A Lion Among Men

I finished Greg McGuire's fourth book in his "Wicked" stories in his own Oz universe.  I find the magic system inconsistent and unsatisfying. I shall not read future installments.  The second book was the best.  2 out of 5 stars.

Focus

. . . is slightly better than the terrible reviews; 3/5 stars.  Not good; barely worth watching.

Echopraxia

Just

This one is just as good as "Blindsight." It's a fantastic story with amazing metaphysics, hard science, epic (operatic) plots and character arcs. Awesome!!  5 out of 5 stars.

Iron Sky

based on recommendations from people at work we watched "Iron Sky."  It was as bad as the reviews and we are sorry we wasted the time. 1/5 stars.

Rip Off

loved this collection of short stories.  3/5 stars.

50 Shades of Grey

It was as bad as I expected.  2/5 stars

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.