The fourth installment of the Legacy of the Alldenata saga concludes the Human-Posleen War series. It lived up to the first three novels, if it did resort to a bit of deus ex machina in the end. I would have been upset with all the loose ends, but Ringo made it clear in his afterword that he will be writing more about these characters (although perhaps after a not-too-brief hiatus).

Started: 2003-07-09 | Finished: 2003-07-13

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I've been a huge fan of Gene Wolfe since I first picked up his Book of the New Sun series about five years ago. His novels are dense and it can be difficult to get to the core of them. A single reading is never enough to figure them out. But, oh!, they are so beautiful! The Fifth Head of Cerberus was my favorite of his books for a while, but Peace may be giving it a run for its money.

Started: 2003-07-02 | Finished: 2003-07-09

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This was a welcome change of pace after Nietzsche. Ambrose's book is a bit biased, and since it was so short and covered so much he didn't have time to really delve into any of his topics, but it was still a good read and I think I can apply the highest praise that can be given to an historian: it made me want to learn more about the people and events he described.

Started: 2003-06-28 | Finished: 2003-07-01

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I read this book as a part of my continuing quest to read all the books I was supposed to have read for various classes. It didn't take me long to remember why I skipped it the first time around. Nietzsche is a racist, a chauvenist, a classist, and, in general, a jerk. I disagree with the basic premise of his philosophy—that the basic and sole important drive in people is the will to power—as well as most of the conclusions to which it brings him. Nevertheless, he was an important influence on so many thinkers, so I suppose it wasn't a total waste of time.

Started: 2003-04-30 | Finished: 2003-06-26

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This may be the best comic book movie I've seen. The character of the Hulk is one of the more interesting in the Marvel universe, which gave the film a solid backbone. Nick Nolte was very good, and Eric Bana was quite decent. The editing was a bit jarring at first, but it really made it seem like I was reading a comic book.

Viewed: 2003-06-21 | Released: 2003-06-16 | Score: B

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Another example of Pixar's tradition of excellent filmcraft, this movie had everything an animated feature needs: great comedy, an engaging storyline, amazing graphics, and heart. The fun characters and good messages make it a good family film, but there was more than enough humor to keep me (and most of the rest of the adult audience) laughing out loud.

Viewed: 2003-06-02 | Released: 2003-05-29 | Score: A

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I love going to my local theater that shows indie films; usually they're so much more interesting than mainstream movies. This one was such a disappointment. It was poorly written, poorly directed, extremely poorly edited and two of the four characters were poorly acted. The characters were poorly developed, merely slaves to the movie's central idea, and the imagery that the director must have thought was edgy and meaningful was, in fact, clumsy, obvious and pretentious. I left the film thinking, "The director clearly had no respect for me, so why should I have any respect for him?" Perhaps I'm too hopelessly bourgeois to appreciate a film like this, but I didn't miss the point, I dismiss it.

Viewed: 2003-05-24 | Released: 2003-01-17 | Score: F

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This movie was what you'd expect from a Jim Carrey movie: hilarious. Morgan Freeman was especially good, although that was no surprise. Two things hurt this film: Carrey was not completely successful at reining in his tendencies toward ham, which ruined some of the more serious scenes, and the main character was totally unlovable for the majority of the movie. If I hadn't seen this formula a million times already, I would have had no reason to think he would have any reason to be saved.

Viewed: 2003-05-23 | Released: 2003-05-22 | Score: C

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One of the most hyped films of the year, it definitely lived up to my expectations. Others may have varying mileage, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The action sequences were visually stunning and, unlike some, I found the plot and main philosophical conundrum engaging. I can't wait for number three.

Viewed: 2003-05-22 | Released: 2003-05-06 | Score: B

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I went to this one expecting a half-homage, half-parody of a 1960's sex comedy. I was right. I also expected it to be rather stupid. I was wrong. I found this movie to be smart and funny, enough that I expect it to have very good replay value. Great for dates.

Viewed: 2003-05-21 | Released: 2003-05-08 | Score: A

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