Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs directed by Danny Boyle, starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seith Rogen, and Jess Daniels.

This is a gimmick movie in that it takes place in three separate times of Steve Jobs life, that of a certain launch of a product.  Then the movie weaves a story of around the character of those three launches.  I like how this movie does a warts and all reveal of Jobs, showing his genius and jack ass mentality in equal measure.  This gimmick works in wonderful ways and is used as more staging pieces and visual ques than anything else.

The actors in this movie are what make this movie sing and worth watching.  Everyone involved brings their A-game as this movie is basically a character study of Steve Jobs and the people around him.  Seth Rogen does his best acting since I've seen him acting, and that's saying something from me, because I'm not the biggest Rogen fan in the world.  But this movie belongs to Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet who are just amazing in every scene they are in.  Playing off of each other in wonderful ways and prove that acting is just more than memorizing and saying lines.  They both embody their characters and breath life into them.  

Watch for the gimmick of the structure but stay for the acting, it is well worth it.   

The Revenant

The Revenant directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, and Domhall Gleeson.

Easily better than Inarritu's previous movie Birdman and one of the most visually stunning movies I've seen in a long time.  This movie needs to be seen at least once because there's no other movie out there that's even like this one.  This movie is one of kind as it rests on a revenge plot: man versus man.  But this movie also has the man versus nature element of it that truly sets it apart from other movies of this genre.  Character is here but not much depth as the man versus nature aspect of the story dominates the entire movie but not in a bad way by any stretch of those words.  This is one of the best man versus nature movies I've ever seen.   

The reality on display is simply amazing as the production and costume design fully step up to their game to compliment the reality trying to be conveyed.  

This movie completely transported me to the pioneer era it was representing as it did a no holds bar visualization of that time period.  Much like 2001: A Space Odyssey, the medium is the message here as the visuals convey the entire story.  What visuals are on display.  The landscape becomes a solid character in this movie, much like the monolith was a character in 2001.  It's brutality on full display in every frame but yet the harshness of that brutality is weighed against the beauty of the wilderness.  Nature isn't evil as it is fighting against man as much as man is fighting against it.

Yes, the bear attack scene was intense in it's viciousness and sudden-ness so much so that when it was over I watched it again and was still amazed at it a second time around.  The only other scene that compares to this is when the main character has to survive a blizzard and gets into his dead horse for warmth.  Both of these scenes in their gory, bloody detail show not only a will to survive but further establishes the landscape as a character, showing the viewer that the landscape is more than woods and snow.  There is more out there than just what a person can see and that something isn't evil but is just part of life and how a person survives is up them. 

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice directed by Zack Snyder, starring Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Gal Gadot, Holly Hunter, and Jeremy Irons.

The title of this movie alone foreshadows everything that is wrong with this movie and most likely everything that will be wrong with future installments of this "series" of "connected" movies.  I don't think it will be the Dawn of Justice but in reality will be the Dawn of Messiness, Sloppiness, and Impatience.   

This is DC's attempt to catch up with Marvel, it stalls right out of the gate, and falls flat on it's face.  There is no patience here. There is only a madcap scramble to catch Marvel and this movie reeks of that dash, instead of doing a patient world building, which these characters desperately need.

Blame the screenplay and writers for the movie being this bad, bloated mess it turned out to be.  DC's whole philosophy for connecting movies and continuity seems to be lets throw everything at the screen, see what sticks, and then weave it all together.  I feel sorry for all the actors involved in this "project" because there is a good series lurking in this mess, if it only had the time to develop, then I think it would be rather exciting.  But unfortunately all development seems to be regulated to how comic continuity is handled these days - meaning none at all with only pretensions of it being there.  All that is left of any continuity are shadows made by ghosts.

All the trouble I had with Man of Steele is just amplified here.  What we have is a bunch of good actors just sidelined to running around, staring at things, and reacting to things.  There's not a lot of scenes where they are acting together, with these caliber of actors all in the same movie that's a real crime, and the movie is severely lacking because of it.  Without this focus on character there's no investment into anything they are doing.  DC seems to be on welfare investment - relying on previous knowledge or unrelated movies as the groundwork for these characters.  They haven't worked for anything and don't really seem all interested in working for anything.

I will say this though, Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman was a pure revelation in this movie.  She stole every scene she was in - the few she was in - and her only down fall was that she wasn't in enough scenes.  I really hope they do well by her movie but as they previous track record seems to be, I doubt it will be all that good.

Daredevil Season 2

Daredevil Season 2 starring Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Vincent D'Onofrio, John Bernthal, Royce Johnson, Rosario Dawson, and Elodie Yung.

I'm just going to say this once again as I've been saying it since Marvel started producing it's own property: Marvel has done it again.

Completely addicting this season turned out to be as it further explored these characters with such a depth that it should shame normal dramas since this is basically a comic book show. 

I've never liked the Punisher as a character but this drama series brought life to a character that I always thought was rather a one trick pony.  They completely fleshed him out and really made me want to see more of him, know about this history, and his future.  It also helped that John Bernthal played him with such an energy and commitment making him a convincing and sympathetic character, who's character is basically out for revenge.  Then throw in Elecktra who just sparkled with a fire and energy, as she played well off of Charlie Cox's Daredevil.  This show had everything this season as it further wove the tapestry of the world building of Daredevil.  Even the secondary characters got plenty of time to shine in the light. 

Good series looking forward to more seasons.

Killing Floor

Killing Floor written by Lee Child.

I really liked the movie Jack Reacher with Tom Cruise so I thought I'd give the first book in the series a try.  Not a bad book but not overly great, a good way to pass the time but I would watch the movie over reading the book.  This book isn't what the movie is based but I felt the movie did a better job of a story line.  The story line for this book wasn't that great and I could see most of the plot devices and story twists happening a mile away, which made this book feel real long and the pacing slow.  I don't plan on reading an more in the series after this book because it didn't engage me enough to want to read any more but I do plan on seeing more movies of Jack Reacher as long as Tom Cruise is still playing the character. I like his take on the character. 

Not bad for a Summer read though just not good enough to want to read more.

Creed

Creed directed by Ryan Coogler, starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone.

A good continuation of the Rocky movie.  Nothing really new here, though which is OK.  All the typical themes, motifs, and story plot points are all hit here but the main character played by Michael B. Jordan does a wonderful job of selling this movie.  His charisma and acting ability alone are worth watching this movie for as he continues to prove he was no fluke in the little known movie Chronicle and every other movie he's been in since that one.  This movie is odd in that it's like a reboot but yet not one that feels gimmicky.  This reboot feels more organic in tone than most which feel more forced.  Not a classic movie by an means but a good one to pass the time and a good continuation of the Rocky franchise.

Sleeping with Other People

Sleeping with Other People written and directed by Leslye Headland, starring Alison Brie, Jason Sudeikis, Adam Scott, Jason Mantzoukas, Margarita Levieva, and Amanda Peet.

Romantic comedies are only made good by two things: chemistry and character.  This movie has both of those as it further explores the themes brought up with When Harry Met Sally, that is can a man and woman just be friends without having sex.  The answer is obviously no but Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis share some wonderful scenes together as their chemistry sparkles along with their distinct personalities.  A good romantic movie if not a little more crude on some levels than normal, not in a shocking, gross out comedy way but in a real life conversational type of way that doesn't feel exploitative, only more natural like two friends just talking things through, and that fits in perfectly with the movie. 

Dead Beat

Dead Beat written by Jim Butcher.

Another brilliant book from Jim Butcher that furthers the story of wizard P. I. Harry Dresden.  This story fleshes out some more characters in Harry's life and also has one of the best action scenes in the Dresden Files series that involves the T-Rex Sue from the Chicago museum.  I'm still a huge fan of how Butcher uses each book in this series as stepping stones for the over all arcing plot that he has planned.  I've never seen any series do what he is doing with the Dresden Files.   

The Bourne Identity (book)

The Bourne Identity written by Robert Ludlum.

Considering this book was written in the 70's I was surprised at how well paced it was, with a tight story that was far superior to the movie and explained a lot of the glaring plot holes in the movie.  I can't for the life of me figure out why the movie didn't adhere closer to the plot of this book because it is vastly superior in all shapes and forms.  I don't read to many action books but if all action books were like this one, this is one genre I could read more of.

Zootopia

Zootopia directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore, and Jared Bush, with the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Bonnie Hunt, Tommy Chong, J. K. Simmons, and Alan Tudyk.

One of the best kids movies and family to be made - hands down.  It's basically just a buddy cop movie for kids and all the better for it.  It also isn't trying to make some kind of political statement but instead relies on the old tried to true formula - character is the best thing.  Create good characters and no matter how crazy or insane the story line, it won't matter one bit because the characters will move the story line a long. 

I just loved the premise of this movie. 

The world building of this movie was also out of this world as it showed so much of the world in the beginning but then only explored a few sections of this world leaving everyone at the end of it just wanting more.  A sequel will be justifiable and well deserved.  That's another thing that made this movie work is that it didn't try to do to much but stayed focused on the two main characters, then let them walk through the story and introduce the world as they solved the mysterious macguffin of the story.  This movie has more heart, focus, passion, characterization, story, and better acting than about 75% of the movies that Hollywood churns out. 

Extraction

Extraction directed by a guy I don't know and I hope I don't judge his entire career based on this movie, starring Kellan "Wooden" Lutz, Bruce "I'm here to pick up a pay check and there's nothing wrong with that" Willis, and Gina "Just stick to the action scenes and not the acting scenes" Carano.

Simply put one of the worst action movies I've ever seen. It's not even by the numbers as it tries so hard to be by the numbers.  I honestly felt sorry for some of the bad guys in this movies as the choices the "good guys" made, made no sense to me.  The fight scenes are boring, lacing any form of passion or heart.  The characters and dialogue are not even by the numbers but completely boring and they even manage to go a few levels below boring.  There were so many times the movie felt shot for TV versus shot for the movie theater.  Then my wife informed the main character was one of the vampires from the Twilight movie and then it all clicked for me as they were trying to ride the wave of his "popularity" with this action movie. 

A good example of how not to make a movie.

Brooklyn

Brooklyn directed by John Crowley, starring Saoirse Ronan, Hugh Gromley, Brid Brennan, Maeve McGrath, Emma Lowe, Barbara Drennan, Gillian McCarthy, Emory Cohen, and Domhnall Gleeson.

This is a good old fashioned movie with little story line but high on characterization.  They don't make a lot movies like this anymore.  Movies now-a-days are more concerned with over the top action scenes, out of control computer effects, and budgets that could fund most small nations for decades.  It was amazing to find a movie that was concerned with none of this but was only concerned with the story about a woman growing up in America - specifically in Brooklyn (of the title and that specificity is crucial to the story) - away from her home county of Ireland. 

There is absolutely nothing complicated about this story as it ushers in all sorts of storytelling techniques from the Golden Age of movies.  I just don't hardly see many movies this brave and daring to rest the entire story on the shoulders of one single character.  But I've got to admit I got caught up in her story.  I felt for her as she left her country to come to America.  I felt for her leaving everything behind - mother and sister.  Her lack of friends.  Her starting completely over from nothing and then moving her way up slowly but surely.  I couldn't help but root for her to succeed.  The movie's greatest addition is when she finds a boyfriend from Brooklyn.  His character not only brought a jolt of life to the movie but also sparked some fire in the main character and not in the sort of way that said a woman needed a man to complete her life but in a way a true friend brightens the life of a person.  Watching their relationship grow was a thing of beauty.  Then the true test of her growth was shown when she went back to Ireland and the choices and decisions she  made there really showed how she had grown.

Truly a gem of movie that needs to be seen and talked about more.

Crimson Peak

Crimson Peak directed by Guillermo del Toro, starring Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston, and Charlie Hunnam.

Honestly, I thought this movie was more style over substance and was one of del Toro's worst films he's made.  I had no real connection to any of the characters.  They felt more cliche and cardboard than most cartoon characters feels.  Even the production design, which I think was supposed to be the big draw of this film felt rather flat and stale.  No where near as inspiring as some of this other movies.  Out of all of his movies this one definitely feels like a by the numbers one.  Guillermo del Toro's movies normally seem to have a lot of life to them even if there camping it up but this one is his most lifeless movie he's ever done.  The movie as a real Edgar Allen Poe feel to everything about it - from the story to the visuals - I just wish it had conjured up some of Poe's eeriness and creepiness instead of what followed as complete waste of my time.  

The Peanuts Movie

The Peanuts Movie directed by Steve Martino, with the voices of Noah Schnapp, Venus Schultheis, Alexander Garfin, and Hadley Belle Miller.

I'm not a huge Peanuts fan but I've got to admit this is one of the best Peanut media related projects ever made.  It completely captured the spirit of Peanuts with every single frame of this film.  It did a proud salute to Charles Schultz and everything he stood for.  All in all it was a great movie to see and a worthy addition to any family collection of movies.  I also loved how Blue Sky integrated hand drawn animation in with the computer animation - it totally gelled with Schultz's vision and made the movie that much more perfect.  

Burnt

Burnt directed by John Wells, starring Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Daniel Bruhl, Emma Thompson, Uma Thurman, and Alicia Vikander.

I read a lot bad reviews for this movie and all I can say is those reviews were partially right but mostly wrong.  This movie wasn't bad at all.  It's not a great film but it is infinitely better than most of the Hollywood slop that gets churned out by barrel loads.  I will also say this, I will watch Bradley Cooper in about anything.  This is his movie through and through. His character and persona totally dominate every frame of this film and the film is all the better for it.

 In fact it was an entertaining movie.  Not over staying its welcome and never once did I feel I was wasting my time.  It's wasn't some kind of pandering, political movie but was just a movie about a man that was his own worst enemy and about his him being able to handle and fight against himself.  I don't run across many movies like this.  Most movies seem to want to have a die hard enemy to battle with but not all movies need this if the main character is built right and interesting enough he or she can be their own worst enemy.  By doing that a movie takes a great risk in believing in the character to help sell the story but if pulled off it will always be an interesting movie.  

Cooper does an amazing job of building this flawed character that is at time an asshole but yet most times I found him completely interesting and sympathetic.  Then everyone else Cooper surrounded himself with in this movie did a great job of feeding off of him and selling this simple story of man versus man.  

Everest

Everest directed by Baltasar Kormakur, starring Jason Clarke, John Hawkes, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Robin Wright Penn, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson, and Sam Worthington.

There's not much to say about this movie. 

Just about everyone dies.

There's not really a happy ending to speak of and I found myself not really caring one way or another about any of it because I didn't find myself invested in any character in this movie.  There are a lot of actors in this movie but the movie doesn't really give any time to them to make them any sort of engaging.  They are more or less the set pieces of the movie while the mountain "Everest" is the main character.  But even that main character I found dull and boring.  This is very boring and pandering movie that wants to be more than sum of its parts but is no where near close to those parts. 

If you see the movie The Martian, the planet Mars is a main character in the movie and the movie goes to great lengths to build this character. Everest, by comparison, seemed written by a confused person who had no idea what that mountain was or is but yet hit all the right dictionary points of the mountain but nothing that made the mountain live and breath as a character.  I didn't even find the visuals of this movie that engaging either.  All in all it was a boring waste of time.

A Good Dinosaur

A Good Dinosaur directed by Peter Sohn, with the voices of Jeffery Wright and Frances McDormand.

Not a great Pixar movie but a good one, which I will take a good one over a terrible Cars 2 any day of the week.

This is basically a journey type of movie only it doesn't have the in depth characters to fully support the journey that takes place.  Instead this movie relies on the visuals to sell what happens.  In the end what great and amazing visuals it turns out to be with enough wonder to keep the kids and adults entertained the whole time.  They are enough to make this movie worth seeing once but I don't think a second viewing would benefit it much.  Even the concept of a meteor not hitting earth and wiping out the dinosaurs isn't fully explored in any kind of detail but is used more a gimmick and nothing more. 

Goosebumps

Goosebumps directed by Rob Letterman, starring Jack Black, Amy Ryan, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, and Ryan Lee.

Honestly this was a fun little movie that shouldn't have been as good as it turned out.  I'm not saying it's a great movie but it's very entertaining as it fully knows what kind of movie it is and doesn't shy away from it.  I don't know if having a fully knowledge of the Goosebumps books would help in understanding this movie better or not?  I don't have any kind of knowledge of them other than the author's name and the genre they books spawned - which served me well with this movie. 

I did like the over the top aspect of action that really starts of the movie off and rolling.  Then there's enough character development to understand the characters and establish them.  All in all not a waste of time like I thought it was going to be.  

Black Mass

Black Mass directed by Scott Cooper, starring Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, and Adam Scott.

There is a good movie lurking in this jumbled, mediocre movie that was made instead.  The good movie would have been two stories.  One about Whitey Bulger's risen empire in Boston and other would have been about the FBI agent who helped him achieve this power.  There are flashes of this story in the mess we have but nothing of it's substance is ever given light, that is shame because it could have one great mob story.  All the actors, direction, and production design serve the movie well, it's just the lack of focus of the screen plays lets everyone involved down.

This is also one of Johnny Depp's best performances in years where he isn't doing some kind parody of himself.  But other than that most of actors in this movie are wasted by the terrible screenplay.

Bone Tomahawk

Bone Tomahawk written and directed by S. Craig Zahler, starring Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins, Lili Simmons, and David Arquette.

One of the best films I saw made last year.  I would put it in my top 5 of  movies for that year and it might go even higher as the years go on and I see more movies made that year.  This movie didn't leave my mind for weeks after I saw it as it stayed there turning around and around while I thought about the different aspects and themes that made it so good.  I don't normally see a movie this focused or this good.  It had a very old school feel to it and I mean that in the highest compliment possible.

It was so refreshing to see a character based movie where the characters stayed true to their character and didn't deviate from their central core.  Many movies now-a-days haven't grasped this concept of characters being true to who they are instead of changing their true self for plot motivated reasons that are illogical and absolutely stupid.  There is none of this here as these are some of the best characters I've seen in a movie in a long time.  They let reason and logic influence their decisions and don't let emotions and feelings cloud things but when emotions and feelings do cloud things they are quick to realize that is happening.  In effect they act normal, rational people.  Then you through into the mix some good actors who really help to bring these characters to life and by good actors I mean every character in this movie is inhabited by a good actor.  There is no great acting on display here but there doesn't need to be as these actors more than compensate for no "A" list actor and this movie all the better for it.  Every scene is like a master class in acting and aren't just thrown into the movie for the sake of being there as they further expand on each character.

This movie has a minimalist feel to it as it doesn't get carried away with special effects, production design, or super crazy editing.  Many of scenes are shot on location or at least seem like they are shot on location which adds the effect of being immersed in the scene without anything flashy to get into the way.  The actors respond to this approach with such greatness as they whole heartily give their best level of performance.      


The characters and story are the star of this movie with a director who understands this and doesn't get in the way of what is happening.  I could tell with each frame and scene of this movie that he had complete faith in the story, characters, and screenplay.  Then he also had complete faith in his casting and the actors he hired to populate the movie.  Like I said above I don't find many movies with this much faith - most movies rely on cheap gimmicks, special effects, or soap opera story telling to hide the poor story or screenplay.  Not this movie. 

It was also refreshing to see a movie that supported marriage between a man a woman.  Many movies seem to get on a political platform about marriage now-a-days, so it was good to see a movie that bucked that tread and instead was forth right in marriage.  Not a perfect marriage but then what marriage is perfect?  But it is a marriage where the two people are in love with enough scenes to convey this message without being preachy with hyperbole. 

As my brother pointed out about this movie - the violence in this movie happens fast and brutal.  There is no long drawn out Hollywood style of fight scenes here - when the action and violence happen it movies quickly, with such brutality that it further empathizes the reality this movie is supporting.  

The Bands of Mourning

The Bands of Mourning written by Brandon Sanderson.

Sanderson is the best fantasy writer out there right now.  Hands down, there is no one that even compares to him.  Hhis ability to switch books, genres, and characters is just staggering, as it matches his output, which should make the outputs quality not that good.  However the quality of his work only seems to get better with time.  I don't really like fantasy at all but Sanderson's fantasy is genuinely one of a kind.  He doesn't fall prey to the cliches that abound with fantasy but instead writes his own rules and continues in the same vein of world building that truly defines fantasy now-a-days.  He also has a really good knack for balancing characters with world building and never seems to let the world building get ahead of his characters. 

This book just continues to support the claim of him as best fantasy writer of our present day.  This is the second book in a new mist born trilogy and one that just furthers the story and world he started with the first book in the trilogy and the stand alone story Alloy of Law.  His ability to world build and further expand on a story idea is only intensified here as he continues to weave a larger tapestry of his previous mist born world with an ease that borders on jealousy from me. 

He also created one of my favorite characters in all of literature - Wayne, and his perspective on life. I've never found a character of his sort in any other book and this perspective makes him genuinely unique.  I also liked how Sanderson has fleshed out Steris' character as well.  She started off as very one dimensional but has truly blossomed into an interesting character.  

A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods directed by

Not much to say about this movie other than it's sort of boring and seems to lack focus.  It's only saved by Redford and Nolte's acting.  It's a true story of two older men who decide to hike the Appalachian Trail and that's pretty much about it.

The Intern

The Intern written and directed by Nancy Meyers, starring Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, and Rene Russo.

This is a safe movie. 

Nothing crazy happens in this movie only the normal cliches of this kind of story line but that's OK if you're in the mood for it.  I was, so I had a good time watching it. 

The one thing that will make or break this movie is the chemistry of two leads. If their chemistry together sparks the movie will work.  I'm here to say the chemistry between De Niro and Hathaway sparked, every scene they are together worked and made the movie an enjoyable experience.  I also liked how the movie didn't feel the need to have a romantic or love interest be the central part of the story line but instead relied on the friendship between De Niro and Hathaway.  I don't see to many movies like this and in that regard the movie took a risk but a good risk none the less in my opinion.  It was that friendship that was top priority over everything else and it worked well, with Hathaway and De Niro pulling this movie out mediocrity. 

Children of the Mind

Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card.

Card follows one of the worst sequels of all time up with an even more worse sequel - that just begs the question: Why?

This book was even more terrible than the previous book and only did further damage to the world Card had created with Ender's Game.  Everything that was bad with Xenocide became amplified with Children of the Mind or to put it more appropriately - it all got turned up to 11.

Bad characters became even worse characters.  Story lines got just to the point where I just didn't care about anything going on and suffered through this book only to finish it and be done with the Ender series.  Characters that I found annoying only got more annoying.  Everything he built upon in the first two books seemed to just get destroyed in this book. 

One of the worst ending to a character (Ender) I've ever read about in any book, in no way was it a satisfying ending to Ender's life.  It felt more as if Ender's life was a leaf wilting in the sun and all the time I had invested with Ender became nothing but static.  I still don't understand how Card can justify the wife he gave Ender, who in just no way fit with Ender and I never found there relationship believable. It felt more contrived and plot motivated than anything else.  The character Jane felt more alive and I believed the relationship she had with Ender more than the woman Card gave him as a wife.  He never gave enough scenes with Ender and wife to justify their relationship as this whole book seemed to be just not enough of anything to be anything.  There didn't seem to be the same kind of passion with these last two stories that was present in the firs two books.  Herbert ran into this issue as well when he did the sequel to Dune, which didn't just feel like the same book as the first book.  A book to missed for sure.

Xenocide

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card.

I find it funny that Card follows up one of the best sequels of all time with one of the worst sequels of all time.

This book is sad because of all the world building and good characterization that happened in the first two books seems to be forgotten here.  Card preaches more and doesn't seem as concerned with characters as he did with the first two books.  He has characters seem to sit around more and debate things, instead of moving the story forward these debates bring the story to a stand still, making the book harder to get through.  As good as an argument as Speaker of the Dead was for a sequel, this book is as good an argument for sequels never being made. 

There is just some much wrong with this book that I don't even know where to start.  The only reason I picked it up to read was that I wanted to see if Card could further his world building but as I've already stated he doesn't even come close to it.  Everything that made the first two books so good seem to be discarded or forgotten with this book as Card falls prey to all the other sci-fi writers: he gets more concerned with preaching and science fiction than he does with characters.  Characters seem to take a back seat to everything else in the story.  In the end Card falls prey to plot device that is just ludicrous in so many ways that when things go wrong ever in this story or further stories I automatically think just use that one miraculous plot device you created, which has conveniently been forgotten about.  

Speaker for the Dead

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card.

This is easily one of the best sequels every created for any media: book, movie, TV, or video game. 

I had had my doubts that Card would be able to emulate the success of Ender's Game, I can honestly say he doesn't but he creates a whole new experience with the world building of Ender.  He furthers the story started in Ender's Game rather than tries to emulate it, he deals with the after effects first book in a very realistic and satisfying way that it just blew my mind.  Ender doesn't even show up in this book until about 60 pages into the story - that is a huge risk and a huge set of balls on the writer to attempt something like that.  But it works, works in ways that are wonderful and spellbinding to even think about.  It shouldn't work, there is no way it should work, but it does. 

He creates an entirely new world with  new characters and then sits back as does what he did best with Ender's Game - focuses on character never letting the sci-fi/technology aspects of the story get away or ahead of the characters.  The characters are what matters the most.  Even following Ender and his sister Valentine as they both deal with the mass xonocide of the first book as Ender tries to find some sort of redemption or justification of what he did.  I'm not even going to go to much into the story line of this book because this book needs to be experienced on the same sort of level as the first book as it deals with new themes.  New more adult themes.  There is also a central mystery to the story that threads it's way through the book and shouldn't be as engaging as it turns out to be but Card is such a good writer that the mystery slowly dominates the story not in a forceful way but in a slow drinking of coffee sort of way. 

Ender's Game (book)

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

This is one of the best sci-fi books ever written.  It's place upon the mountain top of classic sci-fi books is firmly established, and even after reading it for my fourth or fifth time nothing is going to ever shake it off the classic status. 

So much praise and adjectives have already been heaped upon this book since its publication in the 80's that I don't really know what more to add to that long list - but I shall try.

After reading many sci-fi books and literature books over the years since I first read this book, I can honestly say there is one thing that makes this book as universally acclaimed as it is: character. 

Card, unlike most sci-fi writers focuses on the character of Ender and doesn't get carried away with the technology and sci-fi moments of the story as most sci-fi books seem to do.  This focusing on the character is what elevates this story to a literary level versus just classifying it as sci-fi.  Sure Ender's Game is sci-fi but it is so much more than that as Card weaves all sorts of themes throughout the story but never once looses focus on Ender as a person.  He creates such a three dimensional person in Ender, then Card allows the reader to grow with him as he grows himself trying to figure out who he is and how he fits into this violent world he has been thrown into.  These are such universal themes Card is playing with which has allowed this story to be relate-able to any reader who picks this book up.  The reader can't help but feel for Ender, not just feel for Ender but also relate to what he is going through because at some point in their life the reader has not only felt what Ender has gone through but has experienced something like it.  There's a connection with Ender that endears the reader to him so much so that I've talked with people who aren't sci-fi fans, who absolutely loved this book.  Then you add in the gut punch of ending that is earned with every once of passion with no flare of soap opera stink but justifiable technique - that this story will continue to be classic.

Sicario

Sicario directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro, Victor Garber, Jon Bernthal, Daniel Kaluuya, and Jeffery Donovan.

I think I would best describe this movie as an art house action film - this movie is everything Saving Private Ryan was trying be: an action movie with intellect and thought, which is really hard to find.  Everything in this movie works: the acting, directing, and pacing.  For an art house kind of feel to the movie the action scenes are actually shot well with no confusing "in the action" type of shaky camera on display here.  Nope just the opposite in fact.  In between the action scenes there is enough character and story moments that further enhances the characters and story lines.  I haven't seen a movie like this one ever.  It's worth the time to see.

This movie explores the concept of how to actually go to war with the drug trade in America.  It is an idea movie that raises a lot questions, doesn't necessarily give a lot of answers on the themes but gives enough of both sides of the argument that it forces the viewer to come up with their own conclusions.  This movie doesn't pander to the audience but also isn't forcing anything into a political agenda.  It creates a story, inhabits that story with some great characters who change throughout the movie with the information given to them not based on plot device or story advancements.     

I've said this before and I'll say it again - Denis Villeneuve is a director to keep an eye on as his previous films Prisoners and Enemy were some of the best and most thought provoking films I've seen in a long time.  Also, he has a visual flare to his direction that is seriously lacking in Hollywood now, yet his visual flare doesn't overpower his movies like a Wes Anderson, who seems  more concerned with the look of his film than anything else going in the film.  Villeneuve is more concerned with themes and characters than the visual atmosphere of the movie.  His visual style certainly creates a world unlike most movies and his direction has a certain tension to it that amplifies all aspects of the story.  And it's a tension that is earned, not forced.  Another aspect of his style he does well that Terrence Mallick as been trying to do for decades is - let the visuals help the story along instead of being there to just look pretty.  He is one of the best directors with a show but don't tell mentality that actually works and doesn't feel pretentious.

 On the acting side of things this movie belongs to Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro, who are the central focus of the story.  Del Toro gives one of his best performances in a long time - and in an action movie to boot, proving once again that when he gets good material he can swing with the best of them.  Blunt does what she has been doing since I first saw her in TheDevil Wear Prada, she is, simply put, flat out amazing.
  

American Ultra

American Ultra directed by Nima Nourizadeh, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Bill Pullman, Topher Grace, Connie Britton, Walton Groggins, John Leguizamo, and Tony Hale.

Basically this is the slacker, stoner version of The Bourne Identity only not as good as that movie.  
The one thing that saves this movie from being rather boring is the run time of about 90 minutes.  This forces the movie to run along at a brisk pace with not to many wasted scenes.  All of the acting in this movie, from the leads to character actors/actresses, saves it from the mediocrity that it should have been.

I've got admit I do like Jesse Eisenberg and have liked about everything I've seen him in.  There's just something about him that I like and if he gets the right material he can elevate any movie by just being it.  He does that here with this movie because if he hadn't been in it I don't think this movie would be as entertaining as it turned out to be.  By contrast I've found Kristen Stewart annoying from what little I've seen her in (no I haven't seen The Twilight movies - still banded from watching them by my wife - but from what little I've seen of them her character is like claws on a chalkboard for me).  So there is a bias from me to her.  Having said all of that she's not half bad in this movie making me eat a little crow on her, I will fully admit.

All in all this isn't to bad of a movie to watch. It is violent, bloody, and sort of gory - all things I do like if done well.  They were done fairly well in this movie making it entertaining.   

Spectre

Spectre directed by Sam Mendes, starring Daniel Craig,Chrstoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Ralp Fiennes, Monica Bellucci, Ben Whishaw, Naomi Harris, and Dave Bautista.

The worst Bond movie the Daniel Craig era.  Basically it is the first Craig film to do Bond by the numbers and it shows in about every frame of the movie.  For me this movie felt like a much longer version of The Quantum of Solace (which is much better than people realize).  This connection with Solace must to noted as this movie tries to copy ideas and themes from Craig's early Bond movies so much that it feels like a copy, of copy, of copy rather than a Craig type of Bond film.  This movie also felt like it was directed by Peter Jackson - a whole lot of shots of people walking/traveling/running from place to place with little or no dialogue spread in between as it relied on visuals to sell everything that was happening.  I wasn't buying anything they were selling.  There wasn't any urgency to the story line and it all felt rather much ado about nothing. 

The only thing this movie had going for it was the opening scene which was a spectacular, brilliantly shot, and edited action scene that fully lived up to the Craig Bond era.  Then unfortunately everything was down hill from there as the opening Bond song kicked in - one of the worst songs ever.  Boring is the only way I can describe this movie as it fully captured the mood and tone of that song.

If I'm to believe Bond is going to give up his spy life for a woman, I've got to believe in that relationship.  Now Eva Green in Casino Royal, I believe he would have given up his spy life for her because the movie showed the evolution of their relationship with scenes of them acting together.  Also the chemistry between Craig and Green was scorching hot and they didn't even sleep together until near the end of the movie because their relationship wasn't based on a physical need but was based mutual connection.  Where as the relationship between Craig and Seydoux went no were the whole movie.  And what scenes there were with them that tried to show a relationship seemed very strained and forceful, having no sense of the great care given to Craig and Green.  I think that emphasis of of the word caring becomes a filter in how to view this movie because only the opening scene seemed to have an care devoted to it, while the rest of the film lacks any form of care as it just adheres to standard Bond fare, just not something the Craig films were none for. 

The only other thing this movie got right but wrong at the same time was having Radiohead write the theme song (and actually use the title in the song) only to not use the song.  Here listen to it in all of it's glory:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHpbfR3oHSo.

The Martian

The Martian directed by Ridley Scott, starring Matt Damon,Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Michael Pena, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Alex Hennie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Benedict Wong.

I will say this The Martian is the best Ridley Scott  has made in a long time.  I would say it's been decades since he's made a film that has a story line to match the visual flare he brings to the table.  Normally, his films seem to be of the Emperor's clothing line apparel - nothing there but for some reason everyone around him keeps insisting that the clothing looks great.  This time around the story line is actually quite good even though it is basically Castaway set on Mars but it is much better than Castaway ever dreamed of being. 

The best part for me about this movie was how the scientists and astronauts actually acted like scientists and astronauts not like they acted in Scott's other bomb of  film Prometheus.  These characters were way more believable and the film is all the better for it as it lends the film an authenticity and believability  that Prometheus was seriously lacking.  All of the actors and actresses in the movie do a great job of bringing this movie to life with Damon being the sole person who drives home the narrative and story line.  Damon does what he has always been doing since he started acting - he latches onto a story that seems awkward and with little potential but turns it into a movie worth watching.  I honestly don't know how he does it but he's been doing it on a consist basis with some great results.

Ultimately though this movie is about Mars.  Mars dominates this entire movie visually, physically, and psychologically.  Scott brings his full force of talents to create Mars into a wholly believable character.  This is at times good for the film and bad for the film.  Good in the sense that Mars feels real for entire movie.  Bad in the sense that Mars over shadows everything else and everyone in the movie, which falls on the screenplay to support but it doesn't as the characters don't sparkle with life near the same way the planet does.  Damon's character needs to be more of a character instead of just wanting to stay alive and get off of Mars - that desire instantly generates sympathy but there needs to more there to make him fully alive.  The movie Moon quickly teaches a lesson with The Martian on how to make a movie with a significantly lower budget but create a character that is actually a character and not relying on a cheap gimmick to generate sympathy with the audience.  Special effects are good and all but character and story are so much more important to the longer term status of a movie.   

 It's still a good movie to watch though and not a waste of time. 

Mission Impossible Rogue Nation

Mission Impossible Rogue Nation directed by Christopher McQuarrie, starring Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Ferguson, and Ving Rhames.

This is easily the best Mission Impossible movie in the franchise.  It shouldn't be because normally as movies get further in the sequel syndrome they become worse and worse until they become a shadow of their original self.  Rogue Nation completely breaks that mold as it presents one of the most action packed and stunt ridden movies in the series.


Christopher McQaurrie has become a better action director than I would have given him credit for and a person who has channeled the Tom Cruise persona to perfection with this movie and Jack Reacher.  He never let the action scenes or story line get to ahead of him in this movie and kept the focus of everything on characters.  The characters really blend well into the action scenes without become over shadowed by them.  This is the one movie that has a well rounded ensemble cast and where Cruise isn't the focal point of the movie but the other characters around him completely help the story line along.  Rebecca Furguson does a marvelous job opposite Cruise.  She is essentially the female version of Cruise's character in this movie, the movie doesn't shy away from this fact, nor does it treat her as a women or exploit her sexually or romantically.  She is in all ways equal to every male in this movie who have had the same type of training.  This in alone of itself a brave thing this movie does as Hollywood still hasn't figured out how to write women roles without the cliches attached to them. 

The pacing of this movie is manic and insane but never once does it seem to strain from the next action scene to the next action scene, which in and of itself is simply amazing.  Easily one of the better action movies I've seen. Michael Bay could take some notes from this on building characters around the action scenes versus the other way around.   At times this movie plays out like a musical only instead of random musical numbers the audience is treated to actions scenes and of those there are plenty but it never seems bogged down by those scenes. 

Stand out scene is clearly the opera house scene.  One of the best action scenes to be filmed and it completely lives up the hype I've read about it.  Hitchcock would have been proud of it as it has touches of him throughout but doesn't have the same type of feel as watching Tarantino ripe off people shot for shot.  This one feels wholly original but with touches of Hitchcock.      

Jumper

Jumper directed by Doug Liman, starring Hayden Christensen, Jamie Bell, Rachel Bilson, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rooker, and Diane Lane.

I hadn't seen this film since it first came out in 2008.  I remember liking it at the time and I've got to say time has been very kind to this film.  I don't think it's aged all that bad. 

It is by no means a perfect film.  Some of the things story line wise need to be answered along with some character motivations both on the good guy and bad guy side that didn't make a lot sense and needed some more perspective - doing this would have made the characters a lot more believable and the story line flow even better. 

But despite these few flaws what I did like about this movie is that it broke from the normal cliched version of super hero story lines by presenting a character who uses his power for selfish reasons instead of noble, heroic reasons.  This did make for a refreshing break from a typical superhero story and made the main character a lot more relate able.  Another thing, this movie has a perfect run time of just over an hour and half - not to long nor to short and by the end of the movie it leaves a feeling of wanting more.  I've got to say this again, as I've said before, Jamie Bell is a really good actor.  When his characters finally shows up in the movie, in full force, he brings an energy and enthusiasm to the movie that was previously lacking.  His character is wholeheartedly interesting - even more so than the main character and Jamie Bell seems to be having a ball playing him.  Every scene he isn't in after he fully arrives the film seems lacking with intensity - such is the nature of his ability.

A good movie worth seeing more than once.   

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials directed by Wes Ball, starring Dylan O'Brien, Ki Hong Lee, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Rosa Salazar, Patricia Clarkson, and Aidian Gillen. 

Not as good as the first movie and they main reason because of this is that the movie doesn't even attempt to answer very many questions from the first movie.  Near the end of this movie some answers are given but by that time it really is to little to late because up until that point nothing has been done to further any kind of character development or story.  It didn't seem as if the movie even cared about any of that, so I didn't really care about the movie either as I fed off of it's own not caring.  

This movie is basically one long chase movie (not anywhere the level of perfection that Mad Max Fury Road made with the same type of premise) with lots of shots of people moving from one place to another.  It felt like a cliff notes version of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies.  Gone is the fast paced interesting scenario of the first film and in its place is lots of running, pacing that borders on manic, characters are developed as if in a Michael Bay movie, and lots people acting stupid for no other reason than to set up the more fast paced/manic situations dictated by stupid people.  This is a sad thing because the first film was unsuspectingly good.    

A Feast for Crows

A Feast For Crows by George R. R. Martin. 

First thing: I have to admit the first time I read this book I hated with a passion and it was the one book that took me the longest to read with much frustration, tears and perseverance.  Where as the other books just flew by this book pulled me screaming and kicking through its story. 

This time around was a completely different experience.  I can't even put my finger on why this time around was different and why everything in this book clicked for me.  I don't know what happened.  For some reason everything in this story locked into place for me and the story flew by just like the other books.  There was no pulling me kicking and screaming through the story, instead the pages were being flipped at a hurricane pace. I still don't think this book is as good as the first four books before it but it's still good. I was thoroughly impressed by what Martin did and I can't even truly say what it was he exactly did because I don't really know. I had really low expectations going into this book from the first time I read it but this time the book was amazing even though it didn't have some of my favorite characters.  With book Martin introduced so many new characters and didn't even touch upon many of the favorite characters in the story that this story should have fell flat on its face but it doesn't.  

Even with these new characters I found myself thoroughly engrossed like I was before.  I wanted to know what happened to these new characters in this book like never before. I was really captured by their personal story line and the over all story that Martin was telling. I've got to admit this world he's created and continues to create is one of the most detailed, believable, and personal worlds I've read in a long time. He puts so much detail into the mythology and world building he's created that when characters start talking about past or present lineage or history I understand about 75% of the names or references they're using, where as when Tolkien did it I was lost about 90% of the time.  But Martin has woven such a rich web of peoples and colored them in such a variety of colors that their lives and world really come alive. 

By all honesty this book should have dragged again for me but it didn't. What this book did was just add more the mythology Martin had started with A Game of Thrones. I really like the Dornish culture down south and wouldn't mind some more insight into their culture. Those Sand Snakes really intrigue me as did the Red Viper. 

As I think back, the characters have come such a long way in this story from where they started. It's been one crazy journey. I really like how Martin will start to set something up for a character and get the reader into thinking the character is going that way only to have the rug not just pulled out from under the character but forcibly yanked, beaten bloody, and then killed all right before our eyes as we are powerless to stop it from happening...all we can do it keep reading through clenched fists and gnashing of teeth. 

Now bring on A Dance with Dragons. I am really looking forward to reading this one, it will be the first time and I just hope my expectations aren't too high. I ordered it on Sunday and am hoping it will be here by the end of the week but until then I'll be finishing up HBO's A Game of Thrones for the second time 3 episodes left.