Book of Eli-Spoiler Free Review

Talk about little to no hype on an amazing movie.  Where is the buzz.  This was a great movie.  The only thing that I can think of is that people didn't like the religious nature of the film. 

I didn't know what to expect from this film.  I may have heard a couple of people recommend it, but I wasn't really in that much of hurry to see it.  The premise of a man protecting the last bible on Earth seemed interesting and it had Denzel in it and he is a great actor, but that is all I knew. 

Things I didn't know.  I didn't know that Mila Kunis had grown up and was in this movie and could actually act.  I didn't know that Gary Oldman was in it, and man is he ever the master of disguise.  He never plays the same bady guy twice.  I didn't know the fights were going to be so well choreographed.  Yeah, maybe I just wasn't paying attention.  I didn't know that I was supposed to be. 

World creation is great.  Part of it fells like Mad Max and part of it feels like a western.  The world is believable and the special effects do not go over the top and there is no need for them to.  The color looks washed out, but it supposed too and feels natural given the nature of the world.  It is a pretty movie in a desolate kind of way. 

It was a great movie.  If you have read the road the world is kind of like that, except you don't want the characters to shoot themselves 150 pages in and wonder why they don't for the next 200.  Fans of post apocoliptic science fiction are going to like this one a lot.  This is also a science fiction film that religious people will probably really like.  Denzel fans, his shirt stays on, sorry to disappoint.  It is a great movie though. 

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Ender is Done

Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1)

Orson Scott Card

I just finished reading Ender's Game to Ashli.  She loved it.  She has even recruited her friends as toon leaders in her own Phoenix Army at school.  Her favorite quotation is, "Cover your butt, Bernard is watching.  God."  It was great to share this book with her.  I hope she remembers it all of her life.  It is really rewarding to have a piece of literature that you like so much and to be able to pass it on to your children. 

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Soldier (1998)

This movie came on ion tonight and I gave it a watch for the first time since seeing it in theaters.  This movie stars Kurt Russell as SGT Todd.  Todd is the soldier of the title and was trained since birth, with several others, to be a super soldiers.  The movie opens with a montage of different training that the soldiers went through and also different battles that they had fought in. 

SOLDIER (1998) pt 1 *** FULL MOVIE ***

Flash forward and the soldiers are all well decorated and Todd stands out as the best of the best.  The soldiers are aging and their numbers diminishing from combat.  Just in time, a new crop of soldiers show up.  This new group are genetically modified perfect soldiers.  To test the new soldiers Todd is pitted up against Cain 607 (Jason Scott Leigh).  Cain beats Todd in every test and eventually dispatches him in hand to hand combat with two other older soldiers, just to make it fair. 

Todd is left for dead on a trash planet and is adopted by the locals.  For whatever reason the ship comes back a couple of weeks later and they decide to wipe out the population of the planet as training for the new soldiers.  Todd has gained affection for these people in the two weeks, and decides to protect them while wiping out the new batch of soldiers, killing the leaders of the program, and liberating the old obsolete soldiers. 

The movie isn’t half bad.  I like the concept of soldiers raised from birth and the message that a non brain washed soldier will be a superior soldier to one that is basically a robot.  If you know what you are fighting for, you are more likely to win.  The really awesome thing about this movie is all the nods it makes to other science fiction movies.  Check out the trivia on imdb for a rundown.

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Anathem

Anathem

Neal Stephenson

This book can not be explained in a short review. Stephenson creates a
world that is very complicated, has its own history, and creates a
language to go along with it. While some elements of the novel will be
very similar to what the reader is used to, some of the book can be very
confusing.

The story follows Erasamas, a young avout, as he is pulled out of his
math (a scientific monastery of sorts) with several of his companions to
solve a problem of the secular world. The beginning of the book is set
up to explain to you what a math is like before you get to the actual
plot. The pacing can be slow at times but lightening quick at others.
This is a very aggressive work by Stephenson and may be called his
masterpiece. Not that it is perfect, but Stephenson set out to write a
literary science fiction novel and he succeeded.

Readers of Stephenson know that he has a tendency to not end a book so
much as he stops writing it. In this book Stephenson did a good job of
wrapping things up on some degree and leaving a lot up to the
imaginations of his readers. A goal that he has been tweaking from day
one.

This book is hard to suggest to just anyone. People with very
scientific minds that love talking about and exploring theories and
science should really get into this book. The literary elite have
seemed to enjoy this book as well. This book is very deep and thought
provoking though. This isn't popular sci-fi. Personally, I loved it.

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Book Reviews

Caves of Steel (Robot City)

Isaac Asimov

Really good book that mixes the genres of mystery and science fiction.  This book takes place in the far future and the Earth is at its limits.  Man now lives in a completely enclosed eco system, in caves of steel you might say. Due to population, jobs are scarce and robots are feared for taking what little jobs there are.  Centuries ago people migrated to space, but due to eradication of disease and hence no immunities, migration was stopped.  Some "spacers" came back and live in a city right outside of New York, and one them was murdered.  Elijah, a New York plain clothes police detective, is partnered with R. Daneel, a robot from space town, to solve this murder. 

This book explores racism and classism as well as popultion management and robotics.  It is a quick and easy read.  I have never sought out who-dun-its, so I can't really say how it measures up there.  Asimov doesn't disappoint.

 

Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction

Mike Mignola

This was pretty good.  Hellboy is mainly an action adventure comic full of wit and sarcasm with a touch of x-files thrown in for suspense.  I really like the artistic stylings of this book.  The story isn't ground breaking but is very entertaining.  You just can't help but cheer for Hellboy.

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The Last Mimzy

This movie was fun for my family and myself. We sat down and had a great time. This movie succeeds in spurring children's imaginations. My 6 year old kept telling me that she could hear a Mimzy talking to her and she kept trying to communicate with me telepathicly. I have not read the short story that this movie was based upon, but I want to. More importantly, my daughter wants me to read it to her.

The movie does have a very E.T. like formula. Child finds alien/future toy, Gov't gets involved, alien/future toy is dying and must be sent home, Children fly, Children escape the gov't and get the alien/future toy back in the nick of time. Here is the thing. I loved E.T. when I was a kid, but it didn't age well. My 6 y/o has watched it and liked it okay, but we both like this movie so much better.

I really liked the special features.  They talk about worm holes and the problems of using them to time travel and stuff like that.  The special features were primarily for adults as my daughter did not seem interested in the least.  Also some of the deleted scenes have a warning about subject matter. 

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QotD: An Embarrassing Hobby

What was the most embarrassing hobby you've ever had? 
Submitted by Billie Fable.

Why would I do something that I was embarrassed of.  Embarrassmnet would also indicate that I care what other people think.  I don't.

I would only do hobbies that I enjoy.  If I am having fun, then who cares what other people think.  If they are so close minded as to not garner enjoyment from an activity because they see it as beneath them, then that is their loss. 

I try to grow Bonsai- it is very relaxing and my only embarrassment would be that I suck at it.

I enjoy scifi books/movies-  I can laugh at the cheesiness of the cheesy ones and revel in the imaginativeness of the good ones. 

I collect comic books-  My reading comprehension and vocobulary grew imensly due to this.  Technically I don't really add to the collection any more but I still have the collection, does that make me an inactive collector.

I play VS System TCG (trading card game)-  It is a TCG based on the heroes and villians of the Marvel and DC universes.  I play everyday at lunch with a couple of co workers.  I try to go to local tournaments and compete.  it is very fun and requires a lot of strategy. 

 

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Raising Sci-Fi Kids

 As a fan of science fiction, I feel that it is almost a responsibility to pass this love of the genre on to my children.  In the olden days parents would pass their occupation, land, and belongings on to their children, but in the modern world this does not happen as much.  Kids are as likely to sell anything from their parents, as they are to keep it.

          This passing of the torch starts out as a form of bonding.  As a father, I see time in front of the TV as bonding time with my child.  Most women would argue that you can not possibly bond by watching TV.  To argue my point, I invite any women to sit in on a conversation between a bunch of guys.  I bet that the conversation is riddled with references to movies and TV shows that all of them have seen, and this is when the discussion is not on those movies/shows specifically.  Common viewing habits create an all new lexicon that is almost indecipherable to an outside listener.  This lexicon unique to father/child, simulates the almost intuitive language that a mother shares with her child. 

          Tradition is another huge reason.  Transformers, Voltron, and He-Man shaped my childhood.  I feel that these shows were integral in my becoming who I am today.  Because of this, I want my children to experience them as well, if for no other reason than to gain some insight on their father.  I feel that The Gremlins and The Never Ending Story are great movies that everyone should watch, especially my own children.  What child should not revel in the realm of imagination that was the original Star Wars movies?  It is fulfilling on some level when my child enjoys the movies that I have picked out for her to watch with me.  It feels good knowing that my child is like me in some way. 

          There is a line that needs to be drawn.  For example, I cannot show my six year old the movie Aliens because it is too scary.  This line is not black and white, but a whole lot of grey.  I know how old I was when I saw certain movies, but was that the right age for all kids?  How much violence is too much?  If I show my children this now, will they fully appreciate the subtle nuances.  The Matrix was a great movie, but will it entertain a child that does not understand the story?  These are the questions that haunt me as a father.  Of course, every child is different and you will know when the time is right.

          My biggest fear is that my children will grow away from science fiction and will rebel against me and shun the genre as teenagers.  My children are both girls, and I am not sure that it will ever be cool to be a science fiction fan if you are a girl, especially a teenage girl.  The love of science fiction could be crippling to their social life, which in itself is not all that bad.  Maybe, growing up sci-fi will give them an understanding of the people that enjoy such things and see them for who they really are.  It almost seems that I am doing a social experiment of sorts on my daughters.  What will science fiction do to their lives?

          It is natural for a parent to want his/her child to be like them.  It makes me feel good when my daughters ask me, "did you do/watch this when you were a kid."  My yes is a seal of approval, and my daughters cannot wait to try/watch.  When she and her sister get older, I will expose them to more.  The bookshelf is growing with young adult science fiction books.  I already read Where the Wild Things Are as a bedtime story.  I long for the day when one of my daughters picks one of my favorite books off the shelf, reads it, and wants to discuss it with me.  I am not sure what the future will bring to science fiction in the movie/TV/book world, but I do know that I will experience it with my children and that will make it perfect for me. 

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War Surf

War Surf

M. M. Buckner

Buckner's third attempt surpasses her first but doesn't quite live up to the
second. If you have read the second book, Neurolink, you may find a lot of
the same plot elements in War Surf.

This book is about characters that surf "wars", semi-violent litigations
between execs and protes, for the adrenaline rush. Two of the characters
get stranded on a satellite and have to befriend protes to survive. Life
lessons are learned and the protes end up teaching the execs.

My major problem was with the pacing. The story is told in flashback from a
dying exec on the satellite. The author then takes too long in getting the
characters too the satellite. There is a lot of debate on whether or not
they should go when you already know they will. It just kind of drug on at
that point. Once the characters get on the satellite the pace picks up and
the story is fairly entertaining.

My only other problem was with the main characters characterization. He
doesn't seem realistic in his actions or thoughts. It was a more
appropriate characterization for a spoiled teenager than a 200+ man.

Not the authors fault, but the cover doesn't really represent the book or
the world in which the book lies, but that is nitpicking.

I would recommend this book to sci fi fans. Due to sexual content, not
graphic, 16 up.

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