Up

So I saw Up the other day and damn, it's a good film.

Up is another one of Disney & Pixar's masterpieces, the saddest film I have ever seen but a real heartwarming story all the same.

The tale follows an old man, he promised his wife when they were children he would take her to South American. Life happens and they never get there, his wife dies. Instead of letting his house and all his memories of the life he had be destroyed by the corporate suits who wish to build apartment buildings, etc he ties a brazzilion balloons to his house with the plan of floating down to South America to live out his days and fulfil his promise to his dead wife.

His plan however, doesn't work out exactly how he envisioned it.

Packed with laughs and tears, Up is brilliant - go watch it!

P.s. It's also available to watch is standard 2D or with 3D goggles.

My next review

Seeing as I have started doing a couple of book reviews I think I shall cary on the trend.

As I'm a lazy bastard, the order in which I will be reading books is in a rather unprofessional manner of, the smallest books first.

New reviews coming friends.

Also, an article about visiting Amsterdam will be posted at some point next week.

Take it easy, enjoy the summer.

Sam

The Book With No Name.

Due to an upcoming trip that would no doubt be mind numbingly boring i browsed my shelf for a book I had yet read. I decided on The Book With No Name, I'm not sure why; probably something to do with the rather cool name and nice cover artwork - two very important features for me.

Set in Santa Mondega, a city that the rest of the modern world would rather forget, shit is going down. The only interesting and unique feature that Santa Mondega has to separate it apart from the other dead end cities is it's peculiar lunar cycle. Santa Mondega has a full solar eclipse every 5 years.

A mythical stone: The Eye of the Moon, has been stolen by a vicious bounty hunter from the monks that guard it and has arrived in Santa Mondega. Two monks have set out to return it, five years ago the same happened - the two monks then never returned.

As the thugs, lowlifes, bounty hunters and gangsters fight for the valuable stone, the Bourbon Kid is back.

I loved this book, The many characters and plots merged together seamlessly: Two defectives trying to get to the bottom of what's going on, foreign monks trying to get the stone back to the safety of their island, the bounty hunter who has promised the gang boss of Santa Mondega the stone and has his life at stake as a result are just a few of the characters who have been thrown together in the pestle and mortar that is Santa Mondega.

Riddled with violence like bullet holes in the tapioca bar. The Book With No Name leaves you on the edge of your seat wondering what's going to happen next - I ended up going to sleep post 2AM, three nights in a row due to this book.

A very, VERY, enjoyable read. Brilliant from the start through to the end, the only problem was I couldn't read fast enough! upon recollection I think this book would translate to film very well, it's not a very big book.

If you are looking for a modern fantasy, with a crime and investigation twist and lots of violence then you can't go wrong with The Book With No Name.

Definitely worth a read.

5/5


Here's a referral link to Amazon if you are interested:

The Steel Remains

This book was one of my Borders impulse buys and I have to say, I wasn't disappointed.

Richard Morgan has built himself a bit of a name as a sci-fi writer and this was his first go at a traditional fantasy novel. Unfortunately the Sci-fi fans in general seem a bit disappointed that it's a traditional fantasy rather than a space romp but alas, it is a pretty good first fantasy novel, in what hopefully is a trilogy at the least.

I wasn't disappointed but I had better clarify; I wasn't disappointed at the end. I did feel however that the start was rather weak, fortunately it got progressively stronger towards the finish ending on a very strong note that just left me wanting more.

Morgan has a nice writing style, he's not afraid to be blunt, say things as they are and be as crude as possible and I like that. What I didn't like however was Morgans lack of detail in certain areas. I assume this is to build a sense of mystery and lure readers in, I however got frustrated with it very quickly and just felt cheated.

For example:

1) The main character Ringil will have a 'flashback' of sorts, he will be half way through visualising what happened and then the train of thought and story is just dropped.

2) Throughout the whole story we are told he is the hero of Gallowsgap. I would have liked some information on what Ringil did, little scraps are given here and there but there were plenty of opportunities for the story to be told in full.

The Steel Remains was a very enjoyable book, definitely worth a read if you can battle past the rather boring start you are in for a treat.

Note to readers: This book has a strong theme of violence, coarse language and scenes of a sexual nature.

3/5

Wanted

So the other day I watched Wanted.

As soon as I saw the ads for Wanted, I knew it was a film I was going to watch. Angelina Jolie, assassins and gun battles in bullet time - what isn't there for a young male to enjoy?

The opening scene to wanted is brilliant. Fast paced, action packed and gruesome. Sets the tone for the film and draws you in - Probably one of the best opening scenes, leaves you ready and wanting more, Wanted delivers.

The Acting throughout is brilliant! Angelina Jolie is a pro as always. James McAvoy was great! I can't stress that enough, he was the perfect man for the job and just suited the roll so well. McAvoy and Jolie had great chemistry on set as well which gave the film that little something extra.

Morgan Freeman played a different roll than usual which was refreshing and as always, played it well. I always feel if Freeman stars in a film it's worth watching I call it the Freeman Constant.

The plot and story is good, some nice twists and turns that keep you thinking. The slow time gun battles are amazing, executed brilliantly and the bullet curving i thought was really cool. The Bullet curving seems to be a coolness ad-on to Wanted as well as the assassins 'special' abilities they don't add anything to the story but they are awesome to watch and add that little something extra.

Wanted is brilliant 'till the end. The action is relentless after the opening scene you are immersed completely. The ending was great as well, i still find the ending sad thinking about it - which is very rare for me and especially rare as Wanted isn't a serious film, just goes to show you how immersing the film and acting is.

To convey my opinion as a number I'd give it an easy 9/10 - Guns, bullet time, violence and tasteful comedy.

Wanted hits every button the quality of casting, acting and writing makes up for the plot (which is nothing special) but honestly, I would watch it just for Angie.

Go watch it, you will not regret it!

Sam