Tag: review

Review: Deception Point

Nick Momrik4 Comments

Deception PointDan Brown wrote another great book with Deception Point. I couldn’t put the book down once I started reading it and ended up finished all 550+ pages in a few days. That’s pretty good for me. I’d have to say that this is my second favorite (to The Da Vinci Code) book by Brown.

I’m not a fan of reading about history or politics, but Brown does a masterful job of making it fun. Deception Point is filled with behind-the-scenes politics, which was very interesting to read about. Not only do you get a great story, but you learn a lot of information about the United States Presidency, NASA, and other government agencies. No wonder it takes Brown so long to write a book with all of the research that goes into his writing.

I need to find other authors similar to Dan Brown. I’ve read all four of his books and I want more. His next book isn’t due out for awhile, so let me know if you suggest anything.

I give Deception Point an A.

Review: First Strike (Halo)

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First Strike (Halo)This book is the 3rd in the series and should be an enjoyable read for any Halo fan. First Strike tells the story that leads up the action experienced while playing the video game Halo 2.

Master Chief is the main character as you might expect, but there are other Spartans as well as Cortana and a few others from the first two books. While reading, you’ll learn some important pieces to the overall Halo story. The authoer, Eric Nylund, does a good job of weaving action with some of the backround info that is essential to the story.

If you enjoyed playing Halo and Halo 2, the book series is a great supplement. I give First Strike a B+.

Review: Fantastic Four

Nick Momrik2 Comments

Fantastic FourThe Fantastic Four was a surprisingly good movie. Or maybe I just enjoyed watching Jessica Alba a little too much. It’s another Marvel movie, but this one isn’t too cheesy.

The acting, action, special effects, and story are all pretty good. There are a couple of sub stories to keep it all enteresting. One part of the movie I do have to complain about is the ending. For those of you that have seen it, I’m talking about the last minute of the film. It’s just typical Hollywood though, leaving their backdoor open.

If you’ve enjoyed some of the other Marvel comics on the big screen, you’ll like this as well. Just don’t go into it with big expectations and you’ll walk out having seen an enjoyable movie. I give it a B+.

Review: Mr. & Mrs. Smith

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Mr. & Mrs. SmithDefinitely one of the top movies of the summer. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were the perfect choices for Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I couldn’t imagine anyone else in Hollywood being able to do a better job. They’ve always been two of my favorite stars and this movie was a great showing of their talent. They worked extremely well together in this film.

The movie is full of action and great humor. Pitt has that natural ability to be the funny guy while being serious. I’m not a Vince Vaughn fan, but he also did a great in the movie. His comedic talent meshed well with Pitt’s. The previews from the movie really are a good indication of how good the movie is. There are a few twists to the plot to keep it interesting. I can’t really complain about anything from the film.

An easy A-.

Review: Bringing Down the House

Nick Momrik6 Comments

Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for MillionsAfter reading the back cover of this book I knew I had to read it. Bringing Down the House is the story of how M.I.T. students beat the house. They took Las Vegas and other casinos around the country for millions of dollars.

The book is one of the best I’ve ever read. It was one of those I couldn’t put down. I like to read chapter by chapter and each time I reached the end of a chapter I couldn’t resist going for just one more.

This story is the real deal. You read about the ins and outs of how these students worked in card counting teams to beat the blackjack tables one night at a time. These students forced casinos all over the world to change the way their security systems work. You’ll read about he highs and lows of winning big. If you’re a gambler this is a book for you. I give it an A+.

Review: Life Aquatic

Nick Momrik3 Comments

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Criterion Collection (2-Disc Special Edition)If you are looking for a movie to put you to sleep, Life Aquatic is that movie. This might be the worst movie (except for maybe AI) I’ve ever watched. It’s that bad!

Not sure what to say about the movie except that I lost 2 hours of my life watching it. The movie doesn’t make sense, it’s not funny, and it sucks. The movie doesn’t even deserve to take up space on my blog, so I’ll end by giving it an F.

Review: National Treasure

Nick Momrik2 Comments

National Treasure (Widescreen Edition)I watched National Treasure a few weeks ago at my friend Jere’s. I’ve wanted to see this movie for quite some time and I’m a little mad I waited so long. It’s a pretty good flick.

Nicolas Cage does a great job in a movie that reminded me a lot of The Da Vinci Code. Cage’s character is from a long line of treasure hunters and vows to be the one to reach the end of the search. There is a lot of code breaking throughout the movie and action to go along with it. The film kept me interested until the end and even then I was left wanting more, which we’ll get in 2007.

Overall a good movie and worth the price of a rental. I give it an A-.

Review: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Nick Momrik4 Comments

Star Wars - Episode III, Revenge of the SithIt’s been over a month since I saw Revenge of the Sith, so a review is long overdue. I might need to see the movie again to remember it!

Like most people, I was disappointed with Episodes I and II, so I was really looking forward to III. It didn’t disappoint me. I thought the movie was a great finish to the last (actually 3rd in the timeline) of the Star Wars movies. Revenge of the Sith answered all of the questions I had going into it. I won’t go into any detail because I wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie.

I do have to bring up two things I didn’t care for. I thought General Grievous would be a much more prominent charcter in the film. I thought he went down pretty easy to Obi-Wan Kenobi. I was waiting for a big battle where he took on 4 or 5 Jedi. Which leads me to my other complaint. Did the Jedi go down too easy or what?

With that said, I thoroughly enjoyed Episode III and give it an A.

Review: Meet the Fockers

Nick Momrik10 Comments

Meet The Fockers (Widescreen Edition)Meet the Parents was a great movie, but Meet the Fockers was disappointing. The movie had it’s moments, but it wasn’t nearly as good as the first film.

Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, and Barbra Streisand all did an excellent job with their parts in the movie. My issue was with the writing of the script. The jokes just weren’t very funny. I don’t care how good the acting is…it can’t make up for a poor script. I watched the extended version on the DVD and that made it even worse. Instead of actually making smooth transitions to an added scene they alerted you with an icon on the screen and then completely jumped to the new scene. It was horrible. I’ve watched a lot of extended edition DVDs and none were ever done bad.

Meet the Fockers isn’t so bad that you shouldn’t watch it, but don’t expect anything up to the standard set by Meet the Parents. I give the movie a C-.

Review: Blade Trinity

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Blade - Trinity (Unrated Widescreen Edition) (New Line Platinum Series)I’ve been a fan of the Blade movies so I was excited when I saw they were making Blade Trinity. How could I not be excited to watch Jessica Biel for a whole movie though?

The story is a little weak, but we’re talking about vampires and Dracula here, so it’s a little hard to make it believable. I was entertained throughout the movie with good action and decent acting. Nothing to knock your socks off, but worthwhile. In my opinion, Ryan Reynolds (think Van Wilder) was bad for this movie. His constant attempts at humor really threw me off. This is supposed to be an action movie. Why do producers keep thinking they need comedy in every movie these days?

I didn’t care for the ending of the film, but it does leave the door open for another movie in the series. I’m not sure where they could go with the story, but that’s why I’m not in Hollywood writing scripts. Overall, it’s a good movie for anyone that enjoys this type of flick. I give it a B.