(Book) Growing Pains...A look at Chasing Shadows Everywhere

This book advertised itself as, 'Catcher in the Rye meets Fight Club.'

I'll be completely honest. I ate this book up.

As a young man, I identified with Holden Caulfield very much so. I had a hatred for things that were, 'phony' and I spent so much time trying to be real.

While I never identified with the characters of Fight Club, I understood how the status quo of society made the life seem pointless and repetitive and set up an expectation to exist rather than live.

In this mashup, we witness a young man named Jake trying to find his way in the world. He's a coward and a decent enough kid, but he wants to be more.

Enter his cousin Nick. To Jake, Nick is a guy who gets what he wants because he fights for it so savagely.

I found the stream of consciousness to be both informative and entertaining. Jake rarely makes light of the situations he ends up in, but his raw honesty is refreshing and makes it easy for you to identify with the character.

Observing Jake try to survive the status quo, the dreams he has and the anomalies that he faces can at times be jarring, but that's what makes the book so fascinating.

What I got from Chasing Shadows Everywhere is going out and getting what you want, instead of waiting around for future events to take place.

The book is worth reading and analysing. Finally, it is also worth rereading.

5 stars.

(Movie) Space NOPEra....a look at Jupiter Ascending.

In writing this review, I have been told by my brother that I have committed a sin by watching a post-Matrix Wachowski movie.

(Personally, I enjoyed Speed Racer. I think people were just mad because it wasn't like the Matrix.)

May this review absolve me of my sin.

*Equips Hammer of Smiting*

The story follows a young woman by the name of Jupiter Jones, who is apparently of royal lineage to a family who own a business empire that harvests humans for their DNA. This is so they can preserve their bodies and stay alive for enormous amounts of time.

Story/Dialogue: Aside from the overview above, the story itself is relatively easy to follow, even if you're not paying attention. With this, it's like an episode of Neighbours. For this segment I have two issues.
1. You have a well rounded female character who at times comes off as a Mary Sue and yet at others plays a damsel in distress. JUPITER JONES HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL and yet you made her this inconsistent character who at one point has a photographic memory and then never uses it again. Then at other times she can fight her older brother/son (This will tie in to my second point,) while similarly hide behind her wolf/angel/inline skater bodyguard when things get crazy. I can understand being scared, but having a lump of broody muscle tell this strong female character to get behind him seems like a slap in the face, quite frankly. It makes it difficult to cheer on a character who is so inconsistent.

2. WHY THE FLYING FRACK DO YOU HAVE A CHARACTER TRYING TO MARRY HIS MOTHER/LITTLE SISTER!? 
Look, when Boston Legal did it, that was for legal stuff and they were friends. This movie took that same concept and made it SO dang creepy. It doesn't even matter if it's reincarnation. Watching a wedding between siblings/mother & son is just...no. That's not okay.


Cinematography: This is where the movie shone. Visually it is beautiful and rather reminiscent of John Carter (On a visual basis). The CGI was exquisite and the places were wonderful to look at. With that said, I found myself disgruntled by watching Channing Tatum and Sean Bean flying around in discount Gundams. The lighting was excellent and some of the shots in this movie were beautiful.


Audio: While the music didn't stand out in a big way, the choirs during the 'epic battles' added tension to the fight. They made the fights bearable to watch. I think I just enjoy choirs for final fights. I know I'd have a choir in my final fight sequences.


Overall: In reviewing this movie I found a world that had been beautifully crafted, but didn't allow outsiders into it. What I mean is that anything that is going on for the short time that Jupiter goes anywhere off world is rather glazed over. This movie suffers from what I'm now calling, 'Maze Runner Syndrome.' (In that they have an exclusive club of terminology and unless you endure the long expositional initiation, you are forever on the outside.)
My belief is that the Wachowskis have an issue with trilogies. They give us all this information in hope that they can provide better sequels, but since people struggle with anything that isn't the Matrix, they won't get the fanbase needed to have a sequel greenlit.

Furthermore, creating non-existent chemistry between two characters is a horse that has long been beat. Hollywood is literally beating bones, now.

With this in mind, I give this movie 2 stars.

(Book) Werewolves, Witches and Ogres, Oh My!! A look at Junior Inquisitor

Firstly, I must apologise to the author as this review is a couple of weeks in the making.

Now, with this in mind...

Junior Inquisitor follows the story of Brother Sebastian, who is chasing down his missing Catholic brethren in Providence, Rhode Island.

I forgot to mention that Brother Sebastian is an Inquisitor; a holy man who fights all manner of things that go bump in the night.

Now, as this was a new author for me to read, I was a tad slow to start with the exposition that I had to read through. You learn about Sebastian and why he's an Inquisitor in the first place, etc.

What I did not expect was the stakes to be raised so high, so quickly.

One minute I'm watching Sebastian talk to a priest, the next we're in a firefight with a Voodoo woman who leaves her psycho dollies around to taunt people with their malicious madness.

The stakes only becomes greater from there!

Lincoln S. Farish has crafted a tale that shoves you face first down a rabbit hole, only to find that halfway down the tunnel is now caving in.

One of my favourite parts are the conversations between Father Arnold and Sebastian. It allows for the reader to see who Sebastian is, as opposed to simply what he tells us.

The story is intense, brutal and the extended cast of characters are not only likeable, but they enhance the presence of Brother Sebastian. The creatures are well thought out and sparse enough that it implies a rise to power in later books.

This book is well researched and its pacing is that of vengeful demon on the heels of the wicked.

On the surface, this may look similar to the Dresden Files, a dash of Hellsing and a sprinkle of Supernatural for good measure. But it is so much more than that.

A fantastic book and I'm very much looking forward to the next instalment.

5 Stars.

The book is available for download at Google Play and its Apple equivalent. Worth the purchase.

(Movie) Waking the Demon...A look at Horns.

Based on the trailer for this movie, I actually thought they were going to turn Daniel Radcliffe into a Satyr. While that would have been hilarious and would have lead to some baaaad puns (You knew I was going to do it!) It was not to be.

Iggy Parish embraces his inner demon in order to find out who killed his fiancee. 

Story/Dialogue: For story, I found myself throughly confused as I watched Iggy go from place to place. It was only after the anti-thesis came into play (Just after the 30 minute mark,) that I really begin to understand what was going on. It was also around the time that the hook came into play.

The dialogue felt angsty and probably could have worked better if less profanity was used. Though, there were some aspects that I found suited the use of profanity. In that aspect, the dialogue was redeemable.

Cinematography: Firstly, can I just say that I love the north west part of America for filming. Lush green forests that make other colours (Red especially,) stand out so much more. Most of the shots didn't stand out too much. Though I have to say, that the SFX were excellent. 

Audio: This is the part I was looking forward to talking about! The use of library content was excellent. This includes tracks like 'Personal Jesus' by Depeche Mode and 'If I Had A Heart' by Fever Ray (Which is also the intro track to Vikings for the History Channel.) With those out of the way, I think the film's score could have stood out a tad more. It featured a lot of old school rock and grunge references that it could have gone down that road and was a waste of an excellent opportunity to improve the overall quality of this movie.

Overall: I have some mixed feelings regarding this movie. Honestly, I think I may have walked out in the first 15 minutes of the first screening. But since I'm watching it at home, I'm kind of glad I stuck it out and watched it to the end. It didn't turn out to be as bad as I initially thought. It could have been a lot worse.

3 and a half stars.

(Movie) Meet Robothug....a look at CHAPPiE

What do you get when you have a robotic child raised by Die Antwoord?

You get CHAPPiE.

Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, a group of crooks forces a robot designer to give them control of a security robot. The robot he gives them is the first of its kind. It possesses artificial intelligence.


Story/Dialogue: This concept really intrigues me. To set said concept in a third world country intrigues me moreso. Watching CHAPPiE grow in the harshest of places and still being able to root for him makes for good character development. His "parents" are zany and colourful and bizarre, as though they stepped out of a painting from someone tripping acid. Even though a lot of the other actors didn't have a lot of screen time, they played their parts well. I enjoyed seeing Hugh Jackman as a bad guy who believed he was doing the right thing.
As for the dialogue...while nothing stood out to me, I think that it benefitted the movie more. It showed its capability through action, rather than dialogue.

Cinematography: One of my favourite things I enjoyed about this film is the contrast between the suburban side of Johannesburg and its darker, yet more colourful underbelly. The DoP also seemed to draw on a lot of Michael Bay's design choices (Such as they are,) with its orange and blue colour schemes around the robot design centre.

Audio: Composed by Hans Zimmer. While I loved his industrial and electronic score, a lot of the music seemed to be a big Die Antwoord plug. Another issue I had was the clashing of dialogue and music. Intense though the music was, when it conflicts with the dialogue, it disturbs the suspension of disbelief.


Overall: SONY do love their product placement and are thoroughly unsubtle about it and the crooks overarching enemy's speech apparently requires subtitles. Even so, the movie was enjoyable and easy to follow. CHAPPiE himself is a likeable character in his curiosity and earnestness and Sharto Copley voiced him perfectly.

4 stars.

(Movie) The Long Hard Road....A look at Selma

Have you ever stepped outside yourself to observe your reaction to something?

Selma takes a look at the famous march from Selma, Alabama, to the Alabama capital, Montgomery in a non-violent protest against African Americans being unable to vote.

In this 2 hour long film, I've never seen something more jarring than the recreation of violence against non-violent protestors. The march was lead by Martin Luther King Jr.

Story/Dialogue: As this is a recount of the events that transpired during 1964, a lot of the script would have derived from conversations actually had by the persons involved. With that said, the story itself felt like a character. It was simple and straight forward and thus, was enjoyable in that respect. The dialogue of the characters was to the point and their motivations clear. The story arc fit well, going from a negative place to a more positive one.

Cinematography: This movie made great use of the golden glow for symbolism, as if Doctor King was being guided by God. Conversely, it was interesting that George Wallace had more of a silver, sinister light to show his intent. Interestingly, President Johnson's lighting in the oval office was a subdued golden light. As though he had the capacity for good, but it was dispersed by his seemingly stronger need to quell the rising tension in the South. The film itself felt like stepping back in time, with its velvet edged frames and giving it an almost soft look despite the content.

Audio: This is where the movie hit me the most. The god damned soundtrack. The song titled, 'Walk with Me,' during the first attempt at the bridge crossing was one of the most jarring and unnerving things I've ever witnessed.
And 'Glory,' by John Legend and Common at the end really gave the film that sense of triumph. As though watching it made you feel as though you were marching with them.

Overall: This movie was brutal, honest and fiercely inspiring. It's a fascinating insight into American history and reminds us that Doctor King was human. The fallibility of this man who was inspired by God to march on behalf of the people he represented is a powerful story and definitely one that the world deserves to know.
This movie was both enlightening in its observation of human history and terrifying in its ability to show the atrocity that humans are capable of.

5 stars and frankly, this movie should have won more Oscars than it did.

(Classic) (Movie) Golden glow girl.....a look at Funny Girl.

Comedy and tragedy. That coin has been flipped time and again with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton to the plethora of comics that we have today.

However, once in a while, we see the coin sanded down until the coin is blank. Upon that coin we see a new face take the stage.

In this review, our bubbly, comical heroine, Fannie Brice and the tragic, yet charming love interest Nick Arnstein are the faces of our coin.

Story/Dialogue: Seeing well rounded characters traverse a world and turning it upside down is a pleasure to watch. Seeing those well rounded characters pushed to their limits and then broken is even better. The dialogue is witty, if somewhat wordy. However, there are reasons for this. (To mention those would be spoilery, so I won't.) Furthermore, we see the story arc transition really well. The end found me feeling empty as though I had just screamed in fury and frustration through the last part of the movie. But the fact that this movie evoked emotion from me play a big part in the scoring of this film.

Cinematography: One word summarises this entire movie. Lavish. From the background designs to colour choices to sets, everything was rich in colour. One of the things I loved was the progression of the glow that they put on Franny which correlated to her love of Nick. It was framed well with the characters rarely sitting directly in the middle of the frame. The lights gave it a certain charm that I hadn't really seen in other classics, either. If compared to the Gatsby film by Luhrmann, this film would be a grand in its softness, much the same as Julie Andrews portrays herself. Gatsby by comparison would be grand and loud about it, so more along the lines of Taylor Swift.

Audio: Given that there were musical elements (stage theatre,) it's no big surprise that the audio had to be top notch. I found myself asking where the heck they put the boom mics to get such wonderful clarity of sound. Unless they recorded the sound and swapped out the poorer quality afterwards. Honestly though, the audio was easy on the ears and didn't clash anywhere.

Overall: When I watch a movie I find myself grossly immersed in a story. So much so that often I find it difficult to analyse it critically. However, the story here was so simple that I could invest myself while still looking at it objectively.
Fannie Brice is an underdog who you can't help but root for. Nick is a charming, suave and arrogant bastard you can't help but love. Each of the other characters, while only playing minor roles, feel larger than life and as a result make the two feel that much bigger by comparison.

With this in mind, I cannot give this movie anything less than 5 stars.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!