Coma
Greetings, Coma is a thriller novel that was written by American physician and author, Robin Cook, in 1977. It was his first major published work although he had previously penned a short book called ‘The Year of the Intern’ in 1972. Since then Cook has published many novels, two of which I have read. They are named Invasion and Abduction, both about extraterrestrial life on Earth, and I found that reading them was an enjoyable experience. Coma was the first story of his that I had read which lacked a supernatural element or tangent in it. Instead of being a paranormal genre, the story of ‘Coma’ is based on a medical premise with an underlining conspiracy theme.
The story follows a young medical student, Susan Wheeler, who is training at Boston Memorial Hospital. As the events are based in the 1970s Wheeler is practicing in a heavily male dominated field of occupation, a major theme in the novel that is often detrimental to Susan. When she is placed under the supervision of a young surgery resident named Mark Bellows, Susan comes across a comatose patient called Nancy Greenly. It is unclear what caused the patient to fall into a coma as Nancy had entered the operating room for a simple medical procedure that was needed to cure a minor condition. Something went wrong during the operation resulting in the patient becoming unconscious and non-responsive, an event that left the experts puzzled. Greenly is the same age as Wheeler, providing a motivation for Susan to uncover what had lead to the coma.
It isn’t long before the medical student meets her first patient, a man called Sean Berman, who required a small operation on his leg. Susan prepared him for his operation but after a few hours it was revealed that Berman had also mysteriously fallen into a coma. A determined Wheeler starts to research the two cases and begins to find similar incidents that had occurred within the hospital. Her discoveries and investigation are often irritating to the medical staff. As such, Susan comes to the conclusion that there is a conspiracy within the hospital due to the negative reaction her research receives and she attempts to bring Bellows into her investigation despite risking her entire career over a hunch.
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy ‘Coma’ as much as the other two stories and that is due to a few issues with the novel. These problems include having too much of a long build up to the interesting part of the plot in which the twist is revealed. While it is an interesting story line I felt that some scenes and characters were unnecessary and didn’t add much to the plot. Another notable concern considerable is that a number of characters were not expanded upon, lacked personality and didn’t have much time dedicated to them. Overall, it is a good novel with an interesting protagonist and premise but it pales in comparison to Cooks later works such as Invasion or Abduction.
Plot=8/10
Characters=7/10
Wording=8/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the day
Who are you talking to right now? Who is it you think you see? Do you know how much I make a year? I mean, even if I told you, you wouldn't believe it. Do you know what would happen if I suddenly decided to stop going into work? A business big enough that it could be listed on the NASDAQ goes belly up. Disappears! It ceases to exist without me. No, you clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger! A guy opens his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No. I am the one who knocks!
Walter White
Breaking Bad
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Greetings, the Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a film from 2013. It stars Ben stiller in the main role of the protagonist, Walter Mitty and it is an adaptation of a short story that was written by James Thurber in 1939. It is also a remake of the original movie that had been made in 1947.The film lacks a large cast of notable actors or recognizable stars. Aside from Ben Stiller the most prominent cast members are Patton Oswald and Sean Penn. The characters they play had a reasonably large role in putting the storyline into motion but the actors didn’t get much of a chance to perform, especially Sean, as they didn’t receive a lot of screen time in comparison to Stiller.
The plot begins with Walter Mitty attempting to build his courage and befriend a recently hired co-worker, Cheryl Melhoff, with the intentions of pursuing a relationship with her. The problem is that Walter doesn’t have the confidence to speak to her in person. As such he is forced to return to his job as a negative assets manager in the photography department for Life magazine. When he arrives at work it is revealed to Mitty that his company is being downsized due to the company’s transition to the internet. Therefore, the next edition of Life magazine will be the last printed issue and therefore it will result in many employees losing their occupations.
It is within Walter’s job description to ensure that the photograph makes it to the cover of the magazine. The picture was taken by photojournalist and adventurer Sean O’Connell, played by Sean Penn, who wants the photograph known as negative 25 to be used. O’Connell had sent Mitty a package that was supposed to contain photograph and a gift wallet for working with him for 16 years. Problems arise when negative 25 isn’t in the package. His job hangs in the balance and Walter threatened by Ted Hendricks, the transition manager, that if Mitty couldn’t find the picture that he was fired. This issue is further complicated by the nature of Sean O’Connell as he doesn’t stay still in one location as well as not having a mobile to contact him by. With the help of Melhoff, Walter is able to figure out that O’Connell is in Greenland but Sean wouldn’t be staying around for too long. This leads Mitty on a globetrotting in search of the ever moving photojournalist.
While there are positives to the movie, there were also a few aspects that are worth criticizing such as the day dreaming scenes. The character of Mitty tends to fantasies about committing heroic or outlandish deeds that are completely contrary to his dull nature. The daydreaming sequences were intended to give some personality to the character of Walter but in my opinion the scenes tend to disrupt the flow of the story without really adding anything. Another fault of ‘the Secret life of Walter Mitty’ that I found is that most of its jokes backfire in the sense that they are more strange than funny, leaving only a few memorable ones to keep the audience entertained. On the other side and on my own opinion, the film did get better as the story progressed. Overall it is worth watching but not something that you should actively seek out.
Plot=7/10
Characters=6/10
Special Effects=7/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the day
Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt.
Robert Lutece
BioShock Infinite
The Wolf of Wall Street
Greetings, the Wolf of Wall Street is a 2013 film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio , Margot Robbie and Jonah Hill. The movie is based on the life of and book, of the same name, written by Jordan Belfort. He was a crooked stockbroker and cocaine addict who manipulated the stock market during the 1990s but has since become a motivational speaker. It is very dark, humorous and adult in nature but also a highly enjoyable watch with some great scenes and performances from the cast involved, especially from DiCaprio.
The story begins in 1987 when Jordan Belfort, played by DiCaprio, is a young and aspiring stockbroker married to his first wife named Teresa. He begins his career with a small job working for investment banking firm L.F. Rothschild but soon loses it due to the market crash known as Black Monday. Belfort’s time at Rothschild was not wasted as he had began to build up experience and took on the advice of his old boss, Mark Hanna, who was played by Matthew McConaughey. Belfort was encouraged to live an immoral lifestyle in order to reduce the stress of the job. As the economy becomes hostile to stockbrokers Belfort is forced to find an occupation elsewhere and becomes involved with boiler room dealing in penny stocks.
With Jordan’s charismatic pitching style, he is able to establish a small fortune as well as turn co-workers into enthusiastic followers who begin to use his pitching methods. With the financing and support from colleagues he had gained from the boiler room trade, Belfort is able to establish his own company called Stratton Oakmont with the help of his friend named Donnie Azoff. As such, Jordan becomes rich and follows the advice of Hanna by living an extravagant and decadent lifestyle that puts stress on the relationship with his wife. As Oakmont grows in size its fraudulent activity becomes clear to the FBI and agent Patrick Denham is put on the case. Much to Belfort’s discomfort Denham cannot be bribed and a lot of the film is dedicated to the two characters trying to outsmart each other.
Overall, it is a very fun film to watch with plenty of comedic and more dramatic scenes. It has a running time of around three hours but was entertaining from beginning to end with a gripping storyline and characters. The fictionalized version of Belfort was portrayed excellently by DiCaprio and was an interesting character to watch as due to his lack of morality. In my opinion the Wolf of Wall Street is one of the best films to have come out in 2013.
Plot=10/10
Characters=10/10
Special effects=10/10
Overall=10/10
Quote of the day
The darkness is coming. It will spread to every corner of the land.
Smaug
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Walking Dead
Greetings, the Walking Dead is a rather dark video game from Tell Tale that is loosely based on the television series and therefore on the original comic books as well. It was released in 2012 between April and November in an episodic format, consisting of five segments and one additional DLC named 400 days. The DLC is an episode that I have yet to play and follows the stories of characters that were not in the original game. Apparently the plot of 400 days incorporates the decisions made by the player in the original videogame. as well as acting as a bridge between the first and second season together, connecting the stories together.
The plot is centred on the protagonist, a history professor at the University of Georgia called Lee Everett, whose personality is shaped by what the player chooses in the timed conversation trees. It begins with Lee being transported in a police car towards prison for a crime that is unkown to the player. The conversation between Lee and the cop driving the vehicle provides some vague evidence as to what crime Everett committed but it isn’t revealed until later on in the game. While talking to the distracted police officer, the crashes the car into a zombie, called Walkers in the game, that had wondered onto the road. Following the accident Lee is confronted by his first Walker, the cop who had died during the crash, and manages to kill him in self-defence.
At this point Everett runs to the nearest house for his own safety and finds it almost deserted. Lee discovers that a little girl by the name of Clementine had managed to hide herself in her tree house, protecting herself against the Walkers with a hammer. In my opinion, unlike most fictional children in survival situations Clementine is actually a well written, original and likeable character rather than just a stereotypical plot device that gives the player someone to protect. Once Everett gains Clementine’s trust and kills her zombie baby sitter, he discovers that her family are on a trip to Savannah. The player then promises to protect Clementine and help to find her parents via the use of a walkie-talkie. On their journey they soon find themselves united with memorable characters such as Kenny and his family, his wife named Kajtaa and his son knicknamed Duck. The episodes are full of interesting characters, whose fate is ofetn let to the player as well as the ability to change their attitude depending on what choice are made.
This game is one of the best I have played in a while and is a credit to Telltale games, who are fast becoming my favourite company in the games industry by creating high quality games like this, Sam and Max and the videogame version of Back to the Future. The music was conducted by Jared Emerson Johnson, who has composed music for many other Telltale games, and does a good job creating music that sets the right tone. The atmosphere is also crafted with great writing for all the characters as well as putting the player in difficult positions with unclear ethical implications. The choices are difficult as the results are normally based on either doing what is morally right or following the rational but callous route. The player must take into acount the effect their choices will have on the fragile relationships that could easily be ruined by making ‘wrong’ decisions. It is made more complicated as main characters often have strong and contrasting opinions that are hard to balance. At the end of each episode the game will compare your results to the actions of other players which I thought was a interesting feature. I look forward to playing the DLC and what the next season will bring.
Plot=10/10
Characters=10/10
Graphics=10/10
Overall=10/10
Quote of the day
Listen up, we have been boarded by armed pirates. If they find you, remember, you know this ship, they don't. Stick together and we'll be all right. Good luck.
Captain Phillips
Captain Phillips
Captain Phillips
Greetings, Captain Phillips is a 2013 film based on the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, an American cargo ship, by Somali pirates in 2009. It stars Tom Hanks in the lead role of Richard Phillips, captain of the unarmed cargo ship, and serves as the cinematic debut of Barkhad Abdi who plays the pirate leader known as Abduwali Muse. It was based on Phillip’s book ‘A captain’s Duty’ about his experience as hostage and has been criticised by some crew members of the Alabama for depicting Phillips as more of a hero than he actually was during the event. Some of the crew blame Richard for travelling in waters known to be infested by Somali pirates and therefore placing them in danger unjustifiably.
The plot is simplistic due to the film being grounded in reality. In 2009 Captain Phillips is given orders to sail the MV Maersk Alabama through the Gulf of Aden to his destination of Mombasa in Kenya. Meanwhile in Somali, Muse, leader of the pirates, knows about the arrival of Alabama. He wishes to take the crew hostage and use them as a bargaining chip in exchange for millions of dollars. The captain travels through the dangerous waters, disregarding the recent warnings about Somali pirate activities in the area. During a security exercise Richard discovers that two skiffs are sailing towards the cargo ship, using binoculars Phillips is able to see that the two vehicles are transporting armed and hostile pirates.
Richard attempts to escape the pirates by outrunning them. His plan works for a short while but despite his best efforts one pirate ship manages to board the cargo ship via the use of a ladder while the other ship backs off. The four young pirates make their way to the bridge with little difficulty or resistance. When they managed to take control of the ship, Phillips becomes their hostage while other members of the crew managed to hide themselves during the assault. Under Muse’s leadership the other pirates are ordered to find the other crew members and take them hostage. Conflict arises when staff of the Alabama manage to fight back against the Somalis with their knowledge of the ship’s layout, guerrilla tactics and makeshift weapons.
The plot and characters are not particularly original which is understandable once you consider that the event was based on the experiences of actual people. Screen time is mostly dedicated to a few of the major individuals involved, the most prominent being Richard Phillips and Muse. The actors and actresses gave a good performance with the experienced Hanks and the new comer Abdi having given the most noteworthy acting. In terms of duration, I felt that the film was a little too long and outstretched but still an enjoyable movie to watch. In my opinion, it is worth while experience but not a film that is essential viewing.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Special Effects=8/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the day
I never asked for this
Adam Jensen
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
BioShock Infinite
Greetings, BioShock Infinite is the third game in the series and serves as a prequel to the original story as it is set in 1912. Unlike the other two games there are no Big Daddies or Little Sisters and ADAM is replaced by vigors which introduce new abilities such as controlling bloodthirsty crows. Despite the absence of the iconic Big Daddies there are equivalents including the introduction of Handymen or crank gun wielding machines in the form of Washington, Lincoln or Comstock, the founder of Columbia. Infinite still has a BioShock feel to it despite the change of scenery as it continues to tell its story and lore through the use audio logs known as Voxophones.
The plot begins with Booker DeWitt, a war veteran of Wounded Knee and a Pinkerton agent, who has piled up a lot of debt. He takes on a contract to go to the floating city of Columbia and bring back a woman called Elizabeth in order to wipe away his debt. The city was founded by the Prophet, also known as Comstock, who is believed to be able to see into the future and therefore builds a personality cult to ensure the consolidation of his reign over his citizens. Booker is brought to a lighthouse and reaches Columbia via a rocket that was hidden inside the structure. Once he arrives safely to the city it becomes clear to DeWitt that the ruling population is driven by ideas of religious fanaticism, unhealthy worship of the founding fathers, Columbian exceptionalism, white supremacy and xenophobia.
Before he can break Elizabeth out of her tower DeWitt is branded as the False Shepherd as he has the letters A and D written on his hand. The False Shepherd is a figure to be feared as it was prophesised he would lead the lamb, Elizabeth, astray from her purpose. Booker has to fight his way to the tower against Columbian authorities as well as being wary of Elizabeth’s protector and prison warden, a giant metallic bird known as Songbird. It isn’t long before the Vox Populi, a revolutionary group of monitories lead by Daisy Fiztroy, use DeWitt’s presence to benefit their armed struggle. Fitzroy was falsely accused of killing Lady Comstock and has since been in hiding from the Prophet’s men.
In terms of game play, Elizabeth’s powers are quite useful when in combat as she can provide the player with ammunition, salts and health as well as opening Tears to access useful items, cover or allies in the form of lethal machines. Another interesting feature was the addition of the sky line which allows the player to travel around as well as being a platform to kill enemies down below. I liked how well known songs from within the past few decades were transformed into an older style to fit into Columbia’s setting. Not all songs in the game are relatively modern as classical music is still used, especially during the graveyard or areas dedicated to the late Lady Comstock. Overall it is a very enjoyable game with a strong story with an unexpected ending, a visually impressive setting and colourful characters with the likes of Elizabeth, Comstock, the Lutece twins and Booker himself. I haven’t played the Burial at Sea DLC yet, which links Infinite to the original BioShock, but do intend to do so soon.
Plot=10/10
Characters=10/10
Graphics=10/10
Overall=10/10
Quote of the day
This Fontaine fellow is somebody to watch. Once, he was just a menace, to be convicted and hung. But he always manages to be where the evidence isn't. He's the most dangerous type of hoodlum... the kind with vision.
Andrew Ryan
BioShock
