Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Peter Sollet

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist was just as much fun as the book!  Nick, having recently been dumped by Tris, is having a terrible day until Norah comes along to remind him there are other fish in the sea (slightly different than book).  After being thrust together in situation after situation they realize they are better for each other than either of them can hope to find on their own.

Putting faces to the characters was fairly well done (I’ve heard complaints about Michael Cera as Nick, but I thought he was great).  It was great to see the gay band that Nick plays in and to see who they picked for Norah.

After everything the movie was good, a far cry from classic status like The Breakfast Club but still descent.  Definitely a date movie!

A Scanner Darkly by Richard Linklater & A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

It is the future, seven years from right now. In America 20% of the population is addicted to substance D. The drug affects a persons brain and forms a disconnect between left and right hemispheres. Agent Fred is undercover and trying to break up a drug ring but he has starting using Substance D to gain access to the group, things have gotten weird. In fact Agent Fred is a member of the circle but since his brain is operating in two hemispheres he doesn’t even know which one he is. Then there is Nu-Path rehabilitation center that no government official can even get into, so of course they are hiding something…but what? A Scanner Darkly is an excellent book and movie about a paranoid society in the very near future.

Blade Runner by Ridley Scott & Do Androids Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and the movie based on it’s story Blade Runner, were both the last of it’s kind. There aren’t the huge mega-million dollar feature films that dazzle and amaze as well as engage and enlighten anymore. On the science fiction front, since Philip K. Dick’s death in 1982, there has not been an author that gives a human and real perspective, no real humanity. These two pieces are monolith’s among the pebbles of their peers.

The story follows a “blade runner” which is essentially a bounty hunter of androids. Four androids have escaped from a planet where they are basically kept as slaves. They have come to find their creator so he can undo whatever it is that exterminates their lives after 6 years. Both the film and the book stand the test time and are as relevant today as the day they were written.

Dexter & Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeffry Lindsay

After one episode I knew Dexter would be one of my favorite TV shows, after the first season it stands only behind Twin Peaks as greatest shows of all time (probably only in my mind). This series is fairly faithfully based on Jeffry Lindsay’s Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Dexter Morgan is a serial killer, but don’t let that get to you, he’s a good guy! He has a relationship, a career, and his own place…he is by no means a weirdo. Though he may have his dark side, he also has a code; Harry’s code. These are a set of rules that Dexter lives by. He never kills anyone that doesn’t deserve it. As a blood splatter analysis he is able to find people most deserving of his personal attention. The book is fascinating read and the series just brings these characters to life! Do not miss this one!

The Gunslinger Born by Stephen King & Robin Furth

The Dark Tower series is undefinable. It’s a future based-western-adventure-romance-horror-post-apocalypse-thriller-alternate reality-quest series. So I guess I lied it is somewhat definable. The story surrounds Roland, a gunslinger, as he hunts the man in black. As the series progresses his quest turns toward the dark tower. His whole life leads to the moment when he will stand before the tower.

The Graphic Novel is the story of Roland as a boy on his first adventure as a gunslinger. The story of Roland’s youth is actually told in the fourth book of the series, Wizards and Glass, but the graphic novel follows the chronological order of his life. Unlike other graphic novels that have incredible covers and quickly drawn, less detailed pages, the gunslinger born, is stunning through out. The cover is the same as the full color glossy images within the comic. The story has been faithfully recreated here and any fan would certainly enjoy this!

The Namesake by Mira Nair

Gogol’s name is major source of stress in his life. As a second generation Indian, a name like Gogol does nothing for him in American schools. Constantly ridiculed he changes his name just out of high school. He doesn’t understand his father’s decision for his name. After his Father’s death Gogol reassesses what his priorities in life are and rebuilds from his life from scratch while discovering the life changing events that made his father leave India and name his only son Gogol*.

This movie was absolutely incredible! Not only was it a visual masterpiece, the movie creates memorable characters you don’t want to leave at the film’s conclusion.

*Gogol, is refering to Nikolai Gogol a Russian author of epics and a short stories,one of his most famous pieces is The Overcoat. The father tells his son that “We all came Gogol’s Overcoat“

Dark Water by Walter Salles

A woman (Jennifer Connelly, Labyrinth) going through a divorce is searching for an apartment for her and her daughter. She finds one in a run down apartment building in a not so great neighborhood. Though not ideal, Dahlia can not deny the low price. From the very beginning there is a presence in the apartment building and when Dahlia’s daughter makes a new friend that know one else can see, the troubles starts.

While the story is just OK, the direction is where this movie shines.  Walter Salles is master of detail and he creates a mood with his actors, Dark Water is no exception.  The movie has to be experienced from beginning to end, I recommend a comfy couch and a dark dark room.

Dark Water is a very dark movie, all the colors are drab and washed out giving the effect of dreary water all around you. A great movie to watch on a rainy night! The movie was directed by Walter Salles (Motorcycle Diaries) and was based on the novel Honogurai Mizu No Soko Kara by Koji Suzuki (author of the Ring).