Friday, May 30, 2014

Book Reviews - The Hunger Games trilogy

I decided to check out these books shortly after seeing the first movie but I decided to finish all the Game of Thrones books first. I thought the first movie was "okay". I felt the first half was pretty poor but the second half brought it up. The second movie was a bit better in my opinion. I enjoyed the books quite a bit more. Learning more about Katniss and what makes her tick, seeing everything from her perspective, was very interesting. It's a bit weird at times as you don't get to see anything that she doesn't see (as you do in the movies) but that sort of adds a different element to it.

I can definitely see why these books appeal to so many and I'd recommend them. I'm tempted to check out some other books by Suzanne Collins but I think I'll wait until my current to-be-read pile is cut down a bit.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Quick Comic Reviews - Atomic Robo Volume 8

I have to admit, the storytelling isn't always spot on. There are times where things could be a bit more clear and I found myself having to stop to try to figure out what was happening. But despite that, this volume was pretty awesome. Of course it was, it has Dr Dinosaur. Loads of fun stuff and great characters beyond Robo and Dr Dino. Absolutely great stuff and Atomic Robo remains near the top of my recommended reading list.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Writer's Block

After recent events I've tried over and over again to compose one blog post in particular. I wanted to start off talking about my social shortcomings, keeping it clear that these are my shortcomings that I have to improve on rather than taking out my frustrations on others, and then moving on to the women in my life, whether they be family, friends, acquaintances, online connections, or just women who choose to share their voice in a public forum. I wanted to touch on how much I have learned from them while realizing how much more there is, and that I'll never fully understand but that I have to keep listening, to keep trying to be a better person. And then I would thank these women for being much stronger than I could be and single out the friends who continue to be such an important part of my life, inspiring me to try to always be better.

But unfortunately every time I try to write up the post it just seems to come out wrong. So until I figure it out let's all just try to be better to one another.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Comic Reviews - Marvel Knights: Spider-Man

Picked this one up at Ottawa Comiccon after talking to Marco Rudy and checking out his original artwork. I bought it primarily for his artwork, which is on the experimental side here (even more so than his usual). A decent story with quite a few good moments. The art is pretty out there and not for everyone but the switching of styles and creativity that Marco brings to the table really won me over. It probably doesn't make my "recommended reading" list but I wouldn't say to avoid it either. Maybe check it out if you're looking for a decent Spider-Man story.

Movie Reviews - X-Men: Days of Future Past

Again, trying to revive this blog with some quick reviews.

X-Men: Days of Future Past -- Have to say, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I went in with some preconceptions but this one surprised me. Not a perfect movie, not even close, but enjoyable. I'm also not usually a fan of time travel stuff and this one ties things up a little too cleanly but I didn't find it too hard to move beyond that. The post credits scene, it felt disappointing. I had to explain it to some family members who saw it but they were not really impressed with the scene or the explanation.

In the end, not a must see movie but if you like the X-Men you'll want to check it out. And it will definitely help if you've seen the previous movies.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Ottawa Comiccon 2014

I guess Ottawa Comiccon is good enough reason to resurrect this blog for a bit. So here's my rundown. Overall, it was a fun con. I thought the comic section was a little light and the celebs were great but not really ideal for me (either I've met them or they are known for things I was never really interested in). But it was pretty well organized. Things fell behind at times but they seemed to recover for the most part. So here is my rundown of the three days.

Friday -- Sean Astin was my primary focus on day 1, grabbing a photo and autograph from him. I love Goonies and Rudy but in the short time I had to talk to him I had to praise the decision to cast him as Samwise Gamgee (my favourite character in Lord of the Rings) and say he nailed it perfectly in my opinion. I also decided to pick up three beer coasters from Mike Rooth (with the Leader, Abomination, and She-Hulk drawn on them to go with the Hulk one I had from him) and two booklets from Jenny Frison containing some of her covers.

Saturday -- Day 2 was mostly Q&A's for me. First up, Summer Glau. I expected her to be much more of an introvert but it was a fun panel. Then there was Bruce Campbell. His panel was more of a routine by him then a Q&A but very funny and entertaining. The third panel was Sean Astin and man, the energy and excitement he came with was great. I was a fan before but was even more of a fan after seeing how great he was with his fans. I also went for a photo op with Summer Glau and Charisma Carpenter. I had purchased it when it was Summer and Eliza Dushku but was happy to have had a chance to meet Charisma. Both seemed very nice in the short time you get to say hi before they snap your photo and usher you out.

My day 2 purchases consisted of Hobbit slippers and a copy of Marvel Knights: Spider-Man. After talking to Marco Rudy for a while and admiring his original art I decided I had to give the book a try and he was kind enough to sign it for me.

Sunday -- The last day was a quiet, short day for us. There was the Karl Urban Q&A which was also a lot of fun (the panels I went to were top notch this year) and I grabbed an autograph from Pat Mastroianni (Joey Jeremiah from the original Degrassi series). Pat was very friendly and seemed to really be enjoying his time with the fans. But after some browsing we decided around 3:30 to head home so we could prepare for a Mother's Day BBQ.

So, not a lot of money was spent (depending on your definition of "a lot") but another successful Ottawa Comiccon in my mind. And now I have Fan Expo Canada to look forward to.