Author: Shmee

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I Think I Read The Atlantis Gene?

The-Atlantis-Gene

So I think I am going to have to start paying for books again because getting through The Atlantis Gene was hard for me.  The book is the debut for author A.G. Riddle, and according to the Amazon reviews a lot of people liked it.  I am not one of those people, so this may have just been a personal taste thing.  I hope for Riddle’s sake that it is.

The plot is about some sort of … well … I just finished the book and I am already forgetting it.  I remember it contains Nazis, crazy evolutionary theories, spy networks, global ancient conspiracies, 9/11 was an inside job, and just a touch of romance.  Some of the stuff in that list I like, but it just all made me want to fall asleep.

According to its subtitle it is “A Thriller”, but I was less then thrilled while reading this book.  I just wanted to be doing anything else every time I picked it up and started reading it.  I just kept telling myself that it was full of Nazis and space people so I should like it.  I didn’t.  I feel bad for disliking this book as much as I do, since I tried to write book myself, and it is not that great either, but I do really, really wish that I had never read this book.

Are there good solid technical reasons I disliked this book? Probably, but that means I would have to think about it more to explain them to you, and I don’t want to do that.  So should you read this book?  Well if you like thrillers, this apparently is one of them, so there you go.  On a personal note to A.G Riddle: I am sorry I hate your book, but I do, and I wish you the best in your future endeavors.

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Hang Out With The Millers!

were-the-millers

We Are The Millers was a surprise hit in 2013, proving the bankability of a funny concept and a likable cast.  The film was released by Warner Bros and New Line Cinema, and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber (DodgeBall).  While the film wasn’t wonderful, it was a funny way to spend an hour and fifty minutes.

The story follows David Clark (Jason Sudeikis), a down on his luck pot dealer, as he convinces a band of misfits to pretend to be his family while he smuggles weed in to the country from Mexico.  His “family” includes Kenny (Will Poulter) a lonely kid in his apartment building, Casey (Emma Roberts) a homeless girl from across the street, and last but not least Rose O’Reilly (Jennifer Aniston) a broke stripper.

This movie progresses predictably.  They all start off hating each other, but soon they start to enjoy the idea of being a family.  It is lazy writing, and it causes the film to drag in parts.  Still even with its obvious plot, the cast has talent and chemistry, so it is easy to watch.

Jason Sudeikis and Will Poulter (Also in the excellent ‘Son of Rambow’) really stand out for me in this movie.  Poulter plays the sweet kid who just wants to be with people so well that you just want to hug him, and Sudeikis looks like he is always just about to loose it, but with a smile on his face.  Seemingly channeling Chevy Chase from the National Lampoon films.  Aniston and Roberts are also quite good, but the boys steal the show.

We are the Millers is not going to be added to my favorite films list any time soon, but it is a kind of funny movie with a great cast.  I enjoyed myself, and there are much worse flicks out there.  If they make a sequel, I hope they tighten up the script.

 

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Shmee Watched The Simpsons Lego Spectacular!

the-simpsons-lego-spectacular

The Simpsons has seemingly been on cruise-control for about the last ten seasons, but they still insure that I watch when it is a Tree House of Horror episode, or a special event.  Last Sunday’s Lego episode was one such event.

The episode starts with Homer waking up, and having everything around him be made of Lego, but he seems to think it is normal.  Slowly but surely he starts to see the real world creep in to his perfect Lego universe, and it is up to him to figure out what is real and what is fake.

Amusingly the plot ends up being very similar to that of the Lego Movie, which is something they make fun of, but it doesn’t have that movie’s pure over unadulterated fun.  There were some good jokes, and a lot of Philip K. Dick references, but The Simpsons still couldn’t find that spark to make this episode truly special.

The best parts of this episode were when they were embracing the Lego universe.  Maggie was giant because she was made of Duplo blocks, and Bart, thanks to his creativity, was a Master Builder.  He made a giant robot that shot out lions!  It was also sweet to see that this episode came about because Homer was having a hard time with Lisa growing up.

Still those good moments were separated by kind of a boring story, and it was a shame that they couldn’t bring it all together for something truly special.  I will still watch The Simpsons for their special episodes, but it is starting to feel like a duty more than a joy.

 

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Gotham Has Won Me Over!

gotham

When I first heard of the idea of Gotham, I was excited about a cop show set in Gotham without Batman, but then they started talking about all the high school aged villains in the show, and I got very unexcited.  I didn’t want a Smallville but with Batman, but the new trailer has won me over.  I will wait here while you watch it below…

It looks pretty good right?  I was surprised by how much this looks.  I am still not sold on the junior Bat-cast, but if they are used sparingly it could be pretty cool.  Jada Pinkett Smith is killing it as an up and coming mob boss, and Ben McKenzie looks fantastic as a wide-eyed Jim Gordon trying and failing to clean up the streets.

While so far DC has been unable to capitalize on their franchises for movies, their TV studio looks to continue to pump out the hits.  Supposedly this trailer and pilot have gone so well that Fox has already ordered a full season of Gotham.  Which is fairly unheard with five months to go until the air date.  We haven’t heard how the Preacher (AMC), Hourman (CW), and Constantine (NBC) shows are going, but with three of the six DC shows already fully ordered (Gotham, Arrow, and The Flash), I will have a lot of TV to watch.

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The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Is A Mess!

amazing-spiderman-2

The first Amazing Spider-Man was surprisingly good since people had such low expectations for such a quick reboot to the franchise.  The Amazing Spider-Man 2 unfortunately takes a few steps back from its predecessor.  It is an unfocused mess, and it is a shame because there is a good movie in middle of all that mire.

The movie picks up directly after the first Amazing Spider-Man, with Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) still madly in love with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), but Gwen’s father’s death is weighing on Peter and complicating their relationship.  To complicate matters further Peter is also trying to figure out what happened to his parents.  Meanwhile OsCorp is taking over New York’s power grid, and it is being worked on by the mild-mannered electrical engineer Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx).  Plus Harry Osborn(Dane DeHaan) returns to be with is ailing father.

The problem with this movie is that there are too many things going on at one time.  You got Peter and Gwen’s relationship, Peter looking in to his parents’ deaths, Max’s transition in to Electro, Harry dealing with his father’s death, and Harry becoming the Green Goblin.  There are five story lines right there, and I may have left some out.  This movie is two hours and twenty minutes long, and there still isn’t enough time to deal with all this stuff.

The actors do what they can, and Garfield and Stone really shine in this movie with great chemistry.  They bring life to Parker and Stacy, but they also get the most air time, so their story develops naturally.  Foxx and DeHaan are not given that luxury, so they have to play their parts way over the top giving the villains in this movie a very Batman Forever feel.  Which would be fine if the rest of the movie wasn’t so serious.  It is quite jarring.

They just should have left a few things out.  Parker doesn’t need to investigate his parents’ deaths.  He already has daddy issues thanks to Uncle Ben’s death, he doesn’t need more, and it doesn’t amount to anything.  We didn’t need the Green Goblin in this movie.  They could have saved that for the third one, and given DeHaan the time his character needed.  That extra screen time would have helped Foxx’s Electro out quite a bit.  Maybe at least he wouldn’t have come off so zany.

The special effects in this movie range from excellent to crappy.  Spider-Man zipping around New York is awe inspiring.  The finally battle between him and Electro looks like a bad video game.  With a budget as big as this movie had, it seems like they could have fixed it up quite a bit.

The Amazing Spider-Man set this series up for success.  Sadly the Amazing Spider-Man 2 wastes most of that potential.  There are parts of this movie that work and are really fun, but there is so much bloat that this movie just can’t keep its momentum.  This is not the worst Spider-Man movie (That is all you Spider-Man 3!), but it is close, and I hope that for Sony’s sake they can turn this franchise around.