Astérix - Le Domaine des Dieux

On Wednesday night we watched "Astérix - Le Domaine des Dieux."  It has some silly boring sequences but in general is true to the comics in satire, tone, and deep character development.  I like the plot and story arc.  It is worth sitting through if you have young, french-speaking children.  The prolonged climax and end are fantastic. 3/5 stars.

Whoami No System is Safe

On Tuesday night we watched "Whoami."  It is much better than it looks from the trailer.  We enjoyed it -- 3/5 stars.

The Kingsman Secret Service

Tonight we watched "Kingsman the secret service," another campy, over-the-top, James Bond satire with Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth, and Michael Cain (among others).  It was fun and we enjoyed the silly satire.  The acting was weak; the plot was crap.  But none of that matters.  3/5 stars.  Enjoy it for what it is.

Revival

During the Math Olympiad I read Stephen King's Revival.  It is fantastically crafted.  The characters come alive; the plot is tight as a drum.  The mystery and foreshadow draw you in.  The language is just wonderful.  Cool homages to H.P. Lovecraft and others.

I really dislike the horror genre but Stephen King is a great writer.  The occult crap during the story is easily ignored; but the climax and "big reveal" at the end was silly and pushed me out of the story. Even so I give it 4/5 stars and highly recommend it.

The Eichmann Show

Tonight we watched this film about the producer and director of the live tv documentary that broadcast the Eichmann trial.  It contained a lot of original footage: 3/5 stars -- worth watching.

Math Olympiad

Today (Saturday, 2 May 2015) we attended the Math Olympiad for 5th and 6th graders in Kent, WA.  Up at 05:30, long drive, fun math team problems.

A zero from the left, a zero from the right, let’s go math team! Fight, fight, fight!

 

Go, International School Super Sigmas!

Judas Unchained

I started listening to an unabridged (47 hour) audio version of this book since I enjoyed Hamilton’s first series.  It was really boring and I put it down.  2/5 stars.

Children of Men by P.D. James

I disliked the film but I enjoyed this book a lot.  The writing is superb.  The characters are delightful, multi-dimensional, and compelling.  The workable plot almost doesn’t matter.  Her judgments about our society (mostly British sensibilities) at the end of the 20th century and in modern day UK are sharp and spot-on.  4/5 stars!

The Cobbler

Sunday 4/26 we watched the Adam Sandler movie

It was charming and good, despite the awful ending  3/5 stars

Snow White