Bladewriter Blog

“brothers solomon” (2007 comedy starring will arnett and will forte)

colin — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:18:09 +0000

not enough laughs, but otherwise a harmless way to kill an hour and a half.

“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” (2002 movie)

colin — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:15:38 +0000

poorly-done cartoon animation, but faithful to the novel; suitable for young children

Giz Explains: Why There Isn’t a Perfect Ebook Reader

colin — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 09:17:22 +0000

Mary Lou Jepsen—who designed the XO Laptop’s breakthrough reflective LCD screen and her new company, Pixel Qi, are reinventing the LCD again, and their display, if it lives up to its promises, could be the other way forward. In fact, she told me that she predicts that “in 2010, LCDs designed for reading will overtake the electrophoretic display technology [the e-ink used by Kindle and Sony] in the ereader market.”

article here

“20,000 leagues under the sea” (1997; michael caine, patrick dempsey, mia sara)

colin — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 21:43:38 +0000

over-long and episodic because it was originally a TV mini-series of three episodes. the story tries to be several things and doesn’t succeed in any of them. for example, it is good that the protagonist, arronax (dempsey), is given a couple internal problems from the very beginning: recurring nightmares, and a father who is terribly disappointed in him. but these themes are not satisfactorily developed. nor is anything else in the film. not recommended.

“coraline” (09 puppet animation movie based on a neil gaiman story)

colin — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 21:27:34 +0000

this fantasy fable, in theaters now, is by the same writer as the movie “stardust.” highly recommended, except perhaps for very small children, who will be frightened

“20,000 leagues under the sea” (1954 disney live-action movie with james mason, kirk douglas, and peter lorre)

colin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 22:49:48 +0000

this classic movie from the classic novel is one of my earliest movie memories. the submarine nautilus was cool then and remains cool today. but ending was unsatisfying to me as a youngster and it remains unsatisfying upon viewing today. recommended despite this

“atlantis: the lost empire” (2001 disney animated movie)

colin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:32:30 +0000

cool graphics and design in the service of a flawed and unsatisfying story that starts like jules verne and ends like “final fantasy.”

“a dangerous man” 2006 thriller novel by charlie huston

colin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:56:06 +0000

set in new york, this ebook, which comes free with the sony reader (and is also available free for kindle), is the final novel in the trilogy that started with “caught stealing” and continued in “six bad things.” if you enjoyed the denzel washington movie “man on fire,” you will enjoy this. recommended if you don’t mind violence and bad language.

SPOILER ALERT

the end is reminiscent of “blood diamond” with leonardo dicaprio

“one percent full,” burton richardson’s movie, available on dvd

colin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:12:27 +0000

here

“aurelie” 2008 YA fantasy novel by heather tomlinson

colin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:28:25 +0000

couldn’t get into this short (184-page) feminine novel, but I’ll try again in the future.