Saturday, December 16, 2017

Film Review: Star Wars- The Last Jedi (Spoiler Free)



Being a Star Wars fanboy from the original trilogy, of course, I had to go and see the latest release in the series. The hype was real for this latest film. Some of the original characters returned such as Leia, and Luke, and some who I will not mention so as not to spoil it for those who have yet to see this. I enjoyed it and it was suspenseful with not many slow or dull scenes. But it used a lot of scene ideas from previous hit films, such as the Hoth like battle scene on the reddish salt planet, and another key scene and ideas from Return of the Jedi. I felt like this kinda had to rely on the previous films to make this feel like it was just as good as it was not very original. There were a few 3d type scenes but it didn't rely on 3d effects to make it good. Another thing I didn't like was that this film seemed to cater to a younger audience. We all know the criticism that Rebel One got for being too mature with its content. I feel like the writers of Last Jedi felt like they had to make this one more family friendly as it featured a lot of comedic scenes and cutesy characters such as the animal bird hybrid creatures. Some of the dialogue near the end of the film kind of implied to me that this is a new market for young viewers as they kept implying forget the old ideas you had about this story. I'm fine with that letting the children of a new generation have their pop-cultural iconography of a New Star Wars.

So, in the end, I enjoyed the film but just didn't find it as enjoyable as the original trilogy. I think any fan of this series will enjoy this movie. Somethings about the past of this universe and from the prior film were explained but some things were just simplified and I felt the wider audience was expecting a better and bigger explanation than what was offered. yet again I will not spoil this and say what was revealed that dashed my expectations but once you have viewed this film you will see for yourself.


Saturday, December 9, 2017

Review: Ramses the Damned- The Passion of Cleopatra


Finally finished reading the long-awaited sequel to The Mummy or Ramses the Damned by Anne Rice. Safe to say I read the first book around the time of its debut in the '90's and loved it. I really enjoyed everything I read by her during that time period. She was right up there in my fave authors list along with Stephen King and Clive Barker.

But enough with the trip down memory lane. I received a digital copy from NetGalley for a fair and honest review. This sequel was co-written with her son, Christopher Rice who I have added a few of his books to my TBR but have yet to read. Even though it has a been a very long time since I had read the prior book the authors give a refresher as to what had happened previously in the first few pages. So of course I quickly got up to speed on what had happened and the story rolled right into the events of the present happenings of this one. This book focused more on the character of Cleopatra and her dealing with her new found immortality. (Not to get too far off topic but this took me quite sometime to finish and I can only imagine how thick a paperback copy of this must be.) I still enjoyed reading this follow up but I felt that it dragged on way too long. There were some very long scenes that just could have been shortened for the sake of keeping the reader interested. I pressed on as I did because I had enjoyed the first book, and being that I liked Anne's writing I felt I should finish this. There were times I became overwhelmed by too much story that I put it down for days on end. The ending of the story seemed to be rushed as in it kind of left much to the imagination and was not very clear. This was a portion of the story that could have been more embellished versus the boring back story of certain characters that I just felt were not that important to the plot. An explanation of the title characters connection could have been explained further. Also one fo the things I felt that this book lacked to the prior book and others by her was the hot and steamy sex scenes that she was known for. I do not know if time and age has tamed her writing of sex, but I felt the romance between characters to be very flat and dull. Don't get me wrong I liked this, but felt it was nowhere near as good as the first or prior books by the author. I rated this 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. I would say that if you had read the first book you may want to read this to discover what has happened further to the characters.


Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Review: Red Thorn Vol. 2 Mad Gods and Scotsmen

First off I have to say I absolutely loved the first volume of this series. I was super impressed as it seemed original and pulled some fascinating folklore into it. This was the first book of 2017 that I gave 5 stars to on Goodreads. So, of course, I really wanted to read more in this series. I have included the review I did of the first volume just so you get an idea of how much I enjoyed it.


I know that the second volume has been available for quite awhile now, but I decided to read other stories so that I may savor the anticipation of reading this series. I finally got around to reading this recently, and I felt very let down. Not only was this nowhere near as good as the prior volume, but apparently this is the end of the series??? Or at least that was the impression the ending of this volume gave me. If that was not the only gripe I had it would be fine, but events in this book seemed to jump scenes with no real explanation or reason for why whole scenes seemed to fast forward at times leaving me confused and thinking how did that happen. This read as if they decided to end the series before this was even written and fuddled through writing this that they made for awkward progression through the finishing of it. I decided to rate this 3 out of 5 stars only because I really enjoyed the first volume, but this was not what I had hoped for in a conclusion.


Thursday, November 9, 2017

Top 5 Best Gaming Mice

You're a gamer and you play for long periods of time. You want the best experience and you also want comfort. You may also want a gaming mouse to make macros, which are shortcuts in the game you are playing.With all of these options and choices in mind, I have created an easy to use list to help you choose the best gaming mouse for your ultimate gaming experience. They come in different price ranges and of course have different features.I have listed them at best (which is more expensive) to average (which are cheaper).


1. Razer DeathAdder Chroma - Multi-Color Ergonomic Gaming Mouse - 10,000 DPI Sensor - Comfortable Grip - World's Most Popular Gaming Mouse



2Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum RGB Tunable Gaming Mouse, 12,000 DPI On-The-Fly DPI Shifting


3. KLIM AIM Chroma RGB Gaming Mouse - NEW - PRECISE - Wired USB - Adjustable 500 to 7000 DPI - Programmable Buttons - Comfortable for all hand sizes - Ambidextrous Excellent grip Gamer Gaming


4.Gaming Mouse, UtechSmart Venus 16400 DPI High Precision Laser MMO Gaming Mouse [ IGN's Pick]



5.Jelly Comb Gaming Mouse 4000 DPI Programmable High Precision Optical USB Gaming Mouse for PC/Laptop/Desktop/Mac, Professional 7 Colors LED Optical USB Wired Gaming Mice, 7 Buttons

Monday, October 30, 2017

Review: Clean Room Vol. 1 Immaculate Conception

This was on my recommendations list for quite awhile before I finally got around to reading it. I mean the title seems not to lead to any real clues as to what it's about and the cover seems kind of generic. So that was why I was not in a big rush to read this. But this is not too bad. I totally did not expect it to be what it is. Which is kind of hard to explain and even harder to pinhole this into one genre alone. I would say Weird fiction is the best match as it combines elements of horror, the supernatural, and possibly science fiction....along with a good dose of mystery and suspense.
Image result for Clean Room, Vol. 1: Immaculate Conception

The story revolves around a few major players who are apart of the mystery which I will not go into detail as that would spoil part of the charm of this book. Others have compared this to Fatale, and I can see the comparison being a worthy one, as that series also relied heavily on supernatural and mystery elements to keep the reader interested. But with this being said this is not a book for everyone. It does contain mature subject matter and at times disturbing scenes/imagery. I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. Some folks loved this and others just didn't like it. I thought it's a decent enough read and I will continue on with the next 2 volumes although I did find some things kind of silly.

Click the above link to purchase your own copy. 

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Review: Batman- The Dark Knight III : Master Race


I really enjoyed Miller's original Dark Knight book and did not anticipate it going beyond the first book. I was pretty excited to see another book in this series. I mean an older, much more mature and angry Batman set in the future. Who doesn't want to see that? With this being said you cannot just jump into book 3 without having read the first 2 volumes of the trilogy. Trust me if you do you will be completely lost in who is who and what is going on. I have always enjoyed alternative storylines that change the heroes we all know and love and make them into something that sets them apart from the norm. 

Image result for The dark knight III master race
The third volume stayed true to the writing and story that Miller had originally created. Along with the signature art style that also makes these unique. It was fun revisiting this future what-if world where Batman and Superman still do not really trust each other but still work together to save the world and get the job done. So even though I did enjoy this I do feel it's time to let this have it's heyday and not continue on with the series. I feel that this tried to capture some of what made the prior 2 feel and look so great but it felt flat towards the ending. I enjoyed reading this and rated it 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, but really feel Miller should start another series or maybe focus on the DCU of this storyline versus continuing on with the Dark Knight. 

Get your copy here by clicking the above link!

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Review: Lost Boys Vol.1

So I'm pretty sure like others who are fans of vampire fiction and the classic cult film of the same title ...I was super excited when I saw that Vertigo was publishing this. First off I have to say I loved the film. This not so much. The art was kinda blah. None of the characters looked like the people from the film. I mean didn't the artists reference the film this was based on??? But as if just the art was the only bad thing about this dream turned into stale reality. The plot was very rushed and just kind of felt dull. I do not know that I will rush out to read the next volume if this series continues. I was generous with my Goodreads rating and gave it a 3 out of 5 stars.


Get your copy here -

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Kill or Be Killed Vol. 1 Review

First off I want to say that I am no stranger to Ed Brubaker's writing. Honestly, he has written some of my favorite series. One of his most popular being Fatale, which was another story that blended the crime and supernatural to make a fantastic story that many enjoyed.
Kill or be Killed is also a blend of the same elements, but this time around it doesn't have a pulp fiction feel that Fatale had. This book starts out by getting into the thick of it, and then slowly back tracking so that the reader understands just what the main character has gotten himself into. So it's written from the point of view of the guy who is doing the killing. I found the character kind of relatable as he lives a hum drum life and his best friend, who should be with him is with his room mate. Being that his life kind of sucks he decides to commit suicide, but it doesn't work out the way he planned, and next thing you know he has unwittingly made a pact with a devil. In order to keep living, he must take the life of someone deserving of dying...someone bad.

Image result for Kill or Be Killed Comic

So sometimes due to the main character getting behind sometimes in the direction of the story, it helps for it to be serialized as a monthly comic. If you like action, and movies that have lots of guns, and shooting than this is right up your alley. I loved this book and rated it 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.  I have already started reading the second volume.

Get your copy here by clicking the above image it will take you to Amazon where you can get your own copy. 

Friday, February 10, 2017

Huck: Comic Book Review

The cover alone and the fact that this was written by Mark Millar (writer of the Kick Ass series), had me wanting to read this. I didn't even know anything about this. I almost thought this was a Huckleberry Finn remake for a modern age. But nope that is not what this book is. Instead, this was its own thing. So what is this about you may ask....it's about a simple man named Huck who just wants to do good deeds. He does a good deed every day. I say,simple man because most think Huck is mentally retarded or slow. But I got the impression that he was just a caring person. So if doing good deeds were not an enough he has abilities, unlike a normal man.

I did enjoy this book but it just wasn't great like Kick Ass or Wanted. The art was good, but the story seemed kind of rushed and unbelievable. To be honest it wasn't a very original story either. I sometimes felt like the way people viewed this guy as if he were like Forrest Gump, and the ending part of the story was too alike other types of action movies I have seen. This was a fast read and one that might not be for everyone. I rated this 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.
 

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Review: Escape From New York Vol. 1

Okay, I saw this new comics series, based on an old post-apocalyptic 80's movie. If you have never heard of Snake Pliskin then you are missing out on a cool action hero. SO I was like I must read this now!!!

I will admit that the first film which is the title of the comic series was not as good as it's sequel Escape From L.A. SO of course, I wanted to read this series once I found it. I have been kinda busy but just got some time over the Christmas holidays to read the first volume.This volume starts up immediately from the end of the L.A. film. This is cool and I am okay with that, but it then spirals out of control. This somewhat cool continuation starts to get corny real fast. The dialogue was not as genuine as the original film dialogues and felt phony and un-Snake like. Not to spoil it, but the villain in this book is a pair of twins....wait for it. Who are kids! Yeah, that's what the main villain was....HUGE let down, right?  So I liked that they chose to continue on the journey of this cool character, but the story was rushed and corny at times. So overall I rated this only 3 out of 5 stars. I am currently reading the second volume of this and yes it starts out rushed into yet another scenario...let's just hope it gets better.