Avengers Assemble !

Normally I like to spotlight lesser known films, but the new Avengers movie seems to have smashed opening weekend box office records.  And it totally deserves the success.  The film is a completely engaging action flick while remaining a good drama looking at human qualities and character.  Bringing together characters who have had their own [...]

Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore

Christopher Moore has long been one of my favorite authors.  Two of his best works, Lamb and Fluke, are easily on my top ten favorite book list. So it was with great regret and disappointment that I had to abandon reading his most recent work, Sacre Bleu.  The story centres on the impressionistic artists like [...]

Of Monsters and Men – King and Lionheart

Here’s my second offering of new music.  I’ve heard this one on the radio a few times.  The whole album is great.  From Iceland, you know… This is the live version, which is a little less dynamic than the studio version, but still great.

ENDER’S GAME MOVIE

A few posts back I got excited about a Monkey Wrench Gang film.  Now I’ve stumbled on up to date information about an Ender’s Game movie, which has been kicked around for nearly a decade.  Ender’s Game is a novel by Orson Scott Card which won both the Nebula and Hugo awards for best SciFi [...]

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS

Interestingly (for me at least) I’ve got this string of blog entries coming up which all have to do with new stuff from some of my favorite artists. The first is Joss Whedon, who you may or may not remember as the creator and chief writer for Buffy The Vampire Slayer.  People who know me [...]

The Hunger Games

So, where does this appeal for The Hunger Games originate?  Does it come from a cynicism of reality TV?  Does it stem from apocalyptic visions of the future.  Or does it arise from a skepticism surrounding how adults manipulate youth?  I think you could make an argument for any one of these being a significant [...]

Monsieur Lazhar – Movie Review

Monsieur Lazhar was Canada’s Oscar bid for best foreign film, as it is in French with subtitles.  It is both deep and light, dealing with the suicide of an elementary teacher in her classroom and the arrival of a supply teacher who is an Algerian refugee with his own shadows.  It has a variety of [...]

Chronicle : Film Review

Well I’ve gotten around to the first on my list of movies to see, and hope to catch the other two this Tuesday. Chronicle is a scifi film that shows what happens when you give a bunch of ordinary high school kids the power of telekinesis.  Three boys descend into a mysterious hole and encounter [...]

A few words about movies.

I’m always looking for new, unusual movies, often having to take the trek downtown to watch the ones that are only playing at a few venues.  Here are the films on which I currently have my sights. Chronicle is one of those films that viewers either loved or hated, according to the reviews at CinemaClock, [...]

“Sisterhood of Dune” – Book Review

Sisterhood of Dune is an interesting parable for our times.  While it will be most interesting and understandable to those who are following the Dune megaseries, it provides an enlightening reflection on a major issue of our times. The story takes place several hundred years after the battle of Corrin, when the human race finally [...]

“We Need To Talk About Kevin” Movie Review

We Need To Talk About Kevin is a film steeped in depression, dark suspense and malevolence, in the same vein as The Road and Melancholia.  Its intensity is guaranteed to play on the darker side of your mind, causing you to leave the movie in a state of despair.  It’s probably not a good date [...]

Game of Thrones

On a lighter note, I just finished Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.  When I first laid eyes on it I was not only intimidated by the daunting 800 pages of the first volume, but even more-so by the fact that it is at least a five volume series.  I have a lot [...]