It’s a poem about January, among other things, so I wanted to link to it before the month is out:
http://dagdapublishing.co.uk/2014/03/03/amanda/
Tag Archives: Eric Robert Nolan
My review of “Star Trek” (2009)
I was never as into the “Star Trek” franchise as much as its real fans, but I did enjoy the tv show and films. And like so many people, I was really disappointed at how the lackluster and continuity-crushing “Star Trek: Nemesis” (2002) seemed to sound the death knell for a franchise that has been around since 1966.
I was happily surprised, the, when I finally got to see J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” (2009) in its entirety. It captured all of the magic of the original series, and updated it with 21st Century special effects, set design and sound editing. The all-star cast was uniformly good, even if Eric Bana (as Nero) got too little screen time. It was amazing how Chris Pine and Karl Urban seemed to channel William Shatner and DeForest Kelley, respectively.
One or two things might make viewers scratch their heads … The coincidence of Kirk’s discovery on the ice planet is pretty mind-boggling. And why was he exiled there instead of just thrown in the brig? Also, Nero’s doomsday device appears in the skies over Vulcan and Earth. Does neither planet have the equivalent of an air force? Why is the Enterprise the only ship in the battle?
Still, this was a really good hard sci-fi flick. Check it out if you haven’t seen it already.
Stephen King’s “Joyland”
“Joyland” is a surprisingly average novel by an otherwise amazing novelist. Its ghost story is actually pretty scary, but it occupies so little of the book that it seems like a brief subplot. The bulk of the book is a coming-of-age story about its protagonist, with tons and TONS of expository information about “carny” life, work, and culture. I actually found myself skimming pages that detailed the carny dialect (or “Talk”), or the descriptions of daily work.
The characters of Devin, Tom and Erin were relatable and likeable — Annie and Mike were a little less so.
This book was okay, but I doubt it belongs at the top of anyone’s must-read list.
Tremble before the terrible and mighty beard!
I named it Grendel, and I am working gradually to tame it.
It’s part of my Crazy Poet phase. I am trying hard to look like a madman or a Russian dissident.
I’m concerned that what I have achieved is more Unabomber than eccentric writer. And DEAR LORD, THE GRAY. It’s more terrifying than Liam Neeson’s “The Grey.”
Hey Shoaib Kamal … ya can’t touch this.
“Brave New World”
O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t!
— Miranda, “The Tempest,” by William Shakespeare
My beard has a name, and it is Grendel.
Seriously, it’s huge. I think it might soon require it’s own social security number.
I’m starting to think it might rival the face-manes of pals John Kerr and Pete Harrison. I’ll post pics when I can.
In other news, I am trying to pen a poem about a raven. Someone gave me a funny look and told me that it’d been done … apparently there’s ANOTHER poem about a raven by a well known poet?
I’ve got submissions in to a few online publishers, for flash fiction and poetry — I’ll let you know if anything is accepted.
I wrote a zombie long story that actually DOES have a main character based on me, which is a first. His name is Steve, and he’s inquisitive and physically quick. Also penned my first (and predictably dark) time-travel tale, and I’m very happy with how it turned out.
And I’m hard at work behind the scenes on a major project as well. I hope everyone is having a terrific holiday season!!!
Stephen King’s “Mr. Mercedes”
Stephen King’s “Mr. Mercedes” is a terrific thriller that will be sure to please his fans. It’s the story of very unlikely heroes and friends pursuing an at-large, highly intelligent and remorseless spree killer/serial killer.
It is occasioanlly slow. We spend way too much time getting to know Hodges, for example, before his character becomes either likable or even plot-relevant. But this is forgivable for such a great book. I loved the characters and found certain scenes touching. And the character development for the eponymous Mr. Mercedes is consistently disturbing.
And for horror fans … Jeez, does this book deliver. It’s a frightening story, to say the least. One part, involving a certain mixup (I can’t say more without spoilers), is positively horrifying, even by Stephen King standards.
My pal Steve Miller told me that this is the start of a trilogy — I can’t wait for the next installment.
A veritable flood of ideas for short stories —
— characters, motivations, voices, plot connections. Their lives touch or intersect when an overarching mystery threatens them all. I can hardly write fast enough to get it all down.
And yet … I can’t manage a single word of poetry. Assonance, aliteration, metaphor … I reach and it’s just not there, which has never really happened before.
The human brain is a strange thing.
Anyway, alums … with the above, I am starting what I hope will be a set of five closely connected short stories — Mary Washington College will be in the backstories of many characters (i.e., college students on holiday break).
A quick review of “Iron Man 3” (2013)
I love all the “Iron Man” movies, and I was never even a fan of the comic book character. They’re the smartest movie franchise Marvel’s got going, with more plot, story and characters, all combined with the action and special effects for a great comic book movie. (They’re only real competitor in these areas would be Spider-Man 2.) This was just great – I’d give it a 9 out of 10..
My review of “The Hunger Games” (2012)
I am blogging some of my past years’ movie reviews on Facebook — this was what I thought of “The Hunger Games.”
*****
Yeah, okay. As it turns out, “The Hunger Games” (2012) was actually a really good movie – I’d cheerfully give it an 8 out of 10. I thought that this would be a sci-fi equivalent of a Twilight franchise, or a mainstreamed ripoff of “Battle Royale” (2000), but it was none of the former and only a little of the latter.
It took a decent story and populated it with fully realized, three-dimensional characters, then cast good actors across the board. You know a movie works if you’re cheering for the main protagonist. It was also a surprisingly dark story for a young adult book adaptation.
The pacing was a little off … characters and plot devices are raised and dropped a little abruptly, and you can tell they were included because they were elements of Suzanne Collins’ book that fans were expecting. And the action directing wasn’t the best I’ve seen – the final standoff was a little awkwardly staged and anticlimactic. Those are small quibbles, though.
If anyone really likes this, it might be fun to watch this and “Battle Royale” back-to-back on a rainy Saturday.
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 