Month: March 2013

Episode  16, Welcome to the Tombs

Summary:

OMG – It is the last episode of the season! I’m both excited and sad.

The episode starts with the Governor beating the crap out of Milton, angry that he burnt up the walkers in the pit, and took away a tactical resource in the process.

Back at the prison Rick and the team are packing up, getting ready to run, or at least that is what it looks like. After the Governor rolls through the front doors we find out that Rick planned an ambush, but it was kind of half assed. They should have hit harder while their enemies had their backs turned. It seemed like a poorly run counter ambush just to turn around and bolt while leaving Glenn, Carol, and Beth behind to fight off a second wave if the Governor returns?  Or was Rick going out to attack the Governor as he ran?  I have no idea.

The episode started out so strong. It had awesome gun battles and action.  Then it just went down hill. There wasn’t really an ending. I guess they were going for a cliff hanger for next season. What happens with the Governor?  But it just felt like crap to me. They could have done a better job.

Things I loved about this episode…

• Milton trying to do the right thing at the end. He didn’t really stand a chance against the Governor, but it was a better than killing Andrea. 
• The brief moment at Daryl’s bike when he and Carol touch hands.
• Awesome assult scenes when the Governor’s team takes the prison gates and blows the hell out of the place. The suspense builds as they get deeper into the prison and there is still no signs of Rick & Associates. I kept praying Rick set it up so the place was full of walkers.
• The beginning of the ambush, although I think it was only half effective. They should have figured a way to kill everyone in the prison.
• Carl killing the kid with the shotgun. I don’t really see he had any other choice. What was he going to do, take a prisoner in the middle of an assault?
• The Governor losing it. Unexpected but awesome. I just wished one of his guys had ended him like a dog. The bit with the woman lying under the body of the other dude was a nice touch. The really good news is that he slaughtered most of his fighters, which should give Rick & Associates a better chance at survival.
• Milton’s hand starting to move in the corner as Andrea is working at her restraints.

Things that I didn’t like about this episode…

• Andrea telling Milton that he’s going to be okay.  Total and utter b*llshit, but maybe it was the kind thing to say to a dying man. I still liked his reply though. “Find something sharp and stab me in the head.”
• Did Andrea’s toes look like they had recently had a pedicure? They looked well kept and shiny, not like what I would have expected if she were living it “rough” for a while.
• Andrea getting bit. I didn’t like her, but getting bit and then having to eat a bullet is a sucky way to go.

 

I just tried The Walking Dead “Which character are you?” questionnaire!

The good news if you end up with me is that I turned out to be Rick, which, even with his overactive imagination, I think is a good thing. He’s kept everyone alive so far.

Link to AMC “Which character are you?” questionnaire

 

 

Olympus Has Fallen (3 Out of 5 Graves)

I was so excited to see this movie. The trailers were awesome and Gerard Butler has some great credentials when it comes to action movies. And with Morgan Freeman as the costar, I was looking forward to losing myself in the movie, but as excited as I was, I just couldn’t get completely engrossed.

I wanted to be, I really did, and I enjoyed the movie, it just didn’t knock my socks off.

The bottom line is that I think Gerard has fallen prey to his own success. He’s so believable as the “tough as nails” bad ass killer that its hard to feel any tension or anxiety around his survival.

The action scenes were well done, the CGI rocked, and the gun battles were pretty cool, but there were also a few things that didn’t quite make sense.

***Begin Spoiler Alert***
1.) When the gun battle is raging at the front of the White House the good guys just poor out the doors into the machine gun fire. It seemed really dumb.

2.) When they save “Spark Plug” (the president’s son) by having him crawl out a vent, why didn’t they start to put seals down that air vent instead of having them come in via helicopters?

3.) When the helicopter explodes with the captives and several suicidal bombers and they think everyone is dead, why does everyone just stand around? They would have been rushing the building as soon as that helicopter went up.

***End Spoiler Alert***

If you haven’t seen the movie yet, its worth seeing in the theater if you are an action nut, otherwise, wait for it to come out for purchase.

I have to say this is one of the coolest things I’ve bought in a long time. My kids all have iPhones and are constantly stealing the charging blocks. I bought a ton of cheap cables (they wear out) but then I could never find a charging block to plug the cables into. This little device was easy to install and solved that problem.

Best fifteen bucks I’ve spent in a long time.

The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First of all, I love “The Kingkiller Chronicle” series. Patrick Rothfuss is an amazing writer.

Kvothe is a compelling character and Patrick makes him come to life on the page. He is one of those authors whom you can’t wait to read the next page, and find yourself going further on the treadmill just to keep reading.

The story of Kvothe’s life is enthralling and the main thrust of roughly a thousand pages of writing seems to be whether his ability to perform sympathy is truly lost, or whether it is a side effect of his total immersion in the character of the inn keeper.  Of course there are other story lines woven into the tale, but everything keeps coming back to whether Kvothe is still the man he used to be. Bast seems to think it is role playing, and is desperately trying to draw him out, but I’m not sure. I think he lost his abilities somewhere, which is one of the things driving him to depression.

So why a three out of five for a book I couldn’t put down?

The first two books are really the beginning of a story arc. They are both great works but are really just the beginning of a much longer tale with just hints of a middle, and no end. Each book should have some sort of beginning, middle, and end. The way it is structured now, it is an awesome story, but nothing comes to any form of conclusion. And there were a couple of inconsistencies that annoyed me.
**Spoiler Alert**
When Kvothe finds out that Denna is being beaten, his reaction is much too muted. He rationalizes it by saying that he was whipped at the Arcanum, and how is that any different than what Denna’s secretive sponser is doing? I just found that to be complete BS. There is a difference between being judged and punished and being beaten. He is desperately in love with this girl, and he finds out she is being beaten and bruised and he lets it slide? No way.
**End Spoiler Alert**

In the end, it is well worth the read, but I am hoping that book 3 provides at least a little bit more of a traditional story arc with at least some parts of the tale having something closer to a middle and an end.

Book 2:

Paperback:

Kindle:

Book 1:

Paperback:

Kindle:

 

Episode  15, This Sorrowful Life

Summary:

The governor has convinced Rick to hand over Michonne, and goes to recruit Merle, Daryl, and Hershel to help him. Merle actually tells Rick the truth about what the Governor is going to do to Michonne, and Rick seems to accept it. I really hope Rick doesn’t plan on doing it. Is he really that thick that he thinks the Governor is going to honor the deal?

Thankfully, Rick doesn’t leave us hanging for long, and we find out he doesn’t plan on going through with it even it was a little late.  Merle figured Rick would back out and decides to take matters into his own hand.

The ending was touching and sad. Poor Daryl.

Things I loved about this episode…

• Michonne taking down walkers with her sword in the opening scenes. She’s one badass I want on my side when all hell breaks loose. 
• Merle “Do we have any whiskey? Hell – I’d even drink vodka.”
• Glenn telling Daryl that he cares more for Maggie than he does about himself. The love story between Maggie and Glenn is very touching. One of the few positive story lines left.
• Daryl – “I just want my brother back.”  Merle – “Get out of here man.”  Typical brother exchange. My big brother hates it when I show him emotion too.
• Glenn asking Hershel for his blessing to marry Maggie. I remember a time when that would have pissed Hershel off.  Now it makes him happy.
• Merle setting off the car alarm. The dinner bell is RINGING!!!! Best kill of the night goes to Michonne.
• Merle dragging the walkers to the meeting place with his car. A great way to even the odds. It actually made me like Merle for a second or two. I loved when he was taking out members of the Woodbury crew and covering his fire behind theirs  I’m just sorry he only got a few of them before the Governor got him.
• The Governor biting off two of Merle’s fingers
• When Rick see’s Michonne walking back to the prison and he has her in his cross hairs, all I could think was “If that was Andrea, she would have shot Michonne.”

Things that I didn’t like about this episode…

• Rick making plans to turn Michonne over. It is one thing to have Rick turn “darker” – but I think it will ruin him if he goes through with it.
• Rick thinking about using Cat5e cable to tie up Michonne. It is too flexible and thick. Much better off using baling wire, or something thin and bendable.
• You think that Michonne would know better than to go anywhere with Merle don’t you?
• Glenn getting Maggie’s ring from a walker. It seems a little sick.
• Why did Merle let Michonne go? It didn’t really make sense to me? He suddenly turns into a decent guy?
• Everyone is a bit too clean.
• It was sad and touching when Daryl had to kill Merle.

Doesn’t everyone want someone like that in their life? That is a lucky husky.