Check out the LEGO mashup.

In continual support of the amazing LEGO Star Wars: Visual Companion, they'd just added more LEGO fun on the site with this new mashup game. Check it out here. Now have some fun.

In other news, I saw THE ROAD at the Sunshine Theater last week and it was simply amazing. The film captured the desperate tone of the book precisely, with each moment of anxiety on the long road traveled brought to clarity on screen. It is a world of grayness, a harsh world, but one realized in this film. Bravo.

Very busy with new job and pending arrival of our baby boy. I will do my best to keep the few and faithful readers of Bookrastination informed. Forgive any prolonged absence, for I realize I am already a slacker. This site should be called Slackrastination. Ha.

A Book to Film, and my lame tie-in story.

I went to see The Hangover last week, and saw a trailer for a new comedy based on a book which is still sitting on my bookshelf UNREAD that a friend gave to me maybe two years ago.

Yes, this humorous novel from Ecco Press by Larry Doyle, was given to me as a gift from my friend Kim who said something to the effect of, "This reminded me of your writing - but I know you can do better if you just stick with it."

Sure, I'm an editor, but I've always dabbled in writing, all my life, and I've been meaning to pick up the book and read it already [Kim - apologies, I never meant any insult.] In fact Kim knows I haven't read it because we're still part of a writing group we affectionately named WRITE CLUB, several years ago. In fact, we've met on and off for close to 8 years I think.

Also please know I mean no offense to the author, of whom I am in no position to judge as I still haven't read the book yet, especially as he has done what I have not which is get a novel published, something which I'm not actively pursuing at the moment [although it is one of my life goals]. He was also a writer for The Simpsons, so no slouch there. I very much look forward to the read.

His book, originally published in hardcover in 2007, will not need any help from me, as I hope it sees a nice resurgence in sales as the movie gets closer to release date which is right around the corner as July 10th [according to the IMDB page on the film]. But, I am more than happy to discuss it here, as I plan to read it soon - better late than never. And as I pack up books to move to a new house, this is one of the books I'll be leaving on my shelf until the move, as a reminder to dive right in.

I openly admit, I am sometimes a slacker. Ask my friends, ask my wife. Hell, the name of this blog is Bookrastination, a not-so-subtle play on procrastination [of which I am the king]. This'll prove how much of a slacker I am, as I grabbed the book off the shelf to double-check the publication date, I noticed I had the front flap used as book mark, I was only on page 10.

Well, I'm glad to see someone saw something special in this book which is about a high school nerd who puts it all on the line during his graduation speech, enough in fact to develop and make it into a film. I vow to read it before the movie comes out, and I hope a lot of people do the same. I got about three weeks.

I must end with mentioning that the fantastic jacket illustration and interior chapter illustrations are by none other than Evan Dorkin [a magnificent comic book creator and very, very talented man].

If anyone has anything to say about this book/movie/story, please feel free to comment below, I'd love to hear your angle.

Lots of Wolverine Buzz out there

Good morning loyal readers, I know I've been away from the blog for a few, with no excuse other than deadline madness. But the internet continues to be a buzz with talk and early reviews out regarding the one-month early leak of the new Wolverine film. Fox had to pull one of it's own blogger's reviews down (and there is some discussion whether he actually was fired or not for posting it). It'll be interesting to watch how this month early leak affects the film's actual release.

Being a big Wolverine fan, reading X-Men and Wolverine comics as far back as I can remember, I'm going to reserve judgement until I can see the film myself. I know there is a lot of confusing Wolverine history to try to blend into a two hour film, so I fully realize that it can't be done seamlessly. But I'm looking for them to get that feel right, the type of thing that lets me know they understand the character (like the first two X-Men films did).

I just wanted to quickly chime in on this topic, and say hello. I've spoken to one friend who has seen some early footage of the movie, and held him off from telling me anything significant. A few weeks from now, when I've seen it myself, let's have this conversation again.

[Note: I ask that if anyone posts a comment, please keep it spoiler free. Thank you].

WATCHMEN lawsuit resolved. Still on for March 6

Various sites and blogs, such as ICv2, are reporting that Fox and Warner Bros. have settled the legal dispute, and the WATCHMEN film will stay on track for the March 6th release.


Details of the undisclosed are scarce at this time, but it looks as if Warner will pay Fox an up front cash settlement as well as portions of the box office take, and Fox will have no part in the distribution of the film.

Some terms of the deal are already leaking out, see the Robot 6 blog here.

What does this mean for us, the fans? Well, the movie is coming out and will not be shelved because of the studio war. The project has come along too far to see it go away now, so hold onto your hats because we're less than two months away.

Stay tuned.

My review of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

On a crisp Tuesday night I went to the Kaufman movie theater in Astoria to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a film directed by David Fincher, a favorite of mine (loved his work on Fight Club, Panic Room, Se7en, and my most recent favorite Zodiac).

Like many people I know, I feel that Brad Pitt can be hit or miss. His work in Fight Club seemed right on, although I'm a bigger fan of some of his smaller roles such as his work in 12 Monkeys, Snatch, and another favorite, True Romance (best cameo ever). Although, I must admit I also really liked him in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

There were certain aspects of Benjamin Button that interested me. I liked the idea that the very old looking young Benjamin had to play a toddler, while the very young looking Pitt, had to play a wise, worldly man. This made for some subtle acting that really worked for me.

The movie had to me, a Forrest Gump-like feel, where I experienced this larger than life story through the experiences and the retelling of Benjamin Button's story. Not the silly feel of Gump, but the sense that life is an incredible journey and you never know what comes next.

Kate Blanchet was terrific, as the love of his life, and looked graceful as a dancer - like she'd been doing it her entire life. The other performances were well and good. Fincher did a good job of capturing the essence of each decade that the characters moved through, very subtle details that expressed the change in time. I know Fincher has affection for the 70s due to his work on Zodiac, and later in this movie you feel that he's captured that time in a bottle.

I left the theater being moved, and with that I was pleased.

I did feel the editing could have been a bit tighter, some lingering bits added to the aging theme of the film, but I felt some bits could have been cut. I do feel directors feel they have much more leeway these days as movies well over two hours have become the norm. (I feel there is always plenty of room on the DVD release for added footage, cut scenes, and outtakes).

I'd give it a 7.5 out of 10. My personal favorite scene was the desperate attack of the German submarine by the tugboat crew. An awesome bit of WW II thrown in there - nice.

Attended Clone Wars screening.

Last night I was invited to a screening of Star Wars: The Clone Wars by friend and current SFBC editor, Rome Quezada (thanks, man!). We arrived just in time as the green Lucasfilm logo was upon the big screen and quickly found two empty seats.

Then the action started and it didn't stop until the movie was over. Fun, fun, fun. I kept thinking about my two godsons and how much they would enjoy it (both being around four-years-old). There were Clone troopers, Separatist droids and of course Jedi battle it out scene after scene with the screen illuminated by bright blue and red blaster fire and good old light sabers.

The story is mainly of someone kidnapping Jabba the Hutt's son and each side trying to find and rescue him, realizing the importance of being in the Hutt's favor as they control the Outer Rim territories. There is also a sub-plot of young Anakin taking on a Padawan named Ahsoka. Their relationship is playful as the normally reckless Anakin shifts into the teacher position.

I must admit, when my adult [nerd] sensibilities kicked in, some little things bothered me. Mainly it was the idea that all this activity, battle, etc. occurs on the far off, obscure planet of Tatooine, therefore making it NOT the best secret location for an old Obi-Wan to become a hermit, OR a good locale to hide Luke Skywalker from his father (they didn't even change his name). And I have an entire droids issue, as R2D2 and 3P0 were in many locations that later seemed strange to them...it just doesn't always jive. But that's another story.

If you go in to see this film, looking to have fun, than that is what you will have, because it was just that. This definitely makes me want to go back and watch the Clone Wars cartoons that I mostly missed as well as read up on my Clone Wars comics. And in my eyes, any film that makes someone want to go off and read is a good thing.