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.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
A Walk in the Woods
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
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
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
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
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)
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
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.
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