Joshua P. Simon - The Accidental Author

10. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

Finally got around to this classic. Great read. I found the stories improved as the book went on.

9. In the Realm of the Wolf by David Gemmell

I finished my read of the Drenai Saga this year. Gemmell is definitely one of my favorite authors now. I can’t wait to read his other books.

8. Hyperion by Dan Simmons

This is such a weird book and actually took me a bit to get into. However, it is well worth the effort. Awesome originality. Will be reading the sequel shortly.

7. Passage at Arms by Glen Cook

It’s Glen Cook. That should be really all I need to say. Awesome Sci-fi military. Another book that starts a bit slow and really picks up as the story progresses.

6. The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson

I was really surprised how much I enjoyed this one. One of Sanderson’s better releases.

5. First Chronicles of Druss the Legend by David Gemmell

Possibly my favorite of the Drenai Saga as it had one of the better endings.

4. The Tyrant’s Law by Daniel Abraham

Each book in this series gets better and better. And thankfully, book four is scheduled for a 2014 release.

3. The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks

Weeks is really coming into his own. I was sort of indifferent to the Night Angel Trilogy. This series (especially this book) has moved him up on my list of authors to keep track of.

2. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

A classic I’m glad I finally got around to reading. Worth every bit of praise it’s ever received. And now I fully understand why Heinlein fans hated the movie so much.

1. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Another classic I finally got around to reading this year. Very original for its time and copied quite a bit since (Though none have done it so well). Full of heart and emotion. A must read.

So, Man of Steel came out on DVD recently which meant that I finally was able to watch it on Amazon Prime. Though I didn’t dislike the movie, it definitely was a disappointment from what I wanted it to be.

I give it a 6.5/10.

WARNING: Spoilers Below.

Pros:

• Visuals of Krypton
• The fact that Zod was trying to do his job by protecting Krytpton when staging a coup, rather than just trying to seize power. It gives his motives more depth than just making it a power grab.
• Fight Scenes are pretty much perfect.
• Special effects are dead on.
• Casting across the board was great.
• I like that Lois figured out his identity. It validated her more as a reporter.
• I like the idea of a more paranoid Jonathon Kent doing whatever he could to protect his son. More realistic.
• The destruction of Metropolis. This was FAR more realistic considering the parties involved then what happened in the Avengers. I like both movies but when heavy hitters are slugging it out, this is what would really happen.
• Killing Zod both made sense from a practical standpoint (no prison could hold him) and a Superman mythos standpoint. Superman has killed Zod in the comics (as well as others way back in the day) and in Superman II with Christopher Reeve (Zod died by falling to his icy death).
• As long as they use this death to drive character development in future films, I’m good.
• I find it strange that everyone made a big deal about him killing only Zod and not the fact that he damned all the other Kryptonians to the Phantom Zone where it was said they would starve to death. Plus, he heat blasted all those babies in the Genesis chamber…….

Cons:

• Most of my issues stem from the actual script itself and the editing.
• Too many short and choppy scenes left everything feeling like it lacked emotion.
• Dialogue was sometimes too on point.
• Humor was severely lacking. It came in spots at the end but by that point it felt out of place considering the tone. I’m all for a darker tone to Superman, but even Batman (in Nolan’s films) had levity from time to time (which makes the darker moments more effective).
• Despite the great casting, several people were grossly underutilized.
• Diane Lane and Kevin Costner had some solid moments with a young and even older Clark. The problem is that they were all just a bit too quick (a problem with the flashback method). Therefore, some of the tender moments didn’t fully work.
• In the case of Jonathon Kent, the paranoia went a bit too far. How does Clark ever develop any sense of morality when his dad tells him not to help people so he can stay a secret. Very inconsistent. Plus, this paranoia didn’t allow for some of the more grounded childhood friendships Clark is known to have with Pete Ross and Lana Lang.
• Awful decision for Jonathon to die in a tornado and totally unbelievable. No son would allow his dad to die like that, regardless of the consequences. It was much more poetic for Jonathon to die via a heart attack since Superman with all his powers was helpless to save him.
• Really inconsistent power levels between Superman and the other Kryptonians. There is no reason why Zod and the others could all do the same things as Superman with a similar power level. The whole throwaway line that Zod was military trained so he could adapt quicker was weak. Plus, it matters little since his cells hadn’t absorbed yellow sunlight for 30+ years.
• Of all the changes in the Superman mythos, this lack of consistency was what I had the biggest issues with.
• Too many things happened out of convenience such as
• The kryptonians going to the Phantom Zone in a spaceship so they could easily escape.
• Jor-El (a scientist) being able to easily defeat trained military personnel (including Zod). Plus, the fact that he can magically appear and do amazing things to help both Superman and Lois Lane when they need it most.
• Though they did show Superman save a few people in the fighting (Lois and a random soldier), this wasn’t shown enough. It would have made far more sense if part of why he was getting his butt kicked early on was because he was busy trying to protect people.
• The whole choosing Earth over Krypton scene really didn’t hold any weight for me. This is because the entire movie up to that point showed a Clark Kent who did not feel accepted by anyone other than his parents. He was alone and an outcast who never belonged. Why would he give everything up so easily? It didn’t ring true to me.
• The Lois Lane and Superman dynamic wasn’t developed enough.

I don’t watch much television anymore. We have the TV on in the house a lot, but it is usually background noise. And if I do watch something, it is generally a sports game or some random show on DIY or Food Network. There are exceptions to this rule, but overall I just don’t watch TV series like I used to. I just don’t have time to get invested in shows. Plus, I think I’m still bitter about that second season of Heroes.

That being said, I’ve been a comic book fan for a long time, and even though I’ve always enjoyed DC over Marvel, I wanted to give Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. a shot because after all, it does involve superheroes.

Below are my quick pros and cons.

Pros:
- Agent Coulson – Had the best lines and overall the best character on the show. They’ve added a bit of intrigue behind how he survived The Avengers which I expect will be a plot point in future episodes.
- Special effects – Well done by Television’s standards.
- A few funny lines that made me chuckle.
- Melinda May – Very mysterious character, but had immediate presence. Could be a great figure if brought along correctly.
- Nice tie-ins to the greater Marvel universe rather than pretending the show exists on an island outside of the movies.
- Tons of little eggs that could potentially pay off in spades down the road.

Cons:
- Outside of Agent Coulson, almost every character is a cliché or a stereotype. I didn’t care about anyone else except for maybe Melinda as mentioned above. Characterization is how the show will win me over so it had better do something to improve upon this glaring weakness.
- Like most Whedon projects, there are some whitty bits of dialogue, but there are also some really cheesy lines or even scenes. Those were definitely evident here.
- Not a very tight plot….tried to do too much in the pilot (as well as introduce too many people at once). Would have preferred a slower introduction into this part of the world.
- Several moments of what I felt was lazy storytelling.
- Too much cheesy/campiness at times.
- Everyone seemed to like the ending use of Coulson’s car but I honestly thought it was pretty dumb (especially when he threw on the sunglasses). I was expecting him to say “Roads? Where we’re going, we need no roads.” a la Back to the Future.

Overall, it was an ok pilot but nothing that blew my mind. Without Coulson, it would have probably lost my interest. I’ll give it another week or two before bailing, but I really need to see something better than what we were given in the first episode.

On a side note, It’s been announced that in 2014 we’ll see a Gotham Central television show which will follow a younger Detective Jim Gordon as he tries to clean up Gotham in a pre-Batman world. If it’s anything like the comics the show will be based on, I’m definitely there.

I’m sorda late in getting this review up but while in NOLA Leah and I got to see a movie at the theaters for the first time in a while. We went with my sister and brother-in-law while the grandparents watched the grandkids. I was hoping to see Man of Steel but since my sister had already seen that one, we went with my number two choice which was Pacific Rim.

It seems that everyone else wanted to see World War Z instead, but no one really put up a fight so I took advantage.

I grew watching the old school Godzilla movies over and over so this was right up my alley.

Overall, I’d give the movie a 7/10. Reasons for the rating are below.

Pros:
- The movie delivered where it was supposed to. The Jaegers and the Kaiju were awesome. And the action was every bit as cool as I’d hoped it would be. The fact that they got this right made it worth seeing in my mind no matter what.
- The music/soundtrack was perfect. Especially when it came to the fight scenes, the music really added tension and emotion to the battles.
- Prologue – Del Toro covered all the backstory in a quick 5 minute narration while giving flashes of the events being discussed. This was brilliant as it allowed us to get right into the main story rather than suffer through a slow buildup.
- Pacing – The movie never felt like it was dragging.
- Idris Elba – Perfect casting and one of the highlights from an acting standpoint in the film. Great presence.
- Charlie Day – Awesome. Perfect person to provide comic relief. He and Elba brought their A-games.
- Max Martini – a small role, but he played it well.

Cons:
- Dialogue –Yes, there were some great moments like Elba shouting “We are cancelling the apocalypse.” However, this movie was filled with clichéd and stilted dialogue. Dialogue’s one of my pet peeves so I was cringing a lot.
- Casting – After Elba, Day and a couple of others, the casting director really phoned it in. I know the lines were bad, but it seemed at times people delivered it like it was their first day in acting class.
- Acting – See above.
- Ron Perlman – I don’t blame him. I blame Del Toro. Perlman is usually awesome, but he was so underutilized in the film it was criminal. The role he played could have been filled by anyone off the street.
- Script – Several poorly written scenes, holes, and subplots brought in way too late in the game without the proper setup (red shoe anyone?).
- Forced emotional connections – Too many instances where it was obvious Del Toro wanted to tug at the viewer’s hearts. However, I didn’t care about the characters enough for that to even come close to happening. The only exception/setup I thought was handled well related to when “Iceman” and Elba said good-bye to the old friend/dad before the battle at the end.

So, was it worth seeing? Yes. Was it good? Yes. Could it have been great? Absolutely. I know that no script/novel/etc. will ever be perfect but there were so many glaring things wrong with the dialogue/plotting, it makes me wonder how no one noticed them. Or maybe they did, but didn’t care.

Either way, take it for what it is, rather than what it could have been, which is an awesome action movie that makes you feel like a kid again watching Godzilla for the first time.

This past Saturday, Leah and I watched the documentary by Dave Grohl about the famous Sound City Studios, the unique mixing console at the studio, and the bands who used them both. Johnny Cash, Nirvana, Neil Young, Metallica, Tom Petty, Rage Against the Machine, and Rick Springfield are just a few of the many musicians who are featured in the movie.

The documentary really is a must watch for any music fan. Even if you aren’t a music a fan, it's well put together—filled with interesting facts and a bunch of fun moments. Some of my favorite parts involve the recording of the documentary’s soundtrack. Several big name artists all got together to write new music using Sound City's old equipment. Really awesome watching the creative process of these people. It also made me want to figure out a way to start playing my guitar again (sadly, I just don’t see that happening right now).

The documentary is also further proof of just how awesome Dave Grohl is. \m/

You can find details on where to see the movie or how to download it at http://buy.soundcitymovie.com/. It's also on Amazon (click here).

My wife and I decided to join Amazon Prime recently for various reasons (including the free 2 day shipping). One of the best reasons for us is that we have the chance to watch for a reasonable price (sometimes free) some of the movies we've missed at the theaters. Another benefit of this process is that by planning to watch a movie, we also have to set a few hours aside to spend together. That doesn’t sound like it should be much of a problem, but with our schedules it can be. Anyway, we’ve watched three movies since joining and I thought I’d share my thoughts on them.

1. Conan the Barbarian (2011 version) – Thankfully, we watched this for free on Amazon Prime because it was even worse than I expected (and I went into it with pretty low expectations). The script and shadow of a plot were awful. Direction and especially editing even worse. Special effects were lame. Even the action made me cringe (and not in a good way). I hated the fact that the filmmakers attempted to hide all these errors by basically sticking a topless woman in front of the camera every ten minutes. For me that just made it worse.

The one and only positive of the film was that Jason Mamoa was a great choice to play Conan. However, his one shot at the role was wasted because of everything else.

2. Expendables 2 –I love these sorts of action movies, but this one also disappointed me. I did like it, but the first one was just a much better film. The problem biggest problem for me was that too much was crammed into the film and everything came up short. The increased roles of Arnold and Bruce Willis only added to the campiness. Chuck Norris was completely unnecessary. Oddly enough, the two people who impressed me the most were Van Damme (great baddie) and Liam Hemsworth (best actor of the bunch). Let’s hope the third movie is better.

3. Amazing Spiderman – Very good movie. Solid script and great action. Really got the character right, and thankfully acknowledged his scientific background (i.e. giving him webshooters) throughout the film.

The casting was much better than the Rami movies, in my opinion. Garfield is exactly how Spiderman should be to me and Stone is a much more interesting love interest as Gwen than Dunst had been as Mary Jane.

Although the Lizard was handled well, I felt that he was a bit of a letdown as the antagonist. For me, Defoe’s Green Goblin is the best Spiderman villain on the big screen. The Lizard would probably work better as a secondary villain.

Only two things really bothered me. One, there is some serious cheesiness leading up to the climax involving cranes (that’s all I’ll say) that is unnecessary and ruins events leading up to that point in some ways. Two, I thought they downplayed Spiderman’s strength too much. Yes, he is fast and agile, but in the comics he’s also capable of throwing cars around when needed.

I think Warrior (Tom Hardy film) is next on our list to check out.

What have you been watching?

My wife and I had the chance to leave the kids behind with her parents during the Thanksgiving holidays. For the first time since summer we were able to have a “date night.” Skyfall was the obvious choice for both of us. I’ve always enjoyed the Bond movies. As a kid, I used to watch them pretty regularly on TV with my dad when TNT, TBS, or some other station was doing one of their marathons. Leah, isn’t quite as familiar with the older movies as I am. However, we’ve really enjoyed the Daniel Craig additions to the series.

I’ve heard a lot of people say that this may be the greatest Bond movie ever. I’ll disagree. I actually wouldn’t even say it is the best Daniel Craig Bond movie. I think Casino Royale still holds that spot. However, Skyfall does deserve a spot somewhere in the Top 5.

Pros:
- Great action/fight scenes. Craig is the best Bond in the series when it comes to these scenes, IMO.
- Strong acting and overall great characterization.
- Good plot/story idea.
- Great back-story into the Bond character and mythos.
- Due to the anniversary, there were several nice nods to the series sprinkled throughout the movie.
- Interesting villain.
- Just like Connery, Craig was made for this role.
- Adele’s song really fit the movie. Also, good use of the prior franchises’ songs.

Cons:
- Though I thought the villain was interesting, I found it a bit jarring that he was introduced so late in the movie. Also, why would a top British agent not be from England? Seems kind of dumb when you think about it.
- Really dumb shower scene that felt completely out of character for Bond. It is hard to get into details without spoilers, however it left a bad taste in my mouth.
- A couple of the nods from the past felt a bit silly.
- One more thing about the villain…a little too over the top at times.
- A couple of character decisions felt unrealistic or forced in order to move the plot along.

Side note: The previews showed a couple of movies I’m really interested in seeing (Gangster Squad, A Good Day to Die Hard).

However, one looked absolutely comical…Jack Reacher. Sorry Tom Cruise, you are not a tough guy. You don’t have the stature, presence, look, size, voice, personality, etc. I predict that movie is going to fail horribly. However, if they would have gotten Jason Statham or someone along those lines, I’d add it to my “must see” list.