War of the Worlds

Book Review: War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells
The classic Sci-Fi, aliens attack novel. I found it online at Project Gutenberg where anyone can read it for free... legally even. At under 100 pages it is a short read and required reading for any sci-fi geeks. I was impressed by all the scientific data within the story. It was quite educational. In this novel the attacking aliens are clearly Martians and the story ends with their threat not quite ended, as they seem to be colonizing Venus as well. Unlike the latest Hollywood movie, these aliens are not as tough. A few of them are destroyed by the British army during their onslaught. It's a fun read.

Audio Review: War of the Worlds - as performed by Orson Welles & the Mercury Theatre on the Air
I also found this available online in mp3 format. It's easy to see how many of the original listeners might have thought this was a real news cast at the time. It's presented as such, beginning as a series of interruptions to a live music concert. Unlike the original novel though this alien landing takes place in the Eastern United States. It is also told from the point of view of several characters as they are one by one silenced by the aliens. Old radio dramas are very fun and I'd like to find more to listen to.

Movie Review: War of the Worlds (2005)
Rewatched this after reading and listening to the older versions. I won't review it again but I will mention some interesting differences I noticed. Firstly, these aliens are never identified as Martians. This is probably because modern science has basically discounted the existence of higher life forms on the red planet. The strangest change is that the aliens in this movie seem to come down to earth in lightning bolts. Everything points to the fact that there vehicles had been buried in the earth thousands of years ago, if not earlier. The original novel and radio drama had the aliens and their vehicles come to earth in giant tubes. It doesn't really make sense that they would have planted their war machines so much earlier. Why would they want to use such old equipment? If humans had to use equipment even 100 years old it would seem ridiculous.

Petty problems?

Movie Review: Envy (2004)
Despite it's 2 mega comedy stars (Jack Black & Ben Stiller) this movie barely made it to a US theatrical release and then bombed when it did. It was only the success of 'School of Rock' which led to it's eventual release. Later, Jack Black would publicly apologize for this movie. It's the story of two neighbours; Stiller plays a hard working but by the books guy while Black is an underachieving dreamer. Black's character comes up with a silly idea for a spray to do away with animal poop that winds up making him fabulously wealthy. Stiller becomes envious and a series of mini-disasters ensues. The whole premise of this movie contains enough to fill about a 10 minute SNL skit so this 90 minute movie goes on far too long. 6/10

Movie Review: Identity (2003)
John Cusack and 9 strangers are trapped in a motel in the middle of nowhere. A storm has wiped out the roads and the phone lines are down too. On top of the meteorological problems somone is killing them 1 by 1 too. I figured this would just be a remake of the Agatha Christie story 'Ten Little Indians' but luckily this is not the case. This is a clever suspense film with a twist ending that explains away all of the apparent inconsistencies within the main movie. Any film that kills off Jake Busey is also a winner in my book. 7.5/10

Movie Review: Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
Another film by director Stephen Frears, the talent behind such classic films as 'My Beautiful Laundrette' and 'Prick up your Ears.' This is a compelling drama about an illegal Nigerian immigrant in London. He is trained as a doctor in his country but is forced to work as a taxi driver and a hotel concierge to survive. His roommate (Audrey Tatou from 'Amelie' fame) is breaking the rules of her visa and a couple of immigration officers are looking for her. The Nigerian doctor is cleaning up a hotel room when he discovers a human heart stuffed down a toilet. This sets off a chain of events where we get to see the hardships immigrants endure to stay in London. The characters also get some serious payback at the end. Highly recommended. 7.5/10

The toils of women

Movie Review: Irreversible (2002)
Some time ago I commented about movies that were really good but I couldn't watch more than once. Irreversible is another movie like that. It's a French film that plays in reverse, somewhat like the film 'Memento'. However, the characters in Irreversible don't suffer from amnesia and the more we watch the more we learn their motivations for their earlier/later actions. The film opens with a pounding techno beat and an almost sickening, spinning camera. This leads into the first scene very well as we follow two very angry young men as they go deeper and deeper into a sick and twisted gay, S&M club/dungeon. The camera follows them for a long time which enhances the obsessiveness of their search. Eventually they find the man they think they are looking for and a fight ensues. Once again, the camera never stops as the brutal ending of the scrap drags on and on and on. It's very tough to watch. It isn't until at least the halfway point of the film, as it moves backwards chronologically, that we learn what prompted their desire for revenge. A woman they care for is raped and beaten in a downtown underpass. As with the earlier violence, the camera once again shows every agonizing second of this assault. It goes on for a very long time and we can't escape the brutality anymore than the poor woman can. Thankfully, the remainder of the film shows the characters involved in scenes of love and friendship. Many of the things they say and do are glaringly prophetic/ironic considering what happens to them all. It's a very powerful movie that was brilliantly put together. Watch at your own risk though. This is certainly not a date movie. 8.5/10

Movie Review: Monster (2003)
It's no wonder that Charlize Theron won the Oscar for Best Actress for this movie. What a performance, I would never have guessed it was her in the lead role. Kudos to her for not just allowing herself to appear this way, but really becoming the character. This movie is based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos, a Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer and was eventually executed. It's the sad tale of a woman who is abused throughout her life and ends up killing her Johns. Christina Ricci is also very good as the lesbian lover who ultimately betrays Aileen to the police. 8/10

Movie Review: Girl With a Pearl Earring (2003)
Based on the fictional book of the same name by Tracy Chevalier. A friend had lent me this book a few years ago to read. The movie is very much in sync with the book. It gives a fictional account of a young woman working as a servant for the painter Johannes Vermeer and how she becomes the model in his famous painting called 'Girl with a Pearl Earring.' Despite her low position in society she really 'connects' with her artist employer. This connection is not romantic at all but she also has an artistic soul. Just like the book, this movie is very well done with good acting, good costumes and great sets. It is an interesting human drama that seems very realistic. 7/10

TV Review: 24 Season 5 (2006)
I've watched all the previous seasons of 24 and this one is probably one of the best. However, the same old formula is really starting to wear thin on me. The 'shock ending' from last season really didn't have much of an impact here. Here are some of the things you can expect in season 5, that have happened in nearly every other season:

1) there will be a mole in CTU
2) CTU security will be compromised
3) Kim Bauer will show up for no reason (other than to be put in harm's way briefly)
4) Jack will demonstrate his mastery over all fields & specialties
5) CTU leadership will change hands several times
6) Clowie will be able to hack into anything, anywhere, at any time
7) Jack will always find 1, and only 1, important clue at each encounter with a suspect
8) someone will be wrongfully tortured at CTU

That darn Bush!

Movie Review: Loose Change (2006)

Vol 1 of Loose Change is very similar to the film '911 In Plane Site'. It contends that the attacks of 911 were all orchestrated by the American government. The proof of this giant conspiracy is alleged to exist in the extensive video and photos shot on that fateful day. Just like '911 in Plane Site', Loose Change claims that the planes that hit the WTC were not hijacked passenger planes but modified, possibly military, aircraft. This is based on 2 points. 1, a Fox reporter said on air that the 2nd plane to hit the WTC didn't have any windows and had markings that didn't match any known commerical service. And 2, a strange dark bulge on the bottom of the plane, and a flash right before impact with the building, are identified as a missile strike and an attached launching pod on the plane. No 1 is easily debunked as the reporter later admitted to being over a mile away from the WTC where it would have been impossible to see any details on the plane. Actual wreckage from the plane (with window frames) was later found in the debris as well. No 2 is just ridiculous as it would be nearly impossible, as well as useless, to launch a missile from the plane milliseconds before crashing into the building. What would be the point? People familiar with that model of plane have quickly identified the dark bulge in the video as the shadow of the landing gear bay on the bottom of the plane. Loose Change also states that it wasn't a passenger jet that crashed into the Pentagon but a missile or a military jet. This disregards the eyewitness testimony of hundreds of onlookers who gave statements saying they watched the plane crash into the building. The video also looks at various photos and asks, "where's the plane? Where are the bodies?" Other websites have photos showing some of the bodies recovered from the site so this argument seems moot as well. Lastly, Loose Change claims that Flight 93 never crashed into a field in Pennsylvania and implies that it was all faked. Although the pieces were small, bodies and wreckage were also recovered from this site.
Vol 2 of Loose Change wisely drops the entire pod and missile theory from the planes that hit the WTC. However, it does add new 'info' to the flight 93 story. An A.P. story, quickly retracted, stated that Flight 93 had landed in Cleveland due to a bomb scare. 'Loose Change' jumps all over this story and claims that this proves flight 93 didn't crash. What about all the phone calse then? The film claims that they were all faked. They say that cell phones won't work on board airlines. Voice imitating software was used to fool everyone. Now this is just ridiculous.
These are interesting watches but pretty easy to dismiss. This site does a good job of refuting most of the points here. 6.5/10

Book Review: House of Bush, House of Saud - Craig Unger

This book investigates the numerous connections between George Dubya Bush and the royal family of Saudi Arabia. There are also some very tenuous links to Osama Bin Laden. While interesting, these links probably exist for all recent American presidents and top CEO's of energy companies.