What was the last movie you've seen?

[Luke]

I don't think you remember the book right.

You're right.

I often re-write books in my mind without realizing it. ("It's what I read, not what was written!"-Miss Piggy)

So, in my weird brain Grant and his would be lover are trapped in a lab, rolling one egg back and forward to distract the raptors. The suspense was as palpable as when the kids are stuck in the kitchen.

[Fragems]

Just don't watch JP2 after reading JP.

Whats wrong with JP2? If anything it is more believable then the book which has dinos with Predator style camo, another set of kids, and people chasing T-Rexs on bicycles . Plus Malcom is present in the Lost World book as well which is crazy given the events of JP, but Chricton explains it away . Really the books are just as entertaining as the movies and they are pretty different since a lot of characters got removed or changed up significantly by the movies. Hell the Lost World movie is almost completely different then the book.

[Ack]

Just don't watch JP2 after reading JP.

Whats wrong with JP2? If anything it is more believable then the book which has dinos with Predator style camo, another set of kids, and people chasing T-Rexs on bicycles . Plus Malcom is present in the Lost World book as well which is crazy given the events of JP, but Chricton explains it away . Really the books are just as entertaining as the movies and they are pretty different since a lot of characters got removed or changed up significantly by the movies. Hell the Lost World movie is almost completely different then the book.

Unfortunately The Lost World is where Crichton also goes downhill in his writing. Airframe was well done, but Timeline felt like a low point, and Prey, State of Fear, and Next just couldn't recapture the magic of his earlier run. I'm also slowly trying to get around to reading the books he published under pen names, but even the one of those that I have read, A Case of Need, was much better than everything released from 1995 or later.

[Luke]

Fantastic 4 Teaser

[J T]

Keanu Reeves directed and co-starred in a martial arts movie, and it's actually pretty good! I didn't know this was going to be a fighting movie when I watched it. I was expecting more of the slowed down form of Tai Chi, but that is just a slowed down form of martial arts. This film is about the actual fighting application of Tai Chi. The fight scenes are where the movie really shines as it has long takes of expertly choreographed fighting, rather than the typical crap nowadays that tends to just have lots of editing, weird closeups, and shaky cam effects. It's nice to just have a shot of both fighters where you actually watch the guys do their thing for fairly long stretches at a time. The fights are much more realistic and exciting as a result.

The story is serviceable, though nothing that stands out too much. It's your typical underground fighting tournament story sprinkled with bits of eastern philosophy and chi mysticism. I wish a little bit of this stuff was more fleshed out and central to the story. There was one part that I thought was cool where his enemy says to him "You're nothing!" as an insult, but he repeats "I am nothing" like a statement of Buddhism, meditates for a brief moment, and then (of course) kicks serious ass.

[Fragems]

Pretty awesome movie from Lucasfilm that I had never heard of before. While I didn't care much for Val Kilmer everything else in the film was awesome. They did a really good job with the fantasy setting and I loved watching the older special effects. Really miss the good old days before everyone started whoring themselves to CGI . Also for once somebody used little people for dwarfs as well which was pretty awesome.

[dsheinem]

Unfortunately The Lost World is where Crichton also goes downhill in his writing. Airframe was well done, but Timeline felt like a low point, and Prey, State of Fear, and Next just couldn't recapture the magic of his earlier run. I'm also slowly trying to get around to reading the books he published under pen names, but even the one of those that I have read, A Case of Need, was much better than everything released from 1995 or later.

I'd concur with this to a point, but I think that even his later, lesser books are still pretty good. I still need to read Next, but I thought State of Fear and Prey were both pretty fun.

I seem to recall that you read but didn't like Pirate Latitudes? Maybe that was someone else. I quite enjoyed that one, and would put it in my top 10 or so Crichton novels.

I also liked Timeline, though...

[Ack]

I'd concur with this to a point, but I think that even his later, lesser books are still pretty good. I still need to read Next, but I thought State of Fear and Prey were both pretty fun.

I seem to recall that you read but didn't like Pirate Latitudes? Maybe that was someone else. I quite enjoyed that one, and would put it in my top 10 or so Crichton novels.

I also liked Timeline, though...

I'm a huge Crichton fan, so I firmly believe that Crichton at his worst is still better than many writers at their best. But for me, Timeline, Prey, State of Fear, and Next just couldn't match the quality works like of The Andromeda Strain, Eaters of the Dead, Jurassic Park, Rising Sun, The Terminal Man, The Great Train Robbery, or Congo.

The issue I had with Pirate Latitudes is that it was unfinished. He'd been working on it since the 1970s but never reached the point where it was ready, so it feels rushed and unpolished as a result. I'm glad it's out there as a fan, but I also recognize that it's not the same quality since he never got to do his final edits. I have yet to read Micro and am unsure if I'll have the same opinion.

I would really recommend A Case of Need if you haven't read it, Ds.

[dsheinem]

Yup, I'm a big fan and have read all of those and agree w/you on the quality split. I think we're on the same page.

I've read A Case of Need. Love it. I've not read Binary or the other (lesser?) psudeonym books. Have you?

[Ack]

No, unfortunately, A Case of Need is the only one of the pen name books of his that I've read. Of all of them, Binary is the one that interests me the most. Supposedly a lot of his John Lange books were republished in the last two years though.