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I haven’t really written much in weeks, probably a couple thousand words at the most for a new story that hasn’t really gone anywhere other than a few intro pages. It’s not that I don’t have inspiration, I do. I have a ton of cool story ideas from post-apocalyptic to magical fantasy to horror. The problem is that I find myself in a strange place after having written my last book, which was based on a completely different and unique idea. Now I am worrying whether it was too different.

Too different from what, you ask? Well, the market, or what agents and editors say is hot in the market (especially for debut authors). So here is the dilemma – agents and editors claim to want fresh but it’s fresh with a caveat. They want fresh but not so fresh that it’s not completely identical to everything else selling in the market. Does that sound like a contradiction of terms to you? That’s because it is. How do you find an idea that’s like everything else but still fresh?

I am starting to think that this doesn’t really exist unless I copy what one other young adult author revealed was her secret strategy – to take any (non-original) story and switch up the gender of the characters, giving publishers what they want but being “different” enough. But that doesn’t make it fresh to me, underneath it’s just the same old thing. Wouldn’t readers see right through that? Interestingly, it has worked for her – she’s a best selling author of two young adult books. So is that what agents and editors want, a mash-up of already done, already “proven” ideas? Sounds like it but I don’t think that that’s what readers want, at least I’d like to hope so. I’m a voracious reader myself and when I come upon a new book with an interesting unique different idea, I’m intrigued. Simply put, the world is a diverse place, we need diverse material. Pick any book from the Hugo Awards list and you’ll see some of the diversity I’m talking about.

Anyway, that’s only a snippet of my creative dilemma as I’m sure there are other implications tied in to this like the economic climate (editors not willing to risk their jobs for unknown authors or publishers looking for tried and true), the changing landscape of the publishing industry and the digital ebook revolution, or simple economics of the cost to produce versus sales return. More than likely it’s going to be the Indies (Independent Publishers) that are going to be the ones to find the new stuff or take a chance on niche markets/ideas, but still, that’s but a sliver of the whole. It’s an undeniably daunting prospect for any unconnected unknown writer. The odds are simply not in their favor.

That said, I’m debating whether to do a test project and write the book that fits the mold. Is that selling out? Not entirely sure…but if it means selling something, I don’t have anything to lose. What’s the alternative? To do it yourself and own the onus? That’s certainly an option but that’s a very complicated discussion meant for another time.

So Sookie is a fairy. One dumb-ass fairy. Seriously who goes running to Fangtasia when you know that werewolves are after you and that the vampire you’re running to knows exactly what you are and wants to use you for his own nefarious ends? Yep, you guessed it. A blond clueless fairy named Sookie Stackhouse who gets kissed and dismissed in the dungeon of hell. Like I said, dumb as a bucket of rocks.

I thought this episode of True Blood was a little disappointing in parts and not so disappointing in others. The whole V roller-coaster trip with Lafayette and Jesus was almost too weird, and I’m not sure I’m liking the direction that’s going too much. Sorcerers, black magic, witch doctors? Not really feeling it. Next, between True Blood‘s cool-looking vampires and the awesome effects using real wolves for the were form of the werewolves, Crystal’s black panther form was some B-grade horror movie fakeness. Did not like that at all. I also think it would have been way cooler if they had revealed this earlier in the show before we got totally fed-up with her and her strange deer-chewing, meth-dealing kin. Too little, too late at this point.

On the flip side, I did like the explanation of Sam’s back-story, and it was good to understand why he didn’t give in to his anger before his brother came along. He used to be a bad boy himself. Love that Tommy’s rage sent Jessica right back into Hoyt’s arms (not to mention Hoyt getting a drink of Jess’ blood to heal him). She and Hoyt belong together. Speaking of Jessica, I was cheering inside when she gave Arlene a piece of her mind, and her fangs, when Arlene was mouthing off about vampires. Nothing like a firecracker red-headed vamp to shut someone up. Awesome!

Thought the scene with Russell and his street-boy-toy, and the whole reenactment of Talbot’s staking was more than a little creepy. I know Russell’s gone off the deep end, but seriously, the man has issues. By the way, anyone notice that the boy-toy faux-Talbot was Michael Steger (Navid) from 90210? Ok, now that’s just become even more creepy. Ewww, 90210 is now ruined forever.

Still, apart from all that, exciting times! Just two more episodes left! The main plot-line of course is going to come to a head with Eric (armed with Sookie’s blood I’m guessing) versus Russell. It would be neat if the Authority got involved at some point in the final episodes, at least to show that they have some say/response in matters of vampire security.  Not sure what the True Blood team is going to do to resolve the various weak sub-plots which I reiterated in my last post, but I’m in it for the bigger stuff anyway. And hopefully, Alcide will make a reappearance and make it all worth it.

True Blood airs on HBO at 9pm on Sundays.

First thing is that I have to apologize for going a whole week without writing about last week’s True Blood episode. I only watched it off my DVR yesterday as I’ve been away fighting monsters of my own (3 foot long eels). Blech! You’d think I could handle the nasty little buggers being addicted to all the blood and gore that is True Blood, but no. Still, that’s a story for another time.

Anyway. So two things stuck with me after this episode.

1) Franklin’s wasn’t dead! But now he’s dead for real courtesy of Mr. Stackhouse.

Franklin (with disdainful English diction): You do realize that I’m a vampire. You could empty every round in me and I’ll heal.

Jason: Not if I got wooden bullets.

2) Russell is one crazy psychotic vampire (not to mention creepy, carrying around his little crystal chalice of Talbot entrails…ewww).

Russell: We are immortal because we drink the true blood, blood that is living, organic, and human. Make no mistake, mine is the true face of vampires! Why would we seek equal rights? You are not our equals. We will eat you. After we eat your children. Now time for the weather. Tiffany?

Classic!

Overall the episode wasn’t bad, it just seemed like it was a lot of catch-up/build-up for future episodes to move the main plot along with Sookie/Russell/Bill/Eric, and attempting to wrap-up the smaller sub-plots with Jason and Crystal, Sam and his family, Lafayette and Jesus, Tara and her post-Franklin rage, Jessica and Hoyt, etc.

Speaking of sub-plots, still don’t know what the deal with Sam’s brother is or even why Sam finally loses it because he gets his buttons pushed about everyone walking all over him. So predictable! The relationship between Crystal and Jason is still annoying me, it just doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Of course Crystal is not going to leave her “kin,” they’re her hillbilly pack. Come on already! I really think Sam’s and Jason’s characters have been undermined this season with this story direction. It’s boring and lame.

Still happy about Lafayette and Jesus but I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop on poor Lafayette. Either Jesus is going to turn out to be some non-human or one of the other True Blood uglies is going to take him out.

Love the little scene between Jessica and Hoyt, especially when he tells her how much he hates Summer. That was awesome because I can’t stand Summer. I just want to crush her with my bare hands! Plus, I love Jess.

Hoyt: I [bleep] hate her. She will not stop talking!

I wasn’t sure about the addition of Holly but now I am excited to see what she brings to the table this late in the season, especially after all the tweets that she is a witch. The main question I have in my head is whether she knew what happened to Tara and said that she was a rape survivor in the meeting so that she could get close to her, just like she knew about Arlene’s baby. Speaking of the baby, when she was sitting with Arlene and Arlene was saying that her baby was evil, there was a moment there. Something baaaaad is going to happen! *shiver*

Now for the good stuff. Really loved the scene between Nan and Eric when he was being interrogated. It was good to see that there is actually an Authority or some authority anyway (a bunch of faceless guys in a room over a webcam does not an Authority make, but we shall see). Also, anyone else notice that after claiming that she only drinks TruBlood to Eric, Nan is just like any other vampire with her little human suck-toys? She certainly seems to have a lot of power for a vampire who’s supposedly just the face of the American Vampire League.

Nan: Listen, you whiny little bitch…you brought us this steaming pile of shit, and you’re going to make it go away. Now bring me his fangs or I will have yours.

Lastly, what in tarnation is Sookie? We have Bill miraculously going to her secret dream place where he meets up with Claudine, and obviously she tells him what Sookie is, but we still don’t know! Dammit. Like the twist that Hadley’s kid (Sookie’s nephew) is also the same as Sookie, but now I really need to know why the vampires all have such a huge interest in her.

I am guessing that all this is going to come together in the last couple episodes somehow as Sookie undoubtedly will have to be the one to kill Russell (possibly working together with Eric and Bill) if only because he is 3000 years old and stronger than any other vampire.

Can’t wait for the next episode! True Blood airs on Sundays on HBO at 9pm EST.

I do have to add a mini-postscript that Russell, despite being a complete lunatic, does make some good points about current society. Could True Blood be delivering a public message about excess and morality? Hmmm.

“Now the American Vampire League wishes to perpetrate the notion that we are just like you. And, I suppose in a few small ways we are. We’re narcissists. We care only about getting what we want, no matter what the cost, just like you. Global warming. Perpetual war. Toxic waste. Child labor. Torture. Genocide. That’s a small price to pay for your SUVs and your flat screen TVs, your blood diamonds, your designer jeans, your absurd garish McMansions! Futile symbols of permanence to quell your quivering spineless souls.”

That’s it! *shakes fist to sky* No more designer jeans for me!

I love sleeper spy agent movies! Salt was non-stop action even though its run-time was only an hour and thirty-nine minutes, which in my opinion definitely goes to show that longer isn’t necessarily better as is the case with many inflated Hollywood movies these days. The spy-thriller plot is complex enough to keep you guessing, and Angelina Jolie turns out a great performance in this film, mixing in a little Lara Croft with some Mrs. Smith action from her acting repertoire. Although it’s only rated at 58% on the Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer, I still enjoyed it from start to finish.

Evelyn Salt is a CIA operative, sworn to defend her country. When a KGB defector shows up at CIA headquarters and says that Salt is a trained Russian sleeper agent (insinuated into American society as a child as part of an elite operation), who is going to kill the Russian President, Salt is immediately on the defensive. She wants to make sure her husband is safe so she breaks out of lock-down causing a massive full-on agent chase with some nice trailer-truck leap-frogging stunts. In a complete reversal of what I expected (that she was a good guy), she makes her way to NY, assassinates the Russian President, and then turns herself in. Escaping police custody, she meets up with the Russian defector on a barge where he kills her husband in cold blood. Masking her devastation, Salt learns that it is all part of a greater plot to kill the US President and start a multi-nation war to bring down the United States. She eliminates everyone on the barge, and heads to the White House to stop a series of carefully pre-planned events involving a lot of sleeper Russian agents like herself. In a heart-stopping sequence from where one of the Russian spies makes a move on the US President, Salt makes it to the safe-bunker where she learns that her CIA partner is also part of the Russian mission, and is about to set off a nuclear missile. She breaks in and stops him but not before the SWAT team takes her down, believing her to be the bad guy. In the end, she manages to escape with the reluctant help of the main agent in pursuit who believes her account of what really happened.

There aren’t a lot of special effects or CGI, just awesome plain vanilla action that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I found Angelina Jolie’s performance as a spy to be exactly what it needed to be – great fight scenes, decent acting with not a ton of needless dialogue, and a great poker face. She is a spy after all! The convoluted conspiracy theory plot had me guessing as to where Salt’s loyalty lay, but in the end, she did prove to be one of the good guys and saves the world from nuclear disaster. I loved the twist where she shoots the Russian President with a paralysis toxin from a spider, because she knows that if she doesn’t do it, someone else will do it for real. I thought the fleshing out of the real plot (complete world anarchy) was believable, and Salt ends up being the rogue Russian-turned-American spy who brings the whole conspiracy down.

Overall, Salt was good, mindless but engaging fun. As an action film, in my opinion it held its own against the Bourne movies or even the James Bond franchise. Just because Salt’s a chick doesn’t mean that she can’t lay a good beat-down on the bad guys. Cool, action summer flick, plus the boys will like the part where she, um, takes off her undies to block a surveillance camera. Part Bond, part Basic Instinct, what’s not to like? I would rate Salt 3 and a half out of 5 stars.

Super intense True Blood episode with some mad angst, mad fighting, and mad sex (all kinds, pick your poison – vamp/vamp, boy/boy, boy/girl, vamp/girl). Lots of boy-boy action again in this episode between Jesus and Lafayette, and also between Eric and Talbot. Booyah. Not to mention Eric’s man-tease after Talbot tells him imperiously “I’m bored. Take your clothes off.” Classic. I did think that their kiss was very awkward, not like Lafayette and Jesus, but then again they are two primal vampire males versus the two human nice boys, right?

Eric’s game to somehow exact vengeance on Russell is starting to get ramped up, especially when he pledges his allegiance that he has been searching for him for one thousand years, for “a true leader, one strong enough to unite us all.” He definitely knows how to play Russell, and seems to have him in the palm of his hand. Still, I don’t know if I like him in this submissive role (I want the Eric from last season), but I am sure it’s all a means to an end. “I will show you just how deep my loyalty runs…” To us, the viewers, his underlying threat to Russell is unmistakable. I cannot wait for when he takes Russell down.

No surprise that Tara is having crazy sex dreams about Franklin, after all she drank his blood. She is also definitely torn about Sookie’s feelings for Bill which she admits to still having, but I think a lot of that is a combination of how Bill treated her when she first arrived at Russell’s place and of course her terror of Franklin. She’s seen what a truly horrific vampire is capable of, no wonder she’s ticked off. Speaking of, I guess I was wrong that Franklin is dead since Talbot mentioned that he had to scrub his brains out of the linen. Unless…vampire brains can regenerate? Hmmm.

Glad that Jesus is back in the picture with Lafayette. Love how he gets Jean to hand over the knife…little bit of sweet mixed in with a whole lot of crazy in this episode, which was a nice change. The twist with Lafayette having a lot of power is also cool although I’m not sure how that will play out with all the other vamps, weres, shifters, light-bearers, and other paranorms in the True Blood world.

Crystal and Jason also have some sex of their own too, but we still have yet to see what she and her family are. I am guessing from the man eating the raw deer and the weird little hiss that maybe they’re some kind of were-coyotes or other wild-cat creatures. Love when Jason goes all Rambo and threatens Crystal’s father to stay away from her, “me and the whole sheriff’s department are going to come after you, and your hillbilly freak show! You feel me?” Go Jason! He always jumps then thinks, but it’s what makes him Jason. I really hope they make him a cop and validate him just a little bit.

Things are also heating up with Sookie – I really need to know what she is, and what her cousin Hadley revealed to Sophie-Anne and Eric. It has to be big otherwise why would Eric risk sending Hadley to warn Sookie? Speaking of Eric, anyone else notice that he always seems to be bleeding from the ears and/or nose? What is that about? Anyway, I knew that he was going to take Talbot out, and of course, sex is when they’re the most vulnerable considering that Talbot is older (and stronger) than Eric. Poor Talbot, he really does get the, um, short end of the stick. I mean stake.

“Oh poor Talbot, are your diamond slippers chafing.”

So Eric soothes the ruffled feathers of Talbot while Russell goes to track Sookie. When Talbot realizes that Eric is going to kill him, the look on his face was a classic B-movie horror still.  I think I actually felt sorry for Talbot, he had some good one-liners especially when he told Russell he was going to babysit his wife and then calls her a putana in the same breath. Oh Talbot, we shall miss you and your wifely antics!

The Sookie/Debbie showdown was cool, glad to see there was no cliched hair pulling, just some good old fashion punching, head-smashing, and face-slashing. Nice! I actually liked the fact that she didn’t turn into a wolf. Must have been a power thing to take Sookie down while in human form.

Love how Bill provokes Russell to save Jessica, “are you a coward, or are you just lazy?” It made him seem so badass even though he knows that he was going to get his butt kicked because Russell is 3000 years old. Of course, Bill ends up being saved inadvertently by Eric as Russell feels it acutely when Talbot is killed so he disappears.

I was also really hoping for some Hoyt heroics, like maybe he would save Jessica from the werewolf. It was almost too predictable to see her killing the werewolf – it’s not like she’s weak, she’s always been strong so I expected it. I just didn’t get what was the sense of having Hoyt drive by at that moment if he didn’t have anything to do with the moment.

And now for the grand finale of this episode (no pun intended). The sex scene at the end between Bill and Sookie might have just eclipsed the sex-scene between them after he climbed out of the dirt grave in a previous episode. That was some of the most angry, emotional, intense make-up sex ever seen on True Blood! But you know it was coming…those two can’t stay apart for long, even with Alcide getting his flirt on. Umm….Alcide…

Looking forward to what happens when Russell gets back to his dead love, and how Eric handles the situation! Only 3 more episodes left! True Blood airs on HBO on Sundays at 9pmEST.

I haven’t enjoyed a comedy/action film recently as much as I enjoyed Kick-Ass. Rated at 75% on the Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer, it definitely lived up to expectations. And as much as I love random, no-thinking-required comedies, this one actually had a few good messages, and when you add in a Sin-City-ish ton of blood and a badass eleven-year-old,  you’ve got  a little something something.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s probably going to rub you the wrong way from the start. I mean it’s totally warped. You’ve got a father shooting his kid in the chest so that she can get used to the feeling of being shot (although later on we learn that he used “low-velocity” bullets…awww). Said kid swears like a sailor and kills bad-guys like a tiny ninja without blinking an eye. She reminded me of the school girl in Kill Bill. So it’s probably going to scrape against what’s been ingrained into you as socially acceptable because it really isn’t on many levels – little girls shouldn’t be foul-mouthed killing machines for one. That aside, it was a pretty good flick, but you have to put yourself in the mindset of Kill Bill. It’s going to be gory and off-putting but it’s going to be cool in its own sick twisted way.

So what’s Kick-Ass about? Dave is an ordinary high-school boy, more of a nerd than anything, and he asks the question of why don’t more people try to help others. Why aren’t there more real-life superheroes? After being mugged and bullied, he buys a costume online and tries to defend people, calling himself Kick-Ass. The first time he gets completely  creamed (and stabbed) ending up in the hospital with all kinds of metal in his body and messed-up nerve endings. The second time he gets You-Tubed sticking up for a guy being beaten up by thugs, and suddenly Kick-Ass is an online superstar.

In his adventures, he meets two other “superheroes,” Big Daddy and Hit Girl who have their own agenda – to take down the big-boss kingpin drug dealer who framed Big Daddy and killed his wife. Hit Girl is eleven and is Big Daddy’s own mini-me killing machine (she asks for switch blades on her birthday…awesome!) Meanwhile the drug boss thinks that Kick-Ass is responsible for killing his men even though it’s really Big Daddy, so the drug boss’ son decides to dress up as a superhero (Red Mist) to lure in Kick-Ass and the other two. In the end Big Daddy and Kick-Ass are captured but are rescued by Hit Girl. Big Daddy dies a fiery death. Together, Hit Girl and Kick-Ass finish what Big Daddy started, taking down the drug boss in an adrenaline-filled, bullet-blasting, bloody extravaganza.

The messages I got from Kick-Ass are as follows:-

1) Don’t turn a blind eye to bullies

2) Stick up for people

3) Buy a wetsuit and some nunchucks

4) Learn kung-fu and keep your lunch money

5) Don’t let your kids watch this movie or get switch blades for their birthday

I would rate Kick-Ass three and half stars out of five. In Tarantino-esque fashion, it’s ingenious, irreverent, violent and vulgar, but like me, you’ll watch it and probably enjoy it.

Normally when I get accosted in book stores by women older than me raving about a young adult book they’ve recently read (and I mean raving, she couldn’t stop), I usually nod and carefully inch my way backwards scanning for nearby exits. That was the case with The Hunger Games. Needless to say, I didn’t immediately buy the book at Barnes and Noble, and got the heck out of dodge. A few days later, scrounging around for something different to read, I came upon The Hunger Games, so I purchased it. Boy, am I glad I did. I finished that book in 3 hours flat. It was different for sure. It was exciting. It was heart-pounding. It was sweet. And it was good.

Suzanne Collins is a solid writer. The language flowed well, especially after the first tenth of the book which didn’t really grab me initially, and at times I really got pulled in by the descriptions of the territory so much so that I had to go back and re-read little things I missed on the previous page. I’m also a chronic speed-reader, so I’m sure that didn’t help when I got engrossed.

The Hunger Games is set in a post-apocalyptic future where there are no longer U.S. states but twelve districts surrounding a Capitol in a country called Panem. The Capitol is full of excess and gluttony and wealth, while each of the twelve districts has to fight for basic necessities like grain and water and oil. District 12 is the last district, and is the poorest. Each year, as a punishment for a prior rebellion of the districts against the Capitol, two young people (one boy and one girl aged 12-18) are chosen from each district to fight to the death while it is all broadcast on live TV. If you’re like me and are thinking of The Condemned, a 2007 film, where a bunch of death-row convicts are placed on an island and have to fight to the death streaming live over the internet, with the winner getting a free pass out of jail, I will tell you that it was quite similar in concept. Even down to the sponsors of the event sending floating parachutes with weapons or food to the combatants to give them an edge.

The big difference of course is that these are teenagers fighting to survive. But conceptually, it is pretty much identical. The main protagonist is a girl called Katniss who is headstrong, clever, protective of her family, hostile yet compassionate, and multi-dimensional. She is fierce, and she had me at hello. When her little sister’s name is drawn in the selection for District 12, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She along with another boy who has loved her since they were children, Peeta, head to the games at the Capitol. As part of their strategy, they are coached to go into the games as a pair (and not traditionally as solitary fighters because there can only be one winner). Not unexpectedly, this connection is what saves them both in the end.

The first thing I noticed once they got to the Capitol was the huge dichotomy between life in the Capitol and life in District 12. One favors a life of indulgence and excess, the other one of hardship and suffering. I thought Suzanne Collins did a great job of communicating this and it was one of the many things that gave added depth to the book. This was a world that I could really sink my mind into.

Once the actual games commence, following an Olympic-style introduction ceremony, it’s all about survival and not getting killed. I found myself becoming so tied into Katniss and what she was feeling each second of the day during the ordeal that I could not put this book down. When she was hurt, I felt hurt. When she was sad, I felt sad. Kudos to the author for being able to weave this kind of reader response with such finesse. In the end, after finding and losing allies, almost dying, avoiding some pretty tight situations, and yep, falling for her District 12 partner, Katniss and Peeta make it to the end, and in an unprecedented turn, are declared twin winners. The plot is pretty intricate so I know that I am leaving out a lot of other little plot things here, but that wouldn’t be fun, would it? Giving away all the good stuff that makes this novel a keeper? You need to go read it yourself and get lost in this world. It is worth it.

One thing that I loved about this book was that it had a beginning (started a little slow, I have to admit), a middle, and an end. I really cannot stand books that end on cliffhangers expecting you to go buy a sequel to find out what happens. That’s not fair to readers at all. That’s like watching a movie that ends telling you to “tune in for the sequel.” Um, no thanks.

I would rate The Hunger Games 4 out of 5 stars. Great read with lots of cool twists, and solid characters that you can really connect with and feel something for. No one-dimensional Sallies here. The action is literally non-stop, and you will react emotionally to this story even though it’s sci-fi fiction. It’s gritty and raw and dramatic. I enjoyed it immensely, so yes, an indirect shout out does need to go out to the raving lunatic fan in Barnes and Noble. Thank you, crazy lady, you made my day by bringing my attention to this book.

Now I just need to pick up Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Yay!

Prepare to get completely mind-effed. I was, and am still recovering.

Rated at 84% on the tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes, Inception was an amazing film. Not only was it a fantastic visual experience, the plot is so intricate with so many layers, that you would need to see this movie more than once to even try to get it. Based on mazes as the basis for the architectural design of the dream world, Inception certainly seems to be just one giant maze that your mind constantly swings around – like the unending staircase loop. Paradox.

Similar to the Matrix in terms of its question of reality, Inception brings a new concept to the fore – entering one’s dreams to steal secrets or learn one’s thoughts. That is known as extraction. Inception on the other hand is the planting of an idea of external origin into the dreamer’s subconscious so that they come to accept and believe the idea as their own. Sounds simple right? In fact, it is far from simple as the delicacy required to not have the dreamer’s subconscious automatically reject a foreign thought is almost impossible.

In Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, an extraction artist. A fugitive from the US, he is engaged by a third party, Saito, who asks him to perform inception with the heir of a billionaire and plant an idea to break-up his father’s empire to avoid a global corporate monopoly. To even achieve the near-impossible inception, Cobb and his team need to go four-layers deep into the dream-state, dreams within dreams, which puts them dangerously close to being in limbo (a state where you cannot return to reality). In each of the layers, they face different dangers, not just the dreamer’s subconscious protectors, but also Cobb’s own demons (his dead wife that guilt has kept alive in his mind) that attempt to sabotage them. Ultimately, they succeed in planting the idea, and Saito wipes Cobb’s record allowing him to get back to his children. In true movie fashion (*groan*), in the last few minutes, you are left haunted with whether Cobb’s reunion is actually a dream or reality, and whether they even succeeded at all!!!!

All I can say at this point is that the collective groan of the entire movie audience summed it up. MIND-EFFED.

Great cinematography – as good as anything your mind can dream up – that keeps your heart pumping while your mind is racing uncontrollably trying to keep up. Let me put it this way. If you’re looking for escapism, look elsewhere. This film will make you think, make your brain work trying to connect the different pieces…it just might make you insane trying to work out all the variables or invariables as the case may be. It’s so open to interpretation that you will think one thing one minute and then something completely different the next. Is it possible? Is it improbable? Is it doable? Is it one big mind-game? Who knows.

Amazing film. I would rate Inception 4 out of 5 stars. But like I said…that could change on a dime. Definitely a “go see it.” And pay attention because if you miss one second, it could change everything.

Finally had a chance to read Uglies by Scott Westerfeld after my thirteen year old neighbor recommended it to me several months ago. It was a quick read, a few hours at the most. Overall I enjoyed it, especially the bits about the hoverboard since I am an avid surfer. That was definitely cool.

The story is based in a futuristic world where everyone becomes “pretty” when they turn sixteen. They undergo a type of surgical operation (like plastic surgery) and are made super-model beautiful. However, what they don’t know is that they are also changed in the way that they behave and think. They are changed outside and inside.

Tally Youngblood discovers this when she is forced by Special Circumstances (another kind of cruel pretty) to unearth a hidden band of rebels known as the Smokies who have run away and refused to turn pretty. Two of the leaders of the Smokies know a terrible secret – one that can unhinge everything that the pretty world is based on. The operation changes the way that you think and creates lesions on the brain like a cancer. So basically, being pretty is like being infected. It’s a very cool concept.

So cool story, and cool elements within the story like the hoverboards, bungee-jackets, and the Specials. Scott Westerfeld is also an awesome sci-fi writer so you know it’s going to be interesting and have a ton of excitement. That said, in Uglies, I did not really feel the main characters at all, and I was surprised that I didn’t connect with any of them – not Tally, not Peris, not David, not Shay. They felt very one-dimensional, like pawns in a play moving together just to set up the next sequence. They didn’t seem real to me and neither did their interaction with each other. Even the main protagonist felt wooden, and while the author does a brilliant job of moving through the story, I just didn’t get what drove her. She irritated me a lot too, and I wasn’t quite sure why. Her relationship with David was not at all believable – I didn’t not feel anything between them whatsoever. Nor did I feel that the jealousy between Tally and Shay, after David gives Tally his gloves, was real. It felt too staged, like, ok that was predictable. Best friend is jealous when BFF steals her crush….um, boring.

The final scene at the end was pretty cool – the daring escape and rescue but once again I felt a sense of confusion to learn that David’s father was dead. I think what bothered me the most was that I didn’t feel anything about his father being dead, and I really wanted to. Which goes back to what I said before about not caring about any of these characters. Which is a pity. Because the novel concept is so cool. Dammit.

Overall I would give Uglies 3 out of 5 stars. Great concept, solid writing and language, but bland characters with little heart. May be better suited to a younger audience, like 10+. I’m definitely intrigued enough to read Pretties, so check back for my review of that. Hoping for the best!

Talk about classic Fringe ending! Freaking awesome! Even though I haven’t been blogging about Fringe over the season, I had to do a post on the very cool season finale, which aired in two parts.

So basically if you’ve been following Fringe, you’d know that Walter brought his son Peter from an alternate dimension to save him from a terminal disease when his own Peter in his own dimension died. His grieving wife was so happy to have her boy back that Walter didn’t return Peter to his own dimension. He stole him. Outside of the typical Fringe events, eventually Peter finds out, and furious with Walter, he returns to his dimension with his real father, who we later learn has sinister plans for him. Peter is the biological trigger to a weapon that “Walternate” (as nicknamed by Walter) will use destroy the other universe.

Walter, Olivia, and three other grown-up “soldier children” go to the alternate universe to find Peter. In the end, it is Olivia who gets Peter to return with her even though it’s not his own reality – she tells him that she needs him with her…because she loves him. About time, I say!

However, in a shocking twist, Olivia’s alternate self switches places with the real Olivia just as she, Peter, and Walter go back to their own dimension (with William Bell’s help). The episode ends with her going to the typewriter that connects the universes, and she writes, “Infiltration complete.” Alas, Peter still won’t get the love of his life.

The Fringe season finale had some pretty cool moments especially when Olivia comes face-to-face with herself, and even kicks the crap out of her alter-ego. It was cool to see the other versions of the characters that we are used to from the one dimension. Even Walternate is cool – he is the Secretary of Defense in the alternate universe. It was neat to see him so much more put together than the brilliant but feather-headed Walter that we’ve come to know and love. “The only thing better than a cow is a human! Unless you need milk. Then you really need a cow.” Classic.

Great season finale! Looking forward to next season – with the Olivia-spy in place, the real Olivia in captivity in the alternate universe, Peter in love with Olivia (and fake-Olivia’s response), Walternate still planning the end of the Walter’s dimension, and anything new that Walter comes up with!!! Cannot wait!

Fringe airs on Fox, and will return Fall 2010.

All in all, definitely not a bad season finale for ABC’s V. They could have definitely offered up more visually for the half-human/half-lizard baby other than the tiny glance of a green snaky tail wrapping around Ryan’s finger. After my last post of the 1980′s plasticine version, I wanted to see more! Lots more. However, that said, I do have to say though that given the whole theme of human empathy throughout the final episode that it was a nice touch that the baby recognized and loved its father. That was sweet (and cute). Awww. Speaking of Ryan, I think he may turn back to Anna’s bliss unless the baby’s connection allows him to resist her. That would be neat.

Got another glimpse of the alien teeth when the soldier was feeding and even though it was cool to see that again, I felt like it was used material. I wanted to see something new other than angler-type teeth and weird slitted eyes for the Vs. In some way, it also lessened that look for Anna as the queen, if that makes sense. It would have been way cooler if the soldier’s teeth had been slightly different. But I guess they are her spawn.

Still can’t stand Kyle Hobbs or Chad Decker, and was glad to see that Chad got set straight after Joshua told him to go check out the human experiments. Too bad that they had to reuse the other initially cool scene of the torture needle table. Wish that they had showed some other funky human experimentation device. Chad was totally Anna’s little dog as they called him, and so self-righteous that I wanted to punch him in the face, especially when he betrayed the gang. It was so awesome when Joshua told him that Anna put an aneurysm in his head, she didn’t take one out. Classic Anna.

I completely LOVED Lisa’s role in this episode and how she just brings it. Love how Joshua called her “my queen” after she told him that he was very brave. That was another awesome moment. Speaking of Joshua, bummed that his old version died, but am interested to see what they’ve reincarnated/healed and whether he will remember anything of his past empathy and Fifth Column ties. Erica was super strong in this episode too! It was great to see her stand up (although most of it was tongue in cheek) to Anna. And when she walked into the egg room (barf!) and dropped the blue energy grenade (hey, that was new!), that was incredible!

Anna’s all too human response at the end was awesome when she finds the destroyed eggs. Loved the little smile on Lisa’s face as she watched her mother get wracked by human loss. Sign of things to come, people, things to come.

And I guess the red sky at the end means that Anna has declared war officially – maybe it’s the sign for the Vs to move in. Either way, it was definitely a cool and ominous way to end the episode.

Can’t wait to see if they renew V for a second season. Sci-fi has always found it tough to remain on network television so we will see if V returns in the Fall, even at the very least a mini-series like the original. Need the closure!!

Iron Man 2 is a worthy sequel to Iron Man with tons of action, gadgetry, cool special effects, and classic Tony Stark one-liners. Sitting at 75% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, Iron Man 2 was worth the wait (and hype). As Tony Stark/Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. is charismatic, witty, and charming. You can’t help but like him, as he continues on in the same vein of Iron Man one with flippant brilliant billionaire arrogance – “I have successfully privatized world peace!”

Add in a couple cool new characters – Mickey Rourke (Sin City and The Wrestler) as Ivan Vanko, the villain, Scarlett Johansson (He’s Just Not That Into You and The Nanny Diaries) as his sexy assistant slash kick-ass agent, Natalie Rushman, Sam Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) as the competitive but flaky weapons distributor, Justin Hammer – and the momentum just takes off. Iron Man 2 is well-acted, action-filled, unpretentious, and pure feel-good comic-book fun that doesn’t take itself (or previous performance) too seriously.

Brief synopsis. Tony Stark is Iron Man. At a senate hearing where the US government is trying to get its hands on the Iron Man suit as a weapon, in classic fashion, Tony responds, “To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself, which is tantamount to indentured servitude. Or prostitution, depending on what state you’re in.” Classic! He then shows videos of different countries, including Justin Hammer, trying to imitate the Iron Man suit to dismal failure, claiming that the technology for anyone else to mimic Iron Man is years away. The villain in this installment is Ivan Vanko or Whiplash, a physicist whose father was a co-designer of the arc reactor. He wants to destroy Tony Stark for destroying his family and builds an energy suit to show that the invincible Iron Man can be hurt and that the technology isn’t years away. “If you can make God bleed, then people will cease to believe in him … All I have to do is sit here and watch, as the world will consume you.” Sure enough, smelling blood in the water, the smarmy Justin Hammer coerces Ivan Vanko to help him build and automate the next generation of advanced tech robotic soldiers.

In the middle of all of this, Tony learns that the technology keeping him alive is slowly poisoning him. Despite his affirmation to Nick Fury of being an independent gunslinger, “I already told you I don’t want to join your super secret boy band,” they help him to briefly counteract the effects of the toxin so that he can build a new less corrosive source of energy for his heart.

Meanwhile, unfortunately (and predictably), Ivan Vanko has his own end game, and remotely controls all of the droids as well as a second Iron Man suit operated by Rhodie (played in this sequel by Don Cheadle, from Traitor), to kill Iron Man. In a very cool end scene with lots of sick flying maneuvers and pyrotechnics, Iron Man and Rhodie (who regains manual control of his suit with Natalie’s help) fight off all the droids and defeat Whiplash.

End scene = Tony Stark kisses Pepper Potts after he saves her from the final explosion. No fun and games with the baddass, latex-clad ScarJo (yep, see insert, she’s smoking hot), instead he gives his heart openly to Pepper. Awww.

Overall, Iron Man 2 was great start to finish, and full of humorous banter, great action sequences, and solid acting with great cast chemistry. All of the pieces and characters came together well, with of course a future set up for other installments in the Iron Man franchise. There’s nothing new here – hero is idolized, villain plots to kill hero, best friend betrays hero by aligning with his enemies, hero overcomes self-pity and rises to defeat villain, hero makes up with best friend, hero gets girl.  The technology and robotics are similar to the original Iron Man, the characters more or less have the same light-hearted, witty relationships (even Vanko who wants his “burd” is hilarious), but the banter and overall humor together with the adrenaline-filled fight/actions scenes fuel this sequel. I don’t think it was a filler for a planned upcoming Avengers movie, in fact, I think Iron Man 2 stands alone quite well. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I would rate Iron Man 2 four out of five stars for good entertainment value and great humor. Fans of Iron Man (the movie) will enjoy it. Fans of the comic book series may be looking for something a bit more fleshed-out.

Either way, I’ll leave you with another Tony Stark classic. “If it’s one thing I’ve proven, it’s that you can count on me to pleasure myself.”

Holy BOMBSHELL!!

The Vampire Diaries season finale was awesome! Love, love, love the ending with the twist! Guess who’s back!? I’ll give you a hint – it’s not Slim Shady.

I thought it was totally weird that Elena would kiss Damon especially after she was so sincere with Stefan, but I sort of expected it given the little covert eye looks and flirtation going on between them the last few episodes. Damon is hard to resist. Even earlier on this episode, she asks him to stop his flirty little comments and “that eye thing” that he does. Damon says “what eye thing” and then does it! Naughty, naughty. I am definitely feeling the chemistry between them, and not sure that I like it so much because it’s just wrong (she’s with his brother) or because Damon is so sexy. My guess it’s the latter.

But I digress. Back to Elena/Katherine. I totally started feeling something wasn’t right with “Elena” when she was standing behind the fridge so quietly with some definite vampire-style stealth. But I actually didn’t guess it until she eyed John’s ring. And then of course I almost jumped out of my skin as that knife came down slicing off his fingers and offending ring. Wow. She is vamp fierce. Love the “hello John, goodbye John.” Way to bring Katherine back when all season I’ve been wondering when we’d see her although I still want to know what her end-game is now that she’s killed John Gilbert (or maybe he isn’t dead after all…).

I watched the last five minutes a second time after I knew for sure it was Katherine, and the nuances were subtle. She was Elena, but not quite Elena. She looked different, colder and older. Even in her conversation with Damon, she was strangely curious, especially after he kissed her on the cheek or when he was explaining why he was trying to do the right thing. Because she wasn’t Elena. LOVE how Damon touched his lips after Katherine went inside (invited in no less by Jenna! – “it’s late, you should probably come inside“). He frowns almost like if it was too familiar. Very cool. I really hope he puts two and two together a bit – I’d expect that from Damon, he’s no sucker (um, you know what I mean).

Jeremy was good in this episode but of course what happens with him almost gets eclipsed by all of the action with Katherine and Tyler. I cannot believe that he has taken Anna’s blood and a bunch of pills. On the one hand, it’s such a cop-out, especially after Damon’s heartfelt conversation with him about life not being that easy even as a vampire. But on the other, I can understand why he would want to do it so that he wouldn’t have to feel anything. Part of me wants him to turn, and the other doesn’t. I think it would be way cooler if he became something else, like some kind of half-vampire, half-human.

Bummed that they killed off Anna – she was a very dynamic and interesting character I thought. But I can understand why – her whole reason for living was her mother, so when Pearl got killed, it makes sense that she had to die. Now that I’m writing this, I think that Katherine came back to punish John for what he did to Pearl and Anna – after all, they were originals, part of the 1864 Katherine crew. There’s definitely something going on that we don’t know yet, especially with respect to what is driving Katherine – there are just too many interpretations from everyone else. I want to know what she wants.

Also loved Bonnie in this episode and how totally badass she is – “you saw what I was able to do today…I know who I am now” and the way she tells Stefan that Damon has to shape up or she’ll take them both out. “I’ll take him down even if I have to take you with him.” Definitely cool!

Great season finale! I was a bit sad that we didn’t see more of Tyler or his dad as werewolves except for the very cool but short snippet of his wolf-eye, but I guess they are saving him for next season. It was a little funny that the device also worked on them in addition to the vamps – the mayor definitely was not expecting that! Sad that he’s out of the picture because I liked the rough dynamic between him and Tyler, but I guess Tyler will now need to work it all out on his own.

And now for a very long hiatus until fall…  True Blood will have to keep me company until then! I just have to survive a vampire-free month until June 13, 2010! Ack!

Hmmm…maybe they meant Friction instead of Fruition on ABC’s V because I wanted to throw my television against a wall. Boy, is Anna the master manipulator or what? From working Chad Decker to a T and getting him to push support for the Vs to stay, to physically abusing her own daughter for sympathy and gaining resources to unearth the Fifth Column. She is definitely a piece of work. I do have to say that it was awesome to see the little smile on Joshua’s face after he sees that Lisa can resist Anna’s bliss. That was cool. Lisa has definitely grown on me – hoping that she will become Fifth Column. Love the twist with the algae that could be deadly to the Vs.

On the flip side, Chad Decker still annoyed the pants off me – he’s so needy, it made me feel like barfing. I am hoping that he can make some sort of turnaround in the finale and prove to have a little backbone. He’s like a little terrier lapping at Anna’s heels. Come on already!

I also cannot stand Kyle Hobbs. Seriously, negotiating with Marcus from the Vs? That’s just stupid. After the other three put so much on the line for him and he’s going out on his own. What struck me the most about him in this episode was his conversation with Ryan about having no feeling. It’s a neat reversal because some of the Vs are becoming more human-like because of their connection to human emotion, while Kyle has trained himself to be so emotionless that he is more V-like. He has no empathy. Very interesting take. I loved that despite what Kyle told Marcus, he still refused Anna’s bliss.

Season Finale airs next week on Tuesday 18, 2010 at 10pm EST on ABC. Apart from Hobbs’ dirty dealings with the Vs and Lisa’s growing empathy, looks like a little lizard baby is on the horizon! Don’t forget this cute little guy from the original V series!

OMG. Two words – clawshot hell. This level was all about using the single and then the double clawshot to get around the various floating rooms in the sky.

First word of advice, equip the iron boots whenever you feel the wind start to pick up walking between rooms or you’ll get blown right off the walkways, which means instant death.

Second word of advice, when clawshooting between the peahats, use Z-target to lock on, then press B to jump between them which will be very useful when you have to use spiderman-like instincts to get past the boss’s fire-breath. Try not to press A instead of B otherwise you’ll let go and fall into space or enemies – had to learn that lesson the hard way a bunch of times even with the boss. Z-target doesn’t work with the vines.

Final piece of advice, you don’t have to beat the two Aerolfos – the guys with the clawshot shields that you have to draw down to you before they knock you off your feet (which I thought were way worse than the bosses for some reason) just before the big boss. Just clawshot your way up out of their reach, about the second or third fan, and get to the boss.

Argorok wasn’t too bad. Once you Z-target his tail a couple times, he drops his armor, then the peahats come into play, and it’s clawshot monkey-swing time. Although like I said, I did press A stupidly at the wrong moment and busted out my hearts falling to the ground. Once Argorok stops blowing fire, target him manually (the blue gem on his back) and clawshot to him, whacking him silly. Couple times of this and you’ll be done. Careful though, the last time, he reverses direction on the fire-breath, so you’ll need to rotate and Z-target back along the peahats as quickly as possible until he stops.

Damon is on fire! I love when he took charge vampire-style administering a beat-down on Isobel when she tried to get too fresh. Way to show her who was boss, although it didn’t seem to do much to deter her. Isobel is definitely irritating, even with showing her sensitive side to Alaric in the end. Plus I can’t stop thinking about Mia Kirshner in Not Another Teen Movie where she was adamantly wishing that someone would take a dump on her chest. Not a great image for a bad-ass vampire.

Glad to see that Damon still has his famous one-liners.

Damon: I like being a living dead person!

Cool twist that the invention is part of a weapon to kill vampires, and that Katherine wants it. Although I am not quite sure that I get that. Why would Katherine want to kill the tomb vampires? And also, wouldn’t she be pissed off that Isobel added Stefan and Damon to the kill list? I mean, she did love them both supposedly.

I liked that Bonnie made up with Elena (albeit briefly), and that she was back in the mix to help save Jeremy. She has obviously been working on her skills since her grams died, but I knew the way she looked at Damon after she did the spell on the weapon that she was lying. After all, she did tell him not to trust her and she hates both Stefan and Damon.

Anyway, interesting bit at the end where we find out that John is really Elena’s father. I do want to know why Isobel made the choice to become a vampire in the first place, especially since she confessed to Alaric that it was her biggest regret. Something to do with Elena? And how did she become entangled with Katherine? What’s going to happen with this weapon? Will a float explode???

Season Finale next week! Founder’s Day airs on Thursday on the CW at 8pm.

Checked out the latest V episode on ABC.com tonight. Not bad at all. It’s definitely gaining some momentum, and had a bunch of knee-jerk moments. Like the human experimentation with the “needle” table-cage. That was some serious coolness, well not for the human victim of course. That torture table was sick.

Before writing anymore, I have to say that I absolutely cannot stand Chad Decker. All I want to do is punch him in his smug little dimple over and over and over again. Seriously, for Fifth Column, when Father Jack told them that Chad was the one who told Anna about the attack on the shuttle, they should still have been suspicious. But they just believed Father Jack when he said he’s an ally. I’m not sure. I still think he’s Anna’s little cabana boy.

Loved that Lisa cares enough for Tyler that she broke up with him so he wouldn’t do the live-aboard program. Hated that her mother punched her in the face and told her to say she got attacked by Fifth Column just to try to get Tyler back. And then she tells a sentry to break her legs. That was just cold. Way cold.

Great episode! Now that there’s an FBI-driven task force to hunt down the Fifth Column that Erica is heading up, things can only get more exciting. They need to add more cool people to their little Fifth Column group.

V airs on ABC on Tuesdays at 10pm EST.

Sam Worthington is unstoppable. The Australian actor is seriously a real-life Toruk Makto triumphantly riding the great beast that is Hollywood. Amidst rumors of him being the next pick for James Bond, it’s been confirmed that he will return for a Clash of the Titans sequel and as everyone knows, he’s committed to doing the blue trilogy with James Cameron.

Between Clash of the Titans last week and Terminator Salvation on FIOS, I watched Avatar the other night for the fifth time. Oh yea, I totally went out and bought the no bells-and-whistles DVD for $15.99. I had to have it. Could I have waited for the Director’s Cut supposedly to be released in November? Probably. Did I want to? Hell no. Watching the bell-whistle-less Avatar on a 65-inch HD screen completely filling my peripheral vision in a comfy, dark room was just as good as seeing it in the theater! Add in a glass of wine, and it was a shade better than 3D.

Sam Worthington is not the world’s best actor nor is he the best looking guy in Hollywood, but there’s something about him that is so compelling. Maybe it’s his voice or that turn of the head that he does with his quirky corner of the mouth smile or that rebellious look he gets in his eyes. Whatever it is, I am a huge fan.

I’ve seen a ton of articles about whether Sam Worthington is a good actor or not, and whether he will go the route of Russell Crowe or Gerard Butler, or become a Hollywood action staple and household name. Despite his comments that he prefers guns and swords to kissing (dammit), I do think that he’s a better than average actor so I’m predicting the latter. When I saw Terminator Salvation for the second time, I watched him very closely. He got all of the nuances of his role perfectly. Human who doesn’t know he’s a terminator, incorporating classic tics like the slow but meticulous head survey? Fantastic. I thought he out-shadowed Christian Bale the first time around and this time was even better. Check out my review of that here.

What I love about Sam Worthington is that he seems to jump heart and soul into his roles. He was believable as Jake Sully/Avatar just as he was as Marcus Wright or Perseus. That said, those were action films so I guess we’ll see more of his um, kissing vs. sword abilities, in his upcoming film, Last Night, a romantic drama with Keira Knightly and Eva Mendes.

Sam Worthington is definitely worthy of someone to be watched.

I missed the airing of Blood Brothers on TV last Thursday so I watched it on the CW online, and it was pretty good, especially in full-screen mode. Check it out here.

Things are definitely headed in the right direction! I really liked the flashback scenes, especially the ones in the beginning which tied in Katherine being locked up with Elena locking Stefan up. That scene of both of them through the bars was neat. I like how they brought the images together to connect the past and the present. Getting more of Stefan and Damon’s back-story is also making the plot deeper and more complex with all the different participants.

I love that Jeremy and Anna are back together. Brings back memories before Elena and Stefan became an old married couple. Kidding! It’s cool that she trusts Jeremy enough to give him the scoop of everything going on between Pearl, Damon, and her uncle John. It was a sweet moment when she tells him that he is her weakness. I want to see Jeremy take a more active role, maybe with putting a beat-down on uncle John.

LOVED Elena’s backbone in this episode. I wrote about her being a bit wishy-washy in past episodes. But holy crow! Even I was scared when Stefan got all up in her face, and she just stood her ground even though he went all fangy and veiny in the eyes. Good for her! It’s not just physical gumption, she’s a stronger character too.

Elena: Our actions are what set things in motion. But we have to live with that. [...] You can keep fighting, it’s your choice.

I really like that she’s become Stefan’s rock, believing in him when he doesn’t even believe in himself, especially after learning what Damon has told her. And I totally take back what I said about them being an old married couple. That kiss at the lake was a nice very real moment.

Super interesting twist that Stefan was the one to force Damon to turn when all he wanted to do was die. Stefan’s a little creepy when he’s full out human-blood-loving vampire even in the flashbacks. Anyway, no wonder the guilt is killing him now. So Damon’s got two reasons on why he hates Stefan – because he forced him to turn and because Katherine chose him too.

Damon: You got what you wanted, you and me for all eternity. But hear this brother, I will make it an eternity of misery for you.

Despite all that, Elena is right. Damon does care about his brother. Otherwise why would he care whether Stefan consumes human blood or not, despite his offhand comment about cleaning up after him.

I really don’t like John Gilbert’s character, and can’t believe that he killed Pearl and Harper. I am already hoping that he dies an excruciating death. But death-wishes aside, what is his end-game? And who is Forbes, the guy he called on the phone after he killed Pearl? It’s all getting twisty now especially that Isobel has finally shown up considering John knew her as well. What’s going to happen next? Exciting times!

I can’t wait for next week’s episode! The Vampire Diaries airs on the CW on Thursdays at 8pm EST.

I am in love with Sam Worthington. And no, I am not biased because of Avatar. Well, not entirely. Still, he was not bad in Clash of the Titans as Perseus, a demi-god and son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) and executed some great action scenes reminiscent of Gerard Butler in 300 (ok, maybe just one move). Despite the low Rotten Tomatoes rating of a mere 30%, I did enjoy Clash of the Titans. Was I blown away? Not so much. Did I enjoy the film. Sure. If you’re looking for some supertastic remake of the original, you’re going to have to look elsewhere. This Clash isn’t it. And I saw it in regular-D, heard the 3D version was underwhelming.

Overall the film was good with some cool special effects and decent acting. Good cast also including Ralph Fiennes as Hades, Mads Mikkelsen as Draco (Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale) and Alexa Davalos as Andromeda (Defiance and Chronicles of Riddick) as well as the all-grown-up boy from About a Boy that I forced myself to recognize because his face was stuck in my brain, Nicholas Hoult as Eusebios.

The story was pretty much the same as the 1981 version on the film. The gods of Olympus have released the Kraken to wreak havoc on Argos because they are displeased with man’s overt defiance of them and their self-indulgence. When the Queen of Argos declares Andromeda to be more beautiful than a god, the gods are vengeful and release the Kraken upon Argos. Perseus, son of Zeus, is born to face Medusa the Gorgon and kill the Kraken before the princess of Argos, Andromeda, is sacrificed to it. With some decent special effects and a lot more CGI than the 1981 version, Perseus succeeds in his task.

All in all, not exactly blockbuster material but definitely good fun. I’d rate Clash of the Titans 3 out of 5 stars. And I’m still in love with Sam Worthington. So there.