Book Review: Plan for Chaos

I had been going about my life thinking that I had read all of John Wyndham's books (The Chrysalids, The Day of the Triffids, The Midwich Cuckoos, etc.) but after recently getting a library card in Auckland I came across a book of his I'd never even heard about before: Plan for Chaos.  Seeing as his books have been some of my favourites, I immediately took it out and put it at the top of my reading list.

To be honest I was a tad bit disappointed.  Unlike all of his other novels, which deal with something a little supernatural (or at least different), this one was pretty ordinary - though not realistic really.  The basic plot is that a bunch of identically looking women are turning up dead of apparent suicides.  The catch, the main character's fiancee looks exactly like these women.  So he goes on a search to find out what is going on and realizes that not only does his fiancee (who is also his cousin - yes, a little strange on that count) have several doubles, but that so does he.

Soon he is kidnapped by the doubles and their reason for being and their purpose and conection is revealed.  But to put it bluntly, I was not convinced.  I don't like revealing details, but it does involve a plot for worldwide domination and cloning (though, this probably was a very advanced thing to write about in the 50s).

This was not a page turner for me, by any means. The style seemed very different than his other novels, though for a brief bit at the beginning it had a film noir kind of feel to it - a nice detective story.

Seeing as this book was first published in 2009 (he died in 1969) and he had been working on it at the same time as one of his first novels (The Day of the Triffids) I would think it a safe assumption that he never intended this to be published at all.  Though I definitely prefer his other books, it was interesting to see this one, though I'm not going to go so far as to recommend it.

Movie Review: American Reunion

Yes, they're back.  Again.  For those of you in my age bracket, you probably remember the summer of '99 very fondly and how the original American Pie shocked you and made you pretty much roll on the floor in laughter.  For it's time it was quite the raunchy movie.  And it has now spawned (cause that's what happens when you... um... you know... hey, it's perfectly natural) three sequels (at least three that made it to theatres).  This one continues the story, 13 years on.

Apparently everyone forgot to have a 10 year reunion, so someone decided to hold one for their 13th.  Pretty much all the characters from the first three have returned, even if just for a short while, including some holdouts from the 3rd movie (American Wedding).  All of their lives have changed: Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) have a boy (who doesn't really figure into things), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) is married and pretty much house-whipped, Oz (Chris Klein) is a TV star, Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) is.. well, that's part of the fun of the movie, and Jim's dad is sadly single after Jim's mom passed away.  Stifler is (Seann William Scott)... still Stifler.

As a 4th addition in a series, American Reunion isn't actually all that bad.  It has both raunchy and endearing moments, which is what, in my mind really stood out in the original.  Though it's not really a ground shattering film, it did have me in quite a bit of laughter at times.  For those of you who haven't seen the first three, many of the jokes will likely go over your head.  By 1999 standards this movie goes places that would be shocking, but after movies such as The Hangover and it's sequel this isn't all that shocking - though one part of it made me more disgusted than one part of Wedding.

Eugene Levy really does steal the show as Jim's Dad in his scenes and definitely adds to the awkwardness that really makes this movie.  Way to support the home team, eh? (FYI, check his IMDB page to see his hometown and you'll understand my comment).

So if you want a good laugh and a nice walk down memory lane (a lot of the music is from the 90s as well) this is definitely worth a few dollars or pounds.  If you get offended easily (hahaha, that's two movies in a row I've said this) I wouldn't go see this.  If you don't like full frontal nudity (of the male variety) then I would also recommend you don't see this.

I give this two thumbs up (sorry, that's also an in-joke).

Movie Review: Project X

It's been a while since I saw this, so things aren't so fresh in my mind at the moment.

Project X is about three boys (Thomas, Costa, and JB) who throw a birthday party when one of their parents go away for the weekend. The boys aren't exactly popular and are trying to use the party to change that. It begins with the boys planning the party and going all over to get. My first warning to you is that if you can't handle excessive bad language and crudeness, don't even bother. You'll get offended in the first 30 seconds or so. Anyone who's seen the trailers for this movie will be forgiven for not being nervous for the boys, since you'll know that the party does happen and that people do show up.

Basically what follows would be the proverbial "Gong Show." People arrived, get drunk and do crazy stuff. It sounds boring (and to some it would be), but it has it's funny moments (for example, the over-the-top security guards).

Throughout the story there is a love triangle (when is there not?) as the party escalates into utter chaos. The ending is a bit over the top, but I think that's the point. This is definitely a movie that caters to the imaginations of teens and others slightly older, so don't expect much in the way of insights into life, but be ready to see some things you just thought you'd never see.

The acting is fairly well done. I found the boys to be completely believable, though why any of them would be friends with Costa is beyond me, but that's the way highschool goes I guess. I heard a rumour that the boys were cast through some sort of contest, though I'm too lazy at the moment to look it up so I could be completely wrong.

Anyway, if you like crude humour (American Pie, Hangover, etc.) then you'll probably enjoy this. It's one of a recent group of found footage films (Cloverfield, Chronicle) that I personally enjoy. So there you have it. Not for everyone, but definitely worth it if you can stomach the juvenileness of the whole thing.

Book Review: Warm Bodies

What is it with me and reading books with questionable titles?

Anyway, the Zombie craze soldiers on. I'm sure many have noticed a recent number of both movies and books dealing with the subject (I'll put a list at the bottom of this for good measure, in case you didn't notice). Warm Bodies, by Isaac Marion, takes the zombie story in a new direction: a zombie in love. Not only that, but the book is written from the perspective of the zombie, R, which puts the whole thing into perspective. They may be dead, but they do have feelings and needs.

The basic plot of the story is that while on a routine feeding trip, R decides that instead of eating Julie, to save her and keep her safe. R's friend M (the Zombies can't really remember a lot, but some of them can remember tidbits, and some can even speak) at first doesn't think this is a good idea. Through twists and turns we follow these two young lovers in their quest to unite two families... er... groups of individuals (people isn't really an appropriate word when dealing with the undead) who are otherwise at war with each other. Throw in Julie's best friend Nora, and a an attack on a human named Trevor and you might start to see some similarities between this story and another, more famous one (1000 Internet points for whomever can post which story I'm talking about first).

I don't like revealing much more, but if you like zombies and seeing new things done with old ideas (and I mean two old ideas here) then this is definitely well worth your time. I could barely put it down.

In my search for a bit more info on the book, I also learned that it will be made into a movie, opening in 2013. What can you do? This usually happens to good (and often not-so-good) books.

As promised, here is a list of some of the better quality zombie (or similar) movies of the past few years. It's short, but I liked these ones in particular. Post any other ones that you thought were good.

Books:

• World War Z, Max Brooks (Also going to be a movie in 2013 starring Brad Pitt)
• Zone One, Colson Whitehead

Movies and TV Shows

• Zombieland
• The Walking Dead (TV)
• 28 Days Later
• Dawn of the Dead
• Shaun of the Dead

Book Review: Blonde Bombshell

Now, I'm sure that after I put "Blonde Bombshell" as a tag, I'll get a lot of visitors that weren't expected a book review. Ha!

Recently I finished my second book by Tom Holt (the first being Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Sausages). You may notice that the one thing both titles have in common are that they are a bit on the silly side. That is a good indication of what's inside the books. The best label I could put on Blonde Bombshell is that it's a sci-fi comedy. No doubt this is following in the footsteps of Douglas Adams (side note, I saw his grave today) and of Futurama. It's an odd little book, which has a distinctive British feel to it (don't ask me what that is, if you know what I'm talking about, you'll understand) even though none of it is set in England.

The basic plot is that a smart bomb (read that literally) has been sent to destroy earth after the first attempt failed. This bomb then creates a probe which takes on a human form (or dirter, as the bomb initially calls them - think Earth=dirt and then it makes sense) and tries to blend in as a human in order to find out what happened to the first bomb. Strangely enough, things happen to the probe and it starts to become... well, human. We then follow an ensemble group of characters (some of which are definitely not werewolves) in the quest to stop the destruction of the planet against unknown (or are they?) forces. I won't reveal much, but if you liked those two things I mentioned above, you'll surely like this.

There is a lot of "foreshadowing" that is fairly obvious, but that's part of the fun of the book. Things are suggested, but often not fully explained until later. It's like the reader is having a nice "in-joke" with the author. Definitely worth checking out and in the future, I'm going to try to find more of his books to read.

That's all for now. It's late and I'm tired.

Movie Review: The Hunger Games

Imagine a world where teenagers are forced to fight to the death. Now imagine that fight is a hugely popular reality TV show. You'd probably get something resembling The Hunger Games, which could also be described as what you'd get if The Truman Show and Gladiator had a baby (how many of you are imagining a baby that looks somewhere in between Jim Carrey and Russell Crowe - not a pretty thought). But seriously, the result is pretty good.

The basic premise is that Katniss Everdene (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to be a "tribute" and fight to the death once her sister is selected. We then follow her journey towards participating in this ritual (which apparently is because of and in order to stop outbreaks of violence in what is definitely a modern-day version of Rome) and her relationships with the other tributes and those who are helping her get ready (Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz and the not so helpful Elizabeth Banks, though we can't blame that on her, that's just the character). You do the math though, there can only be one victor. Oh, did I forget to mention she just happens to be almost as good as Legolas with a bow and arrow. That surely will come in handy.

If I were basing my verdict of this movie solely on the premise, I'd give it pretty good marks. I mean, this is one messed up society. The scary part being how it doesn't seem to be too many steps away from what we have now. There is a huge emphasis (but not overwhelmingly so) on how good a show the whole thing is. It tells, but it doesn't preach.

But I don't base my judgments on premise alone (see here for probably my biggest disappointment). The execution (pun half intended) was also quite good. You get a good sense of what these kids are going through at times and that helps with understanding. It's not just a bunch of fighting (there's not actually all that much of it, really). You also get to see how those who control the "arena" (actually a big wilderness area) really do show a sense of detachment. They don't see these children as living things, just a pieces on a chessboard (a really, REALLY high-tech chessboard).

When I first saw the trailer for this movie I was hooked instantly (well, not Cloverfield hooked, but how often does that happen?). It was only recently that I had my doubts when I saw the massive marketing machine behind the movie. But I didn't let the teen target audience deter me from going and I'm glad I did. Certainly this is a way better movie for teens than Twilight (ugh, preview for the last one beforehand). Katniss is certainly a worthy hero and I can't imagine anyone not rooting for her.

The movie is based on the book (first of a trilogy, so guess where the movie's going...) by Suzanne Collins (who was recently featured in the Observer for this particular book). Guess what just jumped onto my reading list?

A lot has been said about this movie and there are definitely high expectations for it. I'd suggest you go give it a try. Even if it's not your thing, I think movies like this will make you think. Hopefully you'll see a little bit of our world in there. Will this happen? Probably not, but it does make one wonder what path we're on and what our current obsessions will lead to.

Watch the trailer (sorry, YouTube won't let me embed this).


Note: Last week I saw two movies that I'm hoping to put reviews up for soon, but it may take a few days. Also, a book review coming and some other stuff (if there's time).

Thought Provoking Magazines

Working at a library I get to see thousands of books, movies and magazines each day. More often than not I'll take a book out and not have time to read it (my latest failure - only due to being busy trying to move - is Naiomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine, which if the first chapter and a half would indicate, is a very engrossing book).

Magazines, however, are much easier to get through since they are often full of shorter articles. I have found two (well two and a half, but everyone knows about National Geographic already) that have been full of interesting and relevant articles (at least to me): Scientific American (this isn't something I discovered, but rather something I read a few times) and the New Internationalist (which I had never heard of until I saw it on the shelf one day).

A couple of examples as to why I enjoyed these magazines (which might spur you on or make you stay away from them):

- Scientific American recently did a huge feature issue on food and it's many issues. It talked about why there are discrepancies between food advice taken from studies (apparently scientists are only looking at nutrients in isolation and in fact they act together in your body - the best way to stay healthy is to eat a balanced diet with natural foods, lots of vegetables, few servings of junk food, and to get regular exercise - advice that is as simple as it is tried, tested and true). The issue also dealt with obesity (in developed and developing countries) and how food can be addictive. It was very informative and based in facts not some fad diet guru trying to sell his newest plan to lose weight and be lazy at the same time. The potential downside to this magazine is that often the language is very complex and hard to understand (in a scientific kind of way, not in a Chaucer kind of way)

- New Internationalist frequently does similar things in each issue. It takes a topic (depleted uranium, corporate responsibility and Darfur are three recent examples) and discuess different aspects of them at length. It gives facts and statistics to help paint an accurate picture of the topics. This magazine is definitely not for those who aren't into international issues.

So if you're interested, check out their websites, read them in libraries and if you like them, subscribe.

Movie Review: Cube

Ok, so despite having the day completely off and having a lot of things to post about (I watched so many movies this week I'm not sure I could remember them), I didn't get to posting until I needed to get to bed. So unfortunately this is going to be a bit short.

I had never heard of Cube until my sister told me about it and lent me a copy to watch (as with many great things I talk about on here, my sister is once again the source). I was actually pretty excited to watch what some would call a horror movie.

Cube starts with us meeting several people (it ends up that we see 7 in total) who awake to find themselves in cubed rooms of different colours. They find each other and try to find a way out of this cubed prison. There is a small catch though: some of the rooms are booby trapped. Using skills they all have, they work together to try to find a way out.

You can bet that things don't go exactly as planned and some gory things happen. I'll be honest about the gore: it's not that bad. Yes there are some gross things, but there is definitely much worse out there. So if you're looking for gore, look elsewhere.

Where Cube is brilliant is the way in which the characters act. The whole situation is absurd, but they do what they can to try to get out. We are never told why they are in the cube, who made the cube, or anything else. All we know is that they need to get out.

What makes the movie even better is that, not only was it made in Canada, but it was also filmed on a single fourteen by fourteen foot set (with different coloured panels to show the different rooms). Very low budget but very scary nonetheless.

For anyone who wants a psychological thriller I would definitely suggest Cube. I give it a 3.25/4.

I saw some other good movies this week so perhaps I'll find the time to fit in reviews later in the week...

Movie Review: Jarhead

I never really had that much desire to see Jarhead, but I thought I should (for some reason I thought it was a good movie). To be fair, I don't think it is a bad movie. I have heard that it portrays a realistic view of the gulf war (but then again, I could be mistaken).

Jarhead follows Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) through boot camp, time in the Saudi Arabian desert and fighting (briefly) in Kuwait during the (first) Gulf War. Also included in the cast are Jamie Foxx and Peter Sarsgaard. The movie doesn't appear to have any purpose other than to show the almost pointlessness of the war - but even that comes more from me wanting to find that in the movie than it actually being there. Sure there are the comments about only being there to protect the oil fields, and about not taking pills to act against the potential chemical attacks, but I think those are more a documentation of what happened as opposed to a statement about it.

Some scenes are fairly brutal, but I didn't find anything to be too graphic (but keep in mind my generation has been completely desensitized to violence). I found the psychological issues to be scarier than the threat of physical danger in this movie.

There's not much else to say about this movie. I would certainly suggest it to get a glimpse of what the war was like (though I would much rather see Black Hawk Down for that same purpose - maybe I'll watch/review that some day). I give Jarhead a 3/4. It's not a great movie, but it is something that I would recommend to most people - though some may find the actions of the characters immature (albeit realistic). Check it out if you can...

On another note, I am going to try to get another streak of blog posts going so it's not just every once in a while. Look for some stuff about teaching and (FINALLY!) an updated problem of the day...

Movie Review: Paycheck

I find it fitting that my last post was about a Philip K. Dick novel and this next post (after a one week layoff) is about a movie based on a Philip K. Dick story.

Paycheck, starring Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman, tells the story of a reverse engineer (Affleck) who has his memory erased after each big job. We first see him copying a monitor that projects out towards the viewer. He is quickly offered a very big job for a very big sum of money ($92 million). When his memory is erased three years later he is told he forfeited his payment and he is given a new set of personal belongings. It is through these items that he tries to figure out what went on.

Compared to other Dick stories turned movies (granted I have only seen a few) this one has the same feel (I felt like I was watching Totall Recall at points) of a person who is unsure of what the truth is. Unfortunately we are given information as to what is really going on and who is behind everything. This lack of suspense truly hurts the movie and degrades the quality of the film. The acting is not that great either, but what can you expect with Ben Affleck? The movie also features Aaron Eckhart and Paul Giamatti.

The one thing that stands out is the premise. This movies shows the world as we know it but with a few minor adjustments here and there (the memory wiping for one and the computer monitors for another). It is fully believable (well, some of the science is questionable, but keep in mind that Dick died before I was even born - 1982 for those of you who don't know me well) and the human reactions are what are most interesting.

If you're a Sci-Fi fan (or just a fan of Philip K. Dick), then I would definitely recommend this movie. If you hate Sci-Fi and action chases then I would not recommend watching this movie - you're not missing anything important. I give this movie a 2.75/4: good for fans, but nothing special.

Book Review: Time Out of Joint

So I bet many of you are wondering what this book is. It's not exactly a well known book. The author, Philip K. Dick, may not be that well known to all of you either. Well, not exactly. Philip K. Dick is the author behind such movies as Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report and Screamers. He has written some great Science Fiction books (it was actually the release of another movie based on his books - one point in the problem of the day for anyone who emails me the name of that movie - that got me interested in him again) and I've read a few of them.

Time Out of Joint follows the story of Ragle Gumm. He lives an ordinary life in 1959 (the year the book was written). He is a longstanding winner of a newspaper contest and lives with his sister, his brother-in-law and his nephew. But something's not quite right. The book traces Gumm as he tries to figure out what exactly is going on.

So how good is the story? Well, I thought it was well written and kept me wanting to come back for more. Dick doesn't focus on big details. He writes as if from the perspective of the regular people and explains things in ways that makes sense to them. About halfway through the book we start to get clues as to what is going on (I won't give it away in this review, so don't worry).
These clues give us just enough information to keep us wanting more.

As far as being a Science Fiction book this one is great (though keep in mind, I'm not talking Star Wars or Star Trek Sci-Fi, but real Sci-Fi, like Dark City). I give this book a 3.5/4. There are some things that could change, but is a believable story and tells the tale of a chilling situation. If you like Sci-Fi books, I definitely recommend this (and other Dick stories, which will no doubt be reviewed in the future in this place).

Movie Review: Idiocracy

For starters let me apologize for my long layoff. I have been very busy lately and I'm trying to get things settled in my life. I figured now was a good time to get back into things. I may or may not have a book review to follow this movie review (we'll see how I feel).

My sister gave me Idiocracy recently and I only had a vague recollection of what it might be about. I read up on it in IMDb and was interested so I popped it in the DVD player last night.

The premise is simple: Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson) is frozen as part of an army experiment. Unfortunately the experiment does not go as planned and Bauers wakes up 500 years in the future. Apparently, due to stupid people breeding more than smart people, the average IQ has dropped quite a bit and everyone is stupid. The movie follows Bauers as he tries to get back home and solve the world's problems all at the same time.

Though not the best made movie, the premise is quite interesting and there are many hilarious moments throughout the movie. I wonder though, if the silliness and stupidity of the movie is on purpose. It has been surmised (on IMDb message boards - though I have to say I agree with the line of thinking) that perhaps the movie is a reflection of our current society in which big jocks and rock stars are more valued than intellectuals.

Directed and written by Mike Judge (Office Space), this is one of those movies that I would recommend. My high standards won't allow me to give this anything higher than a 3/4. I struggled with this rating as all the attributes of the movie that drag it down appear to be done on purpose - for example, the stupidity of the characters, and even the ending).

At the very minimum this movie is worth a few laughs and at under 80mins (the credits started rolling at about 78mins on my dvd player) it's not too big a time waster (like King Kong for instance).

Movie Review: Half Nelson

Yes, I realize today is supposed to be teaching on Tuesday. Luckily I saw a movie this past weekend about teaching.... sort of.

Half Nelson tells the story of a friendship between a teacher and a student that has many drug overtones. Don't worry, I wouldn't be writing this if the teacher were selling the student drugs. What actually happens is that Drey (played by relative newcomer Shareeka Epps) happens to witness her coach and teacher - Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling - yes, the one who we all watched go to highschool on a cruise ship) - having a bad reaction to some drugs - in the girls locker room long after a game no less. This starts a friendship between the two. Complicating the mix is a family "friend" named Frank (most likely this is a friend of Drey's older brother who is in prison. It is assumed that that Frank is the reason or part of the reason the brother is in jail - though it is never said). Frank (played by Anthony Mackie of 8 Mile and Million Dollar Baby) befriends Drey as well and also tries to influence her life.

The competing forces are interesting in this story. Drey is being torn between a drug addict and a drug dealer. As the movie goes on it appears that both Drey and Mr. Dunne are helping each other out. The ending doesn't really clarify much, but it did leave me with a good feeling.

One of the first things I noticed was the grainy feel of the movie. I'm assuming this was done on purpose and gives a realistic feel to the movie (so does the vulnerability of Mr. Dunne and his addiction).

Since this was one of two movies I saw this weekend that were actually good (there were three not so great movies), I give this a 3.5/4. This is an interesting movie that tackles a difficult subject without resorting to preaching about not doing drugs.

Just a disclaimer: I know of very few teachers like Mr. Dunne. Most teachers I know drink to get rid of their problems and alcohol is completely legal here.

Movie Review: Blood Diamond

About a year and a half ago, everyone in my program was getting engaged and showing off their rings in class. When I saw Blood Diamond, I wish I had the knowledge that movie gave me at that time. I would have asked them if their diamonds are conflict free. (You must be thinking I like to stir the pot. I sure do.)

The issue that envelops Blood Diamond, is that of conflict diamonds (also known as war diamonds). These are diamonds that come from war zones. The money "earned" from selling these diamonds helps fuel the wars and contributes to people killing more people.

The three main characters (well, two really) are played by Leonardo DiCaprio (sporting a South African accent) and Djimon Hounsou (of Amistad, Gladiator and The Island). DiCaprio plays a diamond smuggler and Hounsou plays a fisherman who has discovered a rather large diamond. Somehow the two cross paths and finding the diamond becomes a priority for them together. Jennifer Connelly (Labrynth) plays a journalist who helps them out.

This movie is full of scenes that will make you wonder how people could be capable of such things. The scenes with the child soldiers are terrifying and will definitely take some of your innocence (ignorance?).

Blood Diamond is definitely a must see. It will definitely make you think twice about buying diamonds. I give this a 3.75/4: near perfect (the romantic interest takes a bit away from the whole message of the movie, but otherwise it is a well made film).

As a side note, I realize I missed posting for the first day since I started yesterday. I actually have about 5 more movie reviews to do from this week, but things have been very busy and when they've not been busy I've been exhausted. Soon my busyness will be over. And then I can really work on this blog...

Movie Review: Raising Arizona

Raising Arizona is one of those movies that you never really hear about, but it's on a lot of lists of great movies, so I thought I would watch it and find out for myself. I was pleasantly surprised, though at times I found the movie difficult to watch.

Starring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter, Raising Arizona is about a couple (a paroled criminal and a police officer) who get married and find out they are unable to have babies. In a hysterical rage, H.I. (Cage) is convinced to steal one baby from a recently born set of quintuplets. A manhunt thus ensues.

I found it very hard to be sympathetic to any of the characters and I think the filmmakers did that on purpose. For a while I was trying to figure out what made this movie so good. Then came a ridiculous and hilarious chase scene through stores, houses and streets in an (unsuccessful) attempt to get "Huggies" (product placement is quite evident throughout the movie). There are several such sequences that are so unbelievable that they'll make you laugh. The movie does end with your typical Hollywood ending (though what that is, is hard to tell during the movie). Overall, this is definitely a good watch. Written and directed by the Coen brothers (Ethan and Joel of Fargo fame), the film also stars John Goodman and Frances McDormand.

I give this movie a 4.5/5. It doesn't seem like a great movie, but it will definitely make you laugh (and make you disgusted with the lengths some people will go to). Check it out and let me know what you think.

Book Review: My Friend Leonard

I'm sure you all heard about the controversy with Oprah and James Frey over Frey's "memoir" A Million Little Pieces. Personally, I don't care if he lied or not, I thought that was a great book. Anyone who thought it was completely true is living in a dream world. I'm sorry, but how many movies have you seen that are "based on actual events"? Rarely are those movies accurate. So take the first book as it is: a story.

But my focus in this post is not A Million Little Pieces, but My Friend Leonard. MFL starts where AMLP left off.

Most of this book is absolutely ridiculous and lacks the urgency of AMLP (it's hard to top a guy who's trying to beat a drug addiction) and I actually was having a hard time believing that this book was actually good (it was recommended to me by a good friend). The beginning is great (although extremely gut-wrenching), but soon after the initial tragedy, the book takes a sharp turn downwards. Frey paints a picture of his friend Leonard as a man who lives to the excess. Always buying more food than people can eat, and just generally using his money and influence to please the characters it seems like a very shallow friendship. The books coasts like that for the middle 80%. It took me about a month to read this, partly because it just wasn't that interesting. However, the last 100 pages started to pick up and the last 30 or 40 make the whole experience worthwhile. I won't spoil any endings, but the friendship comes out as much much more in those last pages.

What Frey did (at least to me) is to give me a character that I didn't really like and that did things in a manner which is not necessarily the most honorable. He spent a whole book building this persona up. Then when you think there's no saving grace, he explains the character's actions.

It's definitely worth a read, especially if you liked AMLP.

I'll give this book 4/5. The middle that drags on is the reason I can't give it a 5, but the ending is why I won't give it a 2.

The Best Sports Movies...

It was rough trying to come up with something to write about for Sports on Saturday. I have stopped watching sports on TV (for two reasons: 1. I don't have the time and 2. They're just not that exciting to watch right now). I recently counted down my top ten favourite children's books, so I thought I could do the same with sports movies. I just came up with this idea so I will take some time so that I think through my top 10 (I'm going to go with criteria for this I think and give points!). Until I get this done, I'll leave you with a couple of lists of top sports movies from:

IMDb

Rotten Tomatoes

Perhaps you can send me in suggestions of what I COULD include in my list. I'll do what I can, as I may or may not remember all the sports movies I've seen.

Enjoy!

Countdown of My Favourite Children's Books: #1

We've finally reached number one on my list after 4 long weeks, you finall get to know what my all-time favourite children's book is. Before we begin, here is a recap of the last four posts I've done: week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4.

A quick recap of the first nine:

10. The Berenstain Bears Series
9. Where the Wild Things Are
8. Matthew's Midnight Adventures
7. Princess Smartypants
6. Love You Forever
5. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
4. Oh, The Places You'll Go!
3. The Paper Bag Princess
2. The Lorax

1. The Eleventh Hour (Graeme Base): I said last week that it was my analytical mind that this is the number one book and anyone who has read this will understand why. The Eleventh Hour (note: this link contains a spolier!) is about Horace (an Elephant) who plans his 11th Birthday Party (on November the 11th no less). Eleven guests are invited to eat eleven dishes of food and play eleven games. The story focuses on this party but with a twist. At the end of the story, the big feast is stolen. No one knows who it is, but the book goes on to tell you that there are clues hidden throughout the book (and boy are there clues!). The first time I read this book I was in grade 5 and our class tried feverishly to figure out who did it (don't worry I won't spoil the fun). Recently I bought a copy of the book so that I could look through the pictures for the clues. Even as an adult (and I knew who did it) I had fun looking through the pages.

The pictures are amazing (as anyone who has seen Graeme Base's work - including Animalia, The Sign of the Seahorse, and many others - will know). I have fond memories of this book and it is one of the few I actually remember vividly reading when I was younger (though no doubt there are many I read over and over). For more information on Greame Base, check his website.

I hope this list has been enjoyable. Feel free to comment on your favourite books from your childhood. I will be adding some honourable mentions next week of books I enjoy and had a hard time not adding to this list.

Movie Review: Frequency

I bought Frequency a couple of weeks ago at HMV for really cheap. It was one of those movies I had seen a few years ago and was pleasantly surprised by it. Let me first state that even though some may label this as Sci-fi, it most definitely is not and would better be filed under fantasy. Why do I make that distinction? Well, the biggest beef I have with this movie is that it causes several problems with time travel (though there isn't really any time travel in the movie)... Anyway.

The movie centers around a father and a son, 30 years apart. The father (Dennis Quaid) died in a fire in 1969 while his son (James Caviezel) is living in 1999. The two become connected by an old radio which apparently can talk through time because of the northern lights over New York city (this I don't have as much problem with as the later lack of logic in the world). The son gives the father advice and saves him from his accident in the fire. This sets off a chain of events which leads to his mother being murdered by a serial killer (though far-fetched, it seems somewhat believable - kind of like all the alternate realities of The Butterfly Effect). The movie follows the father-son duo as they try to save the woman they both love (one as a son!) across the bridge of time. My issue with the movie is that every time something changes in the past, the changes in the future happen, but the son is still the same person and the connection was there all along. If the original changes happened, there was the chance the son in the future would have been a different person (I think losing your father at 6 years old might do that to you), but surprisingly he is the same person.

The time travel issues aside, I think this is a very entertaining movie and definitely worth a watch. Not the best made film, but entertainment that delivers. I give this a 3/5. Pretty Good.

I swear I'll do something other than a movie review soon. It takes a lot longer to read a book!

Movie Review: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I have been recently trying to view the movies that are typically viewed as classics and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is apparently one of those movies. This movie was definitely not the best movie I've seen, but it had it's good qualities and is better than most of the Hollywood garbage we get these days (though I have seen many excellent movies made in the last few years).

The moviel, which won Best Picture in the 1976 Oscars, centers around Randall Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) who finds himself in a mental institution because he has been causing trouble in Jail. He is left in the ward under observation and his response is to try to stir things up with the patients. He does quite a good job and the orderly ward turns into a chaotic ward.

The acting is superb and I was surprised to find that many great actors started their careers in this film, including Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd and Brad Dourif. Everyone is convincing as mental patients, though some of the guards do some questionable actions. There are also some compelling characters (Will Sampson as Chief comes to mind).

As one watches this movie, you start to try to figure out if McMurphy is in fact crazy or if he's just causing trouble. I never came to any conclusions myself by the time the movie ended.

I liked the movie though I found it somewhat disturbing at points. I would recommend it to all just because it has garnered so much praise. I give it a 4/5. Good, but not great.