Hardcore Henry

Henry was killed and then revived by his brilliant wife Estelle, but he has no memory of his life and can't speak. Just as she and her team are about to install his voice, Akan, a telekinetic psychopath, attacks and claims Estelle's research as their own. They make a daring escape, but she is kidnapped after a fiery crash landing. Henry vows to rescue her from Akan's disgusting clutches with the help of Jimmy, another enemy of Akan's with many copies of himself.

I wasn't expecting a lot from Hardcore Henry. The first person point of view looked interesting, but I fully expected a fairly mindless action film. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this film is well constructed and has everything I enjoy. It had me at the beginning credits where slow motion attacks are shown super close with a variety of weapons and their bloody aftermath. There's no preamble or explanation to the situation or world in the film. We know just as much as Henry knows which isn't much. Although he doesn't remember anything from before he woke up, he makes split second moral decisions, choosing to only attack those attacking him and trying his best to minimize civilian injuries and casualties. The villains are countless, led by Akan, a very easy to hate, disgusting, evil villain. The film goes breakneck speed with tons of violence, blood, gore, explosions, and tons of guns. The first person view can be disorienting, but it puts the audience right in the middle of the action.

Many of my favorite parts of the film are thanks to Jimmy, a paraplegic genius. He made numerous robot copies of himself that he controls, but he imbues with different personalities: nonviolent hippie Jimmy, punk rocker Jimmy, homeless drunk Jimmy, secret agent Jimmy, guerrilla warfare Jimmy, proper English World War II colonel Jimmy, coke and women enthusiast Jimmy, computer nerd Jimmy, and Frank Sinatra-esque Jimmy. He gives us a strong character to follow and a lot of the humor that Henry can't give us because we can't see him and he can't speak. In the middle of this tense situation with countless goons and violence, he breaks out into song and dance with his various avatars. He made me laugh a lot even before that, which breaks up the gloom and doom of the main plot.

I saw Hardcore Henry two times, one day apart in the theater because it was the most fun I had in the theater all year. All of my questions and concerns about the plot are addressed in the film except for one: how Akan got his power. This is covered in a graphic novel prequel. I can't stress enough how well made this is. The action flows seamlessly and the film is fast paced. You will never be bored and the ending is incredibly satisfying. This film didn't do well in the box office, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a cult following in the future and maybe a sequel (although I think it's a good stand alone).

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins

Ready Player One

In 2044, the real world is pretty awful. Poverty, hunger, and unemployment are even bigger issues than they are today. The only shining, wonderful part of life is called OASIS, a free virtual reality massive multiplayer online game that replaces many aspects of real life: shopping, games, vacations, communication, leisure time, and even school. One of the creators of this innovative technology  died a few years ago and willed his entire enormous fortune to the person that can find three keys and the hidden easter egg in the vast OASIS. After five years, no on has found anything until Wade Watts find the copper key. Wade, in real life and in the game, is poor and looked down upon. In real life, he lives in one of the treacherous towers of mobile homes with his abusive aunt and whatever boyfriend she has at the time. In game, he doesn't have enough credits to travel and he's stuck with a few low level items and the default avatar skin. Suddenly, the whole world is looking at him, including the  IOI cooperation bent on finding the easter egg to make the OASIS cost money and saturate it with ads, effectively destroying it for much of the population. Can Wade find the easter egg before IOI? How far is IOI willing to go to get it?

I read Ready Player One because a few people recommended it to me and they had a cool booth at San Diego Comic Con. I expected a cool, nerdy story that I would enjoy, but it went above and beyond my expectations. I read it in only a couple of days and I felt glued to the book, needing to know what would happen next. The first thing that really impressed me was the OASIS and its huge impact on the world. The possibilities are infinite in that world. You can be whoever you want to be ad experience it as if it were real life. Even in school, no one will ever really know who you really are unless you let them know. All of that life is experienced through screen names and avatars. There are thousands of planets that depict anything from schools to worlds from sci-fi films to night clubs. To the people of the time, it's better than reality and a way to escape. The huge differences between the virtual and real world were interesting to witness. In the OASIS, there are infinite possibilities and hope. In the real world, one can be enslaved in never ending indentured servitude for unpaid credit cards or live in a precarious tower of mobile homes.

The characters were all dynamic and develop throughout the novel. Wade is the quintessential underdog on a quest that is seen time and time again in science fiction and fantasy stories. He used the OASIS for school and to escape his horrible life full of abuse, pov I, and I'm sure many people, related to him because of his outsider status and nerdiness. His knowledge about James Halliday and his various obsessions was vast. The narrative was peppered with references from science fiction and the 80's in any media imaginable. Although I didn't get every single one, they gave the story an added depth. Wade used his obsession with everything related to Halliday and his intelligence to get through not only the obstacles in the game, but the ones in real life as well. His circle of friends were also endearing. All of his friends only knew him online, but he developed real, lasting relationships. It was interesting to see who they were in real life, behind their avatar facades.

I absolutely loved Ready Player One. I didn't want to put it down and I always went right back to reading the first opportunity I could. If you like science fiction, the 80's, and fun adventure stories, this book is definitely for you.

My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins