Some of us argue on line who are the coolest characters……This bastard does this. By Greek artist Ilias Kyriazis

That’s what I came away from after devouring the latest (and possible last) techno-thriller penned by Michael Crichton, Micro, which was completed by author Richard Preston (most famous for his chilling 1994 non-fiction thriller, The Hot Zone, about the Ebola outbreak in a primate quarantine building that occurred in Reston, Virginia in 1989).

Mr. Preston thinking "You thought Ebola was scary? Have I got a surprise for you!"

To anyone having doubts about Mr. Preston picking up where Mr. Crichton left off (rumor has it the manuscript was only 73% completed at the time of Crichton’s unfortunate passing due to Cancer in 2008), rest assured it is seamless – you literally cannot tell where Crichton ends and where Preston begins, nor what ideas and extrapolations belong to whom! It is most definitely feels like a Crichton
novel in it’s entirety!

The plot strays a little further away than most of Crichton’s stories in regards to the actual science utilized, in this case, micronization, but what it lacks in size of real physics in makes up for in the biology showed on display, showing a world that literally exists within our own that is a thriving ecosystem within our own!

Seven grad students in an eclectic assortment of fields (Envenomization, Biochemical Engineering, Arachnology, Entomology, Applied Science Philosophy, etc) are invited by a fellow student, Peter Jensen, on behest of his older brother Eric for recruitment into his start-up company, NaniGen Tech, a start-up company specializing in micro-robotic environmental research tools.

It’s not long before tragedy strikes in the murder of Eric and the mystery of what NaniGen actually does and with which find our protagonists shrunk-down into “micro-humans” and abandoned in a vast rainforest on Hawaii’s big island of Oahu.  From here, it becomes a “Lost World” tale of survival as the company of students must somehow trek back to NaniGen and restore themselves, while solving the mystery of Eric’s death.

Mr. Crichton moments before he touched the fossil behind him and merely "willed" it to life, cackling madly!

Fans of Crichton’s work will find this vintage-Crichton at his best with a streamlined plot and enough thorough research and explanation to make even a layman an expert in some of the fields addressed. As well, this always makes the attacks even more frightening when are heroes are confronted by waves of wasps, spiders, and even bats during their journey.

And these attacks are NOT for the feint of heart as Crichton and Preston detail the horrors of the insect world GRAPHICALLY (particularly stomach churning and harrowing is a sequence involving a grub, but I’ll let you discover that on your own).

PICTURED: Mr. Preston's pants-shittingly scary surprise.

The weakest flaw in this book is the seven grad students in the group, which are cardboard at the very best – you have the quiet thinker, the outspoken know-it-all, the tomboy, the promiscuous girl, the girl next door, the take-charge and the whiner. I wish I was exaggerating, but I’m not – adding in  that they behave as academic snobs through 3/4 of the book doesn’t exactly you root them on, with Peter being the sole one you care about because of his relationship with his brother. The villain of the piece seems more at home in a Bond film than here and is extremely over-the-top in his actions and swaggering. I did, oddly, wind up growing the fond of the side-characters, particularly the Spam-sushi-eating, easy going and intelligent Honolulu homicide detective who suspects there’s something foul at work within NaniGen.

Some of the tech concepts displayed are intriguing despite the fact they almost seemed to come from an eighties  cartoon-toy line property, with the micro-humans having access to a plethora of miniature tent stations, concrete-brick research labs dotted along the rainforest, six-legged “Hexapod” walkers used to transverse the micro-terrain and even miniature micro-planes! If this gets made into a movie (it’s Crichton so chances are already 60/40 in it’s favor) you could see endless toys taken from the novel alone!

Which brings me to the opening notes from Crichton himself, in which he states some (in my mind, anyway’s) alarming statistics about school children these days, while being aware of insects and animals, couldn’t identify nearly any of the bugs they’d fin in their own backyard, blaming compressed school cirriculums with an emphasis on test scoring to the sad simple fact that kids too busy inside playing video games than playing outdoors in nature. I can’t help but wonder if maybe this was Crichton’s way of hoping kids might pick this up in the same way they read Jurassic Park – inspiring them to get outside and find fascination with the world right in their own lawns? It will certainly help move those bug catching nets and kits you see displayed every spring and summer!

MICRO, while having some small flaws, is MACRO fun!

* Words in red are danger words – Google Image them at risk to your own sanity, or to **know-your-enemy…

**…at which case I suggest a can of Lysol and a lighter; distance is your friend!

If you are not a fan of Five Iron Frenzy you need to become a fan of Five Iron Frenzy and then get excited about this!

For the uninitiated… Five Iron Frenzy was a band started during the “ska craze” of the mid 1990′s. They were billed as a “ska band” but were really much more than that. A crazy and eclectic blend of musical styles from Metal to Punk to Ska to Reggae and then back through some good ol’ Rock N Roll set them apart from being just another trendy ska band. The blend of tongue-in-cheek humor mixed with thoughtful and spiritual lyrics cemented them as great and poignant songwriters. FIF’s live shows were legendary and full of passion and life, bringing an unending stream of spazzing out on stage while frequently dressed in ridiculous costumes.

Five Iron called it quits back in 2003 or so… I can’t be bothered to do any fact checking right now. I did find some pictures I took on Five Iron Frenzy’s Minneapolis stop on the farewell tour. It was a great concert and very bittersweet.

So this news, is interesting and they have been slowing building interest over the past few months on their own facebook page. Let the speculation begin!

This also reminds me that I need to do a review of the FIF final DVD entitled: Rise & Fall of Five Iron Frenzy. It’s sitting on my shelf ready to watch.

By now I am sure all of you have seen or heard about Herman Cain’s Libya oopsy. If not, you are living under a rock. Now, I am going to try to be critical of both sides throughout the next year when it is needed, but today we are going with the GOP and their hurricane of fuck ups.

I have studied politics for well over six years now, and NEVER, have I seen a GOP group that is this fucked up. I mean really, if you stop and think about it, regardless of the Electoral College, in the last 11 almost 12 years, we have elected only one Republican President. Yes, I am saying in 2000 Al Gore won, he did win the popular vote by quite a margin, but anyway. In 2004, the Democrats could have thrown anyone out there and would have lost, the same can be said in 2008, the Dems could have thrown you out there and you would have beaten Father Time (John McCain for those of you who forgot). Now, here we are again four years later and people are still pissed…economy still sucks (it is bouncing back, don’t believe me? look it up, no jobs, etc…) But in reality, shit isn’t THAT bad. It sucks, but it isn’t what it was just a few years ago. Now in a year where there should be a sense that the GOP could throw anyone out there and beat President Obama, the GOP is failing hard core…take a look.

…What?…this is the same guy who two weeks ago had allegations against him about sexual harassment and now this?!?!?! Just end it Cain…you’re not going to win…or even get the nomination. But wait, you’re not the only one with the inability to get out your point. Roll it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZYQ9IYeOlU

You wanna cut the Department of Education Rick?!? Well there goes the teacher vote…and all the votes of the people that work in the three agencies, or should I say two agencies you want to cut? These are scary people. They don’t know their ass from their elbow and it’s sad.

Of course the Dems have had their issues, but we do have this going for us…we don’t have this nut job …

When Glenn Beck shakes his head at you…you know you’re fucked!

Until next time, have a great day!

Holy Hot Damn… those are the first three words that came to mind after seeing this film this evening. As I mentioned prior, I minored in History and have researched Hoover in many instances and I must say, Clint Eastwood did a magnificent job with this film.

I know many people are going to moan and groan about Leonardo DiCaprio playing the former FBI Director, and the only thing I have to say to that, is watch your tongue. This is an Oscar worthy performance which he surely deserves and probably will get. Hollywood gets a stiffy over Bio Pics and this is one of the best I have ever seen.

Eastwood tells the story through both avenues of the story of the troubled director.

::SPOILER ALERT::

We get the story from the viewpoint of Hoover and then the audience is shocked to learn that Hoover’s story he has been telling throughout the whole film is not all reality. Those of you who know your history will pick up on this right away. The scenes of major historical importance are done wonderfully.

::END SPOILER ALERT::

The only complaint I have is the actor who plays President Nixon at the end of the film. Could have been cast a bit better, but that’s okay. I know many others have criticized this movie for its makeup and lighting and the such, and I must admit, there was some bad makeup, but not in the case of Hoover or Helen Gandy (Naomi Watts). The story is not confusing unless you’re a complete idiot and not following what’s going on. That was another argument against this film that I had read, simply untrue.

Regardless if you are on the fence with this film, drop the money and see it, you won’t be disappointed, and don’t be cheap! Many theaters have discount nights or whatever if you want to take advantage of that, but I even would have spent the ten bucks on this film and I’m super cheap!

Enjoy!

-Jim

My name is Jim, for those of you who don’t know me, I am Kyle’s cousin. I was a part of the original 10 Minutes From Hell message board, and coming back to contribute to the site!

I will be the first to admit, I haven’t the slightest idea about comics or action figures so you won’t be hearing much from me in the likes of those things. I have a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and an avid history junkie. I will be mostly writing about current events with my own spin to them, along with movies (huge movie junkie, usually see a new movie once a week), as well as music, I am a huge music guy and I currently help rep a musician out of the Boston area named Eric Stepanian, shameless plugs at its finest.

There will be times I am sure I may anger some of you, or make someone scratch their head and wonder WTF!?!? My intent is not to harm anyone or anything of that sort. Most of the stuff I say that is offensive is tongue and cheek. Please leave comments and debate, I always love a good debate. So, with that being said, nothing I say is to offend, hopefully what I will say will make you think outside the box and get a different perspective on things. Please don’t email Wug or anyone else about how much of an ass I am…they know already!

I will do my best to keep the views and opinions as my own. I hope you all enjoy my posts… maybe you’ll laugh, cry, or want to throw your computer out the window, but we will all have a great time!

Cheers!
Jim

…and the trailer to the only movie I really give a rat’s ass about this year.

Or maybe not because you might not be a Thor fan or diehard comic book nerd like the rest of us (me).

Amora, Enchantress of Asgard…

…vying for the attentions of the god of thunder. So desperate for his love (and sometimes out of spite) is she that often times joins the schemes of Thor’s half-brother Loki.

Hopefully Marvel will light up the sequel and put one of their original bad girls up on the silver screen and I can think of no other actress who could properly portray Amora than Miss Diora Baird.

A former Guess model-turned actress, Miss Baird has been scene in such films as Wedding Crashers, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel, as well as the recent Night Of The Demons remake.

And so fellow readers, I give five pictorial reasons why Ms. Baird has the acting chops  and attributes to portray the sizzling, obsessed magic-wielding villainess determined to win the heart of Thor!

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.