Looper

This was one of the fresher ideas of the time travel film. I really enjoyed the story but the editing in this film made it a bit drawn out. Certain scenes should have been deleted because it disrupted the flow of the story, and a key sequence could have been done differently allowing less confusion for the viewer. Otherwise worth the money to see it.

Addition to City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

For what ever reason this book still seems to irk me. I have some more to say about this major disappointment of a read.

     Not having Alec in the book, for the most part, didn't feel right. It felt more like a soap opera at times with all date and relationship stuff. After they confirmed the found infant was a demon hybrid, why didn't Jocelyn report it to the clave, or Clary for that matter? Why, would Maryse, who is dealing with not only losing her son but dealing with her estrangement to her husband be left in charge of The Institute alone? They can't find an assistant to help get a tutor for Clary, and trainers, etc. Seriously? Simon knows what a werewolf smells like and can't pick up on that scent when meeting another werewolf? Really? He picks up all sorts of smell all the time now since he's been turned to a vampire. Oh, and for the record, Wolfsbane, more commonly known as Monkshood, doesn't have silver leaves, but does have flowers that come in different colors. That was just an irritant to me. Now if you want to have Wolfsbane from Idris, then fine. But clarify that. Now I'm done.

Resident Evil:Retribution

     Though I have never played any game in the Residents Evil Series, nor am I a big fan of mutant zombie films, but I watched Resident Evil, then I watched all the other films, and none compare to the first one. This recent installment falls short of what have made the previous films good. There was a lack of story plot. No real character development if any. I agree with another critic saying this was geared toward video gamers, basically the film fell like you were playing a game. Shoot, kill, some character dialogue, shoot and kill some more, head toward the goal. Very disappointing. Not worth paying to go see it and the theater, or the extra for 3-D. What to see this film, rent it or wait till it hits television. Not even worth buying on DVD, not unless it comes in a box set with the other films.

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

If you have not the first book in this series, City of Bones, then you need to.
     In City of Glass, Clary illegally creates a portal to Idris and accidentally drags Luke along. Clary's rash behavior nearly gets her killed but ends up reuniting Luke with his estranged sister. Clary retrieves the book with the spell needed to help her mother. Simon is imprisoned next to Hodges, who got caught after returning to Idris. Valentine attacks Idris, and now has all the mortal instruments in his possession. The Shadowhunters realize they have to work together with the Downworlders to survive. Clary designs a rune to give Shadowhunters the ability of the Downworlder they are bound to. Luke, and her mother Jocelyn are the first branded together. In order to save Simon from being killed by Raphael, Clary puts the curse of Cain on him, protecting him from anyone who would lay a hand against him. BY the end of the book, The Lightwoods have lost a family member, Valentine is stopped by Clary, who now controls all the instruments and asks for Jace to be brought back from the dead, Valentine had killed him. The truth comes out and Clary discovers that Jace isn't her brother, that Sebastian, who Clary had meant earlier in Idris, was her brother. The Downworlders now have a say in a united council with The Shadowhunters. Jocelyn realizes she loves Luke, and finally tells him.
     In the fourth book City of Fallen Angels, I was highly disappointed. The Infernal Instruments trilogy, got my interested in her Mortal Instruments series, but this book felt like it was written by a different person. This story started out slow, not really a problem for me, but then seemed to jump from one thing to another, just glimpses of things that didn't really have any significant importance to the story. The idea of the story isn't bad, but somewhere it felt like Clare didn't know how to get from point A to point B. Maybe the book should have stopped at three. A nice, neat trilogy. There wasn't enough meat in the main plot, the things that would have made the story much more seemed to be ignore. Its like Clare kept wandering in and out of the woods, doing well with the story for a moment, then ruining it the next page. The next book better be like the Cassandra Clare I love, or its the last of this series I'll read.

Lawless: A bit tame.

This was an average based on actual criminal stories. I agree with a lot of what critics had to say about this film. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't one of the better films of this type I have seen. Goodfellas, Untouchables, American Outlaws, are much better based upon crime tales. But Lawless, wasn't awful, it just felt like it could have been more. I haven;t read the book and maybe that would shed some light on the film adaptation. After all, book adaptations can be difficult, especially when based on real events and people. So I'll give the screen writer a break. This film does have its moments and could have more, but definitely not one of the worse films I've ever seen. Just wanted a bit more, something was missing, but not a bad story to see.