The one with the movies in

I have seen a lot of movies recently. Some good, some not. Here's a quick rundown:

Quarantine is a decent little horror film that suffers from the current shaky-cam trend. Another found footage tale, this follows a TV reporter as she follows the local firefighters. They get trapped in a building and Bad Things Happen. Some decent tension/scares. The actors gave decent performances and the story wasn't as cut and dried as the trailer led you to believe. So that was nice. Not too much worse than a trailer that gives everything away. This is a remake of a Spanish film called [rec] (I think it's Spanish anyway...). So you can't really laud Hollywood for something a little different, but at least they had good taste.

Sukiyaki Western Django (yes that's really the name favorite niece) is basically Yojimbo/A Fistful of Dollars. If A Fistful of Dollars was a western remake of Yojimbo, then Sukiyaki is a Japanese remake of a Western remake of a Japanese movie. Or something. That analogy made a lot more sense in my head. See the movie, it'll make more sense in yours too. Look. What this really boils down to is a familiar story with Japanese style and Takashi Miike action. So it's a little bloodier than the previous incarnations and a whole lot prettier. And weirder. But, you know, in a good way. Just go see it already.

Ghost in the Shell 2 is still very pretty. And very slow. And very pretty (especially on a big screen).

Eagle Eye is crap. What could have been an excellent, riveting action movie about the Patriot Act and how the government is watching us far too often instead devolves down into standard sci-fi story number 20 - the berserk computer. And they didn't even do that well. And to top it off, the only redeeming aspect of the movie (an action movie where the two wildly disparate leads don't fall in love?! About time!) goes down in flames with the LAST SCENE OF THIS HORRIBLY STUPID MOVIE! AAAAA! Make it stop! (The original ending was actually even more stupid, so some restraint was shown, but not nearly enough.) I've decided this movie should actually be considered dangerous. These are real issues. Candy coating them with a ridiculous story about an AWOL AI trivializes them and doesn't encourage the average American to think about them at all. Hey look! That there compooter sure went crazy. That Michelle Monaghan sure is purty. Zowee! Cars are crashin' and jets are 'splodin! Had me a dadgum good time. Wait? The government actually collects this sort of data about us all the time if it wants? Well shucks. <much eye rolling>

My Name is Bruce is the latest Bruce Campbell comedy/horror flick and it was great. If you like Bruce Campbell movies, this one will take you back a bit to the Army of Darkness days. Bruce plays "himself" (the B movie actor, jerk version - wait, is that acting?) getting sucked into trying to save a small town from a real demon. (Bean curd Bruce! Bean curd!) Mostly this movie made me think that it must be weird to be Bruce Campbell. I met him once when he was touring for Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way, his second book and it was a rather odd experience. But yes, movie good. (Guan you, guan me, Guan Di!)

I will briefly mention that Blue Moon continues to grow on me. Got a couple games in with the letter 'r' and it was fun. Monty Python Fluxx is odd. Mostly because Fluxx is odd. (Although I'm sure there are others that would argue the other side.) Hot Fudge shakes are yummy. Pork Loin is also yummy. We will soon have a report on some curry spices lovely wife's cousin sent out. Mmmm curry. Shooting zombies is fun. Free Starz weekends are mostly fun.

Yeah, I'm reaching now.

Oh, almost forgot, Gene Wolfe's An Evil Guest. I liked it up until the end. Then it fell apart for me as, honestly, I've not got a clue what happened. Or what was supposed to be happening. So, umm, yeah. Mostly ok book I guess?

I'm also looking for a decent fantasy themed board game. Welcoming all suggestions. (And donations! Ha!)

Trains, tomes, half breeds

Yeah, that title really doesn't have anything to do with anything. Mostly.

So littlest sis was in town and fun was had. Got to introduce her to the joys that are Jungle Speed and Coloretto. We rode the Heber Creeper and G got to pretend to be the Conductor - got the hat and watch and everything. A picture might be forthcoming. It was a very nice day for the train ride. And that train is warm, left the window open pretty much the whole time. It's also very squeaky.

The Library has recently acquired a few books in what I assume is a new-ish series for the young adult/juvenile crowd. It's called Vampirates. I can only hope their enemies are Ninjombies (Zombinjas?). It's my current new favorite thing. I doubt I'll read them, but the fact that there are Vampirates out there at all is heartwarming.

I am contemplating netbooks. I doubt I'll go so far as to purchase one, but they currently fascinate me.

This weekend will be spent in the time honored tradition of male bonding. Zombies will be shot, movies will be watched (thus far a horror flick and a kung fu western) and food will be consumed (pork loin mmmmmm). I predict a good weekend.

We will now have a moment of silence for poor wife who will have to endure girl time with the daughters. And yet somehow entertain the male child.






I think that's enough.

I've also been thinking about acquiring a portable hard disk type device. Really need to start backing up some of the files on our computer. There's a deal on now for a terabyte drive for $100 shipped. I will probably let this particular one go, but may look into something similar soon.

Short stories in the Cthulhu universe still continue to entertain. As does Gene Wolfe's newest. I think the next thing on the horizon is Drood.

We caught the most recent episode of Reaper. It was amusing. I actually still like that show. Who knew? It's a free Starz weekend, so I shall have to tape some movies. I'm not convinced anything super great is on, but we shall see.

And I think that's enough poking around my random psyche for now. Away with the lot of you.

Short stories and shorter thoughts

I've no idea what I've read since that last post. And it's not been that long. I do know that I started The Cthulhu Cycle a collection of 13 short stories playing around with the Cthulhu mythos in some form or another. Count Magnus by M R James was quite good (and is in the collection as an inspiration - not a straight Cthulhu tale). Apparently he's well known for his ghost stories. I shall have to track down some more of his stories.

Short stories are still probably my favorite sort of story. The author is forced to pare things down in such a way that it's pure distilled story goodness. I suspect that's also why I like essays so much when it comes to non-fiction. It's a little funny, I find the internet and modern media really has done a number on my reading attention span. I really prefer things in short bursts any more. tl;dr indeed... I still enjoy novels and find time to read them, but if it's something that's presented as an article type format, it better be pretty straight to the point. Not got the patience for too much wandering in that sort of thing any more.

I've also started Gene Wolfe's An Evil Guest. I'm finding it rather readable.

Sister-in-law and family welcomed their new baby into the world the other day. A little girl that looks remarkably like her Dad. Poor soul.

Daylight Savings Time is still an evil scourge that must be stopped at all possible costs. I'm far too tired to battle it properly which is how I suspect it maintains its existence. We're all too tired to do anything about it. Curse you Benjamin Franklin.

Oh and littlest sis is apparently in town now. I'm sure games will be played and siblings/relatives will be mocked lovingly cherished. (This is in no way directed at favorite niece. We never tell stories about her. Ever.)

Too much information

Finished mostly read More Information than You Require by John Hodgman (a minor TV personality don'chaknow). I listened to The Areas of My Expertise after he gave it away for free on iTunes. And enjoyed it immensely. I suspect this one might also be better to listen to. The book is a little all over the place when it comes to layout. Who knew that Only Revolutions would be good training for future endeavors? The humor is pretty consistent and the "facts" are, well, I guess "helpful". Overall it was definitely worth perusing and would make a seriously good coffee table/bathroom book. Best read in small doses.

Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale (and others) was also amusing. I got a little tired of the spot the fairy tale mechanic, but the story was fun and the art is nice. It's a twist on, wait for it, Rapunzel that gives a few nods here and there to various versions of the traditional story while still telling something new. Best if you're familiar with fairy tales before reading.

The first book in the 39 Clues series by Rick Riordan (man I've read a lot lately...) is also fun. I don't suspect I'll get into the ARG they've got set up for it, but I do plan on reading the following books. Probably. There's a lot I want to read. And not enough time to read it all in. Anyway, this follows your typical brother/sister team as they try to follow clues that lead to treasure/world changing such and such, yadda yadda yadda. It's well told and quick to read and is fun. And that's really what matters in a series like this. And there are puzzles to solve if you want.

The "Commentary: the Musical" track on Dr Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog is funny. I don't really have anything else to say about it. Oh, the Evil League of Evil Applications were also good. So, yeah, there's stuff worth checking out on the DVD. Aside from the show, which is still awesome.

The Geek World is waiting with baited breath to see if the film version of Watchmen will vindicate them in some fashion or be chalked up as yet another notch in the "You guys are so weird" column. I'm voting the latter. I kind of hope the movie is good (the book is great natch) but I'm really not holding my breath.

Oddly, the kids really got into that first season of Psych. The girls really seem to like mysteries. I think they've read a little Nancy Drew, but probably not as much as one would expect.

And Girl Scout cookies have indeed invaded the house. Evil things that they are.