Sherlock Holmes-A Game of Shadows

When one says mysteries and detectives, one name usually comes to mind, and that name is Sherlock Holmes. He has wit, skill, and that just right stroke of luck. He has bizarre methods, some of which you may not think would work, but they also seem to pull through regardless. Watson, his side kick and the fellow doctor doesn't have that same streak of luck, though he is a vital part to the movie. In the second Sherlock Holmes movie, Sherlock has to battle the mysterious person who was pulling the strings in the first movie, and defeating this person, and even though his methods are a bit bizzarre, I have to admit, he really is the best detective the world has ever seen.

The movie starts off like the first one, in a mess of random events that seem to never correlate, though they do provide some laughs. After the death of Irene Adler, the possible love interest of Holmes, Sherlock looks into who did it, and he finds that his adversary this time is Professor Moriarty. Through the movie, Sherlock Holmes is probably faced with his greatest mystery yet, and while solving the mystery, he has to stop an international crisis from arising.

First off, in some ways, this is a direct sequel to the first movie. Some jokes, and even the bad guy, are brought over from the first movie. Although it may be advertised as something such as a Bond movie, it really is not. The first movie will explain a lot to you, and it is a good watch in my personal opinion

I will admit, I especially liked the comedic bits, because Sherlock is never serious. He is like Captain Jack Sparrow when it comes to his methods of going through with some stuff. Also, some of the stuff he does may not make sense at first, though you might have just have to roll with it, because everything will make sense by the end of the movie. Even though his plans may not make sense at first, you just have to trust that everything will make sense by the end, just like any good mystery movie.

Also, the weapons aspect of it was very good. Although I am no gun nut, I went with a friend who was and he could explain some of the weapons. At one point, the bad guy was shooting at Watson with a sniper rifles, though Watson quickly finds the Howitzer, which is basically a canon, and fires it at the sniper. The sniper's last words, sadly, were "This isn't fair." Now, for some reason that made me laugh, along with Sherlock's attempts to use a semi-auto gun.

This movie is the perfect combination of mystery, action, and even a bit of comedy, and in my opinion, well worth the movie tickets. They say that sequels are never as good as the originals, but in the case of this movie, I digress: it is on par, and somewhat better than the first. So, if you're in the mood for a mystery, and semi-action film, then go see Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, now playing in a theater near you!

The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo

Along with Tintin, I also had the pleasure of seeing one of the greatest movies I have ever seen this week. This movie had style, humor, mystery, and even some other dark elements that will take you by surprise. The movie, of course, was the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, based off the acclaimed books by Stieg Larsson. The movie had me hooked on the mystery that was involved, and had me guessing until the final clue was revealed.

The story followed Michael Blomkvist, a journalist who recently got busted for libel against Wennerström, a wealthy business man. However he then gets hired by Henrik Vanger, a wealthy man who hires Blomkvist to do his memoirs, though the ultimate task is to try and figure out the forty year old mystery of who killed his niece, Harriet Vanger. Along the line of solving this mystery, Blomkvist encounters the punk hacker, Elisabeth Salander. Together, they solve the mystery of who murdered Vanger's beloved niece.

As the original novel and story was set in Sweden, I am pleased to say that the American movie adaptation was also set in Sweden, which I'll give them credit for not trying to Americanize it. They also kept to Elisabeth's punk appearance, and some of her outfits were nothing short of amazing.

In the begining of the movie, the story seems to be split in two parts: Michael's story and his struggle of trying to get reliability back, and Elisabeth, or Lisabeth trying to make ends meet financially. Blomkvist's part of the story might seem boring at first, such as him just wandering around Sweden Some parts with Lisabeth made me highly uncomfortable, such as her doing sexual favors for the person that she was getting money from, and her revenge on the guy was making her do such favors was a bit cringe worthy, even among the guys in the audience.

The one thing that made this film highly enjoyable, and probably one of the best films I have ever watched, was  the fact even though the beginning was slow, it had an an excellent pace, humor at just the right places, and the serious parts where they counted. The msytery had me gripped, my mind frantically working out the case before the cast did, and it turned out, at every twist and turn, there was something new to consider. Overall, the atmosphere was amazing, and well planned out.

The acting was superb in the anime. First, you have one of my all time favorite actors, Daniel Craig, playing Michael Blomkvist. Mara Roony was Lisabth Salander, and she did an excellent job portraying the character of a top notch hacker, and the rest of the supporting cast did well. The only complaint I honest have with the cast is that the Vangers seemed to blend together, and everyone else seemed not important or got caught up in the mix.

If you're looking for a mystery, with some romance, and even some some humor here and there, then I say go see this movie. The movie will keep you on the edge of your seats, and leave you wanting more of the characters. 

E-Readers: Ruining the Reading Experience

Everyone enjoys a good book. The turning of the pages, the new book smell, the printed ink; all componets of a good read. But it seems now, with the technology of the Kindle, the Nook, and other E-Readers like it now threaten the traditional reading experience. They make even reading go digital. Though going digital maybe cheaper, and the new trened now, I believe that reading should be kept to the pages of a book, and not the digital pages of a Kindle.
For me personally, I feel like I cannot connect with the digital pages of a Kindle. They seem so cold, uninviting, and heartless, while the pages of a real book are warm, tender, and caring. Reading on a Kindle makes me no be able to connect with the book, no matter how good the book may be. The turning of the page keeps me on edge, like what will happen next, while clicking the heartless buttons on a Kindle.

I'll be the first to admit, the technology of the Kindle is pretty awesome. Some models show each page in a non harsh way that is easy on your eyes, due to no back lights, or the thing that makes screens glow. The glow of a computer screen makes it hard for me to read manga online for hours at at a time, though the Kindle screen is easy for my eyes. Although no backlighting is great, I am sometimes left in the dark about what I'm supposed to use at night in order to read the Kindle. For a book, the answer is simple, just use a flash light, or a screen with back lighting, or in extreme cases, candle light. But for a Kindle, the question arises: Can I use a flashlight to read it, or will it act weird, like using a flashlight to see on an LCD screen?

Along with the fact of I cannot connect with the book, I like the feeling of being able to mark my place in a book by dog earing the pages. Even though it's a great debate among readers whether you should dog ear or not, I believe in it. However, with a Kindle, you have to rely on the fact that it will keep your place for you, and that someone will not mess up your spot. True, people can do that with real books, but you can always tell the last place it was marked because of the way the page was bent. With digital marking, there is no way to trace the last page you were on.

One of the reasons I am encouraged to get a Kindle (Which I won't) is due to the fact books take up space. Let's face it: People who love to read usually have book cases filled with books. (In my case manga) I like the feeling of having those books over run my house because I know I can lend them out to people, and usually get them back in prime condition. With a Kindle, you can't lend those books out without lending out the whole system, and if you do that, you're out of books to read. Although there is a chance someone would steal your books, I believe the chance with a Kindle is higher because it is a more expensive, newer piece of technology, and electronic.

Also, my biggest complaint about the Kindle (unless they have upgrades this with newer models) is that it can't   read manga, or Japanese comic books. As an otaku, I'll admit to the fact I have more manga books than real books on my book case, they over run my house, and I read them constantly. With the original Kindle, you can't load manga to it, and I think that it would be slightly awkward to read it. Would you press the buttons to the right to go "forward" in the book, or to the left to keep with traditional page turning? Also, since the Kindle does not display color, the color pages which I love so dearly would probably not be able to be shown.

Albeit all my complaints about the Kindle, and E-Readers, I will give them one positive thing: They make books affordable because you don't have to pay for the ink, the paper, the publisher, and other stuff required in making the book. The digitalization of the book makes it cheaper, and usually a book will cost about three or four dollars, a good idea for any of us going through hard economic times, which it feels like all of us are.

The Kindle is a revolutionary idea of taking books, and making them digital, but in that movement, i feel like some of the meaning behind reading is lost. You can read how ever you want though, whether is be a book or a Kindle, as long as you read, then you are just making your self better, though I prefer books.

Team Fortress 2:Halloween Update

Its that time of year again. There is candy to be gotten, tricks to be played, and a time to be scared. Also, it's time for the Publisher Valve to put out their Halloween Update for the hit game Team Fortress 2. Now, I thoroughly enjoy the game on regular mode, but when i heard bout the update that would last untill Halloween, i was stoked. However, just like any update to a game, it has its downsides.

Now, this may be my first time playing the Halloween Update, since I just started playing extensively around March. The Halloween Update adds maps to the already extensive collections of maps on Team Fortress 2, but the map has a haunted house like feeling. The usual medi-packs or health restore kits (whatever you may call them) are now replaced with candy bars for the smaller heal kits and a pumpkin pie for the bigger ones. Along with the medi-kit changes, there are now pumpkins scattered around the map with explosive devices on them, and if you shoot them up close, will get hurt. Also, you can download "skins" for the engineers sentry gun, but I honestly don't know where to get these, but apparently is makes the mini-sentry look like it has a brain.
There is one problem i have with the Halloween Update: it is that it lags out HORRIBLY, which means for all you non-video game fans, that response time in between in put time and the reaction time are slightly off. At first, i thought it was the sever was lagging, but it turns out it lagged for my friend as well. Also, when trying to kill the Horseless Headless Horseman, a lagged out and it is almost impossible to kill him, though some people have killed him, and you get a special hat.
Its good that they made a Halloween Update for Team Fortress 2, but however, it could be less glitchy.