Archive for the ‘Review’ Category

Review: Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Series Premiere

Posted: September 24, 2013 in Review
Tags: , , , , , ,
8

God, that’s a long name for a TV show. Oh, and before you read any further, the following review contains multiple spoiler alerts. Reader discretion is advised.

At first I thought this show would seem like a bad Marvel version of Torchwood*. And it’s definitely the Marvel version of Torchwood. Agent that came back from the dead under mysterious circumstances, team that all seems full of problems, saving the world from weird stuff the public shouldn’t be anywhere near. Heck, their character for diversity’s sake is a female Asian agent who doesn’t always do the field work in the ops! All you need is a dinosaur and two guys making out and BBC can sue.

That said, it’s not bad, and it’s certainly got a lot going for it. Each agent seems to be not just stereotypes (though Ward and May on the surface seem like it), but there is room for plenty of character development. The Marvel gadgets are in supply and there’s even some cool techy stuff near the end of the first episode. Plus just from this episode, we can see room for plenty of original stories that may or may not cross over into upcoming Marvel movies. And there’s plenty of self-referential humor and speculation on the various superheroes in this kooky show. There’s appropriate humor when it’s needed, a few enjoyable twists, and plenty of chemistry among this still-raw cast. I’d like to see where this show goes.

For the first episode, I give Agents of SHIELD a 3.9. I’ll watch a few more episodes to see if they impress me. Good luck, Mr. Whedon, Marvel and Disney. You’ve got a lot of work ahead of you, but if it ends in an awesome series, it’ll be worth the work.

Join me Saturday night (or Sunday morning) for the Saturday Night Live season 39 premiere. Tina Fey’s hosting, and my keyboard’s ready for reviewing.

*Torchwood is a Doctor Who spin-off that aired from 2006 to 2011, it’s first season airing after the second season of Doctor Who, which involved an alien attack on London (sound familiar?). Starring John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori, and Gareth David-Lloyd, the show revolved around a team of government agents based in Cardiff, Wales that investigated alien activity in the UK and was led by a guy who had a habit of coming back from the dead (does it sound familiar now?). Officially it’s on hiatus, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up of another season, especially since Barrowman’s on Arrow these days (based on a DC comic, to boot! So much irony).

Reviews: Sleepy Hollow Series Premiere & Under the Dome Season Finale

Posted: September 16, 2013 in Living and Life, Review, Scary Stuff
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Two reviews in one post. That’s a new one for me. But what do you expect from me? Two very interesting series having two significant events on the same night, one after the other? Of course I’m going to do a double review! So without further ado, let’s start the analysis and reviews:

Now that’s what I call graphics.

Sleepy Hollow
Based on the famous short story by Washington Irving, Sleepy Hollow is an updated version of the classic tale, where Ichabod Crane is a Revolutionary War hero instead of a teacher. Get this: he’s the one who beheaded the famous Headless Horseman. Now the Horseman’s back, and Ichabod’s returned from the grave to stop him…and whoever’s controlling him. With some Biblical themes mixed in, some good ol’ fashioned American legend and folklore, and some superb acting, I think this could be the start of a great series.

So far I have only two complaints: one is that Ichabod, played by actor Tom Milson, seems not as culture-shocked as you’d expect for an 18th century man finding himself in the year 2013…or as torn up over the death of his wife Katrina, who appears to him in a ghostly dream. Also, I have a feeling that the series’ producers are trying to create a mythology from the first episode. While I admire that, let’s hope they don’t shove it down our throats. Give us the mythology too quickly and viewers may be turned off from it.

Other than that, the show seems really great. The characters seem very real to me, and the chemistry between Ichabod and Sheriff Abbie Mills (Nicole Beharie) is already strong, like Mulder and Scully in some ways. Also the cast is very diverse, which both brings a little humor to the show (Ichabod is surprised that Abbie, who is a woman and African American, isn’t a slave and is instead a lieutenant, making everyone rolls their eyes or laugh with a knowing smile) and makes me think we’re actually making some progress in terms of race relations. Not much, but some. And the show is filmed in the actual town of Sleepy Hollow, New York. Yes, there’s an actual Sleepy Hollow. It changed its name from Tarrytown a few years back to honor the original Irving story, in which Sleepy Hollow is a part of the Tarrytown township or district or whatever. Who knew!

All in all, I’m giving Sleepy Hollow a 4.6 out of 5. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season, and seeing whether this show can keep up the momentum or…you know what, I’m not even going to finish that sentence lest I jinx it. Let’s hope for the best.

Purists hate this show, but most seem to love it.

Under the Dome
In so many ways this show, based on the uber-long novel by Stephen King, who executive produced the show, departs from the original story. And as we saw tonight, it can sometimes stay true to the original tale. In the meantime, we’ve seen an incredible season. I was skeptical when I saw the first episode this summer (see the review here), but the story got better and better with every episode, taking the story in new directions, developing very real characters, and throwing in as many mysteries as it could without overwhelming viewers.

In a way, it’s really amazing how the show weaves in so many ideas and subplots and characters in a coherent narrative. That’s something I’d like to be able to do someday, and do it with ease as well. In any case, I’m not surprised that Under the Dome will be returning next summer for a second season, especially based on that very strange cliff-hanger of a season finale. If you haven’t gotten into the show yet, I suggest you look it up. Dean Norris from Breaking Bad could easily win an Emmy for his work on the show as town councilman James “Big Jim” Rennie, especially now that Bad‘s over and done with (at least I think it is. The series ended, right?). And Dale “Barbie” Barbara, the show’s lead played by Mike Vogel, looks underdeveloped as a character at first glance, but you find this bad-ass charm, mystery, and kindness on the second. I think it’ll be interesting to see what they do with him in the second season.

For the season finale, I give UTD a well deserved 4.6 out of 5. And for the entire first season…I’m awarding it a 4.8 out of 5, for taking a complicated story and a not-so-good start and making it one of the TV events of the summer. Yeah, I said that. Weep, Miley Cyrus. Your little freak-out on MTV didn’t hit my radar.

Expect more TV show reviews as new and exciting series, like Dracula or Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. begin this fall, and a few movies such as Carrie and Catching Fire come out. Not to mention the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor, comes out this November. I cannot wait!

Well, that’s all for now. Hope to do my weekly exercises tomorrow. Good night everybody!

Review: Europa Report

Posted: September 5, 2013 in Review
Tags: , , , ,
2

If it was Europa Report Card, I’d give it an F.

Not as good as I expected.

I was very curious about the film when I saw the trailer when I went to see Elysium. So when I finally got the chance to see it, I hoped it was as good as they were trying to make the film seem, which was a documentary/found-footage film that marries Paranormal Activity to modern astrobiology theories and science fiction.

Unfortunately, the filmmakers fail to do this. The film, which is about a manned mission to Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons and the one that scientists believe cold possibly harbor life underneath its icy surface, chronicles from a number of placed cameras the trials and travails of the crew, especially when they finally get to Europa and find they’re not alone (obviously). The events aren’t always in chronological order, and there are a lot of interviews with representatives and scientists working for the company that funded the mission.

Is it a novel idea? Yes, to a certain degree. Is it a good thriller? Not really. The film takes too long to actually get to Europa, reveals who’s going to die too early to make the story very thrilling, and when we finally get to Europa’s surface, there’s more fascination with the scientific experiments than there is of the monster menacing the crew. By the time the focus of the film is to get away from the monster, who has not been revealed except for some deep-pink bio-luminescence underneath the ice, we are more annoyed with curiosity for what the creature is than what is happening to the crew, whose fate we basically have figured out and are bored with.

And when they finally reveal the monster…well, not so scary. In fact, it’s kind of stereotypical for alien movies where the alien is more monstrous than humanoid. It’d be scarier if it were modeled after Godzilla. Even the deep pink bio-luminescence couldn’t make that less terrifying.

All in all, Europa Report is so high on the science and documentary-style footage that its filmmakers forgot to make the film actually entertaining for the people going to see it. I give it a 2.6 out of 5. Don’t even bother to wait for it to come out on DVD. Trust me, it’s a waste of time.

The Quiet Game: 4th Review

Posted: September 3, 2013 in Review, short story, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

tqg cover

I just recieved my fourth review for my collection of short stories, The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones. This review comes from my aunt, Michele Siegal (actually, it says my uncle’s name on Amazon, but that’s because they have a joint account). The review, which gave the book 4 stars, went like this:

“This is the first time I’ve read any of Rami’s stories. I was very impressed with the wide variety of stories and the way he wove the paranormal into each piece. Paranormal is not something I usually read and I enjoyed this collection very much. The collection reminded me of the Twlight Zone. The descriptions were especially well developed. Keep on writing Rami!”

Thanks Aunt Michele! I’m glad you enjoyed the variety and the descriptions, and I’m flattered that you think I reminded you of The Twilight Zone. And with this review, I’m maintaining my 4.0 average on Amazon, which I’m very happy with. And with book sales slowly but steadily rising, I can only hope that more reviews will come.

If you decide to read The Quiet Game, please don’t hesitate to write a review, whether you enjoyed the book or not. I always appreciate feedback, positive or negative, and reviews really help indie writers such as myself move up in the world.

Hope you’re having as good a day as I am. If I have anything else to write, I’ll post it later in the day (and if I can get my homework done in a timely manner, I might just have something to write about).

Review: The Frozen Ground

Posted: August 29, 2013 in Review, Scary Stuff
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
0

I first heard about this film from my boss at work. Her fiancé apparently was a cop in Alaska back in the eighties, and a certain case he’d worked was being made into a movie. It was the story of Robert Hanson, a serial killer who had taken several girls up to the woods in his plane and then killed them. The girls he took were prostitutes, whom he raped and murdered, and then took trophies from. He’s now serving 461 years plus life for his crimes.

Did I mention that the movie stars John Cusack as the killer, Vanessa Hudgens as the prostitute who escapes him and later identifies him, and Nicholas Cage as the cop who takes him down? If I haven’t, than I think I just did.

This movie is only available through select theaters and on-demand, but it could be good enough for a national release. Watching it, I find it hard to tell what’s Hollywood BS to spice up the story and what’s actually happened. It’s done so convincingly. You see actual emotions, characters who feel so real to the point that you forget you’re watching actors. Hudgens especially pulls off the role of a prostitute with a hard life very well. As she says at one point to Cage’s character, “I’ve had things happen to me…things no little girl should have happen to them.” For many girls on the street, that’s how they start out. Bad things happen to them, and it warps them, putting them into a role they don’t want but can’t shake. And the whole instinct of survival at any cost drives a lot of their actions, which is why Hudgens’ character does a lot of what she does, even if it defies logic sometimes.

At least, the logic of you or me.

The Frozen Ground also gains points for its dark and realistic portrayal of the police process back in the eighties. It’s a tough job, with sometimes very few leads and several roadblocks to getting justice. You can feel the frustration mounting as at certain points, these cops find themselves blocked in trying to take down Hansen. It’s like Law & Order, but only deeper and with even less Hollywood crap.

My few complaints is that many of the characters are undeveloped. We don’t really get a chance to understand Hansen or Cage’s character, and many of the other characters, especially characters on the force, don’t get their names used once in the movie (so I could not tell which character was my boss’s fiancé, sadly). It’s a cop drama, so not a lot of room to get into character development when a killer’s out on the loose, but still, could you spend a few hundred dollars filming some scenes that show us what motivates some of the other characters in this story? The only other characters whose heads I can get into is the pimp character played by 50 Cent, and that’s such a stereotype, it’s not even funny. Because hey, the black pimp has been used so much it’s a cliché.

Anyway, I was going to give The Frozen Ground a 4.3 out of 5, but Hudgens’ performance and the realism of the movie elevate it to a 4.8. If you get a chance, do go check out the movie. And stick around after the closing shots. You’ll see the captions “This film is dedicated to all the victims, known and unknown”, followed by photos of some of the known victims of Hansen.

And one more thing before I wrap this review up. The next time you see a girl on the streets turning tricks or you hear some pundit make some comment about prostitution on TV or the radio, remember that these girls aren’t doing what they’re doing, with little or no legal protection, health insurance, retirement plan, or guarantee of safety, just for the fun of it or the money. Many are forced into it for a variety of reasons. The least you can actually do is show these girls some compassion, and remember they are real women too.

The Quiet Game: Review #3

Posted: August 21, 2013 in Progress Report, Review, short story, Writing
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

tqg cover

Today I logged onto The Quiet Game’s Amazon page and was surprised and pleased to see a new review there. Not only that, but it was a review from my grandfather, Richard Warren. Knowing him it probably took 20 minutes and plenty of coaching from either my grandmother or my mom to help him post the review, but thanks for taking the effort Grandpa. I always appreciate feedback.

Here’s what my grandfather had to say on The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones, which he entitled five tales can be stronger and gave a 3-star review:

“These five tales are interesting. I read 3 stories one day & two the next. They held my interest, but I feel they could better, longer.”

Well Grandpa, the good news is that I’ve improved a bit from the time I’ve written these short stories, so the next time you read my work, I hope it’ll be a bit better then than it is now. As for the length, they’re short stories. They can only be so long before they turn into novellas. If I write another collection–and there’s always a possibility of that, so be on the lookout for future announcements–I hope to include more stories and possibly make them of a longer length. Who knows?

As for The Quiet Game, it is now currently holding a 4-star average and is still doing well. I’m pretty sure more copies will be sold by my next expected update, which will be September 17, exactly two months after the book’s publication. Until then, I’ll have plenty of things to occupy myself. Speaking of which, I have homework and laundry to take care of, so I’m going to get on that.

Until then, I’ll blog on you later, and once again, thanks to Grandpa for writing a review and giving his honest opinion. I appreciate it.

The Quiet Game: One Month Later

Posted: August 17, 2013 in Living and Life, Progress Report, Review, short story, Writing
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

tqg cover

It has exactly been one month since The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones came out. Yes, one month. Feels like a lot longer, but it’s only a month. A pretty crazy month too. I moved into my new apartment with my roommate Morgan, I worked most days, I saw some old friends and met some new ones, and in four days the fall semester starts (more on that later).

I’ve sold 25 print paperback copies and ten or eleven digital copies so far (there’s a guy I met who said he’s going to be downloading the book tonight. Depending on how long it takes for KDP to register a download, I may not find out till tomorrow). Also, I’ve gotten another review on Amazon, this one from Jason Haxton, owner of a box that is said to be possessed by a dybbuk, a demon from Jewish folklore. You may also know him as the author of the book The Dybbuk Box, a book detailing his experiences with the box, and the movie The Possession, which is based on Haxton’s book.

Here’s what he had to say on the book, which he gave 5 stars. The title of the review is Nailed It:

I happened across The author Rami Unger about a year ago when he was researching the paranormal online.
He nailed the Dybbuk story. Write more… soon! Jason Haxton Author of “The Dibbuk Box:.

Pretty awesome, huh? And coming from an author of a really excellent book and someone who’s experienced the supernatural before, I take it as a compliment. Plus his review has brought The Quiet Game‘s rating to a 4.5 average. I cannot complain. Oh and Jason, I have a book coming out in November. If you want me to let you know about that one too, I will.

If you’re interested in reading The Quiet Game, check it out on Amazon or Smashwords. And however you feel about the book, please write a review if you have the time. I always appreciate feedback, whether it be positive or negative feedback that I’m hearing.

Hope things are going well with you tonight. I’ve got another blog post and some writing to do before I go to bed tonight. Wish me luck.

Review: Elysium

Posted: August 16, 2013 in Review
Tags: , , , , ,
10

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie such as Elysium, one that’s not just visually, but also intellectually stimulating and emotionally invigorating. I was so glad my roommate Morgan and I went to go see it.

Plus we had a laugh afterwards making fun of right conservatives’ reactions to this movie.

Elysium, directed by District 9‘s Neil Blonkamp, depicts a world where the rich literally live above us all, in a Mercedes-logo satellite called Elysium where there is no war, crime, or sickness and all the buildings look like a cross between mansions, Greek temples, and sci-fi edifices. On Earth, the rest of humanity have to deal with poverty, non-existent education, sickness, and crime. That is, until Max de Costa, played by Matt Damon without any hair, gets hit by radiation during a workplace accident and learns he has five days to live. Returning to his old criminal contacts, Max will go to great length to go to Elysium and save his life. What happens next will change the course of human history forever.

What was interesting about this film was that it didn’t follow the normal flow for a sci-fi action movie of this sort, which is introduce the world and the conflict, dive right into the action, have your resolution after a ton of explosions and deaths, all while avoiding character development that can’t be done in a few frames or in a very tense emotional scene with romantic or beautiful background music. Instead, Elysium flows more like a novel, with a slow but steady build-up to the catalyst that causes the conflict in the story, several twists and turns of action and espionage and deceit in the middle, full of character development that penetrated deeply into your soul, and an ending that, while unconventional for sci-fi movies, left you feeling satisfied and full of joy and hope.

Unless of course you’re a right wing conservative, which means you left this movie in tears because you thought you saw the future.

Elysium was well-executed in terms of filmmaking. The settings were vivid in their portrayals of excessive wealth and terrible degradation, the special effects were extremely realistic, and the ways you could relate this film to our own lives and the United States political system these days are many (not surprising, considering whom the director is). My one complaint is that at one point, the all-powerful healing machines do something that I think is a little like cheating, but other than that an excellent movie.

For all of the above, I give Elysium a 4.5 out of 5. Best of all, no bad sequels. I cannot wait for what Neil Blonkamp will make next.

The Quiet Game: My First Amazon Review

Posted: August 11, 2013 in Review, short story, Writing
Tags: , , , , ,
2

tqg cover

It finally happened, ladies and gentlebloggers! The Quiet Game: Five Tales To Chill Your Bones finally got a review on Amazon. As most authors know, especially self-published authors, reviews are a major component, along with word-of-mouth, for getting your book out there and getting people to buy or download copies of your book. So now that I finally have a review on Amazon, I’m very happy!

And guess who gave the review? My dear mother, Rabbi Wendy Ungar. Now wait, before you judge and say something like, “She probably gave a positive review because it’s her son”, let me remind you that this is my mother we’re talking about. She introduced me to most of my influences, she’s honest when it comes to a book she’s recently read and she voices her opinion on it, and she knows I like it when she gives me a sincere opinion.

So what review did she give me? A 4-star review, with these notes to go with:

“I thought these stories would be scarier than they were, but it was a great read and a good effort from the first time author. These stories were more in the genre of creepy rather than scary, but what I really liked was that it made you think of them long after the book ended. The themes of addiction, of sweet innocence gone bad, and of the sins of the fathers being visited on their descendants were very well dealt with, and caused the reader to think of them even after finishing the book. I’m looking forward to more from this new author!”
If you didn’t know we were related, you’d think she was talking about someone she didn’t know. But still, coming from my mother this means a lot to me. My mother is one of my biggest fans and I’m always happy when she gives me her thoughts on the book. So thanks Ima. I always appreciate it when you tell me your thoughts on something I’ve written.
If you haven’t read The Quiet Game yet but you’re interested in checking it out, you can check out the Short Story Collections page, or you can check it out on Amazon and Smashwords.
Also, expect another post on The Quiet Game soon. I got interviewed not too long ago, and the interviewers finally sent me the transcripts for my blog. Check it out when it comes out.

Review: The Wolverine (2013 film)

Posted: July 29, 2013 in Review
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Go see the movie. You will enjoy it.

I wrote “2013 film” in parentheses because there’s a million different “The Wolverine” out there, and not just that team up north in Michigan, of whom only about 20 fans of I like. If you don’t get that, you don’t know Ohio or Michigan or college football.

I’m a huge fan of Wolverine, and I love Japan (total otaku), and I love action movies, so I was psyched to see this film, especially since it was supposed to be so much better than X-Men: Wolverine. I was not disappointed. The story follows Wolverine as he is taken to Japan to pay his respects to a dying man whom he saved when the second bomb fell and exploded in an unrealistic fashion. However once he gets there, thing start to get strange, and Logan has to protect the daughter of a business tycoon while all sorts of dangerous forces come after her…and Logan! Plus romance and new friendships and enemies and a ninja with hair dyed deep-red wearing casual clothes make for a great afternoon well-spent.

Of the actors, Hugh Jackman is always great playing the role of a surly tough guy, while Tao Okamoto playing Mariko Yashida touched my heart. Rila Fukushima is awesome as ninja psychic Yukio, while Hiroyuki Sanada as one of the main villains in the story is scary. And watch Svetlana Khodchenkova as the Viper puts the” fatal” in femme fatale. Also, watch for cameos from Famke Jessen (Jean Grey), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), and Ian McKellan (Magneto). And stick around after the credits, you’ll get a hint of what’s coming next year in X-Men: Days of Future Past, where the latter two show up.

Also be aware of some awesome special effects, including the Silver Samurai character. And there are some great fight sequences between Logan and the many Yakuza and ninja enemies he has to take on, especially since he’s taking them on with some handicaps (you’ll find out all about that when you see the movie).

All told, I’m giving The Wolverine a 4.5 out of 5. Can’t wait for next summer. Actually I can, I’ve got Elysium next month and two or three movies in October that will hopefully scare the crap out of me. I’ve got plenty to look forward to.

Older Entries
Newer Entries