In which you get several reviews

So, we did a whole lotta movie watching at Casa del 'd' last week. Here are the reports.

Moon was indeed brilliant. It really should have gotten some Oscar attention. I don't think I'll say too much about this one other than it was really good. Sam Rockwell gives an amazing performance and Kevin Spacey was quite good as well. (In fact his role was one of the nice little twists of the film, I was expecting something quite different out of him.) So, if you've not seen Moon and you consider yourself a sci-fi fan, go watch it now or turn in that badge buddy.

GI Joe was a bit of a surprise. Mostly in that I thought it was pretty good. For a dumb action flick. Which it is (both good and a dumb action flick). I didn't have any real expectations for this one going in so that might have helped. Also, I don't think I've ever seen such an action packed movie. Good grief this thing one was set piece after another. It did suffer some from trying to cram every back story it possibly could into the film, but otherwise it's pretty decent.

Law Abiding Citizen was good until the ending. It's a fairly typical we want you to root for the bad guy until the ending when we're going to let the good guy win sort of movie. They really should have just gone with the bad guy. Gerard Butler was a lot more fun in this movie than Jamie Foxx. I suppose part of the problem is they had no idea how to end it and let the bad guy win, but really... So, watch it up until the end and then pretend Butler gets away with it.

We also took in the most recent Celtic Woman concert on DVD. All I really have to say about this is they still have great voices, but they're really not very Celtic any more and that's a shame. That was the bit I liked about them. And really, when it's in the name of your group, maybe you should focus on it some.

And this brings me to Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth. I think the first thing I should mention is that this was an advance readers copy. What caught my attention was the tag line for the book: The Ultimate Secret, The Ultimate Agent, The President's Vampire. (And really the book should have gone with The President's Vampire as the title, I get why he chose Blood Oath, but the other is a little more fun.) The next thing I should point out is that this is very much the first book in a series - while the main plot does wind up, there are a slew of loose plot/character threads. And while I suppose it's not really that big a deal, it is a little frustrating. But having said all that the book is a lot of fun. There are several sly references in the book (if you're a horror buff) to things like Night of the Living Dead and the Vampire/Werewolf feud so that's a plus. It's also quite readable, a nice page turner sort of book. And it certainly beats the glitter off Twilight. Even lovely wife enjoyed this one (in fact she read it before I did - saw it when I brought it home and practically ripped the thing out of my hands). It's a little silly, a little gross and a good read. Farnsworth even manages to mostly leave vampires alone. Most of the "changes" he makes get explained in terms of old vampire lore. I'll have to take his word for it. I remember most of the references, so it's probably pretty close.

I also finished off that third volume of Hellboy. And it was great. It's Hellboy, of course it's great.

And I think that's all the stories I have for now. Next up are viewings of The Vampire's Assistant and New Moon. Three guesses which is the better vampire flick...