Movie Review - Bumblebee

 

I was a big fan of Transformers in the 80s, and I've been waiting for a movie that was true to the original cartoon to be released. That day finally came.

Bumblebee is a 2018 science fiction action film based on the Transformers toyline and cartoon series. It is rated PG-13 for mild violence and is appropriate for most ages.

The Good

Transformers Designs. The filmmakers did an excellent job capturing the look of the original toys. I almost cried I was so happy. Why couldn't they have done this 4 films earlier? They looked awesome!

Transformers Action. The film did a great job capturing the movement, transformation, and action of the cartoon. I loved classic Soundwave and Ravage! And Optimus Prime as a semi looked just like the toy.

80s Nostalgia. This movie takes place in the 80s with a lot of 80s music, fashion, film, and other references. Even the pacing and story turns felt very 80s.

Opening Scene. The opening scene looks like it came straight from my imagination. It was everything I could want in a Transformer movie.

The Bad

Charlie. Charlie is the main character, and she is so blah and unlikeable. The main story is her coping with the loss of her dad and trying to move on. The idea was good, but so poorly executed.

Story. The story was weak. It was boring, uninteresting, and uninspired. I wished I had a remote to cue to the next battle scene.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish there had been more Transformer action. The main story was pretty dull and bland. The action scenes on Cybertron were amazing.

Overall

Bumblebee is the Transformer movie fans have been waiting for for three decades. The Transformer designs and action look like they came straight out of the cartoon. Why couldn't the first four movies look like this? The opening scene looks like it came straight from my imagination. Unfortunately, the story and human characters were boring. I give this film 3.5 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.

   

Movie Review - Aquaman

I'm not a huge fan of Aquaman, nor did I enjoy him in Justice League. But the

Aquaman is a 2018 superhero action film based on the comic by DC Comics. It is rated PG-13 for mild violence and is appropriate for most ages.

The Good

Visuals. The film looked really nice with great environments and awesome costumes.

Action. There was a lot of great action. This is an action movie first and foremost. It looked better rendered than a video game, but the movements were very video game-like.

Music. Both the soundtrack and the songs were really nice and different than what you normally hear in any film, especially superhero films.

Black Manta is Evil. I like the fact that Black Manta was not misunderstood, not a tragic figure, not a cartoon villain, but an evil bad guy who does things because he is bad and his wickedness punishes him.

The Bad

Story. The story was pretty thin. It was your typical action film with "twists" that weren't surprising and over the top dramatic reveals.

Black Manta is a Thug. Black Manta was basically an unlikeable thug. Where they've set him up to be in the next film, they needed to make him more interesting.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish this film had had a stronger story.

Overall

Aquaman is an entertaining action flick. It have beautiful settings and amazing costumes. The story is thin, predictable, and mostly an excuse for all the many action scenes. The music was very different than you're used to hearing in films today, but very good. I give this film 3.5 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.

   

Book Review - Echo Park (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 12) by Michael Connelly

I recently finished a Harry Bosch book by Michael Connelly and enjoyed it enough to pick up a second.

Echo Park by Michael Connelly is a murder mystery in the Harry Bosch series. It is available as an eBook, Audiobook, and those paper things your grandparents used to read.

The Good

Story and Writing. The story was very solid with a lot of good twists and reveals. The writing was well done and did not get in the way of the story.

Villain. This novel has a great villain who is clever, creepy, and dangerous. I felt worried when he was loose in the story and happy when he was finally brought down.

Ancillary Characters. While I didn't like the main character, everyone else was really interesting and I found myself caring about them.

The Bad

Main Character. The main character isn't that interesting. He's kind of a jerk, he's not that clever, and I had a hard time rooting for him.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish the main character had been more interesting and likable.

Overall

Echo Park by Michael Connelly is a very entertaining murder mystery with a great villain who is clever but also truly creepy and dangerous. The main character was the least interesting part of the book, but surprisingly the story was still really good and really gripping with some nice twists throughout. The other characters were all interesting. I give this book 4.5 out of 5 eReaders.

   

Merry Christmas, all!

The Lights of Christmas

They twinkle thru pine, tinsel, and globes,
Strands of many tiny colored bulbs—
Crimson, amber, azure, and green:
The lights of the Christmas Tree.

They tremble, flicker, then dance
Over wicks in sculpted wax,
Flames aglow with warmth on the mantle:
The light of Christmas Candles.

It shines thru all times and all ages
Sparking goods works in all places
Even in those who don’t know His Name:
The Light of the Christmas Babe.

Jeff Thomason
12/4/2018

Book Review - Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert Kurson

Pirates have always fascinated me, both the myths created by storytellers and movie makers and the reality that wasn't so violent or glamorous. So little of real pirates and what they did is known, that every new nugget of knowledge is an exciting find.

Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert Kurson is a nonfiction account of an actual search and discovery of an obscure pirate and his ship that should be much more famous. It is available as an eBook, Audiobook, and those paper things your grandparents used to read.

The Good

John Banister. I had never heard of John Banister, but this book included so much of his story and character that I'm dying to see a movie about his life. He was a fascinating character, filled with brilliance and contradictions, and lived several exciting adventures that would be perfect for the silver screen.

Background on Treasure Hunting and Searches. The author did an excellent job spelling out the realities of treasure hunting, the lifestyle, the challenges, the sacrifices, and the rare payoffs. I've seen fictional portrayals of all this, but to find out what happens in real life to real people was very interesting.

The Bad

Not a Lot Happened. I enjoyed the story, but it would be hard to turn into a movie without a lot of creative license. While quite a bit happened, not at much as one would expect happened. And a lot of it wasn't unique to this particular incident, but sounded to so many other stories.

Weird "Learned from the Natives" Shoehorned in at the End. The author shoehorned in a single experience about natives using a rock and sticks to change his tire, then made it some major point of learning right at the end. It felt like pandering and trying to make the author sound enlightened and not like an experience he actually learned from. If he really was so impressed with the natives and their ingenuity, he needed to include a lot more examples thruout the book and not some quick, unnecessary side note near the end.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish there had been more to the story.

Overall

Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert Kurson is a well written account of a handful of men and a pirate that should be a lot more famous than he is. The story of John Banister, the pirate, was fascinating and would make an incredible film. The story of the discovery of his ship not so much. I give this book 4 out of 5 eReaders.

   

Book Review - Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw

In college, one of my Economic instructors often referred to Andrew Carnegie and mentioned what he would do. The version he presented made Carnegie out to be a fascinating character I wanted to learn more about.

Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw is a biography. It is available as an eBook, Audiobook, and those paper things your grandparents used to read.

The Good

Research. Before he died, Andrew Carnegie started an autobiography which his wife finished and published after his death. A biography considered very authoritative was also published. Apparently both contained a lot of inaccuracies, unverifiable stories, and flat out lies. The author did an excellent job researching the man and explaining what can be verified and what can't.

Portrayal. The author focused on who Carnegie was as much as what he did. Carnegie was quite a paradox preaching one thing while practicing its opposite. He also flipped his opinion on several issues throughout his life. The author also shows him as delusional thinking he had much more influence than he did.

The Bad

Bias. The author has his own opinions and interpretation of history, and makes no attempts to be objective and hide his conclusions. Nor does he leave the reader much room to disagree or draw his own conclusions.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I wish the author had been more objective.

Overall

Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw is a well researched biography of an important figure in US and World History. The author presents who the man was as well as what he did. He points out what can and cannot be verified and corrects many errors and purposeful fabrications from previous biographies including Carnegie's own autobiography. Unfortunately, the author has own opinions and interpretation of history, and makes no attempts to be objective and hide his conclusions. That would have been fine in a work of fiction, but not so much in a work of nonfiction. I give this book 4 out of 5 eReaders.

   

Book Review - Gen 13: A Christmas Caper

Back in college I saw a small ad in the back of a WildStorm comic where writer and artist Tom McWeeney described the wonder and magic of Christmas specials (like Santa Claus is Coming to Town, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and other) growing up before the days of home video and cable television. They were only shown once a year so you had to check the TV Guide carefully and plan accordingly, or you would miss it and have to wait a whole other year. It reminded me of

Gen 13: A Christmas Caper by Tom McWeeney, Richard Friend, Jeromy Cox, and Todd Klein is a full-color 48-page Prestige Format comic book. It is available in print. I don't know why this isn't available digitally. It's a CLASSIC!!

The Good

Concept. The concept is Gen13 as small children used to lure Santa Claus to a black-ops base to punish him for the coal he delivered to a certain Director of IO. The purpose of the comic was to capture the magic of the classic Christmas specials from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. The writer/artist said he wanted to create something that would be classic, that readers would pull out and read every year, because it just wouldn't be Christmas without it. He succeeded. This book perfectly captures the feeling of those Christmas Classics.

Art. The art is beautiful. It looks very modern while incorporating elements of classic children's storybooks.

Writing. The writing is part classic poetry and part modern prose. There's humor, angst, fear, cheerfulness, romance, danger, and excitement. Even after nearly 20 years, it's still as fun and enjoyable as ever.

The Bad

Ummm...

What I Would Like to Have Seen

Tom McWeeney do more specials.

Overall

Gen 13: A Christmas Caper by Tom McWeeney, Richard Friend, Jeromy Cox, and Todd Klein is Christmas classic I pull out and read every year. It just wouldn't be Christmas without it. The writing, the art, and the overall presentation is as good as it gets. This is a true classic. I give this book 5 out of 5 eReaders.

    

Book Review - Dead Men Can't Complain and Other Stories by Peter Clines

I am a huge lover of short stories, especially science fiction short stories. I buy and read a lot of anthologies, but find myself disappointed by a good number of stories in almost any collection (Edmond Hamilton collections being an exception). The two books I've read by Peter Clines were both excellent and original, so I thought I'd give his short fiction a whirl.

Dead Men Can't Complain and Other Stories is a science fiction short story anthology by Peter Clines. It's an Audible original and exclusive.

The Good

Mulligan. This story involves time travel and changing history so different species become the dominant species told thru a police interrogation.

The End of the Experiment. This is a time travel story in England.

Flesh Trade. This is a monster story mixed with a slave trade.

The Apocrypha of Gamma 202. This is an android story that explores deity.

Dead Men Can't Complain. This is another zombie story about what life is like for the undead.

Forged. This is a very short story about magic and immortality.

Contraption. This is a story about the dangers of an addictive game.

The Not-Quite-As-Good

Bedtime Story. This story is a dark version of Superman showing what would happen if he decided to make everyone safe.

The Long, Deep Dream. This story is a detective story where the private eye finds out about a secret the whole world is controlled by.

Red Neck Romancy. This is very short horror story.

The Hat Box. This is a zombie story.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

More stories!!

Overall

Dead Men Can't Complain and Other Stories by Peter Clines is an incredible anthology of science fiction and horror stories, each taking an original angle on a tried-and-true troupe of the genres. Even though the stories are short, they don't feel rushed or cut short. Each feels fully realized and left me satisfied while wanting a sequel. Even the not-quite-as-good stories are well done. I give it a solid 5 out of 5 eReaders.

      

Movie Review - Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

I am not a Harry Potter fan, but I saw all of the films and found a couple of them entertaining. I had no interest in seeing the first Fantastic Beasts film, but the trailer for the second one made me curious.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a 2018 fantasy adventure film based on the Harry Potter franchise. It is rated PG-13 for mild violence and is appropriate for most ages.

The Good

Visuals. The film was visually beautiful, especially the scenes of the main character's animal sanctuary in his home and the circus in Paris.

Story. The story was solid if a little thin. It made sense and progressed fairly logically.

The Bad

Characters. The characters were not interesting, nor developed. I had a hard time feeling anything for them. I never felt invested in their story or fate.

Lack of Wonder and Fun. The Harry Potter films had a sense of wonder and fun. This film lacks the same fun with magic for most of the story.

Twist. There were a few twists in the story and "mystery", but none of them were shocking or surprising. I actually rolled my eyes at the last one surprised the filmmakers went for such an obvious connection.

Pacing. The pace of the film was very slow. The Harry Potter films had so much going on (until the last two) that they moved. This one didn't have enough story or action to fill the time, so everything was stretched out.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I with this film had more going on, more fun with magic, and more interesting characters.

Overall

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald lacks the fun and wonder of the Harry Potter films. The characters aren't as interesting, and I had a hard time caring about what happened to them. The film is visually beautiful to watch with a few interesting scenes, but most of the movie moves slowly and the story felt thin. The final battle at the end and the "big reveals" were small, obvious, and disappointing. I give this film 3.5 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.