Jun 23 2008
Kung Fu Panda is an animated film about a Panda who loves Kung Fu, where he finds himself having to learn it and save his community from his Master’s nemesis.
I recommend it for kids and adults. The story is simple but engaging, with laugh-out-loud moments. The action scenes are incredible: intense, fast, and [...]
May 20 2008
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (8/10)
Engrossing, well-written novel about a sheriff tracking down a killer who’s after someone that stumbled on some drug money in the middle of a desert. I wouldn’t want to see the well-reviewed movie if it portrays the violence in the book.
Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer (7/10)
A [...]
Mar 02 2008
Next by Michael Crichton (3/10)
Too many characters with too little detail. Crichton seems to be getting worse, writing about topics that are interesting but a story with no substance. He creates short, interesting scenarios and dilemmas to raise issues related to the topic of his book (genetics in this case), but the story [...]
Jan 30 2008
I never think to create a draft post and write a few sentences about the latest book I’ve read, which is probably what J-Walk does. My last Books I’ve Read Recently post was in June, 2007, yet I read at least one book a week.
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (7/10)
This is [...]
Oct 31 2007
I learned a new word today while watching an online review for the film Gone Baby Gone:
Histrionic — 1) of or pertaining to actors or acting. 2) deliberately affected or self-consciously emotional; overly dramatic, in behaviour or speech.
There’s a word I’ll never use in a sentence. (And I disagree with it as a [...]
Jun 12 2007
The Road by Cormac McCarthy (9/10)
Yes, this is an Oprah pick, but I read that it had a science-fiction element to it, and it was cheap (at Costco). It’s a depressing novel about a father and son wandering America after civilization has been destroyed. It’s violent, touching, and memorable. The author doesn’t [...]
Jun 07 2007
UPDATE (Aug. 5/08): Logitech doesn’t provide support for this product. By the looks of it, they never did. Eventually mine stopped working. I couldn’t find a simple solution online or through the Logitech website. I don’t recommend this production. It might work for you, but if it doesn’t, then all you have is a piece [...]
May 14 2007
I saw Spider-man 3 yesterday. It’s long. Stuff of note:
Every character cries at least 3 times in the movie, with Peter Parker crying about 20, I think.
The action scenes are fast and confusing; you often can’t see tell what happens because the shots are too close-up or quick. I think the [...]
May 10 2007
This a cannibalized post from Mud Songs.
Cinema Paradiso (SE) — This expanded version of the film is an improvement over the original North American release and will definitely please anyone who is already a fan. I watched about an hour of it every night for three nights, and I loved it. The last half [...]
May 07 2007
I wasn’t a fan of The Sex Pistols, but I had friends who listened to punk, so I was exposed to it. I think someone prompted me to buy The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle and I’m glad I did.
It was a double-album (back in the day of vinyl, before CDs took over), a [...]
May 03 2007
William Wharton is the author of Birdy, Dad, A Midnight Clear, and many other excellent books. He has written non-fiction, too, including Ever After: A Father’s True Story, a heart-wrenching account of how his daughter’s family got killed in a car crash caused by smoke from nearby fires in Oregon.
I was introduced to William [...]
Apr 19 2007
I had a good guitar tuner years ago and someone stole it. I remember buying it for about $80. It sells for about $200 now. I don’t have the greatest ear and so I’ve pretty much been playing an out-of-tune guitar for at least the past 10 years. I kinda like that. I didn’t bother [...]
Jan 24 2007
The Squid and the Whale - I enjoyed this movie so much, I rented it twice over a two-day period and enjoyed it even more the second time. It’s the story of two adolescent brothers and how they react to their parents’ splitting up, and how their parents react. Their individual reactions are honest and [...]
Jan 23 2007
The Departed - I already wrote a brief review of The Departed, but I’ll say this: It was the most fun I had watching a movie in a movie theatre this year.
I wrote: “It’s been well over a decade since Martin Scorsese made a worthwhile film. Now, with The Departed, he’s hit a grand-slam home-run [...]
