PARANORMAN

PARANORMAN is a terrific little movie you should take your zombie loving kids to see before the summer ends.

Norman can see ghosts and that makes him the different kid. It means he gets picked on and ridiculed by the school bully, by his older sister, even by his old man. Of course they don't believe him when he tells them he can communicate with the dead. They all think he's looking for attention or just plain weird. Well, when an old witch's curse comes true and the dead rise from the grave to terrorize the town Norman is the only one who can save them from themselves.

As I said, this is a great movie. The stop motion is a delight and the story humorous for both kids and adults. There are several laugh out loud moments, as well as plenty of gross out scenes that you and the kids will giggle over.

Chris Butler and Sam Fell should be proud of this gem. I hope they do more in the same vein. Get to it while it's still in theatres!

11/22/63

I can describe nearly the entirety of this novel in one word.

BLOATED.

Clocking in near 850 pages, 11/22/63 is a door stopper. It's not THE STAND UNCUT or IT in size but it's close.

Normally I would be all for a Stephen King whopper, provided there was some monstery goodness packed somewhere inside. Unfortunately there isn't, though long time King readers will enjoy going back to the scary town of Derry, Maine (I'm also sure there are a ton of nods to other works but I probably missed most, though there is plenty familiar to long time readers of King's books).

Most people probably know the basic plot of the book, even if they have not read it. The main character goes back in time to try and prevent the assassination of JFK. Along the way he also tries to rectify a few other terrible events that effected those close to him.

Part historical thriller, part romance, part sci/fi, 11/22/63 has something for most types of readers. The thing is the book goes on and on and repeats itself over and over. And over and over.

I know I could never tell King face to face that his book is 500 pages too long, but somebody at Scribner should have done so. I think 11/22/63 would have been a real cracker at the three to four hundred page count. As it is, I imagine there are a lot of readers that quit this thing before they passed the first hundred pages. It's too bad, because it's a decent story, just too damn long!

LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE

Surprisingly, with three children and my big love of children's stories (and the fact that I totally dig everything Zack Snyder directs), I had yet to see LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA'HOOLE before this very day.

I had heard this movie totally sucked. I had heard that Zack Snyder couldn't direct a children's movie to save his life (some people believe he can't direct any movie to save his life).

But what crap. Bunk. Goo goo. Garbage!

I borrowed this owl movie from the library but I would have preferred, would have loved, to have seen it on the massive IMAX screen down at the Colossus movie house.

LEGENDS OF THE GUARDIANS is one of the most delicious eye specticles I have ever seen. Its each and every frame is beautiful. The details are breath taking. It makes recent films like BRAVE, ICE AGE 3 and MADAGASCAR 3 look like cheap underfunded projects.

The story itself is epic. Truly and honestly epic! It was like watching THE LORD OF THE RINGS, STAR WARS, and THE MATRIX only with owls, snakes, bats and what I believe was an ant eater with Mel Gibson's BRAVEHEART face paint.

The basic story (I won't spoil it by going into specifics) is this: There are some bad owls that want to rule and good owls that can stop them (the Guardians). A group of young owls go on a harrowing adventure to find the Guardians and get them to help defeat the bad owls.

This is exceptional children's entertainment and I highly, highly, recommend it.

Watching this film also guarantees I will be checking out Kathryn Lasky's series of books from which the movie is based. The first book is called THE CAPTURE.

A FACE IN THE CROWD by STEPHEN KING AND STEWART O'NAN

A lot has happened in my life this year. My depression took me to an all time low and had some devastating consequences on my life. At one point I lost interest in all the things I found enjoyment and wondered if I was not very long for this world.

I'm now a single father of three and doing my best to hang in there. I've lost 65-70 pounds from exercising and watching what I eat. I have done this to battle my depression and also improve my self esteem.

I've started writing again (three stories for my kids in as many weeks) and I'm reading again.

One of the things that gathered dust was my beautiful Kindle Fire. Well, last night I decided to download Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan's A FACE IN THE CROWD. It was only three and a half bucks and I had been looking for an excuse to dust off the old KF.

I liked A FACE IN THE CROWD and one of the main reasons is because it got a strong emotional reaction out of me, particularly channeling into some of the loneliness I face. Like the protagonist of the story, I find myself sometimes filling my evenings alone with the baseball game on tv. However I don't see dead people populating the stands behind home plate like Dean Evers.

A FACE IN THE CROWD is a quick read and probably not fully worth the three plus bucks it costs (it'll probably be published in King's next collection if you're patient enough). But I felt like reading a baseball story and as I said above, I was looking for an excuse to use my KF again.

Download it if you need your Stephen King fix. You won't be disappointed but it won't blow you away. I have to say, I do feel like picking up FAITHFUL by the same duo (about the 2004 Boston Red Sox run up to their World Series Championship). Thing is, I'm a Jays fan, so I'll probably hate it!

JEROEN "JAWS" TEN BERGE!

One thing my good buddy Jeroen ten Berge and I have in common is our all time favourite movies are the same. In our books, Jaws rules!

For the special Blue Ray release of this awesome film Jeroen designed this amazing Jaws poster. I would love a full sized version of this killer poster on my living room wall.

Jeroen is always blowing me away with his cool book cover designs. Check out his website for more of his terrific work.

A STUFF POST

If you are like me then you are behind on your superhero movie watching. Until this past weekend I had yet to see two of the summer's biggest blockbusters, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES and THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN.

I was quite comfortable waiting by as Spiderman accrued a bit o' dust on the old film reels but it was bugging me that I had yet to witness for myself what many of you out there were calling 'the best movie you had seen in forever'.

On Facebook I was seeing posts where people were claiming THE DARK KNIGHT RISES was so good they were seeing it two and three times!

Finally, finally! I managed to squeak in a viewing (and in IMAX to boot!). And by the way, I got it free with my Scene points card. Just thought I would throw that in there.

My opinion, if you are so interested, is this: it was okay. I won't be rushing out to see it again while it is still on the big screen. Unlike it's predecessor (THE DARK KNIGHT) I didn't think I particularly benefitted from viewing it on the extra giant sized screen with the mega awesome sound destroying my ears.

The movie just didn't absorb me the same way THE DARK KNIGHT (my all time favourite superhero/crime film) did. It had it's moments but even when I thought it was really good, it wasn't all that good. It didn't get my pulse going. Bane was a decent villain (I love him in the comics!) but didn't capture my imagination the way Heath Ledger did as the Joker (I am also part of the camp that would have LOVED to see him using Venom at some point in the film).

Did anyone notice how in some scenes Batman actually looked puny? I know Christian Bale is thin (and in phenomenal shape), but Batman should have a little more meat on his bones, in my humble opinion. Just an observation.

So the long and the short of it, for this observer, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES was a decent film but not on par with THE DARK KNIGHT.

THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN was a fun show. I really liked Andrew Garfield as Spidey.

I think my only complaint about the film (and it's not the films fault, if you know what I mean) is that I really don't need another origin story for Spiderman. Everyone knows how he becomes Spiderman. Did we really need to go through this again? We did it with the Hulk and Superman (and will do it again for a third time next summer).

I vote for no more origin stories! If you don't know the origin of whatever superhero it is you are going to watch, GOOGLE IT!

Other than that, I thought THE AMAZING SPIDER MAN was, like I said, fun.

On the book front I'm currently reading Stephen King's 11/22/63. I picked this up back when it first came out but put it down after only 50 pages. I just wasn't in the mood for a time travel story. I have to say, though, this time through I'm really, really, digging it. I'm about halfway and if the second half is as good as the first, I'm going to be one happy reviewer!

SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE ARMY OF DR. MOREAU by Guy Adams

Last September Guy Adams unleashed a new Sherlock Holmes adventure on the world, one that pitted the world's most famous detective against supernatural forces.

Though this book review blogger did not read THE BREATH OF GOD, Graeme's Fantasy Book Review said, "This is the kind of book 'Best of Lists' were made for." Author Christopher Fowler remarked, "A fearless, hurtling hell of a debut."

After that kind of praise and reading Adam's latest Sherlock Holmes thriller, THE ARMY OF DR. MOREAU, I will certainly be looking to pick up THE BREATH OF GOD and more by Guy Adams.

THE ARMY OF DR. MOREAU is a tasty piece of fiction, one filled with mystery and monster mayhem. It's a story that would make Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells proud!

Mutilated bodies are turning up on the streets of London. The remains look to be the work of savage animals not customarily found in an urban setting. This, along with a rumour that Dr. Moreau might be alive and continuing his barbarous experiments puts Holmes on the case.

Adams' prose is as solid as any mystery writer I've read. He also does a great job of mixing the thrills and adventure with humorous moments along the way.

The last fifty pages are, plain and simply, terrific fun. They are filled with tons of pulpy action and thrills. There is nothing I like more than a good old monster tale, and this one satisfies.

I had never heard of Guy Adams but after reading THE ARMY OF DR. MOREAU you can call me a fan. Pick this one up if you dig a good mystery that peeks with loads of monster action beneath the dark streets of London.

Comic Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope - Official Trailer [HD]

If you have seen a superhero movie this summer, if you have read a comic book, read A ONCE CROWDED SKY or simply wondered what the heck this San Diego Comic Con is all about ... this is the documentary you want to watch.

I love Stan Lee. I love comics and when you think about everything that you as a geek (you are, aren't you?) or a nerd (if you ain't a geek...) love, somewhere in there Stan Lee had something to do with it.

This movie and the San Diego Comic Con is like a celebration of that geek and nerd-dom!

This is a fun documentary. It follows five or six different people and their very different objectives for attending the Con. Some of the stories are funny (like the obsessed toy geek that sprints like a madman to buy himself his treasured 15 inch Galactus toy), some are heartbreaking (an illustrator trying to break into one of the most difficult industries to do so), some beautiful (a young man popping the "question" to his sweetheart at a pivotal moment of the Con).

You will find something of yourself in each of these individuals. These are people like you and me, in some way. They have a passion. It may be a passion for illustrations of men and women in tights, but it is a passion! And quite frankly, I number myself among them.

Check out COMIC CON EPISODE IV: A FAN'S HOPE.

Hightly, highly recommended.

And if I haven't convinced you yet, check this out: it's got Joss Whedon in it!