book review: Inside Out by Barry Eisler

I have always been able to enjoy Barry Eisler's Rain books even though I don't agree with his political views.  In the Rain books the Japanese Liberal Democratic party is viewed with more than just sympathy.  They are viewed as out and out good guys, with the Conservative party being shown as under-handed immoral gangsters.  However, the quality writing of the books was able to shine through.  As a matter of fact, the Rain series has always been one of, if not my very favorite.  With that being said, lets move on to his latest work, Inside Out.
I have to say, first off, that unlike most of Eisler's other books and most other thrillers, there are no glowing reviews on the jacket from other authors or industry types.  The reviews on the cover are all from left wing cooks who work for such liberal sites such as the Huffington Post.  I really don't understand how anyone on that side of the fence or who are so-called experts at the terrorist torture game could actually give this book a glowing review.
This is one of the worst books ever written....period.  There is no story, the characters are not developed properly, all of the action in the book is pointless, and does nothing to help move the plot along.  The entire second half of the book is nothing more than a political rant.  on top of that there is no conclusion.  The reader is treated with some lame ending teasing with another story to come.  I firmly believe had the book been written by some lesser known author with no name recognition, it would have trashed and never published. 
Inside Out is the continuation of the book Faultline.  The only thing it has in common with it's predecessor however is the characters of Hort and Ben.  Unlike Inside Out, Faultline was action packed and told a nice story to boot.  All of it's action was well paced and served a purpose throughout the book.  Inside Out is obviously just Eisler's political view on the torture and treatment of detainees that he felt he needed to get out there.  That is fine, but the overall feeling of the book is rushed and amateurish.  If the next book in the series starts out like the series starts out like this one ended, I may be weened off of Barry Eisler for good.

book review: Vanished by Joseph Finder

I have read several of Joseph Finder’s books.  They have always perplexed me.  It seems they are hit or miss.  Paranoia was an excellent novel.  It was highly original and worthy of a movie deal.  Whereas, Company Man was a pretty decent read, but it was at the very least, a little far fetched.  The last Finder book I tried, however, I couldn’t make it all the way through.   Killer Instinct just seemed like it should have been better than it turned out to be.  I thought the overall sense of dread and foreboding really took the enjoyment out of the reading process.  However, this didn’t deter me from wanting to try another Finder book.

When I saw his latest work Vanished on a library shelf, I didn’t hesitate to snatch it up.  I was looking forward to seeing what Mr. Finder had in store for his readers this go-round.  Joseph Finder has always been known for his extensive research.  Let me tell ya, it shows in his writings.  Whether you enjoy the overall plot of the story or not, no one can ever say that the have read a more detailed work of fiction than any of his previous books when it comes to the corporate world.

Vanished is at it’s heart the story of the Heller family.  The family has flaws and skeletons, many of which come to light throughout the book.  The basic premise is that Roger Heller takes his wife Laura out to dinner where she is attacked in an apparent mugging.  She wakes up in the hospital and Roger has disappeared.  Roger’s step-son Gabe calls in his uncle---and Roger’s brother--- Nick to investigate.  Nick is an ex-Green Beret, who works for a high–priced Washington investigator.  He soon digs deeper than anyone wants and turns up a lot of dirt on not only the baddies, but the people who the reader doesn’t yet know are baddies, and the family itself.  Throw in Roger and Nick’s former Billionaire crook father who is in prison and you have ground work for a fantastic book.

I enjoyed this novel even better than Paranoia.  Vanished is the very definition of a page turner that just can’t be put down.  I found myself devouring this book and, I must say, I can’t wait for the next in this series.  That is right, the will be a four book series featuring Nick Heller, with the second book coming out next year.  From beginning to end this is one of the finest mystery/thriller works of fiction to come down the pike in a long time.  Read and enjoy.

movie video review: Dear John

The movie Dear John is loosely based off of the best selling book written by Nichloaus Sparks.  It stars Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried.  The story is basically this:  a local guy named John Tyree meets a girl on spring break named Savannah Curtis and they fall inlove.  He is in the Army and has to go back, she also returns to school, but they stay in touch with a series of letters.  The last letter, of course, tells John that not only is she breaking up with him, but also is marrying someone else.  As with most of Spark's movies there are other circumstances and a reunion is in the works.
In all, the movie is bad.  It does have some very emotional scenes that surley will have the ladies breaking out the hankies.  The problem lies in the cast.  Amanda Seyfried, although, beautiful, just doesn't stand out in this role.  Her character comes off as almost to good to be true.  That is until the end where the viewer really would feel for the character of John, if he was not played by the stone faced Tatum.  Channing Tatum surely got this role on his physical appearance, he looks like what the part of John should.  But lets face it, the kid can't act at all.  He played the lug head in Step Up pretty well, but this is the second role in a row that he has just butchered (Duke in Gijoe was the other).  He was just awful in this movie.  There is one scene in which he is supposed to cry and it just comes off as comical.
I just can not get past his performance in this movie.  The delivery of his lines sound more like he is getting ready to rap battle in Eight Mile rather than win a southern belle's heart.  There is nothing good I can say about the video because his wooden performance ruins it for me.

movie review: The Karate Kid (Remake)

First off, could someone tell me why they remade the Karate Kid in China...and with Kung Fu?

Makes one wonder if the Chinese government didn't produce the movie as some sort of travel brochure, showing off the country to the west.  Anyone remember the Olympics...and yes they have a cameo.
It has been 26 years since the original was made, so I guess it was way over due for a remake.  The original movie is looked back on by my generation fondly more out of nostalgia than on the merit of the actual film itself.  If you don't believe that then go rent the video and try to sit through two hours of Daniel-San getting his wussy butt kicked.
The new film centers around young Dre ( Jaden Smith) and his mother (Taraji P. Henson).  They leave Detroit and move to Beijing for a better job opportunity at the car factory (I guess the film producers thought a communist country was preferable to the "red" states.)  From there it is pretty much color by the numbers film.  Dre has conflict with said bully Cheng (Zhenwei Wang), and falls for pretty chinese girl Meiyang (Wenwen Han).  In steps maintenance man and secret Kung Fu master Mr Han ( Jackie Chan) to teach the boy and mold him into a warrior.  The main problem with he film is it takes over an hour for it to finally get to any training scenes at all.  The characters aren't believable especially Dre's mom, who appears to be no more than a prop for the storyline.  Too much of the movie seems to be displaying the wonders and sites of the Chinese countryside rather than to actually progress the story.
But fear not, Jackie Chan saves the day and the film.  His performance alone makes this movie worth the price of rental.  Mr Han has one of the most heart felt scenes you will ever catch in a martial arts movie.  Jaden Smith also plays his role surprisingly well, and his fight  scenes at the end are far and away better than the original.  I must also say that the ending rivals the original film's flying crane scene. 
Although no one yells, "Sweep the leg!!!"  The Karate Kid is an entertaining (if sometimes drawn-out) remake of an 80's classic.