Books and Movies

(Gone was provided to me by Special Ops Media for the purpose of review.)

In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for anyone young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not a single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what’s happened.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents - unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers - that grow stronger by the day.

It’s a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: on your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else did.

When I agreed to read and review an Advanced Reader’s Copy of Michael Grant’s Gone, I thought the premise sounded fascinating, and that it would be an interesting read. I had no idea that it would be so enthralling that I would spend most of a day reading from page 285 until the thrilling ending on page 558. All I did this afternoon was finish this book. Only to discover that, even though there is an ending of sorts, the story is not over. After some research online, I found out that this is the first in a planned six-book series from Michael Grant. And, since Gone isn’t even being released until June 24th, I wonder how long I’ll have to wait for the sequel!

I read one review that likened this to Lord of the Flies a la Stephen King plus a little X-Men. I couldn’t have described it better myself. First of all, really try to imagine what it would be like if, one day, everyone in your town aged 14 or over disappeared. Poof. Completely gone.

Stay-at-home moms disappear, leaving their toddlers and babies alone, unattended. Teachers, day care workers, doctors and nurses. Policemen, firefighters.

The young kids look to the older kids for answers, for protection. But the oldest one is only 13 years old. I wouldn’t even let a 13-year-old babysit my kids.

Grant does a good job of showing the horror without going overboard. I’m pretty sure this book is being called Young Adult, and it should be. While some tweens and young teens could handle the book, those with a strong sense of empathy might be disturbed by the predicaments in which these kids find themselves. A 13-year-old girl taking over at the daycare, trying to take care of all the babies and toddlers, with help from her 10-year-old brother. Searching a house and finding a baby that had starved to death. Bullies taking over as the self-proclaimed leadership, and ruling with baseball bats.

That sounds awful enough, doesn’t it? Then add the fact that there is some sort of weird membrane-like dome-shaped barrier encasing the entire area. And animals are mutating. And, kids are starting to develop powers. Some of the good kids, but some of the bullies, too. Oh, and on your 14th birthday, at the very minute of your birth, you disappear. Poof. Gone.

This book is extremely well-written, with the right amount of description to put the reader right into the action - smelling the smells, seeing the sights, feeling the fear and anxiety - but not to slow the pace. It kept me turning page after page. And I will definitely be picking up book two in the series to see what happens next. Don’t let the YA label keep any of you grown-ups from picking this up! If you love a good story, this book delivers.

Well, it’s almost here - our last Lost fix until January of 2009. That sounds like a long, long time away doesn’t it? It’s about an hour until it starts - and I’m not about to make any predictions, especially since I was seriously wrong with my predictions for the Bones finale. I’m still reeling over that one.

I’ve heard we’re supposed to find out who was in the coffin in last season’s finale. It could be John, it could be Ben, it could be Michael. I have absolutely no idea. The only thing I have an inkling may happen is that Jin, Desmond, and Michael blow up on the freighter. And I’m seriously hoping I’m wrong about that, because my romantic heart wants Desmond to get his Penny back.

Okay, I took a quick break to put the kids to bed, and it’s time!

Press conference: Sayid says there are no other survivors.

And now we’re flash-forwarding to bearded, messed-up Jack and the final scene from last season. “We have to go back, Kate. We have to go back!” Ooo, this is new - Kate stops and backs up. Jeremy Bentham? Who in the heck is that? Did I miss something major?

Jack and Sawyer at the Orchid. Sawyer calls Jack, “Sundance” - classic. And there’s Hurley. And Jack and Locke are reunited.

Desmond - back away from the C4! It sounds like no matter what he does, there’s one result: Boom.

Commercial. Okay, here’s what Wikipedia says about Jeremy Bentham:

Jeremy Bentham (15 February 1748–6 June 1832) was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He was a political radical, and a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law. He is best known for his advocacy of utilitarianism, for the concept of animal rights, and his opposition to the idea of natural rights, with his oft-quoted statement that the idea of such rights is “nonsense upon stilts.” He also influenced the development of welfarism.

We’re back - I’ll look up utilitarianism on the next commercial.

Ben surrendered himself to the “rambo dudes” and they’re taking him to the helicopter. Kate comes running out of the jungle, saying she’s being chased by The Others. But, no, she’s there to rescue Ben. Keamy chases Ben and is tackled by Sayid. A little foreshadowing of Sayid working for Ben, eh? And spooky Richard shoots Keamy. And Ben’s back in charge of his Others.

Okay - utilitarianism:

Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall utility in maximizing happiness or pleasure as summed among all persons. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined by its outcome—the ends justify the means.

Doesn’t that sound just like Ben?

And now Walt is visiting Hurley in the nuthouse. A much older Walt. Jeremy Bentham came to visit Walt. I’m so confused. And Hurley says they’re lying to protect those who didn’t come back - like Michael.

Locke asks Jack to stay on the island. He says, “You’re not supposed to go home.” “You’re here for a reason. And if you leave, this place, that knowledge is going to eat you alive from the inside out - until you decide to come back.” Prophetic. “You’re going to have to lie.”

Faith vs. reason again. “There’s no such thing as miracles.”

And, Ben’s back. “You couldn’t find the anthuriums, could you?”

Locke’s parting shot: “Lie to them, Jack. If you do it half as well as you lie to yourself, they’ll believe you.” Ouch.

Commercial. Okay, I searched Wikipedia’s list of characters from Lost, and there is no Jeremy Bentham on there. So I didn’t miss something - he’s new. Or is it someone’s alias? Hmmm…

Michael and Sun on the freighter, and Michael says it’s gonna be okay. She tells him she’s pregnant. He congratulates her, but first looks freaked. Michael wants to freeze the bomb.

Faraday is back on the beach to take the next group to the freighter. I think he really is a good guy. But, I’ve been wrong before.

Rose is scolding Miles - cute. Faraday says Miles and Charlotte must be on the raft with the next group. Miles says that Charlotte’s spent a lot of time trying to get “back” to the island. Mmm, okay.

Ben gives John another Dharma video to watch while he “takes care of business.”

Station 6 - “The Orchid” - allows the Dharma to conduce space-time experiments. The weird doctor says no inorganic material or metals in the vault. While Ben fills the vault with inorganic material and lots of metal. And, of course, the video glitches out.

“If you mean time traveling bunnies, yes.” ~grin~

And someone is coming down the elevator. “May I have my weapon back?”

Commercial - trailer for The Incredible Hulk.

Semicolon posted about Jeremy Bentham years ago, with a picture of his embalmed body that is apparently still on display at University College London. Ew. Sherry’s live-blogging Lost, too, but she’s ahead of me, time-zone-wise, so I’m not reading it yet.

And Hurley, Jack, and Sawyer make it to the helicopter and Sayid and Kate. Long looks between Sawyer and Kate.

“Hey, Kenny Rogers?” Love, love, love Sawyer’s nicknames.

So, we’ve got Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sayid - and Sawyer getting on the helicopter. But Sawyer isn’t one of the Oceanic 6, so what happens? Oh, man, he better not die. And, they’re off the island.

Back to the Orchid, Ben, and Locke. And Keamy walks in. Keamy, who was riddled with holes a few minutes ago. Body armor - or resurrection? And, Keamy’s got that thing strapped to his arm - heart rate monitor, dead man’s trigger. If his heart stops beating, the freighter blows up.

Locke’s going to talk some reason into him. And Ben’s beating him up, stabbing him. “You’ve just killed everybody on that boat.”

“So?” Gulp. Does he mean he doesn’t care? Or that it really doesn’t matter - in that they can’t be killed?

Commercial for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Anyone seen it yet?

Charlotte’s gonna stay. And Faraday says it could be forever. “Nothing’s forever.” Charlotte’s still looking for where she was born. “Goodbye, Daniel.”

Juliet won’t leave until everyone is safely off the island. “I’ll still be here when you get back.” Uh-oh.

Desmond almost cut the wrong wire. Yikes. Light’s still green. And now they’re looking at having to get everyone off the boat. Here comes the helicopter, but it’s losing fuel. There’s a bullet hole in the helicopter. Lapidus says to toss any extra weight off the chopper. Hmmm, is Sawyer going to play the hero? He whispers something to Kate, kisses her, says, “Just do it, Freckles” and jumps out of the chopper. He surfaces and starts swimming toward the island. Sob.

Sayid’s killing someone. Flash-forward again. And now he’s visiting Hurley and wants him to come with him somewhere safe. He tells Hurley that Bentham’s dead - and Hurley’s freaked. “Why are you calling him Bentham? His name is…” “Don’t say it.” And Hurley was playing chess with Mr. Ekko.

And, back to the chopper - they see the boat. Utter relief on Jack’s face. Only, Keamy is about to die. He’s dead - the light is red. Michael tells Jin and Des to leave and get everyone off the boat - Jin stays. Des gets to the deck to evacuate and sees the helicopter. “Oh, bloody hell.” He tries to wave them off, but Lapidus lands. They’re patching the holes in the chopper, fueling it up, getting the life raft. Sun wants to go back to Jin - but Kate says she’ll get him and for Jin to get baby Aaron onto the chopper.

Michael tells Jin to get to his wife and get her home. “Thank you, Michael.”

Sun, Aaron, Hurley, Jack, Sayid, Kate - they’re all on the chopper. Jin comes running out. Michaels hears the whispering and Christian Shepard shows up and says, “You can go now, Michael.” And the freighter blows. Oh my gosh. Poor Sun. Where’s Desmond?

Commercial. Take a breath.

Sun’s hysterical. “He’s gone.” Oh, there’s Des - he’s on the chopper, too. And Jack says, “Lapidus. Fly us back to the island.”

Flash-forward to Sun in London. Meeting Whitmore. “As you know, we’re not the only ones who left the island.” Is she referring to Ben - or someone else?

And, we’re back to Ben filling the time-travel vault with metallic objects. “If I were you, I’d duck.” And an explosion. “I’d better change.” He’s worried about wardrobe?

Sawyer swims to shore, and is greeted by Juliet. “Nice day for a swim.”

“That our boat?” “It was.”

Commercial. Boy, this post is long, and we still have 35 minutes or so to go.

Ben’s putting on a parka cause he’s going somewhere cold. “Whoever moves the island can never come back.” Ben leaves Locke in charge of the Others. “Goodbye, John. Sorry I made your life so miserable.” and “You’ll find your way, John. You always do.” And John Locke goes out to greet his loyal subjects. “Welcome home.”

Ben goes through the vault, past the smoking metal items, and into a tunnel. He starts down a ladder, breaks some ice, and is somewhere cold, where he breaks through the frozen ladder. There’s some sort of huge wheel. Ben says, “I hope you’re happy now, Jacob,” and starts to turn the wheel.

And everyone on the island and in the helicopter hears a weird vibrating sound. The wheel lights up, there’s some big flash, and the island is gone. And the helicopter is going down. “Brace yourselves.” Sayid throws out the life raft, and the chopper crashes into the ocean.

Commercial - another chance to catch our breath! Twenty or so minutes to go.

Jack surfaces. Kate hands the baby to Hurley in the life raft. Desmond’s face down in the water. They pull him into the raft. “Is he breathing?” No, no, no, no, no! Yes! And that sound you just heard was every female Lost fan with a weakness for a Scottish accent breathing a big sigh of relief.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. We’re alive.” In the middle of the ocean, on a life raft, with no land in sight. The look on Kate’s face says it all.

Flash-forward: Kate’s answering the phone to a clicking sound. Someone’s in her house. Leave it to Kate to have a huge gun in the closet. Oh. my. gosh. It’s Claire. “Don’t bring him back, okay? Don’t you dare bring him back.” Oh, it was just a dream. Psych.

What I want to know is how Jack thinks they can actually get back, if the island has been moved?

Back on the raft. Hurley tells them about Locke moving the island. And, in spite of what he saw with his own eyes, Jack says, “No, he didn’t.” Man, he’s stubborn.

Lapidus spots a boat. Jack says, “We’re gonna have to lie.” “Just let me do the talking.” And here’s the rescue. At last.

It’s Penny! Oh, man, they’ve got me crying again. “I love you, Penny, and I’ll never leave you again.” Sigh.

Commercial for Octagon Global Recruiting? Yep, it’s a Dharma site.

So, Des is staying with Penny, and the Oceanic 6 sets off on the life raft. “Don’t let them find you, Desmond. I’ll see you in another life.”

Jack and Sayid row the raft onto a beach full of people. Oh, the looks on their faces. Jack and Hurley look so relieved - they have no idea what is in store for them.

Flash-forward to weird, drugged-up Jack. Hoff’s Drawer? Is that what that building says? Jack breaks in. Oh, it’s a funeral home or morgue. Are we going to get to see the coffin’s occupant? Finally? “Jeremy Bentham.”

And…..

….Ben’s there, making Jack jump - and me, too. “Did he tell you that I was off the island?”

“He told me that after I left the island, some very bad things happened, and he told me that it was my fault for leaving. And he said that I had to go back.”

Ben: “The island won’t let you come alone. All of you have to go back.”

Jack’s asking Ben for advice? “I have a few ideas.” “I mean all of you. We have to take him back, too.”

And, it’s Locke in the coffin.

Okay, one question now that I’ve had time to process. Back when Charlie died - wasn’t it so that Claire could get off the island? ‘Cause in one of Desmond’s visions, he “saw” her getting onto the helicopter. I hope they explain that.

In the end, I really thought it would be Ben in the coffin - until he walked in and made me jump.

So, what did you think? Can you believe we have to wait until January?

As the TV season comes to an end, and we head into a summer season of reruns and ridiculous reality programs, it’s time to mourn the shows that won’t be coming back next season. So, which canned shows will you miss the most?

For me, there’s no question - it’s CBS’s Jericho.

Of course, we were lucky to get a second season of this brilliant show, even if it was a short season. Jericho was cancelled after season 1 ended on a cliff-hanger. Fans protested by sending bushels of peanuts to CBS headquarters, referring to the main character Jake’s line in the finale: “Nuts!” CBS decided to give the show one more shot, and brought it back for a short season in January. I guess the ratings didn’t go up like they hoped, because it ended up cancelled. At least they attempted to wrap things up this time. I keep hoping to hear that another network - maybe SciFi Channel - has picked it up, but nothing so far.

Every time I think about Jericho being cancelled, I can’t help but remember another classic show that got short shrift - this time by Fox: Firefly.

Firefly was a show that Kevin and I came to late, since it aired during a time when we didn’t have cable or satellite. We loved the Serenity film, and then our friends loaned us the complete Firefly series on DVD, and we devoured it - twice. Watching the special features, during which producer Joss Whedon talks about how Fox jerked him around by airing episodes out of order, weird time slots, etc. - makes me sad. It was a briilliant show and deserved a chance to gain an audience.

It sure seems like series get a much shorter chance to gain an audience than used to be the case. Watch the special features on the Seinfeld DVDs - they talk about the fact that the show didn’t really catch on until season 3, but NBC believed in it and gave it a shot - and look at what it turned into! It seems now that shows are given hardly any chance at all - sometimes only one or two episodes - and then they’re canned. What a waste of money, time, and talent.

Well, I’ve ranted for long enough, I guess. Feel free to comment and tell me which show’s cancellation made you the maddest.

Oh - I forgot about Joan of Arcadia - another show that was cancelled without a proper finale wrapping things up. Grrr.

Be sure and come back tomorrow - I’ll be blogging the Lost season finale.

Well, I crossed another book off the Master To-Read List when I finished listening to Brave New World on audio this afternoon. It was written by Aldous Huxley in 1932. That in itself is amazing because of how modern it seems.

Brave New World is a dystopian novel. Dystopia is a sub-genre of science-fiction, in which the author envisions a world or a future that is the opposite of utopia. Other examples are 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, and The Children of Men. In Huxley’s world, science is god. Science has perfected everything, eliminating the need for pain, aging, unhappiness - and also happiness, love, sadness, and everything that makes us human.

People are no longer born; they are decanted. During the process of embryo incubation, various chemicals are introduced to determine the aptitudes - and therefore class - of the future human. Alphas are the academics and intellectuals. Deltas and Epsilons are purposely stunted and damaged during development so that they will be suited to - and not desire anything but - common, physical labor.

Sex has become pure recreation, with everyone belonging to everyone else. The characters talk about “having” someone, as if they are talking about what they ate for dinner. Children are encouraged to explore any and all sexual feelings during childhood. When grown to adulthood, people are encouraged to spend their recreation hours doing whatever will give them pleasure and will keep them from thinking or being alone. Religion is no longer necessary because the ideas of sin and conscience have been obliterated.

Into this world comes John Savage, a man whose mother was a part of this brave new world but ended up on a reservation of savages (people living outside the system) and gave birth to John. He is raised with his mother’s memories of this “perfect” society contrasted with the civilization he sees in front of him on the reservation. The “savages” display monogamy, religious faith, and morals. These qualities are directly opposed to the values espoused in the “civilized” world. When Bernard Marks brings John into civil society, he is confused and horrified by what he sees. The results are tragic.

This book is written in a detached, scientific manner, as if the narrator is simply the observer of an experiment. The matter-of-fact way he talks about some of the most horrifying aspects of this society is chilling. Even more chilling is how close our world has become to the world Huxley was trying to warn us against - the world of science as god, of truth being relative, of the “if it feels good, do it” mantra.

I can’t say I enjoyed this book, although it is extremely well written. The ending leaves you without hope that anything will ever change. I think that’s why I enjoyed Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and The Children of Men by P.D. James much more - they ended on a hopeful note.

3 out of 5 stars.

There are two new reviews up at Mommy Brain - Stargate Infinity: The Complete Series and Grace is Gone.

Today’s the day! The sun is shining, the tank is clean! So, here’s how I drew the winners. Each comment (other than the ugly spam one I can’t get rid of) was assigned a number. ABookworm, Susan, and Cheryl were each given an additional number for linking to the contest at their blog. Then I used Random.org’s integer generator to generate two numbers between 1 and 14.

Okay, I’ve rambled enough, and you want to know the winners. Congratulations to…

…ABookworm!

and

…Karen!

The generator gave me numbers 2 and 1, so Karen and Abookworm, watch your e-mail boxes. I’ll be contacting you to get mailing information.

Congratulations again, and thanks for playing!

The Quiet American is the first of Graham Greene’s works I have read. Now I know why he is considered to be brilliant. I will be reading more from Greene.

Alden Pyle is the title character, and we are told in the first chapter that he has been murdered. Thomas Fowler, a British journalist living and working in Vietnam, tells us the story of his strange relationship with Pyle. Pyle was an American, and his exact business in Vietnam is not truly understood until the end of his tragic story. He and Fowler meet, and Pyle falls in love with Phuong, the young Vietnamese woman that Fowler is living with. The story of their love triangle plays out against a background of international intrigue and horrific violence.

This novel takes place in the ’50s, the years before the Americans enter the Vietnam War. The French are fighting the Communists, and the Vietnamese peasants are caught in the cross-fire. Greene demonstrates how naive idealism can be, how a black-and-white view of the world can lead to horrific abuses and tragedies. Pyle truly believes that what he is doing in Vietnam is right, that the “collateral damages” are worth it in the end. His self-righteous determination to stick to his mission forces Fowler to choose sides, even though he had determined to remain disengaged, an impartial journalist. The fact that his choice also gives him the benefit of Phuong’s companionship only adds to his guilt and despair.

The Quiet American would make a good companion read with Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, which deals with American G.I.s during the Vietnam conflict.

4 out of 5 stars.

I’m having a bit of trouble with spam - and also trouble deleting a troublesome comment, for some reason. I’ve got a request in to admin, but please bear with me and ignore any comments that look iffy.

Summer is the season for big blockbuster hits. Remember last summer - the summer of the three-quels? We had Spiderman 3, Shrek the Third, and the brilliant Bourne Ultimatum. Memorial Day weekend signals the unofficial start of summer movie season; let’s talk summer movies.

Here are the ones I absolutely can’t wait to see:

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Of course. Who isn’t looking forward to this one? In addition to Harrison Ford, Shia LeBeouf co-stars. He was great in Disturbia and Transformers.

The Incredible Hulk: Hopefully they will do the story justice, unlike the last attempt at a Hulk film. It’s not the Hulk that’s drawing me, though, it’s Edward Norton. He’s brilliant, and I’d watch him in just about anything.

The Happening: This is the new M. Night Shyalaman movie, starring Mark Wahlberg. I’ve loved almost every one of Shyalaman’s movies - I even enjoyed Lady in the Water, which most people hated. The only one I didn’t like was Unbreakable. Combine his suspense with Wahlberg and Zoe Deschanel - it should be great.

Get Smart: The trailer for this looks absolutely hilarious.

Wall-E: It’s not so much that I’m looking forward to this one, but I know my kids will want to see it.

The Dark Knight: Christian Bale. Ahem. He is, of course, the best Batman ever - and he is one of the most brilliant actors of his generation. Why he did not get an Oscar nomination this year - for either 3:10 to Yuma or Rescue Dawn - I will never understand.

Mamma Mia: A musical starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Mr. Darcy - I mean, Colin Firth? Can’t wait.

The Accidental Husband: Those pictures aren’t of the movie poster, they are of the two reasons I want to see this one: Mr. Darcy (Colin Firth) and Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).

So, those are the summer movies I can’t wait to see. Which ones are you looking forward to most? Which ones could you care less about?

Kevin and I watched The Brave One night before last. As we were watching, Kevin said, “You know, I think I’ve liked every Jodie Foster movie I’ve seen.” I have to agree with him. Having recently seen her in a completely different role in Nim’s Island, her performance in The Brave One was doubly astounding.

Foster stars as radio talk show host, Erica Bain, who is engaged to a doctor, played by Naveen Andrews (Sayid from Lost). As they are walking home one night, they are accosted by three men and brutally beaten. Erica survives; her fiance does not. When she awakes from her coma three weeks later, he has already been buried, and her life is destroyed. She is afraid to walk anywhere, afraid to leave her apartment, afraid to go back to work.

Then she buys a gun and takes justice into her own hands. When I saw the previews for this, I thought this was just your basic revenge movie. It goes much deeper than that, dealing with the question of how much horror can we experience before we are changed forever.

Also appearing is a brilliant Terrence Howard as a police detective that befriends Erica. Rated R for violence, language, and brief sexuality.