.


~Klint

Review of Bad Company 2

I picked up bad company 2 after trying the multiplayer beta out on xbox live and really enjoying it. The multiplayer stresses teamwork and communication over lone wolf tactics and Rambo run and gun techniques. The fact that most of the players in Modern Warfare employ that methodology kept me from buying that game. I'm really starting to enjoy the online game (a rare thing for me) and the single player campaign is challenging. One of the best things about the game that takes getting used to is the fact that nearly all buildings are destructible. It makes tactics change when enemies are guarding a door you can blow a hole in the wall with a grenade or a skylight with C4.
I like this game mostly because it isn't something BRAND new, but it's a new seasoning on a familiar dish.

Review Mass Effect 2

 

Where to begin with game? I never got around to playing the first game and now I truly regret I didn't. The story in this game is so rich and deep that the dialog sections are almost as enjoyable as the combat and missions. The game almost plays like a movie and the way the dialog choices are set up you pick a "feel" for how you want to respond as opposed to reading out your entire response beforehand. I think that this feature alone makes the dialog more enjoyable to experience.

I can't write enough positive stuff about this game. If you own an xbox360 you owe it to yourself to at LEAST rent the game.

Watched Time Traveler's Wife

I watched time traveler's wife at the recommendation of my wife. It was a decent story with some good acting, but this definitely strays from my realm of usual picks. This falls under the category of sappy sad lo e stories that I never understood why chicks enjoy watching movies that make them sad but wifey really enjoyed it so it must be a good chick flick. Not a lot I walked away with thinking was great or memorable, but again, this is not my usual genre. I'll close by saying it's a good movie, just not my favorite flavor of ice cream.

Read A Game of Thrones

I just finished reading "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin which is a pretty hefty midievil fantasy novel and the first in a series that is to span 7 books.  The book follows the Stark family and some other characters ranging from outlaws, knights, and rival lords.  Usually if I pick up this kind of book there is a fair amount of magic, dragons, etc in it but most of what this book is about a honorable lord that gets pressed into service as the king's Hand (the guy who runs the kingdom because the king is off having too much fun) and his conflict between friendship, honor and uncovering a consipiracy.  A LOT of political manuvering happens and it is done in such a way that it is actually entertaining.  I'm looking forward to getting the 2nd book started.