Movie Review: Gamer

The best thing I can say about "Gamer" is...this wasn't the worst movie ever, in fact, it wasn't even all that bad. That said, this isn't a great movie either, and I sort of feel like I've seen this type of movie done over and over again.

"Gamer" is set in the future, but not too far in the future. In this world, a genius has created a way for people to play simulation type video games using other people as their avatars. Initially, the concept was for a Sims type of game, where your real person avatar lives out what you control them to do. Then, this concept was take 1 step further with a live, first person shooter game using Death Row inmates as the avatars. The hero of the film is John Tillman (Gerard Butler), or Kable, who is just a handful of games away from earning a full pardon for his crimes. The gamer who "plays" as Kable is a 17 year old kid. But, as Kable gets closer to his release, it becomes clear that he'll never be let out the game without a fight.

Like I said earlier, it wasn't bad, but it also wasn't great. Actually, my favorite thing about the movie was the, somewhat, all-star cast. Lots of top notch TV actors, and several 2nd Tier Hollywood stars show up in this movie. The action is good, but the plot is nearly non-existent. It's a lot like the recent G.I. Joe movie, in that things happen, but nobody really reacts.

"Gamer" is a 3 star movie, and definitely earns its R rating. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who isn't either a video game fanatic, or an action junkie.

Missing An Opportunity

President Obama recently scrapped the nation's plans to again reach the moon by 2020, with an end goal of going to Mars. I hadn't really heard much about this, but a coworker who is big on the space program mentioned it today. Sure enough, I found several thousand articles and columns discussing this topic. One from the New York Times was helpful to me. The biggest issue that I seem to hear is that Obama's new proposals have no specific goals. Many people think Mars would be a good goal

Here's where President Obama is missing the boat by not setting a goal of getting to another planet. What if we were to discover life on a far away planet? That would be an entire new source of tax income and a completely new voting block that Obama could bribe with government handouts. Think of it...billions of new Democrats! Well, unless we discovered Vulcans. Their strict adherence to logic would force them to become Conservative Republicans...Liberal Democrat ideas don't stand the test of logic.

Think about it Mr. President. And, while your at it, remember, some of our great leaps in technology have come because of our space program. But...ah...you know...new voters first.

Book Review: "Beyond the Shadows"

If you've made it this far in the "Night Angel Trilogy" don't stop now, because if you do, you will miss the best book in the Trilogy. That book is "Beyond the Shadows."

I won't bore you with a lot of details regarding the plot, but I will say that everything that built for the first 2 books came together in "Beyond the Shadows." Like many of the great epics, all the separate story threads that had been going for 2 books all came together in a big way at the finale. Every character and every story has some sort of resolution, yet the door is left open for additional chapters, should author Brent Weeks decide to write more.

For me, though, what made "Beyond the Shadows" better than the first 2 books is that much if the ickiness of the first 2 books was not needed in this story. We all understand that our heroes were living in a dark and depraved land, and this book moved past that and went to the story of trying to fix it. I read all 689 pages over 4 days...spending the better part of 7 hours yesterday reading the last 500 pages.

If you decide to give this trilogy a chance, you will be rewarded with the finale. "Beyond the Shadows" is a terrific book.

Movie Review: The Book of Eli

"The Book of Eli" is officially the first awesome movie of 2010. I actually watched this one in the theater. I thought it was great...5 stars all the way!

First off...the trailers were very misleading. I was expecting an apocalyptic-type action film, and while there was action, "The Book of Eli" had so much more. Basically, it was totally different from what I was expecting, but I loved it nonetheless.

Denzel Washington (does he ever make a bad movie?) stars as Eli. Eli is a "walker" in the not to distant future of earth. We find out it's approximately 30 years after "the war", and all indications point to it being a nuclear war. Eli is carrying a special book, and heading west. I can't tell you what the book is, but I will tell you that I thought it was really cool. As he goes west, he finds a settlement, run by a man named Carnegie (Gary Oldman). Carnegie happens to be searching for the book Eli holds. Once Eli is discovered, the story goes in a direction I never expected, but ended up loving. I'm trying really hard not to give much away here, because I think you just have to see this movie!

The characters were interesting, complex, and not always likable. Of course Eli is a wonderful character, and I almost always like Gary Oldman. Oldman plays the perfect villain, and at the end, you even feel somewhat sorry for him. However what surprised me the most was Mila Kunis (she played Jackie on "That 70's Show"). Kunis played Solara, a young girl who tags along with Eli once he leaves the settlement. She showed depth as an actor that I didn't know she had. I was worried when she showed up in the movie, but it really worked.

I find myself wondering why there can't be more movies like this. Maybe there are, and I'm just not open to them. "The Book of Eli" had some action in it, but it was also a terrific story with some really interesting twists, including one on the level of the "Sixth Sense" plot twist involving Bruce Willis' character.

Just go watch "The Book of Eli." I think you'll enjoy it. It is rated R, so don't take little kids. If you do watch it, I'd love to know what you think.

Movie Review: District 9

"District 9" doesn't warrant a picture, so that is why there is no picture accompanying this review. This movie was not good...in fact it was awful. A friend from church told me it was bad, but did I listen? Nooooooo! Instead, I went ahead and watched it. That was a bad decision and one that I shall regret for the remainder of my days.

Just skip "District 9." It's a 1-2 star movie on a good day.

Finally Harry Does Something Right

Harry Reid is my favorite, laughable Democrat. While Obama and Pelosi might seem like my favorites, you just don't find more comical gaffes from a sane Democrat than you do from Senator Reid. This is the man who demanded Rush Limbaugh apologize for something, I don't even remember what. Then he sent a letter to Rush's syndication partner demanding Rush apologize. After Rush got a hold of the letter and auctioned it off for over $2 million to charity (which he matched, for a total of $4 million), Harry Reid actually tried to take some credit for the massive charitable donation.

Another of Harry's great moments was when he said that the Iraq war was lost and the surge wasn't working, about 15 minutes after the surge started. As history will show, he was proven wrong, which isn't a surprise, because he's wrong about pretty much everything. Senator Reid is probably the worst Senate Majority leader in recent memory. With a 60 vote majority in the Senate, he still couldn't pass Obama's "Destroy America's Health Care Act."

But, today, Senator Reid did something right. Despite rumored pressure not to, Senator Reid seated Scott Brown, giving the Republicans 41 votes in the Senate and breaking the Democrats super majority. This likely means the end of Obama's "Destroy America's Health Care Act," and the end of Craig Becker's nomination to the National Labor Relations Board.

I have to admit that I'm impressed. I didn't know Harry Reid had this in him. Maybe if he would have been his own man all along, his job wouldn't be in such jeopardy this year (he is not polling well in Nevada, and he's up for re-election this year). But, better late than never...nice job Senator Reid.

Book Review: "Shadow's Edge"

"Shadow's Edge" is the 2nd book in the Night Angel Trilogy, and the book I just finished last night. I read the first book last month. In this book, Kylar Stern is coming to grips with a change in his life. He has a fiance, and they are caring for an orphaned child. He has left Cenaria and started a new life. But, just like Al Pacino in "The Godfather", Kylar keeps tryin' to get out, and they keep sucking him back in. As The Night Angel, his abilities make him the perfect man to rescue deposed King Logan Gyre, and stop the Khalidorian God King before he can make Cenaria his permanent home.

I liked this book a lot, though it was hard to get through the first part of it. The Khalidorian villains go beyond despicable, and much of the first part of the book focuses on the evil acts they carry out on the Cenarian people. After you get through that and the story settles on 3 main lines, that of Kylar, Logan and new hero Vi Sovarusi, the story takes off. It is full of great action, and some very funny exchanges between Kyler and Vi.

Similar recommendations to the last book. "Shadow's Edge" is definitely not for the squeamish. It's an R rated book, so be careful. If you made it through "The Way of Shadows", you'll get through this just fine.