I am a big fan of the Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, I have yet to read the books. That being said, it was nice to start with The Hobbit. I began listening to the audio book on Youtube. For however old the recording was, it was actually quite well done. The accompaniment of music in the background added a nice touch to the tone of the story.
Bilbo Baggins reluctantly accepts a call to adventure from Gandalf and a band of dwarves. He is to burglarize the Dragon’s undeserved treasure from the Lonely Mountain. He goes through a transformation turning from an innocent cautious man living only with what is comfortable to him, into a self-reliant independent person worthy of carrying his own sword.
Seeing the ring come into play was cool. Mostly because I knew what a major role it would take in the later stories it held. It freaked me out when he fought a giant spider. Screw that. Imagine getting wrapped up in a web by a giant spider. That would ruin your day for sure. Fortunately he was able to escape and slay it. Unfortunately he did not have a giant boot to do the squashing with. Alas, the sword worked fine.
I didn’t read the book as I did watch the movie a while ago and it deterred me from reading the book… However, I could imagine that it would be quite similar to the book, as it was all based on an interview, similarly to World War Z. Tom Cruise kind of irritated me through the whole thing. Just his attitude and he was so damn smug. It was really messed up when they turned the young Kirsten Dunst into a vampire. She was like 8 years old for so freaking long! That’s just such an uncomfortable concept to grasp. Someone who looks like a twelve-year-old but retains the knowledge of a 200+ year old! The fuck?!
My favorite scene(s) were when they tried killing Tom Cruise by feeding him dead blood and tossing him into a swamp, and when they stumbled upon a group of vampires in London who happened to work in theatre. Being a vampire, performing a theatrical production based on vampires was pretty clever on their behalf. They could feed every night of the show, and be able to do it in front of a huge audience! Nice.
The ending irritated me. The interviewer wanted to become a vampire Brad Pitt refused to turn him. He leaves, and then Tom Cruise returns from the dead (or so we thought) and bites the interviewer and turns him into a vampire. Basically, making the story restart. And Tom Cruise still is wearing that old school outfit with the whimsical cuffs. I mean… come on, man, it’s at least the 90’s now. Trade in that old getup for a windbreaker or something.
This is not a film that I can watch, probably for another 20 years, give or take. God forbid I get turned into a vampire and have to hang out with Tom Cruise for eternity or watch this movie more than one more time or read the book.
I love zombies. I’m not necessarily sure why, perhaps the impending doom to mankind as we know it, halt to civilization, the scenarios that are manifested, or the ample opportunities for cheesy catch phrases. That being said, I felt a need to check out Monster Island.
It is terrifying to think of New York City (as any other city) being overrun by zombies. How they encountered the horde on Liberty Island in the beginning is incredibly vivid, and the entire “Give me…” thought was absolutely horrifying.
When I first read it, I thought Gary was one of the survivors. Well, I guess he did survive, but in a less glamorous way. In fact, it took me a few read-overs to understand that he was a zombie. Obviously, I have never experienced what it is like to be a zombie, but I felt that Wellington did an impeccable job describing it. His description provides an intriguing thought: What if you woke up after you died? What would you think about? What would you feel?
However, I don’t believe the scary part of zombies lie in their physical nature. They are dead bodies that just so happen to move, target practice. Their numbers are vast, and their attitude of constantly feasting upon the morsels of human flesh is kind of messed up, but their significance in symbolism is more chilling than any other undead characteristic.
We as humans are prone to violence, unfortunately against one another. Wars are fought between people have been happening since the beginning of civilized time. This makes me wonder, what if there is a war going on between some powerhouse countries when zombies attack? What if zombies attacked during World War II? Would all the parties involved drop everything and start fighting the zombies to protect mankind? Or would they continue to kill one another in order to obtain their objectives of war, and then kill the zombies that they just made by trying to obtain their objectives, in order to protect mankind? Probably the latter.
I also find it interesting that obtaining the cure for AIDS is the main goal, where the cure for zombies is pushed aside, then again, the cure for AIDS protects the living, the cure for zombies has already been in use, guns and bullets.
Wellington did a great job on providing a fresh concept for zombies. Being able to hinder brain damage by continuing to pump air into the lungs post mortem is one thing. But the addition of any living organism to the menu of the undead is a relatively foreign concept, as well as animal zombification. These ideas challenge most zombie characteristics that have been basically set in stone by other zombie entrepreneurs such as Max Brooks and George Romero. A bold move by Wellington, however he pulled it off quite well
Frankenstein is one of those subjects that I don’t feel I can really get into because I’ve heard the story so many times. But that’s just me. From a creative standpoint, it’s a great story. Mary Shelley did a fantastic job at creating a monster never seen before, as well as having it seem not so impossible of actually happening.
I remember when I was younger and found out that ‘Frankenstein’ did not refer to the monster, but the scientist in the book, and ‘Frankenstein’s Monster’ was the correct terminology for the spliced up body of flesh. Being able to correct my peers on their misnaming of the monster was one of my proudest moments of my childhood, among other things.
In a way, not only did Shelley create the thought of a “failed science experiment” running lose or better yet, “successful science experiment” she created a basic concept of zombies. But also made a direct point to beware of playing God, everyone needs to be loved, and looks aren’t everything.
Side note: Shelley was 18 when she wrote this. That’s crazy!
Grimy urban environment.
Population surplus (sprawl)
Near future
Human or Android
Enhancements
Foreign culture dominates
Hero is a beta male
Cyberpunk heroine
Cyberspace (Gender equal)
Large industry controlling society
