Monday 31 May 2010

BOOKS/DVD: MORE AMAZON REVIEWS

Killer Movie DVD 

Not bad but could have been better.

That said, the movie does have a fair bit going for it. Not least is that every time you think you know who the killer is, the real one promptly kills them. I was absolutely certain I knew who it was only for the guy to have his throat cut less than a minute after I'd definitely made my mind up it was him.

There is an attractive cast of good actors like the likeable Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory) playing an obnoxious actress, who I'm sure wasn't remotely based on L*nds*y L*h*n, who isn't as horrible as she first appears. Nestor Carbonell is great as a cynical agent and Paul Wesley of the Vampire Diaries is good as the lead. The rest of the supporting cast is fun as well particularly the actress who plays the utterly vile and predatory lesbian producer.

Much of the gore tends to be offscreen like the Cheerleader coach's encounter with a rotary saw (just when I decided she was the killer) or the beheading early on (when I'd decided that this character would probably be the Final Girl). Then there are more explicit bits like the throat slitting (see above) and hand amputation, so it isn't all bad. Plus there is a very high body count so that even at almost the very end you still just don't know who the damn killer is.

But I didn't find it very suspenseful and never remotely adrenalin-inducing. In fact it's oddly likeable for a serial killer movie and it is certainly surprising. Give it a try and it may surprise you.

Let's say the rating is three and a half stars. 



 
4.0 out of 5 stars Robert Charles Wilson is one of the best Science Fiction writers around., 30 May 2010
Or so I've come to believe after reading just two of his novels, the other being the award-winning Spin.

Like Spin, Wilson sets up a rather marvellous scientific problem against a very human background. Set several decades hence, three writers arrive at a scientific complex where, via a marvellous machine, humans can observe daily life on a planet over 50 light years distant. Then, for seemingly no reason, the complex is complete cut off with supplies arriving by a robotic drone. What the heck is going on?

This isn't action SF, instead we view events through the eyes of several characters, all of whom have problems which cause them to react differently to what is happening. Not a lot actually does happen but I was rivetted and really did not want to put this book down as I wanted to find out both the nature of the mystery and its effect on the protagonists. If I say much more I'll only spoil it for you.

So, after reading just two of Wilson's novels and immediately after finishing this one, I went and ordered four more from Amazon. I don't think I'm going to be disappointed. 

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