Dual Review: The Host (book and movie)

Dual Review: The Host: A Novel, by Stephanie Meyer

Source: Amazon.com

First off, I'll cover The Host in novel form, and then move to the movie.

From the book’s cover:

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

Featuring one of the most unusual love triangles in literature, THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel about the persistence of love and the essence of what it means to be human.

Movie Review: We're the Millers

We're the Millers (2013)



A veteran pot dealer creates a fake family as part of his plan to move a huge shipment of weed into the U.S. from Mexico.  Short synopsis of We're the Millers taken from IMDb.com

My wife commented halfway through this that there were parts of We're the Millers that were painful to watch (she despises scenes in shows/films in which people act asinine or ridiculously cliche), but the rest of it was so funny that she was enjoying it.  I think that is a pretty decent summation of We're the Millers.  Parts of the film are ridiculous, but other parts are so genuinely comedic that they near make up the difference.

Movie Review: The Wolverine

The Wolverine (2013)

When Wolverine is summoned to Japan by an old acquaintance, he is embroiled in a conflict that forces him to confront his own demons.  Short synopsis of The Wolverine taken from IMDb.com

You know, I actually didn't hate this movie.  I thought I would at the most take pity on it, but no.  I thought the juxtaposition of martial arts Asian film with the mutants of X-Men would be a weird mix, but The Wolverine actually didn't come off too bad here.  Sure, it was predictable.  When the little red-headed future-seeing Japanese girl (Logan's bodyguard, she styled herself) said that she hadn't foreseen the old man's death, it was obvious he was gonna end up being a bad guy.  Had he not been?  Now THAT would have been a surprise, and a really decent red-herring.  But then it didn't come off as too much of a "oh please" moment when he was revealed, so it turned out OK.

Movie Review: Transcendence

Transcendence (2014)


A scientist's drive for artificial intelligence, takes on dangerous implications when his consciousness is uploaded into one such program.  Short synopsis of Transcendence taken from IMDb.com  

What can I say about Transcendence?  So many good ideas, but the execution feels a bit stiff.  The plot point idea of nanobots getting into the water supply and taking over everyone on the planet was actually really cool, but it was so under-stated that I thought it was almost better than the way the filmmakers went instead.  In fact, that idea is getting its own note in my idea file, simply because it was worth thinking on further.

Movie Review: Zero Dark Thirty

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May 2011.  Short synopsis of Zero Dark Thirty taken from IMDb.com 

There isn't too much I can say about Zero Dark Thirty.  It is dark, both figuratively and literally.  The scenes at the end especially, the ones most people paid their ticket to see, are very hard to see.  I refer to the climactic scenes in which the U.S. troops infiltrate the Bin Laden compound.  We cut back and forth between the green glow of night vision from the Navy SEALS point of views, and the near blackness of night time operations in Pakistan, where the compound was located.  Maybe in the theater it was easier to see the action, but on my old Sony Trinitron TV (circa early 2000s, back when we had money and an awesomely good credit score), it was flashes of movement on an otherwise black screen.  The only way I could be sure things were actually going on, and thus be sure the filmmaker hadn't run out of money and just stuck a long section of black electrical tape - with occasional chalk smudges on it - in place of actual celluloid, was the audio portion.  There is the terse radio chatter of the various elements of the team who infiltrated the compound, the buzz/whine of helicopters flying overhead, and the sounds of hurried boots moving from place to place.

Movie Review: World War Z

World War Z (2013)

United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments, and threatening to destroy humanity itself.  Short synopsis of World War Z taken from IMDb.com

Remember when zombie films were low budget?   World War Z certainly isn't.  It globe trots mightily, staring on the East Coast of the U.S., then to a rain-soaked locale in South Korea (but it's dark there when our hero arrives - played affably by Brad Pitt - and so we never see anything other than a few people who appear Korean, so really this could have been filmed in Iowa for all we know), then to Israel, to Wales (I think it was supposed to be Wales... the scenes in Israel were so stunning, including the iconic human ladder of zombies up the wall - as seen in the trailer - that I missed where exactly we were going next), and finally to Nova Scotia (which also could have been anywhere, based on the ten seconds or so that we see it).  The travel budget for the film was definitely not cheap.  The aforementioned over-running of the safe zone in Israel alone must have cost a fortune to shoot.  Thus my previous statement about this not being a "low budget" zombie movie.

Movie Review: Captain Phillips

Captain Phillips (2013)

The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.  Short synopsis of Captain Phillips taken from IMDB.com

Ever go to watch one of those films that you have heard is really good, and when you start viewing it, you know it is good, and yet you keep getting thrown off by outside disturbances?  As an example, you put down a kid for a nap and then, since you've got a free couple of hours, you sit down to watch a classic (for the sake of argument here, let's presume it's City Slickers 2: The Legend of Curly's Gold - which many reputable critics have lauded as being better than the oft over-hyped Citizen Kane).  And just as the opening credits have run, the aforementioned kid starts to cry, so you interrupt what you are doing to take care of him/her.  You get done soothing and sit down on the sofa, and then the phone rings.  And then its something else.  By the time you usually would be cheering ecstatically as the zombies beat the cannibals in the basketball game's showdown overtime at the film's conclusion (I don't know what version of City Slickers 2 you watch...), you're only maybe half-way through, and you're stressed from the constant interruptions?

Movie Review: 47 Ronin

47 Ronin (2013)

A band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun.  Short synopsis of 47 Ronin taken from IMDb.com

My newer reviews are all quite brief, I know.  That may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point-of-view.

I read reviews of 47 Ronin before seeing it that made me cross my fingers before actually viewing it.  But after watching the film, I must say it really wasn't that bad.  The story is really a classic "save the princess"-type tale.  Of course, at the end, before the credits roll, a message comes on screen which says the movie was "based upon" the story of the actual forty-seven ronin, which leads me to believe the story has been altered somewhat for its Hollywood-ization.  I am now curious as to how the story really goes.

Movie Review: Warm Bodies

Warm Bodies (2013)

After R (a highly unusual zombie) saves Julie from an attack, the two form a relationship that sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world.  Short synopsis of Warm Bodies taken from IMDb.com 

Got to go to the movies this past evening (when these notes were first written it was the past evening, but that's been many an evening past now, as you can tell).  It was tough to decide what to see.  Not that there are so many good things out right now, but more that there are so many un-inspiring options.  After careful debate, and looking up reviews on RottonTomatoes.com, I decided that the safest use of some theater gift card funds would be Warm Bodies, the recent take on the zombie apocalypse from a new perspective - i.e.: the zombie's point-of-view.

Movie Review: The Monuments Men

The Monuments Men (2014)

An unlikely World War II platoon is tasked to rescue art masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their owners.  Short synopsis of The Monuments Men taken fromIMDB.com

The Monuments Men...  I liked it, especially since I am a History degree grad.  Those bombed out cities and authentic settings seemed jaw-dropping.  I only spotted one obvious matte painting.  Granted, my eyes aren't that good.  But all in all, the scenery was really 'purdy.'

Movie Review: The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger (2013)

Native American warrior Tonto recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law, into a legend of justice.  Short synopsis of The Lone Ranger taken from IMDb/com

Won't bother too much with this one.  To be honest, I more listened to The Lone Ranger than I  actually watched it.  I lost interest after the train crash near the beginning.  There is a part of that scene where a giant steel appendage from the overturned locomotive snaps off and impales itself between our two would-be heroes, and then stops the sliding vehicle from crushing the two guys against an over-turned boxcar.  I thought to myself "It's gonna be one of those movies," and returned my primary attention to the model airplane I was working on (Christmas vacation 2013/2014 was the the winter break of model airplanes... yes, I'm a geek).

Movie Review: Lone Survivor

Lone Survivor (2013)


Marcus Luttrell and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.  Short synopsis of Lone Survivor taken from IMDb.com  

Ouch. Those falls off those cliffs make my bones jar. When I reflect back on my watching of Lone Survivor, the film account (based on a true story) of the last stand of a team of special forces who were isolated and hunted down by the Taliban in the formidable mountains of Afghanistan, that is what comes to mind.  By way of explanation, when the special forces guys are running from the horde of Taliban fighters who are pursuing and hounding them with machine gun and rifle fire and rocket propelled grenades, there is a moment where the G.I.'s are trapped on a steep slope and the only way out is to jump down, falling, rolling, tumbling and crashing into rocks, trees and every hard bump on the way.  The film depicts this fall in gruesome detail.

Movie Review: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

The dwarves, along with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, continue their quest to reclaim Erebor, their homeland, from Smaug. Bilbo Baggins is in possession of a mysterious and magical ring.  Short synopsis of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug taken from IMDb.com

Well, Smaug himself I quite liked.  And The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug didn't feel like it was trying quite so hard, as the first Hobbit film in this new trilogy did.  But I must say that this one still did annoy me.  And like a broken record, I'll say that I can look at this movie, in hindsight now, in - surprise, surprise - two different ways.  On the one hand, Desolation is interesting, and manages to flesh out some stuff in Tolkien's novel that was kinda glossed over (like where Gandalf went off to, for one, though that part of the movie annoyed me due to its ret-conning things and making the Lord of the Rings trilogy of movies kinda anticlimactic as well...   for shame Mr. Jackson!). 

Movie Review: The Internship

The Internship (2013)

Two salesmen whose careers have been torpedoed by the digital age find their way into a coveted internship at Google, where they must compete with a group of young, tech-savvy geniuses for a shot at employment.  Short synopsis of The Internship taken from IMDb.com 

Watched this with my wife after renting it from Redbox.  She had seen the trailer for it and said it looked like a "Redbox watch," and now that I've seen it, I'm glad we waited.  The Internship would have been a  disappointing theater date night.

Movie Review: Thor - The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

When Jane Foster is possessed by a great power, Thor must protect her from a new threat of old times: the Dark Elves.  Short synopsis of Thor: The Dark World taken from IMDb.com

Thor: The Dark World.  Not bad.  Not bad at all. 

Now, having said that, some overly involved background.  I am admittedly not a comic book guy, but I do enjoy movies made about characters from comic books.  I know nothing about Thor beyond the Norse legend, and even there, I am not particularly well-versed.  I have heard it said that Thor is Marvel's answer to DC Comics' Superman franchise.  Well I can tell you right now, if I judged each franchise based solely on the most recent films made from them, I'd think Thor was cool and Superman was a moody weirdo.