All posts by Kev Brock

I'm a musician, singer/songwriter, blogger, writer, poet, bodybuilder, movie lover, music lover, video gamer, history/political buff, conservative/republican, etc. I like to do a lot of things.

Book Review: “A Feast For Crows” by George R.R. Martin

Just last week, I have finished reading the next book of “The Song of Ice and Fire” series, “A Feast For Crows” by George R.R. Martin. Here is my brief review.

Here’s the synopsis… This novel leaves right off from the third book, “A Storm of Swords”. More important characters are killed off from the last book. Jon Snow has become commander of the Night’s Watch in which he is supposed to guard, The Wall. King Stannis Baratheon has come to aid the Wall with him. King Tonmen Lannister now rules Kings Landing under the watchful eye of his Queen mother, Cersei Lannister. Tyrion Lannister, the Imp, has fled the city and disappeared. 

Brienne, the maid of Tarth, goes on a search for the Stark sisters, Arya and Sansa. In this book, there is no Tyrion, Jon Snow or Queen Daenerys because “A Feast for Crows” was taken place in different areas. Plus, George R.R. Martin explained that “A Feast for Crows” is part 1 of the next book “A Dance With Dragons”. George had to split the books in two parts because it would have been way too long. 

A lot of people gave this book negative reviews, but I think this is a very good one. I think the “Song of Ice and Fire” series keeps getting better and better, the more you read. I think “A Feast for Crows” was a pretty thrilling and powerful read. I couldn’t put this one down either. In this book, it seemed that Cersei Lannister is the leading character because she was written the most in this book than any other character.

I read a lot of other reviews of this book and a lot of people were angry that Tyrion Lannister, the midget character wasn’t in this book at all. I am actually glad that George kept Tyrion out of this book. In the last book, Tyrion was being held prisoner by Cersei Lannister. Why? I don’t want to say why ’cause I don’t want to reveal spoilers of what happened from the last book, “A Storm of Swords”. George wanted to keep Tyrion’s disappearance a mystery. Plus, I believe he wanted to give other characters more recognition and introduce newer characters as well.

I loved this book because George takes the shock factor to another level. While Brienne the Maid of Tarth was on a quest to find Arya and Sansa, there will be a surprise here in the story that will take you at the edge of your seat.

This is definitely a different book than the previous three. It is more character driven, and the tone of the book is different as well. Plus the chapters have gotten a lot longer than the previous books. Cersei is a great villain in the books. She’s pretty pissed off and mean as hell in this one but for a good reason. She cares for her family and does her best to protect them like any family would. She does a lot of things in this book that you would get pissed off at. She’s a good villain to hate.

The Brienne, the Maid of Tarth story gets even more interesting in this book, you even feel sorry and sad for her at times. I also liked how George got more into detail with Cersei and Jaime.

In these books, there is no such thing as “good” and “evil”. Remember that. The pacing of this book maybe a little slow, but there are still shockers in this book that will get your head spinning. There are also some very violent and graphic scenes in this book, more violent, than a “Storm of Swords”. It’s mostly the chapters with Brienne that gets violent.

Other than that, this is a great book. If you’re reading the books, you can NOT skip this one. If you skip this book and jump to “Dance With Dragons”, you’ll definitely get lost in the story lines and you won’t understand what’s going on. That’s why you have to read each book in order. You can’t skip anything.

I’m in the middle of reading the new book, “A Dance With Dragons”, and like always it’s a thrilling read, addicting and can’t put it down.

Kev

Correction: The new Jeff Bridges album is his second album, not his first…

The new album Jeff Bridge’s just put out is not his first, it’s actually his second. His first album was called, “Be Here Soon” released in the year 2000. So Jeff Bridges have been doing music for a long while actually. It’s understandable why people may think his new album is his first ’cause his music career is just starting to get known because of that movie, “Crazy Heart”.

Kev

CD Review: Jeff Bridges

So I listened to the new Jeff Bridges album this afternoon while I did my chest workout at home today. Yes, the star of movies such as “Starman”, “TRON” and his most famous role as the Dude in “The Big Lebowski”, finally releases an album after all these years. What took him so long to find out that he had musical talent and to show it to the public? I have no idea, but I’m sure the film, “Crazy Heart” in which he plays a country musician gave him the idea to start a music career of his own.

I would have to say that I was pretty impressed with his debut album. It was actually very good for a country album. Surprisingly enough, Jeff Bridges new album sounds like old school classic country. Stuff that you would hear in the 60’s and 70’s. Most of the album is mostly mellow songs. There maybe like one or two upbeat songs, but they still have this classic sound. I was also impressed that this album has longer guitar solos and most country albums of today don’t have guitar solos.

Let me ask you a question. Do you like old time Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings or even Hank Williams Sr.? Then you would probably love this album. If you’re a country music fan and if you only like that mainstream country pop/rock like Toby Keith or Keith Urban, then you wouldn’t like this album.

Back to Jeff Bridges, it’s not just country music on it. There’s a little bit of everything on the album. Some of it can be rock and some can be a little jazzy. The songs can be a little dark and haunting at times. When Jeff sings, you can really hear the emotion and passion in his vocals. He can really sing good.

Over the years, there have been many actors turned singers like that list I did in this blog before, but I think Jeff is one that actually has real talent. If he wanted to, he could probably quit doing movies and concentrate on his music career. I have this feeling he’s going to do that soon. I’m sure his album will be a huge seller, I predict it will be no. 1 in the Billboard 200 for a few weeks. We’ll see it how the album sells. I’m sure it will do well. I’m sure this album will land him a bunch of nominations for the Country Music Awards as well.

This album is a true country record. The way country music is supposed to sound. Jeff and T. Bone Burnett probably heard all of this mainstream country pop/rock crap and thought to themselves, “This isn’t real country music, we gotta make a real country album”. And they did.

Even if you’re not a country fan, I suggest you listen to this album. You don’t even have to be a country fan just to listen to the Dude sing, because it’s fuckin’ awesome. He’ll probably concentrate on his movie career more than music, but who knows, maybe he will retire movies for music. I’d love to see him go on tour ’cause I would see The Dude in concert for sure.

Kev

Report: Liam Gallagher suing his own brother for lies about Oasis break up…

Wow, these two are still fighting like little 12 year olds. Oasis broke up last year, Liam and Noel Gallagher are still fighting publicly through the press. I’m on neither side ’cause both of these guys are assholes. Liam finally can’t take anymore bullshit and he’s planning on suing Noel, for lies about the band breakup.

Read more on it, here.

I’ve heard the new music of Liam’s new band, Beady Eye and been hearing new music by Noel’s solo stuff as well. Both sound exactly like Oasis, it all sounds the same to me. Both of their singing voices sound the same, it’s weird.

I used to love Oasis, but I think they’re losing my respect. They’re a couple of unprofessional egotists who suffer delusions of grandeur. Both are not innocent. They’re both acting like idiots. Liam’s suing Noel for lies about the breakup? Well I’m pretty sure Liam told his share of lies as well.

I’m sure this lawsuit won’t even land in court the judge is going to look at this and say, “Geee, what a couple of a 12 year olds.”

Kev

 

Cool Video: Danny Devito finally gets his star for the Hollywood Walk of Fame…

I’ve always admired Danny Devito as an actor, director and one funny ass, comedian. He’s a great guy who treated his career in a positive note. He had a very successful career and he finally gets the respect he deserves. Danny Devito finally gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He has done it all in the movie business. He doesn’t just do comedy, he can also do a serious drama role and he’s even starred in several action movies.

Some of my favorite films he have starred in are: “Throw Momma From the Train”, “Twins”, “The War of the Roses”, “Batman: Returns”, “Hoffa”, “L.A. Confidential”, “The Virgin Suicides”, “Man on the Moon”, “Heist”, “Death To Smoochy”, and I even enjoyed “Matilda” even though he directed that film and not star.

Danny is one talented man and this is well deserved. Congrats Danny!

Like I said, I’ll be visiting Los Angeles to visit family at the end of Oct. So I will probably check out the Walk of Fame. Of course, I will bring my video camera and document my Hollywood vacation. Can’t wait.

Kev

BREAKING NEWS: “The West Memphis Three” freed from prison after 18 years…

After 18 long years in  prison, murder suspects: Damien Echols, Jesse Misskelley Jr., and Jason Baldwin known as, “The West Memphis Three” were free from prison, after the judge accepted their plea for their release. On May 5th, 1993, the three suspects murdered three boys, but they maintained their innocence and said they didn’t do it ever since. The reason this story relates to music is because these guys wore all black and were big fans of heavy metal music.

Read more on the story, here.

Well, after 18 years in prison, and now they’re on the outside, they’ll have to get used to freedom. They won’t be used to it, trust me. It’s very difficult for people getting out of prison after so many years, and then they have to re-build their lives. It’s going to be a long and difficult journey to get their lives back together.

So the question do you have to ask is this. Do I agree with them being let out?

No. I don’t agree with it. It’s not justice for their victims and their families. Who knows they’ll do it again after this. I don’t trust them being out.

A lot of people would think it’s great news and maybe exciting, but honestly, I find it pretty scary as hell. If I was part of their victim’s families, I would have been outraged as hell.

Read the full story on the “West Memphis Three” case here at wikipedia.

Kev

BREAKING NEWS: Ridley Scott confirms another “Blade Runner” movie but doesn’t yet say if it’s a prequel or a sequel…

Major movie news hit the web hard today. Since Ridley Scott is working on the new Alien movie, “Prometheus”, Ridley decided to sign on to direct & produce another installment to, “Blade Runner”. The 1982 science fiction film that starred, Harrison Ford.

There is no word on whether this new “Blade Runner” film, will be a prequel or a sequel. It is also not known if Harrison Ford will reprise his role as, Rick Deckard.

Deadline, reports.

I always thought there was more of a story to tell with, “Blade Runner”. It’s one of my favorite films of all times. Is it a good idea for Harrison to return though? If they make it a sequel for him to return. They could also hire a young actor to play a young Rick Deckard for the prequel. Not sure what Ridley’s plans are yet, but it certainly deserves another film. Love this movie!

Kev

 

Shopping today…

At the mall today, I did pick up a few things. Here’s what I picked up…

– Dexter “Season 5” on DVD

– The new Jeff Bridges album

– “The Big Lebowski” Limited Edition Blu Ray

– “Wrestling With Hulk” novel by Linda Hogan

“The Big Lebowski” Blu Ray was on sale for a good price, so I couldn’t say no to that.

As for the Linda Hogan book “Wrestling With Hulk”, I’ve been wanting to read it for a long while, but I haven’t gotten around to buying it yet. She bashes Hulk Hogan throughout most of that book and I’m just curious of what she has to say in it. Plus, I find her kind of hot in a weird kind of way. Anybody that hates Hulk Hogan gets my support. I can’t start reading the book yet though, there are several other books I need to catch up on.

I’m going to take a break from watching “24” on Netflix and start watching “Dexter – Season 5” on DVD this weekend. I have never seen “Season 5” of Dexter and need to catch up with the rest of the show before Season 6 gets here.

Kev

Film Review: Rise of the Planets of the Apes

Starring: James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow

Directed by: Rupert Wyatt

Today, I finally decided to go see the film, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”. This film is not a prequel, a sequel nor a remake. It’s a complete re-boot. It tells a whole new original story of the “Planet of the Apes” franchise, which takes place in our current time.

Here is my review…

Plot/synopsis: This film is taken place in San Francisco. It tells a story of a young scientist named, Will Rodman (James Franco) who worked on a science experiment that will cure Alzheimer’s disease. Will’s father, Charles Rodman (John Lithgow) has Alzheimer’s and he wants to make his father better.

To test out the experiment, they use chimpanzees. The Alzheimer’s virus mutates the chimpanzees, which makes the animals more human. They use a female chimpanzee named, “Bright Eyes” for testing, but she is killed after she disrupts a board meeting because she felt her baby chimp is threatened. Instead they use her baby chimp for testing and Will Rodman keeps the baby chimp. He named the baby chimp, Caesar. Later, Caesar escapes from the primate facility where he is being kept. Caesar rescues the other apes and the apes decide to take over San Francisco. 

I was a little worried that this film was going to suck, but to my surprise. This turned out to be an excellent film. I believe this film was inspired from the old “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” because both of these films are very similar, although it wasn’t meant to be a remake.

I was impressed on how realistic “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” was. They did a great job on making apes being more believable that they can be more human. This film will make you realize that apes do have emotions and feelings like humans do. It’s not just an action movie, it’s got a serious story to tell too. This film wants people to believe that apes can be a part of this world as well.

The animated character of Caesar who is voiced by Andy Serkis, is one of the best movie characters in a long time. I have a feeling that Andy Serkis could get Oscar nominated for this role. Andy Serkis is most famous for his role as Gollum for the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

I also think there is a possibility that John Lithgow could get an Oscar nomination nod for Best Supporting Actor. As predicted, Lithgow killed it with his acting in this movie. It was nice to see him on the big screen again because he haven’t had a live action big screen movie in a long while. He’s been doing so much TV work and animated films as of late.

When you watch the apes in this movie, they want you to see they have different emotions. They can be funny, lovable, angry, evil, sad, etc.

I thought Freida Pinto was smoking hot in this film. James Franco did an okay job, but I wished they picked a better male lead with acting talent. Somebody that can really get you into the film.

I also had a blast with the action scenes. The Golden Gate Bridge scene at the end was pretty amazing.

My only complaint is that I wish the film was a lot longer. It should have been a good 2 and a half hours long. I thought there was more of a story to tell and they did kind of leave open for a sequel, of course. I hope they do a new “Planet of the  Apes” film where it’s taken place in New York City so they can explain the Statue of Liberty thing at the end of the original movie, that would take this franchise to an interesting turn.

In the theater I was in, I was surprised on how many old people were in there to see the film. The audience was mostly people around 50 – 80 years of age. I guess all the old timers were big fans of the original films with Charlton Heston and this new film brings back memories to those.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” was a great homage to the original films. I loved it!

Kev

Score for “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” = **** (4 stars as in “Excellent”)

Thought: I think it’s wrong to kick KISS off the Michael Jackson tribute concert…

Angry fans were outraged that KISS were booked for the Oct. 8th Michael Jackson concert in Wales. The promoters heard, and just like that, they kicked the band off the lineup. The reason? Gene Simmons agreed that Michael Jackson was a pedophile and child molester years ago.

The band haven’t responded to being kicked off the concert yet, but I’m sure they will have something to say about it soon.

Read the full story, here.

In my opinion, the promoters didn’t have to boot KISS off the show just because fans didn’t want them on. What Gene said about Michael was years ago. If Gene agreed to sign up to play the show with KISS, then I’m sure he had a change of heart with Michael Jackson now. The promoters claim they did it because they wanted to do justice to Michael’s memory with this tribute.

Well, the reality is, they just disrespected Michael’s honor just by booting KISS off the show. Michael have always been a huge fan of KISS. I’m pretty sure M.J. would have wanted them on the concert if he was still alive right now. They need KISS for the show.

On top of that, Gene isn’t the only person in the world who thinks M.J. was a pedophile. There are plenty of people who think of M.J. the same way.

Kev