State of Play, The Other Boleyn Girl, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

State of Play is an excellent movie. It's a twisty, turny thriller starring Ben Affleck, Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, and Helen Mirren. The movie opens with a petty thief being gunned down in an alley, which is the catalyst to uncovering a vast conspiracy. I don't want to say much more about the plot which keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Take it from me, don't drink a large Coke while watching this movie because you won't want to get up for a bathroom break.

I should have caught The Other Boleyn Girl in the theaters, but I'm glad I finally did see it. It's a great depiction of the story of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII starring Natalie Portman and Eric Bana, as well as Scarlett Johansson who plays Anne's sister Mary. I never knew Anne had a sister and that she was actually the king's lover first. Great story, very well acted. Definitely catch this one if you haven't already.

I took a chance on The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and it was way to boring and weird for me. I can't recommend this movie, which I ended up fast forwarding through. It's the true story of a guy who had a stroke that resulted in locked-in story. He wrote a book by communicating with blinks of his one good eye. It sounds interesting and inspiring, but you really have to want to watch this kind of movie to make it through the whole thing.

Royal Assassin

Royal Assassin is the second book in Robin Hobbs' Farseer trilogy, and as far as second books in trilogies go, this one was pretty darn good! The overall story arch progressed nicely and there was actual character development (things both generally missing in second books of trilogies).

The story continues to follow young FitzChivalry, bastard grandson and assassin to the dying King Shrewd, as he weaves his way through life in the royal court serving both Shrewd and king-in-waiting Verity, while the Shrewd's youngest son Regal weaves his nasty web of deceit and betrayal. The Red Ship Raiders continue to attack the coast and turn all survivors into zombie-like beings. In a desperate attempt to save the kingdom, Verity leaves his ailing father and pregnant wife in the hands of shady Regal so he can pursue the Elderlings spoken of in their land's ancient lore who were said to have some special power that may help end the coastal attacks. Needless to say, everything goes to hell in a hand basket.

This is a wonderful, well-written story. It was almost heartbreaking to read about the internal destruction of the kingdom and the king's court at the hands of dastardly Regal. I thought it had a great ending (which I will not reveal here). I'm looking forward to reading the last of this trilogy, as well as the other books Hobbs has written about this brilliant world she's created.

Adventureland

Adventureland is a coming of age story set in 1987 as James graduates from undergrad, then faces the harsh realization that his parents can't afford to finance his summer trip to Europe or his graduate school even though he was accepted to Columbia. As a journalism major he's unqualified to do anything except work in a dumpy amusement park. Here he learns more life lessons than he ever learned in college, and he falls in love.

This is more of a 'dramedy' (sorry to use this word - I'm not a big fan of it) than a comedy. Much of the humor is in the horrible clothes, hair, make up, and music throughout the movie. The main 'soundtrack' is comprised of bands like The Cure, Husker Du, The Replacements, and, for some gawdawful reason, Lou Reed. But the film also gives a nod to the other genres of 80s music. For example, Rock Me Amadeus plays incessantly at the amusement park driving everyone crazy. (Feel free to admit to yourself that you owned the '45 back in the day - you know you did). And one of my favorite scenes was James running for his life from a dumb thug who wanted to beat him up while Breaking The Law by Judas Priest played in the background.

It was a good film that had more of an indy feel to it. It's worth seeing, especially if you grew up in the 80s, but it's not necessary to catch it in the theaters.

Assassin's Apprentice

Lucky me to have downloaded Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb on my Kindle for free. Yes, I'm addicted to the free books offered on the Kindle, but the 'lucky' part is that this book is actually good and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it; in fact I plan to read the whole series and possibly everything Robin Hobb ever wrote. (This, I am sure, was the diabolical reasoning behind the free offering, like giving a person one M&M knowing that they will certainly eat more...tricksy, tricksy.)

The story begins with a grandfather dumping his six year old grandson at the king's castle because he can no longer afford to feed and clothe the child, who is apparently the bastard son of the prince first in line to the throne. The book is the story of the boy, who they call Fitz (which means illegitimate son) and how he grows up in the castle keep, not quite royalty but not quite commoner. He is taught many skills by many experts, one of which (you guessed it) is how to be a subtle assassin. The assassin's trade deals with poison's and herbology as opposed to the skills he learns with weapons.

But Fitz has a two unique abilities of his own that set him apart from everybody else. First, he is very powerful but very unstable with the 'Skill,' a form of telepathy that runs in the genes of some royalty. Once honed, the Skill can be used to influence what people think (for example, I could touch your mind without you even knowing it and have you bring me a bag of M&Ms). Fitz's other ability is the 'Wit' which is extremely shunned so he has to keep it a secret from everyone. Wit is not only the ability to connect minds with animals, but to possibly bond with one of them, thus eventually turning your mind into something much more savage and animalistic.

The story unfolds as Fits learns all these things while he grows up in the midst of royal intrigue and scheming. He learns what it truly means to be a 'king's man' and all the sacrifices that entails. One of my favorite characters in the book is the Fool, who is the least foolish person in the book. I will leave it up to you to discover the meaning behind "Fitz fixes feists fits. Fat suffices." I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

Sunshine Cleaning and Heavenly Creatures

Sunshine Cleaning was an even better movie than I hoped for. It stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as sisters who start a crime scene cleaning service to make some money, and Alan Arkin who plays their father. While there are several funny scenes in the movie, it's a poignant drama about a family coping with the suicide of their mother/wife two decades later, and how her loss still deeply touches them all. It's an excellent movie and well worth your time to watch it.

My latest movie rental was Heavenly Creatures (1994) which, like Sunshine Cleaning, was better than I was expecting. It's a true story starting Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey as girls who develop an intensely close relationship in prep school in the 1950s. Their parents are disturbed by this relationship and the extremely elaborate fantasy world they've created for themselves. One of them is forced to move to South Africa and the other is not allowed to go with her, so the two girls kill one of their mothers in an attempt to stay together. It took me a little while in the beginning of the movie to realize that all the hokey melodramatic music was a device that kept the viewers in the girls' constant existence in their fantasy world. Once I got past that I really got into the movie. I definitely recommend this one.

Movie Reviews: Role Models, King Arthur, and Othello

Role Models (2008) is one of the funniest movies I've watched in a long time. I was laughing out loud throughout the whole movie, which is something I normally don't do. Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott play two energy drink salesmen who are sentenced to community service to avoid jail time, and end up in a mentoring program with two young misfits. One is the shy, nerdy Auggie who's overly involved in a live action role playing game, and the other is sassy, potty-mouthed Ronnie who has most of the best lines in the movie. I don't want to say any more so I don't ruin the laughs for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. If you haven't, rent it very soon.

King Arthur (2004), starring Clive Owen and Kiera Knightly, is a movie that explores who Arthur would have been if he were a real historical figure. In this adaptation, he's a knight of the Roman empire as it is falling and the Roman armies are fleeing the British isles. Lawlessness erupts and Arthur stays in England to fight in hopes of restoring order. It's a well done movie, but Blockbuster sent me the "directors cut" which means it was overly long. However, it was a nice surprise to see Ray Stevenson as one of Arthur's knights. Stevenson was one of the stars in the HBO series Rome which totally rocked. I recommend both this movie and HBO's Rome.

Othello (1995) was surprisingly enjoyable to watch. I'm not a Shakespeare buff by any means, but I think I was able to enjoy it because they cut out about half of the original text (and let's face it, that's where we all lose interest after a while). I couldn't understand the meaning every single spoken line, but I was able to follow the story very easily. It stars Laurence Fishburne as the jealous and untrusting Othello and Kenneth Branagh as the dastardly Iago. Rent this if you're in the mood to try out a Shakespeare flick.

Movie Reviews: Wilde and The Four Feathers

I've been working my way through my huge backlog of older movies and recently rented a couple movies that can both be described in the same way: well made, well acted, but too long and therefore a smidge boring. Wilde (1997) is the biopic of poet and playwright Oscar Wilde staring Stephen Fry and Jude Law. Wilde lived in Victorian England with a wife and two children - and a male lover. His homosexuality was discovered and exposed, but his refusal to leave the country led to a court trial and he was sentenced to two years hard labor. Only pick this one up if you're specifically interested in learning more about the life of Oscar Wilde. (Note that his writing isn't really addressed or discussed in this movie.)

The Four Feathers (2002) is a remake of an old 1915 movie set in 1884 Sudan about a man who resigns his enlistment in the British army right before his regiments ships out for battle. He receives four white feathers from his friends and fiancee as symbols of his cowardice. To redeem his honor, he spends the rest of the movie undercover helping his army regiment during and after the battle. It stars Heath Ledger and Djimon Hounsou and, again, it's well made but long and slow. I only recommend this movie if you've dedicated yourself to watching all of Heath Ledger's movies.

Movie Reviews: Duplicity, Timeline & Undercover Blues

Duplicity was the most fun I've had at a movie in a while, but I'm sure that has a lot to do with all those overly-serious Oscar nominated flicks I've seen lately. This movie has the audience constantly guessing at whose side everyone is on and where everyone's allegiances really lie. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts play ex-MI-6 and ex-CIA agents, respectively, who have teamed up to pull their own scam - or have they? Can they possibly trust each other long enough to pull off their plan, or are they playing each other (along with everyone else)? I'm not a Julia Roberts fan (she freaks me out if I look at her odd face for too long), but if you're like me I say suck it up for two hours because this movie is too fun to miss.

I rented Timeline (2003) based on the Michael Crichton book of the same name. I remember this movie getting trashed in the reviews when it first came out. I think I may have enjoyed it more because my expectations were low and I was able to watch it in the comfort of my own home. Starring Gerard Butler, Michael Sheen and David Thewlis, among others, it's about a group of archeology students who travel back in time via a wormhole to 14th century France to save their professor who gets trapped in the past. It's overly sensational and cheesy, but so was Michael Crichton's book. If you're looking for something fun and light check this one out, but it's definitely not a must-see movie.

I also watched Undercover Blues (1993) at the recommendation of my back therapist. This is a zany family romp about a couple with a baby who happen to be former spies that get lured out of retirement to catch a dangerous arms embezzler. Hilarity ensues as Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner multi-task their way through this action comedy. It's dated, lame, and way too cheesy. I'm definitely not recommending this one.

Hunted

Hunted is the fifth installment of the House of Night series written by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast. The story continues to follow Zoey Redbird, a vampyre fledgling blessed by the goddess Nyx, and her small band of friends. In this latest story, they have to defeat Kalona, a fallen angel turned to darkness, and Neferet, the high priestess of the school who has turned her back on Nyx in her quest for power and domination.

Overall, I like the world the authors have created where vampyres are known and exist along side humans though not quite peacefully. I also like the overall story where a small band of good guys are trying to overthrow the more powerful bad guys - having been raised on Star Wars movies and Lord of the Rings books this is exactly why I started this series. However, I wish the authors would stop trying so hard to make trendy teen-talk and spend more time on the quality of the writing.

I recommend this series if you're into action/sci-fi books. Start with the first one in this series, Marked, in which Zoey first gets introduced to the vampyre world. Starting with Hunted would leave you lost as to what is going on in the story overall.

Music Within and Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I took a chance on a movie I never heard of before, Music Within, and was pleasantly surprised. It's a true story about Richard Pimentel who came back from Vietnam legally deaf, being able to only hear vowel sounds but not consonants. He befriends Art, a very smart writer with cerebral palsy, primarily because Richard can understand the way Art speaks (when no one else can). The movie explores Richard's life after the war, focusing on his achievements on behalf of Americans with disabilities. I definitely recommend this movie.

Also watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which was funnier than I thought it would be. As you can tell from the title, it's about a guy trying to get over the girl who dumped him. He decides to go to Hawaii, but ends up at the same resort with Sarah and her new British rocker boyfriend. Hilarity ensues, but my favorite part was the end (**spoiler alert**) because he doesn't get back with Sarah but ends up with someone better for him. Rent this one when you want a laugh.

Into the Wild and Jumper

I rented two non-recommendable movies this weekend. The first one I suffered through was Jumper, which is about a few guys who can teleport to anywhere in the world any time they want. Sounds like a cool premise, but there wasn't much of a plot and the girl that was supposed to be the love interest was exceptionally annoying; I couldn't help but want the bad guy, played by Samuel L. Jackson, to kill her. He didn't.

The other movie was an artsy-fartsy movie directed by Sean Penn called Into The Wild. It's based on a true story about a kid who left to go to Alaska to live alone in the wilderness away from all society. It was really long (2 1/2 hours) and was really boring. I think if it had been condensed into an hour and a half I would have enjoyed it more, but then it wouldn't have been the self-indulgent indy film Sean Penn wanted to make. Needless to say, I can't recommend either of these movies.

Book Reviews

Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain is a good follow up to her first book, Heart Sick. Both stories center around a police detective who was nearly tortured to death by a female serial killer, with whom he now needs to have a very sick and unhealthy relationship. In Heart Sick the serial killer is in prison but in Sweetheart she escapes. These are both really good books. You should read them both, starting with Heart Sick. They're fun, twisted reads.

And now, I'll cover the three Christopher Moore books I just read: Coyote Blue, A Dirty Job, and The Stupidest Angel. Coyote Blue is about love and redemption. A Native American who has been hiding from his past when an ancient tribal god named Coyote the Trickster offers him the dangerous gift of love and totally screws up his life. A Dirty Job is about death and dying, but it's wrapped up in a hilarious and heartwarming story. The main character discovers that he has a new and bazaar "second job" of collecting soul vessels - objects that hold a person's soul after death.

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror was such a joy to read. It takes place in Pine Cove, the same location as his book Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove with all those same wacky characters. It also has Tucker Case and Roberto the talking fruit bat from Island of the Sequined Love Nun, and Raziel (the aforementioned stupid angel) from Lamb. You don't need to read all those other books first, but you do need to read this one. It was hilarious and crazy and so much fun. In fact, read all of his books - I have!

Movie Reviews

I've been busy watching movies but not busy posting them here on my blog. I'm just going to do them all at once and give just a quick review.

The Wrestler with Micky Rourke and Marissa Tomei is great but it's probably the saddest movie I've ever seen - not in a tear-jerker kind of way, but it's just flat out depressing. I would have given Micky Rourke the Oscar for this performance. You should see this one.

The International with Clive Owen is just OK. I think this film is lucky it had Clive Owen to carry the movie. There's nothing unpredictable in this one. If you have any interest you can wait for the DVD.

What Just Happened with Robert DeNiro leading an all-star cast is an indy movie that I think only Hollywood insiders would enjoy. Skip this one.

Driving Lessons is a coming of age story staring Rupert Grint as a teen who starts working for Julie Walters' free spirit aging actress to get away from his over-bearing mother played by Laura Linney. This was much better than I thought it was. Rent this one.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang starring Robert Downey Jr. was also better than I thought it would be. It's a funny, twisty murder mystery with Val Kilmer as a gay private detective. Rent this one.

Dirty Filthy Love starring Michael Sheen is about a guy who has Tourette's and OCD (!what a combo!). It's an incredible movie; very well acted. Definitely rent this one.

Heartlands is a little British movie about a dorky guy whose wife leaves him. He goes on a trip across England to track her down and win her back, but on his journey he comes into his own. I liked that when he finds her he has enough self confidence to leave her. This movie is slow so I wouldn't recommend it.

Laws of Attraction with Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore was better than I thought. I didn't realize this movie was in my queue but I'm glad it was because I enjoyed it. Rent this one on a rainy day.

Last and least is The Rocker with Rainn Wilson. This was just bad. Skip it.

Religulous

Religulous came out on DVD yesterday and I rented it. I was not expecting a documentary about religion to be so incredibly funny! Bill Maher's sharp wit keeps the movie light and entertaining while exploring the absurdities of religion. He finds all kinds of crazy religious zealots to talk with from almost all the major religions - and a few lesser known religions as well. Surprisingly, the two most sane (in fact, the only two sane religious people he talked to) were priests, one of whom was the Vatican astronomer. The person I was most shocked at was a rabbi who's in league with the Holocaust deniers. WTF?!

This is not an objective exploration of religious beliefs. Maher makes it clear from the very beginning that he is going to mock religion in all its forms and denounce all the many horrible things that result from religion. While doing all of that, Maher throws in lots of jokes which helps keep the movie light, along with the many film clips that mock just about everything everyone says.

I would absolutely rent this movie unless you're a hard-core bible thumper. Anyone else will at least enjoy Maher's humor, even if they don't agree with his viewpoint.

Caught in the Light

I got Robert Goddard's name from a list of authors Stephen King likes, and if all of his books are like Caught in the Light I'm a fan for life. It's a mystery novel centered around photography with lots of twists and turns and surprises. The plot is deep and rich, and I don't want to say much more because it would ruin the enjoyment of reading as it all unfolds. You should absolutely pick this one up.

Bottle Shock and Benjamin Button

I wish I would have gone to see Bottle Shock when it was in the theaters. It's a move about wine, but not like Sideways which was pretentious and boring. This movie is charming and fun and has a heart that Sideways lacked. Starring Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman, it's based on a true story in 1976 that pitted California wines against French wines in a blind test. I would absolutely rent this one.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, on the other hand, is one you can absolutely skip. There's nothing about that movie that you haven't already seen in the previews. Clocking in at 2:45, it's l-o-n-g and s-l-o-w and boring. I have absolutely no idea why this movie is up for best picture. I can think of several others off the top of my head that I would rather have had the nomination (Gran Torino, Doubt, and Revolutionary Road just to name a few).

Movie Reviews

I rented a bunch of movies so I'll make these individual reviews short. The best movie of the latest batch I saw was Rock n Rolla by Guy Richie and starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson and Thandie Newton among many others. It was a fun, twisty story about the seedy scums of the London underworld crossing and double crossing each other. Definitely rent this one if you haven't already seen it.

Zack and Miri Make A Porno, the latest Kevin Smith movie, wasn't as funny as I was hoping it would be but it was a fun, light, silly movie. It's about two high school friends who decide to make a porno to make ends meet and end up falling in love. Max Payne starring Mark Whalberg was a good looking stylistic action movie, but it was predictable. It's about a cop wrestling his personal demons while trying to get to the bottom of a hallucinogenic drug ring. Pride and Glory was a well acted movie about good cops and bad cops (any movie with Edward Norton is guaranteed to be well acted), but it was excessively long. Oliver Stone's W. was an interesting look at how W lived his entire life in his father's shadow and ended up being Cheney's puppet - nothing new there. Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a slow movie about two women who spend the summer in Spain. It's clear to see why Penelope Cruz was nominated for her performance in this. Alien vs. Predator: Requiem was fun to watch but I honestly don't know why they spent so much time on a plot full of characters no one cares about. None of these four movies are "must see's" but they're entertaining if you're in the mood.

Book Reviews: Fool and Fade

Fool, the latest book by Christoper Moore, was absolutely fabulous! It's the story of King Lear told from the point of view of Pocket the fool, who we see is really pulling all the strings in the background with a little help from the three witches from MacBeth and a ghost (there's always a bloody ghost). It's amazing to think that Moore's funny, witty, irreverent style could be applied to Shakespeare's stuffy and boring King Lear, but it works quite well. I love everything I've ever read by Moore, so pick up this book or any of his others. You won't be disappointed.

I also read Fade, the sequel to Lisa McMann's Wake, about a girl who gets sucked into other people's dreams. Over the course of the two novellas the heroine is learning to use control in her dreams and in others. These are both good stories, but they're written as more of a thorough outline than a fully developed book. I like the stories, but I wish wrote more to fill out the story and the characters a bit more. You can skip these books, but if you're looking for something quick and easy to read you might want to check them out.

The Hulk and The Happening

I was surprised at how horrible The Incredible Hulk was, especially since it has first class actors like Edward Norton, William Hurt and Tim Roth. The movie was boring and predictable, and the green monster was ridiculously stupid. The only redeeming scene in the movie was Robert Downy Jr.'s cameo at the end of the movie as Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man). I'm surprised that these two franchises are linked because Iron Man was so good and Hulk was so bad. If you haven't seen this movie, don't.

The movie that was supposed to be horrible but was better than I thought was The Happening. But maybe I liked it more than everyone else because I watched it after that horrible piece of crap The Hulk, which might make any movie watched after it seem like pure genius. I thought The Happening was well made and thought provoking, though not nearly M. Night Shyamalan's best (The Sixth Sense). But it's not his worst either (The Village). I'm guessing the criticism comes from the movie focusing on the experience of a small group of people and not in explaining in full detail the cause of the occurrence, though it is explained - quite adequately in my opinion. If you're looking for something to watch I would check this one out.

Cold Creek Manor

Cold Creek Manor, starring Dennis Quiad and Sharon Stone, is a few years old but I just got around to watching it on DVD. A family moves from the city into an old dilapidated manor and they renovate it. This is about all that happens in the first hour. Then, inexplicably the house is over-run with snakes. Then more boring stuff happens and the movie ends. This movie was really lame. Skip it.

Taken, Get Smart, and Ghost Town

Taken is a good action thriller starring Liam Neeson as an ex-CIA agent whose 17 year old daughter gets kidnapped on a trip to Paris with her friend and sold into prostitution. The majority of the movie centers on Neeson who explores the seedy underworld in his attempt so rescue his daughter. We know that he's a father who would do anything to get her back, a fact that is demonstrated several times during the film. The plot is a little obvious, but it's till a fun ride and Liam Neeson is a great actor. If you don't catch this one in the theater, definitely check it out on DVD.

Get Smart was very funny and well cast with Steven Carell as Maxwell Smart, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. The Rock), Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp, and James Caan. The movie stayed true to the feel of the old TV series, while updating it for the modern age of technology and audience expectation. It was fun watch Carell fumble around as Agent Smart; I couldn't imagine anyone else in that role. I laughed through the whole movie. I can't believe I didn't see this one in the theater. If you haven't seen it yet, definitely rent it.

Ghost Town was also a good and funny movie starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, and Tea Leoni. Gervais plays a cynical dentist who "dies" on the operating table for seven minutes due to a reaction to the anesthesia during a colonoscopy. When he wakes up he can see the ghosts of people who have passed on that need closure on some aspect of their lives before their spirits can move on to a higher plane. This was a better movie than I thought it would be. If you haven't seen this one add it to your movie queue.

In the Land of Women

In the Land of Women is one of those odd little indy films that could be decent if you're in the right mood. It starts out with a guy who writes soft porn that gets dumped by his actress girlfriend so he decides to go to Michigan to help his ailing grandmother while he gets over his break up. He gets involved in the lives of the family who live across the street from his grandmother.

Overall it's kind of tedious. There are too many small moments that don't have a lot of significance which makes for a somewhat boring movie. I would suggest skipping this one.

Doomsday

Doomsday is very Mad Max-esq. A virus devastates Scotland forcing a quarantine of the entire country. The virus is successfully contained but Scotland is left isolated from the world as the virus ravages the country and presumably destroys the entire population. 30 years later the virus resurfaces in London. When proof of survivors surfaces on satellite photographs, a special top secret task force is sent into Scotland to find the doctor who led the research team back when the virus first surfaced. We follow the task force through the anarchistic war zone that Scotland has devolved into while we simultaneously watch London be destroyed by the virus and the rioting by the infected people trying to escape. This one is OK, but it's not a must see.

Milk

I went to see Milk today because I wanted to see Sean Penn's Oscar nominated performance before the awards are handed out. It was a powerful and moving true story about Harvey Milk, America's first openly gay elected official in San Francisco in the 70s. Obviously Sean Penn's performance was very powerful. I thought the movie itself was successful in describing the gay lifestyle of the 70s while keeping it artfully tasteful but honest all at the same time - kind of a touchy line to walk to appeal to main stream film audiences. An excellent film that you should add to your movie queue.

Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans

OK, I have to admit that I am now officially and Underworld fan. I think this third movie was better than the first two. Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans is a prequel to the first two movies and details the story of Lucien, head of the werewolves, and Sonja daughter of Victor, the head of the vampires. Their story, obviously one of forbidden love, is referenced in the first two movies so I wasn't sure if I would enjoy watching it since I already know how it was going to end. I think it's a testament to the great acting talent of Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy that I was enthralled in the story from start to finish. This movie focused more on the characters than the first two which seemed to focus more on action and plot (which I love, so I'm not knocking it). If you're a fan of the first two, you should definitely see this one.