February Movies

Back to the Future 1, 2, and 3: We watched the trilogy on a rainy day down in Louisiana.  I've seen them before but it's been a  long time. The first is definitely the best and i find a lot of charm in part 3 back in the old West.  2 is ok but not as good as the others in comparison.  Part 1: 6, Part 2: 4, Part 3: 5

Warm Bodies: 5, Zombie love story.  I feel bad that I didn't pick up the Romeo and Juliet bit until late in the film, as I had watched

Gnomeo and Juliet: earlier in the day!  this one's a 5 as well but quite clever for a kid's movie.

The Shakespeare Uncovered series: a 7.  just loved them all, though i kinda wish they could have had more women presenting.  David Tennant presented Hamlet, Jeremy Irons did the Henries, and Ethan Hawke did Macbeth.  all are well worth the watch.

Chronicle:  5.  I learned that teenagers are annoying and you shouldn't abuse your children as they may grow up to get superpowers and thereby become villains.  B says there are other reasons you shouldn't abuse kids.  ;)

 Total Recall: the new one with Colin Farrell.  meh.  a 4.  I might have given it a 5 if there wasn't so much damn unnecessary lens flare.  

Brian K Vaughan can do no wrong!

I finished Saga: Volume 1 yesterday, which Vaughan wrote and Fiona Staples illustrated.  It's great! Awesome Sci-fi that's very grown up.  The premise:  Romeo and Juliet in space, except they've lived long enough to give birth to a kid.  Romeo is Marko, a guy with horns who uses magic and a sword and is from a moon called Wreath.  Juliet is Alana, a woman with wings who uses tech and blasters and is from a planet called Landfall.  The planet and the moon have been at war since forever and, to keep from destroying either, they've outsourced the war to other planets, including Cleave, where our couple meets.  They've escaped, gotten married, gotten pregnant, and have our narrator on page 3.  They spend the rest of the book running from both sides and various freelancers who've been contracted to kill them...but take the child.

 I love the art!  Staples is great and I can't see that i've read anything by her before.  Vaughan is top notch;  yes, i would admit that there isn't much that's full on "new" here but the mix and match is interesting and compelling.  I want to keep reading this series.  when does volume 2 come out?  a 7

Mardi Gras fun

So far we went to a parade

and visited the relatives!

Upcoming and Current Fun

School has been getting me down. There is just SO much to do this semester.  I've got 2 assignments due next week but I'll be taking my vacation anyway!  We are going down to Louisiana to visit my family.  B hasn't ever been to Mardi Gras and, though we'll be avoiding New Orleans' craziness, we'll hit a parade or two in Lafayette, see my brother's band play, eat King Cake and Meche's donuts and crawfish and beignets and, well, just overconsume life over the next week.  I can't wait!

I've also been playing Ingress.  Join the Resistance!  B has been playing since it came out and just made level 8!  I didn't get my invite until a few weeks ago and, thanks to some power leveling, I'm about a third of the way through level 4.  It's fun.  We're going to try to hit some portals in Louisiana, particularly Baton Rouge, on the trip.  

So anyone have some sci-fi/fantasy audio book suggestions for us?  We've listened to Ready Player One and the library can't get me Redshirts on audio.  I was thinking about getting The Hobbit or Fellowship of the Ring as rereads but hadn't decided.  Anyone listen to anything really good recently?

Matilda

I'd never read Matilda by Roald Dahl, nor seen the movie.  The book came out in 1988, so I was 12 and a little older than the target audience.  Still, I know I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory around that time and loved it; i'm not sure why i didn't tear my way through all the Dahl that was out at that point.  

Matilda is about a little girl, Matilda, who's a proper genius.  She teaches herself to read then reads her way through the library.  By the time she starts school, she's reading (and enjoying) Dickens and is superb at math.  Unfortunately she's saddled with terrible parents (her father sells used cars at inflated prices by nefarious means) who pretty much hate her and think she's an idiot and hate books, “A BOOK?! WHAT D'YOU WANNA FLAMING BOOK FOR?...WE'VE GOT A LOVELY TELLY WITH A 12-INCH SCREEN AND NOW YA WANNA BOOK!” says her dad.  Her teacher, Miss Honey, is as sweet as her name though and Matilda takes it upon herself to fight the Headmistress, the Trunchbull, on Miss Honey's behalf.

I actually listened to this on audiobook, read by Rob Inglis, and afterword realized it was a little strange to have a book about a little girl, with mainly female characters (Matilda's father and brother are basically the only males) read by a man.  I wonder if the narrator was considered male because Dahl was male?  

I did love this little book and it's on my list to send on to the nieces! a 6 from me.