ID:37610
 
I have to go back to work tomorrow. But I spent yesterday and today enjoying some of my Christmas presents. Here are some ultra-brief reviews.

Books:

Longitude: A book about the invention of the naval chronometer -- the first timepiece capable of staying accurate despite constant movement and changes in weather and temperature. Interesting and a quick read, plus it has a pretty jerky villain for a nonfiction book.

The Night Gardener: Crime novel with some interesting twists and turns. It ain't Shakespeare but it kept me intrigued to the end.


DVD:

Ghost Story: A film from the "magic hour," the term cinematographers use for the years when the 70's became the 80's. The woman who portrayed the hot ghost would later become the Borg Queen. (Note: knowing this does not make me a Star Trek fan. Also, I know what the "magic hour" is so don't bother correcting me.) Not super-scary, but just as much fun as I remembered.

Double Indemnity: Speaking of early 80's movies, if you ever saw Body Heat, this will remind you of it. Sure enough, a quick Google search reveals this quote from Roger Ebert: "Yes, Lawrence Kasdan's Body Heat (1981) is aware of the films that inspired it--especially Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944)." At any rate, I just enjoyed the heck out of this movie. It might make you think twice before your next premeditated murder.


And yes, this is the first time in years I haven't asked for a single PS1/PS2/360 video game for Christmas -- I already had all the ones that really interested me. (I probably should've asked for the Orange Box, but I'll get to it sooner or later.) The first four months of 2008 should see some new life coming into the market.
Ghost Story was a great movie. I may have to see if I can dig that up somewhere. :)