Daydream Sanctuary Features

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Western Show: Supernatural (Season 1)


From the title I already knew that it was my kind of series (I'm a sucker for supernatural stuff after all) and I am very pleased that it turned out to be much better than I expected.

It had been true to its genre. It can indeed given me the chills and surprised me a lot of times. Supernatural elements aren't limited to ghosts, but even to legendary creatures of divine deities. If you're horried enough the hilarious scenes there are enough to balance those feelings. It knows when to add comedy lines and scenes. Of course its got some action and adventure too with all those hunting. It may not be centered on fight scenes, but they certainly got some moves. And of course, love here is not centered on erotic romance, because it also emphasizes on other forms of love, especially family.

Storytelling was really remarkable! Although it's mostly episodic, each hunting case had been different. I mean, it's not all the time they encounter a ghost, sometimes they encounter even more powerful beings, and sometimes not a specific creature at all, and there was even one time that their enemies are actually just humans. But of course it had not forgotten its main story. You can notice progress on it even in the episodic cases.

Characters, though I complain on the small number of the main cast, they had been excellent and were enough to make the series more interesting. They are not boring, they've got personality, and they're not perfect. This doesn't only apply to the main duo, because other characters get their value too.

Overall it had been a very entertaining and exciting series that I can't wait to see the next season! Man, I should've started this sooner. Hehe

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*might edit again someday because of disorganized thoughts and author is also lazy to edit*

Live Action: Prince of Tennis


I borrowed this DVD from a friend but I still didn't watch it until last night because I need to return it on Saturday. ^^;

Anyway, I can't say that that it had been one of the best live action adaptations I have ever seen because I had so many complains with it. In summary, the manga and anime versions were just much better, from story telling to characters and to matches. The time span/duration had nothing to do with it. It had been really bad in my opinion. I do admit that I had enjoyed it somehow but most of the time it had given me headaches.

Rating: 1.75 out of 5 stars

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Daniel X: Alien Hunter by James Patterson

I bought it because it's much cheaper compare to other western graphic novels that I see. (Graphic novels with illustrations like The Sandman (by Neil Gaiman) cost around or more than 700+ pesos and Western novels in manga style like Odd Thomas (by Dean Koontz) cost around 400+ pesos) so seeing this one, 300+ pesos, and it's even colored unlike Pendragon (art is much better too), I didn't think twice in buying it xD Besides, the plot caught my interest a lot. Come on, aliens? power of creation? I can't resist that xD Haha. This one had attracted me more than Ben-10 had.

Anyway, of course I'm done with it (read it since some time early last month actually). To be honest, it wasn't as good as I expected it to be, story-wise. Yes, the power of creation thing had been creative, and I like it that the main character isn't too perfect. I also get to like a certain character there (but he died, baaaw) But, somehow it still gave me the typical-young-superhero-story vibes x_x In other words, it was promising but it didn't meet my expectations.

Though the story and some of the characters didn't impress me much, I have no regrets because the art was pretty cool. And there was a pretty blue butterfly! Kyaaaa! And it had been an enjoyable read.But I don't think I'll plan on reading the novel version, but I might have second thoughts if there'll be another graphic novel. I'm definitely watching the movie version if it turned out nice xD (yes, I've heard it's really gonna be having a movie, like James Patterson's other young adult book: Maximum Ride)

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Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

To be honest, I hurried in reading this because I wanted to read my new novels as soon as possible xD I didn't have high expectations on it anymore because Lecter wasn't the main villain ^^; But I guess my expectations had become too low, because it's actually pretty good ^_^ I wasn't that satisfied with the ending but I admit that it had taken me by surprise xD (thrillers that can surprise me are good, imo, haha). I prefer to read the novels focused on Lecter next, but it seems that I need to read the sequel first in order to be able to relate on the later books in case it'll make references x_x

But . . . from spoilers, it seems that the Silence of the Lambs (the sequel) is the same with Red Dragon, only that there's a different cop for a main character and villain x_x That lost my motivation to read more Lecter novels x_x
Besides, there are many novels I want to read ^^; I guess I'll put Thomas Harris' books in lower priority for now. But if ever I'll be able to watch the movie versions of the Thomas Harris books I haven't read yet and they turned out to be bloody awesome, then I might change my mind xD Hehe.

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The Alienist by Caleb Carr

The year is 1896, the place, New York City. On a cold March night New York Times reporter John Schuyler Moore is summoned to the East River by his friend and former Harvard classmate Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a psychologist, or "alienist." On the unfinished Williamsburg Bridge, they view the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent boy, a prostitute from one of Manhattan's infamous brothels.

The newly appointed police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, in a highly unorthodox move, enlists the two men in the murder investigation, counting on the reserved Kreizler's intellect and Moore's knowledge of New York's vast criminal underworld. They are joined by Sara Howard, a brave and determined woman who works as a secretary in the police department. Laboring in secret (for alienists, and the emerging discipline of psychology, are viewed by the public with skepticism at best), the unlikely team embarks on what is a revolutionary effort in criminology-- amassing a psychological profile of the man they're looking for based on the details of his crimes. Their dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who has killed before. and will kill again before the hunt is over.

Fast-paced and gripping, infused with a historian's exactitude, The Alienist conjures up the Gilded Age and its untarnished underside: verminous tenements and opulent mansions, corrupt cops and flamboyant gangsters, shining opera houses and seamy gin mills. Here is a New York during an age when questioning society's belief that all killers are born, not made, couldhave unexpected and mortal consequences.


Source: Barnes & Noble

Looking for a good historical crime novel? I highly recommend to you Caleb Carr's The Alienist. This book isn't just set in the past, but it has actual historical references (streets, establishments, etc.) and figures (Roosevelt, etc.). It had criminal investigations, but it's not limited to observing corpses, rather they also make use of advanced science (it's something new during those times, like fingerprint scanning) and psychology/psychiatry (by criminal profiling; understand the criminal's background and personality to figure out where he is now; that's something new before as well).

I believe what made this novel so awesome are the themes and issues that it tackles. First, there's the idea of what is sane and insane. As well as the nature of evil. Also modernization, like new investigation methods. Discrimination is also tackled here: sexual and social status (rich & poor). There are mature themes too, like extreme violence (from the murders, how gruesome) and sexual ones because of the prostitue victims (no actual sex/f*cking, fortunately). Other issues involved here too include politics, religion, and so forth. I really love it when a novel talks about the filths and hypocrites in society, like bastardly cops, selfish religious leaders, etc. It's very rich in themes that I'm afraid I don't think I can mention all of them!

The characters in this novel are fantastic! The novel's narrated in first person, by John Moore the Times journalist. Having it narrated by a journalist enables us to read a well written narrative, and with his knowledge with what's going on and his close relations to many of the characters makes it easy for us to understand the others better too. All characters are geniuses in their own ways for they aren't limited to police work because they have different specialties/professions (from psychology to medical/forensic and more). Some side characters are also great. There are servants with criminal records but they also get to do some action and are actually useful. Some characters are annoying from beginning to end; while some annoying ones turned out to be pretty cool later. Most of the characters, if not all, have been really interesting.

It's hard not to love some of the characters, because they are so colorful! Haha! Especially the main cast, because they're not flat nor totally boring. There are times where they do badass and amusing things too. I believe that I've also become attached to the characters because tragic deaths of several of them made me sad so much.The author had been cruel and amazing at the same time for doing such tragedies!

If there's something that I must mention that I didn't appreciate much in this novel, it will be the beginning and the ending. I don't like the beginning because . . .I totally can't connect it with the rest of the story. As for the ending . . . it made me go "That's it?!". But if I ignore those parts, almost everything in the novel had been so excellent. It was a page-turner! It had been difficult for me to let it down. That's why I had fnished it earlier than I plan to. Hehe.

I'm a lover of different genres and themes. The more genres a story has mixed in it, the more I love it. This novel has mystery, horror, tragedy, and a little of comedy and action. It involves issues concerning psychology, psychiatry, sociology, religion, politics, homosexuality, discrimination, etc. The Alienist had all these things mixed magnificently, so of course there's no surprise that I've loved the novel so much.

I don't know if I could consider this as the best thriller of all times (I usually read thrillers but I haven't read that many) but I'm definitely counting this as one of my top favorites!

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