Recently I was asked if it's a good idea to watch the Cloud Atlas movie first, or to read the book. I almost always read the book first, but in this case, I came across the movie before the book. But that's alright, the movie couldn't possibly have spoiled the experience of the book...

I watched Cloud Atlas a couple of years ago, and was thoroughly impressed. I figured this must be an exceptional example of a situation where the movie didn't totally destroy the book. Some months after that I read the book.... Well, as good as the movie is, the rule still applies, the book is infinitely better.

The book is written in quite a unique shape, an amazing structure, with such subtleties that can never be imported into a movie. The relationship between the characters in different timelines are described in such elegant ways. And well, there are major story bits and implied meanings in the book, that make the book much deeper, much more complex and in some parts much darker than the movie.

So yes, the book wins once again.... since you have the choice, read the book first. ;)

Labels: Authors, Books, Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Reading, Sci-Fi

I recently picked up a copy of "The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" from my favourite comic book store [Kabooom, Zurich], and I must say I am thoroughly impressed. [And not just because Dolph Lundgren happens to have a picture with this. =D]

The book is a collection/documentation of, well, just about everything that there ever was to do with the He-Man universe.

The collection of illustrations in there, coming from all eras of He-Man, is just amazing.

All the maps are in there. There's maps of Eternia in various eras, a map of Preternia, a map of Subternia, and a map of their part of the universe.

Now this is really cool, there's a filmation cel in there with He-Man and Skeletor. =D [Yes, the actual cel is in a little pocket inside the book!]

And there's a ton of preliminary art work and sketches in there, including concepts that were never used. There's also a list of all the produced and unproduced toys, ideas for characters that were eventually dismissed [some of whom are actually quite interesting], and every bit of information there is to know about the creation and the evolution of this whole universe.

So yes, I really really love this. If you live in Zurich you can pick up a copy at the KABOOOM Comic Shop. Don't miss out! =)

Labels: Books, Comics, Entertainment, Motion Picture, Sci-Fi

So I was just wondering, is there a book? Because if there is then I definitely want it. =P

Good sci-fi is currently quite rare, and I have just been pleasantly surprised by how good this product of the current era turned out to be. Cheers to Christopher Nolan!

P.S: Yes thanks a lot, it turns out that is a novelization. And also a book related to the science of the whole thing. I'll check them out.

Labels: Books, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi

Let me start by putting out the fires: I'm not about to say that this was a "bad" movie. How could I possibly say such a thing? It wouldn't be fair. The movie is in fact quite marvellous to watch! It was quite entertaining… as a stand-alone movie, a movie that  you would watch without any regard for the decades of Guardians comic-books and story arcs. If you don't know anything about what the story was, what the point of it was, what the philosophy of it was.. If you don't know anything about what Guardians of the Galaxy was supposed to be, then you're fine. Prepare for 1.5 hours of awesome entertainment!

Visually speaking, it's a pretty movie. I really love their visualization of "Nowhere". The make-up and costumes were pretty good. Special effects are great. There's a ton of nice fight scenes and explosions. ;) If you're into that sort of thing.

But then if you're like me, if you've waited forever and a half for a Guardians of the Galaxy movie, and then you go and see this… then you're in something of a trouble.

Guardians and I.. well.. let's just say we have history. ;) For the longest time it was this peculiar set of story arcs out of Marvel's never so popular cosmic side. When you mentioned it to people, the reactions ranged from "What's that? I've never heard of that!" to "Oh right it's something to do with Avengers right?". Guardians of the Galaxy was this more or less ignored concept that every once in a while got picked up by one of Marvel's bolder writers, changed in various ways, published for a while and forgotten again. That is until 2007, when by some miracle, the geniuses of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning [alias DnA] got their hands on it.

When DnA started writing Guardians, it had been a while since anyone had paid any attention to the whole thing. Stalking Adam Warlock as I generally do, I landed on the Annihilation/Annihilation Conquest series and the new DnA Guardians. And hot damn, it took my breath away.

The DnA era was the true age of glory for the Guardians! The best possible characters were put together, and their parallel development was fantastically well done! These were, to me, the best written comics that ever came out of Marvel. DnA's Guardians with the ties to Nova, Silver Surfer and many other interesting characters, concepts and species, managed to bring Marvel cosmic back to life. And with that came attention.

I'm not sure exactly what happened but it looked like all of a sudden someone in Marvel came to the conclusion that some money could be made out of this! Guardians was taken from DnA, and handed to Bendis. A pop-culture writer who was in no way compatible with the mentality behind Guardians' story lines. By the time the production of a movie was announced, it was pretty obvious that there was no hope of DnA having anything to do with it. Heck, they weren't even consulted.

When I was told that the movie is not going to be all that much related to the new Bendis Guardians, I thought perhaps there would be a chance that the producers would follow in the lines of what made DnA's Guardians such a treasure. Trailers looked exciting enough, and I figured perhaps all isn't lost.

Well, no such luck.

The biggest issue with the movie is also the first one that slapped me in the face as the movie started. And that, is over simplification of the characters. You see, the whole fun of Guardians was that the characters were complex, odd, and unpredictable. Oh, and not a single one of them was made for team work.

Gamora doesn't do nice and friendly. She's just far more of a b**ch than has been portrayed here, and no, she would NEVER work for anyone least of all Ronan, that's just not in her character. Peter Quill is well aware of his own origins and heck, the idea of getting back at his own father eventually is one of the biggest factors in him becoming who he is. And he doesn't come from a space-pirate background, he comes from a freaky science background. And since when is Drax  a retard? This is Drax the destroyer, he was made to counteract Thanos in every possible way including intellectually. He's supposed to be cunning as hell. It makes me want to sit down and cry over what they've done to him. Rocket knows he's a Racoon. Heck his full name is ROCKET RACCOON gosh darn it! Oh and he would never in a million years get emotional over some idiot calling him a rodent. And since when is Ronan the Accuser this dishonorable psychopath? Are we talking about the same Ronan here? [Please refer to the last picture below.]

And then there was Groot. Oh, this was probably one of the few truly brilliant points of the movie. =) When I want to think positively about the movie, I generally think that this movie was just about Groot. Here was something really positive. I think Groot's character has never been so well developed, explored and realized as it has been in this movie. I looooved his looks, his movements, his eyes, how he beat people up, and most of all I loved the "We are Groot" scene. So yes, one for the plus.

But I'm afraid a single well developed character doesn't make up for the intellectual slaughter of the rest of them. These brilliant thought-provoking characters have been dumbed down to the point of annihilation! And well, characters that couldn't be dumbed down were simply left out.

The movie is full of dull auxiliary characters, while the brilliant central ones are missing. The few that are still there, are suffering serious cases of lobotomy. It felt like the producers simply couldn't handle anything that wasn't totally pop-culture compatible. The lack of these characters at what is supposed to be the formation of the group, leaves huge plot gaps. Without Mantis this group of anti-social delinquents wouldn't for a million years stick together. Without the influence of Warlock and then Richard Rider [the only Nova that ever really mattered], Gamora would simple not be interested in collaborating with anyone. And if you think she'd consent to go to her death after receiving a 2 minute pep talk from someone she's known for 2 days, think again. Without Martyr [and yes I'm going to keep calling her that 'cause that's her coolest version of her by far ] there is no Moondragon. And of course there's no trace of [any] Quasar anywhere to be seen.

Gamora, Rocket, Starlord, Warlock, Drax, Martyr

The dialogues are weak and shallow. It appears to me that the producers didn't really grasp the type of humour Guardians is supposed to have. The casting left a lot to be desired. Vin Diesel did a brilliant job with Groot. But the rest, as much as they are probably good actors, are just not what they should be for their roles. e.g.: As much as I am a fan of her previous performances, Zoe Saldana is just not right for Gamora, and Chris Pratt is totally not Peter Quill. At the risk of causing more fires, I'd say this movie should have had Joss Whedon and DnA at the helm, and a [mostly] British cast.

Now of course there are rumours going around already about more of the central characters making an appearance in the sequels. Given what I've seen so far, that actually worries me. I mean I'm sorry to say, but James Gunn directing Adam Warlock is looking rather unthinkable right now, and I wonder, who can they even cast for the role? This would require someone in the calibre of Alec Newman, Michael Sheen, or at least Sam Heughan [yes, I realise, Scottish – Welsh – Scottish.. wasn't  on purpose but it's not a surprise]. And something tells me that's not the kind of actor they would be adding to this cast. *sight*….

Ronan, Warlock, Martyr, Starlord. The dream team, Annihilation Conquest. And yes that's Ronan there.

So yes. I can watch the latest Captain America movie and be very happy with it, and write a very positive review of it. Because Captain America never had much of a plot till now. You see, I am all for changing the story, when it's in the direction of adding depth, making a point, creating food for thought. Captain America got smarter, Avengers got smarter, heck X-Men got smarter… But unfortunately Guardians of the Galaxy has been intellectually undermined, and this is simply unacceptable.

On the sarcastically positive side, after watching the movie, I feel that the Bendis comics are not altogether that bad. At least he's paying some respect to the existing plot-lines, and he's not lobotomizing the characters completely…

Labels: Comics, DnA, Entertainment, Marvel, Motion Picture, Reviews, Sci-Fi

It's poetic injustice really. 50 years ago Walt Disney shamelessly hijacked what can easily be considered the most important literary achievement of P. L. Travers, Mary Poppins. Now, some half a century later, Hollywood takes the story of P. L. Travers herself, twists it into something politically correct, soft and sweet and easy to sell, and feeds it to the world. How many times is P. L. Travers going to be betrayed by the entertainment industry?

Admittedly, up to very recently I had not really read the Mary Poppins books. Not that I wouldn't have wanted to, Mary Poppins simply didn't find her way to my shelf which was  usually crowded with Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and the rest of the sci-fi universe, with a touch of Hermann Hesse and W. Somerset Maugham migrating over from my mom's shelf. Point is, I didn't really read much specifically "children's" books.

My first introduction to Mary Poppins was unsurprisingly through the movie, which I watched with googly eyes when I was about 5 or so the first time. And loved it, really really loved it. And have even watched it many more times since then.

Recently, I watched "Saving Mr. Banks", which was supposedly the story of how Walt Disney approached P. L. Travers to get the rights for the movie, and her reactions, and how the movie was eventually made. Nice movie, which at the same time felt full of plot holes for something that was supposed to be based on a true story. I had a feeling that there was more to the story than met the screen.

So I went and started the research. Did my fair share of reading on P. L. Travers, found what seems to be the most accurate and detailed, and the least "interpreted" biography of her out there, titled "Mary Poppins, She Wrote" by Valerie Lawson. After finishing this book and some more articles and shorter books about her, I read the original Mary Poppins books. All 9 of them.

And now, after all the reading, I am… well… angry.

As P. L. Traverse herself had said many times before, the Mary Poppins books are not exactly children's books. They're certainly books that children can enjoy reading, but the way I see it they're somewhat comparable to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "Little Prince". They're more philosophy books than anything else, and they're nothing like the pink and fluffy image of the Walt Disney movie.

As much as I enjoyed the Disney movie as a child, right now I wish I had never seen it, that it had never been made. From what I understand, what Disney did to Mary Poppins was the source of agony for P. L. Travers for the rest of her days, and it also manage to frustrate just about anyone who had any kind of an actual understanding of the point of the books. Now after having read the books I can understand why. Disney basically took the shell and left the soul behind.

But then, this is not really what "Saving Mr. Banks" shows, is it? The movie is unfortunately yet another bit of fluff, created to please the audience. Everything I've read, everything I've dug out, shows that unfortunately Mr. Disney was not at all the fair and decent character shown in the movie. He basically ambushed P. L. Travers into finally selling him the rights to make a movie [after years of harassing her for it], and then slowly pushed her out of the picture. Despite the fact that he originally promised her that her ideas will be respected, he eventually disregarded all of the very important points that she had made in order for the movie to stay faithful to the books.

The nice and emotional conversations between Disney and P. L. Travers in the movie are all pretty much fictional, and at the end Disney had actually no intention of having P. L. Travers present at the premiere at all. To him, she was only a nuisance. The movie shows a rigid and difficult Pamela, without making any mention of why she was the way she was. Quite unfair.

It's of course even more of a horror reading some of the articles that showed up online after the release of "Saving Mr. Banks". Clueless people writing completely misguided articles about P. L. Travers, her role in the creation of the Poppins movie, and even her personal life and her relationship with the people around her, and with her son. Following the movie, these articles picture P. L. Travers as a despiteful unloving and unloved character, who was responsible for destroying the life of her adopted son. For heaven's sakes, do your research before writing this nonsense. A bit of digging will show you that the horrendous rubbish couldn't possibly be further from the truth.

P. L. Travers was an amazing person with a wonderful mind, and what's being done to her is a crime. This should be stopped.

Labels: Authors, Books, Life, Literature, Motion Picture, Movies

On Sunday night we went to see the Hobbit [3D]. Yes, the opening week, in fact just after the opening day. =P I was in a pretty big hurry for this one… Couldn't wait! And I'm so not disappointed!

The movie was simply great. As I wrote about the first part, in comparison the LOTR movies, the hobbit movies have the advantage of being truly faithful to the book, which naturally comes with making 3 movies out of the one book. Every important detail is there, with some cute additions, and altogether things just feel right. The visuals are quite stunning, and if you're going to see the movie, make sure to see it in 3D.

I still have a problem with a blonde Orlando Bloom. That really doe NOT work. But I don't think I had enough time to pay attention to that given Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, and Benedict Cumberbatch's voice on Smaug. =P

All in all it's a lovely movie. The only "issue", is the humongous cliff-hanger at the end. Of course when you divide one single book into 3 movies, every conclusion, every important event, everything that you are waiting for, will be at the end, waiting for the last movie. So now I have to wait a year for… well… everything. Meh. =P

Labels: Entertainment, Fun, Literature, Motion Picture, Movies

I don't know how it happened that I haven't read the book yet, but now I seriously believe that I should. And I will…. once I'm done with my current Dan Brown reading.

I watched the Cloud Atlas movie last week and it blew my mind to so many little pieces. Had not enjoyed a movie this much in a long while. It lacks in absolutely no category. The plot is unbelievably good, the cast is just brilliant, the humour is priceless… And this movie actually has a message, for a change.

Labels: Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi

So during the weekend in between my notebooks and my tablet I managed to see just everything I cared to see from Comic-Con 2013 [and not really get anything else done! =P]. Aaaaaand it's been exciting.

J.J. Abrams' "Almost Human" series is going to be here in a few months, and I really can't wait to see it. The series is about Androids, and seems to have a very Asimov theme and feel to it. Oh, and Karl Urban is the main guy apparently. Enough said.

Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D", created by Joss Whedon, is also right around the corner. It turns out Agent Coulson is alive and kicking, which is an awesome surprise. can't wait for this one either.

As for panels and such, I think I'm now officially a much bigger fan of the Nerd HQ panels than the official Comic-Con ones. Nerd HQ panels are very very different, they're a lot less formal, a lot less directed and formatted and just a lot more fun to watch. This year's Nerd HQ panels were again awesome, and my favourite one was most likely the one with Tom Hiddleston, a.k.a. Loki. =) Here's that:

The Nerd HQ Doctor Who panel was also awesome. Honestly Steven Moffat [now known as Steven Fat] is absolutely hilarious:

And on the same channel you can find the panels with Joss Whedon, Richard Madden, 2 panels with Nathan Fillion and a whole bunch of other really cool one.

Thanks to some good friends I was also able to have a look at several of the official Con panels. I absolutely LOOOOOOOOOOVED Loki's appearance on the Marvel panel, that was just bloody awesome! =D  I also really enjoyed the X-Men panel, and of course the Doctor Who panel hosted by Greg Ferguson was quite entertaining. ;)

But of course I have to do a bit of ranting too. =P For one thing I don't know who gave permission to these people to produce another idiotic 300 movie. Unbelievably disappointing.

But the real disappointment is of course how Marvel seems to have picked up an axe to go after their own Cosmic story arcs altogether. I have been waiting for a "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie to happen for many many years. Now that it's finally going to happen, they have taken the writing from Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and handed it to Brian Michael Bendis, who really, really is NOT the writer for this. And of course James Gunn is directing…. right. And basically the same thing has happened to Nova… So now I wonder if this is really the end of Marvel Cosmic, or at least anything that was good about Marvel Cosmic… or will it somehow be rescued, I guess we just have to wait and see.

Labels: Books, Comic-Con, Comics, Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Science, TV

"Star Trek: Into Darkness" : I LUUUUUUUUUUUUUV IT! =D I mean, I really really really love it. We went to watch it on Monday evening, and it's still running in the background of my mind. Fantastic plot, awesome visuals, perfect cast…. This is definitely one of the very best Star Trek movies I've ever seen, and I already have the feeling that unfortunately it is, and it is going to be, underrated.

[Warning, from here on there could be spoilers.]

"Wrath of Khan", and "The Search for Spock", were actually the first 2 Star Trek movies I watched as a child [very little =)], and basically the first time I watched anything Star Trek. Somehow the two movies left quite an impression on me… perhaps the reason why I've always been such a huge fan of the franchise. The scene of Spock's death in "Wrath of Khan" was something that really affected me… the idea, the feelings, the message… So you can imagine, for me it was quite amazing to watch the same scene in the new movie, except with the positions reversed. In fact all the "mirrors" in "Into Darkness" were very exciting for me.

I also think that the choice of Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan, was basically as good as it could possibly get. =D He was completely perfect for the role. The character of Khan was always interesting, but I feel that Benedict Cumberbatch's performance somehow managed to make something new out of the character. A much deeper, much more twisted, and terribly impressive new Khan. I'm also a huge fan of the "old Spock" cameos, and Simon Pegg as Scotty is also a completely brilliant choice.

I really cannot understand all the criticism that the movie is receiving. I just hope that J.J. Abrams keeps doing what he's doing, and I look forward, impatiently, to the next one. =D

Labels: Entertainment, J.J. Abrams, Motion Picture, Movies, Nerdism, Sci-Fi, Star Trek

Few days ago I watched "Robot & Frank". One of the better Robot movies I've seen. I guess I mostly liked the fact that this movie, unlike many sci-fi/futuristic movies I've seen, is not trying to decide or state whether this kind of technological advancement has positive implications or negative ones. Instead, it's simply showing that it can have  pretty serious effects on the most private aspects of our lives, and our relationships, with others and even with ourselves.

Oh, and I loved the soundtrack! =)

Labels: Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Robotics, Sci-Fi, Technology

About a year after all the buzz, and everyone [and most likely their dogs] having already watched "The Dark Knight Rises", Saturday night I finally managed to watch the movie. =D I had simply not found the time before, especially given that I've [please don't shoot me, please don't shoot me, please don't shoot me….] never really been that big of a fan of the Batman movies. Don't get me wrong, I've always had fun with the movies and the comics and heck, even the old TV series. =) I've just not really been a _fan_. At least, not till now.

The recent Batman movies [Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale] have been quite different from the older versions. There's now actually a plot, a real story, some fantastic character development. And now, with this latest movie, I'm actually a fan! For the first time in my life I've actually watched a Batman movie that I've really truly enjoyed enough to even feel like watching more than once. =D

Of course it also appears [at least so far] that this is going to be the last Nolan/Bale Batman movie, which is quite a shame. This has definitely been the best version of Batman so far, and I really would have liked to see more of it….

Labels: Comics, Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi

This made me laugh, then cry, then laugh, then cry again…. One of "those" movies.

Labels: Entertainment, Fantasy, Motion Picture, Movies

On Saturday night I watched "Donovan's Echo", thanks to the recommendation from a good friend. =) And totally loved it. Here's yet another movie that somehow never became popular, and no one seems to ever have heard of.

Labels: Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi

Ok I am officially excited about this! As it turns out, not only Mr. Abrams is directing "Star Trek : Into Darkness", he's actually going to be directing "Star Wars VII" also!! Wow wow wow! Full article here.

Labels: Entertainment, J.J. Abrams, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi, Star Trek, Star Wars

I read the book "Life of Pi" a few years back, due to the suggestion of one of my profs. I enjoyed reading the book quite immensely, and felt quite moved by it. Somehow I felt a lot of connections between the life of Pi and the life of myself. The book is definitely one of the best I've ever read.

When I heard that "Life of Pi" was made into a movie, and especially after reading up on the crew and the cast, I figured this is probably not yet another case of a really good book being mutilated into a movie. The book, as deep and wonderful as it is, it also tells a very simple story which I didn't imagine would be too hard to make into motion picture. And then I saw the trailer, and I knew that I absolutely had to see the movie.

As it turns out, the movie is indeed a very good adaptation of the book. Aside from remaining completely faithful to the book, the visual aspects of the movie are quite marvellous, and the music is breathtaking. And I'm also very happy to see that they didn't try to somehow hollywoodize the whole thing. =)

So for anyone who is a fan of the book, as well as anyone who's never heard of it before, "Life of Pi" is totally recommended. Best if you actually go to a movie theatre and see the 3D version, as there are some truly spectacular scenes in there. I enjoyed it very very much. =)

Labels: Books, Entertainment, Literature, Motion Picture, Movies

It's a pretty long list of reasons why I've always been a huge fan of Tolkien's books, one of the main ones being the way there is a million and one story lines happening parallel to each other. There's a lot of important information, as well as major and minor characters in each of these streams, contributing to the depth and the complexity of the story as a whole, and making the whole Tolkien universe a lot more of an intriguing place.

That is why, when the 3 Lord of the Rings movies officially took over the world, I was one of the very few people not to be that big of a fan of them. I did of course enjoy watching the spectacular visuals of the movies and many other great aspects of them. But my problem was with the amount of information, story pieces and even some very significant characters [Tom Bombadil being the best example] that were removed, in order to fit books of that magnitude into 3.5 hour movies. In my opinion, these modifications have altered the story line, and have caused irreparable damage to much of what Tolkien was trying to communicate through his stories.

When last year I read that for the single "The Hobbit" book, three movies were in production, I had to smile. I've been very much looking forward to seeing the movies, and last week I finally got to watch the first part, "An Unexpected Journey". As I suspected, having considerably more time means that the movie is a lot closer to the book than the LOTR movies. The important parts are all there, and the story hasn't really been altered in any way. And then there's of course all the visual gorgeousness and the lovely scenery, and the truly awesome collection of actors and actresses. On that note I must say I'm really happy with the choice of Martin Freeman as Bilbo, him being one of my favourite actors and completely perfect for the role too. Oh, and was anyone else excited to see "Being Human"s Aiden Turner as Kili? =D

So all in all finally there's a Tolkien book made into movie that I'm happy with. Now waiting impatiently for the 2 remaining parts....

Labels: Entertainment, Fantasy, Literature, Motion Picture, Movies

Very often I end up watching a movie long after the rest of the world has seen it, simply due to not finding the time. Also the more I want to see a movie, the more I avoid reading other people's reviews and spoilers and sometimes I don't even watch the trailer, regardless of how much noise it may have made. So a few days ago I sat down to watch "The Fourth Kind", knowing absolutely nothing about it. And by the time the movie ended, I was sticking to the couch, hugging the cushions, my jaw was laying on the ground and I had plums for eyes.

And then I started Googling..... and you can imagine the rest. =P

Labels: Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi

Well. Way to make me sob for 2 out of 2.5 hours of the movie. And that's all I have to say about that. =P

Labels: Beautiful, Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies

And here's another really really good, really really underrated sci-fi. The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Labels: Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi

Last night we watched a movie by the name "The Man From Earth", about which I had heard absolutely nothing before and I think Oliv had more or less accidentally come across it. Well, it turned out to be one of those movies that's going to stay with me permanently. A fascinating idea, and some serious food for thought... apparently this movie is being compared to K-PAX, I can see why.

Great idea, great cast, great everything. I gave it 5 out of 5. If you haven't seen it yet... you probably should.

By the way, make sure to read the Wikipedia article about the movie. Some very interesting facts in there.

Labels: Entertainment, Interesting, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi