Movie Review: The Amazing Spiderman

My last post for the month of November, and quite a busy month for posts it has been.  I've pushed to get as much done as possible since I plan to take the majority of December off from publishing.  There are a few I'll be doing (such as a post for the pre-Mayan calendar end, and a run-down on movies from last summer that did suck), but I plan to reduce my book and movie reviews to almost zero.  That way I can "enjoy" the holiday season and get all ready for Spring 2013 in an adequate manner.

One last note and I'll proceed with the review.  I wanted to express gratitude to those whose best wishes and prayers have been with my mom while she is in the hospital after her surgery.  Everything went great, and she is recovering nicely.


The Amazing Spiderman (2012)


 
Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner. Short synopsis of The Amazing Spiderman taken from IMDb.com  

I liked The Amazing Spiderman, which is surprising considering what I thought when first hearing there was going to be another Spidey movie and it was a "re-boot." The first movie version of the web-slinger is only a little over a decade old, I said to myself. Why a new take on the comic book hero?

Well, here's the thing. This new film does some stuff that the older one didn't, and surprisingly, I liked the changes. Yes, it is pretty much the same basic plot, with - as the "Honest Trailer" video I have attached - much of the same basic scenes.

Movie Review: The Raven

A record in movie reviews this month.  But then all the movies - good and bad - are coming out on video finally.  This one I actually watched for Halloween this year.  Shows how behind in reviews I have been lately.


The Raven (2012)



When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's works, a young Baltimore detective joins forces with Poe to stop him from making his stories a reality. Short synopsis of The Raven taken from IMDb.com 

Movie Review: Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter

I'm jumping over a couple of other movie reviews and going straight to this one, since it was the last thing I saw.  And it was fun.  And I feel like posting this one.  Like that.  Call me silly, call me patriotic.  Or something patriotic-like.

Ok, back to my homework.


Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter (2012)



Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, discovers vampires are planning to take over the United States. He makes it his mission to eliminate them.  Short synopsis of Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter taken from IMDb.com

Book Review: The Dead Zone, by Stephen King

I accidentally slept the whole night on the sofa downstairs.  The one my wife wants to sell?  Yeah, that's the one.  I was watching a strange movie (not one I'll review, it was...  awful) and I decided after it was over to watch an episode of that TV show Sliders.  To get the nasty out of my brain.  But I drifted off asleep half way through the show.

Had the strangest dream this morning, there on the sofa.  I dreamt that my wife never existed (it wasn't a specific thought, it was more like I went along a different course in my life - stay tuned and I'll explain), and that I had been married to my ex-girlfriend (who wasn't exactly my ex-girlfriend from real life and - well, like a million years ago now it seems).  And this girl and I had a baby together.  And for some reason, she flaked out and I ended up with the little kid.  We were living at the apartment I grew up on Valhalla Drive.  With my mom.  It was a strange dream.  The details are fuzzy, but the emotion was sad, and confused.

I suppose it was another anxiety dream of some sort.  Especially because, when it woke me up, I wasn't sure where I was or even who I was for certain.  It didn't help matters that I was sleeping on the sofa downstairs, with the TV still going quietly to itself, and all the lights on.  And sunlight streaming through the downstairs window.  Semi-unfamiliar surroundings, you see.  Not what I would have expected, seeing as it was 7:45 in the AM.

So I got up and went up to the church house to do some cleaning, as I had promised a week or so back.  And then I came home, and since I'd already been industrious this day, I decided to keep it up and rake up some of the leaves on the back lawn.  Good thing too, as underneath the pile left when my wife and her nice friend did it a few weeks back (before that good first snow) was turning sickly yellow.

And then I came in, took a shower (I needed it) and here I sit, blathering on about my day so far.  I should knock it off and get to the review (which I wrote previously and just haven't gotten around to posting yet).  This was actually the book I saved to read around Halloween time.  I read it the week of Halloween, and wrote the bulk of the review shortly afterward.  But things kept me busy and I haven't posted it up till now.

So here it is already.  Hope your day is a good one.

1979 hard cover of The Dead Zone. / Source: Amazon.com

The Dead Zone, by Stephen King

From the book’s cover:

John Smith awakens from an interminable coma with an accursed power-the power to see the future and the terrible fate awaiting mankind in...the dead zone.

Synopsis:

John Smith has an accident while out skating on the ice as a kid. Little does he know that this is a catalyst that will change his entire life. An innate ability to see into past and future - the second sight, some would call it - resides within him, and this accident is the key that will someday put him on that cliched "path of destiny."

Movie Review: Battleship

It's Fortress America Day!  Most people call it Black Friday, but over a decade back, I played the Milton Bradley board game "Fortress America" with my long-lost buddy Greer on this day.  And since that day, I've wanted to play the game again when this part of year comes around.

The Milton Bradley game "Fortress America."  Everybody but Canada is against you.  And we're kinda suspicious of those Canadians, eh?  / Source: HiewanBoardgames.blogspot.com

Funny, but today's review is based on another board game-turned-movie.  After reading the review, you may wish that somebody made a movie out of "Fortress America" instead.  And they did!  Well, not really.  The recent remake of Red Dawn might qualify.  But from what I've heard, it is not much better than Battleship.  I'll stick to the 80s film, I guess.


Battleship (2012)



A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals. Short synopsis of Battleship taken from IMDb.com 

Happy Thanksgiving

Feeling quite full just now, which is nice.  So much yummy food.  Hmmm...  So far I haven't said anything that lots of other people might say for Thanksgiving.  Let me see.  How about "I'm grateful for my family and for the blessings of the season?"  Yup, I bet other people could say that too.

My wife sent me thins one, via Facebook.  / Source: Facebook.com

Oh, here's something.  My wife set me up a Pintrest account last evening.  Don't know what I'm gonna do with that.  As I told her, "guys don't do Pintrest."  Well, maybe some guys do.  I don't know any of those guys.  Frankly, I don't think I want to.

But after she showed me how it works, and I saw that it wasn't just crafty junk and the latest recipe for the ultimate chocolate chip cheese cake, I decided it might be of some use.  There were some interesting things she showed me on there.  So I might not delete it right away.

Anyway, I'm actually not in the mood to write this evening, so I'm gone knock off here.  Just want to relax and not think too much.  Happy Thanksgiving yall.

Movie Review: Sinister

Ever have one of those days where you just feel like...  I don't know.  As secure in my masculinity as I imply that I am, I could almost say "feel like crying?"  I'm stuck at the tail pipe region of a bureaucracy and it's giving me fits.  I don't need this.  Not on top of everything else.  I certainly don't mean to say I'm a hard-off case by any means, but right now I'm feeling that very human frustration.

As I've alluded to on this blog, I am not among the mathematically gifted.  I have been putting off taking my math requirements in school.  I've looked at them, but it seemed tactically sounder to get through other things before taking them on.  Now I'm being punished by having a "developmental" hold placed on my registration.

I plan to take my "developmental" math (I place in quotes because I have a real problem saying college level math is any way, shape or form developmental; sounds like I need help learning how to tie my shoes or button my shirt, that word) Spring semester 2013.  I intend to put my best toward it, in an effort to grade well, and to hopefully place ahead and get out of the rest of my math requirements.  That's part of why I want to go to part time attendance Spring semester.  That and I need another source of income.  As I've also mentioned repeatedly on this forum, money is a big issue right now.  Not enough of it, that is.

Anyway, the short version is, I have this hold on my registration, and I've been doing what it takes to get it taken off.  I planned today to register for an evening class with a good teacher.  I studied, then took the placement test yesterday and then waited to register till this morning when my hold would supposedly lift.  But when I got on to do it, the hold hadn't gone yet.

I went to the "Student Success Center" (an ironic title to my eyes, just now) and asked about it, and they said I had to take an online counseling session (I learned next to nothing that I didn't already know, by the way), and that my registration hold would be lifted the next business day.

But that is Monday.  Meanwhile, all the children who have decided to go to college this spring are online and taking up spots.  Will I get a good class time?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Am I happy about it?  You figure that one out.

There is still hope that I might be able to register this afternoon.  She said it "might" happen, if somebody gets to them (the holds, I assume).  Thus the bureaucratic tail pipe.  I'm back at the end of the bus, pushing and praying that it will go faster so I can get where I need to be.  It isn't an illustrious destination, but it'll suit me just fine.  Here's hoping.  And in the meantime, I feel like I'm a frickin mental quadriplegic.  I can't seem to get my brain in gear while my gut worries (and that is a lot lately), and it's making me crazy!

Ok, the name of this post is 'Movie Review: Sinister,' so I ought to stop kibitzing and belly-aching and get to it.  Sorry, but thanks just the same for your indulgence.


Sinister (2012)


A true-crime writer finds a cache of 8mm "snuff" films that suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a serial killer whose career dates back to the 1960s. Short synopsis of Sinister taken from IMDb.com

Exploited Snack Cake Thoughts from the White Board - Nov 17

Yes, I know yesterday I said that I would be taking a break this weekend from the blog.  But who could pass up a news day like this past one? 

My wife, while checking her Facebook, mentioned she'd heard that Hostess Snack Foods was going under.  I was incredulous.  Not Hostess!  I remember sitting at my grandma's kitchen table and enjoying their fruit pies when I was just a little boy.  I've never been a die-hard Twinkies fan, but I've certainly partook of my share of them over the years.  And Suzie-Q's?  My mom got me hooked on them at one time.  Used to be my snack with my lunch, when I worked at Parker Hannifin in the Weber Industrial Park.  Every now and then I still eat a thing of donettes out of the vending machine at my current job, even though I've cut back.  I'd like to say I did that for health reasons, but the truth is, it's more due to the high price of the stuff in there these days.

My wife's bet, and I agree, is that Twinkies and all the rest aren't going away.  Somebody will buy the recipes and go that way.  I feel bad for all those people out of work.  The story online said it was something to do with mis-management combined with a strike by the workers.  Hey, I'm not the first to say it, but how come Uncle Sam doesn't bail out the Twinkie people?  Did it for shady finance outfits during the fallout from the housing crunch.  So why not the people who keep us in sweet sweet goodies, huh?

The news on Hostess, from New York Times/Dealbook

The memes over Twinkies have already begun.

Movie Review: Wreck-It Ralph

A fairly short movie review, and then I'm taking the weekend off from extracurricular writing so I can focus on homework.  I decided to take the Accuplacer math test on either next Tuesday or Wednesday (preferably the former) so I can have it over and done with.  And I have Spanish class online stuff to do, and a couple of papers - one needing a draft before Wednesday next - that need attention.  I know, this is my same old song lately.  Bear with me.  Or "bare" with me.  No, don't do that.  We run a clean operation here. For the most part.

Which reminds me.  I was looking at my traffic sources, and discovered one was a pornography site.  I must say, this came as a surprise.  I am a grown mature adult and such things don't make me blush easily, but I was still taken aback that my blog would be connected in any such way with an establishment of that sort.

Now I can't make people not come to my site from wherever they choose, at least not to my knowledge (I did a little research on it), but I can say, if you get any sort of pornographic material via any links with my blog, I apologize.  And I want my readers to know that despite my occasional swear word, I do my best to keep a family friendly place here.  Not just because of my religious allegiances, but because I was raised that way.  It's good business to keep things proper.  That's my take on it, these days.

Thanks for listening.  And as always, thanks for reading my stuff.  I appreciate it.

Oh, and I also did a touch of editing to my Princess Bride Dual Review.  I was informed of some spelling errors, and I commented at the bottom on something I was told that I had forgotten.  Just an FYI

Now the review:


Wreck-It Ralph (2012)



A video game villain wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfill his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the whole arcade where he lives. Short synopsis of Wreck-It Ralph taken from IMDb.com 

Dual Review: The Princess Bride : S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure / The Princess Bride

Editor's Note/Update: I have fixed an error or two in this review, including the mis-spelling of Inigo's name.  I have left Westley as Westley (with a "T") as my references say it is that way.  I'm sure I missed other fixes that this could use, but you'll have to live with my errors.  Also, I added a comment (para-phrased approximation) that my wife made when she read this review.

Last dual review was movie first and then book, so this time I switching it up and doing book first and then movie. Reviewer's choice, you see.

Source: Amazon.com

The Princess Bride : S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, by William Goldman

From the book’s cover:

William Goldman's modern fantasy classic is a simple, exceptional story about quests—for riches, revenge, power, and, of course, true love—that's thrilling and timeless.

Anyone who lived through the 1980s may find it impossible—inconceivable, even—to equate The Princess Bride with anything other than the sweet, celluloid romance of Westley and Buttercup, but the film is only a fraction of the ingenious storytelling you'll find in these pages. Rich in character and satire, the novel is set in 1941 and framed cleverly as an “abridged” retelling of a centuries-old tale set in the fabled country of Florin that's home to “Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passions.”

Book Review: The Island of Dr. Moreau, by H. G. Wells

I read this one around Halloween, and am just now getting to posting my thoughts on it.  But I haven't started a new book in a week or so, in an effort to get a bit caught up.  Especially before the December break.  I think I will really reduce my posting output for that month.  I plan a holiday post or two, and probably a postmortem entitled "Summer Movies That Did Suck - 2012."  Other than that, it'll be a good time to do finals, work on all the household stuff that needs attention, take care of those in my life who are in need, and look for a part-time job for the spring.  And maybe enjoy a day or so of holiday cheer, while I'm at it.

Source: Amazon.com

The Island of Dr. Moreau, by H.G. Wells

From the book’s cover:

After a collision between two ships in rough seas, a "private gentlemen"--the wreck's sole survivor--languished for eight days under a merciless sun. With neither food to eat nor water to drink, death seemed a certainty. But miraculously, Edward Prendick survived.

Yet what he was to encounter in the days ahead was more horrible and terrifying than any death he could ever have imagined. For the island on which he landed was the home of the infamous Dr. Moreau.

Exiled from England because of his gruesome experiments in vivisection, Moreau has taken up residence in this remote paradise in order to continue his work. His goal: To create a new, superior race of beings! His legacy, however, would prove to be a nightmare beyond comprehension...

Movie Review: The Avengers

Better late than never, I always say.  Yes, ok, I know I say a lot of things.  But you'll find this review refreshingly short, if you are in that "brevity is best"-camp.


The Avengers (2012)



Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki and his army.  Short synopsis of The Avengers taken from IMDb.com 

Book Review: All Hands Down: The True Story of the Soviet Attack on the USS Scorpion

I read this book most recently, and so have skipped over a couple of book reviews of books that I actually read around Halloween.  I have those wrote up as well, but am going to post them in the next couple of days - time permitting.  Life is busy lately.  So what work I've done that is related to this blog has been piecemeal at best.

But as always, thanks for reading my stuff.  It makes it worth it to know the work is not without small rewards.  Hopefully someday, it'll be worth more than chump change.  But then we could all use a little somethin'-somethin', as they say.

Source: Amazon.com

All Hands Down: The True Story of the Soviet Attack on the USS Scorpion, by Kenneth Sewell and Jerome Preisler

From the book’s cover:

Forty years ago, in May 1968, the submarine USS Scorpion sank in mysterious circumstances with a loss of ninety-nine lives. The tragedy occurred during the height of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, and it followed by only weeks the sinking of a Soviet sub near Hawaii. Now in All Hands Down, drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews, many with exclusive sources in the naval and intelligence communities, as well as recently declassified United States and Soviet intelligence files, Kenneth Sewell and Jerome Preisler explain what really happened to Scorpion.

In January 1968, a U.S. intelligence ship, USS Pueblo, was seized by North Korea. Among other items, the North Koreans confiscated a valuable cryptographic unit that was capable of deciphering the Navy's top-secret codes. Unknown to the Navy, a traitor named John Walker had begun supplying the Navy's codes to the KGB. Once the KGB acquired the crypto unit from the North Koreans, the Russians were able to read highly classified naval communications.

In March, a Soviet sub, K-129, mysteriously sank near Hawaii, hundreds of miles from its normal station in the Pacific. Soviet naval leaders mistakenly believed that a U.S. submarine was to blame for the loss, and they planned revenge. A trap was set: several Soviet vessels were gathered in the Atlantic, acting suspiciously. It would be only a matter of time before a U.S. sub was sent to investigate. That sub was Scorpion. Using the top-secret codes and the deciphering machine, the Soviets could intercept and decode communication between the Navy and Scorpion, the final element in carrying out the planned attack.

All Hands Down shows how the Soviet plan was executed and explains why the truth of the attack has been officially denied for forty years. Sewell and Preisler debunk various official explanations for the tragedy and bring to life the personal stories of some of the men who were lost when Scorpion went to the bottom. This true story, finally told after exhaustive research, is more exciting than any novel.

Night Photos

Long night at work.  But I got the pleasure of coming out to lots of snow.  I love nights like these, when there is fresh snow on everything and the world is kinda beautiful.

So when I got home, I took some pictures.  Set the camera to longer exposure, black and white and no flash.  And now I upload those images to the blog as I sit here watching the Simpsons episode where Homer and Mr. Burns get trapped in a cabin after an avalanche and they nearly kill each other.  Funny.

Bad quality from YouTube, but better than nothing.  And you get the point.  So there is that.

Quasi-Political Thoughts from the White Board - Nov 7

Nothing clever to say this time.  Not even sure why I'm posting, other than that I feel like keeping the ball rolling.  I do have other things that I could be working on to add, such as a review for two and a half books (one was too short to call a full sized "book"), and a few movie reviews, and an Op-Ed piece or two.  But really, all I do lately is work on school and go to my job and sleep.  And watch a little My Name is Earl on the computer.  Was watching that with my wife for some mindless but humorous entertainment.

I have been considering taking most of December off from the blog.  I'll still be working on this and that, but not publishing anything.  After all, it is a busy time of year, and probably even more so this year with all the extraneous matters we've been facing as a family lately.  So I could probably use the break.  But we'll see.  After all, I like to post for Christmas and New Years and such.  Last year when it was still my old blog, it was the holiday season that really got me back up and going again.  Then things went around the bend in the early new year.  But that is neither here nor there.

Anyway, I'm just musing here.  Best to get on with it.  Because there are Thoughts to be given.  Like on the democratic process, and on the economy, and on... well, read on and you'll see.

Chronomentrophobia Thoughts from the White Board - Nov 5

Chronomentrophobia - an unreasonable fear of clocks.  Which would be really tough if you were like millions of Americans this past weekend and got to participate in the bi-annual ritual of changing those chronometers for Daylight Savings Time.

Now I'm not going to bore you with a bunch of details about the history of Daylight Savings Time or why we do it or why we shouldn't do it, or stuff like that.  I'm just going to get along with the Thoughts and then call it a day.  I need to get to studying math.  Got a test coming up that I need to do well on if I'm going to get into Math 1010 this spring.  And I'm no good at math, so...  gotta study.

Movie Review: Moneyball

I recently watched this movie to get some offered extra credit for my economics class.  I am going to post that short paper here as a review for the film.  It'll be the shortest movie review I've done in recent memory!

P.S.: I will be adding a summary from IMDb at the beginning, and my usual recommendation of value at the end.  And speaking of summaries, I think I will start putting a synopsis of the film being reviewed - from an outside source, that is - at the start of all my movie reviews.  To help speed things up a bit, and to give me more opportunity to focus my writing on the review itself, which is why I'm here after all.

Moneyball (2011)

Book Review: Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov

Only sixteen hours, give or take, from my last post.  And here is another one.  As I mentioned last night, here is that review of Lolita.  And once it is posted, I promise I'll get back to my homework.  Really!  This time I mean it!

Oh, and incidentally, with all the Halloween hoopla, I forgot to mention that yesterday's (ok, last night's) post was # 100 for What Went Wong.  Thanks for your patronage, and hopefully by this time next year, there'll be another 100 more.

Source: Amazon.com

Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov

From the book’s cover:

Awe and exhilaration--along with heartbreak and mordant wit--abound in Lolita, Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America. Most of all, it is a meditation on love--love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation.