Post by Josh on Oct 13, 2005 21:48:27 GMT -5
Been watching TV and movies lately. Thought you guys might like to know what's pretty good and what's just okay.
Movies:
Robots was pretty good. Fun for the whole family. Blue Man Group does a lot of the music for the movie which is a plus. The graphics are done very well. The story is one of those feel-good happy ending things. Only downside: Robin Williams is his normal overboard self. Happily they've limited his part to co-star rather than lead. All in all I'd give it a thumbs up. Buy it if you have kids, rent if you don't.
Beauty Shop is funny. I'm a bit of a Queen Latifa fan anyway so I expected it to be good. Although it is pretty heavy on the ghetto humor it still has something everyone can enjoy. I haven't seen the first two Barber Shop movies but don't feel like I missed anything in this movie by having missed them. It's technically a 3rd installment in the series, but it plays out like a stand alone. I'd definitely add this to my collection.
On the other hand, Fever Pitch was okay but a bit of a letdown. I watched it just for Drew Barrymore. The dude who played lead opposite her was a weirdo. I never really liked that character so the whole movie was kinda ruined. All in all, I'd say it's a rent or watch on TV, but not really one to own.
The new version of The Amityville Horror was pretty good. It did attempt to get a few cheap scares (stuff jumps out and the music blares) but had a rather good suspenseful feel to it. Lead male is Ryan Reynolds, who most people will remember as Berg on Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place. He's done well moving from comedy to horror. I actually believe he was going crazy. I'm not a huge fan of suspense/horror anymore, so although I probably wouldn't buy it I would definitely watch it again.
TV:
Dungeons and Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God is the second movie so far. I'm not too sure why it didn't hit theaters as it's good. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one also. The acting is a bit underwhelming, and as with the usual D&D stereotype everyone has a slight British accent. Oh well. When it comes out on DVD I'll add it to my collection right next to its predecessor.
Ghost Hunters is one of my favorite shows right now. Anyone interested in the paranormal will like this. Although I'm not 100% sure they are for real (that is, not trying to fake evidence) the TAPS team does post on their message board a lot, and welcomes everyone to look at anything they've found to scrutinize. All in all, very interesting. And ladies... there's some eye candy for you too. You're going to have to watch to see!
Star Trek: Enterprise season 3 is on DVD now. I'm a bit of a Trekkie anyway so I like this series. I never really liked Voyager though, so don't assume I'll rate this well just because it's a Trek. At any rate, seasons 1 and 2 were very good. Interesting story line, graphics we've come to expect from Star Trek, wonderful acting. It's a good show for any sci-fi fan. Season 3 takes some interesting twists. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the series yet, but it's good. I own all 3 seasons and will certainly get the 4th when it comes out. **Edit: Season 4 is out too. Grr.... I think they planned on ending the show on Season 4 and tried to squish about 3 years worth of content into the few episodes. Still, pretty good.
Books:
Err, well, I haven't been reading much lately. All I can really recommend is The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. It's fantasy based, and this series has been compared (albeit unfairly) to The Lord of the Rings. In a similar style both RJ and Tolkien are very wordy, going into great detail to describe the story world and characters. It is a fantasy series though so unless you enjoy fiction it may not be for you. One further note is that a few of his books seem .... rushed. Maybe he had a ghost writer helping him on those, maybe he was just pressured by publishers. Either way, books 5, 6, and 8 are noteably shorter and not quite as good as the rest of the series, but still worth reading just to continue the story. So far he's up to book 10 and yes I have the whole collection. The series is so popular there have been several video games and collectable card games released based on the WoT series.
Well that's all for now! I'll write more as I find further inspiration for writing. Anything too terrible to watch will definitely be posted, so watch for my Unpicks too!
Movies:
Robots was pretty good. Fun for the whole family. Blue Man Group does a lot of the music for the movie which is a plus. The graphics are done very well. The story is one of those feel-good happy ending things. Only downside: Robin Williams is his normal overboard self. Happily they've limited his part to co-star rather than lead. All in all I'd give it a thumbs up. Buy it if you have kids, rent if you don't.
Beauty Shop is funny. I'm a bit of a Queen Latifa fan anyway so I expected it to be good. Although it is pretty heavy on the ghetto humor it still has something everyone can enjoy. I haven't seen the first two Barber Shop movies but don't feel like I missed anything in this movie by having missed them. It's technically a 3rd installment in the series, but it plays out like a stand alone. I'd definitely add this to my collection.
On the other hand, Fever Pitch was okay but a bit of a letdown. I watched it just for Drew Barrymore. The dude who played lead opposite her was a weirdo. I never really liked that character so the whole movie was kinda ruined. All in all, I'd say it's a rent or watch on TV, but not really one to own.
The new version of The Amityville Horror was pretty good. It did attempt to get a few cheap scares (stuff jumps out and the music blares) but had a rather good suspenseful feel to it. Lead male is Ryan Reynolds, who most people will remember as Berg on Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place. He's done well moving from comedy to horror. I actually believe he was going crazy. I'm not a huge fan of suspense/horror anymore, so although I probably wouldn't buy it I would definitely watch it again.
TV:
Dungeons and Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God is the second movie so far. I'm not too sure why it didn't hit theaters as it's good. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one also. The acting is a bit underwhelming, and as with the usual D&D stereotype everyone has a slight British accent. Oh well. When it comes out on DVD I'll add it to my collection right next to its predecessor.
Ghost Hunters is one of my favorite shows right now. Anyone interested in the paranormal will like this. Although I'm not 100% sure they are for real (that is, not trying to fake evidence) the TAPS team does post on their message board a lot, and welcomes everyone to look at anything they've found to scrutinize. All in all, very interesting. And ladies... there's some eye candy for you too. You're going to have to watch to see!
Star Trek: Enterprise season 3 is on DVD now. I'm a bit of a Trekkie anyway so I like this series. I never really liked Voyager though, so don't assume I'll rate this well just because it's a Trek. At any rate, seasons 1 and 2 were very good. Interesting story line, graphics we've come to expect from Star Trek, wonderful acting. It's a good show for any sci-fi fan. Season 3 takes some interesting twists. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the series yet, but it's good. I own all 3 seasons and will certainly get the 4th when it comes out. **Edit: Season 4 is out too. Grr.... I think they planned on ending the show on Season 4 and tried to squish about 3 years worth of content into the few episodes. Still, pretty good.
Books:
Err, well, I haven't been reading much lately. All I can really recommend is The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. It's fantasy based, and this series has been compared (albeit unfairly) to The Lord of the Rings. In a similar style both RJ and Tolkien are very wordy, going into great detail to describe the story world and characters. It is a fantasy series though so unless you enjoy fiction it may not be for you. One further note is that a few of his books seem .... rushed. Maybe he had a ghost writer helping him on those, maybe he was just pressured by publishers. Either way, books 5, 6, and 8 are noteably shorter and not quite as good as the rest of the series, but still worth reading just to continue the story. So far he's up to book 10 and yes I have the whole collection. The series is so popular there have been several video games and collectable card games released based on the WoT series.
Well that's all for now! I'll write more as I find further inspiration for writing. Anything too terrible to watch will definitely be posted, so watch for my Unpicks too!