Star Wars: X-Wing: Wraith Squadron.
By Aaron Allston.
(Previously published on Goodreads.com.)
Wraith squadron is one of the worst Star Wars books in the series. Allston is one of the least original authors currently writing books. It is a shame he is still writing star wars books.
A good author tries to continue a series, adding to the overall narrative. Allston tries to rework the series to be his own.
A lot of his characters and stories are flimsy reworkings of characters from tv shows or movies. A particularly obvious example that I like is his latest books and the almost scenario to scenario similarities to Doctor Who episodes.
I still read his books but I consider them at the same level as good fan fiction and not part of the official Star Wars cannon.
This author is what killed my obsession with Star Wars years ago. I used to buy anything and everything Star Wars. I had a collection of over 45 thousand pieces. Now I maybe have 100 pieces left, and no longer buy things.
1 out of 10
Taylor
Friday, March 4, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Toy Story 3.
Toy Story 3.
DVD and Blu Ray
Let me start off by saying always read the fine print. Commercials and the movie box advertise that Toy Story 3 is the 1# animated movie of all time. That's all well and good, but it isn't.
If you read the fine print in the commercial or on the sticker it reads " according to movieguide.com".
This kind of advertising trickery really makes me mad because it wasn't even the best of the trilogy let alone the 1# money maker. Most people read this and assume it's true.
But on to the movie.
This is actually the second Toy Story 3. Disney decided to make 3 without Pixar who didn't want to do it. The story involved the Buzz Lightyear toys being recalled and sent back to the factory in Mexico and the group of toys go on an adventure to rescue him.
I know voice recording was done. But I am not sure how much animation was made.
Toy Story 3 was a good movie, but not the best. Tim Allen's voice sounds a little aged. The story seemed a little bit forced, being that its animation you can keep Andy young forever. So why make him grow up. It had some minor problems but worth watching.
Little known fact: In high school I was offered college and a job at Pixar. I turned it down, thinking that computer animation was just a fad.
6 out of 10
Taylor
DVD and Blu Ray
Let me start off by saying always read the fine print. Commercials and the movie box advertise that Toy Story 3 is the 1# animated movie of all time. That's all well and good, but it isn't.
If you read the fine print in the commercial or on the sticker it reads " according to movieguide.com".
This kind of advertising trickery really makes me mad because it wasn't even the best of the trilogy let alone the 1# money maker. Most people read this and assume it's true.
But on to the movie.
This is actually the second Toy Story 3. Disney decided to make 3 without Pixar who didn't want to do it. The story involved the Buzz Lightyear toys being recalled and sent back to the factory in Mexico and the group of toys go on an adventure to rescue him.
I know voice recording was done. But I am not sure how much animation was made.
Toy Story 3 was a good movie, but not the best. Tim Allen's voice sounds a little aged. The story seemed a little bit forced, being that its animation you can keep Andy young forever. So why make him grow up. It had some minor problems but worth watching.
Little known fact: In high school I was offered college and a job at Pixar. I turned it down, thinking that computer animation was just a fad.
6 out of 10
Taylor
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Diner for Schmucks.
Diner for Smucks.
DVD and Blu ray.
Man I wanted to like this movie. The previews showed it to be a laugh a minute comedy, it was not.
The main story of the movie was about a guy played by Paul Rudd who tries to get a promotion and marry his girlfriend and about 30 minute into it he accidentally hits Steve Carrel with his car, who tries to be helpful but ends up screwing up Rudd's life.
The actual diner didn't even happen until around the hour mark and was full of extras and cameo stars that have been overplayed in other movies.
Zack (insert name here) played (insert name here) who comically controls people with his mind. A role which could have been really really funny fell short of expectations.
Paul Rudd's girlfriend runs an art gallery and works exclusively which an artist named Keiran who think himself sort of a artistic god. Creating pictures where he is half man half goat, or demon like. His character actually works in this movie, his persona is so over the top that's it very comical.
I hate when comedy movies try to teach us lessions. Are we supposed to walk away and think "I guess we know who the real schmucks are, the people who judge others too harshly."
Dinner for Schmucks seemed like someone had a good idea but it wasn't long enough or funny enough so they kept adding elements different from the main theme. This is a not unheard-of technique in hollywood. It happens all the time.
Taylor
4 out of 9.
DVD and Blu ray.
Man I wanted to like this movie. The previews showed it to be a laugh a minute comedy, it was not.
The main story of the movie was about a guy played by Paul Rudd who tries to get a promotion and marry his girlfriend and about 30 minute into it he accidentally hits Steve Carrel with his car, who tries to be helpful but ends up screwing up Rudd's life.
The actual diner didn't even happen until around the hour mark and was full of extras and cameo stars that have been overplayed in other movies.
Zack (insert name here) played (insert name here) who comically controls people with his mind. A role which could have been really really funny fell short of expectations.
Paul Rudd's girlfriend runs an art gallery and works exclusively which an artist named Keiran who think himself sort of a artistic god. Creating pictures where he is half man half goat, or demon like. His character actually works in this movie, his persona is so over the top that's it very comical.
I hate when comedy movies try to teach us lessions. Are we supposed to walk away and think "I guess we know who the real schmucks are, the people who judge others too harshly."
Dinner for Schmucks seemed like someone had a good idea but it wasn't long enough or funny enough so they kept adding elements different from the main theme. This is a not unheard-of technique in hollywood. It happens all the time.
Taylor
4 out of 9.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Knight and Day.
Knight and Day.
DVD and Blu Ray
Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz star in a comedic spy movie. Sounds like a hit. Yet when I saw a advertisement for the DVD release I was a little stumped it seemed funny and action packed. But why hadn't I heard of it.
After reading online that the movie went through 5 directors and a series of rewrites and casting changes, I suspected it was terrible. I still sat down and watched it.
Tom Cruise plays a secret agent who supposedly went rouge stealing a perpetual energy source the size of a battery. Cameron Diaz gets involved by forcing her way onto a airplane filled with agents and Tom Cruise. She doesn't know who to believe because Cruise acts totally insane for the majority of the movie.
This movie is really fun, packed with a lot of decent jokes, funny sayings, satire and espionage. Like when Tom Cruise shoots a fireman in the leg and tells him he'll be a hero and probably get a promotion, and that it's just a flesh wound.
Peter Scarsguard plays protagonist to the two main characters but had no real character development and his whole character seemed to be a glorified extra.
It really is too bad that this movie didn't do so well in the theaters, a sequel would have been fun to watch.
I don't really know why it is called knight and day though.
7.5 out of 10
Taylor
DVD and Blu Ray
Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz star in a comedic spy movie. Sounds like a hit. Yet when I saw a advertisement for the DVD release I was a little stumped it seemed funny and action packed. But why hadn't I heard of it.
After reading online that the movie went through 5 directors and a series of rewrites and casting changes, I suspected it was terrible. I still sat down and watched it.
Tom Cruise plays a secret agent who supposedly went rouge stealing a perpetual energy source the size of a battery. Cameron Diaz gets involved by forcing her way onto a airplane filled with agents and Tom Cruise. She doesn't know who to believe because Cruise acts totally insane for the majority of the movie.
This movie is really fun, packed with a lot of decent jokes, funny sayings, satire and espionage. Like when Tom Cruise shoots a fireman in the leg and tells him he'll be a hero and probably get a promotion, and that it's just a flesh wound.
Peter Scarsguard plays protagonist to the two main characters but had no real character development and his whole character seemed to be a glorified extra.
It really is too bad that this movie didn't do so well in the theaters, a sequel would have been fun to watch.
I don't really know why it is called knight and day though.
7.5 out of 10
Taylor
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Blythe Watch 2.
Rom Howard to appear in the movie. Read this article.
http://m.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a299085/ron-howard-could-appear-in-arrested-movie.html
http://m.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a299085/ron-howard-could-appear-in-arrested-movie.html
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Doctor Who: Christmas Carol.
Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol.
TV Special.
The 2010 Doctor Who Christmas Special, for those of you that don't know, marks the half way point between the last season and the new season of Doctor Who, dating back since the 2005 series revival.
Sometimes a new character is revealed, who later appears in the series or the Doctor regenerates into a new actor.
This year's saw Amy Pond and Rory on their honeymoon aboard a spaceship that is starting to crash into an alien planet. The Doctor arrives in the TARDIS and discovers that the planet is protected by an electromagnetic machine that is controlled by an old miser Kazran Sardick. Despite the fact it's as simple as pushing a button, he refuses to save the ship.
The Doctor decides to travel back in time to change Kazran past to make him a better, more caring person. The Doctor shows an old home video of Kazran to himself. As Kazran watches himself as a child The Doctor suddenly appears in the video from his childhood.
This is a typical Doctor Who story, but lacked a lot of what is expected in a typical Who episode. There wasn't a lot of adventure just a straight forward story which was very predictable with no real surprises.
It felt that Amy and Rory were in it as an afterthoughts and didn't really add much to anything except to add to the continuity.
It was kind of a let down. But worth watching.
6 out of 10
Taylor
TV Special.
The 2010 Doctor Who Christmas Special, for those of you that don't know, marks the half way point between the last season and the new season of Doctor Who, dating back since the 2005 series revival.
Sometimes a new character is revealed, who later appears in the series or the Doctor regenerates into a new actor.
This year's saw Amy Pond and Rory on their honeymoon aboard a spaceship that is starting to crash into an alien planet. The Doctor arrives in the TARDIS and discovers that the planet is protected by an electromagnetic machine that is controlled by an old miser Kazran Sardick. Despite the fact it's as simple as pushing a button, he refuses to save the ship.
The Doctor decides to travel back in time to change Kazran past to make him a better, more caring person. The Doctor shows an old home video of Kazran to himself. As Kazran watches himself as a child The Doctor suddenly appears in the video from his childhood.
This is a typical Doctor Who story, but lacked a lot of what is expected in a typical Who episode. There wasn't a lot of adventure just a straight forward story which was very predictable with no real surprises.
It felt that Amy and Rory were in it as an afterthoughts and didn't really add much to anything except to add to the continuity.
It was kind of a let down. But worth watching.
6 out of 10
Taylor
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Futurama volume 5.
Futurama Volume 5.
DVD
Futurama is the brain child of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen. It was marketed as the Simpsons in space and appeared on TV in 1999. Sadly it was pulled from the air around the same time as The Family Guy.
Years went by and Futurama continued as a comic book and a lackluster video game. Occasionally, Bender would appear in a SimpsonÃs episode but never for very long.
Family Guy was brought back on the air and soon hopes that Futurama would return soon filled fans heads.
No network seemed to want to take the reins and bring it back, even though in reruns it did very well on several different stations.
Soon a series of four straight to DVD movies were released a few months apart and were split into 12 TV episodes that aired on Comedy Central. The success of the DVDs and the newer split up episodes had Comedy Central order 13 new episodes.
The new series is a continuation of the original series and the four movies. In fact the last movie ends with a cliff hanger which is where the first episode starts off. Episodes take on modern subject as evolution, politics, iPhones, Twitter and robots/humans marriages, with some episodes making a parody of Leonardo Da Vinci and time travel amongst other topics.
Fry and Leela now know how each other feel about the other and are dating. We see Amy Wong finishing school and having relationship problems with Kiff. Other than being a little short of episodes Futurama volume 5 fits into the Futurama series like a missing puzzle piece. It was a little hard to start in on new Futuramas after so many years, but after a few episodes the new writing and episode flow seemed like old hat.
There was a rumor for a while that a new series would be called "Fry Loves Leela" and that it wouldn't be a continuation but a 2nd series with not all of the characters returning.
I didn't like the carbon neutral box that the series came in. I'm all for saving the environment, but these are paper cases and do not hold up very well.
Definitely pick up this set if you're a fan or if you just want a good comedy to watch. Plus, good DVD sales will help keep it on the air for several more years.
There is a sticker on the cover tha reads, "Back by popular harassment."
8 of 10.
Taylor
DVD
Futurama is the brain child of Matt Groening and David X. Cohen. It was marketed as the Simpsons in space and appeared on TV in 1999. Sadly it was pulled from the air around the same time as The Family Guy.
Years went by and Futurama continued as a comic book and a lackluster video game. Occasionally, Bender would appear in a SimpsonÃs episode but never for very long.
Family Guy was brought back on the air and soon hopes that Futurama would return soon filled fans heads.
No network seemed to want to take the reins and bring it back, even though in reruns it did very well on several different stations.
Soon a series of four straight to DVD movies were released a few months apart and were split into 12 TV episodes that aired on Comedy Central. The success of the DVDs and the newer split up episodes had Comedy Central order 13 new episodes.
The new series is a continuation of the original series and the four movies. In fact the last movie ends with a cliff hanger which is where the first episode starts off. Episodes take on modern subject as evolution, politics, iPhones, Twitter and robots/humans marriages, with some episodes making a parody of Leonardo Da Vinci and time travel amongst other topics.
Fry and Leela now know how each other feel about the other and are dating. We see Amy Wong finishing school and having relationship problems with Kiff. Other than being a little short of episodes Futurama volume 5 fits into the Futurama series like a missing puzzle piece. It was a little hard to start in on new Futuramas after so many years, but after a few episodes the new writing and episode flow seemed like old hat.
There was a rumor for a while that a new series would be called "Fry Loves Leela" and that it wouldn't be a continuation but a 2nd series with not all of the characters returning.
I didn't like the carbon neutral box that the series came in. I'm all for saving the environment, but these are paper cases and do not hold up very well.
Definitely pick up this set if you're a fan or if you just want a good comedy to watch. Plus, good DVD sales will help keep it on the air for several more years.
There is a sticker on the cover tha reads, "Back by popular harassment."
8 of 10.
Taylor
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