Some people have too much time on their hands.

Film Review

Ok, so Mrs CB and I went to the Cinema on Sunday and due to a minor cock up on timings, the plan to see Twilight ended up going out the window and I suddenly found myself out-voted and we watched 4 Christmases.
Ok, so bottom line it’s a by-the-numbers Christmas romantic comedy, Vince Vaughn & Reese Witherspoon play the couple who for the last four years have told their parents that they are “Innoculating orphans in Dafour” or “Building shelters in Cambodia” whilst they jet off to Fiji or somewhere else hot for a week of sun and pampering. However this year goes astray as fog grounds all flights and they happen to be the couple that the local news crew decide to interview as part of the story. Cue all 4 parents (both split) inviting them to spend a part of Christmas day at each house. I don’t think I really need to describe where it all goes from here.
Not really a great film, it’s one of those that you know what you are going to get and this doesn’t go beyond that. One to avoid if you can, but at the end of the day I have seen a lot worse.

It’s time for a story.

Ok, so I have covered Films & Games, so what about the books I have read recently.
Well currently I am plowing my way through Brisingr, the latest in the Eragorn series, like each of the previous two I am finding it rather slow to get going and so it’s not exactly grabbing me yet. I am also currently reading Greed by Chris Ryan (he of the Bravo Two Zero fame), all of his books are real page turners, however this isn’t one of his best.
I have recently just finished Seven Troop by Andy McNab (the other writer from Bravo Two Zero) and The Spirit Stone by Katherine Kerr (not a member of the Bravo Two Zero mission).
Seven Troop details Andy McNabs experiences with the SAS from the day he passed selection through to the time after he leaves the regiment. It’s not the most exciting read, but then again true stories don’t always work that way, however it is an interesting view into the minds of the soldiers who join this elite group and the effect it has on them, during and after their service.
Spirit Stone is the 13th book in the Deverry Cycle, if you haven’t read any of them, then think re-incarnation, magic, dragons and a love story between 2 souls and many different bodies. It’s a great read however each new book in the Deverry Cycle has me tempted to return to Dagger Spell and start from the begining again.

Nerdy and proud of it!!!

Ok, so you are 73% nerd.

 

Oh boy, you shouldn’t be here. You should return to your workbench, where you probably have several computers or circuit boards to work on. You’re probably TRT.

Just how nerdy are you?
Take More Quizzes

Ok yesterday we talked films and tv, lets talk games today.

Ok, so what have I been playing recently.

Fallout 3 – Ok, so far so good, haven’t played it as much as I would like, but the comment that was made to me and continues to feel right was “It’s Oblivion with guns”.  Now I loved Oblivion and so far I am kind of loving this, must get back to playing it and I will certainly recommend buying it.

Lego Batman – This one is not quite as good as Lego Star Wars but certainly better than Lego Indy, great fun for any one, any age etc etc etc.  Wouldn’t push to buy it rent it for a couple of weeks and you should be done.

Mirror’s Edge – OMG such an awesome game but oh so short.  This is a game that really does focus on the the movement rather than the action, what other game has an achievement for completing the game without actually shooting anyone.  The parkour effect is really starting to break into games now, we had Crackdown to start with, then Assassins Creed and now Mirror’s Edge.  Definately a rental, but oh so worth it.

Call of Duty 5 – World at War – Just finished this on the first run through last night.  The single player mode focuses on the Russians push into Berlin and the Americans fighting the Japs island by island.  Out of the two, the Russian mission are certainly my favourites ones, however it is as the Americans that you have the Flame Thrower which is just about as much fun as you can imagine.   I have also been playing the Multiplayer and really at the end of the day the difference between this and COD 4 is minimal, obvious this is set during WWII whilst COD 4 was set in a modern, if slightly futuristic setting.  Other than that it’s all good.  It’s down to you whether to rent or buy this one, if you are into the WWII shooters then it should be at the top of your list, if you are happy with COD4 and are looking for lots of new things, this isn’t where you want to be.

Tiger Woods 09 – It’s Tiger Woods 08 with a few new features, the swing seems to have been fixed from 08 where every other shot ended in the trees for me.  The ability to tune your swing to compensate for you constantly putting the ball to the left is great, the new Tiger Challenges are a lot better than the 08 version and the Season mode seems to be more challenging as you get later into the year.  Not a rental it’s too long and unless you are a diehard fan, if you have 08 don’t bother with 09.

I am sure there have been others but that will do for now.

Back to the Basics

Ok, so I suck at coming up with blogging subjects, therefore it’s time to head back to what I know and that’s TV & Films, so without further ado here’s what I’ve watched recently.

24 – Redemption

Set between seasons 6 & 7, Jack is currently residing in a small African country about to explode with a Coup which seems as though members of the American government are assisting with technology and weapons.  The army that is to perform this coup are comprised mainly of young boys, who are drugged and brain washed to fight for General Dumar.  Jack is currently staying at a small school run by an old friend Bennet, played by Robert Carlyse, and the boys become a target for the snatch squads looking for new recruits.

This follows the standard 24 “events occur in real time” which means that the story has to move along at a frantic pace to try and finish it within the 2 hrs, however it does kind of work.  Obvious the main subplot is Jack trying to avoid the fact that the US have issued a subpeona for him to return to the US to answers charges relating to him torturing suspects in his custody and given the sneak peeks released for Season 7 this time last year, before the writers strike delayed everything, you know he’s not getting away from that one.

There are a large number of hints of things to come in the new season, a new President is sworn in, her son (yes the new President is a female)  has a friend trying to send him some financial records that relate to our small African country which he was told to destroy and how much does the old President know about this situation.  All plot lines that I am sure are going to have repercussions for Jack when we next see him.

Anyway overall it’s a real improvement on season 6 which just seemed too disjointed and hopefully is a sign of things to come in season 7.

Kung Fu Panda.

Hmmm, an animated film for kids, not exactly my normal cup of tea, but one that Mrs CB wanted to watch so we acquired the DVD and sat down to watch it.  All I can say was WOW!!! This is a great film, entertainment for young and old.

Heroes.

Not quite as good as it was back in Season 1, however it’s better than the cut short season of last year.  With the switching round of characters from being evil to good and vice versa it’s re-energizing the show and it’s again becoming one of those “I can’t wait for the next episode”.  Cu-dos to the BBC for airing it only a couple of days after the US.

Spooks

Awesome – enough said.  If you don’t watch it, go out and buy Season 1 and start from there.

I’m a Celebrity get me out of here.

Just kidding!!!! not even watched 1 min of this (although I did catch around 5 seconds when switching channels).

Star Trek – trailer for the new movie.

Ok, this looks awesome!!! Can’t wait for May for this to come around.  Forget Xmas this is now the big date on my radar!!!!

A Quantum of a Review

Oh dear, what a difference a film makes, not so long ago I was talking about just how awesome Casino Royale was, now I have to discuss the film that is “A Quantum of Solace” the second outing as James Bond for Daniel Craig.  In Casino the new more grittier Bond was released and that continues in this film with Bond a man who has just suffered the loss of Vesper, the woman he loved.  This film is set just one hour after the events in Casino and Bond is being pursued by the henchman of the man he had just shot.  What follows is a journey across the world as Bond tackles the members of the Quantum organisation who appear to have members in many of the intelligence services across the globe.

However the film just doesn’t feel right, I read a review that said that I was likely to be bored during this film, I wasn’t bored, but it did come close.  It’s not the worst Bond ever, OHMSS holds that mantle in my mind, and you do feel that it has some absolutely awesome scenes, it doesn’t gell together.  It’s a film I wanted to love, it’s a film I wanted to praise and to be honest I still think that Daniel Craig is 2nd on my list of Bonds, behind Connery, however it needed something else to hold it together and I don’t know what.

With the film set immediately after Casino the story line follows on and with the way the film finishes, the setup for a more links into the next movie are there.  Apparently this story will continue into the next movie and potentially the one after.  I can’t wait for the next one, however I do hope that that  one will be an improvement.

Nose to the Grindstone

Yes I am back at work and boy does it suck.  Well at least I have a nice new location with a window view, Chad & I can just about see where El Matador and DM sit, although we do need a pair of binoculars!!!

Well as far as my wife’s recovery goes, her mother is up to stay with us for a week, thankfully she is someone I get on very well with and between the two of us we are able to help my wife when ever she needs it.

As far as the Xbox goes, I have got stuck on Force Unleashed, although I will come back to it, have just beaten Tiger Woods in his 2009 version and after a weeks playing the dreadfully ordinary Blacksite (or the online version Blackshite) and the awesome NHL09 (both rented from Blockbusters), I am currently playing Band of Brothers Hells Highway.  I have not played any of the previous versions of this and so far I am quite pleased with it.  I have played Medal of Honor and Call of Duty many times so I was looking for something a little different to keep me interested.  So far I have not been disappointed, the squad aspect of the game, controlling one or more additional groups of troops, allows you to have one squad of men lay down suppressing fire, whilst either you or another squad, flank the enemy (I said flank) and get the kill shots in.  The achievements for the game are I think almost spot on, however I think the Multiplayer ones won’t interest me as they are all worth 0 points, and there are 4 acheivements for playing this game over time periods, every day for a week, at least once a week for 3 months, every day for 100 days and on Sept 17th.  Come one those are just a little ridiculous, the question is will someone come up  with a way to cheat those as I can’t see people holding on to the game for 100 days before trading it in, however I can see me renting the game out Sept next year for the 50 points it would bring (I am an Acheivement Whore, I have been Achievement free for for 12hrs and 43 mins).

Op Day -1

Stress levels are dangerously high at the minute, I have (I hope, given we haven’t confirmed that the hospital have a bed for my wife yet) 2 hrs before I leave the office to take her to the hospital.  Things will be a little sketchy here for a while so don’t expect many updates.

On the up side, watched the 1st & 2nd eps of Heroes Season 3.  OMG does it look good.  Don’t want to say too much and spoil it for those who haven’t watched it yet.

My next blog should be full of good news.

Boring, Bored, Fed Up, Depressed……….

Time just seems to drag at the moment, 3 weeks to my wife’s op and I can’t even get the enthusiasm to blog.  At least my wife and I are going away for a few nights holiday next week and then we have to start organising things for her stay in hospital.

People ask how I’m doing but it’s difficult to say when I’m not sure myself.  The funniest thing is that at times I’m almost cheerful and that just doesn’t feel right to me.

Wycombe seem to be doing well, 3 wins and a draw in the first 4 matches of the season sees them in 4th Position in the table, however the 3 teams above us are only there on goal difference, I have a good feeling about this season (someone bookmark this and send it to me when we get relegated!!!).

Gaming front, following a small trade in yesterday (gaining £114 in credit) I have re-invested in Tiger Woods 2009, Too Human, Smash Court Tennis 3, Conan, Tomb Raider Anniversary and Crackdown (again).  Expect some reviews over the next few weeks.

Film front, a little quiet at the moment, however I have found a rather nice bit of software to catalogue my collection http://www.invelos.com/.  More than likely a bit of software I will actually register!!!

Book front, my writing has slowed down to a snails pace at the moment, having written two and half chapters over 3 days 2 weeks ago, I have not written a word since.  I know that one of my proof readers will be chasing my soon.

Anyway that’s kind of where I am at the minute, although my head is usually some other place for the most part.   Catch ya on the flip side.