Four Film Reviews

Hi guys

I'm slightly behind on my film reviews so will give a quick review of the four movies I've seen in the last month or two at the cinema.
All of them are sequels and three are in a film series.

First up ........

Took my daughter to see Incredibles 2 the long awaited sequel to the 2004 smash which was fun although in my opinion wasn't quite worth the wait.

It had some good moments in but I saw the twist of who the bad guy was near the beginning. 

The funniest moments were Mr Incredible babysitting. 

Overall fun for the kids but the wait wasn't worth it.

Bels Score   -   9/10

My Score     -   6/10

Another sequel but more enjoyable and with some good laugh out loud moments as Draculas family and friends persuade him to go on a vacation on a cruise trip.  He reluctantly goes but falls in love (or Zings) with the Captain Erika.  Although she isn't who she appears to be. 

Again this was quite predictable and some of the side characters don't get as much to do including Frankensteins Monster and the werewolf Wayne.

Overall not as good as the first two films but fun all the same.

Bels Score   -  10/10

My Score     -  7/10

The Sixth instalment of Tom Cruises Mission Impossible films tops the previous films in way of stunts and fun.

Tom again staring as Ethan Hunt with Simon Peggs tech guy Benji and Rebecca Ferguson as Isla the film starts with a double cross and a loss of nuclear codes.  The IMF team are under scrutiny and Henry Cavill is brought is as CIA Assassin August Walker(great name) who opposes what they are doing. 

With great set pieces including an helicopter battle and bike chase the action doesn't let up plus there are loads of double crosses even I didn't see coming.

 This is the best in the series so far which is good considering the first three films were a bit bland. 

Overall best in the series but how long can Tom keep up these stunts?

Score   -   9/10

This I would class as a sequel to the Winnie the Pooh films as it has a grown up Christopher Robin played by Ewan McGregor who has largely forgotten about his childhood friends and now a busy manager in a company with a wife and daughter of his own.

He has forgotten what it is to be a child and a family man as he puts his work first.  As his wife and daughter go on holiday without him Pooh magically arrives when he needs him the most. 

After finding Poohs friends Tigger, Piglet and the others it becomes their mission to make Christopher Robin his old self.

This is a great feel good movie reminding us that family should come first even before work which in these times is a welcome reminder.

It also has great performances and CGI and reminded me of the recent Paddington Bear films.

Although not a great deal happens and you can see what's coming up,  it has some funny moments.

Overall a fun family movie.

Bels Score    -   9/10

My Score      -  8/10

Event - Titans of Sci-fi Waterstones 5th Sept

Hi guys

Last night was a Sci Fi readers dream as I got to see four legends in Sci Fi.

These were Peter F Hamilton - author of big space operas including the Void trilogy. 

Adrian Tchiakovsky - fantasy author but Hugo award winner for his Sci Fi novel Children of Time.

Stephen Baxter - author of many books including the Xeelee sequence.

As a bonus the event was hosted by Sci Fi and fantasy author Justina Robson - author of the Quantum Gravity series.

The writers primarily talked about their new novels. 

Stephen talked about Xeelee: Redemption, the latest in his huge Xeelee sequence the first of which written about 30 years ago.  He told us he loved going back to that sequence and wanted it to be like a modern history .  He also described the aliens Xeelee and their motives in the sequence.  He also discussed wormholes and time travel in his novels.

Peter told us of his new novel and series Salvation about finding an alien object on the edge of known space and the journey there.  He said unlike Stephen he likes to refresh his writing with new universes and series as the Commonwealth series had already ran for seven books.

He usually makes notes for six months before he starts a series.

Adrian told the audience that he was writing a sequel to Children of Time which is due May 2019.  He couldn't give much away for people who hadn't read the first one but said that when the humans engineered the spiders then left the planet they were on and the spiders evolved - well it might not be the only species humans engineered and left behind.

Also discussed were the following:

• Humour in Sci Fi - there isn't as much as in fantasy and when Stephen was working on The Long Earth series with Terry Pratchett that Terry couldn't stop putting humour in as Stephen kept it more serious and in check although Stephen did write a sequence that made Terry chuckle.
• Terry had the idea for The Long Earth back in the eighties and nineties .  He wasn't sure it would work.
• The panel discussed the difference between American and British Sci Fi authors in that there was and are more American Sci Fi authors but it's more military Sci Fi .  
• Although there was a surge in the eighties of new upcoming British authors including Peter and Alistair Reynolds thanks to Sci Fi magazine Interzone.  The authors submitted had stories printed in it which publishers saw and offered deals. 
• They also discussed the differences and similarities between writing Sci Fi and Fantasy which Adrian knew most about although Justina had written some and her new Fantasy novel (her first published one) Salvations Fire is out now and is set in a joined universe with Adrians novel Redemptions Blade.

Overall a fun insightful night and even bought more books.

As I got my book signed by Stephen I asked how much he knew Terry Pratchett.  Stephen told me he and Terry had been friends for many years and had the same agent.  He used to go for meals at Terrys house.

As Justina signed my book she recognised me from the Cleckheaton Literature Festivals and asked if I'd been writing.  I said I hadn't recently and she looked sad but I promised I would get back to writing.

September Update!

Hi guys

Haven't posted for a week or two been too busy procrastinating!

But I'm in a get my arse in gear phase now so will be blogging more.

Tomorrow night I'm going to see Sci Fi Titans Peter Hamilton, Stephen Baxter and Adrian Tchaikovsky in Leeds Waterstones giving a talk on Sci fi and their new books.  The evening is hosted by Sci fi author Justina Robson who I have met at both Cleckheaton Literature Festivals.
A review and photos of that will appear soon after.

I will also do a new book haul plus I've got some films to review that I saw last month.  Another post will feature a bookshelf tour.

Other things planned for September are to get a few short stories written and enter some competitions and anthologies.
To help with this the new issue of Writing Magazine is out on the eighth which has a competitions booklet.

Also two stories of mine will be in an anthology coming out this month so more on that when details are in place.

So follow my blog and enjoy - chat soon x