Reviews
Over at bfwa.com, I’ve started a new series of posts that will present brief reviews of and excerpts from my library of software engineering and IT project management texts. Here’s the introduction to the series; and here’s the first post, covering Jerry Weinberg’s The Psychology of Computer Programming. ..bruce..
Continue reading about New series at bfwa.com: “Readings in Software Engineering”
Great movies that hit their target are hard to review, and Joss Whedon pretty much smacked this puppy out of the park. He made a 2:23 ensemble superhero movie that never lags and that doesn’t shortchange any of the characters. The real telling sign: my sweet wife, who is more tolerant of than eager about [...]
Continue reading about “The Avengers” (2012): a brief review, w/spoilers
My sweet wife and I went to see “The Hunger Games” today. I’ve read all three novels and enjoyed them — they are a cut above the usual Young Adult novels and are a bit dark and unrelenting. The release buzz for the film itself was very positive, so I was interested to see just [...]
Continue reading about “The Hunger Games”: a brief review w/spoilers
I first read “A Princess of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs early in high school, over 40 years ago. I loved the novel and enjoyed the ten (yes, ten) that followed, though none were quite as good or as wildly romantic. So I’ve followed with interest over the past several years the various attempts to [...]
Continue reading about “John Carter”: a brief review, with spoilers
[Originally posted over at Ace of Spades] Those who “abjure” violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf. — George Orwell, Notes on Nationalism This film has gotten a fair amount of ‘net publicity — though probably not nearly enough regular marketing — because of its fundamental concept: film a [...]
Continue reading about “Act of Valor”: a brief review, w/spoilers
My sweet wife and I went to see the new remake of “The Woman in Black”, starring Daniel Radcliffe. We had watched the original (made-for-British-TV) 1989 version when it first came out on video and at least one time since, but it had been many, many years since then. We thought the original was very [...]
In the interest of full disclosure, I must say that I’ve been a Nicolas Cage fan ever since “Raising Arizona”. It doesn’t mean that I like (or have even seen) all the films he’s done, but I do like some of his films (“Next”, “Knowing”) more than the general consensus. On the other hand, his [...]
Continue reading about “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” — a brief review, with spoilers
My sweet wife Sandra is not a particular fan of SF films (though she’ll certainly watch or go see them with me), nor of war movies. Yet after we saw this movie today, she talked about how engrossed she was during the entire film. (I’ll note that she went with me to see “Skyline” last [...]
Continue reading about “Battle Los Angeles”: a brief review (w/spoilers)
I didn’t have plans to go see “The Book of Eli”, even though the trailer made it look like “Fallout 3: The Movie” (I happen to be a big fan of “Fallout 3“). But then I read some early reviews that indicated that “Eli” might indeed be worth seeing, so my sweet wife Sandra and [...]
Continue reading about “The Book of Eli”: a brief review (w/spoilers)
I saw “Avatar” (in 3-D) yesterday afternoon and saw “Sherlock Holmes” this afternoon. I’ll be going back to see “Sherlock Holmes” again, probably within a week; “Avatar” will have to wait for DVD, if then. “Avatar” is worth seeing once on the large screen, in 3-D, just for the sheer visual spectacle and technical brilliance. [...]
Continue reading about “Sherlock Holmes” / “Avatar”: a brief review