FIFTY SHADES OF GREY by E L James

No book has enjoyed as much popularity or stirred such controversy in the past few years as Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James. Beginning as online Twilight fanfiction, Fifty Shades of Grey (first in a trilogy; it continues in Fifty Shades Darker and concludes with Fifty Shades Freed) is essentially a kinky take on the traditional romance novel.

Anastasia "Ana" Steele is a college student on the verge of graduation. When her roommate Kate Kavanagh is sick, Ana helps her out by interviewing entrepreneur Christian Grey. Christian is rich, handsome, powerful, self-assured, and leaves Ana completely flustered. Apparently she has a similar effect on him, as he begins courting her, from giving her lavish gifts (she mentions she's into literature; he sends her a first-edition Tess of the D'Urbervilles, worth about $14,000) to flying her to exotic restaurants to exchanging emails (on the state-of-the-art, not-yet-released laptop he gives her, of course).

OCEAN'S ELEVEN dvd

Hollywood loves a good heist caper, and where better to have a high-stakes, high-reward caper than Las Vegas? Ocean's Eleven, the remake of the Rat Pack showcase film, delivers a tremendous amount of style and planning in the city devoted to risk and reward.

At the film's opening, Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is out on parole -- and ready for some big action. After meeting up with his buddy Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), Danny reveals his big plan: rob three casinos -- the Bellagio, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand -- in one night, walking away with $150 million in cash. The three all happen to be owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) in this twist on the classic gambling movie.

As you can imagine, such a big feat requires both a big plan and a big team. Bankrolled by Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould), Danny and Rusty assemble an eleven-man team, with skills as varied as computer hacking, gymnastics, pickpocketing and grifting. (The ensemble for the supporting cast is an impressive collection of acting talent, including Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, and Carl Reiner.) They stake out their target (which holds the money for the three casinos), make their plans, and get ready for the big score.

United Stats of America

Much of what I do is based upon stats, and knowing them at my fingertips.  For example, 10% of appendicitis has a normal white count, and 50% of auto accidents have alcohol involved.  Or a running joke in medicine is that 85% of statistics are made up on the spot.  Anyway, I think you get the point.

A new show on the History Channel is the United Stats of America.  The idea is to come up with a question, and then get some opinions from folks on the street, and then to build an episode around what the real stats are on the item in question.

Apricorn Aegis Padlock 3.0

For portable storage needs, a USB flash drive on a keyring is a constant companion these days. However, there are two weaknesses to this ubiquitous device. The first is that the capacity is limited, and the second is that very few are secure in any way. In other words, when it is time to do some serious data moving, in a safe fashion, then the Aegis Padlock 3.0 becomes the right tool for the job.

This latest Padlock updates the line to the latest in portable hard drives. The Aegis Padlock now has a 1 terabyte (TB) capacity, which means it will be large enough to backup most system drives out there... with room to spare. The other is that the USB is now the faster 3.0 standard that we should start seeing in more systems soon.

DARK SHADOWS

A supernatural soap opera may sound like a creation of Tim Burton, but the new movie Dark Shadows is his take on the television soap opera of vampires, witches, and ghosts. And despite some camp, the movie may be too close to the original.

ZOMBIE DICE 2: DOUBLE FEATURE

The dice game Zombie Dice is a simple, fun game where the players are zombies, rolling special dice to try to eat brains (and win), see a target flee (not good), or get blasted with a shotgun (bad). So what more could you want? How about two dice representing Hollywood heroes? And one that's Santa Claus? Zombie Dice 2: Double Feature adds three new dice -- and three new ways of playing with them -- to the pursuit of brrrrrrainsssssss...

As one might expect, the Hollywood dice are tougher, while Santa provides gift. The Hunk (black die with white images) has the following sides: 2 feet (to run away), 2 shotguns, 1 double shotgun (which equals two blasts), and 1 double brain (double points). The Hottie (black die with pink images) has these sides: 3 feet, 2 shotguns, and 1 brain. What's worse (for you, not for your intended meals), they can rescue each other: If you scored brains from the Hunk or the Hottie and the other die rolls shotguns, the die that had scored gets put back in the cup. So not only are these two harder to kill, but they're harder to keep.

As for Saint Nick, he's surprisingly generous to the zombies out to kill him. His die sides are: 1 brain, 1 shotgun, 1 feet, 1 double brain -- and two sides with gifts. If you roll the Energy Drink, you're fast -- and any green feet that are rolled for the rest of your turn are turned into brains. And if you roll the Helmet, you're tough and require four shotgun blasts to kill this turn.

These special dice replace certain regular Zombie Dice dice depending on the scenario: Big Summer Action Movie has the Hunk and Hottie; Santa Claus Meets the Zombies has Santa; and The Direct-to-Video Sequel has all three new dice (and they can all rescue each other). Much like the core game, Zombie Dice 2 is simple, oddly twisted, and fun to play. Adding only one-to-three dice means they won't come up every round but will almost certainly appear a few times during a game. They provide bigger rewards, but the Hollywood heroes also pose greater threats. And the new dice (and rules for them) fit nicely in the original Zombie Dice cup.

Zombie Dice 2: Double Feature is a fun, easy-to-learn addition to a fun, easy-to-learn game.

Overall grade: B
Reviewed by James Lynch

Carrie Underwood, BLOWN AWAY

It's time for some new popular country music with Blown Away, the fourth album from American Idol winner Carrie Underwood. This album features the singer's mix of vocal talent and earnest -- if sometimes cliched -- lyrics, plus a surprising dark side.

While Blown Away's first single "Good Girl" is the same sort of this-man-is-scum anthem as Underwood has done plenty of times (from "Before He Cheats" to "Cowboy Casanova"), she keeps exploring darker themes as the album opens: The title track is about a past with an abusive alcoholic father, followed by "Two Black Cadillacs" about a man's wife and mistress meeting at his funeral.

With that out of the way, the rest of the album goes on to lighter themes. There are nostalgic looks back as past loves, with songs like "Do You Think about Me," "The Good in Goodbye," and "Wine after Whisky." There are sentimental songs, like "Forever Changed" and "Thank God for Hometowns." And there are lighter tunes: "Nobody Ever Told You" is a don't-be-superficial female affirmation, "One Way Ticket" is a song about enjoying life (with a slight reggae sound!) and Underwood even tries for a Southern humor take on love with "Cupid's Got a Shotgun."

While I give credit to Carrie Underwood for going to some dark places, the rest of Blown Away is unsurprising -- but srill nice. Underwood has a very powerful voice, and she sings with passion throughout the album (even if the lyrics are fairly routine). Blown Away isn't an exceptional album, but it has plenty of good songs.

Overall grade: B-
Reviewed by James Lynch

Värttinä, Utu (Rockadillo Records, 2012)

I've said and written plenty about the Finnish musical ensemble Värttinä over the past two decades. I still haven't heard any artist or band from the 90s whose music I would rank ahead of theirs, and the band continued strongly into the 00s as well.  The story of Värttinä is one of constant change, though, as members have joined and exited the group at a fairly steady clip.  The band took a very long hiatus after their 2006 release Miero and the subsequent tour, and for a while it did not appear certain that they would return.  But singers Mari Kaasinen, Susan Aho, and Johanna Virtanen have recently regrouped with a mostly reconstituted supporting cast.  Their new album Utu lacks some of the ferocity of previous Värttinä albums, but it is still a fine effort.

The most significant new addition to the band's lineup is accordionist/keyboardist Matti Kallio, who who has become the band's primary music composer almost by default.  (As with the previous two Värttinä albums, Mari Kaasinen has written most of the lyrics.) Otherwise, bassist Hannu Rantanen is the only returning member from the previous Värttinä lineup.  Drummer Jaska Lukkarinen returns to the group after leaving before the tour for Miero; he is credited as a guest musician here, so I'm not certain if he is back in the fold on more than a temporary basis. The rest of the Utu lineup consists of Matti Laitinen (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, mandocello) and Kukka Lehto (fiddle), with Sakari Kukko playing wind instruments on a handful of songs.

The first song "Ruhverikko (Dark Girl)" is the strongest connection with the band's musical past. Värttinä have made a habit of including one or two fast-paced, complexly-rhythmed Balkan flavored tunes on each album, and by opening with one here they make the statement that the new lineup can take a style that previous versions of the band have excelled at and do it just as well. From that point, though, the band shy away from repeating their past. This is mostly a good thing, but they sound like they held back a little too much on the second song and leadoff single "Tuuterin Tyttäret (The Girls from Tuuteri)." "Kaihon Kantaja (The Bearer of Yearning)," the third track, is the jazziest recording the band have ever done. In particular, Kukko's sax part sounds more like John Coltrane than anything Finnish. Then Värttinä move on to Middle Eastern percussion and Indian strings with the song "Vietaviä ( For the Taking)." This song is a bit ironic; the lyrics tell of a group of women who are too busy singing to make themselves presentable to prospective suitors, but they're sung with a sunny spirit which hearkens back to Värttinä's classic earlier material. The vocals hold the odd mixture of styles together and make this the strongest song on the album. On "Utuneito (The Mist Maiden)," the band aim for a smoother jazz sound than on "Kaihon Kantaja." The band seems to be at ease with the style, though, and Virtanen's solid lead vocal is an added bonus.

The subtle jazzy feel continues on the waltz "Iloni (My Joy)." The lyrics tell of a romance that needs to be kept in the dark, and the music reflects this by alternating between romantic and more ominous undertones. The more lively "Helleleo" starts out like a simple 4:4 folk rock song, but the verses have a little hitch in them, the rhythm shifts to 7:4 on the chorus, and the instrumental break at the end gets even more complex. The older lineups of Värttinä were masters at making rhythm shifts sound completely natural, and the new lineup happily follows suit. "Vaeltaja (The Wanderer)" starts as something of a chant, featuring Susan Aho's voice and just a drum initially, and evolves into a sorrowful minor-key lament with a gypsy flavor. The brief a cappella song "Suruni Suuri (My Great Sorrow)" leads into "Manattu (Conjured By a Seer)," featuring the Sami joiker Wimme. Wimme's contribution is not as dramatic here as the ones he made on some of the classic Hedningarna albums back in the 90s, but his simple chanting is intended to evoke the casting of a spell and works in that context.

From there, the band perform a four-song suite titled "Haltija-Suite (Elf Suite)." Since the song "Äijö" off their 2000 CD Ilmatar, Värttinä have frequently explored the darker side of Finnish folklore. In this suite (assuming I'm interpreting the translated lyrics correctly), an elf lures the sun into coming away with him, only to imprison it. The sun then has to implore the Creator to set it free. The suite begins with the ominous, mysterious "Kutsu (The Call)," in which the singers whisper a handful of words that translate to "Come to my elfin dwelling, come into the light." "Haltjia (The Elf)" features more rhythm shifting, but for all the complexity, the best part of the song has a straightforward waltz arrangement. This is followed by an instrumental, simply called "Tantsu (Dance)." Again, the band shifts rhythms as easily as shifting gears on a car. The style also varies, moving from Baroque to Balkan to jazz. The elf suite climaxes with "Haltijan Hallussa (Under the Elf's Spell)." This song begins with a steady driving guitar and a mournful minor key, but the dramatic second half of the song shows that the Värttinä singers have lost none of their power.

"Uinu (Sleep)," the final song on the album, is a pretty lullaby featuring the voice and lyrics of Johanna Virtanen. This song is particularly noteworthy for the choice of instruments that accompany Virtanen. The kantele was a major part of Värttinä's sound back in the 80s when the band members were young, but it has not figured prominently on a Värttinä song in a very long time. And I'm fairly certain that the piano, played here by Matti Kallio, is a first on any Värttinä recording.

Värttinä have a long history of periodically reinventing themselves by bringing in new members, and they certainly continue that pattern with Utu. They also continue to expertly blend the ancient with the modern. Most importantly, they can still mix and match styles and rhythms from their homeland and elsewhere with a degree of fluidity unmatched by any other band on the planet that I know of. The energy is scaled back slightly in favor of a bit more sophistication, which will naturally please some people more than others, but on the whole Utu is a worthy addition to a remarkable body of work.

Overall grade: A-

reviewed by Scott

"Manattu"
 

Reprinted with permission from Sleeping Hedgehog
Copyright 2012 Sleeping Hedgehog

THE AVENGERS

The Avengers is many things: the dream of Marvel comic book fans come to life; the culmination of Marvel's movies Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America; and, thanks in large part to the writing and direction of Joss Whedom, an ensemble movie that manages to give equal time to all characters instead of focusing on one to the detriment of the rest.
The setup of The Avengers is pretty straightforward. Secret government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. is experimenting on the Tesseract (the ancient, powerful artifact seen in Thor and Captain America) when Loki (Tom Hiddleston) suddenly appears and steals it. He also takes mental control over several people there, including master archer Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) fears the worst, so it's time for the Avengers Initiative. Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and martial artist Natasha Romanov/the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) set out to assemble a team of heroes, albeit full of flaws. Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is their super-soldier, but he's still adjusting to the present day. Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is brilliant and has a powerful suit of armor -- but he's pretty self-centered. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is a demigod whose pursuit of Loki puts him at odds with the other team members. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) is brought in to help track the Tesseract -- but there's the fear that he'll lose control and turn into the Hulk. And the Black Widow is worried about Hawkeye's switching sides.

But there's more going on than just personality differences and in-fighting (and physical fighting). S.H.I.E.L.D. has its own secret agenda. Loki's plan for the tesseract are complicated -- and include letting himself get captured. And of course, there's an alien invasion on the horizon...

The Avengers works amazingly well, both as an action movie and a superhero movie. Joss Whedon has plenty of experience writing and directing ensembles (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Firefly/Serenity), and he lets all the characters shine. The actors are all terrific in their roles, from the previous antics of the heroes to Johansson's alternating from vulnerable to manipulative, and Ruffalo (taking over for Edward Norton) oddly and appropriately self-contained as the scientist trying not to lose control. The movie has a wicked and frequent sense of humor, as well as some moving moments and scenes as well; and that's in addition to the exciting action sequences. Squeezing all of this into one film does make The Avengers run a little long at times, but it ultimately pays off.

The best summer blockbusters give more than just special effects, and The Avengers certainly delivers. This is one giant movie (with some of Marvel's biggest names) that delivers thrills, laughs, excitement, and (often missing from action movies) itelligence.

Overall grade: A-

Reviewed by James Lynch

MHQ Spring 2012 Issue for Kindle

MHQ Magazine has been the nation’s foremost journal of scholarly military history for more than two decades.  Its authors are all professionally published, and typically are noted authorities on the topics about which they write.  MHQ has been available for years in a glossy, perfect-bound format, appearing four times a year.  It has always been known for its elegant layout and wonderful artwork, in addition to its top-notch writing.  Now it is available as a download for Amazon’s Kindle family, and I decided to take a look at how the magazine translates to the electronic e-reader format.

Happily, it looks great, especially on the Kindle Fire, which is full color, and so does not lose any of the rich, vibrant hues found in the print magazine.  Navigation is relatively simple - nothing electronic will be so easy as thumbing through a print edition of course, but if you have used an e-reader before, such as the Fire, an older version of the Kindle, or the Nook, for that matter, you will quickly pick up the tricks of moving through the electronic edition.

The articles are the same as those that you would find in the print journal, and have not been abridged in any way.  Each article averages between three and four thousand words, and can be comfortably read in about twenty minutes.  This is important, as I envision that most will read the magazine on their Kindles an article or feature at a time, perhaps while on the train to work, or over a lunch break, not cover to cover.

The cover article is “The 27-Day Secret War,” which relates the remarkable achievements of a handful of American special forces who guided precision airstrikes against Taliban targets in late-2001. The rapidity of the fall of the Taliban regime was stunning, and only throws into stark relief the difficulties that allied forces have encountered since then, now that the Taliban have regrouped. The photograph of the commando on the cover, “Cowboy,” true name and rank unknown, is almost worth the price of the issue.

“Payback” is Alistair Horne’s telling of the Doolittle Raid on Japan in April 1942. Seventy years have passed since eighty American airmen in sixteen B-25 bombers took off from the deck of the USS Hornet on a one-way mission. They lacked the fuel to return to the Hornet, and even if they had carried it, they could not have landed their big aircraft on its deck. The actual damage that they inflicted on Japan was minimal, but the psychological impact of their raid was enormous. The Japanese would overreach themselves in trying to plug the gap in their defenses through which the Hornet had slipped, and lose four aircraft carriers at the Battle of Midway less than two months later.

“The Fireball at Zonchio” is the story of a Venetian-Ottoman Turkish naval battle of 1499. One of the many things that I enjoy about MHQ is that I learn something new with every issue. At Zonchio, the Turks sailed with two large carracks - think a primitive version of one of Nelson’s ships-of-the-line.  It was armed with cannon, but also, in a nod to the Mediterranean’s fickle winds, could deploy oars for use when the wind failed. I had never read of these Turkish ships before, which must have stood out from the great mass of low-slung war galleys that were the mainstays of Mediterranean naval tactics.  As you probably have guessed, the fireball of Zonchio was caused by the detonation of the gunpowder stored aboard one of these vessels in a truly horrific explosion that, in the fifteenth century, truly was something new under the sun.

But the Venetians had little to cheer after Zonchio. The civic spirit that had made Venice a medieval maritime great power was not in evidence in the battle, and internal rivalries hampered the Venetian battle plan. They failed to capitalize on their initial successes, not least of which was the destruction of the Turkish carrack, and the Turks not only survived the battle, which might otherwise have proved a crushing Venetian victory, but went on to win the war.

Joseph E. Persico has contributed an opinion piece, “Did Roosevelt Doom Us to a Longer War?” in which he takes President Roosevelt to task for unnecessarily delaying the invasion of Europe. Persico makes some valid points, but I think that all second-guessing of Allied military strategy in the Second World War tends to overlook or undervalue the crucial role played by the Soviets in breaking the back of the German Wehrmacht. The German army of June 1944 was powerful, but it was nothing compared to the mighty force that could have, and would have, been deployed to France if the Western Allies had opted to land there in the summer of 1943. Instead, the panzer troops, as well as dozens of crack infantry divisions, were decimated in the brutal 1943 combat at Kursk and elsewhere that eventually saw the Germans thrown back all along the eastern front. About 80% of all German losses occurred in the East. That just about says it all.

Features new to the magazine with this issue include Weapons Check, which is a look at an individual weapon of significance in military history.  I enjoyed this very much - an examination of the Danish “Viking” axe of around 950 A.D.  These were devastating weapons, and it is said, a wielder could fell a rider and his horse with one in a single blow.  That sounds pretty potent to me, but these big axes disappeared from European warfare, for the most part, by the end of the eleventh century.  In my previous reading the reason for this was never truly answered.  Was it simply fashion, or was it something more substantive?  The Normans came in for a big shock at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 when the Anglo-Danish huscarls of King Harold Godwinson showed up carrying these man-killers.  The author, Chris McNab, helpfully suggests that the introduction of longer swords, poleaxes, and halberds made the use of the axe inadvisable.  It simply lacked the reach to cope.

The old standby, Fighting Words, by Christine Ammer, which examines the development of military terminology, is also in the Kindle edition.  Did you know that “belfry” was originally a movable siege tower with a pivoting ramp at the top?  Later, it became the term for the church tower where bats hang out.  Also, a constable was a high-ranking official who held command of a castle, but when the title was switched to the civilian realm, it received a demotion, and a constable ranked below that of sheriff.  Today, it signifies a policeman in the United Kingdom.

MHQ for Kindle is available from Amazon’s Kindle Store by subscription for $2.99 a month, or $11.99 per single issue. The Kindle is a fine way to enjoy the magazine, possessing all of the advantages of portability found in an e-reader, without sacrificing the visual appeal of the print issue.  I recommend the Kindle Fire, on account of its color screen, but the electronic edition looked great on my older e-ink model too.

Marc blogs at Consolidated Pop Culture. 

The Buzzcocks, SINGLES GOING STEADY

The British punk scene of the 1970s may be best known for the Sex Pistols, but the Buzzcocks were also a terrific band that helped define the pnk generation. Singles Going Steady is a great compilation of the band's early work, highlighting their stripped-down musical attack and punk-pop lyrics.

Headed by singer-songwriter-guitarist paid Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle, the Buzzcocks were punks as interested in teenage romance (and its failings) as in bucking the system. They might comment on the vapid pleasantness of society in "Everybody's Happy Nowadays," adult disproval in "Noise Annoys," or difficulty of life in "Something's Gone Wrong Again," but they really hit their stride with teen angst about romance. It's no coincidence that the fairly romantic "I Don't Mind" is followed here by the song that asks "Ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn't have fallen in love with?" Lust also plays a big factor in their experience, from the wanting "Why Can't I Touch It?" to the straightforward "Just Lust" to the fairly comic "Orgasm Addict."

These themes are well supported by the angry, fast music that match the sneering vocals of the singers. There's a raw energy to the songs, as they're blasted out fast (few songs are over three minutes long; most are closer to two minutes) with competing guitar, bass, and drums. And while the music is angry, it's also catchy: a strange melody that makes you want to sing along.

Singles Going Steady is, in many ways, the best of the punk scene: a reminder that punk wasn't just tone-deaf pissed-off rockers, but people who blend their passion with talent to create memorable music. Singles Going Steady belongs with the best of the Ramones and Sex Pistols.

Overall grade: A
Reviewed by James Lynch

THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS

Aardman Studios create terrific claymation animated features -- such as Wallace and Gromit -- that are often as entertaining for adults as for kids. They take on the high seas with their 3-d movie The Pirates! Band of Misfits and wind up going more for cute than clever -- and somewhat landlocked as well.

It's 1837, and the Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) enjoys the pirate life. He has a loyal crew, a fat unusual-looking parrot named Polly, a sturdy ship, and a love of Ham Nite. However, he's lost the Pirate of the Year competition (the winner is the pirate with the most booty) over 20 years in a row, and this year looks no different. He seems hopelessly outclassed by rivals Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven), Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek), and Peg Leg Hastings (Lenny Henry). It doesn't help that the first several attempts at plundering are absolute disasters.

Things start looking up when the Pirate Captain tries plundering the ship of Charles Darwin (David Tennant). Darwin is a shy, mousy, lonely scientist; he also recognizes Polly as a living dodo, which he thinks can win him the Scientist of the Year Award. The Pirate Captain wants to win too -- to claim the incredible reward that comes with winning, and using that reward to win Pirate of the Year. But Darwin and his money Bobo (a silent creature who "talks" by holding up a series of cards) keep trying to steal Polly. What's worse, the competition is in London, where Queen Victoria (Imelda Stauton) displays a homicidal dislike of pirates.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits is enjoyable enough, but it could have used more insanity and manic energy (the latter popping up in a few chase scenes). While Hugh Grant is fun as the ever-confident captain as obsessed with his beard as the competition, the rest of the pirates don't even rate actual names: Martin Freeman is the Pirate with a Scarf (actually the first mate), Ashely Jensen is the Surprisingly Curvaceous Pirate (a woman in disguise), etc. There's some nice physical comedy from the silent Bobo, but most of the jokes are quick chuckles instead of the clever humor of the best Aardman features. And for reasons beyond me, this movie landlocks itself in London for a surprisingly long time; shouldn't pirates be adventuring on the high seas?

I liked The Pirates! Band of Misfits but I was hoping for more humor for the grown-ups watching it with their kids.

Overall grade: C+

Reviewed by James Lynch

OZ FLUXX

Oz Fluxx is out, and that means you're off to see the Wizard -- or you're hoping to unite the Tin Man with his Artificial Heart -- or just Follow the Yellow Brick Road. This latest Fluxx game from Looney Labs has no surprises in terms of gameplay -- but a terrific feel for the world of Oz.

The rules of Oz Fluxx are the same as in previous Fluxx games. At the start of the game, players have a hand of three cards and follow the starting rule "draw 1, play 1." Players can play Keepers (objects needed to win), Goals (which have Keeper requirements -- usually 2 or 2 of 3 together -- to win; a Goal card replaces a previously-played Goal ), New Rules (such as drawing more cards, playing more cards, or limiting the number of cards you can hold), Actions (stealing Keepers from other players, or drawing 3 cards and playing 2 of them), Creepers (cards that get played automatically and prevent victory -- unless they're part of the current Goal), and Surprise cards (that have different effects if played on your turn or another player's turn).

Oz Fluxx plays like the other versions of Fluxx: quick, simple, and pretty fun. The artwork is cartoony and light, with a kid-friendly feel to the land of Oz. The cards capture the feel of The Wizard of Oz: the Creepers are the villains from the movie, while Water can be used to discard the Wicked Witch of the West and the Falling House can get rid of the Wicked Witch of the East. And the game is very easy to teach and can last briefly (with great luck) or up to 30 minutes (as players can draw and play massive amounts of cards, or constantly switch Goals to prevent others from winning).

The only problem with Oz Fluxx is thatthere's very little difference in gameplay from the other versions of the game. If you've played the other versions, this will be extremely familiar. But if you haven't played Fluxx before -- or if you're a fan of The Wizard of Oz; or you like playing Fluxx -- then Oz Fluxx is a fun little game.

Overall grade: B-

Reviewed by James Lynch

The Lurking Fear/Arkham Horror (HP Lovecraft and Fantasy Flight Games)

Howard Phillips (H.P.) Lovecraft is one of the most influential horror writers of the last, or indeed, of any century. Even if you've never read Lovecraft, his influence is felt and cited by a vast number of modern and often better-known writers, including Stephen King, Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman among many others. The Necronomicon, a Lovecraft invention, makes an appearance in the film Army of Darkness, for example, and the list goes on and on. Lovecraftian, as an adjective, has entered the lexicon, and parodies of his admittedly somewhat overwrought style can be found without difficulty.

I must say, though, that if you've never read Lovecraft, you really owe it to yourself to give it a try. Sure, some of the prose seems a bit dated, and some of the stylistic choices do lend themselves to parody a bit, but it all works. When reading his work, you sometimes may find yourself thinking it's a bit cliché, but what's worth remembering is that odds are pretty good that he invented that particular cliché. I've mentioned The Lurking Fear in the title, and as a short story, it's a good place to start. Shadows Over Innsmouth is another good starting point. If you'd like something meatier, the novel The Lurker at the Threshold is a personal favorite.

Among the spin-offs and Lovecraftiana, there are quite a few games. The Call of Cthulhu role-playing game came out in the '80s and my friends and I spent many happy hours trying to avoid insanity while still holding off ancient and unknowable evil from out of time and space. (At least, they did, I was running the games ...) More recently, Fantasy Flight Games has come out with Arkham Horror and a number of expansions.

Arkham Horror is a cooperative game, with the players, anywhere from one to eight of them, taking on the role of investigators trying to prevent a variety of horrible and ancient terrors from destroying the world as we know it. Each character has a set of skills and, usually, a special power which allows them to alter game-play, sometimes by ignoring or modifying an existing rule (eg. when drawing a card, take from either the bottom or top of the deck and look at the bottom first) or by doing something outside the normal rules.

Game play is deceptively straightforward. Gates from other worlds open spewing forth monsters and hastening the arrival of the Great Old One. The players run around gathering clue markers and having encounters in various locations around the map, then try to shut the gates. If they shut enough gates fast enough, stability is restored. If they don't ... evil awakes and there's a massive battle. That's a bad thing, in case you hadn't guessed.

The mechanics are simple. You have skills and roll that many d6 looking for 5's and 6's. Equipment can modify the number of dice you roll as can a great many other things. Too many, in fact, to mention here.

The game is tough. We lose about half the games we play. It is a tribute to the game, that we have a lot of fun anyway.

The expansions add more locations, extra encounters, and even more ways to die, go insane or wake the old ones. Out of seven expansions, there is part of one that actually seems to work in the players' favor. Mostly, though, it's just more doom and madness. Which is great.

Be warned, there are lots of fiddly bits. There are decks of cards for neighborhood encounters, extra-dimensional encounters, random events, unique items, common items, spells and skills. There are counter pools for gates and monsters. Character sheets for players and for the horrors from Out There. More cards and counters to track special states and clues and health and sanity.
And that's just in the basic set. Expansions add more decks, as well as adding to existing decks. It's a glorious, over-the-top, whirlwind ride through a Lovecraftian nightmare.

The atmosphere is fantastic, and the more Lovecraft you've read, the more you will enjoy the attention to detail in terms of locations, characters you meet, monsters you face and so on.

I'm not going to give the game or the literature a rating, rather I will simply recommend them both and suggest that they work well in synergy with each other.

(Note that the game has been reviewed previously on this site, but I think I like it more than the previous reviewer;-)

AMERICAN REUNION

Everyone grows older, but not everyone grows up. This is apparently true for some movie franchises as well, as demonstrated by American Reunion. The fourth film in the series (not counting numerous direct-to-video releases), this film brings back virtually the entire cast from the 1999 original movie -- and virtually the same humor as from the first one.

American Reunion starts with a "where are they now?" of the main male characters from American Pie. Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Allyson Hannigan) are married with a 2-year-old son -- and have hit quite a dry spell in their sex life. Oz (Chris Klein) is famous as both a sportscaster and losing contestant on Celebrity Dance-Off -- and his hot girlfriend Mia (Katrina Bowden) is a bit too wild for him. Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) is happily married -- but not happy about his wife making him watch shows like The Bachelorette and Real Housewives. Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) has become a globetrotter but never found a lasting relationship. And Stifler (Seann William Scott) is as obnoxious, sexist, horny, and crude as ever -- but he's stuck temping for an obnoxious boss. They're all brought together for their 13th high school reunion (an odd number, but matching the time since the 1999 release date of American Pie). And of course there's Jim's Dad (Eugene Levy), now a widow nervous about dating once again.

The guys may have adult lives, responsibilities, and problems -- but soon they're acting like teens again. For Jim, it's the temptation of Kara (Ali Cobrin), the girl-next-door than Jim used to babysit; of course for a movie like this, she just turns 18 and has the hots for Jim. Oz has to deal with old feelings for former girlfriend Heather (Mena Suvari), Kevin wonders about feelings for his former girlfriend Vicky (Tara Reid). Finch finds himself starting things with old classmate Selena (Dania Ramirez). And Stifler, well, he's out to get laid, get drunk, and get revenge every chance he can. The rest of the cast from the original movies is here -- including Jennifer Coolidge and Shannon Elizabeth -- but they pop up more for nostalgia than for any real humor or plotting.

For a movie about folks supposedly growing up, most of the humor here is extremely juvenile. There are the usual sex jokes, excrement jokes, nudity for comical purposes and embarassing public exposures. But while Eugene Levy remains terrific in his awkward-without-realizing-it role, and Seann William Scott is too consistently juvenile to be creepy (someone 13 years out of high school hitting on high school girls), the rest of the cast seems to be methodically going through the same paces as before -- gross-out humor and romantic longing -- as before. American Reunion is also both ageist and sexist, as the teens and new characters are all barely-dressed babes, while the actresses from the original are far more subdued (and covered up).

American Reunion is an exercise in nostalgia, simply rehashing the types of jokes and relationships from the older movie instead of trying for something new. Some of the jokes are funny, but this movie aims far too much at bringing back older characters and sex-and-bodily-fluids humor and too little at being, well, good.

Overall grade: C-

Reviewed by James Lynch