Permutation City Blog

A enjoyable little read. It has an oddly clipped delivery common to all the Narnian tales, events move very rapidly with little description. It reminds me of The Brothers Grim fairy tales.

This was an enjoyable blockbuster. A satisfactory mix of action, special effects, and story. It deviated from the book to get more action and personal conflict which was fine but also added romance which seemed out of place.

This is a curious tale from 1863 in which a young chimney sweep is turned into a 'water baby'. It's a morality tale about doing unto others as you would have other do to you.

This Hollywood blockbuster certainly had a lot of spectical but failed to be spectacular. There were explosions, car chases, stunts, and a lot of silly shooting. In some places it had overtones of The Matrix but with then, disappointingly, they seemed to forget it. It was over the top without being over the top enough. While it filled my time I wouldn't rate it much more than that.

I was inspired to read this after watching Finding Neverland. I can see this being a good childrens book but it didn't quite do it for me. Maybe I should go and watch the Disney film.

A random free "chick" book came into my hands so I gave it a go. This one was different from the standard plot line of a woman choosing between two men. Here a woman went off to find herself and meets a series of men before encountering the right one.

A story about the changing ways of man as he spreads out across the stars. This book didn't grab me. It's a collection of stories from the same universe written in the 1970s and had a somewhat old fashioned feel. However I did enjoy the last story about a planet of punishment where the worst criminals were sent.

I listened to an unabridged reading of this on the radio. I don't think I've read this before although I'm sure I've seen the TV adaptation. I though both the reading and the story were excellent. I was very easy to listen to several episodes in a row. I noticed myself being frustrated when Bill's progress was blocked. In the end I wish it could have continued.

I don't expect much from most superhero movies and the last film attempt with the Hulk had left no impression with me. When the opening credits were over I'd decided this film was different. Normally character's origin story takes a fair chunk of the first film but here it was already over in less than five minutes. Many superheroes have problems with their power at the beginning but not many run away from it so affectively as Bruce Banner. The special effects are good... accept when it comes to the Hulk himself where they still haven't managed to get it quite right. There are a number of big fight scenes and explosions but if that's what you're looking for they might be a bit spaced out. I really enjoyed the first half, maybe two thirds of the film, and then it seemed to descend into a typical Hollywood cliche.