Book - The Ruins by Scott Smith

I saw the movie for this a few years back and then recently came in contact with the book. I highly enjoyed the movie when I had seen it in theaters so I knew I would like the book even more. The more and more I got through the book, the more and more I noticed how much changed when turning it into the movie. Here are some BIG noticeable differences:

Movie: Amy gets out alive and gets away to freedom.
Book: Amy dies first and is choked by the vine in the middle of the night.

Movie: Pablo gets shot in the head as soon as they get to the ruins.
Book: Pablo falls down and breaks his back/Gets his legs eaten by the vine/Gets choked by the vine and dies.

Movie: Matheus falls and breaks his back/Gets his legs eaten by the vine/Gets choked by the vine and dies.
Book: Matheus gets stabbed in the heart by Eric.

Movie: Stacy goes down the well and cuts her knee. She eventually goes crazy trying to cut the vine out of her body and ends up killing Eric.
Book: Stacy is the last one and kills herself with the knife. She is uninjured up until this point.

Movie: Jeff carries Amy to the bottom of the hill and distracts the Mayans while she gets away. He is killed with arrows by the Mayans.
Book: Jeff tries to make a run for it while it is dark and raining and is killed by arrows from the Mayans.

Movie: Eric gets stabbed by Stacy and dies. He is uninjured up until this point.
Book: Eric goes down the well and cuts his knee. He eventually goes crazy trying to cut the vine out of his body and ends up killing Matheus on accident.


I just don't understand why they completely flopped everyone's positions in the book? Granted it was a good movie, but it might have been even better had they just stuck with the storyline.

I give this book a 4/5 for being a "I can't put this down" kind of book:

Movie - The Possession

I am growing rather partial to possession type movies and this one was right up my alley. I didn't think at first that it would be a possession movie, but then it snuck up on me and amazed me with a great movie. This has to be one of the best possession type movies I have seen in a long time. If you like these times of movies, I suggest that you go because this one was really good. I highly enjoyed this movie and the detail and horror was terrific.




I give this movie a 4/5 stars for the great portrayal of a demon possession.

God of War - Ghost of Sparta

I was absolutely hungry for more Kratos blood and gore and this was just what I needed to satisfy it. I thought I would die after beating the trilogy because I thought that that would be the absolute end. I had totally forgotten about the two PSP games that were re-released for PS3. I highly enjoyed this game. It stayed true to the other games and filled in a few gaps that were left from the other games. You also got to meet parts of Kratos's family which were not offered in the other games. His wife and child were mentioned, but nothing regarding his actual blood family. This was a good game and it has great replay value.


Deimos

Kratos's mother

As always, God of War has never let me down. It deserves the 4/5 stars I am giving it:

Video Games - Splatterhouse

I finally got to try out this game after having it in my posession for quite some time. I have to say that I highly enjoyed every aspect of this game. It wasn't a long game and wasn't too entirely difficult to complete. The replay value is phenomenal and the trophies are not too incredibly difficult to obtain. I plan on going back in and getting them all once I've ventured through a few more games.  I did not know that this was a three part series for earlier systems. I had never heard of this game until it came out for the PS3. I must say that after attempting to play the older versions that I am amazed at how much technology has progressed throughout the years.



I rate this game a 5 out of 5 stars for epic awesomeness!

Movie - Splice

This has to be one of the weirdest movies I have ever seen in my entire life. Although at first I wanted the beast to die, I started feeling sorry for it as the movie went on. This movie was so crazy! The last 20 minutes turned the entire movie upside down and threw me into a crazy emotional rollercoaster. I did not expect any of this movie at all and it was certainly a good watch.


I give this movie a three out of five for sheer insanity. It only got a three because although it was a good movie, it wasn't something I would say that I absolutely LOVED.

Video Game - Silent Hill Downpour

This has to be the best Silent Hill as of yet. I have played three of them so far besides this one and I have to say that I am absolutely in love with this one. The graphics have absolutely been stepped up a few notches along with the gameplay. I like that there are a lot more things to do and more exploring to do. I think if there is a downside to the game it would be when the alternate universe ball is chasing you around and also the map which is sometimes hard to navigate. Other than those things I see no major issue with this game. I hope that the next ones to come are just as good.


I give this a four out of five because it has climbed to one of my favorite games.

Movie - The Dark Knight Rises

I got to see this movie in the omnimax theater at the Carnegie Science Center. Though I do not think this was as good as the last one, I thought it still came out pretty awesome. It was kind of interesting to see the enemies you don't usually see very often in Batman films or episodes on tv as the main ones. Bane and Rash Al Ghul were good choices. I think my favorite part of this movie was the fact that it was made in downtown Pittsburgh. It was really great seeing the sites I see everyday on the big screen. Depite the shooting during this movie, I would still go watch this again. My heart goes out to all of those victims.


I give this movie a four out of five for being such a great action film.

Movie - The Fourth Kind

Although I did not want to see this movie, it was insisted that I watch it. I'd like to say that I enjoyed it, but at the same time it has me thinking in a way I wish that I never would. I feel now that my mind has been opened up within a new region that I never knew existed. Part of me wants to research to see if this is a real occurrence and the other part of me is scared to death that anything of the sort could ever even exist. My mind is reeling thinking of what could be and what is real in this world. I like to go by hard facts rather than speculation and I can see how someone like this woman could be deemed as insane over such things as it is much easier to persuade someone that another person is crazy rather than trying to convince them that they are right in saying that something from another planet has come in contact with them. Although I don't want to admit it, I am going to further research such things in the future. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but it will happen in time. I'm not feeling like myself after watching this and I'm not sure if I like that or not... Regardless... I must say that the movie was very enlightening and has started turning the wheels in my mind that have been asleep for a very long time. Whether or not this is a good or bad thing, I have not decided. Either way, I will rate the movie.

 


I have given this a four out of five stars for being a very detailed and interesting documentary. I highly enjoy documentaries and I feel this one was very professionally done.

Book - Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon

I must say that I am highly impressed with how this book developed as I read. The beginning intro was so hard to get through as it was very wordy and boring, but I pressed through (for about six months I might add). I am glad I took the time to read through the entire book as it is unlike anything I have ever read before. I would closely assemble this book with the movie "The Stand" as it has similar pretences. There is a good side fighting an evil side after the world has been cleansed by either disease or disaster. The good side finds their leader and the bad side finds their leader and they meet in the middle. Though the book was very long, I would recommend it to anyone who is down for a challenge. Once I hit the center of the book, I found that I absolutely could not put it down and would not be satisfied until my mind devoured the last page. If you love a good book, I encourage you to pick this one up.

Movie - The Woman In Black

Let me start off by saying DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. The beginning had some promise and the story line was so-so, but the ending (which is supposed to keep people on the edge of their seat) was actually pretty boring and I was highly disappointed by this movie. Let's first off say that the guy who played Harry Potter was a bad choice for this movie. Not only are people looking at him as an 11 year old boy who does magic, but he also looks like he's 17 in this movie and it's a little hard to believe he has a four year old son. I was disappointed in this movie and would not watch it again.


I give this movie two out of five stars for meager entertainment.