On Books. Lots of Books.

Now that the movies are taken care of, it's time for a Book Update. This last year, I've read more aggressively than I ever thought I would. A total of 6 books since January! It may not sound as much, but it's a personal best! And I hope to continue like this. Anyway, here's what I've tackled during my long hiatus:

Not a novel, but a short story based on the Cthulhu and Sherlock Holmes mythos. It mixes the two verses together in a very clever way, and also throws in some references to other classic stories like Dracula and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I discovered Gaiman just recently, and I'm thoroughly hooked. This story also has a twist ending, which I didn't expect at all! It really helps to be familiar with both Cthulhu and Holmes in order to get into it.

I finished reading Blackout, by Connie Willis. Honestly, I've been reading this for almost a year, with several intermissions to read other things. But despite that, I really enjoyed this take on time travel/historical drama. This novel receives a lot of criticism because of the characters' actions, which often seem random and pointless. They mostly just go from place to place, never accomplishing anything and missing each other. But I think that this is the essence of what Willis is tries to tell us about history. The greatest of events are the result of lots of little coincidences that seem random at the best of times. That's just what history is. This is why I believe that Blackout deserves more praise and thought than it gets. I got the sequel (which apparently isn't actually a sequel) a few days ago. This one won the Nebula, so I'm really looking forward to it!

Now for the stuff I started to read during the hiatus. I like to read at least two books at a time. Otherwise I get bored and loose interest. At the moment, I have two. The Golem and the Jinni by Helen Wecker, and A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. Greatly enjoying them both!

She's Alive!! She's Alive!!!!! With a Movie Update!

Wow! Took a nice long hiatus. More than a moth without a single post! This does not mean, however, that I haven't been busy! I have lots of things to write about! I got a job. I started working on my visa. I even went on a trip! There will several posts to get up to date. First up is a Movie Update!

Pixar's Monsters University is the best animated movie I've seen in a very long time! I liked it better than Monsters Inc.! I guess I'm sensitive to the whole university and coming of age feel to the story. This is definitely a movie for college students! Dialogue was witty and the jokes were ageless! And the story was smart and greatly entertaining!

The best Superman movie in forever! A Superman I can believe! I loved the scenes in Krypton. I'd never seen the Kryptonian society and culture explored as deeply as this movie did. Henry Cavill was the perfect Clark, and Michael Shannon was the perfect Zod. Although the movie seemed rushed at certain moments, and slow at others, it was still very good. I REALLY hope they make the Justice League movie!!

 
Not Will Smith's best role. Not by a long shot. And as far as acting abilities go, Jaden Smith is not his father's son. The special effects and action scenes were good, and the futuristic interpretation was original, but the story was bland and the acting was.....blander. The thing I liked most was the allegory with Moby Dick. Earth had become the whale, and it the Smiths were the crew of the Pequod. Man versus nature, and all that. That was very beautiful. But the rest of the movie was hard to enjoy.

This movie was not what I expected. But it was so good! Suspense at it's finest, with incredible actors and a twist ending you never see coming. And it's not just the ending. There's a twist every half hour! And you're completely fooled to the very end. I always love a good crime drama, and this was particularly jaw-dropping one!

I don't know why this movie has such terrible reviews. Yes, Tonto steals the spotlight and overshadows the Ranger. Yes, Johnny Depp's performance was the same as it is in most of his other movies (though there are tiny little subtleties that allow me to forgive it). Yes, Johnny Depp is not Native American. Yes, the movie's mood is very different from the original series'. But it was still a very enjoyable film! The action, drama and humor are incredibly well balanced. The dialogue is very witty and the story is classic western goodness. Not the movie of the year, grant you. But I had a great time watching this. Beyond that, I watched with a dear friend of mine that I hadn't gone to the movies with in more than a year. So, it had some sentimental weight.

Pacific Rim....What can I possibly say about Pacific Rim. Well, no other sci fi movie has disappointed me as much as Pacific Rim since.....I don't know. This movie's worst crime is taking a very good and attractive idea and smothering it was an unbearably cheesy script, HORRIBLE acting, and forced humor. The only thing that saves this movie for me is the awesome battle scenes, the cool monsters, and the giant robots  (I just can't hate a giant robot). The cinematography and visual effects were also impressive. But I just can't get over the bad acting and the lame script.

Well, those are the hiatus movies. That took care of quite a few in the list! Next post will be a Book Update!