Quick DVD Movie Reviews

Over the last few weeks, I haven't been making much progress in the book I am reading, so no review of that this week. I also haven't been finishing any new games. What I have been doing is watching movies with my wife and daughter. What follows are some quick reviews of the movies we have watched on DVD from Netflix.

Oblivion - A science fiction action film set in the future where humanity has left Earth for Titan after aliens arrived and the fight to stop them devastated the planet's eco-system. Tom Cruise plays Jack Harper, a repair tech who keeps water harvesters drawing sea water to generate power. I enjoyed the post-apocolyptic visuals of future earth in this movie. The story also contains multiple thrilling movements along with several twists and turns. Oblivion gets 4 Mick Happies.

This Is The End - In the present day we are given a view into the life of several celebrities (playing extreme versions of themselves) when the apocalypse arrives. Starring Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogan, James Franco, Jonah Hill among others. I spent quite a while fast-forwarding this one. The story could have been interesting and funny, unfortunately it is over the top idiocy that is more a ego-vehicle for the stars than a actual story-driven film. Less then 2 Mick Happies here.

The Fast and The Furious - This past weekend we went for a double-header of street racing fun. The Fast and The Furious (2001) stars Paul Walker and Vin Diesel in a film about road heists of semi-trucks based in and around the world of Southern California street racing. Vin Diesel plays Dominic "Dom" Toretto, a tough racer with a police record is at the center of an investigation into a number of daring thefts. Big cars, loud engines and adrenaline. This was the film that launched a series of 5 sequels so far and is a thrill ride. The Fast and The Furious is 4.5 Mick Happies good.

The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift - This is the third film in the franchise and takes Sean Boswell (Lucas Black), is sent to live with his father in Tokyo after getting in trouble racing. Sean falls in with a crew of street racers headed by Han (Sung Kang), who teaches Sean how to drift so that he is competitive. The story follows the evolution of Sean and Han's friendship and the dangers of organized crime and racing in Tokyo. The visuals are amazing and the special effects are great - watching the special features on the DVD you learn just how good they were. This film introduces Han who is later in Fast Five and Fast & Furious 6. This is another adrenaline filled thrill ride and gets 4 Mick Happies.

Those are what has been on the tube the last two weeks. Definitely some good ones in there, but can't recommend avoiding This Is The End more.

Healthcare, Re-reads and Peggle

For the last few days, I have had some sort of viral issue with my sinuses. According to the Urgent Care physician I saw, this happens and there isn't much that can be done. Apparently the test to determine if something can or can't be done is to tap or put pressure on your face (over the eyebrows, dead center between the eyebrows and on the cheek bones below the eyes). If it is uncomfortable/painful and you already are stuffy/drippy, etc. you might have an infection. Otherwise, stuffy/drippy stuff in your head that moves around when you lay on one side or the other may just be something viral that will have to just run it's course. Notice all of the ifs and maybes here? It seems like a lot of guess work.

It doesn't help that all of it just dehydrates you like a mad-man (or woman) and makes your eyes all scratchy so playing games/reading/looking at the world is not nearly as much fun. The doc prescribed a steroidal nasal spray to reduce the inflammation and said he would leave a note in my file that if I called with pain they would call in an antibiotic prescription without me needing to come back to the clinic. Now on to healthcare.

Working for a company that provides health insurance options, I have what is called a high deductible plan with a Health Savings Account (a pre-tax funded by your own money - or company contribution - account for healthcare related expenses). This means I pay every bit of the health costs until a meet a deductible ($3000 for the family) and then I pay 10% of costs until I reach out of pocket maximum ($4,500 I think). While paying all of the fees, I still get the insurance negotiated rate for any health services. Sounds normal, right? Guess what a 1 hour visit to Urgent Care (where I saw the doc for 5 minutes and most of the time was spent filling out my paperwork) and a 30 day supply of Nasonex from the pharmacy costs at "negotiated rates"? $308. A $167 for the office visit and $141 for the prescription.

It probably didn't help that right now is open enrollment for benefits at work and my annual premium for health insurance is going up $250 a year over last year. The max pay increase I am eligible for is 1.25%, so basically after taxes my raise will cover the health insurance increase. Yay!

So what does this have to do with re-reads and Peggle? When I am sick, I have more free time on my hands than usual because the family won't come within 15 yards of me (except the dog, but she is a kindly idiot). Unfortunately, I don't have much will to do anything. After trying to watch Eureka! on Netflix, continue to read Reamde and play ShadowRun Returns, I found myself mainly reading Twitter and playing Peggle. Twitter reminded me that Leigh Butler is still finishing her A Memory of Light (spoiler-filled) re-read over on Tor.com and when I popped over there I was instantly sucked in (again). I don't know if it's the fact that I have already read the books so that this is just refresher or the witty commentary, but in my unhappy state it is easy to follow and the posts can be read in 10 - 15 minutes (perfect amount of time between nose blows).

And that brings us to today's review of re-reads and Peggle - since I don't think you care about the best way to blow your nose without killing your family with germs review. Re-reads, and there are many of them on the internets - especially at Tor.com, are when someone summarizes what happens in a book and then comments on it. They tend to provide insight into how the story relates to other books or pick out foreshadowing and other easter eggs in the story you might have missed. Each post tends to cover one or more chapters of a book (there are also re-watches for TV shows and movies out there). I find that they are like being in a book club without a) having to have book club people to deal with and b) having to do any "homework" for the club. You get to read other people's opinion on the story, get some interesting insights that you might have missed when you read the story and the comments on the post are usually amusing as well. I highly recommend finding one based on one of your favorite books or series. Leigh Butler's Wheel of Time re-read is very good and nearly complete and I highly recommend it if you like Wheel of Time. I am even mulling over doing a re-read here on H. Beam Piper's Space Viking - so maybe watch for that (plus the book can be found for free so you could read along).

On to Peggle. If you have lived under a rock, don't play games or generally don't like fun - you might never have heard of Peggle. Peggle is a fun little game from PopCap Games (yeah those Plants vs. Zombies folks). It has been around for YEARS and is on just about every platform you can think of including mobile, PC and console. The gist of the game is a physics-based puzzle pinball/pachinko variant where you shot 10 balls at little lighted pegs trying to clear all of the orange pegs before you run out of balls. If you hit enough pegs on a shot, you can earn an extra ball. Or if your ball hits the moving bucket at the bottom of the screen you can also get an extra ball. I had a pachinko machine growing up, so this brings back fond memories.


To add a little variation to the game, on each level you are helped by a Peggle Master (a character with a special power up) who, once you hit one of the two special green pegs, will let you use their power for a turn or more. The power-ups might be spooky ball, where the ball falls off the bottom of the screen only to reappear at the top to drop through again and take out more pegs (very high scoring). Or the Fireball that shoots straight and wipes out any pegs in it path. Or Zen ball, that nudges your shot to a more favorable outcome before you fire.

This is a simple little puzzle game that rewards you for placing the ball trajectory just right. There are 50 main levels in the Adventure mode of the game and then many challenge levels to beat as well. There is also a sequel, Peggle Nights, if you beat everything the game has to offer. I also like that Ode to Joy is played when you beat a level - a great way to celebrate. Warning though, the levels go by quickly but you might just keep playing and playing. I have picked it up thinking to do one level only to look up and 45 minutes are gone.

There you have it. If you are sick, try finding a re-read to remind you of one of your favorite books or pick up Peggle, kick back and shoot some pegs. I give Peggle 5 Mick Happies. Until next time...

Firefly/Serenity Spoiler-Free Review

As a Science-Fiction fan, it is surprising how long I waited to sit down and watch Firefly, the space frontier TV series from Joss Whedon. Over the past year, I have slowly watched all of the Firefly episodes on Netflix on-demand and then followed it up with Serenity, the full-length motion picture sequel to the series.

Firefly is the story of the crew of a Firefly-class spaceship, Serenity, traveling to frontier planets in human-controlled space. Earth is only mentioned as where mankind came from but is never shown in the series/movie. On Serenity, we have Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), his first officer Zoe Washburn (Gina Torres) and her husband - the pilot Hoban "Wash" Washburne (Alan Tudyk). The rest of the crew includes hired gun Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin) and ship maintenance expert Kaylee Frye (Jewel Staite). Also on board is a companion, a kind of escort/courtesan that carries a level of prestige in the future, named Inara Serra (Morena Baccarin) who rents one of Serenity's shuttles. There are other characters added to the ensemble cast over the course of the series as passengers come on-board Serenity.

The crew of Serenity travels between planets and terra-formed moons to trade, do commissioned jobs or smuggle. The controlling government of the area is called the Alliance, having taking control a few years in the past after winning a civil war. A war that Mal and Zoe participated on the losing Independent planet's side. During the show, Mal tries to steer his ship clear of the Alliance and keep himself and the crew off the government's radar.

Firefly does a great job of mixing wild-west feel with space opera elements. You really feel that the crew is working on the fringes of society and just barely scratching out a living. There are also great tension moments brought on by the various bad-guy elements brought into the story. While the tv series is fairly episodic, there are some underlying story threads throughout and these are expanded on and brought to a satisfying conclusion in Serenity.

I can understand why the series and film have such a wide following and why fans were so upset when the show ended after only a few episodes (only 14 episodes were made plus the movie). Luckily, the show did get a follow up movie and has had several prequel/bridge and upcoming comic/graphic novel tie-ins created to expand the story (similar to what was done for Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer series).

Hands-down my favorite character in the series is Kaylee and the way she blends optimism with capability (in how well she keeps the ship humming along despite sometime difficulties in getting parts) - Jewel Staite does a great job in this role. The other actors/characters are also good with Nathan Fillion a believable Captain and Gina Torres very good as his strong 2nd-in-command. The stories are often fun, adventurous and tension-filled. Serenity, the movie, expands things even further in scale and scope while remaining tied tightly to the story-lines that developed throughout the series.

Realistic, gritty, funny and sometimes poignant, Firefly and Serenity are a must watch if you are a space opera or science fiction fan. That they are continuing the story in graphic novel/comic format just means there will be more story to enjoy in the future as you will want to keep coming back to these characters and the setting. Firefly and Serenity get 4.5 Mick Happies. Now if only they would make a Mass Effect-style game set in the universe either letting you travel about like the crew of Serenity or even a more combat-oriented game set during the civil war. I would play it without a doubt.

P.S. Researching links for this review I found out that Steven Brust (a very good author - read the Vlad Taltos series) wrote a Firefly novel, My Own Kind of Freedom, that was ultimately not approved/released, but is available for free via download under a creative commons license from his website here.

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.