Second Honeymoon - Book

I seem to recall seeing a few James Patterson books around hither and yon. Some in my mom's collection, I think. Some in bookstores and libraries. And a few here the lending libraries here in Costa Rica. I picked one up because it had large text. Yes, I am getting old! Anyway, this one was co-written with Howard Roughan. Never heard of him. Patterson has a conversational style, or at least that was the case in this book. The protagonist is John O'Hara, who I am thinking might be one of Patterson's heroes from previous books. This story was definitely a sequel, since it referenced an earlier case that he was on. There is someone murdering honeymooning couples - and there is a murderer after John O'Hara. Thrills and spills ensue. Fun stuff. Easy read. I think I will pick up a few more James Pattersons if I can find them down here.

Swag - Book

I haven't read many books where you root for the bad guys - a few here and there, and a few movies. This was a gritty sort of crime novel about two men who team up to be armed robbers. I was kinda hoping they would get away with it. Ups and downs, a few close calls, and a few twists. The two leads weren't especially likable but they weren't detestable either. All in all a decent read. I thought, though, that Elmore Leonard wrote cowboy fiction. Guess I was wrong!

In Secret Service - Book

This novel is based on the idea that Ian Fleming left a manuscript for later generations that detailed a secret of great importance to the British Royal family (amongst others). I don't know much about Ian Fleming but this book made me want to go out and read some of his books - having seen the movies. Just seems like a good idea. This book took place in at least two time frames - the present and the 30s and 40s. Well written, just enough technical detail for me and a good amount of action. A good read for sure.

Unspeakable - Book

From the cover, I thought this book might be a romance in disguise - which it was. See, you can judge a book by its cover. The story is about a boy who meets a girl and they fall in love. See, a romance. The side stories were: the man has a secret troubled past, the woman is deaf and a has a child and her husband has conveniently died tragically. There is a slimy bank guy trying to buy the ranch. A psychopath or three or four are rampaging and have it out for the family of the deaf girl (her included). A retired sheriff needs closure on a case that has been bugging him for 22 years. And on and on and on. Ok, I am making out to be more formulaic than it is. It was a decent book. Not great. I don't know that I would go out of my way to read another Sandra Brown book, but I also wouldn't kick one out of bed.

The Enemy - Book

I read a Jack Reacher book a long while ago. I may have even mentioned it in a blog post. And then Tom Cruise made a movie about him. Which is weird because Tom is about 5'4" and Jack is supposed to be 6'3". And Tom weighs about 5 pounds sopping wet and Jack is 280 pounds dry. I still liked the movie ok. But...Anyway, this book is much earlier in Jack's life (there are 22 Reacher books, I think - or more) when he was still an MP. A general dies in a motel room and Jack is told to forget about the event. Then another soldier is killed. And he is told to forget about that one as well. But Jack, though good at following orders, isn't good about following those two. A decent crime procedural/thriller ensues. Not a bad read at all!

Cold Pursuit (Book)

I guess the difference between a murder mystery and a crime novel is that...nope, can't think of one. I was going to say that in a crime novel the focus is on a police person solving the crime - but there are many mystery novels where the crime solver is a policeman, aren't there? Maybe I am hallucinating. Anyway, this book was a crime novel by T. Jefferson (Thomas?) Parker, an author I had never heard of. Just a book on a shelf. I don't really understand the title as it relates to the book, either. The story starts with a murder of an older person (no one is old to me anymore at this point in my life)(ok, maybe someone who is 103 might be considered old...) who got bashed in the head by person or persons unknown. The protagonist is a police sargeant, the original prime suspect is, wait for it, a beautiful blond woman, who he falls for, of course. So in that respect it was a bit predictable. But other than that, it was a good crime story.

Final Flight (Book)

After reading one Stephen Coonts book, I was happy to find another one in the piles of books on the lending library shelf in one of the places I am frequenting in Costa Rica. This one is about Jake Grafton, a secondary character (sort of) in the Tommy C. book I recently read. I wanted to see what made him so revered by his fellows. This book is about an attempted hijacking of some nuclear weapons from an American aircraft carrier. Great details about all the workings of the big ship, good action, a little bit of romance mixed in, spies and subterfuges galore. Even a crazy Middle Eastern dictator thrown into the mix. I thought Jake Grafton in this book wasn't presented as a super heroically as I had thought he would be. He made mistakes and was slow on the uptake here and there. Overall, an enjoyable read. If I stumble on more of them (Stephen Coonts books), I will probably read them.

The Fourth Protocol (Book)

Wow, there couldn't have been a much bigger difference between two books that are both considered "thrillers." This book, by the author of The Day of the Jackal was filled with technical details, clever coincidences, logical decisions and a slow ramping up of suspense. Great stuff. The plot revolves around a rogue(ish) plan to set off a backpack nuke in England. John Preston is the protagonist, an MI5 agent who is tenacious, clear thinking, decisive in action and a generally all around nice person. Great read if this is your sort of thriller.

Book - Run for the Money

The book jacket's base color was pink. It looked like it was from a Romance Novel publishing company. But I read it anyway. Did I mention that I have thought of writing Romance Novels? I started one once, but got nowhere quickly. I wonder if I lived in Paradise if I would write more and might be able to crank out one for two or a dozen of them eventually. Hmm. Anyway, this book was a combination Romance and thriller. The protagonist is one "Pink" Pearl, a CPA who gets framed for embezzling and for killing an arch rival. And it gets crazier from there. As a thriller, there were too many deus ex machina's for me - the heroine keeps getting rescued by external people, some of whom we know, others we don't. Also, too much reliance on people's poor observation skills - four of the main characters, well, five if you include pink, make themselves over so well as to be basically unidentifiable, even to people close to them. Two lead complete double lives. Two lead a main life and a secondary life. And pink dresses up as someone else well enough to fool one of the others. Ok, this is why I didn't love this book. Was it ok? Sure. Good, no. Great, definitely now. If someone likes romance novels or simplistically written books, this would be a good read. With its convoluted plot, its outrageous contrivances, it just wasn't the best book for me. Which means, that if I find the first one lying around somewhere, I will probably read it. And I am interested to know who she resolves the love triangle (two not to be believed men are both crazy in love with her, as she is with them - sigh). 

Book - Liars & Thieves

Not sure the title is right, but it really doesn't matter all that much. This thriller by Stephen Coonts certainly kept my attention. Apparently he has been writing thrillers for quite some time. A lot about a Jake Grafton. This one centered on a character that was introduced in one of those stories (according to a blurb I read somewhere) name Tommy Carmellini, a once thief, now turned CIA agent specializing in bugs and break-ins. Tommy is sent to do guard duty at a safe house and finds two dead guards. The ride gets crazy after that. If you like thrillers and wise cracking protagonists, this would be a good summer read. I read it in a day. Too much time on my hands, I guess...

Book - Rasputin's Shadow

One of the cool things about Neuvo Arenal is that because of the large-ish population of expats there are a few places that have lending libraries of books in English (and maybe other languages - but since I can read best in English...). My friend has a bunch of books as well. So, since I am media poor (my laptop's sound has given up the ghost for some reason) I am getting to flex my reading muscles. This time, I read a thriller by Raymond Khoury called Rasputin's Shadow. Lots of things of interest to me in this book. Being a little bit of a Russophile, anything about Russia is cool by me. And Rasputin has always held a bit of fascination. Also, I like thrillers. So there we are. This book is sort of part of a series. The books obviously stand alone since I didn't feel like I was missing anything too important by not having read the previous installments. These characters are interesting and, if I am really bored and in a reading mood, I will look for more of these books when I return stateside. This particular book is about Reilly, an FBI agent who is trying to find out who messed up his kid and at the same time trying to figure out what happened to a Russian Agent who was thrown out of a six floor apartment window. Mind control plays a large part in this book. And the bad guy is pretty bad. All in all a good fun read!

The Princess Bride (Island Movie)

If I could only have one movie on my island, this would be it. Just about the perfect movie in my eyes. Yes, it is not particularly pithy, but that is fine by me. I think I own about four copies of the film. Can't put my fingers on my bluray, but I think I saw my beta max version lying around somewhere. (Ok, not really, no beta max version...) Anyway, if you like funny movies, if you like clever movies, if you like adventure movies, romantic comedies, er, movies in general, you will probably like this movie. It is the story of Wesley and Buttercup who have found true love, only to be torn apart and eventually reunited. Love, death, giants, killer eels - what's not to love! Again, this is a movie I would watch with anyone, anytime, anyplace, in any language on any size screen. Huzzuh!!

Book - The Water Clock

Interesting thriller set in rural England (I think that is where the Fens are (is?). I liked the writer's style and the story was good. It focuses on Philip Dryden, newspaper reporter and sometimes slueth trying to get answers to two questions: what happened to him and his wife two years ago and what happened during a crime 30 years ago. Good characters, well paced. Some oddities here and there, but overall a decent read. Good for people who like murder mysteries, or are they called Crime Fiction now?

Serenity (An Island Movie)

I thoroughly enjoyed the Firefly series. It had its issues, as all shows do, but overall it was well conceived and executed. Sadly, Fox didn't think so. It lasted only one season. There was a huge outpouring of outrage and requests that the show be continued. Somehow, Fox agreed to do a movie, which is Serenity. This is one of the movies that I have seen at least five times and will gladly watch anytime, anywhere with anyone, in any language, on any size screen. Yes, this is an Island Movie.

Is it great art? No. Is it culturally important, doubtful. What it is, is a great (albeit sad in places) story that gives fans of Firefly some sort of closure.

It starts with River being rescued from the government. And ends with River rescuing the crew. Well, sort of. I can't really tell too much of the story without giving the whole thing away. If you like science fiction, I would highly recommend watching this movie. It is fine as a standalone piece, but better understood after watching the extant episodes of the Firefly TV series.

Island Movie! How many do I get? I thought it was five, but maybe it was ten? We shall see. With the advent of huge storage devices, I am sure we could get ten on the island, couldn't we? Hmm? Please?

The Losers

What a fun action film/comic movie! This is not a comic book series with which I was familiar. The protagonists are a bunch of soldiers gone rogue after the CIA tried to kill them and blew up a helicopter filled with kids instead. Decent story, fun characters, over the top action. All around a fun film. And some sexy kick-ass Zoe Saldana bits as well. Fun if you like this sort of thing. As it is an origin story, there is quite a bit of exposition, but it is handle nicely. Sad they didn't make more of these.

Beauty and the Beast - Live action Disney

Netflix is losing its Disney properties soon, so why not watch them while one can. I heard about this movie while it was being made. I was surprised that Emma Watson was chosen to play bell. Not that she isn't attractive. But Belle Beautiful? Not in my eyes. And was that actually her singing? I thought somehow that there were more songs in the movie. I saw the play a couple of times. Oh well. It was entertaining, good effects, Be Our Guest was pretty spectacular. The beast as a beast was good and looked suitably beastly. For some reason, Kevin Kline doesn't often appeal. And his perofrmance here was no different. The guy who played Gaston was good, but not nearly burly enough. Anyway. Worth a watch if you like Disney, or Emma Watson, or musicals.

Book - Basilica

When abroad, I usually don't have a lot of time for reading. This trip is significantly different. Luckily, my friend(s) have accumulated some reading material. The first book to be finished was Basilica by William D. Montalbano. I wonder if he is related to Ricardo Montalban...The book is described as a thriller. It definitely fit the genre. The protagonist is a hard lifed Brother living in Rome helping out himself and his friend the Pope. Long story. Fun read. A little too heavy on the faith aspect (I think at least three miracles is a bit much for one book). Still, despite missing a few pages in the middle, which did nothing I guess to advance the story too much, it was a fun, quick read. I wouldn't object to reading another with the same characters.

In Dubious Battle

Not a great movie but not a bad movie either. James Franco directed and acted in this adaptation of one of Steinbeck's dust bowl novels (the one that few people have heard of). Lots of great actors. Good story. And one that ought to resonate with a lot of people today. Downtrodden apple pickers are infiltrated by workers' rights people who get them to stand up for themselves. Mayhem ensues. Love and death occur as well. All ends. It is a good period piece and a good movie because of today's huge income inequality. Yes, things were even more terrible back then. Thank goodness for all the people who fought and died so that we could have at least what we have now. But we have become so complacent. I wonder what it would take for the people to fight back like they fought in the thirties...

So, if you like any of the actors in the film, if you like Franco, if you like period pieces, if you like Steinbeck, then watch this movie. It isn't going on the island with me, but I am glad I saw it!

(Picture one day...)

Swamp Thing

I came upon a list of Science Fiction movies the other day (I think I have mentioned it elsewhere) and decided to see as many of them as I could. The last 8 or so were animated movies and I have chosen to put those on the back burner for now. One I did not choose to back burner was Swamp Thing. When I was younger, much younger, and reading a lot of comics and collecting a few, I read one or two issues of Swamp Thing. Not the best but not the worst. The movie version was ok. It was very 80s, so if that is something you like, this might be a movie for you. It is an origin story, so there is a lot of exposition and not a lot of plot. Just girl meets boy, boy gets turned into a monster, bad people want to steal the research and capture girl so monster saves the day and the girl. Fun stuff. My main complaint about the movie was the Swamp Thing just wasn't slimy enough. Maybe it is time for a modern treatment so that Swamp Thing can be just as awesomely messy as he was in the comics.

(Poster Coming one day perhaps when I once again have zippy internet)

Two Night Stand

Miles Teller, I am mostly a fan. And this movie did not detract from my fandom. There is just something comfortable to me when he performs. A sincerity and a realness. His costar, Analeigh Tipton, in this movie, who was actually the main character, so I guess he is technically her costar,  didn't appeal to me as much. I don't know if it is actually her that I didn't warm up to, or her character. Either way, I wasn't so turned off that I didn't enjoy the movie. In other words, I did enjoy the movie. Analeigh's character has a bad break-up and so she seeks a one night stand. She ends up in Brooklyn (from Manhattan) with Mile's character. Their evening passes pleasantly enough. The morning finds them snowed in so they have to stay together, even though they had had a melt down of their budding relationship. Hilarity (of sorts) ensues. Some fun stuff. A couple of twists I didn't see coming, which is always good. Definitely worth a watch if you like either of the actors or if you like Romantic Comedies.

Hitman

This was an earlier version of the Hitman 47 video game movie. It starred someone whose face I know - I think he was on Vegas or something. Oh, Timothy Oliphant, who I loved on Deadwood. Which as a show I enjoyed very much. I think that was the first show I binge watched on Netflix. I digress. This Hitman movie also had a lot of carnage - a bit less than the other, later version. And the base story was different - in this one, 47 is set up after he kills a Russian Oligarch and everyone is after him. He teams up with the Russian's ex-girlfriend and mayhem ensues. For some reason, Oliphant, who was fine in the movie, just seemed to be too familiar for me to feel totally comfortable with him in that role. And do not watch the alternate ending. Too depressing. For fans, this is a dandy movie - not great, but fun.

The Great Wall

Matt Damon alway makes me look into a movie. That is how I came to watch The Great Wall. His accent was weird, sort of a Boston accent - maybe he was a brigand from Massachusetts. Who knows? Anyway, this was a movie that was an interesting combination of a Occidental action movie and a Chinese action movie. Lots of amazing acrobatics, great fight scenes. The story was ok at best. I did end up liking Matt's character - his compatriot not as much. Willem Defoe was not great in this either. But, overall, a visual feast and a fun movie. I don't know why it got panned so badly. Perhaps because a lot of people don't get Chinese cinema? Quick synopsis - Matt and friends are heading to China to get "black powder" so they can be rich and powerful back West. The stumble onto the real reason behind the Great Wall - a 60 year incursion of monsters led by an all powerful queen. Right. Anyway, it was good fun. Rent it for Matt or for the Chinese movie-ness or for the plain old action. And Matt is wicked good with the bow in this movie! :)

Hitman: Agent 47

Fun video game adaptation movie. There are at least two of these (Hitman) out in the world. I happened to watch this one first. Overall, a fun film. Hitman 47 is trying to find the man who created him with the help of the man's daughter. Lots of action, though overall forgettable. If you like action films or video game films this i a good rental. Otherwise, a don't rush out to watch this one. 

Russian Dolls

French love story film. I watched this one because I saw a trailer for it. Apparently it is the sequel to an earlier movie that I have not seen and probably won't go out of my way to watch. Not that this one was bad in any way. It was actually quite entertaining. A young man tries to figure out if he can find happiness with just one woman. Decent romantic comedy for those who like that sort of thing, like me. Audrey Tatou is in it (of Amelie fame) though with too small a part.