Check out my other reviews on the first two books in the series.
Wizard's First Rule
Stone of Tears
4/10
News, Reviews, and Recommendations Straight From My Beard
Finally, the first case of a disease caused by playing video games has been uncovered here.
I was very excited to see Zeta Gundam after watching the first Mobile Suit Gundam series. I was interested to see what they do since the timeline was advancing a few years. It seems like they wanted to recreate what happened before by having a new kid pilot a gundam. I guess the same formula works but I wouldn't want to see this for every series. I didn't really like Kamina, the new main character, because he is such a pussy and not a very good leader. Kamina is pretty retarded but they really screwed up my favorite character from the first series, Char. They now have him as a good guy but with a different name. He wears sunglasses the whole time so you arent sure if it's really Char until later in the series.
Now the worst part of the show is the storyline. Its incredibly confusing and so many different things are happening that you aren't sure who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. I'm actually surprised I was able to make it through all the episodes. They are all so boring and you really don't care about any of the characters because they are way too many.
The only reason why this show might be worth watching is for a drinking game. Kamina gets slapped by every character in the show multiple times. Some episodes have him getting slapped more than 5 times in one 20-minute episode. Im sure you would be able to come up with some more rules to make a pretty darn good drinking game. I would not recommend watching this show if you like to watch good anime. I recommend watch something like Evangelion if you want a good Mecha series.
2/10
Dustin Nguyen is a great comic book artist who has done some amazing covers for Batman. He has also done a lot of penciling which is just as good as his covers. What I like best about Dustin is that he does a lot of art including a variety of characters. For example, my favorite cover to the right is about the Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland. The one below is a collage of redheads in comics. As of right now, Dustin is doing the covers and pencils for the new Streets of Gotham series. Paul Dini is the writer so go check it out for two of the best comic book professionals in the business.
You can find out more about Dustin Nguyen on his:
Blog
&
Deviant Art
For more artists check out the other Spotlight posts:
David Mack
Adam Hughes
This is the last issue of the great Wizard of Oz miniseries. The gang travels to the Witch, Glinda, so she can send Dorothy back home. They make quick stops through China country and the the Hammerheads on their way to Glinda's castle. The writer packs a lot into this issue and I wish we could have seen more of the China people. This issue was a great end to an incredible series. The best part is that the writer and artist are continuing with another miniseries called The Marvelous Land of OZ.
4. Emilie De Ravin (Claire)
Forget what you've heard, this is the Punisher movie you've been waiting for. Nevermind that Thomas Jane bullshit you saw a few years back. Get ready for some nonstop action and carnage. Punisher is a simple man, his family was killed by the mob and he wants revenge. Ray Stevenson plays Frank Castle but he really is Frank Castle. They somehow pulled the image I had of Punisher from my mind and put it on the big screen. Let me warn you that the movie doesn't take itself too seriously so get ready to have some laughs. My only problem with the movie was the villain, Jigsaw. Even though his make up looked great, his accent was terrible. Other than that the movie was a lot of fun so gather around your friends and get ready for a wild ride.
7/10
The WWII Tarantino flick has finally arrived and I can tell you that killin Nazis has never been better. I have been eagerly awaiting for Tarantino to do his war movie and I was not disappointed. The plot of the movie is simple, a group of Jewish soldiers go behind enemy lines to kill as many Nazis as possible. I went in to the theater expecting an epic action movie but instead I got a war movie full of suspense and I couldn't be more happier. Tarantino crafted scenes putting you on the edge of you seat, wondering how the character is going to get out of a situation.
Brad Pitt starts as Aldo Raine, the leader of the Basterds. Everything that Pitt says is hilarious and is definitely one of my favorite characters that Brad Pitt has ever played. For my top 5 Brad Pitt characters go here.
Brad Pitt actually gets the spotlight taken from him by Col. Hans Landa, played by Christoph Waltz. I couldn't believe how fun it was to watch this guy on screen. He definitely deserves an Oscar for his portrayal and I hope we get to see more of this German actor in the US. If you love Tarantino's trademark dialogue and a lot of bloody violence then catch this movie in the theaters before it goes away.
Since Inglourious Basterds was released (review is coming), I thought it would be fun to rank the best of Brad Pitt's characters.:
5. John Smith (Mr. and Mrs. Smith)
Lets start with the facts:
1. Hellboy is incredible.
2. Anything related to Hellboy is also incredible
This issue of B.P.R.D kicks of the new story arc, 1947. The year is 1947, and the Professor (Hellboy's father) puts together a team to go investigate a composer in France. Two hundred years ago, the composer based an opera off of a party that he attended. The audience was offended by the opera so much that they burned the place down. The composer's works were all destroyed and he was put in an insane asylum.
What makes this issue great is that it doesn't reveal the mystery of what happened at the party two hundred years ago. The art is fantastic and Mignola is at the top of his game. Two things I loved in the comic was the cameo of Hellboy and the flashback of World War II. Go out and read this series because it's amazing.
10/10
The Insider (1999) is directed by Michael Mann and stars Al Pacino and Russell Crowe. This is a big departure for Mann since most of his movies are full of guns and bank heists. This is also a different sort of role for Pacino, who plays a producer for 60 Minutes.
The premise is that Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe), a tobacco company scientist is fired from his job. Al Pacino's character convinces Wigand to give up company secrets even though Wigand signed a confidentiality agreement. What ensues is a downward spiral for Wigand.
The movie isn't really about the tobacco companies but more about the relationship between a reporter and its source. What makes this movie work is the inner conflict that Wigand has. He believes that he should tell the world what he knows but at the same time he doesn't want to put his family in jeopardy.
I liked this movie a lot actually. Let me warn you first that its a very long one at 157 minutes. If you can't sit through movies this long you can always just split it
into two sittings. If you are a fan of Michael Mann then I highly recommend it for the superb acting.
8/10
If you haven't read the first book then don't go any further because there are spoilers ahead. Read my review for the first book, Wizards First Rule
The Stone of Tears starts off right where Wizard's First Rule ended. Richard and Kahlan return to the Mud People to get married but Richard begins to have very intense headaches. Then three Sisters of Light show up to tell him that he is having these headaches because he is a wizard. They tell him that the headaches will kill him if he doesn't go with them to the Old World. The sisters say they will train him to use his powers which will cure the headaches. They must put a collar around his neck so they can control him which Richard has experienced before with the Mord Sith. Richard must now decide whether to believe the Sisters and become a slave again or stay with Kahlan and hope the headaches don't kill him.
I thought this book was phenomenal and just about as good as the first one. The author details the world a lot more and digs deeper into the magic. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, reading and wondering how Richard was going to get out of every situation. My only problem is that I wish Goodkind didn't use Darken Rahl as the villain again. I feel like recycling the same villains doesn't make them much of a threat anymore. Luckily he is barely in the book because most of it deals with the Sisters of the Light.
If you liked the first book then I definitely recommend reading this. The good thing about the Sword of Truth series is that each book is a complete story so if you don't want to continue then you don't have to worry about any cliffhangers. In this case, after you read the first book you need to read the second one because it's just as good.
9/10