Fringe Review (as spoiler-free as possible)

I admit that I never watched Fringe, the science fiction drama from J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci when it originally aired on TV. Our family has just finished binge watching it via Netflix streaming, consuming 5 - 7 episodes a week. Takes a while to get through 100 episodes even at that rate. Given the perspective of having seen all of it, I will do my best to give a spoiler-free review of the entire series.

Fringe is the story of a government team investigating scientific and/or supernatural events and crimes. Over the 5 season run, this story expands from a procedural format in seasons 1 and 2 to a broader story -driven format for seasons 3 through 5 as the show heads from one save the world type opportunity to another.

The main character is an FBI agent names Olivia Dunham, played by Anna Torv. She is work-focused and an extremely capable agent (a good strong female lead character). Also on the team are Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), Astrid Farnsworth (Jasika Nicole) and their boss Philip Broyles (Lance Reddick). Together they solve often disgusting or gruesome crimes - some seem to be geared to try and gross-out the audience.

One of my favorite things about the show is the character of Walter Bishop, a brilliant though damaged scientist, and his interaction with Astrid who, despite being a Federal Agent, is great as Walter's lab assistant. Her suffering through working alongside the weird things that Walter does in the lab is great. I also liked the show best during the early seasons when it was more procedural in nature and the character development was deeper and fun to watch. Later seasons seemed to become too focused on the events happening around the characters and lost some of the fun of the earlier episodes.

Throughout the five year run, there are multiple twists and turns with little clues laid along the way to where things are heading. Some of the twists are big and may lose some viewers while others are surprising and very interesting. As I noted before, I liked the early seasons best with Seasons 1 and 2 ranking in the 4 - 5 Mick Happies range. Season 3 and 4 are in the 3 - 4 Mick Happy range and Season 5 is at the 3.5 Mick Happy level. All of it is good and while my family would have liked a full on it all ends happily ever after, I at least can understand where the show runners were taking things.

A little blurry on purpose. Watch Fringe and you will understand.

If you like science fiction, weird occurrences and police procedurals with some laughs along the way, you should try Fringe. It will stick with you and make you think about the implications of what you saw on the overall story of the show. It will also make you care about the characters and hope for them along the way. Plus you can see it all on demand via Netflix (and probably other services). Enjoy

Tomb Raider (2013) Xbox Review

This is a review of Tomb Raider, the 2013 release from Square Enix and developed by Crystal Dynamics. Over the years we have talked a lot about Tomb Raider in our house. You see, when my daughter was little I would drag her into Gamestop or whatever other computer/console game store might be in the area and we would browse around. Inevitably we would pass by a version of Tomb Raider with Lara Croft on the cover. I would (knowing the answer) ask my daughter, "Who is that?" Which alway prompted my daughter to point at the cover and say "Moms!". The reason being my wife looks similar to Lara, is fit, been known to shoot a gun or two and of course has really long brunette hair.  I had not, however, ever really played any of the Tomb Raider games (only a few minutes on PC demos here and there over the years).  We had seen the movies, though.

Now in 2013, with the reboot of Tomb Raider with the new console/PC game, I had my chance. Back in July I downloaded the game on Xbox during their sale for $20. The main story of the game is a young Lara Croft is on an expedition to find the lost kingdom of Yamatai which was ruled by Queen Himiko. The ship Lara is on crashes on what we later discover is the island containing Yamatai. There Lara is separated from the rest of the crew and must learn to survive and traverse the treacherous island to reunite with her friends and escape the island. An island that is full of murderous villains.

Overall, Tomb Raider is a 3rd person stealth puzzle shooter where you run, scramble, jump and climb your way through the terrain to find documents, relics, your way and other items that help move you through the story and about the island. There are multiple tools to aid you along with multiple weapons. Some can even be combined like shooting a rope arrow into an enemy on a ledge and pulling him off to his death. The game rewards you for using the environment and stealth to quietly dispatch enemies and punishes you for just wading in with guns a-blazing (after all, you are only one person against an island of whack-os).

This game is full of great moments, majestic vistas and tension. I really enjoyed the situations and challenges that the environment and opposition posed. The story is also interesting and well crafted. Camilla Luddington also does well to add depth to Lara in her voice acting. The two small issues I had with the game is that new interactive elements were often introduced right at the beginning of a fight, often requiring multiple tries at the fight to learn the new mechanic and get through the battle. Additionally, there is a lot of movement during combat where you are trying to track fast opponents while aiming (which slows down your movement somewhat) - I found this to be a bit nauseating at times. It is a similar issue I had trying to fight with a bow in Skyrim, so maybe it is just me.

For a first exposure to Tomb Raider, this game was really, really, really good. If you are unfamiliar with the franchise, this is a great jumping in point. I haven't tried the multiplayer options in the game, but there is the ability to continue with the game after the main story if you didn't complete all of the puzzles and find all of the objects before you finished it. This also allows you to collect more achievements as Tomb Raider doles them out a little sparingly until you are closer to the end of the story - mainly since they are collect X% of this or kill XX amount of that type achievements.

All-in-all, I am glad I picked this one up and it was the first Tomb Raider game I have played through. Tomb Raider (2013) gets 4 Mick Happies. Now I need to go spend some time with my "Lara Croft" and wonderful daughter.

Short Comments on (almost) every concert I have ever seen

This particular post came about from my wife posting commentary on her frustration with trying to purchase Macklemore tickets for an upcoming show we were thinking about taking our daughter to for her birthday (sorry, no links). It made me try to remember how many concerts have I actually gone to and whether or not I had ever used scalpers or resale sites to get tickets. I haven't and prefer to either get the tickets through normal (non-marked up) means or just not go to the show. I am okay with just not seeing someone in concert if it is just too much of a pain in the butt to go (or too expensive - which is relative).

What follows is, as much as I can remember, a list of concerts/bands I have seen live (or seen lip-sync live) over the years in mostly-chronological order with my rating of each. There are bands who aren't known that I have seen in a club or elsewhere that I just can't recall enough about to list them here. Sorry to them as I am sure they were great fun at the time.

Growing up, high school and just after:
The Beach Boys - ? - Saw them after a Padres game at Jack Murphy Stadium while growing up. I was there with at least my dad and probably my mother and brother too. It was a fun time and those sunny afternoon days were always great. With family time thrown in and it probably being my first real concert: 4.

Oingo Boingo - ? - Great time at the San Diego Sports Arena - I can't recall when the concert was, but I think it was the first one I went to on my own with friends and we had a lot of fun. Definitely a Dead Man's Party. 4.5 Mick Happies.

Pato Banton x 2 - ? - ? - Twice in my high school days I saw Pato Banton perform at small venues in San Diego. I liked reggae. Pato was always a great show with lots of energy and up beat.  Gwarn - 4.

College Years & Just after:
Milli Vanilli/Young M.C. - 5/25/90 - Saw this show at the San Diego Sports Arena (went with a girl, which is true of all the remaining concerts - though who changed over the years) - I am not proud of some of the shows I saw, but the performers seemed to be having a good time. 3.

The Cult/Lenny Kravitz - 1/29/91 - Good hard rocking show - both acts. Really enjoyed this one. 4.

INXS - 4/8/91 - Also a good show. I knew most all of the songs and it was loud enough no one around me had to have their ears bleed listening to me sing along with the band. Michael Hutchence was still alive at the time of this gig and put on a show. 4.

Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers - 9/21/91 - I am sure this was a fun show, but frankly it doesn't really stick in my mind much. 3.

The Cult - ? - Saw them again in San Diego at the Open Air Theatre, but not sure when - this was when they weren't quite as popular anymore and was a late day/early evening show if I remember right. Still pretty fun. 3.

Duran Duran/Terrence Trent D'Arby - 8/14/93 - Have been a fan of Duran Duran for a long time. Was good to see them in concert. TTD was also good. Can't recall much more about the show than I thought it was good, so: 3.5.

Depeche Mode - 11/16/93 or the 7/29/90 - Show was at the San Diego Sports Arena - surprised this is the only time I saw this band since I had a poster of them on my college apartment bedroom wall and all of their albums at the time. Lots of fun is all I can recall since I can't even remember which date I went to the show. 4.

1994: This year gets it's own section as I saw SO MANY concerts that year.
Pink Floyd - 4/14/94 - At Jack Murphy Stadium (still wasn't Qualcomm then). This was a good show. I didn't know as much of their music as I have with other shows, but the opportunity arose and I took the chance to see them. 4.

Nine Inch Nails - 4/30/94 - This was at Montezuma Hall at SDSU and a great show - no seats just standing in the audience. I made sure to stay toward the back of the crowd, which still wasn't too far from the stage and safely out of the moshing. 4.5.

Jerry Garcia - 5/17/94 - Not my type of music, but that wasn't why I went (girlfriend at the time was a big fan). Just one to check off the list of things I have done. 3.

Carlos Santana - 6/1/94 - At the Embarcadero - one of the best guitar players I have ever seen. Didn't know his songs other than the really popular ones, but good to listen to that night. 4.

Eagles - 6/5/94 - Again back at Jack Murphy Stadium this time for the Eagles. Definitely a good show and a great band to listen to with terrific songs. Venue not the best, but hey, it's the Eagles. 4.5.

Harry Conick, Jr. - 8/3/94 - Open Air Theatre this time. Not a bad show, just don't know much of his music. Also last time I did anything with the person I went to the show with, which is just fine. 3.

Gin Blossoms/Spin Doctors/Cracker - 8/23/94 - Again at the Open Air Theatre - this was a good place to see concerts under the stars. A fun show and hey I got to go back stage and meet one of the bands since a friend of mine at the time knew them. One of the band members offered me a beer - I was driving that night so I had to pass. Best song of the night was Eurotrash Girl by Cracker. 4.

Nine Inch Nails/Marilyn Manson/The Jim Rose Circus Side Show - 10/10/94 - San Diego Sports Arena. A great show - still scarred by what I saw from Marilyn Manson and the Circus Side Show acts, but turned out to be a good time - my wife still dated me after seeing it and that can't be bad. 4.5.

Rolling Stones/Seal - 10/17/94 - Jack Murphy Stadium - This was another good show though I may have enjoyed Seal's opening more than the Stones since we were bigger fans of his at the time. We were on the grass this time, not too far from the stage. Also went backstage before the show (as shown below). All in all a good night (though my wife did get a ticket for speeding on the way home - which she was not happy about). 3.5.

Concerts with my wife and daughter:
Styx/Kansas - 8/4/96 - Summer Pops in San Diego. The wife is a big Styx fan and bonus we got to see Kansas as well. Have to say that now anytime I hear Carry on my Wayward Son, I want to watch an episode of Supernatural. Fun time out in the open. 4.

Big & Rich with Cowboy Troy - 4/14/05 - Pechanga Theater in Temecula, CA. Good venue - loud music and a good time. Also my daughter's first real concert. Should have heard her singing Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)...4.

Trace Adkins - 3/23/06 - Another show at Pechanga. Really a good venue and Trace puts on one hell of a show. We had a blast. I am sure he has only gotten better with time. 4.5.

Aerosmith/Sammy Hagar - 7/23/10 - Oracle Arena in Oakland. A good show and great experience. Sammy Hagar opening even had Joe Satriani join on stage for a song. We paid for the backstage experience and my daughter loved it. We also had terrific seats (as shown by the photos below. One thing I like about the modern age is the ability to document shows like never before.  Probably not the best show Aerosmith has put on in their long career, but we loved it and the fact that we had to travel to the show just added to the experience. 5.

James Blunt/Christina Perri - 5/3/11 - Humphrey's by the Bay. Nice little venue near downtown. James Blunt played a great show and Christina Perri was very good (first time we had really heard her - bought two of her songs the next day). James even ran through the crowd and invited fans out of their seat and closer to the stage. Whole family went, very good night. As you can tell from the photos below, James Blunt really didn't sit still for photos during the show. 4.5.

Nickelback/Bush - 5/23/12 - Minneapolis' Target Center - another dad/daughter concert. Review is here. 3.

The point of this trip down memory lane? Concerts have been a fun part of my life and as I have gotten older, I go less and expect more I guess. I like smaller venues and less hassle to get tickets - though I am willing to pay through the nose for a great time and good seats. Why can't things be this way anymore. As my wife posted on trying to get Macklemore tickets a few months before the show - the venue had 6 tickets and there were hundreds available on StubHub. So not right. I'd rather stay home and watch the concert from home instead - it will be on video/on demand at some point (or You Tube). What concerts have you enjoyed?

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments Book 1) Review

This is a review of the young adult urban fantasy novel, City of Bones, which is the first book in Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series. I decided to read this book based on seeing the movie trailer for the recently released The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and the book delivers just what the trailer shows. I was able to pick up a copy for iBooks for $4.99.

City of Bones is the story of 15-year-old Clarissa (Clary) Fray and what happens when she finds out that the world (and she) aren't what she thought they were. In typical YA urban fantasy, we have a young protagonist who discovers that there are things in the world that have hidden in plain sight from normal humans and that she possesses the power to see these hidden things. This exposes Clary to a new world of Shadowhunters (decendants of humans who drank the blood of an angel to gain the power to fight demons), werewolves, warlocks, vampires and demons. Throw in some action, a quest to save some adults and unrequited love and you have all of the typical tropes of YA thrown together in a neat little package.

That being said, I don't mean to belittle the book by any means. It is a fun ride through New York as Clary and her friends (new and old) try to unravel a mystery and save someone dear to them. The story does a good job of guiding you into the world of The Mortal Instruments and the somewhat plausible idea that there is a hidden world right beyond our ability to see. I liked how the story kept unwrapping new layers to the world along the way so that you are never overwhelmed and don't need a lot of exposition to tell you about the back story.

The exposition is there and there is a chapter later in the book where one character is telling Clary about something that happened in their distant past that was a bit of a brain dump, but still interesting. The story is also a bit on the rails, there are only a couple red herrings and ah-ha reveal moments along an otherwise straightforward and interesting story.

I am not sure that the story and world has pulled me (an adult) in enough to make me want to run right out for the next book (in The Mortal Instruments trilogy or the 2 of 3 released in a prequel trilogy called the The Infernal Devices). I do think that the book will make an enjoyable action movie and I am looking forward to seeing it on DVD in the near future.

If you have a teenager at home who is fairly into fantasy or urban fantasy, this one is worth handing over to them to try out. There isn't too much in the way of sex, though there is discussion of attraction and kissing, and there is also quite a bit of violence (nothing as major as The Hunger Games, though). With that in mind, I can recommend City of Bones to younger readers (under 18) and give it 3 Mick Happies.  You'll understand the cup reference in the picture if you read the book. ;) Until next time.

Night of the Comet Review

For some reason my wife was trying to remember a zombie movie she had seen and used her Google-fu to find it. I believe the exact search was: '80s movie red dust zombie radio station. Which, of course, returned: Night of the Comet. I have to admit that this is one that I missed growing up and told my wife so when she mentioned it. (She was dumbfounded that she had seen a science fiction movie that I hadn't.) It then went to the top of our Netflix queue.

Night of the Comet, written/directed by Thom E. Eberhardt, in all it's 1980s glory is the story of what happens when the earth intersects the tail of a comet. The result is everyone who was exposed to the event is dead or turned into some sort of degenerating zombie. Enter Regina played by Catherine Mary Stewart (who herself has been in many classics like The Last Starfighter and Weekend at Bernie's) who happens to survive the night and finds that she and her sister may be the last two women alive.

Reg and her sister, Samantha (Sam - played by Kelli Maroney, go to a local radio station where they expect to find a live DJ. Instead they find Hector, played by Robert Beltran, who we couldn't help calling Chakotay for the rest of the film. Together they try to figure out what has happened and how to deal with it.

This film is fun and the director worked around a small budget so the special effects are pretty minimal. However, it has so many "rad" 1980s things going on that if you were growing up then and you haven't seen it you should. The argyle socks Reg is wearing while trying to top the leaderboard at Tempest are great - I had a pair of those. The Michael Jackson style shirts she was rockin' and the big hair. Of course there had to be a scene where the girls go "shopping" at the local department store.

It's probably best to watch this one in a group so that you can MST3K-it (see RiffTrax) - comments while watching might be the best part. Also, watch for the scene where Hector takes off his gloves and then magically has them back on! Points if you spot it.

Night of the Comet should been seen if only for the '80s style, music and nostalgia of it all. I polled the family and they agreed that Night of the Comet gets 3.5 Mick Happies. Watch out for comet tails out there.