meganbmoore | reading/viewing update

I need a bookworm icon for these updates...

"Dead Beat" by Jim Butcher(urban fantasy) Well, it only took an eternity or so for this to come out in paperback. Don't think I'll be waiting for "Proven Guilty" to come out in PB, takes too long. Lots of unexpected changes and such, pretty much all for the best. Not enough Murphy, though. Probably the best of this lot of books I read.

"Sharpe's Gold" by Bernard Cornwell(historical fiction) About like the first Sharpe book, but with a more likable gal to decorate his arm/bed. Good book, though it doesn't stand out apart from his other books I've read(which is good, as it would probably mean I didn't like it if it did) Not as good as "Gallow's Thief," though.

"Falling Awake" by Jayne Ann Krentz(romantic suspense) And JAK's latest kick is psychic dreaming. Excuse me "level five" dreaming. I love JAK, and I liked this (more than the Zoe Luce books, (which were still good, just not AS good) but I wish she'd move past the psychic stuff both as JAK and as Amanda Quick, and just go back to straight romantic suspense.

"Leopard Lord" by Alanna Morland(fantasy) It cracks me up how the back cover blurbs of this authors 2 books make them sound like they're primarily romance, and then they aren't. Good book, I think the first one I read(technically the sequel to this, though it's about a different character and there's only a very little bit of overlap) was better.

Basara Vol 17: Aaaah...at last. The last few volumes have been(necessarily) gloomy and slightly depressing, but this book brings it back to (mostly) circa book 8~ -12~ with a considerably more hopeful air. Now if we can just get Shuri and Ageha some more page time...

Black Cat Vol 1: Like the story, like the characters, not overly big on just how the story is told. For whayever reason the "superdangerous dark and deadly guy is also a goodnatured, simpleminded goof who changes when needed" setup seems to be really popular in manga and anime(Trigun and Rurouni Kenshin are probably the best know examples of this) but it never quite works for me, except maybe for Kenshin(note: love Kenshin, just that particular set up is a bit over the top for me)

Green Arrow Vol 6: Moving Targets: First story: Great, despite the "give character HIV do I can make a really boring political statement" element and the near-pseudo incest(anyone else concerned that Winnick made sure he established Mia as being 17 before the OYL jump, making her legal now?) But the second...eeeh...seemed like Winnick was clueless and just threw a bunch of stuff in.

Tenryu: The Dragon Cycle Vol 5: Sigh...only one book to go...this makes me sad. It also saddens me that we missed out of Hiryu's 2 years of training. That said, the art has come an enormous way...I noticed this is book 3, but it's come a long way since even then, esp. in how she draws women. Now if only she'd do more books like this and less shonen-ai stuff...

Tomorrow Stories, Vol 1 TPB: Alan Moore's brain going wherever it wants...mostly works. Greyshirt was the main reason I wanted this, and it was worth it, as was Jack B Quick. Cobweb was also good, but it was a hairy english guy making a statement about feminism, so a bit odd...then there were First American and Splash Branigan. Splash I can't make sense of at all. First American seemed to basically grab headlines of American mass stupidity and mindsets and run with it. Still, Greyshirt alone made up for those two.

Tom Strong Vol 5: So...instead of cancelling the book when Moore was finished, they pretty much just turned it into the "Terrific Tales" book. Pretty good, aside from one dream story thingie in the middle that was...odd. OTOH, Mark Schultz. Even if he didn't draw anything...

W Juliet Vol 10: It's bouncy and boingy and cheerful and I think there's only one or two books left, which saddens me. Love the new addition to the family...and the future additions...and...sigh...so many of my manga are going away soon...

Buffy: Season 6: Gotta side with Marc on this one...definately more suitable for after the kids are asleep(but then, I think the same is also true of parts of season 4) Won't miss Tara...she grew on me, but I don't think she ever actually added anything to the show. She was basically Willow-lite, and just there to give Willow someone to be gay with. Loved the Trio, but figured out what would happened with them pretty early on. As in, their first episode. I'd place it on about the same level as season 2 for my enjoyment(bearing in mind that I think season 4 is the weakest, and seasons 3 and 5 are the best)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe: At long last, I have seen it. They kept things I was worried they'd take out, and left things I was hoping they'd remove. All in all, I'm very sad I never got to go see it in the theater(with school gone, I'm hoping that won't be a problem anymore) My only real complaint is that they seriously reduced the Witch's seduction of Edmund. In the book, she weaves her spell deep in him, and it's made clearer that the main thing is that, brat that he may be, he's given attention and appreciation for the first time in his life. In the movie, it plays more like he tosses his siblings over for a few compliments and some snacks.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children: Get the pretty out of the way first: This movie is pretty. Prettyprettyprettyprettyprettyprettyprettyprettyprettyprettypretty. Lotsa pretty he's, a pretty she(2, but one's barely there...more on that later) They did a good enough job explaining things that I was able to follow along and be interested(though I spent about 2/3 of the movie thinking Cloud just needed to get over it and go make babies with Tifa...seriously, the brooding loner thing works, but it's pointless when it's clear that you don't have to be one and WANT to be somewhere you can be, and the only thing stopping you is a first class self-pitying mope...) and then suddenly...all these characters appeared...and I had no idea who they were...and they weren't explained...or given context...Technically, the only things that are really explained are Jenova and Cloud, but up to that point, there was enough context to the other characters that it was easy to follow...and then there was confusion...still, I enjoyed it though, and it has me curious about the games, which I suppose is a good thing...

Howl’s Moving Castle: This didn't replace Spirited Away as my favorite Miyazaki film, but it almost tied with it. Definately tied with Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke. This was, I think, the most obviously romantic of Miyazaki's films, with the possible exception of Porco Rosso, though that one was more nostalgia than tanything else, and is the rare Miyazaki film to feature...you know...adults...Howl is a little different than most of Miyazaki's heroes...he's a ham and egotistical and flambouyant and melodramatic(all in good ways) but manages to be a good guy through and through, and Sophie is a great heroine. The supporting cast was a riot, too.

Memoirs of a Geisha: Another pretty pretty movie. Ziyi Zhang's english is really good, esp. for only knowing "apple" a few years ago....the only real indication of her not being fully comfortable with the language is a slight hesitation before her lines, like she's mentally saying it in Chinese before saying it outloud, which is normal. Michelle Yoeh, of course, was as wonderful as always. It dragged a bit in the beginning(ok, more than a bit) but the bulk of it was very entertaining and interesting, despite an "eew" factor towards the end, which I won't get into...

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