Movie Review: World War Z

A couple weeks ago, my friend Joe took a tumble down a flight of stairs and broke his collar bone.  It could have been worse.  He was carrying his infant son at the time, who ended up with a tiny skull fracture, which thankfully only required an overnight stay in the hospital for observation and Joe is on the mend.

I spent a few days with Joe taking him to his initial appointments.  So we had a chance to catch up on things and would have actually played a game, but just as we got started one of Joe's doctor's called and wanted to see him right away.

We did manage, once things settled down somewhat, to finally watch World War Z on his flat-screen TV.  We missed seeing it on the big screen and during whole time the film was in production, wondered if it would be as good as the book.  The trailer looked awesome, but I'm sure you've gone to a movie based on the trailer only to find out all the best parts were packed into a 2 minute clip.

Speaking of the movie's source material, World War Z was the first book review I posted on this blog just over four years ago.  

Style-wise the movie was about as different from the book as you could get and still call it "World War Z."  The book takes place in the aftermath of the Zombie Apocalypse and illustrates the impact the rise of the "zeds," have on society as a whole.

The movie is an action-adventure flick that takes place as the Zombie Virus spreads throughout the world.  Wikipedia provides a good rundown on the plot, cast, production woes, video game (which I think the images I hijacked came from) and of course--a possible sequel.

What did Joe & I think of the movie?

We may not be Siskel & Ebert, but we both gave World War Z two thumbs up.  (Which based on the Wikipedia entry is a copyrighted catchphrase).  For a more traditional rating, I'll give the film 3.5 out of 5 stars.  I liked it, but the movie is drastically different than the book.  It was also hard to hear and understand some of the quieter scenes after watching zombies rampaging through whatever city the action is taking place in.  

The biggest problem I had with the movie is more political in nature.

In the book, the author Max Brooks, clearly stated that "Patient Zero" originated in China.  The People's Republic was the source of the SARS outbreak in 2003 and since then has been responsible for:  Lead found in house paint and childrens' toys, along with being the world's #1 polluter.  

The movie on the other-hand pulls it's punch, so the search for Patient Zero starts at Camp Humphreys, South Korea.  Recently, movie makers have been reluctant to include scenes that might upset China's Politburo.  So the go-to bad guys have been the North Koreans.  World War Z goes one step further and places Patient Zero among our South Korean allies. 

By the end of the movie, Gerry Lane (played by Brad Pitt) narrates the ending say they "...still don't know where Patient Zero is..." 

Other than this political soap-box related issue, World War Z makes a good addition to anyone's zombie movie collection.

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Noteworthy Blog: Reading the Great War

This summer will mark the 100th Year Anniversary of the First World War, or The Great War as it was known prior to Second World War.

To commemorate this occassion, my friend Keith Sloan, has embarked on an intellectual quest:  To read 2 books per month from now through 2018 in order to better understand the multi-faceted aspects of this global conflict.

That's 96 books!

He recently created a blog--Reading the Great War--to be an on-line memoir of what he calls his journey of discovery.

I look forward to his posts--along with the lively comments and discussions that will no doubt follow.

Good luck Keith!

Product Review: Ogre Designer's Edition

For Christmas, my wife gave me the biggest gift I've ever received since I was a kid:  The Ogre Designer's Edition game.  The only presents I got that were larger were my Apollo Racer banana seater and my Schwinn 10-speed. 

Because we both worked on Christmas Day, we didn't open our gifts until the 28th--plenty of time for me to ponder about the ginormous box in wrapping paper, which couldn't fit under the tree.  I had an inkling my wife went out and bought the game immediately upon my return from South Carolina.

I first saw Ogre Designer's Edition at one of the game stores I stumbled across on my trip.  I happened to mention this in passing and that my friend Adrian already purchased it.

(Image hijacked from Adrian's Facebook page)

No, this wasn't a "just happen to mention it"  (nudge-nudge-wink-wink).  

I vaguely remember buying Metagaming Concepts microgame back-in-the-day for less than $5--including sales tax.  This latest version costs $100--not including sales tax/shipping & handling--and weighs-in at nearly 30 pounds.  

So I was actually on the fence about buying this ogre-sized version of Ogre.  But thanks to my wife's attentiveness and generosity, I'm very happy to have this hot not-so-little item in my hands, which I have to constantly remind myself to lift with my legs and not with my back.

Speaking of cautionary moves, one of the first items I found when I tore off the cellophane the following day, was this poster-sized warning label...

...which advises the proud owner not to punch-out the 1K's worth of counters willy-nilly.  

Another poster--suitable for framing--is this blueprint of the Ogre MK V: 

The back of the box, along with an identical poster, is chock-full of info, to include the on-line support that's available.  This is how I obtained the link to the Steve Jackson Games website.  

The 1K's worth of counters I mentioned earlier come in four sealed packages that were actually attached outside the box.  

Here's a look at the flip side of the counter packages...

Because the game consists of 3-dimensional playing pieces ("some assembly required") a mere counter tray won't do.  Oh, no.  In order to house your ogre armies, the designers have provided you with an Ogre Garage:

What's especially nice about this super-sized counter tray, isn't just that there's enough space to store the playing pieces, but the receptacles are marked so you know what pieces go where.

The counters aren't the only thing super-sized either.  The game comes with 10 "hefty-hefty-hefty" mounted maps.  No "wimpy-wimpy-wimpy" paper maps in this product.  Eight of the maps fit into four holders of the counter tray.  (Yes in addition to the garage, there's a counter tray too).  

Two of the maps represent barren/radioactive wastelands, that still manage to fit in the box without specific holders... 

...while the other eight, like this one... 

...represent the as-yet-to-be-turned-into barren/radioactive wastelands.  

The almost-as-big-as-the-garage counter tray appears to be capable of holding all the 2-dimensional game pieces.

Two special dice are included, with unique symbols in place of the "1s." 

What I really like about the counter tray are the imprinted labels, so you know where all the non-3D pieces go.  

All joking aside about the game's girth, I do appreciate the size of the playing pieces.  At my age, my eyesight is no longer better-than 20/20.  A lot of my boardgames consist of the itty-bitty 1/2" counters, which I can only read with my reading glasses AND a magnifying glass.  So I'm happy I have a game that I can see the pieces with my naked eyeballs.

I don't think this product was made only to cater to us aging gamers either.  Since the pieces are so large, they should be durable enough to withstand abuse from any young 'uns you're trying to indoctrinate introduce to the gaming hobby.

Ogre Designer's Edition is a must-have for Ogre fans.  Even for you non-Ogre fans, this edition will make a fine addition to your collection.

Happy New Year!

Best wishes to all of you throughout the New Year.

Thank you for your support, comments and compliments.

Book & Movie Review: Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon

What can I say about Dashiell Hammett's masterpiece The Maltese Falcon that hasn't been written by professional book reviewers for the past 83 years?

Not much, other than Sam Spade set the standard for hardboiled detectives since his debut in Black Mask Magazine. 

The only issue I had reading the book, was having a preconceived notion on what Sam Spade looks like, thanks to the 1941 movie version, that I've seen several times.

Hammett's description of Spade looking "...rather pleasantly like a blond satan..." on page one and referenced throughout the book, is nothing like...

... the silver-screen image of Humphrey Bogart I've had in my head all these years.  

This is why nowadays, writers are advised to be sparse in describing their characters' physical features.  It serves two purposes:  First, a lack of details actually helps fuel the imagination, making the story more interactive for the reader.

Second, it makes it easier for studio execs to find an actor to play the role if a book is "optioned" as it's called, into a movie.  Although studio execs often disregard lengthy character descriptions in the source material when selecting the film's cast.  Sometimes it works as it did for the Maltese Falcon.  

But other times it doesn't.  Last year, Jack Reacher fans voiced their displeasure over the selection of Tom Cruise as the lead in the Jack Reacher film (see Casting).  

Description differences aside though, both the book and movie version of the Maltese Falcon are well-crafted and established the black statuette as the most iconic MacGuffin in literary and cinematic history.

So whether you want to curly up in your favorite comfy chair, or sprawl-out on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn, you're in store for 5-star entertainment.  And that, to borrow Bogey's line, truly is: The stuff that dreams are made of (see #14). 

Pending Style Changes for My Star Wars Webcomic

It's said that change is the only constant in the universe.  This certainly applies to any creative endeavors.  The published authors I know often talk about how their writing style improves over the course of their careers.

My career in writing my Star Wars webcomic, Breakout from Bongolaan, is just over a year old and I hope my writing has improved during this time.  Although after doing a complete review of the Chapters 1 through 6, I've already spotted one typo!  And I'm sure there's more...

...anyway, a comic is more than just words.  It's also a visual medium and I continually look for ways to improve on this aspect of it too.  Since I'm no good at drawing, I've relied on taking photographs of my miniatures and model terrain to tell my story.  (I'm not all that great at painting my figures, but that's another issue).  Thanks to a graphic novel workshop during a PNWA (Pacific Northwest Writers Association) Conference a few years ago, I learned this technique is a valid art form known as Fumetti.  

But valid or not, there's definitely room for improvement on my part.  Despite having figures and terrain on-hand I eventually realized I needed some background to give readers a sense of place.  The picture above is my initial depiction of the Bongolaanian Presidential Palace, as seen in my YouTube book trailer.  

A couple months ago, I stumbled across the site Wallpaper Up and I'm now in the throes of shooting new & improved images, like this...

...which I discussed at length on my Redshift Chronicles Blog a few weeks back.  

One of the programs I've been using is Paint.Net, described as a "poor man's Photoshop," to add various special effects to each photo.  However, while I enjoy taking pictures, and I know photography is an art form in and of itself, I feel my images aren't...well..."artsy" enough.  

Also, despite the size of my Star Wars Miniatures collection, I don't have the variety of models and figures needed to create all the necessary scenes.  So I've turned to real-life photography to fill in these gaps.  But in order to make these images "blend in" with the ones of miniatures, I've used the Oil Painting Function under Paint.Net's artistic effects.  The result is somewhat "Impressionistic", like this image here...

...of the New Year's Eve Masquerade Ball at Roberson Mansion.  This helps soften the starkness of a photograph to some degree. 

And speaking of stark images:  It seems like the imperfections in every picture I've used jump out at me.  Maybe because I'm the director's chair, so to speak; or maybe I'm a not-so-closeted perfectionist.  Either way, since I want to create the best possible content for my readers, I've been playing around with the oil painting function a bit more.  

This softens the image and helps hide the imperfections, as in this Oil Painting version of the Presidential Palace...

...but I also think it blurs the areas I want to draw the readers attention to.  Which is why I haven't used this function on any scenes involving miniatures.

Then, just a few days ago while compiling images for Chapter 7, I found myself idly playing around with Paint.Net's Ink Sketch function.  I applied it to the Presidential Palace photo and...

...WOW!  

I don't know about you folks, but I really like this style.  It hides the imperfections I'm worried concerned about, and yet the "ink" brings all the objects into a sharp focus.  I just have to fiddle with the black-to-color ratios for the best result.

Best of all:  It makes it look like I actually drew this stuff.

Part of me wanted to hold-off using this technique until I begin work on Book Two of the Redshift Chronicles, but I'm too excited about this to wait any longer.  

So starting with this upcoming Chapter 7, Breakout from Bongolaan, along with the subsequent Redshift Chronicles books, will have a whole new look.

Unless, of course, I find something better...

Merry Christmas!

Best wishes to you and yours this Christmas.

Program Review: Welcome to Sanditon

(Image from Pemberley Digital)

Well it's time for me to turn in my Man Card--again.  

I guess I get sentimental this time of year, especially now that Christmas is less than half-a-day away.

Anyway, today's "Man Card violation" is my review of Pemberley Digital's (PD)second YouTube series Welcome to Sanditon.  

This program is a spin-off of the award-winning Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

Most TV spin-offs don't measure up to the quality of the parent program and unfortunately, Welcome to Sanditon falls into a similar internet category.

But it was a valiant attempt.

Part of the problem was the source material, which was based on the unfinished novel Sanditon by--who else?--Jane Austen.  

The second problem was, the producers attempted to get the fans involved directly which resulted in some mediocre-at-best videos.  

In PD's re-imagining of Sandition, William Darcy's sister Gigi, played by actress Allison Paige, strikes out on her own to set up their company's multi-platform communication program Domino, in the town of Sandition, CA.  There, she encounters conniving Mayor Tom Parker (Joel Bryant), along with rival siblings and competing gym-owners Letitia and Beau Griffiths (Vanessa Chester and Vaughn Wilkinson, respectively).  

However, Gigi manages to help love bloom--thanks to Domino--between Clara Breton (Lenne Klingaman) owner of the ice cream parlor "Sanditon Scoops" and the mayor's bumbling, but likable assistant, Edward Denham (Kyle Walters). 

The subplot in all this revolves around the Domino program itself, which is suspected of becoming self-aware in a "romantic Skynet" sort of way.  

And here's where the fan videos come in:  

During the show's production, fans submitted videos of themselves posing as Sanditon residents, discussing their mysterious dealings with Domino.  It was a good attempt at involving the fans, but fell short of the quality mark and really didn't add much, if anything, to the plot.  Based on the comments of YouTube viewers, the fan videos were the least favorite part of the show.

All that being said, I liked Welcome to Sanditon and enjoyed watching it, giving the show a 3 out of 5 star rating.  The love story between Clara and Ed is cute. The first ice-breaker between the two occurs when he's locked in her store watching The Day of the Triffids mini-series (1981).  

Hey, any program that references The Day of the Triffids can't be all that un-manly, can it?

(Image:  Manly picture of Triffid-infested London)  

And for those of us you with a sweet tooth, Clara concocts some killer ice-cream recipes, such as:  

Trick-or-Treat Ice Cream (Episode 2)

Chocolate Peanut Banana Juice (Episode 6)

Breakfast Sundae (Episode 10) 

Brownie Sandwich (Episode 14)

Chocolate Dipped Cone with Raspberry Sorbet (Episode 18) 

and my favorite--Nutella Waffles for Two (Episode 22)

As I mentioned in my Lizzie Bennet review, I don't intend to pick-up a Jane Austen novel.  I'm much more interested in the Napoleonic Wars than the trials and tribulations of England's landed gentry during the Regency Era.

Nor do I recall ever watching a Jane Austen-based movie or TV program.  However, I think these re-imagined versions are well-suited for the "small screen" because they are so personal--and yes--romantic.

So grab your box of tissues, your ice-cream scooper, skip the fan videos and enjoy Welcome to Sanditon! 

Note:  

Episodes can be seen on the Pemberley Digital website, YouTube or on Facebook. 

Book Review: The Tough Guys, by Mickey Spillane

I haven't read a lot of crime novels, especially the hardboiled variety, but I've heard a lot about Mickey Spillane.  A few months ago, I stumbled across his book The Tough Guys, at a used book sale a local bank was hosting.  At the price of a buck, I figured I couldn't go wrong.

The Tough Guys, is actually an anthology of three short stories:  Kick it or Kill!, The Seven Year Kill and The Bastard Bannerman.  These were originally published in various men's magazines back in the '60s.

Kick it or Kill and The Bastard Bannerman have similar story arcs.  Basically, like in the westerns, a stranger "rides into town" and cleans up the joint.  While the Seven Year Kill is about a disgraced journalist out on parole, trying to clear his name--and get back at the crime boss who framed him.

All three stories feature plenty of two-fisted and steamy action.  While each story is told in first person, you won't find any literary-style introspection.  Just a guy trying to figure out what's going on and what to do about it--without getting killed in the process.

Reading these stories reminded me of the cops & robbers movies I watched on TV when I was a kid.  In fact, they were like print versions of action-adventure movies.  You know you're not getting an Academy Award winner, but you're in for a good yarn--minus the car chases and explosions.

The one thing that felt out-of-kilter was the dialogue.  Specific dates were mentioned in each story and while they took place in the '60s, the language people used reminded me more the '50s or even '40s.  True, not all of us who lived through the "Age of Aquarius" talked like a hippie pot-head and "The Establishment" was still strongly conservative.  While I loved Spillane's pulp/noir style of writing, I still had trouble reconciling the dialogue with any of the stories' time frame.  It's as if the author completely ignored the whole counter-culture movement.  Based on what I've read about the author's patriotic and anti-communist feelings, such an omission may have been deliberate.

Overall, I give The Tough Guys a 4 out of 5 star rating.  No one's reviewed this book, originally published on 1 December 1969, on Amazon.com.  However, there's 50 ratings on Goodreads, yielding an average of 3.56 out of 5. Here's what blogger Vintage Hardboiled Reads had to say about The Tough Guys.

I may not go out of my way to find more of Mickey Spillane's work, but if I do, especially his popular Mike Hammer series, I'll be sure to snatch them up.

A Not-Quite Whovian's Perspective of Dr. Who

Last month I posted a congratulatory post about the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Who.  

Since then, I've been trolling the internet reading and viewing various tidbits to get me better acquainted with The Doctor.  

 First there was the Doctor Who entry on Wikipedia to get a broad overview of the Whoverse.

After that, I spent most of my time right at the source--BBC's Doctor Who TV. 

Despite my cursory in-depth on-line research, I've watched practically no episodes from start-to-finish yet.  I vaguely remember the 1996 Doctor Who movie.  The snippets of shows I remember the most are from back-in-the-day of the Fourth Doctor, when my sister "Rox of Spazhouse" would tune in to the program.

From what I have seen though, I can understand why this show is so popular.  While the special effects, especially in the early years, may seem laughable, the acting is quite good.  (By the way, there are still some laughable special effects in a lot of movies produced by Syfy).

My favorite Doctor, is of course the Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker, for nostalgic reasons.  These were the shows I remember the most, because my sister Rox watched Doctor Who as much as I watched Star Trek.

But after watching all the samples available on the BBC website, I've gotten to like the previous three Doctors.

Why not the newer ones?

I guess because when I think of the term "doctor" referring to a non-medical person, I think of someone scholarly.  The younger, hipper and edgier Doctors that have come along since #4 don't seem to fit that mold for me.

It also makes sense to my middle-age addled brain that someone as intelligent--brilliant even--as The Doctor is, often needed some muscle to watch his back while he concocts his cunning plan to defeat the bad-guy-of-the-week.  Hence, in my opinion, his constant need of companions.

But based on this chart I from L7 World, the producers of the show apparently had other ideas...

Anyway, does my favorable impression now make me a Whovian?  

Not really, but this has more to do with me than the show.  Being a "live by the sword" type, I have very little patience for recurring villainous masterminds.  At least on two occasions, The Doctor (#4 and #5) had Davros, creator of the Daleks, dead-to-rights yet dallied until one of Davros' minions turned the tables.  

So I can't really get into a hero who continually pulls his punches, or chokes at the finish.

I guess I'm the kind of guy that shoots first. 

But at least now I can hold a conversation, watch an episode with my Whovian family and friends and not feel like a complete muggle.  

(Yes I know I mixed metaphors, but I'm not Whovian enough to describe a non-Whovian like me).