Dreamcatcher

Some people would've taken some time off, perhaps traveled to a tropical beach and had drinks served in coconuts, recovering, after being swiped by a mini-van and hospitalized with severe injuries. Stephen King wrote Dreamcatcher, a book in which one of the main characters suffers a similar fate.

Not only is the story very involved, but also very lengthy. Quite significant productivity considering the circumstances!

So, how'd he do?

Once again, in the Stephen King universe, nothing good happens to friends in groups of 4. Four childhood friends grow up and tap in to parts of their shared past to deal with some horrifying problems in their present. The four are bound together by a 5th mentally challenged kid who, though outwardly handicapped is in fact quite special and quite powerful in his own right. So, as grown-ups the 4 friends go on an annual hunting trip in a remote part of Maine. Some mysterious lights in the sky and a couple of odd stray hunters later, and the plot takes off on a race that potentially determines the fate of the entire planet. The plot, pacing, and imagery are quite good, and despite the length, it's a pretty quick read as a result. If you are generally a fan of Stephen King or the horror genre, you'll probably enjoy this one. I'd recommend it.

Dereliction of Duty

Got distracted a bit with holiday time, packing some stuff up, work, etc. About time to catch up on some things here...

Let's start out with Up, the latest offering from Pixar. The concept seems iffy, but wow, the execution...absolutely brilliant. The idea of a kid who grows up and grows old with this far-flung dream about flying to South America in search of a mythical place doesn't seem like much more than a short book for small children, but in the hands of the folks at Pixar, this movie has more charm, more poignant moments, adventure, humor, and a better story than probably 99% of the films that'll come out this year. Hopefully it'll get a nod for best picture. If not, there's no justice in the world. Go see this one whether you have kids to take or not. You won't regret it.

From Up to a film more decidedly for adults only, we have Wedding Crashers. This flick follows the exploits of two single guys who, thanks to connections to pertinent information, are extremely successful at crashing weddings posing as friends of the family and such, the idea being, of course, to party, partake of some tasty food, and score with attractive and (thanks to the wedding atmosphere) emotionally susceptible women. Their planning and execution for said events is impeccable, and they are really living it up. Then, disaster strikes in the form of Wilson's character falling for one the objects of his desire. Vaughn, of course, realizes that this upsets the entire balance of their scam and their lives, and is conflicted by his desire to bail on the situation, and his duty to have his friend's back. The result is often funny and way over the top (sometimes to the point of uncomfortable). Overall, I had found it quite funny and enjoyable. If you enjoy a good raunchy comedy, I'd highly recommend it.

The sequel, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer was pretty decent as well. While neither of the F4 movies were in the spectacular range (Batman Begins, Ironman), they do pretty well. This one sees the introduction of the mysterious Silver Surfer, an entity of unknown intent who is initially cruising around causing climate disturbance and digging holes, but nobody is sure why. Eventually Dr. Doom gets back into the mix, and we learn that not only is astronomy WAY more advanced in the F4 universe, but also that, as is typical, the surfer dude is there to, well, destroy the planet (or, is it really that simple???). So, the heroes do their duty as you'd expect, and the overall plot clicks along nicely, pretty decent acting, good action, etc. The ending (after they've saved the planet) is some serious cheeze, so, you've been warned about that, but otherwise, not a bad entry in the Marvel universe. I've heard there are rumors of a F4 "reboot" from the folks at Fox, and while the first two installments might not have been perfection, hopefully somebody there will see the light and just really work on making a 3rd movie that kicks butt. Rehashing the same story lines with a new batch of characters this soon??? Let's hope not. As for this one, if you enjoy decent comic book hero movies, give this one a rent!

This is the second straight book I got part-way into and just didn't care enough to finish. Buyology by Martin Lindstrom is all about the science behind advertising, and how corporations are starting to use studies into the actual workings of the human brain (we're talking MRI studies and such) to better target the wants of the consumer base. There are certainly some interesting bits to be had, for example, warning labels on cigarettes do nothing in the way of stopping smokers, and in fact stimulate the same areas of the brain that make the smokers want those smokes. But, guess I just wasn't in the frame of mind to really get into this.