Movies On Video or DVD
Spy Kids
Cute and fun. They spent a lot of money on this production and they didn't take themselves too seriously, which is good. Lots of over the top spy gadgets; a car that is a submarine, to bubble gum that gives an electrical shock. I wish they hadn't shoved this big 'keeping the family together' message down your throat. Otherwise, it is a fun ride.
Blade
The vampire theory is a little weird, but if you don't a few of them walking around during the day under a lot of sunblock, and if you are generally fond of vampire flicks, this one is worth seeing. The big fight sceen right at the beginning is great. Michael says he'd rate it as one of the top ten he has ever seen... and the rest of the movie paled for him after that.
Fight Club
It took me forever to get around to seeing this movie. At first this guy just needs some change in his life, but then things get a little out of hand. It's violent, but since it's a fight 'club' you figure it's all fair, like watching a boxing match or a hockey game. It does have a surprise twist at the end, but it's not like the Sixth Sense, which is what I had been told. It bothered me that people were comparing them. Anyway, this is definitely worth seeing twice. Don't let anyone ruin the end for you, just go see it.
Nina Takes a Lover
This is a very interesting romantic drama. It's slow through most of the movie and it has it's own little twist at the end. I thought it was worth it for some of things it has to say about relationships. It doesn't shove any conclusions down your throat, it's more like it is presenting a few things for consideration.
K-PAX
This was such a great movie. Nice quick pace, and really clever. Kevin Spacey is fabulous as always. I hear that this one got lots of mixed reviews, that people were confused about how they felt about it. Not me, I loved it. I think all the people who were confused don't have the ability to suspend disbelief unless it's completely unreal. The story says it's set in modern day New York city and if someone says he's from another planet he's obviously crazy so lock him up. I want to know what harm he was doing. None, and that is beside the point. They want to show the institution and the doctor who wants to 'cure' him. I started to worry that they were gonna wimp out on the ending, but they didn't. It was perfect.
Books
Good Omens (novel) - by Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett
This is the third time I've read this book. That is telling, since I rarely reread books. There are always too many that haven't been read yet at all. This book is a comedy about the apocalypse. As I've mentioned before, I like stuff that twistes religion around on itself. Especially christianity, and specifically catholic. (I started recovering from a catholic upbringing when I stopped attending mass at the age of 12.) Anyway this is a funny book, that is quite well written. You get to meet the four horsemen who have been killing time until the big moment, an angel and a demon who blur the lines between heaven and hell, and the anti-christ who is misplaced by the agents of hell and accidentally grows up normal. There are too many others to list here, that should give a good idea of the set up though. I enjoyed it just as much this third time around as I did the first.
Covenant With the Vampire: The Diaries of the Family Dracul (novel) - by Jeanne Kalogridis
This one was hard to get into. While I love vampire stuff, I'm not too fond of stories that just rework the Bram Stoker tradition. It's written like found diaries and letter mixed together into chronological order and it is about Prince Dracul (Vlad Tsepesh). Fortunately it is not nearly as dry as Stokers book, which I never finished. I thought I was only going to finish this one and never pick up any of the sequels, but in the last 50 - 75 pages she really grabbed me and now I am not so sure.
|