The Demonata Series #1: Lord Loss by Darren Shan
I'm gonna be honest here. I was looking for a short book in the young adult section to help get me caught up, and they didn't have the first book in the Cirque Du Freak series, which Darren Shan also wrote. So I ended up with this book. If you want uneven character development, sloppy storytelling, and buckets of goo, this is the book for you. Given the hype this author had gotten in the past, I was shocked at how poorly this is written.
The book starts off with a protagonist who can't figure out what's messed up about chopping up dead rats and hiding them in his sister's towel. Then something really messed up happens and our young hero ends up in a psyche ward. Not that you could blame him. The shocking violence of the events that put him there give you a lot of sympathy for him. If the book had any commitment to real emotion, he'd stay in the mental hospital for years, if not forever. But nope, his long slow recovery from seeing a horrific triple homicide takes less than six months. That sounds about right for a 15 year-old to get over seeing his family sliced to pieces and used as puppets by demons...I was going to give a spoiler alert, but this book really isn't worth your time.
Anyway, a weird rich uncle brings him to live at his mansion in the country where he does charming things like mock this kids PTSD. Then our hero (his name is Grubbs) meets some annoying sidekick type named Bill-E and they waste 130 pages of a 220 page book not telling us what the heck is going on. They don't even mention the event that brought him here that much. It's like this kid just forgot that his family was slaughtered by demons. Then these two geniuses think that Grubbs' uncle is a werewolf (he's not) and they investigate that for awhile... Long story short, Grubbs family is cursed with Lyncanthropy (werewolf desease!) and the only way to cure it is to beat the Demon master Lord Loss at 5 games of chess. Yes, even when you add demons, magic, and sword fighting, chess is still incredibly boring. This book will make you wish you got knocked out by the Chess pieces in the first Harry Potter book so you don't have to sit through this whole thing.
3/10
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
I've Never Seen: Chinatown
So, This whole book project is going a little slower than I anticipated, and I finished my Disney Project for the time being, so I wanted to find something else to write about in between books. I have tens of readers, and I want to start adding content at a more regular pace than I have been. So I looked at the list of classic movies I've never seen or don't remember and I thought, "yeah, that'll keep me occupied for a while."
The First movie in this ongoing series is Roman Polanski's Chinatown.
I gotta be honest, I mostly watched this because I heard that Rango basically lifted the whole plot of this movie, you know except for that whole part about sister/daughters... Anyway, this movie is pretty much a masterpiece. It's a fantastic film noir that shows Jack Nicholson at his most heroic (a low bar for a guy know for playing psychopaths, but still). It was actually really great to see him playing everything much more naturally that I am used to. It reminds me of the first time I saw the Godfather and I realized that Al Pacino and Subtlety were not mutually exclusive. We also get Faye Dunaway pre Mommy Dearest, and, painted eyebrows aside, she also gives a mostly brilliant performance. She does a fantastic job of building up the image of Noah Cross in our mind so we are picturing the worst until we meet him the first time. His genial nature throws everything off kilter until the depths of his depravity are revealed at the end of the movie. John Huston gives the kind of performance that makes you want to sleep with a gun under your pillow. If you haven't seen this yet, it is very much worth your time.
On a side note, I wanted to comment a little more on John Huston's Noah Cross. Being a child born in the 80's, my first exposure to Huston's work as an actor was his portrayal of Gandalf in the Rank and Bass Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Cartoons. It really is a whole new level of nightmare fuel to hear the voice of kindly wizard Gandalf say the things he says in Chinatown. Then you get to deal with the realization that we have a movie directed by a wanted sex offender, in which a character who is also a sex offender also happens to have the same voice as a beloved childhood character....so there's that. I guess what I'm saying is that watching Rango is a much less psychologically damaging experience, and they really do have the same basic plot. Except Rango has a dead armadillo spirit guide.
The First movie in this ongoing series is Roman Polanski's Chinatown.
I gotta be honest, I mostly watched this because I heard that Rango basically lifted the whole plot of this movie, you know except for that whole part about sister/daughters... Anyway, this movie is pretty much a masterpiece. It's a fantastic film noir that shows Jack Nicholson at his most heroic (a low bar for a guy know for playing psychopaths, but still). It was actually really great to see him playing everything much more naturally that I am used to. It reminds me of the first time I saw the Godfather and I realized that Al Pacino and Subtlety were not mutually exclusive. We also get Faye Dunaway pre Mommy Dearest, and, painted eyebrows aside, she also gives a mostly brilliant performance. She does a fantastic job of building up the image of Noah Cross in our mind so we are picturing the worst until we meet him the first time. His genial nature throws everything off kilter until the depths of his depravity are revealed at the end of the movie. John Huston gives the kind of performance that makes you want to sleep with a gun under your pillow. If you haven't seen this yet, it is very much worth your time.
On a side note, I wanted to comment a little more on John Huston's Noah Cross. Being a child born in the 80's, my first exposure to Huston's work as an actor was his portrayal of Gandalf in the Rank and Bass Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Cartoons. It really is a whole new level of nightmare fuel to hear the voice of kindly wizard Gandalf say the things he says in Chinatown. Then you get to deal with the realization that we have a movie directed by a wanted sex offender, in which a character who is also a sex offender also happens to have the same voice as a beloved childhood character....so there's that. I guess what I'm saying is that watching Rango is a much less psychologically damaging experience, and they really do have the same basic plot. Except Rango has a dead armadillo spirit guide.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
100 by 30 book 13
The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies By Graham Elwood and Chris Mancini and friends
Have you ever wanted to learn a little more about your favorite film genres and maybe get some good recommendations to add to your Netflix Cue? Maybe you'd also like that info to be delivered in witty little chapters written by a number of comedians who like movies the same way you do?
If so, then The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies is for you. It's short, sweet, and sometimes hilarious. But most importantly, it starts a great conversation about why we love the types of movies we love. Each chapter is written by a different comedian who is passionate about that genre. Jackie Kashian, Wisconsin native and Ranger of the Dork Forrest, tells us why Fantasy films are awesome. Greg Proops gives us the rundown on Private Eyes and dames in the Film Noir chapter. And Chris Mancini Acknowledges the greatness of Big Trouble in Little China in the Action/Adventure Chapter.
Each Chapter concludes with that author's personal top 10 films in the genre and their bottom 10 films...so you can send them hate mail for failing to see that greatness that is Rango. Seriously, Rango is an animated adaptation of Chinatown with a heavy dose of existentialism and mysticism disguise as a kids adventure movie. It's great and Neil T. Weakly can suck it! (or not. He's entitled to his own opinions)
The point is, if you like movies, you'll find something to like about this book. Or at least some good recommendations or reminders of classics you haven't gotten around to yet. Plus it's like $2 on the Kindle right now, so check it out.
8/10
Have you ever wanted to learn a little more about your favorite film genres and maybe get some good recommendations to add to your Netflix Cue? Maybe you'd also like that info to be delivered in witty little chapters written by a number of comedians who like movies the same way you do?
If so, then The Comedy Film Nerds Guide to Movies is for you. It's short, sweet, and sometimes hilarious. But most importantly, it starts a great conversation about why we love the types of movies we love. Each chapter is written by a different comedian who is passionate about that genre. Jackie Kashian, Wisconsin native and Ranger of the Dork Forrest, tells us why Fantasy films are awesome. Greg Proops gives us the rundown on Private Eyes and dames in the Film Noir chapter. And Chris Mancini Acknowledges the greatness of Big Trouble in Little China in the Action/Adventure Chapter.
Each Chapter concludes with that author's personal top 10 films in the genre and their bottom 10 films...so you can send them hate mail for failing to see that greatness that is Rango. Seriously, Rango is an animated adaptation of Chinatown with a heavy dose of existentialism and mysticism disguise as a kids adventure movie. It's great and Neil T. Weakly can suck it! (or not. He's entitled to his own opinions)
The point is, if you like movies, you'll find something to like about this book. Or at least some good recommendations or reminders of classics you haven't gotten around to yet. Plus it's like $2 on the Kindle right now, so check it out.
8/10
100 by 30 book 12
Packing for Mars by Mary Roach
I love Mary Roach. She writes science books for those of us who just want to know the important stuff, you know, like whether or not it is possible to propel yourself across a space station using your own farts. (spoiler, results inconclusive) In this book we get to learn all of the fun facts about space explorations with none of the math (or smells). She covers everything from early spaceflight with test animals all the way up to the preparations for a mars expedition scheduled for around 2030. We get to learn about the numerous challenges brought about by a lack of gravity, and She even goes into the challenges of "doing it" in outer space. And while there are no confirmed reports, her investigation into how people might deal with no-gravity hanky panky does give us insight into dolphin mating practices, and why you probably won't ever get to swim with a male dolphin....
Mary Roach always finds a way to make the science fun by covering the gross, sticky, and unpleasant sides that we never get to hear about from important medical journals (you know, if we actually read them). Science is about exploring, and strange things happen in the name of discovery that many research labs aren't usually excited to tell people about. You will never hear a PR rep for space research proudly declare "Hey guys! So we did a test to see how long people can go without bathing, because water is nonexistent in space and we needed to see if the astronauts could survive in close quarters for weeks at a time with no personal hygiene and guess what? Their underwear totally rotted away! Isn't that neat!" It's the kind of this you would need to study, but not the kind of thing taxpayers will be happy to fund. I highly recommend this book, if only to read the part about the toilet camera that astronauts have to use in order to "line up their shot."
8/10
I love Mary Roach. She writes science books for those of us who just want to know the important stuff, you know, like whether or not it is possible to propel yourself across a space station using your own farts. (spoiler, results inconclusive) In this book we get to learn all of the fun facts about space explorations with none of the math (or smells). She covers everything from early spaceflight with test animals all the way up to the preparations for a mars expedition scheduled for around 2030. We get to learn about the numerous challenges brought about by a lack of gravity, and She even goes into the challenges of "doing it" in outer space. And while there are no confirmed reports, her investigation into how people might deal with no-gravity hanky panky does give us insight into dolphin mating practices, and why you probably won't ever get to swim with a male dolphin....
Mary Roach always finds a way to make the science fun by covering the gross, sticky, and unpleasant sides that we never get to hear about from important medical journals (you know, if we actually read them). Science is about exploring, and strange things happen in the name of discovery that many research labs aren't usually excited to tell people about. You will never hear a PR rep for space research proudly declare "Hey guys! So we did a test to see how long people can go without bathing, because water is nonexistent in space and we needed to see if the astronauts could survive in close quarters for weeks at a time with no personal hygiene and guess what? Their underwear totally rotted away! Isn't that neat!" It's the kind of this you would need to study, but not the kind of thing taxpayers will be happy to fund. I highly recommend this book, if only to read the part about the toilet camera that astronauts have to use in order to "line up their shot."
8/10
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)