Last Week at the Library

The Road (Oprah's Book Club)

Cormac McCarthy

I am not sure how I feel about this book.  It doesn't really go anywhere or really say anything.  Some people do bad things and others do good things.  There are no names, there are no locations, and there is no indication of what happened to put the characters in the situation that they are in.  The book has the tendency to put images in your mind that you don't want there.  It is a quick read.  I am not sure how I would even classify this book.  It almost seems like a synopsis of a book rather than a book itself. 

 

The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country

Neil Gaiman

I really liked this volume of Sandman.  The threads from the earlier stories that get pulled in are great fun.  The stories in this collection are exceptional.  My favorites would include the capturing of the muse and Mid Summer Nights Dream. 

 

Hellboy, Vol. 3: The Chained Coffin and Others

Mike Mignola

This is a great group of individual stories.  They build on the Hellboy mystery established in the first two volumes while providing great fun.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I See Movies

The Machine Girl

If you like ultra violent blood spray movies than this one is for you.  It is a revenge movie that lives up to the Tokyo Shock title.  The main character's brother and his friend are killed by a gang that is led by the son of a Yakuza boss.  Oh the boss, his wife, and son are all Ninja as well.  The movie just gets more and more bloody from there.  This movie is not for the weak of heart or stomach. 

Forever the Moment-  This is a Korean movie.  A Korean sports movie.  A Korean sports movie about Olympic handball.  A Korean sports movie about women's Olympic handball.  Now that you don't want to see it let me tell you how good it is.  It is based on the true story of the 2004 women's Olympic handball team.  The team was put together with some veterans that some considered to be over the hill and some unproved rookies.  The coaching situation was uncertain until the late into training and even then the he and the players clashed at first.  Like all sports movies, this one is a feel good title.  I won't tell you how they did in the Olympics, but the movie does have footage of the real matches along with soundbites from several of the real players and the coach.  Great movie.

 

Saint Ralph

Another sports movie and yes another feel good movie.  This movie was just awesome.  How did I miss this movie for so long.  How did this one slip under the radar of everyone I know except for Mainmor who watched it accidently.  The first 20 or so minutes of this movie are uncomfortable as this 14 y/o boy is exploring puberty.  A lot of the time with his hands.  The story is about Ralph, whos father is dead and his mother has just slipped into a coma and looks as though she is battling cancer.  He goes to catholic school and is kind of an outcast.  He is told that it will take a miracle for his mother to ever wake up.  He relates this to the XC coach saying that it would be a miracle if anyone off of his team could win boston.  Ralph is encouraged by a vision of God telling him to win the race.  It was a great movie with some great child acting. 

Read and post comments | Send to a friend