Jack : The Giant Slayer

     This film was alright. It had its moments. The story just seemed to fall short. Not enough with the giants, and when there was, it was a lot of gross things, like snot eating. Well, that was when they weren't fighting each other or humans.
     There was potential for a really good story. But cheesy dialogue, gross humor, and lack of spending time in the Giant's domain, caused the story to fall short of what it could have been. Oh, and naming three giants, Fe, Fi, and Fo was lame. Why, not include the Fairy Tale Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum, I spell the blood of an Englishman, or human even.
     Two other things bothered me. When Jack was in the water and the giant was coming, the water should have been making waves, and the ground should be trembling a bit, like a small quake. Physics, use them. Otherwise, these were the lightest giants ever.
     I guess the giants who were obviously long lived, and dirty and filthy because either all the females left, died out, or Giants just sprouted into being. No females in sight.
     Oh, and a rather lame ending too. My suggestion, wait to rent it or see it on TV.
   
   

A Good Day to Die Hard

I have seen most of The Die Hard movies. I'm glad this one was rated R because when a character can't say his signature line, the movie just isn't quite the same. If you know the film series, you know what line I'm talking about, and the only disappointing part of the last film. Live Free or Die Hard.
     This was typical die hard. A good stop the bad guys story, a few twists, and the right blend of sarcastic humor, drama, and action. I love having him working with his son. It adds a different and interesting level to the story. The film was a great roller coaster ride. One of the best action film franchises out there. Not disappointed at all. Looking for a good action flick, this is it.

The Last Enchantment by Mary Stewart

This is the last book in the Arthurian trilogy. The first book is The Crystal Cave.

     I am a fan of King Arthur lore. I found this trilogy by accident as I was browsing a bookstores shelves. I thought I'd give it a chance. I'm glad I did. I have read several different stories surrounding King Arthur, and those characters of his world.
     The narrator in this book is Merlin. I love seeing things through his eyes. This trilogy does a wonderful job of making Merlin human, and not so much of a magical being, though he does have magic. This is the story of   Merlin's adventures as an old man, leaning toward retirement from Camelot. Stewart does a good job of balancing the everyday affairs with not so everyday occurrences in Merlin's life. Merlin's world comes to life, with a wonderful balance of using snatches from the Arthurian legend and making them all her own. A must read for any King Arthur fan, and a great read for anyone just because.

Life of Pi

This is one of the better “survivor, lost.” type films I have seen.

     The film had a different way of telling the tale which I liked. It flowed pretty well. Had wonderful, beautiful scenes in it, and I like the twist of leaving one wondering if the tale with tiger was real or not. The cast was well picked. This is worth seeing, and probably a bit better in 3-D , and the big screen than seeing it on a small one.

Wake by Amanda Hocking

     This is a YA or Young Adult novel. It's also the first in the Watersong trilogy.
     
     The teaser for this book is really what caught my interest. A supernatural creature book that wasn't teenager vampires, werewolves, or witches. I won't spoil it, but I was pretty sure I knew what the creatures were, and I was right.
     I expected more from this book. It was disappointing to me. I have read several other YA supernatural stories, and not all from authors I love. This one lacked the essential balance between the normal human world and supernatural world. Ninety percent of this tale felt like I reading a normal teen type story, nothing out of the ordinary. The balance doesn't have to be fifty-fifty but does need enough supernatural stuff in it to move the story along into the paranormal.
     Beside this, I had a few issues with the story. Things that seemed to not fit, and make the story a bit more sluggish. For one, I have no problem with an omnipotent narrator, but what is wrong with saying her Dad left for work, instead of Brian left for work. It took me a few times before I adjusted to using his name instead of Dad or father. It was a little confusing at first.
     Secondly, your a creature that has lived for centuries and you can't risk being discovered, but you can't dispose of a dead body? Thirdly: What was the purpose of having the brain injured mother in the book? To me her character just wasn't needed. A simple sentence or two could have filled in necessary facts. Number four: Teenagers have gone missing and you let your child go out alone after dark. Finally, number five: Why would any adult let their daughter going swimming, not only alone, but at night, in the bay, where she could drown, or get attacked by a shark? Seriously? I know he feels guilty about not being around as much as he is needed, and about Gemma, not having a Mom, but there is a difference in being a responsible adult, and being a little too hands off.
     This story could have been so much more, but in my opinion, fell way short of the mark. A few changes to the story and it could have been a much better teen tale, without anything paranormal in it. I will not be reading the other books.

Hex Appeal : Short Story Anthology

     I usually only read short story collections if they contain a story from a an author I already like. This one happened to contain several of my favorites.
     Since all collections have an underlining theme, this one has stories that include lovely and sometimes, dangerous women in them. Stories are all fantasy themed and include vampires, big foot, a sex droid from the future, magicians who wield real magic, witches, and even men who are brought back from the dead, and  even a trip to Hell. These tales do contain a bit of romance at times, but are much more.
     Contains authors such as Jim Butcher, Carrie Vaughn, Simon R. Green, and many others.
     I enjoyed most of these stories, two really weren't my favorite, Cherry Kisses and I think it was titled There will be Demons, were not really my cup of tea, but the rest of the tales were interesting and a good read. This is one of the better collections I have read. If your looking for a break from full novels, this wouldn't be a bad choice.

Cold Days by Jim Butcher

     I first discovered The Dresden Files through the short lived Sci-Fi channel series. I wanted something to read and remembered the series was based on a book series. So I checked out Storm Front and fell in love with Harry Dresden.
     This is one of those series that needs to be read in order. The first book is Storm Front.
        The last book, Ghost Story, though it was an interesting, at times, was not my favorite read of the series. I was not disappointed in Cold Days. I loved the twist and turns in this story. This installment was the Harry Dresden I love. A typical normal, bad day for Harry, that as it continues always seem to get worse, but no matter how bad it seems, Harry, always seems to persevere, and live to fight another day, but not without making his life all the more messy and complicated. This story grabs you and especially toward the end is one of those stories that is hard to put down. I can't wait to see what trouble is in store for Harry next.