X-Men Film Review

by The World Weary

Director: Bryan Singer
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin, Ian McKellen. Patrick Stewart
Series: X-Men

MPAA Rating: PG-13
Length: 104 minutes

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Clawed and Flawed

X-Men is a fun but flawed film. Its extremely short running time is jam packed with so many characters that all but Wolverine and Rouge serve to simply appease fans with their mere presence. What the film lacks in character, it makes up for with an entertaining plot. This is the first Marvel film to truly feel like a comic book.

Last Argument of Kings Book Review

by The Wanderer

Author: Joe Abercrombie

Publisher: Orion

Genre: Epic Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery

Series: First Law Book Three

Pages: 670

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(Spoilers for The Blade Itself and Before They Were Hanged are below).

The Blade Itself introduced readers to a cast of horrible characters that seemed beyond redemption. Before They Are Hanged featured those characters starting to develop redeemable traits, until the end at least.  Finally, The Last Argument of Kings continues where Before They Are Hanged left off … the characters start to resort back to their old ways.

In the final installment of the First Law Trilogy – Joe Abercrombie basically states people aren’t capable of true change, life isn’t fair, and don’t expect anything good from anyone. Thematically this may be the most cynical fantasy series out there.  Last Argument of Kings is bitter, there may be a little sweetness undercoating the ending, but if its truly there then it’s hard to taste.  Nevertheless, if you can handle the cynicism, than you should be pleased with how this series ends.

The Road Film Review

 
by The Wanderer


Director: Robert Schwentke
Cast: Ryan Renolds, Jeff Bridges, Mary Louise Parker
MPAA Rating: PG-13

Length: 111 minutes 

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We Are Not Gonna Quit. We Are Gonna Survive This.

 

Does the 2009 film The Road do justice to the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name?  Yes it does.  Although there are some liberties taken, The Road remains a faithful adaption to the novel.

The Road may be one of the best films I never want to see again.  It is filled to the brim with tear stinging sadness, unimaginable suffering, and utter hopelessness. The film does strongly advocate for perseverance, but the suffering brought to light in this world makes watching this film akin to what I would imagine getting stabbed feels like.

Before They Are Hanged Book Review

by The Wanderer

Author: Joe Abercrombie

Publisher: Orion

Genre: Epic Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery

Series: First Law Book Two

Pages: 570

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(Spoilers for The Blade Itself are below).

The Blade Itself introduced readers to a cast of characters who had redeemable traits, but at the end of the day the evils of those characters would still triumph.  For some characters in the sequel, the good actually does start to persevere, but for most, it doesn’t.

If The Blade Itself was focused on turning fantasy characters tropes on their head, then Before They Are Hanged is focused on turning fantasy plot tropes on their head.  The epic quest, the monumental defensive stand, and the fighting of an unfamiliar foe in unfamiliar territory are the predominant plots of this book, and all of them are turned on their head in one manner of speaking or another.
This is an unconventional fantasy, and Joe Abercrombie thrives on keeping readers guessing. Before They Are Hanged is just as good as its predecessor.

300: Rise of an Empire Film Review

 

by The World Weary

Director: Noam Murro
Cast: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Heady, Rodrigo Santoro

Series: 300
MPAA Rating: R

Length: 102 Minutes

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Carpe Mediocrity!

Almost ten years after Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Frank Miller’s 300, we, the moviegoing public, get a sequel to the stylized fantasy retelling of the second Persian invasion of Greece. While the moment in history these films represent is a truly fantastic tale, the films set aside the known version,in favor of a more idealized action spectacle.