Quick Movie Reviews

Lately I have seen several documentary, I mean historical fiction, based-on-a-true-story and/or fantasy movies. Sometimes I like to think that they are documentaries and that is how things really happened, but alas…no. However, that doesn't mean that you can't have a good time with some of them anyway. Here's a roundup of quick reviews for those movies.

47 Ronin: The latest retelling of the classic Japanese story about the Samurai code of honor, bushido.  This version of 47 Ronin stars Keanu Reeves as Kai, a half-Japanese/half-English outcast, and is directed by Carl Rinsch. The story is about treachery and loyalty and revenge in feudal Japan as 47 Ronin, or masterless Samurai, seek to avenge the death of their master. Overall, the movie is beautiful and Keanu Reeves is visually believable as Kai. Where the movie fell down a bit for me was in the weaving of mystical/magical elements into the story and the use of hyper-fast CGI in some of those instances. It took me out of the story and basically the source material probably didn't need the extra punch of the special effects. If you are interested in Samurai movies that have modern special effects instead of the classic Samurai movies, this one is probably a good one to watch. I give 47 Ronin 3 Mick Happies.

50 to 1: Continuing the theme of movies with numbers in the title is the based on a true story tale of the racehorse, Mine That Bird. The film is directed by Jim Wilson and stars Skeet Ulrich and Christian Kane. We found out about the movie by following Christian Kane, who we are a fan of from his work on Leverage as well as his singing efforts. This is a classic underdog story of a horse trained in New Mexico that no one thinks has a chance but goes on to great success. As with any underdog story there are ups and downs along the way, but it all works out. This is a low budget film, but it has a lot of heart and it is clear that everyone making it was having a good time and enjoying what they were doing. Plus, who doesn't like an underdog story? There are some weak acting moments by some of the supporting cast that may seem a little off, but overall this is a feel good movie. 50 to 1 gets 4 Mick Happies.

Christian Kane as Mark Allen in 50 to 1

Pompeii: This epic of the destruction of the Roman city of Pompeii stars Kit Harrington (Jon Snow in Game of Thrones) as Milo, a celtic slave forced to fight in the arena. Along the way he falls in love and must fight for his life in the games for the amusement of the citizenry of Pompeii. There is politics, great scenery and landscapes. Again a lot of abs, blood and fighting, oh and destruction. Keifer Sutherland is frustratingly evil as Roman Senator Corvus. This isn't a bad movie at all, but anyone with a bit of historical knowledge knows that things aren't going to end well. Overall, Pompeii probably falls into the category of depressing more than anything else. I give it 2.5 Mick Happies. I hope that Kit Harrington gets another starring role in something other than a fantasy setting to show what he can do.

I, Frankenstein: I know, not based on a true story, but what if it was! That would be great. This take on Frankenstein finds the monster still alive in modern day and caught between two factions that have warred for centuries and look to Frankstein's monster to give them an edge in the battle. I don't want to give anything away as I think this is a film worth seeing. I will say I have always thought there was more to gargoyle statues than just ornamentation on buildings - glad to see them getting into some action. If you like supernatural action films that have a bit of the Underworld films feel to them, check this one out. I give I, Frankenstein 3 Mick Happies.

Magic Kingdom For Sale - SOLD!

Been a while since I posted anything mainly due to life happening. That doesn't mean that I haven't been consuming movies, books and playing games. One thing I did before life started to take over was download the first 3 books in Terry Brooks's Landover series from Amazon (link here) and start reading it (again). The book, The Magic Kingdom of Landover Volume 1 consists of Magic Kindgom For Sale - SOLD!, The Black Unicorn and Wizard At Large all for $9.99 on Kindle. The first novel, MKFS-S! was first published back in 1986, which was about the time I first read it.

The book is about a dissatisfied Chicago widower lawyer who decides to take a risk on an offer in a department store catalog to buy a fantasy kingdom and become it's king. For the rest of the story we follow Ben Holiday and see how his purchase works out for him.

Not as well known as Brooks's Shannara series and possibly not as good as the Sword of Shannara, MKFS-S! reminded of a particular sub-genre of fantasy that I really like, the kind where seemingly normal people are transported to another world. A sub-genre best known by classics like The Wizard of Oz, The Chronicles of Narnia , A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and Alice in Wonderland, I personally have found The Guardians of the Flame series by Joel Rosenberg to be my favorite example. There is something great about the idea that we (any of us) might someday stumble into another world (and hopefully survive).

Some of the things that Terry Brooks does very well in MKFS-S! is give us insight into Ben's doubts and concerns as he questions his sanity for even buying into the idea of this kingdom for sale. Plus Landover is interesting in it's own right, but I don't want to spoil the surprises. Luckily I originally read it so long ago that I didn't remember all of the twists (of which there are a few).

The book probably best falls into a young adult age range, with nothing too violent (more suspenseful) and nothing too sexy. I read it at 16 or 17 and anyone 13 and up would have a good time with the story. I haven't read books 2 or 3 in the series (which currently spans six novels) and am looking forward to reading them as well. I give MKFS-S! 3.5 Mick Happies and highly recommend you go out and grab a copy of the 3 book set if you like Brooks's other novels or want a decent fantasy story with nearly all the trappings of the trope.

Back again soon with a roundup of all the movies I have seen lately.

Walk of Shame Movie Review

Walk of Shame is a new comedy film written and directed by Steven Brill and starring Elizabeth Banks. As the title suggests, "good girl" Meghan, played by Banks, decides to let off some steam and ends up having to walk about Los Angeles in a bright yellow dress - attracting all kinds of attention along the way. The movie has been panned by the critics, but as my wife likes to say - whatever they don't like, I usually do.

Meghan is on this trek across town because she is stranded without money, phone or a car and needs to get to her work (as a newscaster) in order to land a new job. There are many awkward and strained moments in the movie, but there are also several laugh out loud funny bits as well. Particularly when Meghan is hiding out with some drug dealers and a crack-head named, Pookie. Alphonso McAuley (Pookie) steals the show and is possibly the funniest character in the whole film. Elizabeth Banks is good as a frustrated, drunk, out of her depth person just trying to get to work.

Pookie pays attention to the news.

I found Walk of Shame to be a light-hearted, occasionally cringe-worthy (as most comedy is these days) and fun. Several of the characters, scenes and lines have kept me chuckling a day later. We worth the money spent to rent it through iTunes. Oh yeah, did I mention that this movie is in theaters (limited release) and available to buy or rent online? Fantastic and I wish more movies would do that as it really would get more of my money - I would rather pay to rent a movie at release if I could than wait for it on Netflix.

Walk of Shame is R-rated, so not kid friendly, but certainly worth a watch and way better than it's Rotten Tomatoes rating would suggest. Just jump on the couch and strap in for the ride (or walk). Walk of Shame gets 3.5 Mick Happies. More same day as theaters rental options, please!

The Legend of Hercules Movie Review

Hercules seems to be all the rage right now in entertainment circles (or maybe it is just Greek Myths that are popular. The muscle-bound demigod has been showing up in BBC's Atlantis TV show as an overweight slightly cowardly man trying to pump his own notoriety to two films that seem to follow the traditional myth more closely, Hercules starring Dwayne Johnson and The Legend of Hercules starring Kellan Lutz. Last night my wife and I "watched" The Legend of Hercules. Going in to the film, my wife stated that we would probably be done in about 30 minutes as we tend to turn off movies we aren't enjoying without finishing them. Surprisingly, we made it through the whole film. It may be that our own running commentary about the plot, characters, story and flaws that kept us interested when the movie alone might not.

In some respects, The Legend of Hercules follows a lot of the mythical stories of Heracles (the greek name for Hercules). They get the name of his mother, father and brother right and even give us one of the twelve labors, slaying of the Nemean Lion. Where it goes a little askew is by making this more a story of a queen's (Alcmene) interest in stopping her power-mad husband (Amphitryon) by seeking support from the gods. Hera, the goddess, grants Alcmene's wish by allowing Zeus to sleep with her and make her pregnant, leading to the birth of Hercules. In The Legend of Hercules, Amphitryon knows that Hercules (called Alcides) isn't his son and even worse, Hercules happens to love the woman that Amphitryon has decided his true son, Iphicles, will marry. So Amphitryon decides to send Hercules to Egypt where he will conveniently die. That is the first 30 minutes of the movie.

The last hour is the rest of the story with Hercules seeking to get some payback. All well and good, nothing spectacular in the plot department, but not horrible either. Where I think things derail a bit is in the choices of the crew. What we get is 300-esque fight scenes (and actor body-types causing my wife to ask if she could stop to do some laundry on those boys) sometimes seemingly mixed with the blue light effects of Twilight. The film is obviously made for 3D with arrows and other items flying out at you from time to time. Probably the biggest nit to pick is that there is nothing redeeming in the character of Iphicles (the brother). Where Hercules is tan, muscular, shirtless, moral, good, etc., etc., etc. While Iphicles is dark haired, pale, never shirtless, a bit whiny, simpering, and petty. Yes, I know we need to have our bad guys look obviously bad and our good guys squeaky clean, but at least take a book from Thor and realize that it doesn't have to be that way. I mean, Loki looked like a bad guy, but he wasn't incompetent and was even a bit sympathetic. Having Iphicles be almost as good as Hercules but always a step behind might have made the movie more interesting.

At any rate, if you like to chat during a movie and make fun of what you are seeing, then The Legend of Hercules will be easy pickings for you. Now we just have to wait for The Rock's Hercules later this year. The Legend of Hercules gets 2 Mick Happies. Prepare to mock if you watch.

Quick Reviews on a number of topics and a life achievement

Lately I have been a little short of ideas for things to post about. Part of it is because I have been reading something I can't talk about. It is really good, but since I am an alpha reader and can be killed if I saying anything - I have probably said too much. What it does mean is that books are out as I haven't any to discuss.

I have also found that I don't have much patience for movies or TV that just doesn't catch my interest very quickly. Recently I have turned off (without finishing) Cavemen starring Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect) and Saving Mr. Banks. In the case of Cavemen it was because the story was just so predictable and there wasn't much that I found funny over all. Which is pretty sad since I typically will like a romantic comedy - yep I am sappy like that. As for Saving Mr. Banks, I remember Mary Poppins from the one time I read it and if I liked it more I would probably have pushed through. Unfortunately, they made Mrs. Travers (I don't want to be chastised for calling her P.L.) really annoying. There you have it, two movies I can't review because I didn't watch them.

So what can I review? How about some video games?

If you act quickly and have an Xbox Gold membership on your Xbox 360, you can still download Deadlight for free until April 30. Deadlight is a puzzle, action, platformer based in Seattle after some disaster has hit. Most of humanity has been turned into Shadows (Zombies) out to kill all the living. You are Wayne and trying to get back to your friends and family. The game has a lot in common with Shadow Complex (a great platformer on the 360). You will die a lot and there are some times when you have to hit the controls just right, but you do get a number of interesting puzzles along the way. Plus it is free right now (for 3 more days). Deadlight gets 4 Mick Happies.

I have also been playing a lot of Blizzard's Hearthstone on my first gen iPad mini. It runs great and the touch controls seem like they were how the game was intended to be played. I have found a couple times where my hand was in the way of the pop up details on a card (you press and hold on a minion to have the card details appear), but that may just be because I am too lazy to use my left hand to tap the minions. Hearthstone is free for iPad and is still 5 Mick Happies.

I also recently took a flight and was lucky enough that for the 5 hour Delta flight they had video screens in the back of every seat. This may have been a happy repayment for the delays I had on my last flights with Delta. Anyway, I was able to watch two movies on the flight, both of which I had seen before. I watch About a Boy starring Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult. I remembered liking the movie but honestly had forgotten the depression and attempted suicide that were part of the story. It was interesting to see the movie again since I have been watching the US TV adaptation "About a Boy" starring David Walton (Dr. Rick from Fired Up!). Both the movie and the TV show are based on the book of the same name by Nick Hornby. Anyway in the US TV show, the characters all have the same names and generally the same personalities but the Marcus' (the kid) mom, Fiona (played by Minnie Driver), is less depressed. I think I like the TV show better than I liked the movie this time around. About a Boy the movie gets 3 Mick Happies. About a Boy the TV show gets 3.5 Mick Happies.

The other movie I watched on the flight was Wimbledon. It is a romantic-comedy set in the world of tennis during the Wimbledon tournament. Where a nearly over-the-hill British journeyman tennis player (played by Paul Bettany) becomes entangled with a young American tennis star (Kirsten Dunst) while playing in his last tournament before retirement. It is the usual sappy fare for a rom-com, but the supporting characters are interesting and help elevate the movie about average. The brother who bets against Bettany during the tournament and the parents who are having their own issues are all great sub-plots. The parts in Bettany's head where he is hoping not to screw up when it is all on the line in his matches are also good. Plus there is a younger Nicolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones) as Bettany's sparring partner. Wimbledon hits all the right beats as a rom-com and gets 4 Mick Happies.

That is pretty much everything I have seen or played in the last two weeks. The last thing I leave you with is this life achievement for my wife. See we have moved about 10 times over the course of our relationship and she is a fantastic organizer. Everything goes way more smoothly with her leading the charge than if I planned our moves. Since we are due out of the apartment we rent by the end of May, the packing has begun. Good thing she is fantastic at it - seriously should go professional.

And since we are packing, my wife found an Xbox game she had given me as a gift years ago but I had never opened. So today I cracked open Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War (2007) and gave it a go. It is an action war game where you control small squads of units (swordsmen, horsemen or archers) to fight as mercenaries for the English or French in battlegrounds of the Hundred Years' War. The controls are a bit dodgy and I wasn't sure exactly how I was doing in my first mission. But after 30 minutes I had completed the mission and had 3 achievements for 150 gamerscore. Not sure how that happened…Bladestorm gets 2 Mick Happies. Maybe you'll see my copy at the local Goodwill store soon.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Review

The Eye is Watching You, Thief

If you are like me, you grew up with The Hobbit being one of the first books you can remember reading. J.R.R. Tolkien's "young adult" fantasy (before there was a thing like a young adult fantasy genre) takes us on a journey with a bunch of Dwarves hoping to restore their mountain home (or possibly just to take back some of their wealth from the dragon there). Going along with them is Bilbo Baggins, the Hobbit of the title. The story also exposes the reader to the world of Middle Earth, the setting for one of the most-famous fantasy stories of all time, The Lord of the Rings (mostly known in movie form these days). Due to the success of The Lord of the Rings movies, it was no surprise that the studio and all involved in translating The Hobbit to film would try to do the source material "justice" by adapting the novel to multiple films.

In Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, we see the meeting of Bilbo and Gandalf the Wizard and the Dwarves who follow Thorin Oakenshield (head dwarf) on his quest. That film takes us through the early part of the journey over the Misty Mountains and leaves our companions just rescued from their pursuers. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was a disappointment for many who watched it as it remained, possibly, too close to the source material and drew out the first third of the novel too much - resulting in a slower paced and not very tension-filled story (except the parts with Gollum, of course).

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug seems to address nearly any complaints a film-goer may have had with the first movie. Tension, real danger for our heroes, character development are all there while still keeping the sweeping grandeur of Middle Earth with eye-popping visuals. Oh yeah, and we finally get to see Smaug the Magnificent (and boy is Smaug, Magnificent). It was also nice to see a little grit in Middle Earth via Lake-town cause it is hard to imagine a place more edgy to live in than a town close to a dragon's mountain. Plus there are some cool characters in Lake-town (well one cool and one you want to slap).

There are a few little issues that I had with the film. First, the film doesn't quite help those unfamiliar with the broader Middle Earth source material understand everything going on with Dol Guldur and the Necromancer. Second is the elves, yes I know they are magical creatures of grace and beauty…okay I get it. But the ninja-like skill used in dispatching enemies left me wondering if any of the "named" elves like Tauriel or Legolas can even be killed in this story. It took me out of the story a little bit.

At the end of the day, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a good fantasy film and a strong, action-packed middle movie in the trilogy. Luckily, knowing the source material, there is more epic action and awesomeness to come in the final movie. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug gets 4 Mick Happies. After seeing this, I am glad I haven't angered any dragons recently.

Catching up on news and releases

Not quite a set of reviews this time. Instead I wanted to share some of the very cool deals and updates that have been released lately. Some of these may not still be active (deals) if you are coming to this post after the first half of April 2014. On with the news items.

Hey! Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft has started its release on mobile with an iPad version releasing in Australia, New Zealand and Canada (with other regions to follow soon). If you read my original beta review (here) of this collectible virtual card game, you know I like it and can't wait to have it in my hand on the go. This is an immediate download for me and should be for you as well.

Flick Kick Football Legends (review here) has been updated to add Infinity Cup play. In the Infinity Cup, you play in basically a single-elimination tournament where you start in tier 1 against 3 opponents. Beat them and you get a small cash reward and get to move to the next tier (against slightly harder opponents). You are also given a points score for each match based on how you did: number of goals, saves, etc. with bonuses for hat-tricks and clean sheets. The points go toward your Infinity Cup total for that attempt and you are shown your ranking on a leaderboard to allow you to see how you compare to other players' attempts. All-in-all this is nice addition to the game with a new way to earn a little cash and since it comes in 3 game tiers, you can play a tier without running out your stamina bottle. I did notice the game lags a bit more and sometimes hangs up on my original iPad mini but I imagine that will be corrected soon.

Like books? There have been some insane deals on e-books recently. If you are like me and just received your e-book settlement from Amazon and Apple, congratulations you have an opportunity to go and pick up these cheap omnibuses:

Terry Brooks' Magic Kingdom of Landover Volume 1, which includes the books Magic Kingdom For Sale SOLD!, The Black Unicorn and Wizard at Large is on sale for Kindle (or Kindle app) at Amazon for $1.99.

Not quite the deal it was before when it was on sale for $9.99, but still nice is the 5 book set of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, which is on sale at Amazon or in iTunes for $19.99. Worth a read and your time if you want to know what the fuss over Game of Thrones is all about.

Also, FTL - Faster Than Light has been released for iPad. I don't have a copy yet, but probably will have one soon. It is the same price as on Steam, $9.99, and early reviews say it is possibly the best version of the game.

Finally, in case you missed it, Path of Exile was updated over a month ago with the Sacrifice of the Vaal expansion. This added new game mechanics, secret areas, monsters - a lot of content. There are now Vaal versions of skill gems that have insane effects over the normal versions of those gems. Additionally there two new leagues going, Invasion and Ambush. I haven't tried Invasion where each map area is invaded by monsters from another part of Wraeclast. I have played Ambush, which is fun with treasure boxes that are found (typically 1 or more per area) that are defended by monsters who Ambush you when you open it. Plus you can use your Transmutation and Augmentation orbs on them to make the boxes magic or give them better magically properties, like this:

1,872% increased rarity!

Here is what was found in one:

Yep that's a Legendary item and a rare drop, oh yeah!

Insane, right? Path of Exile continues to be the best action RPG out there in my book - wish my PC was more powerful so I could enjoy all the effects and polish at their best. Try it again if you stepped away from the game.

Lots there for you to go check out and keep you busy until next time!