The Old Way (feat. Nicolas Cage)

The Old Way is a Classic Cage Revenge Film, with a twist or two. This time it's a western, and it's a reasonably achieved western. Like any good western, it's dark and the good guys are also pretty bad. Outlaws if you will. Colton Braggs (played by Cage) is especially famous for being the most vicious, violent, despicable of mercenary killers. With that, we get a little revenge on top of revenge, as Colton has many enemies. However, he has a very special daughter. A precociouss type of Mary Sue. A cute, smart, dutiful daughter can be the exact weakness our guy needs. We are also shown quickly that he very much adores his wife. She is very important to Colton in his later, settled-down life. Alas, the settled down life doesn't last long. It's nice to have that big theater-sounding banjo and fiddle score to fit the heavy and light moments. Again, those light moments don't last long.

Cage lets his rage out and goes a little crazy, which is an expected treat that's not always delivered. While surprises were intended for this film, no such surprises were delivered. I guess director Brett Donowho just wanted to try his hand at a western, which he did just fine. MmmmHmmm. The pacing and vibe are all there. It's a fine movie. Not Mighty Fine.

1. Raising Arizona
2. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
3. Leaving Las Vegas
4. Red Rock West
5. Adaptation
6. Pig
7. Birdy
8. Wild at Heart
9. Renfield
10. Joe
11. National Treasure
12. Guarding Tess
13. Snake Eyes
14. Mandy
15. Dog Eat Dog
16. Color Out of Space
17. Mom and Dad
18. World Trade Center
19. Peggy Sue Got Married
20. The Rock
21. Zandalee
22. Prisoners of the Ghostland
23. City of Angels
24. Willy's Wonderland
25. Jiu Jitsu
26. Captain Corelli's Mandolin
27. Bangkok Dangerous
28. Drive Angry
29. Army of One
30. Lord of War
31. Gone in 60 Seconds
32. Matchstick Men
33. Vampire's Kiss
34. Con Air
35. Face/Off
36. Outcast
37. Trapped in Paradise
38. The Boy in Blue
39. Honeymoon in Vegas
40. Deadfall
41. Amos and Andrew
42. Moonstruck
43. Tokarev
44. The Sorcerer's Apprentice

45. The Old Way

46. Knowing
47. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
48. Bringing Out the Dead
49. The Family Man
50. Stolen
51. Season of the Witch
52. It Could Happen to You
53. The Wicker Man
54. Inconceivable
55. 8mm
56. The Frozen Ground
57. Left Behind
58. A Score to Settle
59. Pay the Ghost
60. Primal
61. Dying of the Light
62. Grand Isle
63. Looking Glass
64. Arsenal
65. Between Worlds
66. Ghost Rider
67. Trespass
68. The Humanity Bureau
69. Next
70. The Weather Man
71. 211
72. Fire Birds
73. The Croods

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

A couple years and a couple movies after I read and adored Dune by Frank Herbert, it was time to go ahead and read the sequel. While it's as touching, gripping, or magical as the original, Dune Messiah gives us more of a philosophical scifi in space opera set mainly on planet Arrakis. 

Paul sure as heck becomes the emperor, but he finds it hard to be as good of a man as he had wanted. I imagine it is hard to be a good god, with all the enemies of Good out there. Trusty Stilgar is still around, maybe more important than ever. But what about our beloved heroes who didn't make it to the end of Dune? Will any of them come back to life and make our beloved messianic family feel Weird? I guess you'll have to read it. 

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Taking place a good twenty or thirty years after the events of The Shining, I bet Stephen King knew this sequel was going to made into a movie. It stars Danny, the kid with the Shine, and has guest appearances from Wendy, Dick Halloran, and Tony (who may still live in Danny's mouth). 

This story focuses less on the horror aspect of things and more on the supernatural, with Shining villains and good kids to save. While a different kind of experience, I'd still suggest this to anyone who's a King fan. 

The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling

From our two lords of cyberpunk, we are brought something collectively made and different. The Difference Engine is considered an essential in the forming of Steampunk as a subgenre. It was written collectively through the mail, as the two writers Mailed floppy disks to each other from Texas to British Columbia. It sounds crazy, doesn't it? 

Instead of a regular novel, we got a collection of stories centering on a theme of analog computers, and the Babbage Machine. Instead of getting high tech low lifes in an imagined future, we get those types of characters in a less-imagined victorian setting. While it's not my favorite thing from either writer, I consider the book as successful experiment in form and genre. 

Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissell

I probably talk about privilege too much in these book reports. Oh well. Some segments of This book give the term a whole new meaning, expounding on the experience of its writer who dedicated months of his life to doing cocaine while playing Grand Theft Auto, and doing nothing else. So it is a very singular experience we get to peak into. Moreso, this book is about the impact games can have on your life and on our culture as a whole. It's worth reading for anyone who is a serious gamer and wonders if they are letting life pass them by. 

The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi

This book is about forming and maintaining relationships with lateral instead of vertical power structures. It is told in a series of dialogues, like something from Socrates. Was it useful to me? I don't know. It's possible. I'm generally not afraid of being disliked because very few people have the power to make my life better or worse, as it things are. But I was looking for some information to aid me in feeling better about myself, and less anxious in general. What I got was a lot about Adlerian philosophy, suggesting most things that hold us back in life come from our own doing. I'm skeptical, but I'm sure this can't apply to all people. Maybe you should read this book and let me know what you think, and if it does much to enhance your life. 

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

Here's another in the Harry Dresden series. The third to be precise. Last time we had werewolves and this time we have Ghosts, Angels, and Demons. The demons were already there, but this time our story with them goes a bit deeper as Harry's Peril becomes more Grave, but that's part of the slow burning big story that I'll kind of forget about between now and the time I'll read the fourth book in the series. The Dresden Files are pretty good but I'm not over the hill for them, and I'll continue the series when I run out of more interesting things to fulfill my inclusion in the literate zeitgeist.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

This book is about a young team of dreamers and game designers who hit it big. It's about the romance of working obsessively with your best friends on a project of passion and ambition of heights never before dreamt. It's about the depth of friendship that can form from such an experience, and the struggles their relationships face as they become very successful and life happens. If you have any feelings at all, you'll probably like this book. It'll really get you.