Last night I finally finished Storm of Swords. This is the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire saga. I would say it is my favorite book of the series so far. So let's talk about Storm of Swords.
I was really excited to read Storm of Swords because I have seen the first two seasons of the HBO show "Game of Thrones" but I have not seen the third season. So for the first time I had no Idea what was going to happen next in the story. I'll take each major house and give a brief description on where they left off after the second book. Robb Stark still rules the North from Riverrun. His situation grows bleaker by the day it seems. for House Lannister, Joffrey still sits the Iron Throne after his victory on Blackwater Bay. His most bitter rival Lord Stannis stands defeated, but still pushes his claim from the ancient fortress of Dragonstone. Meanwhile across the ocean Danerys Targaryen grows more power hungry by the day. While all this is going on, a horde of supernatural army of the mythical Others are stirring beyond the Wall. Needless to say there's a lot of unrest in the land of Westeros.
First of all I would like to warn all those who are still on the fence about reading these books. If you are feint of heart, this might not be a series for you. Because this is a series where fan favorite characters die. George R.R Martin said in an interview that the reason he kills off characters is because when you watch a movie or read a book and the hero is in danger you never fear for him because he's the hero and you know he's going to get out of it. In the Song of Ice and Fire you feel fear for your favorite characters because they could die at any time. And most of the time you don't even expect it. Some of my favorite characters died in this book to avoid spoilers I won't say who.
I adored this book it is my favorite book of the series thus far. This weekend I will start reading the fourth book "A Feast for Crows" I will have a review for that when I finish it. However I will say it takes longer for me to read a book than it takes for George R.R Martin to write one. I will give Storm of Swords 5 out of 5 stars. I give Martin a hard time for taking a long time to write his books. But he has created such an epic masterpiece. He has been called the American Tolkien and he has earned that title.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Ben Affleck Cast as Batman
This is coming a little late but as a life long Batman fanboy, I feel like I should voice my opinion about Warner Bros. casting Ben Affleck to play Batman in Man of Steel 2. I feel that the studio dropped the ball for a few reasons.
Reason number one: Ben Affleck has done a comic book movie before, Daredevil. A movie that was a big disappointment. when people go see Man of Steel 2 and they see Affleck as Batman they're going to see Daredevil or at least I will. I don't understand why a studio would cast an actor who was part of a failed comic book movie to play in an even bigger comic book franchise.
Reason number two: I don't feel Affleck can portray a character as complex as Bruce Wayne/Batman. The reason why I loved Christian Bale's performance so well is because he was so believable. Whoever plays the role of Bruce Wayne has to play three different characters. He has to play the mask of Bruce Wayne who's the billionare/businessman people expect him to be, he has to be the real Bruce Wayne the gritty and damaged character, and he has to play the Batman which is Wayne's alter ego. Bale did that perfectly I don't think Affleck will be able to do that nearly as well.
Reason number three: Affleck hasn't shown me anything where I would think he would be a good Batman. Some people said the same thing when Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker. But at the same time Heath Ledger demonstrated that he still hadn't shown people everything he can do. He still had potential that people hadn't seen yet. I think Affleck has us everything he can do.
I really think the studio could've made a better pick for the role. My personal pick would be Josh Brolin because I think he could play a great damaged character. He was rumored to be in the running for the role I don't understand why he didn't get it. I think Marvel should breathe a sigh of relief because if Affleck plays Batman in the Justice League movie it's not going to be good. I had little faith that the Justice League movie DC was going for before this casting. Now I'm convinced it's not going to work. I'm not angry at this casting because I have the Dark Knight trilogy and those are arguably the best comic book movies of all time. I just don't see how Affleck can pull it off.
Reason number one: Ben Affleck has done a comic book movie before, Daredevil. A movie that was a big disappointment. when people go see Man of Steel 2 and they see Affleck as Batman they're going to see Daredevil or at least I will. I don't understand why a studio would cast an actor who was part of a failed comic book movie to play in an even bigger comic book franchise.
Reason number two: I don't feel Affleck can portray a character as complex as Bruce Wayne/Batman. The reason why I loved Christian Bale's performance so well is because he was so believable. Whoever plays the role of Bruce Wayne has to play three different characters. He has to play the mask of Bruce Wayne who's the billionare/businessman people expect him to be, he has to be the real Bruce Wayne the gritty and damaged character, and he has to play the Batman which is Wayne's alter ego. Bale did that perfectly I don't think Affleck will be able to do that nearly as well.
Reason number three: Affleck hasn't shown me anything where I would think he would be a good Batman. Some people said the same thing when Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker. But at the same time Heath Ledger demonstrated that he still hadn't shown people everything he can do. He still had potential that people hadn't seen yet. I think Affleck has us everything he can do.
I really think the studio could've made a better pick for the role. My personal pick would be Josh Brolin because I think he could play a great damaged character. He was rumored to be in the running for the role I don't understand why he didn't get it. I think Marvel should breathe a sigh of relief because if Affleck plays Batman in the Justice League movie it's not going to be good. I had little faith that the Justice League movie DC was going for before this casting. Now I'm convinced it's not going to work. I'm not angry at this casting because I have the Dark Knight trilogy and those are arguably the best comic book movies of all time. I just don't see how Affleck can pull it off.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Clash of Kings Book Review
WARNING: if you have not read the first book A Game of Thrones or you have not seen the first season, there are spoilers ahead in this review. So Clash of Kings is the second book in The Song of Ice and Fire saga. The Second season of the show follows the events of this book.
At the end of the first book and the beginning of this one you see the characters dealing with the death of Ned Stark. His son Robb has proclaimed himself King in the North and is at war with the Lannisters. He is coming after Joffrey with a vengeance. Also Robert's brothers Stannis and Renly Baratheon believe themselves to be the rightful king. Across the sea Danerys Targaryen is struggling after the death of Khal Drogo and her infant son. She also believes herself to be the rightful queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Last and Certainly not least, Tyrion Lannister is serving as Hand of the King in his father Lord Tywin's absence. You really see his character develop more and his attitudes toward Joffrey really change. Towards the end of the first book when he was going to King's Landing he thought to himself Joffrey's just a boy I can teach him how to be a good king. But as the book progresses, you see his views change he believes Joffrey is not fit to sit the Iron Throne. It makes me wonder if he will plot against Joffrey in the third book. Joffrey really hasn't changed at all since the last book. I have never hated a character in any movie, show, or book as much as I hate Joffrey. I give George R.R Martin Credit for that because he writes the books so well you love the characters you're supposed to love and you hate the ones you're supposed to hate. I really loved this book. The show was very good as well but the book is more intrueging. There were certain scenes in the book that were so much better than they were in the show. There's one that comes to mind I don't want to spoil to much of the book but there's a riot in King's Landing. That scene was so much better in the book than it was in the show.
A Clash of Kings takes a lot out of you to read it. It took me more than a month to finish it, but it is a great book I will give it 5 out of 5 stars. I will read the third book in the series A Storm of Swords and I will review it when I'm finished
At the end of the first book and the beginning of this one you see the characters dealing with the death of Ned Stark. His son Robb has proclaimed himself King in the North and is at war with the Lannisters. He is coming after Joffrey with a vengeance. Also Robert's brothers Stannis and Renly Baratheon believe themselves to be the rightful king. Across the sea Danerys Targaryen is struggling after the death of Khal Drogo and her infant son. She also believes herself to be the rightful queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Last and Certainly not least, Tyrion Lannister is serving as Hand of the King in his father Lord Tywin's absence. You really see his character develop more and his attitudes toward Joffrey really change. Towards the end of the first book when he was going to King's Landing he thought to himself Joffrey's just a boy I can teach him how to be a good king. But as the book progresses, you see his views change he believes Joffrey is not fit to sit the Iron Throne. It makes me wonder if he will plot against Joffrey in the third book. Joffrey really hasn't changed at all since the last book. I have never hated a character in any movie, show, or book as much as I hate Joffrey. I give George R.R Martin Credit for that because he writes the books so well you love the characters you're supposed to love and you hate the ones you're supposed to hate. I really loved this book. The show was very good as well but the book is more intrueging. There were certain scenes in the book that were so much better than they were in the show. There's one that comes to mind I don't want to spoil to much of the book but there's a riot in King's Landing. That scene was so much better in the book than it was in the show.
A Clash of Kings takes a lot out of you to read it. It took me more than a month to finish it, but it is a great book I will give it 5 out of 5 stars. I will read the third book in the series A Storm of Swords and I will review it when I'm finished
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Game of Thrones Season one/Book one review
First of all it's been way too long since I've posted anything on here and I apologize for that. Secondly over the past few months I've been really invested in The Song of Ice and Fire saga also known as Game of Thrones. I've seen the first two seasons, I've read the first book and I'm currently reading the second book A Clash of Kings. This will be a spoiler free review of the first season/book. So if you have not seen it you are safe with me.
When I first heard about Game of Thrones, I heard it was set in the midevil time starring Sean Bean with a lot of Political scheming. So I was immediately curious. Sean Bean plays Ned Stark and he's one of the best characters in the show. For a long time in the show he was the only character I could identify as a good guy. Everybody else it was tough to say for a long time. Sean Bean is great in the show but my favorite actor in the show is Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion is my favorite character in the show. I'm actually kind of sad I already did my top 10 actors I'd like to see in Star Wars because he would definitely be on there. The first half of Game of Thrones is a lot of build up. Which if that's not done right it could be really boring. However there is good dialogue and it kept me interested. However after the 6th episode that's when things really start to pick up. and that's when I got addicted to the show. One thing I need to address is the show/book can be very difficult to follow because there are so many characters when watching the show or reading the book I keep thinking to myself "Whose is that guy again?"
I also want to touch on the book now. The book is written by George R.R Martin and it's extremely well written. there are quite a few times when I find the book hard to put down. however it can also be a lot to process. there are times when it is good to put it down and think about it for awhile. it's a very high level reading. Keep that in mind if you plan on reading it.
I would say I preferred the book over the show. I found the book to be a little more interesting however the show is still great. I can't wait for the third season to come out on Blu-ray. I have not seen it yet I don't have HBO, but I look forward to doing so. There are some people who are calling Martin 'The American Tolkien." In my opinion he has lived up to that nickname. This series is right up with Lord of the Rings as the best fantasy novels. I give Game of Thrones 5 out of 5 stars
When I first heard about Game of Thrones, I heard it was set in the midevil time starring Sean Bean with a lot of Political scheming. So I was immediately curious. Sean Bean plays Ned Stark and he's one of the best characters in the show. For a long time in the show he was the only character I could identify as a good guy. Everybody else it was tough to say for a long time. Sean Bean is great in the show but my favorite actor in the show is Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion is my favorite character in the show. I'm actually kind of sad I already did my top 10 actors I'd like to see in Star Wars because he would definitely be on there. The first half of Game of Thrones is a lot of build up. Which if that's not done right it could be really boring. However there is good dialogue and it kept me interested. However after the 6th episode that's when things really start to pick up. and that's when I got addicted to the show. One thing I need to address is the show/book can be very difficult to follow because there are so many characters when watching the show or reading the book I keep thinking to myself "Whose is that guy again?"
I also want to touch on the book now. The book is written by George R.R Martin and it's extremely well written. there are quite a few times when I find the book hard to put down. however it can also be a lot to process. there are times when it is good to put it down and think about it for awhile. it's a very high level reading. Keep that in mind if you plan on reading it.
I would say I preferred the book over the show. I found the book to be a little more interesting however the show is still great. I can't wait for the third season to come out on Blu-ray. I have not seen it yet I don't have HBO, but I look forward to doing so. There are some people who are calling Martin 'The American Tolkien." In my opinion he has lived up to that nickname. This series is right up with Lord of the Rings as the best fantasy novels. I give Game of Thrones 5 out of 5 stars
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Star Trek Into Darkness Review
I just saw Star Trek Into Darkness this morning and now I'm reviewing it. This will be a spoiler free review so if you have not seen the movie yet, you are safe with me. So shall we begin?
So Star Trek Into Darkness is the sequal to the 2009 Star Trek movie. I have been looking forward to seeing this movie since mid December when I went to see The Hobbit an Unexpected Journey. Because they showed the first 9 minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness before The Hobbit. I was also looking forward to this movie because it was very intrueging. The movie was so shrouded in mystery. That's one reason why I'm a big fan of J.J Abrams movies because he's good at keeping a secret. My main concern going into this movie was that it was just going to be a rehash of the first movie with a lot of scenes with just Kirk and Spock arguing. There are scenes like that but it was not a rehash of the first movie. The main way I describe this movie is in the first one you see Kirk's rise to captain of the Enterprise. In this movie you see him earn the title of captain.
The plot of the movie without spoiling anything is a guy named John Harrison played by Benedict Cumberbatch is causing terror and Kirk wants to go after him. I've got to talk about Benedict Cumberbatch now he was menacing in this movie. When he was on screen nobody else in the scene mattered. In the trailers I saw before I went to see this movie I knew he was going to be great I just didn't know how great. His performance in the movie is one of my favorite performances by a villain in the past 6 years. He has a very interesting back story but I absolutely do not want to spoil it for those who have not seen it. Another new addition to the cast was Alice Eve she plays a weapons technician who becomes a crew member of the Enterprise. She did fine in the movie but the most memorable performance of the movie was delivered by Cumberbatch. I also want to touch on Captain Kirk as well because I'm very fascinated by his personality. He always goes at the beat of his own drum. But in this movie he reminded me a little bit of Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly and Serenity because you get the feeling that he's bitter and damaged in a few scenes. I was fascinated by that because I love damaged characters it makes you care for them more.
This movie is The Dark Knight of Star Trek. It took a movie which was already good, and expanded on the universe and made it so much better. I was not disappointed at all by this movie I'm going to give this movie 5 out of 5 stars. This is the first movie I've seen this year that I've given 5 stars to. Although the only other movie I've seen this year is Iron Man 3 so I guess that's not saying too much but I did like Iron Man 3. The next movie I plan on seeing in theatres is Man of Steel.
So Star Trek Into Darkness is the sequal to the 2009 Star Trek movie. I have been looking forward to seeing this movie since mid December when I went to see The Hobbit an Unexpected Journey. Because they showed the first 9 minutes of Star Trek Into Darkness before The Hobbit. I was also looking forward to this movie because it was very intrueging. The movie was so shrouded in mystery. That's one reason why I'm a big fan of J.J Abrams movies because he's good at keeping a secret. My main concern going into this movie was that it was just going to be a rehash of the first movie with a lot of scenes with just Kirk and Spock arguing. There are scenes like that but it was not a rehash of the first movie. The main way I describe this movie is in the first one you see Kirk's rise to captain of the Enterprise. In this movie you see him earn the title of captain.
The plot of the movie without spoiling anything is a guy named John Harrison played by Benedict Cumberbatch is causing terror and Kirk wants to go after him. I've got to talk about Benedict Cumberbatch now he was menacing in this movie. When he was on screen nobody else in the scene mattered. In the trailers I saw before I went to see this movie I knew he was going to be great I just didn't know how great. His performance in the movie is one of my favorite performances by a villain in the past 6 years. He has a very interesting back story but I absolutely do not want to spoil it for those who have not seen it. Another new addition to the cast was Alice Eve she plays a weapons technician who becomes a crew member of the Enterprise. She did fine in the movie but the most memorable performance of the movie was delivered by Cumberbatch. I also want to touch on Captain Kirk as well because I'm very fascinated by his personality. He always goes at the beat of his own drum. But in this movie he reminded me a little bit of Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly and Serenity because you get the feeling that he's bitter and damaged in a few scenes. I was fascinated by that because I love damaged characters it makes you care for them more.
This movie is The Dark Knight of Star Trek. It took a movie which was already good, and expanded on the universe and made it so much better. I was not disappointed at all by this movie I'm going to give this movie 5 out of 5 stars. This is the first movie I've seen this year that I've given 5 stars to. Although the only other movie I've seen this year is Iron Man 3 so I guess that's not saying too much but I did like Iron Man 3. The next movie I plan on seeing in theatres is Man of Steel.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Star Trek Review
With the new Star Trek movie coming out this weekend, I decided to do a review of the last Star Trek movie that came out in 2009 and was directed by J.J Abrams. Just a warning I will be doing this review with spoilers in it so if you have not seen the movie go watch it and then come back and read this review.
So Star Trek begins with the U.S.S Kelvin on a mission and then a massive warship comes out of nowhere and attacks the Kelvin. George Kirk played by a younger Chris Hemsworth has to evacuate the crew and fight off the attacking fighters to give the shuttles a chance to escape. In one of the shuttles is his pregnant wife who's in labor. She gives birth to James Kirk and George crashes the Kelvin and dies. The next pivotal scene in this movie is a conversation with Captain Pike and Kirk in a bar, Pike is trying to persuade Kirk to enlist in Star Fleet. At First Kirk does not seem interested but then he ends up enlisting. There's a test for Star Fleet cadets called the Kobeyashi Maroo (I hope I got the spelling right) The test is unwinnable, but Kirk re-programs the test and gets a high score. He gets grounded to Earth meaning he can't get assigned to any ship. But he sneaks aboard the Enterprise with the help of McCoy. And he gets pressed into action trying to disable a drill that the villain Nero is using to drill a hole in the Vulcan Atmosphere to destroy it. They disable the drill but Nero was able to destroy the planet. One thing lead to another Kirk takes control of the Enterprise rescues Captain Pike, destroys Nero, and gets named The Captain of the Enterprise.
One very interesting thing in this movie is you see Spock's logical Vulcan side and his human side which is more aggressive are at war with each other in his mind. The character development in this movie between Kirk and Spock is absolutely phenomenal it's some of the best character development I've seen in movies. The one gripe I have with the movie is it had a weak villain. He destroyed a planet with a black hole but he didn't have any weight to him. The movie was mainly about the relationship between Kirk and Spock, and Kirk becoming captain of the enterprise. However I can't wait to see Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain in this movie. From what I've seen in the trailers he will be a stronger villain than Nero was in the first movie.
I was not a Star Trek fan when I went to see this movie. I'm not a huge fan of Star Trek now, but this movie got me on board. J.J Abrams said when he was making this movie that he wasn't making Star Trek for fans of Star Trek he made it for fans of good movies. I think this was my favorite movie of 2009. It was much better than Transformers 2 that's definitely for sure. I'm going to give this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars.
So Star Trek begins with the U.S.S Kelvin on a mission and then a massive warship comes out of nowhere and attacks the Kelvin. George Kirk played by a younger Chris Hemsworth has to evacuate the crew and fight off the attacking fighters to give the shuttles a chance to escape. In one of the shuttles is his pregnant wife who's in labor. She gives birth to James Kirk and George crashes the Kelvin and dies. The next pivotal scene in this movie is a conversation with Captain Pike and Kirk in a bar, Pike is trying to persuade Kirk to enlist in Star Fleet. At First Kirk does not seem interested but then he ends up enlisting. There's a test for Star Fleet cadets called the Kobeyashi Maroo (I hope I got the spelling right) The test is unwinnable, but Kirk re-programs the test and gets a high score. He gets grounded to Earth meaning he can't get assigned to any ship. But he sneaks aboard the Enterprise with the help of McCoy. And he gets pressed into action trying to disable a drill that the villain Nero is using to drill a hole in the Vulcan Atmosphere to destroy it. They disable the drill but Nero was able to destroy the planet. One thing lead to another Kirk takes control of the Enterprise rescues Captain Pike, destroys Nero, and gets named The Captain of the Enterprise.
One very interesting thing in this movie is you see Spock's logical Vulcan side and his human side which is more aggressive are at war with each other in his mind. The character development in this movie between Kirk and Spock is absolutely phenomenal it's some of the best character development I've seen in movies. The one gripe I have with the movie is it had a weak villain. He destroyed a planet with a black hole but he didn't have any weight to him. The movie was mainly about the relationship between Kirk and Spock, and Kirk becoming captain of the enterprise. However I can't wait to see Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain in this movie. From what I've seen in the trailers he will be a stronger villain than Nero was in the first movie.
I was not a Star Trek fan when I went to see this movie. I'm not a huge fan of Star Trek now, but this movie got me on board. J.J Abrams said when he was making this movie that he wasn't making Star Trek for fans of Star Trek he made it for fans of good movies. I think this was my favorite movie of 2009. It was much better than Transformers 2 that's definitely for sure. I'm going to give this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Iron Man 3 Review
So the summer movie season is here this is the best time of the year for movies. I like this season better than Oscar season. Summer movies will not win any awards, but I have a blast the entire time I'm there. The first big summer movie is Iron Man 3. I just saw it and I want to write about it.
Iron Man 3 is the beginning of Marvel's "phase two" meaning this is the second set of movies about The Avengers. You really see Tony Stark dealing with the aftermath of the events that transpired in The Avengers. He's suffering from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he can't sleep, so he just throws himself into his work. So he's dealing with that and then the Manderin starts reeking havoc on the world. He was played by Ben Kingsley and he did a great job. In my opinion he is the biggest threat to Tony Stark that we've seen.
The main things I loved about the movie is that it does a very good job at showing that Tony Stark's intellect is his best weapon. In the first Iron Man movie when he builds the suit of armor in the cave when he was captured, he didn't have any of his cool technology he could rely on. His intellect was all he had. In Iron Man 2 there was no scene like that. Another thing I liked was that there was a kid in the movie, usually I'm against having a kid in a comic book movie because they're usually really annoying. This kid was annoying but in a different way. He had some good dialogue with Tony Stark and overall I thought the scenes with him in it were written really well. The other thing I loved was that the final showdown was very good. Unlike in Iron Man 2 where the final fight was very anti climactic, this movie's final fight scene was very engaging and very well done.
Some gripes I've heard was that Iron Man didn't get enough screen time. Similar to The Dark Knight Rises we saw more of Bruce Wayne than Batman. However in the final scene of the movie we see a lot of Iron Man and that scene was awesome. This isn't necessarily a gripe with the movie it just needs to be addressed. There is so much content in the movie it's not for casual watching. It's not just something to have on in the background while you do something else. You need to be fully invested in it. Also for those of you who don't know there's always a post credit scene in these Avengers build up movies. There is a post credit scene in this movie but it doesn't point to anything pertaining to another Avenger or villian.
Overall this was a very enjoyable movie. I like the first Iron Man movie a little bit more than this one, but it is still worth checking out. I give this one 4 out of 5 stars.
Iron Man 3 is the beginning of Marvel's "phase two" meaning this is the second set of movies about The Avengers. You really see Tony Stark dealing with the aftermath of the events that transpired in The Avengers. He's suffering from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he can't sleep, so he just throws himself into his work. So he's dealing with that and then the Manderin starts reeking havoc on the world. He was played by Ben Kingsley and he did a great job. In my opinion he is the biggest threat to Tony Stark that we've seen.
The main things I loved about the movie is that it does a very good job at showing that Tony Stark's intellect is his best weapon. In the first Iron Man movie when he builds the suit of armor in the cave when he was captured, he didn't have any of his cool technology he could rely on. His intellect was all he had. In Iron Man 2 there was no scene like that. Another thing I liked was that there was a kid in the movie, usually I'm against having a kid in a comic book movie because they're usually really annoying. This kid was annoying but in a different way. He had some good dialogue with Tony Stark and overall I thought the scenes with him in it were written really well. The other thing I loved was that the final showdown was very good. Unlike in Iron Man 2 where the final fight was very anti climactic, this movie's final fight scene was very engaging and very well done.
Some gripes I've heard was that Iron Man didn't get enough screen time. Similar to The Dark Knight Rises we saw more of Bruce Wayne than Batman. However in the final scene of the movie we see a lot of Iron Man and that scene was awesome. This isn't necessarily a gripe with the movie it just needs to be addressed. There is so much content in the movie it's not for casual watching. It's not just something to have on in the background while you do something else. You need to be fully invested in it. Also for those of you who don't know there's always a post credit scene in these Avengers build up movies. There is a post credit scene in this movie but it doesn't point to anything pertaining to another Avenger or villian.
Overall this was a very enjoyable movie. I like the first Iron Man movie a little bit more than this one, but it is still worth checking out. I give this one 4 out of 5 stars.
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