Anime review: "Blood Lad"

Few months ago I saw an announcement for the "Blood Lad" and got an impression of some vampire-otaku comedy, which sounded nice, so I decided to add it to my wishlist. In the meantime I saw few good review of this series and I gave it a try last week.

"Blood Lad" starts with showing Staz, the main character, loosing time. He is a boss of a province in the demon-world and a vampire. But more important for the show, at least in the beginning, he is obsessed with Japanese culture, plays eroge, collect figurines and reads manga. So when his underling brings him news that alive Japanese girl, Fuyumi, is wondering his section of demon-world, he is in frenzy to meet her. Coincidentally, during this encounter he gets challenged by some upstart and while he has no problem in defeating him, unfortunately Fuyumui loses her life and becomes a ghost. Staz, being more or less a good guy, promises to bring her back to life, which will put him in line against female space-jumpers, his estranged and sadistic brother, demon world's aristocracy, etc.

"Blood Lad" starts very shounen and slapstick, and it stays like this during whole this season. So if you don't enjoy first one or two episodes, you will not like it later. You know the recipe: powering ups, big fights, lots of falling down, crazy costumes or character's designs... But for me, it hits the spot. It stays goofy, but it does get more serious later, as more complex plot elements start, so it can be enjoyed by more mature viewers. On the other hand, if has some pretty violent scenes. There are few nice jokes referencing other anime, manga and games - like "Dragon Ball".

Plot starts very simple, with Staz's quest to restore Fuyumi to life, but it soon becomes apparent that there are deeper currents going around. Not that Staz is necessarily aware of them. Unfortunately, the season ends when it starts to get very interesting. So I join the other reviewers - give us another season! I watched the OVA - it is direct continuation of the series, but also doesn't give a satisfactory (or any) conclusion.

There is not much to say about characters. They are typical for shounen anime: shallow, one-dimensional, somewhat ridiculous. But that is exactly what you need sometimes. There are constant additions, so we will have to wait for next season to see how they hold up.

When I started watching "Blood Lad", one of my first questions was "boing?". Yes, it definitely is. But even though this show has all female characters drawn anatomically dubious and it gives occasional fan service scene, it is far from ecchi.

I really like the visual side of this anime: bright, vibrant colors, good design of characters, fast-flowing animation. But here, voice acting is also very good! I especially liked Braz, who has a great voice - like a real vampire, low, quiet and snake-like.

To summarize, if you like wacky shounen anime with some fights and fanservice, "Blood Lad" is an anime for you. Especially that it has only 10 episodes, so you can finish it in a day or two.

Book review: "Curse of Mistwraith" by Janny Wurts

I have noticed "Wars of Light and Shadows" series by Janny Wurts before (it was on a list I studied some years ago), but somehow I never resolved to read it. But few weeks ago I noticed it again on Tor.com series "Under the Radar" and decided to give it a try. There are several series that I have started, but I am waiting for next installment to be published ("Shadows of the Apt" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, "The Second Apocalypse" by R. Scott Bakker, "The Stormlight Archive" by Brandon Sanderson"), so I am able to start another one in between.

First book in the series, "Curse of Mistwraith" starts a story about the long war of two brothers. Lysaer and Arithon are born of same mother, but their fathers and their families have been mortal enemies for generations. Lysaer's father is King of rich country Amroth while Arithon's fathers commands a kingdom of pirates. After Arithon is captured and almost executed, intervention of Arithon's and Lysaer's grandfather, the High Mage, sees them both exiled of their world through gates into unknown world. Once there, they learn that their lines has been High Kings of this world Athera and that their destiny is to defeat the Mistwraith, magical enemy that has been suffocating all life for last five centuries. But before, they have to find peace between themselves...

I must admit that I didn't like "Curse of Mistwraith" in the beginning. It started all high and noble, with stereotype characters, simplistic motives and predictive plot. Also, Wurts' pretty hard style of writing, full of uncommon words (I didn't reach for thesaurus so much for a long time) didn't help getting into this book. But as the story progressed, the style also expanded, and story and characters got increasingly more complex and interesting. For example, at the beginning there is no politics, neither on high level, nor between characters - but this changes later, and politics plays a more important role (unfortunately, it doesn't get as realistic as in some books).

Wurts' writing is very detailed and lots of effort is put into details, which interestingly all come into place with others. As I said, the book started with very noble style, but later in the book there is humor, violence, and even sex and prostitutes. Too bad there is no direct cursing, only occasional mentioning of gods. But even so, there are some funny jewels, like "... Dakar spoke phrases that cast biological doubt upon Arithon's already illegitimate ancestry". Still, Wurts is a bit too noble on human nature: I don't think some clans would wait 500 years for their prince to come and then the clan-leader would eagerly give away his position.

Plot starts simple, but later gets decently complicated. There is a lot of twists, not all unpredictable. In general, after you pass first quarter of the book, things get nicely interesting. Same is true for characters. The cast is not enormous as you would expect for a first novel in ten-books series. Interestingly, the Big Bad is not revealed, nor the overall theme for the series. Of characters, I liked Elaira's part: she was witty and contrary from the beginning. As an epic fantasy, the book contains some typical elements, like the group of sorcerers, and of course, a grumpy silent wizard that leads our heroes.

There was one thing that was irritating throughout the book: Wurts' tendency to refer to Arithon as "the Master" (from "the Master of Shadow"). I hope she drops it later.

So, "Curse of Mistwraith" presents a nice introduction into a new series. It has somewhat misleading start, but later gets pretty interesting and fun to read. My final recommendation will depend on next few books - there is no point in reading a book if you will not complete the series.

Movie review: "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

This weekend I went to watch "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" with my girlfriend. I must say that I missed all the hype about this movie. I was almost unaware of it until it was out, and even then didn't paid more attention to it. On the other hand, in some ways I considered it as given that I will go to watch it. But in this way I was very pleasantly surprised.

For those few who don't know anything about the movie, "The Hobbit" trilogy ("The Unexpected Journey", "The Desolation of Smaug", and "There and Back Again") tells a story before "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Bilbo Baggins is a young hobbit, living a peaceful and prosperous life. So prosperous that he becomes stale and priggish for his years (60, the middle years for a hobbit). Suddenly his everyday life gets abruptly interrupted by wizard Gandalf and 13 uncouth dwarves. The dwarves are set on journey to free their homeland (the Lonely Mountain) from dragon Smaug, who took it over from them some long years ago. They are in a need of a professional burglar, and Gandalf has chosen Bilbo, who is far away from being burglar as is possible to be. After some convincing and some songs, Bilbo is convinced and their start their journey, where they are awaited by many adventures...

This last sentence sums this movie pretty well. Contrary to LotR trilogy, which was a big epic fantasy, "The Hobbit" is an obvious light adventure fantasy. There is a big goal in future (killing a dragon), but we don't even see the dragon in this movie. Instead, our heroes go on a journey, find some clues and build up for larger adventures. It is really a classical fantasy, which I don't mean in any diminutive way, because I really enjoyed the movie. There is also some history in it (of the Tolkien's imaginary world Middle-earth) and some explanations that help to put this movie in context of LotR. At the same time, they give it hidden epic proportions, if you are familiar to LotR.

For the hard-core fans of the books, "The Hobbit" will be a thrill. I haven't read the book in some time (ten years or more), but I have read it a lot of times before, and I think that it follows the book surprisingly truthfully. I can list only two real changes from the books: Azog and Radagast. And even these are based on the book and fit in the spirit of the movie. All other changes are minor, like the meeting of the White Council (which happened off-screen in the book), or history tales (that are actually part of the LotR appendix). But considering all, "The Hobbit" follows its literary counterpart more truthfully than it was the case with the LotR. At least for this first movie; we will see when next two come out...

There is one thing that will maybe bother some viewers, especially the stiff ones: Radagast the Brown. And his rabbits. It is obviously put here for the kids. But I found it quite funny actually, and I think that it was fitting for this kind of movie. If someone tried to put something like this in LotR trilogy, it wouldn't fit so well (even though that LotR books have Tom Bombadil), but here it felt almost natural.

I haven't watched many 3D movies (I tend to avoid them), but "The Hobbit" was the first movie to impress me. Few times I actually flinched. I was also impressed how they made stone-giants and goblins, even better that I imagined them. Production of the movie was really on high level.

In the end, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" was a great movie, both for fans and non-fans. It is thrilling, funny and interesting through all two and a half hour of movie. I can't wait for the next two movies ("The Desolation of Smaug" and "There and Back Again") to come out.

Book review: "The Elfstones of Shannara" by Terry Brooks

I had a pretty busy week, so I was slow with my reading and then late with writing this review. Also, I wasn't much into reading it after the disaster that was "The Sword of Shannara". Thankfully, I again remembered to make some notes. So, here is my review of the second book in "Original Shannara Trilogy" by Terry Brooks: "The Elfstones of Shannara".

Events in this book take place some fifty years after the defeat of Warlock Lord in tSoS. There were no major problems in Four Lands for some time now: Gnomes kept themselves peaceful, Elves and Dwarves were nurturing they friendship, and even the Trolls were slowly getting friendly with others. Humans drifted a bit toward the isolationism, but they were at least not bothering anyone. But this is about to change. Ellcrys, a sacred tree of Elves, one which even they forgot the true reason of existence, is dying. And with its death, Deamons of the old times, times even before human dominance, kept away by Ellcrys and its spell of Forbidding, will be released from their prison. The only chance Elves and other races have, is to plant a seed of Ellcrys. Amberle, granddaughter of Elven King Eventine Essendil, unwillingly set on a journey to find a mythical Bloodfire, and by immersing the seed in it, restoring the Forbidding. On this quest, she is guarded by Will, grandson of Shea Ohmsford, sent by Allanon as the only person who can wield the Elfstones and thus protect Amberle from the Demons. Meanwhile, Allanon and the Elves, with every allies they can find, will try to stall the Demons from overrunning the whole land...

The start of "The Elfstones of Shannara" makes brighter promise that "The Sword of Shannara". It introduces a new and original story, more distinctive and powerful main enemy, new and larger cast of characters... After few dozen pages, you get the feeling like someone else wrote this second book - humor, women, not everyone is noble... there is even seduction - which would be impossible in "The Sword of Shannara", at least for simple reason that there wasn't any women. Compared to tSoS, this is a big improvement. For me, most interesting part was in later stages of the book, when they were first exploring the Wilderun. I was surprised with somewhat abrupt ending.

But considering this book alone, there is still much room for improvement. Even though this plot is original (as in not copied from some other writer) it is still a common fantasy story. Maybe it was fresher when it was originally published in 1982, but nowadays it sounds like something from a bad fantasy movie. Also, it is quite dour fantasy - there is not much humor, almost everybody is noble and serious.

There is still some problems with setting, although not as much in tSos:  years don't match; Elves live longer, but Essendil and few other Elves are old with 80... Also, a missing community of Elves would be much more convincing if they didn't live 3 days from the rest of their people; also, wouldn't someone see the giant elf-carrying birds? Characters are also better, but as I said, they are too dour and serious. Allanon is irritating instead of mysterious, as he is constantly referred to.

I also realized one of the things that were bothering me. Why are all the bad guys mute? Introduction in the book, featuring the Dagda Mor, made me hopeful, but he proved a bit disappointment, same as the Changeling and the Reaper. I understand that is classical epic fantasy, but some more understanding and exploration of the other side would be appreciated.

One curious note: when Brooks first introduced Rovers, my immediate action was to compare the release dates of "The Eye of the World" and tEoS, and a to think "Why would Jordan stoop so low of base his Tinker of Brooks' Rovers?!". Continued reading made me realize they are not SO much similar. Nevertheless, I am curious whether Robert Jordan really made homage to Brooks, or they are just both based on Gypsies or some other source?

Again, comparing "The Elfstones of Shannara" to "The Sword of Shannara" makes the former a dramatic improvement, but considering today standards (even though this can't be taken as mitigation, since "Lord of the Rings" was published almost 20 years earlier and is still a fresh book), this is not very good book. But if this trend continues, fourth or fifth sequels could be good.

Book review: "The Sword of Shannara" by Terry Brooks

When I started buying books from Amazon (also, kudos for this), I checked Wikipedia and other resources for examples of epic fantasy, especially for longer series. In such way I found about "The Wheel of Time" by Robert Jordan, "Malazan Book of the Fallen" by Steven Erikson, "Belgariad/Malloreon" by David Eddings, "The Rifttwar Saga" by Raymond E. Feist... There are many series, most of which I haven't still read, although for the most I have plan to read them eventually. Since I was self-restricted on one book per month, I had much spare time, so I would usually read detailed synopsis, sometimes even for the whole series. One of these was the whole "Shannara" series by Terry Brooks. This was one series that I didn't really like from what I read about it - it all smelled me too much of sucking money from the fans (something like Feist). Repetitive stories, jumping back in time, mixing it with urban fantasy... But the first few books sounded OK, and I found it mentioned a lot on blogs I follow, so when an e-book containing first three books of the series (the original "Shannara Trilogy") become available (for fair price, even) I decided to buy it. Even if it was bad, it would be an education experience - reading on of the classics of fantasy. This is my review of the first book, "The Sword of Shannara".

Since this is one of classics and it was written in seventies, the usual fantasy plot was somewhat expected. Two brothers, Shea and Flick, are living peaceful lives in Shady Vale. This is all interrupted when they are visited by Allanon, who they know only as wandering mystic, historian and philosopher. Allanon explains Shea, who was adopted in Ohmsford family, that he is a direct and only living descendant of ancient Elven King Jerle Shannara, and us such he is the only person in whole world capable of wielding his heritage, the Sword of Shannara. This is necessary because an old enemy of mankind, the Warlock Lord, is again on rise and is threatening to destroy all civilization. So Shae must journey to Paranor, old Druid Keep, to find the Sword and defeat the Warlock Lord. On his journey he is joined by his brother Flick, their friend Menion, and later by Balinor (Prince of old Human Kindgdom of Callahorn, dedicated to guarding the Human frontier), Handel (a Dwarf), and Durin and Dayel (two Elven nobles). And of course, Allanon, who is in fact the last Druid. On their journey they are opposed by Skull Bearers (black winged minions of Warlock Lord), Gnomes and Trolls.


If this reminds you to "The Lord of the Rings", this is because "Sword of Shannara" is pretty much blatant (and worse) copy of it. There is an escape from remote and peaceful valley without guidance, scary black pursuers with blood-freezing screams, a party composed of all free races... There is even a tentacle-monster living in a lake and a journey under a mountain. I know that many fantasy series found their inspiration in LotR (some would say even my beloved WoT), but not in this way and not this much. Later in the book things start moving off from Tolkien and start sounding original and interesting, but damage was already done at this point.


One good thing that Brooks does is in making a setting with interesting history, one that is connected to our present one. The bad side of it is that it is revealed in a big and obvious info-dump on the very beginning. It would be much more convincing if he had found some gradual way to reveal it. Also, there is very little sense of novelty in this book. Our heroes visit the villages of Dwarves and Gnomes, but we found almost nothing about them - like they are not different and they visit them every day. In fact, everything I know about the Gnomes in this book is that they are "yellowish" and "smaller than man" - almost nothing about their physical look, society, intelligence, habits... Similar for other races.


I usually refrain from second-guessing the characters, because this is the death of books (you know, why just they didn't kill Sauron or destroyed the Ring and saved themselves from troubles), but this book has so many problems that I just couldn't stop myself. Most of it sounds unconvincing and inconsistent. Shae founds out a complete reversal of everything he knew and believed, immediately accepts it and calmly proceeds with planning what next he will do. Handel is taciturn, moody, cheerful, grizzled, scared of basements (a racial trait of Dwarves!!!), brave, masterful tactician... I know people are complex, but not this much. All enemies are stupid, clumsy, gullible and incompetent - while our heroes are lucky, smart and dexterous. 


Then there are problems with Brook's writing. First, enemies are totally indistinctive - there is only two named enemies, one of the being the main big bad. Constant in-paragraph changes of POV are slightly irritating, especially at first. I couldn't make a mental picture of any characters - I couldn't even determine the age of Shae and Flick (somewhere between 16 and 36). Using contemporary expressions like "robotlike appearance" and "Spartanlike barracks" didn't help. My favorite was description of Hendel stalking on his "catlike feet" - a Dwarf with a "catlike feet"!!!


Tolkien received some objections for lack of strong female characters, but here there is absolutely no female characters in first half of book (except two (two!) mentions of Hendel's absent wife and Dayel's absent fiancée each). No one has wife, mother or daughter - especially not Gnomes, Trolls or Dwarves (there was some vague impression that Humans live in families, so I presume they include women). And when that one female character appear (her name is Shirl Ravenlock and she is a redhead Princess - I didn't know ravens are red) her only purpose is to be an object of love and something to protect for one of main characters. She actually says that her only wish is to support him (from away, I presume).


In conclusion, "The Sword of Shannara" is a terrible book, worse even than those by Terry Goodkind (if there wasn't Terry Pratchet, I would say that the name Terry was cursed). You know that feeling when you are read a good book and you just can't leave it without reading another page/paragraph/sentence. Well, I didn't felt in once while reading this book. What's worse, I am now stuck with reading the whole trilogy.

Anime review: "Fate/Zero" 2012

Last week I finished watching "Fate/Zero (2012)". I don't think there was any real reason to split this in two seasons because it directly continues first, unfinished season that ends in cliffhanger. These two should be watched together, as one anime with 25 episodes - even the numbers of episodes confirm this.

(some cool picture I accidentally found)

As I said in my first review, it is a fighting anime featuring a contest for Holy Grail between 7 pairs of Masters and Servants. It includes magic associations and mages, Church, legendary and real heroes (Gilgamesh, Alexander the Great, "King Arthur"), mercenaries with guns, and many other elements. The premise is simple, but plot is complex (for an anime) and fast, full of convoluted plans, and it is interesting to follow.

This second part of "Fate/Zero" anime is much more intense than the first one, and it actually contains some real fights between Servants - all fights in first part ended in draw or were interrupted. I already said that it is much faster than first, and it is also much more violent and crueler. I was surprised several times with what happened to characters, especially with Emiya Kiritsugu in his recollections. Characters are the same and there are no new additions, but we learn more about history of few of them. I was very pleased and surprised with the ending - also, I found the scene with nude Gilgamesh quite hilarious.


This part finally explains the connection between "Fate/Zero" and "Fate/Stay Night", but you can learn even more from Wikipedia article. I also caught some references to "Kara no Kyoukai".


Anime retains high visual and audio standards set by first part and are really good. I was impressed how CGI was inoffensive (I usually hate when they use CGI of generate large number of doll-like soldiers...).


All in all, everything good I said about first part, stays good in second or gets even better. "Fate/Zero" (both parts) is one of best fighting anime I watched, a superb dark fantasy set in contemporary setting and combined with much violence and action, all packed in impressive animation - as its over-9.00 AniDB rating proves.

Movie review: "The Avengers"

This weekend my girlfriend and I went to movies to watch "The Avengers". Not her first choice, but neither she was really against it. I intentionally did not want to go last weekend, hoping to avoid the biggest crowds. In the end, we were both satisfied. I have been following "The Avengers" hype for some time, although passively - I like super-hero franchises, but I am not really a fan. So I knew what to expect of the movie and it turned out I was pretty realistic in my expectations.

"The Avengers" is a movie that combines and continues several movies starring super-heroes: Iron-Man (watched both and liked), Thor (watched and liked), Captain America (didn't watch, heard it was not good), Hulk (didn't watch) and Black Widows and Hawkeye (don't have movies). It also features the agency S.H.I.E.L.D., which was mentioned and played parts in mentioned movies. The plot is pretty simple: S.H.I.E.L.D. has been tampering with some alien artifact called Teserakt and accidentally freed Loki (a villain from "Thor" movie), with a little bit of help from his new allies, Chitauri. He steals the Teserakt, abducts some scientist and agents and escapes in unknown direction with nothing good on his mind. In reaction, S.H.I.E.L.D. gathers restarts the Avengers initiative, which has a goal of centering all Earth's superheroes and ally them against common foe. They are later joined with Thor who comes to Earth to put his brother Loki to order. Considering their strength, the Avengers should not have any trouble defeating Loki, except two tinny problems: they have to find out what Loki's plan is, and they have to overcome their own differences (which are pretty big).

This movie takes after "Iron Man 2" in atmosphere - flashy, fast, lots of high-tech gadgets, much of ironic banter. As I said, it is not a plot-driven movie. Although it lasts more than two hours, it is all about characters, and some about the setting. This means that it is mostly oriented to those who like the franchises and will be able to disregard weak plot. To me, it also looked like they wanted to introduce the setting and prepare the field for the second Avengers movie or other connected movies. Characters were interesting enough, and humor was quite good and successful.

In my opinion, the only flaw of the movie was the weakness of the enemies. Loki was more of a daze and confuse mind-bending player, so it OK if he is physically week (even though he is a god). But I really expected much more from the Chitauri, considering how they were announced and referenced. Also, the ending reminded me much of "The Transformers 3" trailer I saw (didn't see the movie, yet).

All in all, "The Avengers" is a standard super-hero movie multiple several times (considering all the big-name super-heroes). If you like such movies, you will love it. Even if you don't, the movie has a bit of everything to offer: humor, action, Scarlett Johansson for guys, Chris Hemsworth for girls... Just don't expect some plot-heavy intelligent drama, and you will not be disappointed - because this is THE super-hero movie.

Anime review: "Fate/Zero"

As I said, I am taking little break from reading and the first anime I watched is "Fate/Zero". I have watched anime called "Fate/Stay Night" few years ago, which was a good but unexceptional fantasy/action anime revolving around some contemporary fight for the Holy Grail, with seven human Masters and seven mythical heroic Servants. So when last year "Fate/Zero" went out, with the same theme and same characters (at least some of them), I thought it was just an alternative version with better graphics, and decided that there is no reason for watching it. But as usually, good rates on AniDB and several good reviews, combined with a lack of tempting new anime made me change my mind.

First thing, I am a bit confused about the relationship between "Fate/Zero" and "Fate/Stay Night". What is certain is that they are set in the same setting. As I said at the beginning, they share a lot of plot and characters (who have same names, but are different), so I would be more inclined to the idea of this being an alternative version, as I thought first. But AniDB states that "Fate/Zero" is a prequel to "Fate/Stay Night". And if we consider that happens in this anime, this could even may be true. Of course, if we consider that fact that I watched "Fate/Stay Night" several years ago, I could be completely off.

And what happens is in this anime is: nothing! First episode is actually a double one and it is blatantly an info-dump, where the setting is explained and main characters are introduced. The rest of the episode servers only to build-up characters, their motives and the setting. For example, we have one episode dedicated to a completely minor character. Considering this is a fighting anime (Masters and Servants FIGHT against other in BATTLE for the Holy Grail), there are exactly three real fights: two ended in a draw and one was done so fast that you are left wondering what just happened (especially in context what happened in second episode).

My best guess is that "Fate/Zero" is a prequel, but that next year there will be a new "Fate/Stay" that will keep with this continuity. This is a good place to mention that next season of "Fate/Zero" is playing right now, called just "Fate/Zero (2012)".

But never mind that: this is a pretty good for anime where nothing conclusive happens and that ends in a cliffhanger. And that is established with unbelievably great atmosphere: dark and violent. Also, combination of grittiness and shounen chivalry somehow works great. I would really like to see what an adult and really gritty version would look like (probably something like "Kara no Kyoukai", a really SUPERB anime sharing this setting with nonlinear plot; if you watch it and like it, consider watching "Denpa Teki na Kanojo"). We have a lot of darker tones - most of the important stuff happens in the dark. Also, background sounds and music are very good and effective.

Characters are the other half of the reason why this anime is so good. They are all mysterious and surprisingly deep. Yes, they are stereotypical shounen character, but this is more a show about them than one about the battle for the Holy Grail. They are definitely more developed that in "Fate/Stay Night". Well, except Gilgamesh: he was intolerable prick then and he is one now (or vice versa). But even him I liked more in F/Z that in F/S. There is much more minor characters and what is even more better: not one of the main characters is an unaware high-school student. They are almost all mature people with their own histories.

About technical stuff, nothing less than you would except from modern action hit anime: great visuals with a touch too much CGI. And as I said, sounds and background music are very good (and I usually don't notice this stuff). There are 13 episodes; first is a double one and one last half again as others.

So for conclusion, although "Fate/Zero" share maybe too much with "Fate/Stay Night", if you like fighting anime, or dark fantasy is a pick for you (even more so if you didn't watch the latter). Not best out there, but good enough that I will watch the second season.

Movie review: "Krull"

I usually don't watch TV, but last Saturday I was resting from very tiring week. I was accidentally passing by when my younger brother was just starting to watch some old-looking fantasy movie, so I joined him (I missed first 30 minutes or so). I checked TV-schedule later and found out the movie's name was "Krull". I heard it mentioned few times over years but didn't know pretty much anything about it.

The plot is simple: a mysterious mountain lands on medieval-ish planet Krull. The owner of the mountain, the monstrous Beast, captures some princess, so her fiancée (or want-to-be fiancée; as I said I missed the beginning) gather a band of fugitives and few mystics and monsters to save her. First find the weapon, then the information, then the magical beasts for transport, and so on...

I think this is one of the most predictable films I ever watched. The movie follows tropes to the letter; on the other hand, it is possible that it actually started them in the first place. For example, when someone is killed by enemy fire, the rest of the gang will all stop and watch him for some time, although they are still under fire...

Acting is terrible and special effects even more so. I mean, really bad. Sound effects (especially the sound of those "rifles") started to give me a headache. On the other hand, these were the state-of-the-art effects at the time the movie was filmed.

All in all, "Krull" is one of the worst movies I watched in last several years. But on the other hand, it has that melancholic spirit of classic fantasy. Don't expect anything valuable from this movie, but if you are a fantasy fan (as I am) it can be entertaining to watch something of an establishing movie of this genre.

Main problem of this movie is that has been copied (good or bad) so much that you recognize all jokes and points immediately. I had this same problem when I read "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams - I already knew all the jokes.

TV show review: "Heroes" Season Two

This season of "Heroes" is much shorter, only eleven episodes, so I finished it quite faster. After this, I am putting it on temporary stop for couple of months. Two days ago, after finishing "Heroes", I started my WoT reread, beginning with "Crossroads of Twilight". Since I was cheap and ordered "Towers of Midnight" trough my local book-store to save some money for delivery, I have no idea when will I receive it. I hope it will be sometime during next month. On the other hand, I am not overly concerned because I have (too) much obligations, so my reading-rate will probably be one book in two weeks. If I receive it before I finish all three books (CoT, KoD and TGS), everything is OK then. If I have to wait for it (God forbid!!!),  I will fill the waiting time with third season of "Heroes". Not connected to this: I ordered myself a new book, "Daggerspell", first book in "Deverry cycle" by Katherine Kerr. But its turn will probably come sometime around Christmas vacation.

Now, to "Heroes". This will not be a long review and I will presume that you have watched at least the first season. In few words, this show is going down in quality. Of eleven episodes, first six or seven actually don't mean anything. Plot is getting really wild: Hiro is in 17th century meeting Kensei Takezo, Peter has lost memory and is in some pub in Ireland, Nathan has become a drunk and he grew a beard... Mat and Mohinder have adopted Molly, Nikki lefts Micah at her grandma's house, while Bennet's are trying to hide in California, with changed surname. Only interesting plot was Sylar's, who is alive, but without his powers, so he has to use only his wit to get back in the game.

As I said, things start to get interesting around seventh episode. But that is only if you don't think too deep about the things you are watching. Most prominent theme in this season is how previous generation screwed things and now heroes have to correct it. This is not exactly inconsistent, but it is not quite believable also. You would think that people would notice some strange stuff about their parents in 30 years.

What bothered me the most was the stupidity of main characters, particularly Hiro and Peter. Hiro can stop time at will, but nevertheless he gets captured, beaten and he is in constant fear of medieval Japanese army. And Peter... He can stop time, heal, move object with his mind and read people thought. Nevertheless he is being fooled, led and manipulated all the time. For God's sake, use these powers! Mat is also nearing to this category. His upgraded ability is much underestimated.

Characters are not nearly as good and interesting as in first season. Whatever was their main characteristic in first season, now it just got doubled. Noah is twice as overprotective, Nikki is twice as crazy and Sylar is twice as bad. There is several new character, but not one has the depth necessary for some larger connection to them.

All in all, it's getting too soapy. I nevertheless plan to watch next season, when I have some spare time (probably during Christmas vacation). I saw few glimpses of third season (by younger brother has more free time so he is ahead of me). Though, I can't really recommend this show to anybody.

TV show review: "Heroes" Season One

For the last two weeks or so, I have watched "Heroes". It is a science fiction TV show that started in 2006 and had four seasons. It was quite popular, especially first season. A number of my friends watched it and few tried to talk me into watching it. I don't know what I was doing it at that time, but I was probably busy with reading books. Or I was just starting to watch anime. Anyway, most of those friends who watched it, stopped because the show got too "soapy". Recently the show ended, so I decided to give it a try. I don't have to wait for new episodes, and I have some time free while waiting for "Towers of Midnight". So, this is my review of the first season.

"Heroes" is a story about regular men and women finding out they have special abilities, like super-heroes (thus the name, of course). Explanation for this phenomenon is genetics: they are all carriers of a special gene that allows them these special powers. Everyone has only one and unique ability (there are one or two exceptions) and most of them don't understand it at first. Our heroes are at first scattered around the world (well, America mostly) and they are quite different people. Hiro is a young man, working in big company in Japan; he can bend time and space. Isaac is a heroin addict and a comic artist, living in New York; he can paint the future. Claire is a teenage girl, a blonde cheerleader from Texas; she can heal. There are a fifteen or so main characters, most of them special people, plus some people connected to them.

Focus of the show, at first at least, is on special powers and how normal people adopt to being not-normal. Most of them don't take it good: they are scared and confused. Most of them have personal issues and realizing that ability to hear people's thoughts can bring them unexpected problem (although it looks like a great feat at beginning). Later in show, bigger, season-size plot start to reveal. Not to spoil too much, it involves a bomb, the Company (organization that keeps track of "gifted" people) and a secret plot. Pace is slow, but not boring. One episode focus on one group of people, then second on another, then back again. Also, there is a recap of last episode(s) at the beginning of each, so it's not hard to follow (even if you skip it for days).

As I said, this is a SF show, but science in here is very light. There are some big words (evolution, Darwin, Human Genome Project...) thrown in to give it some credential, but this is a show for general population. If you know a bit about biology, you can notice weak spots (or even false explanations) with ease. I am not especially picky about these things and I don't insist for science to be real (in shows, I mean). If I want to study about biology or learn new things, I will read science articles (or Wikipedia, which is a good starting point, never mind the risks). I am more of "relax and enjoy the world" person.

Show IS interesting. First part particularly, when characters are learning about their abilities and everything is a surprise. Later, things got a bit too far-fetched. Not too much, but enough to spoil the fun a bit. First, "everything and everyone is connected" thing. I can buy this in fantasy books that include Fate, Pattern or Great Design, but in SF, this is not acceptable. This especially comes to focus when hidden kinship relations and "older generation" start to show. As I said, this is acceptable in fantasy and shounen anime, but if you fight for audience of intelligent SF-fans, then it is not.

Second... I know that it is easy to act as general after the battle is done, but some of the choices our heroes do are plain stupid. I don't expect people to be Yagami Lights or Quick Bens and pull Xanatos Gambits from behind ear, but if you have the ability (stopping time, for example) you should use it and use it smart. There are lots examples and this bothered me. Also, more innovations would be welcomed. I know that every possible ability has been used at least once, but it is still possible to rearrange it originally.

Also, I am starting to see what people meant when said "soapy". It is not too evident in first season, but I have watched few episodes of second season and it is starting to show that writers now have money instead of originality on their mind. I wouldn't like to see this becoming "Passions" meets "X-Men" show.

But, in the end, I like "Heroes". It is far from a hard SF show that will inspire kids to become scientist when they grow up, but it is a nice, funny and interesting TV show for general population. If you want a funny action SF show that doesn't require much thinking and you are looking just for fun, then go for it. Especially now when, all episodes are out.

I have finished first season and currently I am watching second season. After I finish it, I will probably take a break from it and start with WoT reread.