Long Time No Review

Ok, so its been a long-o time since I have reviewed anything. Thus the title of this blog post. :]

This review is about a movie titled "Dodge Ball". Dodge Ball was a movie I picked at random for a laugh. Starring Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, it was sure to deliver. The plot basically consists of a good guy, an evil guy, and a problem. 

Mega millionaire and gym owner White Goodman (Stiller), tries to buy out his only competition, Average Joe's gym which is run by Peter LaFleur (Vaughn). The only way for LaFleur to save his small gym, is to compete in a dodge ball competition for $50,000.

In the end, the bad guy loses and the good guy wins. There are a few surprises though!

i'll give it a 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. 

South of the Pumphouse by Les Claypool

Is it bad that I want to grow up to be like that guy? That guy in question is Les Claypool, one of the most creative and innovative bassists of our time, frontman of such bands as Primus, Oysterhead, Sausage, and the Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, and author of the book "South of the Pumphouse" which is, coincidentally, the book I'm reviewing! Isn't it funny the way things work out?

The book opens in the small town of El Sobrante, which was the town in which Les Claypool and Primus Guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde grew up. I'm sorry, I'm getting fanboyish. Anyway, the story follows the drug fueled fishing trip of brothers Ed and Earl, and Earl's bigoted best friend Donny.

I'm going to warn you now, this book is not for the prude. I am a fairly jaded child and some of the things in this book actually made me blush. There are copius amounts of drugs consumed, sex thrown out all willy-nilly (I love that word), and plenty o' violence.

Now that that I've warned you, on with the story. The book's main storyline follows the exploits of the three boys on the boat. Conversation varies wildly between the three, from debate about homosexuality, to scat in a public restroom, but it's Earls drug fueled rampage that shifts the tone of the book from lighthearted, if explicit, conversation, into an extremely morbid tone.

I loved this book. It was well written and strange, and ended on a disturbingly unsettling note. My only complaints are the flashbacks, which often intrude on the story, and the overall length of the book. Around two hundred pages, the book reads pretty quick, especially since you can't put it down. Unless you have no arms.

All in all, this book is a definite must for any fan of Claypool and his work, and a must for those who enjoy dark and unsettling tales. I'd heartily reccomend this to ay stranger passing in the street. Course, they'd all probably think I'm insane.

Loving Will Shakespeare by Carolyn Meyer

In between my James Bond and Star Wars reads i picked up this book called Loving Will Shakespeare. It seemed cute and a good off topic book, so i began to read it. Its a great book that will capture your full attention with details and makes you actually care for the main character. Her name is Agnes Hathaway. After he mother dies her father brings a new wife into the house. Agnes's Stepmother is hate full, unkind and rude, and disfavors Agnes. The book goes on through her life as a young adult and shows her struggles with finding her perfect man to marry, loosing her loved ones, and her stepmother. Its a sweet book with kind of an annoying ending, but all the same, I would recommend it to anyone with a spot for romance.
-loved it!!

-Laura

WALL-E

WALL-E is a treat to watch. It is cute, funny, horrifying, and touching. WALL-E is the last of the robots that were left to clean up Earth while humanity went on a five year cruise. However, it has been 700 years and WALL-E hasn't come close to making Earth livable again. Enter EVE who changes WALL-E's life forever.

There is little to no dialog for the first half or so of the film, but it still manages to draw you in. WALL-E is probably one of the best movies of the year. It has wonderful characters, a good strong plot, beautiful animation and backgrounds, and it works on enough levels to keep adult sci-fi nerds interested (that would be myself included). The fate of humanity in WALL-E will hopefully make people take a look at their lives and the way we treat not only the Earth but also our own bodies. The way WALL-E lives should gives us hope and remind us to enjoy the wonder that is our world.

I gotta say that this movie had a theater full of 20 and 30 somethings on the edge of their seats and not making a sound. Go see this movie.

The Matador

The Matador was a great movie staring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Klinnear.

This darker comedy is about two totally different men becoming friends. Julian Noble (Brosnan) is a hit man who starts to go mad, while on a job in Mexico, he meets a struggling business man named Danny (Klinnear). The two bond but part after Julian asks him to help in an assassination.

6 months later, Julian is a ruined hit man, and his boss is out to get him for screwing up. so he goes to his one and only "friend", Danny. together Danny and Julian go out and solve the problems at hand.

Its a Great movie full of quirky things and unforgettable phrases. I would highly recommend this to any Brosnan fan. Its easily one of my favorite movies!!

(recommended for 13+)

thanks!!

SilverFin

OK. SilverFin is a young James bond book. I enjoyed it as much as any other book. The main plot is about a guy who is creating and testing steroids and hes testing them in ways that seem inhumane. But when he broadens his test subjects and starts testing on people, things get out of hand. People start to disappear, and rumours start spreading. James decides that he and his pal are going to have a look around the mad man's lab which is a giant castle in Scotland. they do solve the case and get the mad man, like in most James bond related stories.
that is all.
i recommend it.
:]

Licence to Kill (aka James Bond)

hrmm.
Unlike most Bond movies I've seen, this one doesn't do much for me. Yes, today i have decided to post how much i absolutely hate this movie. Basically this movie has no right whatsoever to be a Bond movie. Ok, so we'll start off with the actor Timothy Dalton. I'm not saying I knew how men were considered "steamy' in the late 80's, but this guy, Oh MY GOD! He is the worst looking man i have ever seen! personally i would like to take a razor blade to his face to make it look prettier. why? why would they hire a guy like him? hu? erg.
Another thing that drove me up the wall was how it was night, darkness created shadow for Bond to infiltrate and sneak around, but then, BAM! the lights came on and it was mid day! how on earth??
Another problem that i had was the relationship between Bond and Lupe Lamora, Sanchez's girlfriend. Near the end of the movie, they talk about the relationship they had and all the "things" they did together. Unless there was some off-camera smoochin', all the "things" they did together consisted of talking, and threatening with a knife, and perhaps some black jack.
Now i go back to Dalton. Yeah yeah i know that bond always gets the girls, but ew, who in their right mind would fall for the lack there of charm of him...
And what was up with him? he was like on his man period or something. Major attitude adjustment. while watching, I'm pretty sure i said "That's not Bond", or "The new Bond would've killed them"or"he would've shot faster" and so on.
Anyway, apart from all of those things that sucked, the movie just sucked in general. The plot was ok, the script was ok, the actors...not so much.
My favorite part would have to be the part with Q that lasted about 2 minuets.
so that's it. hope you enjoyed it! haha yeah right.
-laura