I Am Legend

Movie Review: World War Z

Peter Germany Movie Review, Movies, Zombies , , , , , , ,

***Minor Spoilers***

Hey guys I just thought I’d share a few quick thoughts on World War Z. It was good, but don’t go into it expecting to see a movie with lots of blood and guts and any real reference to the book. As I watched it I noticed a couple of minor references to the book. It felt like they were after thoughts to be honest. If you’ve read I Am Legend by the late Richard Matheson and then seen the Will Smith movie of the same name you’ll know what I mean.
They is no Raj Singh, no Yonkers or the floating cities. There is a snippet with a doctor examining a young man like in the book but I can’t really recall many other references to the book. I’m sure if I listened to the book again and watched the film a couple of more times then I’d notice a few more references but I’ll have to wait for DVD.

Enough moaning about the lack of reference to the book. It is a film I enjoyed, it kept my attention on the screen. The story is okay, although I won’t sure about the way it was wrapped up. The visuals are good and the characters are okay, if cliched. Brad Pitt is Brad Pitt, he does what he does best. I’m not his biggest fan but he is a decent actor and does a steady job here.
The movie starts off quickly before the pace eases off a little and then levels out okay. Brad Pitt’s character has to find the source of the outbreak but instead finds something else.

Do I recommend seeing World War Z? Yes. Despite the lack of reference to The book by Max Brooks and a weak ending its an entertaining movie, great for if you want to chill out and not think too much about it.

Rest In Peace Richard Matheson

Peter Germany Audiobooks, Books ,

Last night it was announced that the writer Richard Matheson had passed away. Like many things I first saw the news on twitter and I spent the next hour and a half trying to get confirmation of this sad news.
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson blew me away. It was one of the first audiobooks that I downloaded and I’ve listened to it five or six times, the most recent being February. Each time that I do listen to it I’m struck by how intense the story is. For a book that does have a slow pace to it it grips the reader giving a sense of Robert Neville’s isolation that I’ve not felt in any other novel. The conclusion of the novel for me is the best part of it. It’s an ending which is not afraid of itself and has not been watered down.
This is the first author that has passed away where they wrote one of my favourite books, and I Am Legend is on that list. This is a book that has affected my own writing style and a book that I could listen to time and time again. I think that is why it upset me that he died. When Ray Bradbury died I felt the loss like many others. The same can be said at the recent loss of Iain Banks but as I love I Am Legend so much I think that is why I have felt this loss on more of a personal level.

Rest In Peace Mr. Matheson, and thank you for giving so much pleasure to the world.

Just An Update

Peter Germany Books, Horror, Insperation, Vampires, Writing , , , , ,

Tonight I did not really get a lot done because I was running general maintenance on my laptop so I spent a little time doing some visual research for one of mine and Owen’s universes. There’s a lot to do with this one but we’re making progress, albeit slowly.

I re-listened to the unabridged audiobook of I Am Legend by Richard Matheson yesterday. This story always gets my mind going and I think it is one of the reasons why I am falling more and more in love with apocalyptic stories. This story is not really a vampire story but the story of the last human alive. Matheson does not hold back from putting this poor fella into the deepest darkest recesses of the human mind. It always gives me a lot to think about not just in the story but also how Matheson structures the story. I’m envious of his pacing most of all.