Reviews Written By: A26TY6GCGBF5HTprovided by Amazon.com |
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 | Are You Being Served Collection 2 (Series 6-10) | |
 | "2nd half of amazing British comedy series" | 2009-10-15 |
| Are you Being Served?" is arguably the best known Brit com in the United States. For more than 10 years it followed the misadventures and schemes of the employees of a British Department store with everything from fire drills to foul weather, transit strikes to dissatisfied customers to out maneuvering the plans of management. The main characters became like well loved friends whose behavior you could rely on.
This set covers the later early years of the show when it had suffered a bit as some of, but not all the original cast members had moved on or passed away. The balance of the staff changed and more of the show devolved on to the self important Mrs. Slocum the effete Mr. Humphries Between them is class conscious Captain Peacock. Presiding over all is Mr. Rumbold, who thinks he's a managerial genius but in fact he couldn't manage a chimps tea party. While these characters are charming and lovable as ever without the quality supporting staff of earlier seasons it is worn a bit. Such misadventures here include trying to survive management plans for making commercials on the cheap, cutting the quality of the cafeteria food, putting a club or restaurant in the store to make money after hours, living in the store to avoid transit costs, getting in shape for a company insurance plan, arguing repeatedly with the cafeteria staff and being quarantined after exposure to a nasty bug. Along the way is a constant stream of customers who seem to almost get in the staff's way. The packaging for this is very odd. It says volume/season 6-10 but the box is large enough to hold 7 discs and mine came with seasons 8-13 with a worse than useless season 14 `best of' disc. If you look at the picture here on Amazon is says 'season 6-10' but shows different seasons on the spines of the discs included. I suspect this is a re-packaging. AYBS had 12 seasons so an original break around season 6 for marketing would make sense but the show jumped the shark after the 8th season, when too many original characters had left or the actors actually passed away, This combined with the box set sold as seasons 1-5 and having through season 6 too provides the full series. Weirdly there is no season 7. If you buy what they package as seasons 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10,11,12 & 13 you will get all the episodes of the original show. What is listed as season 8 here was actually the 7th season and so on. Why it's set up like this I have no idea. AYBS is one of the great gems of British humor, loaded with lovable characters and a mix of slap stick, puns and double entendre. If you like British comedy and you haven't encountered this yet, go for it, you will not be disappointed. If the episodes seem a little long, don't worry, they'll ride up with wear. | ||
 | Are You Being Served Collection 1 (Series 1-5) | |
 | "Best of British Comedys" | 2009-10-13 |
| "Are you Being Served?" is arguably the best known Brit com in the United States. For more than 10 years it followed the misadventures and schemes of the employees of a British Department store with everything from fire drills to foul weather, transit strikes to dissatisfied customers to out maneuvering the plans of management. The main characters became like well loved friends whose behavior you could rely on.
This set covers the early years of the show and what are generally accepted as their best episodes with the original cast. The staff is balance between the ladies' counter, headed by the self important Mrs. Slocum and her assistant the sharpish Miss Brahms. On the gentlemen's' side is the curmudgeonly Mr. Granger, Effete Mr. Humphries and scheming, fast talking Mr. Lucas. Between them is class conscious Captain Peacock. Presiding over all is Mr. Rumbold, who thinks he's a managerial genius but in fact he couldn't manage a chimps tea party. The show was originally envisaged as a vehicle for Trevor Banister, Mr. Lucas, as the new man starting at a ridiculously stratified London department store, the sort of place where you can get in trouble for wearing the wrong hat to work or not folding your pocket handkerchief correctly. Bannister is supposed to be the normal man with whom the audience could identify as he explores the horrors of his work place but the other characters were so well developed they developed lives of their own beyond being foils for Bannister, transforming the show from a star vehicle for one to a very good ensemble comedy. Such misadventures here include trying to survive management plans to save money, by turning off the heat during the winter, opening the store extra early, having to flog useless items because management bought way to much of something that no one was ever buying, transit strikes which leave them stranded or starring in store commercials, because it's cheaper to use staff than hire "real" actors. Along the way is a constant stream of customers who seem to almost get in the staff's way. The packaging for this is very odd. It says volume/season 1-5 but the box is large enough to hold 7 discs and mine came with seasons 1-6 with an extra season 4. If you look at thep icture here on amazon is says 'season 1-5' but shows seasons 1-7 on the spines of the discs included. I suspect this is a re-packaging. AYBS had 12 seasons so an original break around season 7 for marketing would make sense but the show jumped the shark after season 7, too many original characters had left or the actors actually passed away, and I suspect people were less eager to buy the later seasons. But with this set, I got the first 6 seasons with all the original cast and they are gems of British humor, loaded with lovable characters and a mix of slap stick, puns and double entendre. If you like British comedy and you haven't encountered this yet, go for it, you will not be disappointed. If the episodes seem a little long, don't worry, they'll ride up with wear. | ||
 | King Kong (HD-DVD) | |
 | "great actors, pointless film" | 2009-10-02 |
| "I was ready for the film to be over long before the monkey hit the pavement" With these words Laurel K Hamilton's character Anita Blake wonderfully summed up Peter Jackson's well intentioned, brilliantly re-envisioned but ultimately needless remake of King Kong.
Jackson's `Kong is more realistic using CGI in place of a rabbit fur covered stop motion animation, his natives seem more real than the dreadfully racist portrayal in the original but it is the actors that make the story work. In place of the wooden, 2 dimensional characters of the original piece Jackson presents well developed people you want to learn about. Adrian Brody as a shanghaied screen writer proves his ability with only a few words and gestures as he tries to find something good in what is clearly a bad situation. Especially surprising is Jack Black in a serious role, as Carl Denham, the man responsible for the expedition. In the original he is the money and the vision and little more. In Jackson's version he's only a step ahead of creditors and keeping many balls in the air while trying to get the next big score. He's a con man and an artist and someone who's company you'll love, as long as you accept you're paying for the drinks. In his Lord of the Rings trilogy Jackson proved that great film comes from the actors and the F/X are there to support them. However far too much of King Kong is made up of the special effects and while amazing to see, they bring nothing new to the party and the reliance on them gets boring. Giant nasty lizards? All I could think was "Jurassic Park" and it took too long. Who cares about CGI monsters? Give us back those wonderful characters! For me the movie dragged when they entered the island until the moment they left it. While the chase through New York City is far more realistic, one of the great scenes in American Film is the original Kong on top of the Empire State Building. Jackson's Kong ends there too but the image, far more realistic looking, lacks the iconic imagery of the original. In the end Jackson's respect for the original leads him to end with the same words from Denham. In the original he's a stuffed shirt who's closing declaration "T'was beauty killed the beast" is meant as a sad commentary on the beast, brought out of the heart of darkness to a far more terrible place that they all had a hand in. Jack Black's Denham almost whispers the words. For him it is a personal realization that he personally was responsible for the pain and suffering inflicted on the great being. One cannot help but wonder if Jackson, when all is said and done, could not have felt the same way about what he did. | ||
![King Kong [Blu-ray]](product_images/4953000/king-kong-blu-ray_t-4953452.jpg) | King Kong [Blu-ray] | |
| "great actors, pointless film" | 2009-10-02 |
| "I was ready for the film to be over long before the monkey hit the pavement" With these words Laurel K Hamilton's character Anita Blake wonderfully summed up Peter Jackson's well intentioned, brilliantly re-envisioned but ultimately needless remake of King Kong.
Jackson's `Kong is more realistic using CGI in place of a rabbit fur covered stop motion animation, his natives seem more real than the dreadfully racist portrayal in the original but it is the actors that make the story work. In place of the wooden, 2 dimensional characters of the original piece Jackson presents well developed people you want to learn about. Adrian Brody as a shanghaied screen writer proves his ability with only a few words and gestures as he tries to find something good in what is clearly a bad situation. Especially surprising is Jack Black in a serious role, as Carl Denham, the man responsible for the expedition. In the original he is the money and the vision and little more. In Jackson's version he's only a step ahead of creditors and keeping many balls in the air while trying to get the next big score. He's a con man and an artist and someone who's company you'll love, as long as you accept you're paying for the drinks. In his Lord of the Rings trilogy Jackson proved that great film comes from the actors and the F/X are there to support them. However far too much of King Kong is made up of the special effects and while amazing to see, they bring nothing new to the party and the reliance on them gets boring. Giant nasty lizards? All I could think was "Jurassic Park" and it took too long. Who cares about CGI monsters? Give us back those wonderful characters! For me the movie dragged when they entered the island until the moment they left it. While the chase through New York City is far more realistic, one of the great scenes in American Film is the original Kong on top of the Empire State Building. Jackson's Kong ends there too but the image, far more realistic looking, lacks the iconic imagery of the original. In the end Jackson's respect for the original leads him to end with the same words from Denham. In the original he's a stuffed shirt who's closing declaration "T'was beauty killed the beast" is meant as a sad commentary on the beast, brought out of the heart of darkness to a far more terrible place that they all had a hand in. Jack Black's Denham almost whispers the words. For him it is a personal realization that he personally was responsible for the pain and suffering inflicted on the great being. One cannot help but wonder if Jackson, when all is said and done, could not have felt the same way about what he did. | ||
 | King Kong (Three-Disc Deluxe Extended Edition) | |
| "great actors, pointless film" | 2009-10-02 |
| "I was ready for the film to be over long before the monkey hit the pavement" With these words Laurel K Hamilton's character Anita Blake wonderfully summed up Peter Jackson's well intentioned, brilliantly re-envisioned but ultimately needless remake of King Kong.
Jackson's `Kong is more realistic using CGI in place of a rabbit fur covered stop motion animation, his natives seem more real than the dreadfully racist portrayal in the original but it is the actors that make the story work. In place of the wooden, 2 dimensional characters of the original piece Jackson presents well developed people you want to learn about. Adrian Brody as a shanghaied screen writer proves his ability with only a few words and gestures as he tries to find something good in what is clearly a bad situation. Especially surprising is Jack Black in a serious role, as Carl Denham, the man responsible for the expedition. In the original he is the money and the vision and little more. In Jackson's version he's only a step ahead of creditors and keeping many balls in the air while trying to get the next big score. He's a con man and an artist and someone who's company you'll love, as long as you accept you're paying for the drinks. In his Lord of the Rings trilogy Jackson proved that great film comes from the actors and the F/X are there to support them. However far too much of King Kong is made up of the special effects and while amazing to see, they bring nothing new to the party and the reliance on them gets boring. Giant nasty lizards? All I could think was "Jurassic Park" and it took too long. Who cares about CGI monsters? Give us back those wonderful characters! For me the movie dragged when they entered the island until the moment they left it. While the chase through New York City is far more realistic, one of the great scenes in American Film is the original Kong on top of the Empire State Building. Jackson's Kong ends there too but the image, far more realistic looking, lacks the iconic imagery of the original. In the end Jackson's respect for the original leads him to end with the same words from Denham. In the original he's a stuffed shirt who's closing declaration "T'was beauty killed the beast" is meant as a sad commentary on the beast, brought out of the heart of darkness to a far more terrible place that they all had a hand in. Jack Black's Denham almost whispers the words. For him it is a personal realization that he personally was responsible for the pain and suffering inflicted on the great being. One cannot help but wonder if Jackson, when all is said and done, could not have felt the same way about what he did. | ||
 | Yorktown 1781: The World Turned Upside Down | |
| "Excellent writer stresses the wrong points" | 2009-09-29 |
| In "Yorktown 1781" Morrissey walks the line of once more capably describing the events of one of the great moments in American history and still somehow managing to completely misinterpret the important elements of the event.
Unlike some of his other titles for Osprey Morrissey does provide an adequate description of the senior commanders on all sides, Army, Navy, French, American and British and the troops involved and how they differed. He also has enough maps without the unnecessary clutter of cameo's that all start to blur together. He goes into detail about the naval action which most Americans barely know happened, but which was in fact vital to the ultimate victory. The problem with the book comes with the fact he does not go into as much detail about the siege itself and, like in his work on Monmouth, Morrissey seems to fail to understand the importance of what happened on the ground. He spends much of the early book describing the fighting in Virginia between Lafayette and Benedict Arnold who was raiding along the James River with both sides waiting for Cornwallis' army to march up from the Carolinas. Interesting reading but Arnold's forces had little to do with Yorktown and the space might have been better used to focus on Cornwallis' army and the campaign it was fighting which so ground it down that when it reach Yorktown it had almost 20% casualties from illness. Once the placers are in place Morrissey also seems to rush through the action and in so doing, misses the point. The plan was for the French, who had experience and a siege train to conduct the serious work of the siege from the north while the Americans, unused to a formal siege would just contain the British to the south, allowing the French to do the bulk of the fighting and in effect win the war. This plan came apart when the French were unable to dislodge the outermost British strong point after 3 assaults with supporting artillery fire from the siege train. That is why to this day that outer defense still holds the name "Fusilier Redoubt" after the Royal Welch Fusiliers who defended it and could not be moved. The failure of the French to force the issue meant that the action moved to the south and it was the American troops who bore the brunt of the fighting and so won the battle. It also explains the bitterness the Americans felt towards the French officers who were happily socializing with their British captives, since they had been unable to beat them in the field and relied on Americans to do what they had failed to do. Morrissey's work does set the stage and explain in excellent detail the key players. He covers the usually neglected naval engagements between the British and French that sealed the fate of the war, but by neglecting the details of the siege itself, he misses, and leads the reader to miss, the key event at Yorktown. That is the failure of the French regulars and the success of the Americans, that it was the Americans and not their allies who won the battle, the war and their independence. | ||
 | The Star Trek Cookbook | |
| "Who is the target audience?" | 2009-09-23 |
| I was given this as an anniversary present by someone who I thought loved me. I will now be sleeping with one eye open. It's not that this is a joke book, there are lots of real recipes in here. I just have no clue who the target audience is. Some recipes will take a degree of skill others are so basic I wondered where the PBJ could be found. There are also some very interesting bits on the `food stylings' from the various TV shows. Since I love film these made interesting reading and as I often found myself asking `who?' `where?' to many of the people named I know I am saved from a cubical in geekdom
There are some good looking recipes for crab stuffed salmon, spiced baked potatoes and lemon chicken. There are some good bread ideas and a few recipes like sautéed sweetbreads, real Haggis, a Haggis Lite for those with a problem finding sheep stomachs and stuffed veal hearts that excite me. I want to try these and know an Asian market where I'll have no trouble getting exotic ingredients. Just going through their meat department you can play Dr. Porkenstien and put a whole pig back together from what they have on display. So I promise I can handle the culinary weirdness. But then things go south. They include a virgin mint julep recipe saying they don't want to corrupt the reading youth. OK I can agree on that but later you get an earl grey tea for Picard that is spiked with Grand Marnier. Some of the recipes require you to have kitchen toys like juicers and bread makers which you figure someone's got to have some cooking experience to have around the house and then there are recipes so simple that I think they were included just to pad the page count. For example one actor says the secret to his scrambled eggs is to add a small amount of whole milk. You think? You daring devil you! Of course only in Hollywood would this be considered a secret. In the rest of the 49.8 states of the union, this is how people do it all the time. There's a recipe for hot oatmeal. Like this couldn't be read off any package of Quaker oats. It gets weirder. Page 137 includes a recipe for I kid you not, cat food! Freaking cat food? I do not know if this is better or worse than a recipe for oatmeal. I reread the page just to make sure it wasn't a joke or something that humans should eat. Nope this is pet food There are recipes that look good but when you start you find they are maddeningly vague. For example on one drink you're told to add "a whole chunk of fresh ginger." How big is that? You can destroy a dish with something that potent without better directions. They give precise directions for everything else but tell you to use a `chunk' of ginger. A whole chunk, what if I only have a half chunk of ginger? In the recipe for chicken soup it doesn't tell you how much water to use. It just says half fill a large pot. How large? 6 quart? 10 quart? I got a 14 quart stock pot I make soup in. Half of that is going to create a much less flavorful soup than the guy next door using a 6 quart pot. Maybe that's why the ingredients include bullion cubes for flavor. Which leads to my biggest gripe that many of these recipes rely on bullion for flavor. Bullion cubes? OK most people are not going to have 14 quart stock pots or demi-glace in the freezer, but if you, anyone, makes soup from scratch you do so, so you can enjoy flavors that don't come from these hard, dry, cube shaped, salt licks. If your recipe is so weak that you need these little boosters, give it up and open a tin of Campbell's. In the end I was left wondering who was the target audience for this? Anyone not wearing lax ear extensions? Organized by show and by character it is a confusing mess. It should have been by complexity or by style-meat, fish, bread. Without that this runs the risk of being a fan boy toy and the editor thinking of this as a cook book should have given it a serious shake down for re-organization. Neither writer is a chef, but, they are guys who like food and wanted to share their ideas. And maybe that's the saving grace. They are people who want to share food they like with other people and that's pretty cool. I am not the target audience for this. But I can respect what they are doing and if someone else falls in love with cooking because this helps them pick up a knife that's a good thing. Oh, but the cat food recipe? That's still pretty weird. | ||
 | Sunset Boulevard | |
| "Brilliant and distrubing" | 2009-09-08 |
| When Sunset Blvd came out in 1950 Varity reviewed it with the word `disturbing' and never was truer word spoken. I suspect many of us became familiar with this from the skits with Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman about a `has been' movie star and her servant, Max. But the film with Gloria Swanson and William Holden is so much more.
Done in a film noir style with Holden as the narrator, his character is a down at the heels writer who, on the run from his creditors, finds himself stumbling into a nearly abandoned mansion. The home of Nora Desmond who has been living there as is it was still 1929 and her career is still thriving. Holden at first is hired to punch up the script Desmond has written for her return, but the relationship soon deepens as he becomes her kept man. At first she seems just nicely eccentric but by the New Year's eve party where a 5 piece combo plays in the ballroom and Holden is the only guest the `creep' factor starts to settle in as you watch Desmond unravel on screen. Swanson, as Desmond, moves and talks in an exaggerated manner that seems almost laughable, but the laugh seems still born as you realize this woman is always `on,' always posing for the cameras that will never roll for her again. This was not well received by Hollywood in the day, because they didn't like to be reminded of what could happen the big star who falls by the wayside. For the rest of us though, it is amazing and deeply disturbing. Holden as the kept man who fumbles around to find his independence within the gilded cage and Gloria Swanson, who really was a washed up silent era star, as Desmond is mesmerizing as she unravels before your eyes. You know from the start she's a little loopy but by the end you know just how far her trolley has gone off the rails and down the lane. In the end Swanson gives one of the greatest performances of a crazy person on screen ever. The effect is amazing, magical and yes, deeply, deeply disturbing. | ||
 | Sunset Boulevard (Special Collector's Edition) | |
| "Brilliant and distrubing" | 2009-09-08 |
| When Sunset Blvd came out in 1950 Varity reviewed it with the word `disturbing' and never was truer word spoken. I suspect many of us became familiar with this from the skits with Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman about a `has been' movie star and her servant, Max. But the film with Gloria Swanson and William Holden is so much more.
Done in a film noir style with Holden as the narrator, his character is a down at the heels writer who, on the run from his creditors, finds himself stumbling into a nearly abandoned mansion. The home of Nora Desmond who has been living there as is it was still 1929 and her career is still thriving. Holden at first is hired to punch up the script Desmond has written for her return, but the relationship soon deepens as he becomes her kept man. At first she seems just nicely eccentric but by the New Year's eve party where a 5 piece combo plays in the ballroom and Holden is the only guest the `creep' factor starts to settle in as you watch Desmond unravel on screen. Swanson, as Desmond, moves and talks in an exaggerated manner that seems almost laughable, but the laugh seems still born as you realize this woman is always `on,' always posing for the cameras that will never roll for her again. This was not well received by Hollywood in the day, because they didn't like to be reminded of what could happen the big star who falls by the wayside. For the rest of us though, it is amazing and deeply disturbing. Holden as the kept man who fumbles around to find his independence within the gilded cage and Gloria Swanson, who really was a washed up silent era star, as Desmond is mesmerizing as she unravels before your eyes. You know from the start she's a little loopy but by the end you know just how far her trolley has gone off the rails and down the lane. In the end Swanson gives one of the greatest performances of a crazy person on screen ever. The effect is amazing, magical and yes, deeply, deeply disturbing. | ||
 | Najica Blitz Tactics (Vol. 1) - With Series Box | |
 | "underwear fixation spoils good anime" | 2009-09-08 |
| Najica is a typical secret agent anime. The lead character is a super spy by nights and perfumer by day. After the first episode she is assigned a partner, an android who looks like a teenage girl. The android is physically better, faster stronger, etc than human but she lacks any social skills. It falls to Najica to train her.
The plots are typical of the genre and the quality off animation is quite good, comparable to such similar fare as "Noir," without that series' screaming plot flaws. Then why did I give it such a low score? Panties. There is a type of fetishism particular to Japan that involves girls in short skirts and white cotton panties. Najica is clearly aimed right at them. All of the women in the piece are outfitted in very short skirts and the `camera' view is always angled up from the bottom with frequent what can only be called, crotch shots. Personally I have no trouble with the occasional flash of underwear, sort of "did I just see that?" moments in anime. But in Najica they are over the top, you see far more views of women exposing their underwear than not. The first episode alone shows more women's underwear than a Victoria's Secret catalogue and it is too much. It is too obvious and to distracting, and not in a good way. In the first 20 minutes I went from `oh, cute' to `Jeez again?' I tried two more episodes in the hope that it would fade, but it didn't. It's clearly the way they wanted this to go. I'm not sure what the producer's mind set was but this unfortunate `view point' it was a waste of time. The production values and plots are just overwhelmed by the constant view of underwear to the point that all else is obscured. Unless you have this particular fetish, this will soon become boringly unwatchable. | ||
 | Alice Cooper - The Best Of Alice Cooper: Mascara & Monsters | |
| "Schools Out! but the master keeps teaching" | 2009-08-07 |
| In 2009 a Goth themed metal band is nothing unusual but in the peace-love-and-flower-power of the early 1970's it was a novel idea and exactly why garage band Alice Cooper took the stage, to offer something different, if massively darker, than what the market offered. As Alice Cooper himself says, they were five albums into their career before critics started to notice beneath the stage make up and creepy behavior, they really were talented writers and musicians too.
While we're use to Metal bands that seem more noise and anger than melody Alice Cooper always had well written music at his core. Can you imagine Sinatra doing a cover version of something by Judas Priest? I first noticed Alice Cooper as a child when he guest starred on one of my favorite episodes of the Muppet Show and I've treasured the songs he did there. This CD covers those songs and nearly 20 more all showing Alice Cooper's amazing range and career. Sure there are osme songs people will feel are missing, seriously, no "dead Babies?" but this is a way to open the door. All too often a "greatest hits" collection is something slapped together by the record label to squeeze more money from a career but here there really is a sense that the songs were chosen for this collection to give a wider appreciation to the audience and encourage them to look up the albums they were drawn from. The liner notes includes a comment from Alice about where the songs were coming from. Their self deprecating humor, "my wife had never seen me sober and now I was clean we weren't sure if she would like me," shows the very sharp mind behind the make up and lets you know he's laughing at the joke too. I gave this five stars but that's how I feel. Not everyone is going to agree because music tastes vary, but if, like me you crank up the car stereo when a radio station plays "Schools Out!" then check out the rest of this gem. It's so worth it. | ||
 | Quick & Easy Enjoy Chinese Cuisine | |
| "A great place to start learning about Chinese cooking" | 2009-07-29 |
| Quick and Easy Enjoy Chinese Cuisine. The title is pretty much straight to the point. The recipes presented in this book are quick, fairly easy and simple to enjoy. I'll reserve comment on how authentic they are for Chinese cuisine though.
The book is laid out by sections and a color code on the side of the book helps you find what you are looking for quickly. You will need a few specialty items. A wok springs to mind but in general that is no great problem and the book even discusses the virtues of different types of woks and what goes best with what type of stove. Some have said in their reviews this is a "pamphlet" and that did give me pause. "What am I buying?" But it is a book. Bound with over 120 pages, that is a book. What they may have been looking at though is the way it is laid out. Except for some instructions at the beginning and end each page is laid out in a manner that does remind you of a pamphlet. Lew tries to keep it to a recipe a page, two at most, and while many books have lots of words and a few pictures, usually of the finished dish, this does have several pictures of each dish being created. Since the cooking style is very different from what most Occidental cooks are use to this is important and very helpful. I think you do need to have some small skill as a cook. These are not for beginners or the lack of text may be a bit overwhelming. I will say that the lay out reminded me of some of my mother's cook books from the 1960's and that can be a little off putting but you're eating the food, not the pages. Looking through the recipes I found myself rapidly marking off ones to try, "That looks good. Oh and that one too...have to try that one" etc. I'm blessed with a wonderful Asian market near my house so the ingredients are easily found but some people who are not so fortunate may have to improvise on some dishes, but that is the nature of the cuisine and not the fault of the author. I admit that I'm not sure how authentic to real Chinese tables the dishes are. These seem suspiciously like the dishes one gets at a Chinese restaurant in New York or Philly or Chicago rather than Beijing or Shanghai, but hey it's an introduction to the style and helps you get your feet wet The bottom line is that these are fun, fairly easy and tasty. Are they 100% authentic? Possibly not but this is a GREAT introduction to the cuisine. It will let you know if you want to explore further into it and starts you on your basic skills. The Chinese have been cooking for millennia and you aren't going to get it all in any one book, but if it's a journey you're going to make, this is a wonderful first step. | ||
 | Pink Lady & Jeff Boxed Set | |
| "Always make sure your stars speak english before you sign 'em" | 2009-07-18 |
| Pink Lady and Jeff, if this title conjures up memories of uncomfortable gags and a miserable pan-Pacific attempt at variety, then congratulation, you DO remember it correctly!
In 1980 before NBC had discovered shows like Cosby or Cheers they were desperate to try anything. The president got wind of Pink Lady the hottest pop duo in Japan and signed them to host a prime time variety show. It was only after they were signed and `delivered' to the US did anyone bother to ask if the ladies actually spoke English. In short, the answer was...no. Yup, NBC had sunk big bucks into a show that was going to be hosted by two beautiful, talented women who were completely unintelligible to their target audience. In an attempt to salvage the mess the network hired Jeff Altman an up and coming stand up comic to act as host to step in as the person who would explain America to the ladies from the east. The effect was like trying to save the Titanic with duct tape. Pink Lady was talented and these women truly worked at it. They would learn jokes and dialogue phonetically so they could look like they were interacting with Jeff but since they didn't really understand what they were saying and couldn't relearn new routines quickly, there was no chance for re-writes or improv. Also in a misguided attempt at political correctness the network tried to give each woman a distinctive personality. One was bubbly the other was waspish, "see they're not all alike," I'm sure someone said. Unfortunately Pink Lady's act was that they moved and sang interchangeably so this well intentioned act only served to further throw off the timing of the shows "star's" from their usual routine. I think the ultimate blame for this train wreck of a program falls on the saggy shoulders of Jeff Altman. Sure he was asked to step up and salvage a situation almost beyond repair from the start. But if you watch some of the acts with some of the guests they DO work. Sid Caesar spewing gibberish as the over protective samurai father of the girls preparing for their first date or a song and dance routine with Donnie Osmond work, brilliantly! It played to the strengths of Pink Lady and you could see why they were stars in Japan. The problem is these gems make the bulk of the interaction with Jeff Altman all the more painful because you've seen how well it CAN work and what the vision of the producer was. If Pink Lady shined in a comedy bit with Sid Caesar and was just painful in a comedy bit with Jeff Altman, then you have to ask, what was different? There are great bits in this series but to get to them you have to sit through some painfully unfunny bits. Even a rabid Japan-o-phile is going to have trouble hanging in here. If you're really interested, buy one of the Pink Lady CD's. That gives more talent and less pain for the pop. | ||
![Across the Universe [Blu-ray]](product_images/4939000/4939131-across-the-universe-blu-ray_thumb.jpg) | Across the Universe [Blu-ray] | |
| "Great music,Great dancing, bad film" | 2009-07-07 |
| I'm going to stand out here, but I really didn't like this film and I so wanted to. I bought into the advertising and the image. I convinced my wife this was going to be fun. We sat down, tuned in and were so glad when it finally ended more than 2 hours later. The concept of the film is that an artistic boy from England meets Lucy, a free spirit girl from the American Midwest and they fall in love in the turbulent 1960's. She becomes caught up in the peace movement and he slips more into the artistic scene and they drift apart of psychedelic waves. Like Moulin Rouge and Mama Mia plot exposition is provided by the characters breaking into song, Beatles songs. For the most part the songs and setting are very well done, like art house videos for the songs and with interesting direction, A lonely girl wistfully singing "I want to hold your hand" towards the back of the boy she can't have or college boys on a night out singing "With a Little help from my friends." Bono in a cameo steals the show with a trippy version of "I am the Walrus" that really seems to capture the feel of the 60's. The choreography is great and often jumps out as brilliant. Though I found "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" stood out as being very wrong as they change the lyrics. The problem is the stuff between the songs. Dialogue is often missing, scenes were clearly cut which while reducing an already long movie means you're often left asking "who was that?" or "Did they hook up?" or "When did they hook up?" The film also drops so many Beatles references you're not sure if they are song cues or if the writer is trying to jam in as many Beatles references as possible to show off. It might be cute but it quickly gets tiresome. Examples are the main character is working on a logo for a record company and is trying to draw an Apple. When at a party they are introduced to "Dr. Robert" and his publisher you ask "Is he a `Paperback Writer'?" The film also telegraphs plot points like a Western Union office. It follows all the clichés of a romantic musical, badly and adds to this the Beatles cues. For example the wistful girl, a minor character, is named "Prudence." You know we'll get "Dear Prudence" at some point. As Lucy becomes more radical and says "this is a revolution" you are just waiting for her boy friend to break into "Revolution." When he does get to that conflict point you say `finally!'" The boy's name is "Jude." If you can't see the song cue for that name, just remember the basic plot of any film-boy meets girl, boy loses girl- song cue! In the finally cut I get the feeling the director had a series of Beatles songs he wanted to work with and tried to work out a pot where he could thread them together. The film would have been fair more enjoyable with fewer songs and better dialogue. The hard core Beatles fan will appreciate the music but as a film with a plot-it's a Long and (pointlessly) Winding Road(song cue!). | ||
![Speed Racer [Blu-ray]](product_images/4949000/speed-racer-blu-ray_t-4949190.jpg) | Speed Racer [Blu-ray] | |
| "Better on the small screen-eye searing CGI defeats plot" | 2009-06-30 |
| For many Americans of a certain age Speed Racer was our first exposure to anime back before we knew what that was. The idea someone could make this into a live action film was intriguing. The film focuses on Speed, proper noun, the middle son of the "Racer " family, a family based race team that is proudly independent of big corporate influence. Possibly the best driver on the circuit speed is courted by a major corporation for their team. Tempted by the glamour of the major corp, Speed remembers his beloved late brother, Rex, who had left the family to race for a corporation and died in a crash. Rejecting the corporation's offer he is told that racing is fixed and they will ruin him and his family. Speed then takes on the corporations the only way he can, behind the wheel, trying to prove them wrong, or break their deals if there are telling the truth. In the pacing, the look and the characters the film is amazingly true to the anime without going too far and filling in the characters without losing touch of where they came from. Delightedly the music is the original theme from Speed racer- not a modern version but the 1960's pianos and horns that grabbed peoples' imaginations. Bad guys have the bizarre hair style and clothes from the cartoon and while it looks weird, it still works in context. Then why did the film fail so spectacularly in the theatres? Because the CGI literally hurts to look at. The whole thing is done in eye searing, day glow colors. This is fine when you are looking at the race car or the arenas where the racing takes place. This is to some extent show business and needs some glitz. Unfortunately the other scenes are also done in this `whoa-brighter-than-life' mode and it is painful. Race car on the track? Luxury corporate suite? That is ok but when the front lawn seems to have a glow from it, the sky is a blue never seen in nature, and the office walls seem to radiate PURPLE!!!!! it is overwhelming. For all this though Speed Racer is probably a lot better on the small screen than the big. The smaller screen means the images are not quite as likely to bludgeon your senses and if you need a break you can turn it off and come back to it a few minutes later. In this way it is a fun film for kids and their parents who remember the anime fondly will enjoy it too, just be prepared to look away a few times just to let your eyes recover. | ||
 | You Only Live Twice: A James Bond Novel | |
| "Leaves you feeling empty." | 2009-05-28 |
| Most people are familiar with the films of James bond, agent 007, licensed to kill, but the novels written by Ian Fleming can be very different from the books that provide their names. Certainly this is the case in "You only Live Twice." Both the film and the book are set in Japan but beyond that they part ways quickly. In the book James Bond is nearly finished. 8 months after the murder of his wife Tracy at the end of "On Her Majesties Secret Service" he has gone from M's best man to the dregs of the service. M, considering his dismissal is prevailed upon to give Bond one last chance. Bond is promoted out of his beloved 00 section and transferred to the diplomatic branch with the code number 7777, and given a near impossible mission. He is go to Japan and convince the head of the Japanese Secret Service to share with Great Britain their decrypts of top secret Soviet messages. The problem is that post WW2 the United States views Japan as its private preserve and does not like poachers. The rather more serious problem is that Bond does not have much to bargain with and when it is quickly revealed that the Japanese are not interested in his one bargaining chip he is left with very little to go on.What he has is his own life and skills, and in return for these magic decrypts, Japan requires Bond to kill a Swiss botanist named Dr. Shatterhand, a man of evil intent and deed who, for political reasons the Japanese police cannot move against but a gaijan whose arrest if he fails cannot be tied to the government? This is acceptable. This is actually one of Fleming's weaker outings for Bond. Although he is in full force in his pacing and plotting and character development, part of what is missing is the setting. During the Second World War was deeply involved in the planning and control of British and American espionage units and his writing carries the flavor of how things really work, a far cry form the gadgets and gizmos of the films, However part of the charm of the books is his descriptions of the places where Bond's missions take him. Fleming knew France, Jamaica and the United States well and this carries over in his descriptions of the places. The reader truly gets a feel of the casinos, the beaches, the hotels and the streets. But Fleming did not know Japan and this is reflected in his writing, details that are common in other books are lacking here. If this is the first Bond book you've read, it is highly enjoyable but if you are well familiar with the books by Fleming, this will be a little disappointing. James bond is still in effect with all his prowess but the world he is moving in, compared with earlier books, is empty and unfulfilling. | ||
 | You Only Live Twice | |
| "Leaves you feeling empty." | 2009-05-28 |
| Most people are familiar with the films of James bond, agent 007, licensed to kill, but the novels written by Ian Fleming can be very different from the books that provide their names. Certainly this is the case in "You only Live Twice." Both the film and the book are set in Japan but beyond that they part ways quickly. In the book James Bond is nearly finished. 8 months after the murder of his wife Tracy at the end of "On Her Majesties Secret Service" he has gone from M's best man to the dregs of the service. M, considering his dismissal is prevailed upon to give Bond one last chance. Bond is promoted out of his beloved 00 section and transferred to the diplomatic branch with the code number 7777, and given a near impossible mission. He is go to Japan and convince the head of the Japanese Secret Service to share with Great Britain their decrypts of top secret Soviet messages. The problem is that post WW2 the United States views Japan as its private preserve and does not like poachers. The rather more serious problem is that Bond does not have much to bargain with and when it is quickly revealed that the Japanese are not interested in his one bargaining chip he is left with very little to go on.What he has is his own life and skills, and in return for these magic decrypts, Japan requires Bond to kill a Swiss botanist named Dr. Shatterhand, a man of evil intent and deed who, for political reasons the Japanese police cannot move against but a gaijan whose arrest if he fails cannot be tied to the government? This is acceptable. This is actually one of Fleming's weaker outings for Bond. Although he is in full force in his pacing and plotting and character development, part of what is missing is the setting. During the Second World War was deeply involved in the planning and control of British and American espionage units and his writing carries the flavor of how things really work, a far cry form the gadgets and gizmos of the films, However part of the charm of the books is his descriptions of the places where Bond's missions take him. Fleming knew France, Jamaica and the United States well and this carries over in his descriptions of the places. The reader truly gets a feel of the casinos, the beaches, the hotels and the streets. But Fleming did not know Japan and this is reflected in his writing, details that are common in other books are lacking here. If this is the first Bond book you've read, it is highly enjoyable but if you are well familiar with the books by Fleming, this will be a little disappointing. James bond is still in effect with all his prowess but the world he is moving in, compared with earlier books, is empty and unfulfilling. | ||
 | You Only Live Twice | |
| "Leaves you feeling empty." | 2009-05-28 |
| Most people are familiar with the films of James bond, agent 007, licensed to kill, but the novels written by Ian Fleming can be very different from the books that provide their names. Certainly this is the case in "You only Live Twice." Both the film and the book are set in Japan but beyond that they part ways quickly. In the book James Bond is nearly finished. 8 months after the murder of his wife Tracy at the end of "On Her Majesties Secret Service" he has gone from M's best man to the dregs of the service. M, considering his dismissal is prevailed upon to give Bond one last chance. Bond is promoted out of his beloved 00 section and transferred to the diplomatic branch with the code number 7777, and given a near impossible mission. He is go to Japan and convince the head of the Japanese Secret Service to share with Great Britain their decrypts of top secret Soviet messages. The problem is that post WW2 the United States views Japan as its private preserve and does not like poachers. The rather more serious problem is that Bond does not have much to bargain with and when it is quickly revealed that the Japanese are not interested in his one bargaining chip he is left with very little to go on.What he has is his own life and skills, and in return for these magic decrypts, Japan requires Bond to kill a Swiss botanist named Dr. Shatterhand, a man of evil intent and deed who, for political reasons the Japanese police cannot move against but a gaijan whose arrest if he fails cannot be tied to the government? This is acceptable. This is actually one of Fleming's weaker outings for Bond. Although he is in full force in his pacing and plotting and character development, part of what is missing is the setting. During the Second World War was deeply involved in the planning and control of British and American espionage units and his writing carries the flavor of how things really work, a far cry form the gadgets and gizmos of the films, However part of the charm of the books is his descriptions of the places where Bond's missions take him. Fleming knew France, Jamaica and the United States well and this carries over in his descriptions of the places. The reader truly gets a feel of the casinos, the beaches, the hotels and the streets. But Fleming did not know Japan and this is reflected in his writing, details that are common in other books are lacking here. If this is the first Bond book you've read, it is highly enjoyable but if you are well familiar with the books by Fleming, this will be a little disappointing. James bond is still in effect with all his prowess but the world he is moving in, compared with earlier books, is empty and unfulfilling. | ||
 | Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, the Japanese Navy's Story | |
| "A well known battle as seen from the other side" | 2009-05-05 |
| Written in the early 1950's this book gives a fascinating insight into the mindset of the Japanese Navy from the early days of World War 2 through their devastating defeat at Midway. For those who do not recognize the name of the main author, Mitsuo Fuchida, he was the Imperial Navy's strike leader, in the American terms the Combat Air Commander, for the First Carrier Strike Force. He was the man who led the attack on Pearl Harbor and was the one who sent back the coded message "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Until he was wounded at Midway when his ship was sunk under him he led the strikes on Ceylon and viewed the planning of the attack on Midway Island, with an unenviable front row seat for the American counter attack. After Midway he was attached to staff positions and was part of the committee that investigated the defeat at Midway, so clearly he was the man who knew what was going on. Fuchida looks most closely at where things went wrong at Midway. The Japanese navy was run on the idea they would be outnumbered in battle but would win through superior quality over their enemies' superior numbers. At Midway however they had a vast level of numerical superiority but by the end they had been decisively defeated by a much smaller enemy and to all intents and purposes, had lost the war. In this age Japanese culture seems to be either extreme pacifists who declare all military evil or right wing ultra nationalists who still say they waged a justified and defensive war. Fuchida brilliantly straddles this gap. Without using it to justify the war he explains the Japanese military mindset which led to the war and how they viewed the naval arms race of the 1930's. At the same time he points out how the Japanese army and navy were not communicating with each other and this led to the different services developing widely different strategies and policies that became so set in stone that they were unable to change even as it became obvious they were badly flawed. Fuchida relates from the Japanese side an eye witness view of the attack on Pearl Harbor and briefly addresses the various questions that came up at that time such as why there was no invasion of the Hawaiian Islands or no further air strikes on the bases there. From there he follows the growing sense of frustration by the carrier crews on various raids that they were not properly employed by the navy. Beyond detailing the actual battle of Midway, whose various phases have been well documented, Fuchida's book covers the internal politics of the Japanese navy and the internal conflicts it suffered with as different factions debated even if Midway should be attacked. If I have one serious complaint, and it could have been corrected by the publisher, it is that there is in general a lack of maps detailing where any of the actions take place. A few charts show how ships in the fleet twisted and turned under attacked but other wise the reader is left to wonder where any of the sites named are in relation to anything else. For example there is a map on page 131 of the area around New Zeeland, but nothing on other areas and this is 70 pages after detailing the actions in those waters. Overall however this is an outstanding book showing the war from a quarter little is heard from as far too many senior Japanese officers did not survive the war or the following trials. Written by a professional who understands not all his readers will be professionals Fuchida keeps his prose and technical jargon under control. And while he may wave the flag a little or get a few details wrong, like the names of ships bombed or the type of allied planes who attacked his ships, the editor's corrections make sure the very few factual errors are corrected and the reader is left with an amazing insight into the mind of the Imperial Navy as it went to its doom only 6 months after its most outstanding victory. | ||
 | Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan, the Japanese Navy's Story (Now Hear This) | |
| "A well known battle as seen from the other side" | 2009-05-05 |
| Written in the early 1950's this book gives a fascinating insight into the mindset of the Japanese Navy from the early days of World War 2 through their devastating defeat at Midway. For those who do not recognize the name of the main author, Mitsuo Fuchida, he was the Imperial Navy's strike leader, in the American terms the Combat Air Commander, for the First Carrier Strike Force. He was the man who led the attack on Pearl Harbor and was the one who sent back the coded message "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Until he was wounded at Midway when his ship was sunk under him he led the strikes on Ceylon and viewed the planning of the attack on Midway Island, with an unenviable front row seat for the American counter attack. After Midway he was attached to staff positions and was part of the committee that investigated the defeat at Midway, so clearly he was the man who knew what was going on. Fuchida looks most closely at where things went wrong at Midway. The Japanese navy was run on the idea they would be outnumbered in battle but would win through superior quality over their enemies' superior numbers. At Midway however they had a vast level of numerical superiority but by the end they had been decisively defeated by a much smaller enemy and to all intents and purposes, had lost the war. In this age Japanese culture seems to be either extreme pacifists who declare all military evil or right wing ultra nationalists who still say they waged a justified and defensive war. Fuchida brilliantly straddles this gap. Without using it to justify the war he explains the Japanese military mindset which led to the war and how they viewed the naval arms race of the 1930's. At the same time he points out how the Japanese army and navy were not communicating with each other and this led to the different services developing widely different strategies and policies that became so set in stone that they were unable to change even as it became obvious they were badly flawed. Fuchida relates from the Japanese side an eye witness view of the attack on Pearl Harbor and briefly addresses the various questions that came up at that time such as why there was no invasion of the Hawaiian Islands or no further air strikes on the bases there. From there he follows the growing sense of frustration by the carrier crews on various raids that they were not properly employed by the navy. Beyond detailing the actual battle of Midway, whose various phases have been well documented, Fuchida's book covers the internal politics of the Japanese navy and the internal conflicts it suffered with as different factions debated even if Midway should be attacked. If I have one serious complaint, and it could have been corrected by the publisher, it is that there is in general a lack of maps detailing where any of the actions take place. A few charts show how ships in the fleet twisted and turned under attacked but other wise the reader is left to wonder where any of the sites named are in relation to anything else. For example there is a map on page 131 of the area around New Zeeland, but nothing on other areas and this is 70 pages after detailing the actions in those waters. Overall however this is an outstanding book showing the war from a quarter little is heard from as far too many senior Japanese officers did not survive the war or the following trials. Written by a professional who understands not all his readers will be professionals Fuchida keeps his prose and technical jargon under control. And while he may wave the flag a little or get a few details wrong, like the names of ships bombed or the type of allied planes who attacked his ships, the editor's corrections make sure the very few factual errors are corrected and the reader is left with an amazing insight into the mind of the Imperial Navy as it went to its doom only 6 months after its most outstanding victory. | ||
 | Moonraker | |
| "Outstanding cold war action" | 2009-03-24 |
| Many people are familiar with the films about James Bond, the British spy with the `license to kill' running around in a world of glamour and high tech toys but in reading the books you enter a whole new world. The books bring to life the times and culture of the 50's and 60's that has since faded and also have the virtue of giving the reader insight into the mind of Bond, The doubts, fears and self recriminations that film can never capture. Moonraker, blessedly nothing like the campy Roger Moore film of the same name, is my personal favorite of the books by Fleming and the only Bond adventure set completely in England. The Moonraker is the name given to Britain's first InterContinental Ballistic Missile being built by Sir Hugo Drax, a loud, boorish self made millionaire to defend his homeland. The problem comes that when Bond and M are actually playing cards with Sir Hugo at Blades a fashionable London club, one of the German workers on the site murders the RAF security chief and then commits suicide. Bond is dispatched as the new security chief with orders to be very careful. Investigate the death without disturbing the tightly wound team that has almost completed work on the weapon that will keep Britain safe from all comers. Is it just a case of nerves in a committed, highly strung team, or did the former chief really see something? Is Hugo Drax just running a tight ship to give Britain the ultimate weapon or is there something else, something more sinister going on behind that war scared face? Fleming truly knew the espionage business and his books, written during the cold war, reflect this. He writes with authority of a world that has since faded, and the chapters with Bond and M having dinner and then playing cards are my favorites in the entire series. Look beyond the horrid Roger Moore film to read this outstanding book of cold war tensions. | ||
 | Casino Royale: A James Bond Novel | |
| "the start of the legend" | 2009-03-24 |
| Many people are familiar with the films about James Bond, the British spy with the `license to kill' running around in a world of glamour and high tech toys but in reading the books you enter a whole new world. The books bring to life the times and culture of the 50's and 60's that has since faded and also have the virtue of giving the reader insight into the mind of Bond, The doubts, fears and self recriminations that film can never capture. In the first James Bond book ever written, he is sent to France to play cards; the KGB paymaster in France has embezzled funds for private investment and lost it. He is trying to gamble to build his capital back up before the next audit reveals he's all but bankrupted the communist organization in France. Bond cannot just shoot the man. The KGB would quietly replace the funds and make him a martyr for the cause. But if Bond can clean him out at the tables then walk away without his cover being blown, then the communists will kill their own man to punish him sowing discord between French and Soviet communists. The outstanding film with Daniel Craig broadly follows this with Bond there being responsible for the financial losses too. That film has more action and violence. The book is so well written that the real tension comes from around the card table and while the film shows a luxury high end casino, Fleming's writing sets in detail the feel and smell of the casino's of the northern French coast. It is a world in which the roads, the towns and beaches spring to life and make you wish you could just for a little while visit. Some have said that Fleming was all glam and Le Carre was the real spy work, but Fleming truly knew the espionage business and his books, written during the cold war, reflect this. In WW2 Fleming worked for the British Secret Service as an organizer and a planner. He was so good at that, that when the US joined the war, he was sent out to help them organize their spy network. He wrote their charter, the raison d'être for the American spy service during the war. That charter was later moved, almost verbatim into the new spy network after the war that exists to this day. So think on that. In effect Ian Fleming, the writer who created the fictional spy James Bond, in real life, wrote the operational charter for the Central Intelligence Agency and with this being his entrance into the fiction genre one can fairly wonder how close to the truth it really was. | ||
 | Casino Royale | |
| "the start of the legend" | 2009-03-24 |
| Many people are familiar with the films about James Bond, the British spy with the `license to kill' running around in a world of glamour and high tech toys but in reading the books you enter a whole new world. The books bring to life the times and culture of the 50's and 60's that has since faded and also have the virtue of giving the reader insight into the mind of Bond, The doubts, fears and self recriminations that film can never capture. In the first James Bond book ever written, he is sent to France to play cards; the KGB paymaster in France has embezzled funds for private investment and lost it. He is trying to gamble to build his capital back up before the next audit reveals he's all but bankrupted the communist organization in France. Bond cannot just shoot the man. The KGB would quietly replace the funds and make him a martyr for the cause. But if Bond can clean him out at the tables then walk away without his cover being blown, then the communists will kill their own man to punish him sowing discord between French and Soviet communists. The outstanding film with Daniel Craig broadly follows this with Bond there being responsible for the financial losses too. That film has more action and violence. The book is so well written that the real tension comes from around the card table and while the film shows a luxury high end casino, Fleming's writing sets in detail the feel and smell of the casino's of the northern French coast. It is a world in which the roads, the towns and beaches spring to life and make you wish you could just for a little while visit. Some have said that Fleming was all glam and Le Carre was the real spy work, but Fleming truly knew the espionage business and his books, written during the cold war, reflect this. In WW2 Fleming worked for the British Secret Service as an organizer and a planner. He was so good at that, that when the US joined the war, he was sent out to help them organize their spy network. He wrote their charter, the raison d'être for the American spy service during the war. That charter was later moved, almost verbatim into the new spy network after the war that exists to this day. So think on that. In effect Ian Fleming, the writer who created the fictional spy James Bond, in real life, wrote the operational charter for the Central Intelligence Agency and with this being his entrance into the fiction genre one can fairly wonder how close to the truth it really was. | ||
 | Thunderball: A James Bond Novel (James Bond Novels) | |
| "how to steal a nuclear bomb in 1 easy lesson" | 2009-03-24 |
| Many people are familiar with the films about James Bond, the British spy with the `license to kill' running around in a world of glamour and high tech toys but in reading the books you enter a whole new world. The books bring to life the times and culture of the 50's and 60's that has since faded and also have the virtue of giving the reader insight into the mind of Bond, The doubts, fears and self recriminations that film can never capture. Both book and film start with Bond being sent to Shrublands health Clinic for a detox' program. The film makes it look like a spa. In the book the reader feels the hunger pangs of people living on a grapefruit and carrot juice diet and a small feud with a former Chinese Tong member only serves to keep Bond's wits sharp. Then the criminal organization SPECTRE plans to steal 2 nuclear weapons from the RAF and then blackmail the world into paying them $100 million dollars. On only the thinnest of leads, M send his best man to the Bahamas with the hope he can find the bombs before the deadline is reached to pay up or else. The book and movie follow almost parallel threads with a couple of significant differences. The movie has more violence and less reason for Bond to take an interest in the villain. In the movie he has an attractive mistress and is really a creepy guy. In the book Bond has more developed reasons for looking into Emil Largo and deeper issues with why Bond can't just shoot him and go home. Reader know that Largo is the bad guy but bond doesn't and he also has to deal with the fact he might be wrong and chasing a false lead. The book also goes into detail of the wonderful scenery of the Bahamas in the early 1960's, the land of yachts and private beaches and nightclubs that you wish you could visit today. There are also well written scenes of scuba diving and a lecture from Bond's CIA contact to a cheating bartender on the proper way to mix a drink that is sterling. Fleming truly knew the espionage business and his books, written during the cold war, reflect this, the dark gritty world of professional thugs just behind the glittering world of jet setting millionaires and estate houses. The film has more sex and violence the book, more color and atmosphere. The film may let you see the girls in bikinis on the beach, the book with let you feel the heat of the sun and the cool of the drinks while you watch them. | ||
 | Moonraker | |
| "Outstanding cold war action" | 2009-03-24 |
| Many people are familiar with the films about James Bond, the British spy with the `license to kill' running around in a world of glamour and high tech toys but in reading the books you enter a whole new world. The books bring to life the times and culture of the 50's and 60's that has since faded and also have the virtue of giving the reader insight into the mind of Bond, The doubts, fears and self recriminations that film can never capture. Moonraker, blessedly nothing like the campy Roger Moore film of the same name, is my personal favorite of the books by Fleming and the only Bond adventure set completely in England. The Moonraker is the name given to Britain's first InterContinental Ballistic Missile being built by Sir Hugo Drax, a loud, boorish self made millionaire to defend his homeland. The problem comes that when Bond and M are actually playing cards with Sir Hugo at Blades a fashionable London club, one of the German workers on the site murders the RAF security chief and then commits suicide. Bond is dispatched as the new security chief with orders to be very careful. Investigate the death without disturbing the tightly wound team that has almost completed work on the weapon that will keep Britain safe from all comers. Is it just a case of nerves in a committed, highly strung team, or did the former chief really see something? Is Hugo Drax just running a tight ship to give Britain the ultimate weapon or is there something else, something more sinister going on behind that war scared face? Fleming truly knew the espionage business and his books, written during the cold war, reflect this. He writes with authority of a world that has since faded, and the chapters with Bond and M having dinner and then playing cards are my favorites in the entire series. Look beyond the horrid Roger Moore film to read this outstanding book of cold war tensions. | ||
 | Moonraker | |
| "Outstanding cold war action" | 2009-03-24 |
| Many people are familiar with the films about James Bond, the British spy with the `license to kill' running around in a world of glamour and high tech toys but in reading the books you enter a whole new world. The books bring to life the times and culture of the 50's and 60's that has since faded and also have the virtue of giving the reader insight into the mind of Bond, The doubts, fears and self recriminations that film can never capture. Moonraker, blessedly nothing like the campy Roger Moore film of the same name, is my personal favorite of the books by Fleming and the only Bond adventure set completely in England. The Moonraker is the name given to Britain's first InterContinental Ballistic Missile being built by Sir Hugo Drax, a loud, boorish self made millionaire to defend his homeland. The problem comes that when Bond and M are actually playing cards with Sir Hugo at Blades a fashionable London club, one of the German workers on the site murders the RAF security chief and then commits suicide. Bond is dispatched as the new security chief with orders to be very careful. Investigate the death without disturbing the tightly wound team that has almost completed work on the weapon that will keep Britain safe from all comers. Is it just a case of nerves in a committed, highly strung team, or did the former chief really see something? Is Hugo Drax just running a tight ship to give Britain the ultimate weapon or is there something else, something more sinister going on behind that war scared face? Fleming truly knew the espionage business and his books, written during the cold war, reflect this. He writes with authority of a world that has since faded, and the chapters with Bond and M having dinner and then playing cards are my favorites in the entire series. Look beyond the horrid Roger Moore film to read this outstanding book of cold war tensions. | ||
 | Goldfinger by Ian Fleming, ISBN 0786122269 | |
| "Rare case that the film was better" | 2009-03-24 |
| Many people are familiar with the films about James Bond, the British spy with the `license to kill' running around in a world of glamour and high tech toys but in reading the books you enter a whole new world. The books bring to life the times and culture of the 50's and 60's that has since faded and also have the virtue of giving the reader insight into the mind of Bond, The doubts, fears and self recriminations that film can never capture. The film with Sean Connery about a legal jeweler believed to be smuggling gold is generally acknowledged as the best of the Bond films and this is a case where the movie is better than the book. Running almost parallel to the film, in the book it is believed that Auric Goldfinger is actually the KGB paymaster in Britain and is using his stores to launder money. If Bond can prove he is a smuggler, the Crown can then seize his businesses and shut down the money flow to enemy spies. Along the way Bond becomes caught up in an audacious plan to rob Fort Knox! Fleming truly knew the espionage business and his books, written during the cold war, reflect this and while the descriptions of Switzerland and Miami are wonderful the plot in this particular Bond book and resolution are kind of hard to take. If you saw the movie and thought it was over the top, forget it, this is worse. | ||
 | Goldfinger: 007, A James Bond Novel | |
| "Rare case that the film was better" | 2009-03-24 |
| Many people are familiar with the films about James Bond, the British spy with the `license to kill' running around in a world of glamour and high tech toys but in reading the books you enter a whole new world. The books bring to life the times and culture of the 50's and 60's that has since faded and also have the virtue of giving the reader insight into the mind of Bond, The doubts, fears and self recriminations that film can never capture. The film with Sean Connery about a legal jeweler believed to be smuggling gold is generally acknowledged as the best of the Bond films and this is a case where the movie is better than the book. Running almost parallel to the film, in the book it is believed that Auric Goldfinger is actually the KGB paymaster in Britain and is using his stores to launder money. If Bond can prove he is a smuggler, the Crown can then seize his businesses and shut down the money flow to enemy spies. Along the way Bond becomes caught up in an audacious plan to rob Fort Knox! Fleming truly knew the espionage business and his books, written during the cold war, reflect this and while the descriptions of Switzerland and Miami are wonderful the plot in this particular Bond book and resolution are kind of hard to take. If you saw the movie and thought it was over the top, forget it, this is worse. | ||
 | Noir - The Firing Chamber (Vol. 3) | |
| "Chloe thinks she's James Coburn " | 2009-03-08 |
| Noir is an adventure series based around a French hit woman named Mireille and a Japanese school girl named Kirika. Mireille is capably living under her own terms when she received an e-mail from a girl in Japan that lures her east believing there may at long last be the answers to the murders of her parent years ago. The name of their new company? Noir, a name in the underworld that has been used by assassins for years. On the third disc the two main characters are back in form and discover there is an organization behind their mysteries. The problem here comes in the form of Chloe the young woman with purple hair and a green cape and surprisingly for anime she does have asian features. Chloe is also an assassin, specializing in knives who claims to be "the true Noir' but she doesn't seem to hold any animosity for the two women she see's as `pretenders to the title. The trouble is Chloe is way over the top in appearance and behavior. While the two main characters are anime hero levels in their fighting abilities, Chloe is so out there as to make the suspension of disbelief difficult. It is one thing to us a knife in close in a building, but by the 3rd episode on the disc she is having a fight on a mountain side against multiple men, all armed with guns and she's throwing knives further and harder than they can shoot. It's at the `you gotta be kidding me level.' And is very disruptive. This started out is really well but by this disc you start to worry if the rot has set in and is it worth going on. Unfortunately is gonna get worse. | ||
 | Noir - End of the Matter (Vol. 7) | |
| "Noir is at your door!" | 2009-03-08 |
| Noir is an adventure series based around a French hit woman named Mireille and a Japanese school girl named Kirika. Mireille is capably living under her own terms when she received an e-mail from a girl in Japan that lures her east believing there may at long last be the answers to the murders of her parent years ago. The name of their new company? Noir, a name in the underworld that has been used by assassins for years. OK if you made it this far, through some really weak discs 5 & 6 then your patience is about to be rewarded. At this point you learn that the organization of the Soldats has multiple factions with in it. The one who controls Noir will control the organization. There have been several young women groomed for the role and of them only Chloe, Kirika and Mireille are still alive. A more worldly faction wants to back Mireille's claim to one of two spots on the Noir team so someone of `there's or at least to loyal to the other faction will be part of the team. Two spots, three candidates to make a team of legendary assassins who wants to be turned loose on their enemies. It is well done, well developed, for once the pistol accuracy is rather more realistic and if you think the nuns of your youth were nasty, you ain't seen nothing yet! I won't say who says it, but for me the high point of the series is when "someone" calls out a warning " Noir is at your door!" It carries all the threat it is supposed to. The caller is not just some underworld thug with a gun, but at that point has claim to the title of a mystic avenger turned lose on those who thought they could control her. The extras on the DVD's are, for once pretty good as the American voice actresses for the 4 principal parts get to explain what they felt about their characters. The previous 2 discs were kind of painful from the continuity and even self logic point of view. But if you like anime: THIS IS WORTH IT! | ||
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