Wafflings of a Cozmonaught

The Ring (2002) directed by Gore Verbinski Growing up in the early 2000s, I don't think there was a horror movie more impactful than  The Ring . Sure, you heard a lot about James Wan's Saw . Maybe Mr. Shyamalan's Signs . But The Ring was the one all the cool kids in school were talking about. This adaptation brought the Japanese franchise to the American public and, as Wikipedia kindly points out , set off a chain of American remakes of Japanese horror cinema. The Grudge is perhaps the most successful of these Johnny-come-latelies. Not sure if anyone remembers much about the others. I sure don't. Trends come. Trends go. That was the thing in those days. But that's a topic for another post. Here we are examining the OG! And by "OG" I meant the original American remake. Not the 1998 Japanese film . And not the 1991 book by the late Koji Suzuki either. I've already reviewed those. Both were excellent. So then, the question becomes how well the Anglos ...

Mockingjay   (2010) written by Suzanne Collins Well. It was better than I remembered it being. Mockingjay continues the story of Katniss Everdeen after the events of the 75th Annual Hunger Games. She and a few other victors are kidnapped from the arena and taken to District 13.  Meanwhile a full-blown civil war has erupted between the districts and the Capitol. District 13, long thought destroyed, has survived and thrived underground since the conclusion of the first civil war. A strict, militaristic society, it has bided its time, hoping to reemerge and lead a second war against the Capitol. That time, it seems, has finally come.  Led by the enigmatic President Coin, District 13 plans to use Katniss as a rallying cry for the districts' cause. I can't tell you how hyped my preteen self was when Mockingjay came out. I'd torn through the first two books like mad. Scoured the internet for everything I could on leaks and details. Did Hunger Games roleplay on video game forums...

  Ring (1998) directed by Hideo Nakata RIP Koji Suzuki, man. Kinda crazy that I reviewed Ring last month . Could you imagine if his death announcement had come a week after I'd published it? I feel like that would be a horror author's dream. To go down like one of your characters. An artist's life fulfilled. Maybe that's just me. I'd like to say that I added this to my docket as a tribute, but I didn't. It's been on my schedule for a couple months now. I've really wanted to get on with reviewing this film because, in my opinion, it is one of the best horror films ever made. I suppose that, in and of itself, is a tribute to the fantastic franchise that Mr. Suzuki created. Quick Summary Reiko Asakawa is a single mother and journalist who is investigating a mysterious urban legend. Apparently, there is a video circulating that kills people one week after viewing it. Reiko slaps on her skeptic hat and nods along, but after  her niece and her friends all die...

The Sun Also Rises   (1926) written by Ernest Hemingway Hemingway. Either you love him or you hate him. A real coriander. That's his reputation, at least. So I was pretty nervous when I first picked this up a few years back. I didn't know quite what to expect.  I'd read a lot from the early 1900s, so I anticipated the usual. Very long and verbose descriptions. Lots of melodrama. The kind of late Romanticism that was grand and over-the-top. Maybe you've got dashes of surrealism and abstract craziness thrown in there as stream-of-consciousness begins to emerge from the mire. Hemingway, though, is something entirely unique. The Sun Also Rises follows the life of Jake Barnes, an American expat in Paris. He is a WWI veteran whose schlong is defective due to injuries in said war. Despite his lack of working parts, the man's got a crush on a twice divorcee named Brett.  Scandalous! Lady Brett Ashley is an English socialite who keeps score by racking up the broken hearts o...

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire   (2013) directed by Francis Lawrence Again Lionsgate with the revealing trailers. Call it a carryover from my most recent read-through of the books, but this was a great adaptation of the second novel.  I covered this in my review of the Catching Fire book , but I've been on something of a reevaluation kick after spending a decade and a half believing it was a major step down from the first Hunger Games book . I think the general mood from the fandom is that the second book is the best, but I've always reveled in being the contrarian. "The OG Hunger Games is better!" I don't know anymore. And especially watching this movie, I don't know. Because both movie adaptations I've reviewed thus far I have thoroughly enjoyed. Quick Summary Around a year after Katniss and Peeta are controversially crowned victors of the 74th Annual Hunger Games, the former tributes are plunged into fresh drama. Their win was seen as an act of defi...