Scream Bloody Entertainment

My name is Vito Scaletta. I was born in Sicily, in 1925. That little guy’s is me: I’m standing there with my parents and my sister Francesca, in front of our old house. I don’t remember too much about the Old Country, except that we were pretty hard up and then my father decided that it was time to move away – away from Sicily, across the ocean, to start a new life… in America.

Mafia II

Released 2010
Genre: Sandbox
Developed by 2K Czech
Published by 2K Games
Designed by Daniel Vávra, Pavel Brzák
Written by Daniel Vávra
Available for Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows

Mafia II has been for me one of the most awaited games of this year and I’ve been looking forward to its release ever since I got the news that it’ll hit the shelves in 2010. It’s been a while since I got a proper “gangster” fix, so playing Mafia II was really special for me. Much like everyone else, I had big expectations for this game and hoped it would turn out great, especially because it had so much potential. Sometimes, though, things just don't go the way you want them to and I'm afraid to say that Mafia II is one of those unfortunate cases.

Like I said, Mafia II had the potential to turn into something really special and maybe even bring open-world games to the next level, but unfortunately 2K Games decided to take the easy way out. What I mean by that is that Mafia II does offer you plenty of freedom and the ability to roam around an open city just as you may please, but there’s barely anything to do. Empire Bay, the city where the game takes place in is beautifully crafted and filled with various types of residents and cars, but there’s literally nothing you can do except to complete the main missions that push the story forward. There aren’t even any side missions, there are no interesting destinations you could visit and there’s certainly no fun to be had anywhere. Sure, you could steal cars and deliver them to the scrapyard for some extra money, but why would anyone bother? You get plenty of money from the missions alone and it’s not like there’s a lot you could spend it on. Maybe tune your car a bit from time to time (change its rims or boost its performance; not much else) or buy some new clothes – though the limited variety leaves a lot to be desired.


Nevertheless, it’s clearly noticeable that Mafia II is a game of top quality and its story would make any Oscar-aspiring movie proud. You’ll get to meet a lot of interesting, well-written characters and get to witness hours of cutscenes filled with masterful camera angles and entertaining content. The story of Mafia II is compelling and filled with memorable moments and emotional scenes. You play as Vito Scaletta, a wonderfully shaped character complete with an excellent screen presence and a sympathetic side you could expect from any quality movie leading actor. Together with his best pal Joe, you’ll get to witness how these two childhood friends turn from petty criminals into respected members of organized crime. You won’t be missing out on the expensive tuxedos and stereotypical guns associated with the Mafia, either.

Another major complaint is that the story is way too short. You can easily complete it in a little over ten hours even if you take your time, and due to the fact that there’s nothing else to do except follow the main storyline you won’t be finding much, if any replay value in the game.

There’s not much else to say about Mafia II. It’s definitely not going to break any new ground, but for what it’s worth it does have an excellent storyline that you rarely find in games (or even movies, I should say). Don’t expect anything beyond the story, though, or you may be disappointed.

I had quite a busy week and thus was forced to cut down on movie time, but I did manage to see two quite interesting films. I hope next week won’t be as hectic; until then, let’s take a look at some movies.

Thursday

Eastern Promises (2007) - 7/10
I’ve been looking forward to this movie especially after I saw how much buzz Viggo Mortensen received due to the role he played. Plus, it was directed by David Cronenberg and the film’s theme was quite intriguing, so that got me really excited. Now that I finally saw Eastern Promises, I have to say that even though it didn’t turn out to be exactly what I expected, it’s still a great movie. Viggo Mortensen’s performance was simply flawless and if it weren’t for the major competition for the leading role that year, there certainly wouldn’t have been any doubt about who the Oscar should have gone to. As expected from Cronenberg, Eastern Promises is a very gritty film that has some good amounts of gore and violence in it. One fight scene, in particular, is extremely graphic and it might turn a few viewers off, but it’s excellently executed and stands out for me as one of the best fight scenes in recent years. Go see Eastern Promises if you’re in the mood for a gritty crime thriller flick featuring good acting and an interesting story.

Friday

Cry_Wolf (2005) - 6/10
I was in the mood for some average horror flick so I decided to give Cry_Wolf a watch, even though I wasn’t expecting much from it. From the very first minutes, I was surprised to see how well the film managed to suck me into the story and keep me entertained and intrigued. It’s definitely not your average slasher flick and there are some pretty interesting plot twists along the way. Some of the acting is quite good, even though the smaller roles fail to impress. Oddly enough, Jon Bon Jovi also stars in quite a big role and actually does his job pretty well. Like I said, Cry_Wolf is quite different for a slasher flick – it has some interesting ideas going for it and even though the ending is kind of a let-down, the film remains a good enough ride to be able to recommend it to everyone in the mood for a horror movie that offers something new. Give it a watch.

“In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” - Albert Schweitzer

By now it’s become pretty obvious that M. Night Shyamalan’s career is slowly going down the drain. After Lady in the Water, which was received as a mediocre effort, and The Happening, which turned out to be a disaster from the critics’ point of view, it seems that Shyamalan is out of ideas – out of good ones, at least. His latest project, an adaptation of the popular Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender to the big screen, quickly became one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Most of the buzz surrounding it wasn’t due to M. Night Shyamalan being involved in the project, but mostly because a lot of fans of the animated series have been looking forward to seeing it being turned into a movie. Everyone’s expectations were high, that’s for sure.

I still can’t believe that some people actually thought this project was a good idea. When did trying to squeeze an entire season into a movie ever work? There were also other things which indicated that The Last Airbender would not turn out to be as good as one would think at first. It doesn’t even really bother me how directors choose the actors for a role (as long as they play their part well, I’m alright), but it was quite disappointing to see that mostly White actors were chosen to portray Asian characters in this film, especially because Shyamalan had enough control and money to pick whoever he wanted. He said he wanted to remain true to the series, but this was obviously the first step in the wrong direction.


Here’s a quick synopsis of the movie: the events in The Last Airbender take place in a world which is divided into four nations, each wielding the power of one of the four elements – Air, Earth, Fire and Water. The only one capable of using all the four elements is the Avatar, who keeps the world in balance, but he disappears and during this time the Fire Nation wipes out the Airbenders so they don’t interfere with their plans for world domination. One hundred years later, siblings Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) and Katara (Nicola Peltz) from a Southern water tribe discover a young boy named Aang (Noah Ringer) trapped in an ice sphere. Little do they know that he is actually the long lost Avatar.

From the very first minutes, it becomes quite obvious that The Last Airbender is not going to be the movie that everyone wants it to be. It starts off with a bit of exposition as Katara narrates and gives us general info about what is going on. The problem is not with the way it starts (squeezing an entire season of the animated series into a movie will undoubtedly require a lot of exposition so as to give newcomers a place to start), but rather that it’s done in such a dull, monotonous way that it’s almost like receiving a history lesson. It also doesn’t stop much and continues during the entire movie, even though after a while it becomes an extremely tedious and – dare I say – at times unnecessary process.


The film’s biggest fault is probably its script. For some reason, the people involved in this production of this movie thought it would be a good idea to leave the whole screenwriting process into the hands of M. Night Shyamalan. Don’t get me wrong, Shyamalan has written quite a few impressive screenplays during his career, but up to this point he never had to deal with something as epic in size as Avatar: The Last Airbender. Adapting its entire first season into one big movie would be a difficult task even for the most experienced of screenwriters. Sure, you could have given Shyamalan a shot at writing the script, but didn’t anyone think it would be a good idea to check up on how things are going from time to time? I mean, it is a lot of money after all and just leaving all the responsibilities to one single person is a pretty big and pointless risk to take.

To cut it short: yes, the script is horrible and unpolished and yes, it may have single-handedly ruined the entire film. Another thing would be Shyamalan’s decision to make the film more mature and drop most of the liveliness that made the series so successful. First of all, why would you want to take the most vital ingredients of the show and just throw them away? The result is a dark movie, way too serious to be able to be enjoyed by a younger audience and much too weird to please adults. The film is about a couple of kids, where would it fit if you took the fun away and started portraying it in a darker light? The answer is: nowhere.


The acting in The Last Airbender is just downright ridiculous. Let’s start with the lead actor: Noah Ringer plays Aang, who is supposed to be a lively and fun-loving kid, but his acting is so wooden and limited that he is only able to convey the simplest of his character’s emotions, let alone carry an entire movie. The rest of the cast isn’t much better either. Jackson Rathbone plays Sokka, but his performance is simply horrible. He seems to act very shy in front of the camera, for whatever reason. It was quite painful to endure his presence on screen, which always seemed to make things worse than they already were (and trust me, things were pretty bad anyway). I got nothing against the guy, but things definitely didn’t click for him in this movie.

Nicola Peltz delivered a pretty weak performance herself, though she was clearly better than her fellow cast members. Maybe with a better script, she would have had the chance to showcase her acting skills a bit more. Dev Patel was definitely the best of the younger actors, and even though his portrayal of Prince Zuko (one of the film’s antagonists) left much to be desired, he was definitely a step forward in terms of the movie’s acting. Still, not as good as in Slumdog Millionaire, and I wasn’t very impressed by his performance there either. Shaun Toub delivered by far the best performance in the film (he played Iroh, Zuko’s uncle and mentor), and it felt really refreshing whenever he appeared on screen and made me forget the film’s countless flaws for a little while.


I may go all negative on The Last Airbender, but the movie has some good stuff going for it (don’t you get all excited now). The special effects can be very impressive at times and some fight scenes are actually pretty awesome. Skip the movie and watch the trailer instead – all the good stuff’s in there. Ironically enough, the 3-D is horrible. Probably on the same level with Clash of the Titans (which, apart from the 3-D, was tons of times better than The Last Airbender). I’m guessing they didn’t have enough time to convert it properly, because I just can’t imagine a lack of money being the problem. I mean, what the hell did they spend $150 million on? Definitely not on acting and screenwriting. Ok, maybe I’m a bit blinded by my frustration and anger with this movie, but you’ll understand where I’m coming from after you see the film for yourself (which I don’t know why you would).

With The Last Airbender, M. Night Shyamalan has reached a new low in his career. I confess that I’m quite a fan of his earlier work, but the man’s gotta know when to give up. The Last Airbender was a huge disappointment and it’s definitely one of the worst films I’ve seen this year. It has barely any redeemable qualities and it doesn’t fall into the so-bad-it’s-good category either, though there are some hilarious moments here and there (not intentionally, of course). I can’t imagine why anyone would bother with this film (and yet, here I am), because there’s literally nothing worth seeing it for. Fans of the series especially should stay away from The Last Airbender, because there’s no way it’s gonna please any of them. Contrary to how things may look like, I have not yet given up hope for M. Night Shyamalan, though I do believe that it’s time to let go and maybe try going in a different direction. Only time will tell, though.

You Lie... You Die!

the plot
After a body is discovered around the premises of a boarding school, a group of teenage students decide to spread rumors that a serial killer is on the loose in order to scare their fellow classmates, but soon the game turns into a deadly reality.

the good
- starring Jon Bon Jovi!
- surprisingly good acting for a slasher horror flick
- interesting premise and a fresh approach to the genre
- looks great for a low budget film
- some nice plot twists along the way
- solid lead actor

the bad
- at times quite predictable
- some dumb and one-dimensional characters
- takes itself too seriously
- barely any (visible) kills and gore
- lacks some good thrills

the ugly
- one dead hand with missing fingers
- piercings and blood
- creepy bathroom encounter
- one gunshot
- some blood here and there

things I learned from watching this movie
- orange is the new black
- Jon Bon Jovi can actually act
- all British people are posh
- some people get real mad when they lose a game
- there actually are movies where the black guy doesn't die

summary
Cry_Wolf may not manage to completely rise up from the formula of slasher flicks, but its intriguing premise and somewhat unconventional approach are definitely a breath of fresh air for the fans of the genre. The acting is done well (I can only speak for the main actors) and the script is pretty good as well, which definitely give the film some bonus points. The plot twists may be predictable, but at least they're nicely done and never feel too forced or rushed. Cry_Wolf is well worth a watch and though it may not be as proficient as everyone would like it to be, it's definitely something different and noteworthy.

horror meter: 3 posh stars (out of 5)

I’m finally back home and my schedule is slowly returning to normal. As you will notice below, I have started last week with a bang. My lists are filled with movies I have to see, so I guess there’s only one thing left for me to do: start watching!

Tuesday

The Room (2003) - 1/10
Wow… ok… I really don’t have any words to describe what I just saw. The Room may have been the worst movie I ever saw and will probably ever see, but it’s honestly been the most fun I’ve had watching a film in a long time. Everything in this movie couldn’t have been worse: the set locations are a freakin’ joke, especially the repetitive and unnecessary shots of the city and the famous rooftop, the script is ridiculously awful and the acting is horrible. Nevertheless, The Room is highly entertaining to watch, especially with other people. We wouldn’t have had the chance to ever see something like this if it weren’t for Tommy Wiseau. His screen presence is undeniable, even though his acting is honest to God the worst I’ve seen in my life and his directing and screenwriting abilities aren’t much better. He claims the film is supposed to be a black comedy, but I don’t think anybody really believes that. If The Room was indeed made intentionally bad, then I truly believe that this guy is one of mankind’s greatest geniuses.

Iron Man 2 (2010) - 7/10
I loved Iron Man, but I decided to skip watching Iron Man 2 in theaters and instead wait for its release on DVD and Blu-ray. That way, I wouldn’t get too angry, had this movie disappointed me. Now that I’ve seen it, I’m happy to say that, although not as good as the first one, Iron Man 2 is definitely a great movie. It’s pretty clear that everyone involved in the project did their best, from director Jon Favreau all the way Robert Downey Jr. and the rest of the cast. The special effects were very impressive – I normally don’t get too excited over CGI and well-done action scenes unless they’re really good, and that’s exactly what they were in Iron Man 2. The plot was rather formulaic and at times very clichéd, but it was written so well and played out in such an entertaining way that it honestly didn’t bother me too much. I didn’t mind the scenes that were only included to build up to The Avengers – they kept it in small doses and integrated them wonderfully into the rest of the film. Some characters were a bit underdeveloped, but sacrifices must be made. All in all, Iron Man 2 was an excellent superhero/action flick and definitely one of the better films this year.

Wednesday

Frozen (2010) - 6/10
This film caught my attention way back in 2009 when it was still in production, but I soon forgot about it and randomly stumbled upon it recently. I decided to give it a watch, even though most of my initial excitement over it was long gone. Fortunately, it turned out to be a rather enjoyable and fun little thriller. Frozen was a much darker experience than what I first anticipated, but I liked the direction Adam Green took. I was most impressed by the film’s script, which was surprisingly well written and the dialogue wasn’t just your standard mediocre attempt at developing characters – it actually made it possible to connect with the characters and (somewhat) understand what they’re going through. To cut it short, Frozen was much better than I expected and I recommend it to everyone’s who’s in the mood for an interesting and entertaining movie.

Friday

Machete (2010) - 7/10
I was really looking forward to seeing Machete, especially because The Expendables was quite a let-down for me (I like to compare these two because both had an all-star ensemble cast). It turned out to be a great flick, even though it didn’t exactly turn out to be as good as I had expected. Robert Rodriguez did a great job giving each character enough screen time so as not to feel underdeveloped and Danny Trejo did well as the lead actor. There were lots of memorable moments and some scenes were surprisingly hilarious, which made kept the film entertaining and enjoyable. I wish Rodriguez didn’t try to portray the film in a serious light (which at times was obvious that he did), though in the end it didn’t bother me too much. It may not be for everybody: there are good amounts of gore here and there and its exploitation undertones will definitely turn some viewers off, but it’s a great action flick nonetheless.

Sunday

Forrest Gump (1994) - 8/10
Forrest Gump has been on my to-watch list ever since I laid eyes on it, but as time went by I kept postponing it again and again, until I finally gave it a watch now. I wasn’t exactly overwhelmed by the film, although I expected to be, but it was definitely a great experience. Tom Hanks played his role to perfection and I truly believe it is one of the best performances of his career, if not the very best one. I expected more from the story, for some reason. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful and very well-written, but it didn’t have enough spark or creativity to it and the movie also could have ended on a much better note. I did like how they kept placing Forrest in the middle of important historical events and how he seemed to influence them. Quite impressive. Overall, Forrest Gump is an excellent movie with top-notch performances and writing, but I was slightly underwhelmed by it.

“A nation is a society united by a delusion about its ancestry and by common hatred of its neighbours.” - William Ralph Inge

“If you wanna hire this guy to kill the bad guys, you better make sure the bad guy isn’t you!” Remember those fake trailers from the 2007 Grindhouse double feature? Robert Rodriguez did one of them called Machete, and since then he’s decided to turn the fake trailer into a full-length feature film. Considering the flop that Grindhouse was, it’s actually quite surprising that Rodriguez got the green light on this project, but it’s been 3 years now and Machete is ready to rock. The fake trailer was sort of an homage to 70s exploitation flicks and even featured things like intentionally damaged film footage to make the film look damaged and all the cheesy lines that the 70s were so renown for. The feature length film kinda follows that tradition, but Rodriguez cuts down a bit on the cheesiness and exploitation factor, resulting in the movie being cast in a more serious light.

The story is centered around Machete (played by Danny Trejo), an ex-Federale who takes on one last job to assassinate a corrupt anti-illegal-immigration senator in Texas. Things are not what they seem to be, though, and Machete soon finds himself set up by the people who hired him and must go on a brutal rampage to stop the bad guys. Sounds like a B-movie plot, right? It is! Machete is an intentional balls-to-the-wall exploitation flick and acts as both a tribute to 70s B-movies and as a solid entry into the genre. Rodriguez knows exactly what he wants to achieve and does so with ease and powerful determination.


Danny Trejo has usually played only supporting roles or bad guys up to this point, so it’s really interesting to see him take on the leading role in a movie. His badass persona works well in Machete and he has the necessary screen presence to carry the movie. He actually doesn’t get too much dialogue during the film and prefers to let his looks do the talking, which actually works quite well, but the fact that his character is putting on this serious, silent attitude does sometime lead to a lack of connection with the audience. Nevertheless, he gets the job done and it’s really a treat to see him kicking ass and taking names.

Much like the recent Stallone-directed The Expendables, this film features an ensemble cast with a good range of famous actors. Ironically, the main antagonist is played by Steven Segal, which offers for some interesting interactions with Danny Trejo’s character. It’s good to see Segal doing what he does best, even though he does it here on the other side of the fence. He does a weird Mexican accent and his acting isn’t too impressive, but he does the job done and his presence is really felt. The fact that Rodriguez gave his character a samurai sword which he can put to good use makes it all the more awesome, I say.


Rodriguez also adds Robert De Niro, Jeff Fahey (who played Frank Lapidus in the TV show Lost) and Don Johnson to his arsenal of bad guys and he actually manages to give each of them enough time on-screen to be able to make their presence felt and not feel underdeveloped (which they actually are). Robert De Niro does a great job of portraying the senator in the satirical light that he was meant to be, and he is able to show off his cliché but extremely campy corn-pone accent. Jeff Fahey is actually really impressive in his role and I enjoyed his little interactions with the other characters. I wouldn’t mind seeing him in other similar roles in the future.

Next you’ve got Jessica Alba and Michelle Rodriguez playing the two female supporting roles and both of them get to meet and aid Machete in his bloodthirsty quest to take revenge on the people who set him up. Jessica Alba plays an Immigrations Officer who eventually becomes Machete’s love interest, while Michelle Rodriguez takes on the role of Shé, who turns out to be an underground leader of Mexican immigrants and plays a vital role in the big fight. Michelle Rodriguez played her part well and you kinda get a feel of her famous tomboy attitude in this movie as well. Jessica Alba, on the other hand, was quite disappointing and I did not buy into her characters role at all. There’s a scene where her characters is giving this cliché speech in order to gather help for Machete, but unfortunately Alba did not play the part too well. I feel that she was miscast and may have done much better had she played a different type of character.


Other noteworthy roles include Cheech Martin as Machete’s brother, Tom Savini as a hitman hired to kill Machete and even Lindsay Lohan in a small role as the daughter of one of the bad guys. I was actually surprised that Lohan appeared in this movie (it’s obviously not her usual walk in the park), but she actually did a pretty good job. Her character kinda pokes fun of her real life personality, but that actually works quite well in the end. Her character was quite interesting at first, but by the end it just felt like Rodriguez was forcing a little more screen-time for Lohan by adding a couple of unnecessary scenes that she’s part of.

All in all, Machete is exactly what it’s supposed to be, and even though Rodriguez seems to try to make the movie feel more serious at times, it never deviates from what it really is: a great B-movie. There are tons of badass moments and hilarious scenes that keep the pacing intact and the movie is highly entertaining and enjoyable. There are some flaws here and there, but nothing that brings the movie down. I feel like I need to compare this to The Expendables because Rodriguez does such a great job at giving all of his characters enough screen time and action so as not to feel underdeveloped, which I believe was the greatest problem with Stallone’s all-star cast action film. Machete is definitely not for everybody and obviously not everyone is going to fully understand what Rodriguez is going for in this movie, but for those who do it’s a great treat and a hell of a lot of fun at the theaters.

Next Door Lived a Girl
by Stefan Kiesbye

Stefan Kiesbye's Next Door Lived a Girl is a relatively short book that makes for a quick read and an interesting story that will keep you entertained and intrigued. I was looking for a good thriller, yet not too long, and this book stood out the most. It was a lot of fun to read and you can easily finish it in one day if you keep to it.

Quick synopsis: Moritz and his group of friends live in Wedersen, a small town in Germany. The story takes place after World War II and mainly focuses on Moritz and the events that happen during one summer in the town. It is indeed a dark tale of violence and I wouldn't recommend it for the faint of heart, but it's quite a thrilling ride.

It may not look like much at first, but Next Door Lived a Girl is a brutal tale of growing up and focuses on events that are quite disturbing and distressing. Violence, sexual themes and even incest are nothing strange to Stefan Kiesbye's dark tale.

The book is comprised of small chapter-like stories that tell different events of what happens to Moritz and his friends over the summer. These are written in forms of little chapters with a summarizing title. Each of these chapters are about two to five pages long. Kiesbye's takes a quickened approach to it all and his style of writing is fast-paced, which keeps the book entertaining.

If you're in the mood for a dark thriller with a raw tale of teenage troubles and violent events, this is definitely worth checking out. It's not exactly overwhelmingly good, but it does the job done and it's also a quick read. Give it a shot if it's your kind of thing.

Side note: I read this book in German. They got some cool cover artworks over there - it's quite impressive.

I literally had no way to watch anything while on vacation (except for maybe some flicks dubbed in foreign languages, but I decided not to go down that road), but I did manage to somehow squeeze in one little flick. I shall return to normal in the next week when I come back home. Until then, this is all I can offer.

Sunday

The Last Airbender (2010) - 3/10
There was nothing really interesting playing at the theaters, so I decided to give M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie The Last Airbender a go. I was fully aware of all the negativity surrounding this film, but I just wanted to see for myself just how bad it really is. I guess you could say that it has become sort of a trend to hate it, but The Last Airbender is nevertheless a bad movie. A very bad one, at that. The acting is downright horrible, but I’m guessing that had something to do with the badly written script. The story wasn’t that bad, but nothing spectacular. I was highly impressed by the special effects and thought the fight scenes were quite well made, though they fell flat amidst the countless flaws of this flick. All in all, there’s really no reason to go see The Last Airbender unless you are really want to find out how bad it is. Avoid.

“Even peace may be purchased at too high a price.” - Benjamin Franklin

Superhero movies have been getting a lot of buzz in the last couple of years and it’s really no surprise that more and more comics are being adapted to the big screen. After the successful Spider-Man series and Christopher Nolan’s tour de force that was The Dark Knight, it seems that the demand for more superhero flicks has increased to a huge amount. Kick-Ass definitely set the trend for new superhero franchises in early 2010, but sequel would not be soon forgotten either. Thus comes the sequel to the 2008 highly successful and critically acclaimed Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr.

Taking on the duty of the director once again, Jon Favreau teams up with Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and a couple of new additions to the cast to bring us one of the most awaited movies of the year. Iron Man was indeed a spectacular achievement for the superhero genre, and we were all expecting only the best from its sequel. We have also learned that sequels rarely manages to summon the same proficiency and quality of their predecessor, though, so Iron Man 2 was as likely to become a hit as it was to turn into a possible disaster. Most worrying is Terrence Howard’s departure from the franchise – he is being replaced by Don Cheadle, who will be taking on his role as Lt. Col. James Rhodes.


Iron Man 2 picks up right where the first one stopped, and during its first scene we are introduced to Ivan Vanko (played by Mickey Rourke), who will go on to become the main villain of the movie. Tony Stark is being pressured by the government to hand over the technology that led to building his suit, and among relationship difficulties with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and the arc reactor in his chest which is slowly poisoning him to death, Stark is having trouble keeping up. There are also a lot of new characters, including business rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), Stark’s new personal assistant Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) and even Nick Fury (played by none other than Samuel L. Jackson), who is looking to recruit Stark for a team of superheroes known as the Avengers.

This movie left me with a smile on my face. I shall be honest. Iron Man 2 is a good film. No, great film. It’s got clichés, follows a familiar and overused formula and has enough flaws to complain about. It does something that has been done before countless times, but it does so in a brilliant manner and with the best quality you could ask for. The special effects are nothing short of spectacular; it’s the least you can ask of big budget movies, but compared to other flicks with the same amount of money spent, it’s obvious that a lot of work and care has been put up in making Iron Man 2 look as marvellous as possible.


The film’s screenplay is truly impressive. Dialogue and interactions between characters couldn’t have been better and the fast pacing only makes for non-stop entertainment. The acting is pretty much what you’d expect from such a phenomenal cast. Robert Downey Jr. is at the top of his game and back in the spotlight – he does not disappoint. Mickey Rourke does his job well as the main villain of the film. He could have done better, but his character was simply not written too well and just came of as a generic antagonist. Gwyneth Paltrow and Downey Jr. share great chemistry on-screen and that makes their little personal scenes all the more enjoyable. Don Cheadle did a pretty good job taking over Terrence Howard’s role, but I cannot help but feel that all emotional connection that has been built up in the first movie has been lost with Howard’s departure. I was most impressed by Sam Rockwell’s performance. He has already delivered a couple of noteworthy performances and his acting keeps getting even better after each project.

There’s nothing much to say about Iron Man 2. It’s everything you would expect from it, but I urge you not to let yourself believe that it can be today what its predecessor has been two years ago. Jon Favreau knew that there was no way he could achieve the same feat as in Iron Man and I admire him for that. Many directors stand in denial when facing such situations and usually the movies get to suffer because of it. Iron Man 2 is as enjoyable as the first one was and even though it may not feel as fresh, it’s a top-notch movie that has lots of good things to compensate for its shortcomings. It is fun, enjoyable and packed with top quality action – it would be a shame to miss it.

The Painted Man (also known as The Warded Man)
by Peter V. Brett

I’ve been in vacation over the last couple of weeks and since I was away from my home, I had enough time to read a couple of books I’ve been meaning to for a long time. The first one would come to be Peter V. Brett’s The Painted Man, which I bought quite a while ago but never got around to making enough time to read it. Mind you, it’s quite a long book (my version of the book stands at about 800 pages) and I hate starting something and then putting it on hold.

Let me give you a little info about Peter V. Brett. The Painted Man is his very first published novel, but he has been writing fantasy for quite a while. Even though he may not have as much experience in the field as other writers, his style of writing is enjoyable and makes for an easy, fun read. I mainly picked this book because I was looking for something dark and bleak that was set in a fantasy world. Peter V. Brett did indeed deliver with The Painted Man.

Quick synopsis: The Painted Man is set in a world where most of humanity has been wiped out by demons that rise from the earth’s core every night and feast upon humans. The only known protection against these creatures is the drawing of wards around a certain place, which offer a barrier that the demons cannot pass through.

Sounds dark and grim? It is. Brett has created in The Painted Man a world that is not only filled with wondrous fantasy elements, but also deals with matters such as fear, the apocalypse and a study of characters. We will follow the journey of three characters which each deal with a personal battle in different ways as the story progresses. From childhood to the very prime of their years, we will come to know and connect with Arlen, Rojer and Leesha. Most fantasy novels suffer from the fact that they fail to develop their characters properly and only focus on the story as a whole. Brett knows how to care for characters and how to put fine detail into little things and dialogue.

The Painted Man may tell a story of courage, but it does so in a world where cruelty, violence and evil are oh so present. Brett manages to portray the demons in a very threatening and realistic way, often giving us a highly detailed depiction of what their victims go through.

The first few chapters are challenging to go through, but once you get comfortable in Brett’s world you’ll be hooked until the very end. The Painted Man is indeed a very impressive novel and it features a unique and intriguing plot that is filled with surprises and memorable moments. I wish the climax wouldn’t have been so by-the-book (is that a pun?), but it did not ruin the experience either way. I’m really looking forward to the second part of this fascinating trilogy, and really hope that Brett keeps up the good work.

It’s fantasy all right, but everything is definitely not beautiful and shiny in The Painted Man. If you want a dark tale of heroism with a good plot and lots of memorable moments, then look no further than Peter V. Brett’s The Painted Man.

Side note: I read this book in German, where it's called Das Lied der Dunkelheit, which translates to "The Song of Darkness" - the cover artwork is pretty cool too.

I've been away in vacation for most of the week, but I did manage to squeeze in a nice little movie before surrendering to my fate. Next week won't be very different either, I'm afraid.

Tuesday

Ghost in the Shell (1995) - 7/10
I’ve been meaning to give Ghost in the Shell a watch for quite some time, but only got around to seeing it just now. It truly is one of the best looking anime flicks out there and the artwork and animation is simply stunning. The amount of detail put into it is really impressive. I can’t say I was as amazed by the story, though. The plot has its moments, but it’s ultimately more of a sci-fi exploration of a future world rather than an actually thrilling experience. It’s quite an entertaining ride, nevertheless. The end was a bit anticlimactic, but it ultimately served its purpose. Like I said, the visuals are what make Ghost in the Shell a memorable experience. The plot could have been handled better, but in the end it did its job well enough. Give it a watch; it’s a very interesting anime flick.