woodge blog

Many complain that Inglourious Basterds is too long but two and a half hour running lengths have never bothered me. Tarantino is adept at delivering scenes filled with tension.  The opening scene is one such example and it also introduces the films charismatic main villain Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). But viewers shouldn't think this is going to be a typical WW II action flick. It's too talky for that. Instead there are various suspenseful scenes that are delicious to watch.  They are strung together not so artfully but they make the movie worthwhile.  Occasionally it gets gruesome: there are vivid scenes of scalping, throats being cut, savage beatings, bodies ripped apart by bullets... but these scenes are almost within the movie like an afterthought.  Brad Pitt is very entertaining as the hillbilly leader of a team of Jewish avengers in Nazi-occupied France.  And Melanie Laurent as a Jewess hellbent on revenge gives a smoldering performance.  The aforementioned Christoph Waltz is excellent. Inglourious Basterds would have benefitted from a tighter, more flowing plot but it has some wickedly suspenseful parts.  Also, don't look for historical accuracy. This is a fantasy.

10 million square miles of garbage... more than six times as much plastic as plankton...

Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1) ~ Steven Erikson
mmpb 688 pages ISBN-10: 0765348780 ISBN-13: 978-0765348784

This is the first book in a 10-volume series (eight of which are currently published). It's an epic fantasy spanning a world and with a myriad different characters. There are several maps, lists of dramatis personae, and glossaries to help you navigate this intricate world. It would be daunting to someone new to the fantasy genre, and on someone less so to a fan (like me).

Until relatively recently, I resisted getting involved in multi-volume fantasy series — at least those that expand beyond a trilogy. But that all changed when I started George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series (4 published, 3 to come). Got hooked there. I also got hooked on Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series (I've read 2 of 6 so far). Erikson has been compared to Martin because both are not afraid to kill off main characters (both good, evil, and somewhere in between). But these three, Erikson, Martin, and Butcher all have very different writing styles. Erikson's style is less straight-forward than the others. With Martin and Butcher, following the plot and the character's motivations doesn't tax your brain. But there is so much going on in Erikson's world. It's a little much at first but then a third of the way through this book, it begins to get clearer. And his use of sorcery in the story is heavy, detailed, and fascinating.

It's a strange place — maybe not as strange as China Mieville's Bas-Lag, but wonderfully strange all the same. And the characters are wildly diverse as well. But they could use some more fleshing out. Of the two dozen or so that I followed through this tale, I was only getting a clear picture of four or five of them. But I found the whole thing to wickedly engrossing. I love some of the weirdness he puts into this tale, like, for instance, a sorcerer who ends up having his soul transferred into a marionette. Think Chucky with wizardly powers. In this series the Malazan empire is hellbent on world domination but that is neither easy nor assured. Who knows how long it will take me to get through this series, but I'm looking forward to doing so.

One thing I gotta add is that Jeez Laweez, but these Malazan covers are cheesy-looking! I mean, look at this one, is that guy sporting a mullet?! Sheesh. And, Book 3 looks like it may have the worst cover. I'd be embarrassed if I cared enough.

Over my recent vacation I often sat down with Luke (age 7) to draw pictures together.  Subjects ranged from robots, to mazes, to dream-house plans, to armies fighting, and so forth. I'd often find that Luke's own pictures bore an uncanny similarity to whatever I was drawing at the time. ;-)  Part of the fun of being a dad is revisiting your inner kid. I don't think I've drifted very far from my own inner kid. 

Here are two of the battle scene pictures I drew. For fun, I colorized them via Photoshop.

   

Click here to download:

battle_scene_doodles.zip (2391 KB)

It used to be that spending time at the beach meant actively seeking a tan, ogling nubile young things, reading paperbacks and swilling diet coke. Now it means wearing a shirt, putting sunscreen on my bald spot, playing in the surf with my kids, building sandcastles, ogling nubile young things, and wondering why I even bothered bringing reading material.

Today I had to explain to my Chinese* and Vietnamese* coworkers what the proper Japanese suffix was that denotes respect.  Frikkin clueless Asians! (Only some disrespect intended). Woodge-san has spoken. On a related note, I can only pronounce one of their last names (Nguyen) if I pretend I am drunk. Frikkin clueless white boy! (No respect intended). If any of the preceding offends you, shut the hell up and go get yourself a sense of humor. Ciao!

* []-American

Academ's Fury (Codex Alera, Book 2) ~ Jim Butcher

mass market paperback 544 pages ISBN-10: 0441013406 ISBN-13: 978-0441013401

This is the second in a series of six and this entry was every bit as exciting and thrilling as the first (Furies of Calderon). This book takes up two years after the events in the first book (Tavi is seventeen now). Many of the same players from the first book are back and there are many more new villains.  Butcher keeps the action going strong and the interest level high which makes for a fast and fun read.  The Codex Alera is fast becoming one of my favorite fantasy series.  This book also delivers some cool plot twists/revelations.  Highly recommended.

When a trailer is playing for a movie I really want to see, I always avert my eyes and plug my ears. They give too much away, and they can eat into your experience of watching a movie.
~ actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt

I concur.

The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, Volume Two ~ Gordon Dahlquist
trade paperback 432 pages ISBN-10: 0553385860 ISBN-13: 978-0553385861

This book is the second half of the story begun in Volume One. Not sure why it was split into two volumes, together they are about 900-odd pages of a story, on the large side, surely, but I devoured it fairly quickly. Like Volume One, Volume Two has many hair's-breadth escapes, confrontations, and other suspenseful stuff.  Sometimes they get a bit too descriptive, but this story holds your interest throughout. The characters both good and bad are wonderful creations.  And our three protagonists prove themselves worthy adversaries for the numerous bad guys in the sinister cabal.  If the body count in Volume One is impressive, it's nothing compared to Volume Two.  Our heroes (and heroine) are deadly!  Guns, knives, sabres, glass shards -- and that's just a partial list of the weapons they employ.  And the final denouement is an extremely cinematic (and bloody) smorgasbord of good versus evil.  And there is one small hanging thread that leaves room for a sequel.  I understand that the recently published book, The Dark Volume continues the adventures. Sweet.  This was a fantastic story in every sense.  Wicked fun.

The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, Volume One ~ Gordon Dahlquist
trade paperback 480 pages ISBN-10: 0553385852 ISBN-13: 978-0553385854

This is fast becoming my favorite story of the year and I'm only half done (I'm currently reading Volume Two).  This is a Victorian adventure which combines elements of mystery, a dash of science fiction, a smattering of romance, and is smothered in suspense.  Didn't take long for me to hooked into the story, either. It charges right along keeping you hungry for what happens next.  There are three main protagonists who are very dissimilar yet they are all tenacious.  The book is peopled with all manner of types, from lords and ladies to rogues, whores, and assassins.  There are several death-defying escapes and chases.  The main characters are compelling and very likable, the villains are varied, dangerous, and fleshed-out as well. The writing is top-notch.  I really love this story, it's cinematic, larger-than-life and something you can really lose yourself in.  Very fun.