Dad, After This Can We Throw Dirt In My Window?

You might not know it from my blog, but I love to read. The thing is though, that I just can't find a lot of time to read! And because of that, it ends up taking me quite some time to finish a book. But nonetheless, I love to read. When I was younger I hated to read, my school teachers and my mom had a terrible time getting me to open a book. That is until I starting hitting my early teens, when something clicked for me, and I couldn't find enough books to read. It probably had something to do with the amazing conection between the written word and my imagination.

So since it take me a little longer to finish a book, I have become a little picky and selective of what books I read. I didn't know much about the Princess of Mars series other than it was written in the early 1900's. I did know the basic premise, but as far as details go, I only knew what I gathered from passing conversations or a random article or review. It never really seemed like enough to really peak my interest, for whatever reason. That is until I watched Disney's John Carter...

I went to see John Carter when it first came out in theatres. And despite critics hating it and it's unusually poor performance at the box office, I thought it was a great movie! I really loved it. I'm not going to say it was the greatest movie I have ever seen, or say that it was a perfect movie. But it was a real fun movie! Something about it just felt like the old sci-fi movies I grew up watching and loving.  It had some really exciting scenes, great action, and some pretty funny parts (most of those had to do with John's massive-mouthed alien dog Woola) This movie really took me to another place (another planet actually) Introduced me to interesting characters, and told me an exciting story and gave me an interest to know more about Barsoom! Which has now brought me to the books (I think there is a total of 11 books in the series) It is kind of funny, because normally I will have read the book before the movie, but this time it is reverse. I am pretty excited to start the book, and see how close the movie followed the source material. I'll probably start it on our trip in a few weeks.

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And on an unrelated note, I receantly watched Close Encounters of the Third Kind again. It has been 10 years since I have seen it last, and I have to say it is an equally amazing film now as it was the first time I saw it. Just awesome!

I Don't Think He Knows About Second Breakfast, Pip.

Ever wonder what Gandalf the Grey does when he's not fighting Balrogs and leading Halflings on crazy adventures half across Middle-earth? Well, I guess we have our answer.

Awfully Polite For A Monster.

So May 5th is fast approaching, it's under a month away! My wife and I are leaving for the Dominican Republic late that night. I think our flight actually leaves like 12:30 am or something like that. We are traveling there with Compassion Canada, and will be there for 7 days. In the time that we're there we'll be checking out a few of the projects that Compassion has down there, talking and visiting with the people. Seeing some sights. And best of all, hanging out with the kids! Can't wait. It is going to be an amazing time! Our plane tickets arrived this week, so all the things are slowly falling into place. My wife is practically packed and ready to go. I have barely started, lol. But I am a guy, and it doesn't take me weeks to pack my suit case. lol.


Another big thing that is happening in May is The Avengers which is out on the 4th! I am so excited about this movie, my wife is probably sick of hearing me talk about it and show her clips from it. But my 5 year old and I are dragging her along anyways! I am so excited I'll probably forget to buy my popcorn and Peanut M&M's before the movie starts. Check out this awesome new TV spot, with Captain America giving Hulk some orders. I am curious to see how all these great characters will share screen time together. I kinda have a feeling that the Hulk might steal the show in more than a few scene.

I Have A Bad Feeling About This!

(Haha! I just realized that I have two blog posts with the same title)

So I am a pretty big Star Wars fan! And I am a pretty big fan of my X Box. So when I found out that they were coming out with a Star Wars Kinect game, I was naturally excited! I couldn't wait to use the force and swing a Lightsaber. Destroy droids and toss Stormtroopers. Flying star ships through space. The idea of a Kinect Star Wars game, seems like a no brainer. And then... they started showing footage of the game. They showed Jedi using the force and slashing Lightsabers. Podracing, star ships. There is also a part of the game that has you taking control of a Rancor that proceeds to rampage through a Tatooine city. Destroying buildings and stomping enemies. And that actually looks like quiet a bit of fun, I might add. But then they revealed a dancing sequence in the game...

So... after seeing Han Solo dancing like a goof in the carbon freezing chamber, it really kinda takes away from the great scene in the Empire Strikes Back! Who thought this was a good idea? It really is beyond cheese. And almost beyond words. lol. Star Wars has been making merchandise for 35 years! But this seems like scraping the barrel. And very much like watered down Star Wars. I had high hopes for Kinect Star Wars, but my excitement has slowly sputtered to a stop after seeing Han Solo dancing to some lame song.

Mother! I've Turned The Cooling Unit Back On. Mother!

(Wow! I haven't been here for a while!)

Science fiction has always been one of my favorite genres in movies. Although, I can’t pinpoint the first time that I fell in love with it. I would probably bet money that it was in fact Star Wars that brought me into the world (or worlds?) I just have a love for stories that are larger than life, that span galaxies and bring into ‘reality’ things that could never really exist.  Like when the Rebel Alliance set out with their S-Foils in attack position to attack the Death Star.  Or when Dr. Alan Grant holds a living baby Raptor in his hands for the first time. Or when Lindsey, Bud and the rest of the crew first in counter the aquatic, shape-shifting alien being. Or when T-800 first appears in a lighting storm sphere from the future. I love that stuff. And the list could go on and on!

And one of my all time favorite movie would have be Alien, I still remember vividly the first time I saw it. I waited up until 1 in the morning to watch it on TV with my brothers. And it really blew me away. It might have had something to do with me being so dead tired at the time! And yet I couldn't stop watching. It was a perfect blend of a sci-fi/monster/suspense/horror movie. The movie's tone and creepy atmosphere made you continually feel uneasy at all times. Not knowing what was coming next or if what was hunting you would show up behind you. Ah yes, and the face-huggers! Those crazy bugs! Ridley Scott truly made a sci-fi masterpiece!  One that has become an iconic film and really set the bar for all who would follow.

This June will bring the return of Ridley Scott to the genre I love so much with the movie, Prometheus. And it looks nothing less that amazing! Not very much is know about the plot of the movie. At first it started out as a prequel to Alien, but eventually changed into it's own film. Scott has said that it does take place in the same 'Alien universe" and has some connections to the film, but will follow it's own path. And he has also confirmed that there won't be any Xenomorphs in the film. Nevertheless from what the trailers show, the film looks amazing and that we're in for quite a crazy ride!