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Contemplate This on the Tree of Woe

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Wednesday, July 31, 2013 10:43 AM
Random Review Roundup
 by Fëanor

The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Neil Gaiman's latest novel is a strange one. It's a fantasy novel that tells of a man returning to his childhood home for a funeral and coming unexpectedly upon a memory of a terrifying and magical episode from his childhood that he'd entirely forgotten. It is a book about childhood and adulthood, and the infinite chasm, and minuscule crack, between the two. It is a book about life and what it means and what it is for. It is a simple story that is as deep as deep can be, with an aching, yearning sadness at its heart.
"All monsters are scared," says Lettie. "That's why they're monsters... Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. Truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world."

Pacific Rim
Someone described this as the Citizen Kane of giant monster movies, and I have to agree with that poetic soul. I saw it on the big screen in 3D, and it was just an awesome experience. The effects and visuals are astounding, the action incredible, the robots and monsters tremendous. And besides that, there's actually a great story with great characters that's surprisingly emotionally effective. Maybe it doesn't all make perfect logical sense if you sit down and pick it apart, but whatever - I loved it, and I'd see this movie again in a heartbeat.

Red 2
Remember that movie about assassins with Bruce Willis that came out a few years ago? Here's my review if you don't. I loved that movie, and this is the sequel! Almost the entire cast returns (Willis, Malkovich, Cox, Mirren, Parker) and this time are joined by even more celebrities (Catherine Zeta-Jones, Anthony Hopkins, and David Thewlis to name a few). Some of the artfulness and cleverness of the first film have been lost - to be honest, the story is pretty dumb - but this is still a rollicking good time. It's funny and exciting, with some unexpected twists and turns. It's a bit disturbing that it's a goofy comedy that features the cruel and almost off-hand murders of many, many people. But if you can set that aside, it's a good time.
Tagged (?): Books (Not), Monsters (Not), Movies (Not), Neil Gaiman (Not), Robots (Not)
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Sunday, September 30, 2012 09:35 PM
(Last updated on Monday, October 1, 2012 08:28 AM)
The Mummy Returns
 by Fëanor

(UPDATE: I rewrote this post a bit. I didn't like my original wording, and I missed some important details.)

We just watched the original Mummy again on TCM. I do love that movie. It struck me, probably not for the first time, that the movie has a surprising feminist subtext. All the representatives of male power and knowledge in the movie - all the doctors (like Dr. Muller, the expert on the occult, played by Edward Van Sloan, who is really just reprising his role as Van Helsing from Dracula, but under another name) and scientists and even the Egyptian mummy prince - are revealed to be either completely powerless or ultimately fail. Interestingly, the most idiotic and bumbling of all the men is the nominal "hero," Frank Whemple (played by David Manners, who is pretty much also just reprising his role from Dracula, in which he was the nominal bumbling hero John Harker). Nothing he or his male compatriots do is effective in any way against the villain. The only female character, Helen Grosvenor (Zita Johann), is the target of the romantic advances of both the villain and the hero, and the nominal "victim" of the story, but she's also one of the cleverest and funniest characters. She makes fun of Frank and always comes out on top in their various conversations. And she's the one who finally defeats the Mummy, by calling on the power of the Goddess Isis. Her power is what reaches out across the centuries and strikes down the mummy, while the men look on, dumbfounded. It's good stuff.
Tagged (?): Monsters (Not), Movies (Not), Mummy (Not)
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Monday, September 24, 2012 02:19 PM
Recyclotron
 by Fëanor

Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.

Tagged (?): Art (Not), Avengers (Not), Clothing (Not), Comedy (Not), Dune (Not), Harry Potter (Not), LEGO (Not), Links (Not), Lists (Not), Mario (Not), Mashups (Not), Monsters (Not), Movies (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Shirts (Not), Tolkien (Not), Toys (Not), Video (Not), Video games (Not), Weather (Not), Web comics (Not)
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Monday, August 22, 2011 12:24 PM
(Last updated on Monday, August 22, 2011 12:28 PM)
Recyclotron
 by Fëanor

Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.

Tagged (?): Aliens (Not), Art (Not), Avengers (Not), Cartoons (Not), Comedy (Not), Comic books (Not), Craft (Not), Fast food (Not), Links (Not), Lovecraft (Not), Monsters (Not), Movies (Not), Music (Not), News (Not), Pixar (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Robots (Not), Star Wars (Not), Tolkien (Not)
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Wednesday, August 17, 2011 10:23 AM
Recyclotron
 by Fëanor

Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.

Tagged (?): Animated GIFs (Not), Art (Not), Books (Not), Cartoons (Not), Celebrities (Not), Comedy (Not), Comic books (Not), Craft (Not), Game of Thrones (Not), Harry Potter (Not), LEGO (Not), Links (Not), Monsters (Not), Movies (Not), Music (Not), Mythology (Not), News (Not), Painting (Not), Photography (Not), Photoshop (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Star Trek (Not), Tolkien (Not), Toys (Not), Video (Not), Video games (Not), Web comics (Not), Zelda (Not)
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Wednesday, July 20, 2011 03:10 PM
Recyclotron
 by Fëanor

Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.

Tagged (?): Art (Not), Automobiles (Not), Books (Not), Celebrities (Not), Game of Thrones (Not), Links (Not), Mike Mignola (Not), Monsters (Not), Movies (Not), Music (Not), Neil Gaiman (Not), News (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Spider-Man (Not), Technology (Not), Toys (Not), TV (Not), Video (Not), Zombies (Not)
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Thursday, June 30, 2011 12:17 PM
(Last updated on Friday, July 1, 2011 02:15 PM)
Recyclotron
 by Fëanor

Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.

Tagged (?): Art (Not), Books (Not), Captain America (Not), Cartoons (Not), Comedy (Not), Comic books (Not), Food (Not), Google (Not), Internet (Not), Links (Not), Masters of the Universe (Not), Monsters (Not), Movies (Not), News (Not), Phineas and Ferb (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Transformers (Not), TV (Not), Twitter (Not), Video games (Not), Web comics (Not), World of Warcraft (Not)
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Monday, June 27, 2011 12:43 PM
Recyclotron
 by Fëanor

Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.

Tagged (?): Animals (Not), Art (Not), Books (Not), Celebrities (Not), Comedy (Not), Comic books (Not), Cosplay (Not), Costumes (Not), Craft (Not), Food (Not), Game of Thrones (Not), Law (Not), Links (Not), Monsters (Not), MST3K (Not), Music (Not), News (Not), Photography (Not), Products (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Religion (Not), Star Trek (Not), Star Wars (Not), Superman (Not), Toys (Not), TV (Not), Video (Not), Video games (Not), Web comics (Not)
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Friday, June 17, 2011 12:10 PM
Recyclotron
 by Fëanor

Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.

Tagged (?): Advertising (Not), Animals (Not), Art (Not), Automobiles (Not), Awards (Not), Books (Not), Celebrities (Not), Comedy (Not), Comic books (Not), Commercials (Not), Craft (Not), Food (Not), Gadgets (Not), Godzilla (Not), Green Lantern (Not), Harry Potter (Not), Kaiju (Not), Links (Not), Lists (Not), Monsters (Not), Movies (Not), News (Not), Oscars (Not), Phones (Not), Photography (Not), Products (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Song of Ice and Fire (Not), Star Wars (Not), Technology (Not), The Hobbit (Not), Tolkien (Not), Twitter (Not), Video (Not), Video games (Not), Web comics (Not), Wolverine (Not), Zelda (Not)
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Monday, May 2, 2011 12:17 PM
Recyclotron
 by Fëanor

Fëanor pours the entire internet into the Recyclotron, and only the best links come out the other end for you to enjoy.

Tagged (?): Art (Not), Batman (Not), Books (Not), Cartoons (Not), Celebrities (Not), Computers (Not), Disney (Not), Dune (Not), Joss Whedon (Not), Links (Not), Mashups (Not), Monsters (Not), Movies (Not), Music (Not), News (Not), Photography (Not), Photoshop (Not), Recyclotron (Not), Science (Not), Star Wars (Not), TV (Not), Twin Peaks (Not), Video (Not)
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Welcome to the blog of Jim Genzano, writer, web developer, husband, father, and enjoyer of things like the internet, movies, music, games, and books.

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