The third Spider-Man movie wasn't so bad after all!

For some reason I'd memorized it as the movie that ultimately disrupted the original trilogy. The one that threw everything into disarray and chaos. The one that packed in too many villains, and skewed the original character progression and continuity, and basically just put in so much of everything all at once that it became impossible to make a sequel.

And maybe all of that is true - the director did say multiple times that the third movie was a big mistake, and Venom in particular, but after all's said and done (and I've watched the movie), I'm still positively surprised. It wasn't bad at all. The Sandman (played by Thomas Haden Church) is as memorable as the vicious soul-poisoning Venom is, and I'm happy to see the New Goblin come around too. Their roles interweave flawlessly, though both Eddie Brock and Gwen Stacey have disappointingly short-lived appearances, and though the black Spider-Man is pretty cool at first, the style of the movie follows suite, and it's not really the Spider-Man style. J. Jonah Jameson contributes most of the comedy this time, not Toby; his life's pretty sad. There are some good scenes, like the one at the restaurant, but it all feels a bit fragmented and inconsistent, for him as well as the others.

It wouldn't have been wrong to delve into each character a bit more, on Eddie in particular - who wouldn't have had a future after this even if they did make a sequel. Things happen fast, and though that's the kind of world we live in, and quick plot progression's often a much appreciated action-intensifier in any good movie, a slower pace would've let us immerse ourselves a bit more. To grow with the characters. To share in their grieving, and hate, and love, and experience the story like the previous two. It's a fast-paced and ferocious movie in it's own accord, but it doesn't really feel like the Spider-Man pace anymore... though it all falls back in place at the ending. I just wonder what happened to the Sandman. Did he get the money? Did he save his daughter?

I don't mind a bit less cheesy and romantic, but this could have been more. Maybe a longer movie. Maybe two. It's a strong action movie in its own accord, but not as complete as the previous.

 rated 3/5: not bad

AKA Bus 675

It reminded me of Speed, though not quite as intense, and with a main character on the wrong side of the law instead of the right one. He's played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, whom you might recognize most from his recent appearance as Negan in The Walking Dead... or a bunch of other movies and shows. He's one of those nameless actors I think I've seen here and there, in other movies, but never remembered.

With his latter TV show appearance that's all changed though. Suddenly, for some reason he's a name imprinted in my mind, and with his charming Walking Dead personality it's strange to see him play a not-entirely-evil guy, though he does it well.

He has good company of both Dave Bautista and Robert De Niro too - one as a fellow villain, and the other his main adversary. Gina Carano plays a cop, though I feel her role could've been bigger/better. I expected more fight from her, though she still has her trademark attitude. It's a suspenseful movie overall, but with reluctantly little actual action, and when there is it's mostly in the form of firepower, not fists.

It's an interesting take on the classic hijacking drama though, which only happens because a heist goes wrong, and the perpetraitors are forced to take a city bus hostage. Both planning for - and the actual heist, are filmed as one, which is a nice and new touch compared to similar movies. It's a well-acted, tense and twisted (with twists, that is) action movie that doesn't really go beyond the norm... but does have a few memorable moments and surprises up its sleeve.

If you're looking for a good action thriller, no more no less, here's one.

 rated 3/5: not bad

Seems like a post amount worth posting about! :) Demonic, like how I just started playing DOOM. With my alias in tune. An amount to count... every new moon. 7000! Up soon.

Remember that commercial stunt JCVD pulled with Volvo a few years back? Not a bad split-off. :)

Three musicalish posts, three techish posts, three quote rations, three overdue reviews, and I just ordered some DDR3 RAM to upgrade my gaming computer. Also here's three recent albums on YT (by people I follow).

It's starting to fall into place. I'm slowly settling in(to the New Year), and though I was also planning on posting three music reviews, three anime reviews, three game reviews and three other posts too before I posted this... I'm still pretty happy with the daily does. Not thinking, just doing - that's the secret. Getting up before lunch is another secret. And this post is just slightly delayed, right? Just a couple of days. Just one day and one morning. Just one day and barely a night of sleep. Just one of those three, btw - whichever you prefer. No need to add up the times. That's just how these things are phrased. I'm feeling positive today. And efficient. Abrupt-like. Short sentences. Period. I'm back on D-Vitamin supplements too. Maybe that's the third secret.

Week 3 has been a good week overall. I've bought two packs of 24 vanilla popsicles each at just one dollar a piece, on two occasions. Yes that is one dollar for each pack. Organic. Bourbon vanilla. Real cream. No glucose shit. Insane price for quality ice cream. Less than a dollar per liter. If it wasn't a train ride away (on the way from work), from home I'd probably have filled the freezer, and the ones I did buy are disappearing at an alarming rate at home. Too much ice cream. Overall way too much sweet stuff lately. I apparently gained 10 kg this Christmas. Which is too much. Not all at once, but it all amounts quicker than you might realize if you don't get in some serious exercise sessions amidst all that good food. Time to make it like a trend: a passing fat.

Speaking of food: the whole family got together for an after-work dinner at Sally & Systrar this Wednesday, when my brother was in Stockholm for the day. Great food. Great visit. Real lifter of spirits. I took a shopping tour the day after, and watched a movie with a buddy (Top Secret! I mean that's the name of the movie), and went shopping both days of the weekend too. Tis been a rush. I've also started playing games again, which I shouldn't because I really don't have the time, and started reading Death Note, which is better than expected. I expect I might plow through most of the remaining books this week.

In computer news I've switched out my recently upgraded 5GB to 8GB (four identical 400MHz 2GB DDR2 - brand unremembered). I probably did something wrong during the upgrade, because right after the switch the computer wailed as soon as I turned it on. Panic. Calm. I took out the RAM and put it back in again, two at a time... and they all worked. No problems at all. Maybe one was loose. Maybe a cable was hanging over the mobo. I really don't know yo. I'm just happy it worked out.

Btw, ever considered following half an onion on Twitter? And if you're looking for last week's weekly post, here you go. That's all for now. I'm off to play some DOOM before a new day's nigh. Times fly.

CDB Updates:

• Minor blog edits; fixes.

Your purpose in life is to find your purpose.

Though I hear Buddha didn't really say this, it still seems purposeful.