I'm going to start with the last part of the title first and work my way back from there.
From now until August 1st, you can download my first book, Project Zero: Bulletproof, for free from Smashwords.com. That's right, free! Just follow the link to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10007, click that you want to purchase the book, then enter the code GE48N during checkout to receive the book for free! On Smashwords, there is a format for pretty much every ebook reading device including the Amazon Kindle and Sony eReader (the iPad format is separate, I believe) and they're all included in that one FREE purchase. That's kind of an oxymoron, but we'll ignore that part for now. The best part is, if I ever release an updated edition, then anyone who has already purchased the book (for FREE) will also receive the updated edition while keeping the older editions as well (it's like watching history rewrite itself).
So remember:
Step 1: go to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10007
Step 2:
Step 3: Use coupon code GE48N during checkout and enjoy your FREE copy of Project Zero: Bulletproof!
Item the second, as the title implies, I saw Predators this past weekend. In an effort to provide as spoiler-free a review as I can, I will provide two reviews.
Review 1: It was really good. Go see it.
Revew 2: *Spoilers may follow*
This is what a Predator film should be. There's some people, they're in a jungle (or urban jungle), and there is a big, badass monster alien warrior thing hunting them, setting traps, being awesome...
This film marks a return to the jungle, only the motley crew of murderers (both professional and casual here) soon discover it's not their jungle. The men (and woman) have been dropped into a jungle preserve for hunting the most dangerous animal of all...man. Under the leadership of a buff Adrian Brody doing his best to sound like Christian Bale's Batman (why is that the new default voice for badass? All that voice does is draw really bad jokes), the assortment of killers try their best at bonding under their shared circumstance. That is, being picked off one by one by intelligent humanoids bred for doing mostly one thing: killing shit.
And kill shit they do. I didn't hate the second AVP movie, but I am glad to see a return to form for the big guy(s) and *another SPOILER alert* the really big guys. And that is true all the way around this film. The story seems to be mostly filler with the aim of making the audience care just enough to feel anything when one of the characters get offed. And, in something that I felt was lacking in the AVP films, the kills are much more varied this time around.
It's true that this doesn't bring anything terribly new to the series (other than it's not on Earth...and well, you'll see) and most of the audience will be playing the "who's going to be the next to go" game, but it was a solid film in a series that, before now, most people looked at with disdain.
So, as I said in the spoiler-free review: go see it. Go see it now.
Last up: the news that Edward Norton will not be Bruce Banner in the Avengers film. A quick aside, though. Norton's agent mentions that the actor had lunch with Joss Whedon. Now, I love Whedon's work, and was giddy as a little giiiiiirrrrllll when he was announced to be in talks to direct the Avengers film. But, officially, that's as far as it went. Rumors and talks. No matter how hard I look, I cannot find an official statement from Marvel studios naming Whedon as director. Norton's agent implies it. Marvel implies it. Various Hollywood rags imply both this and that Joss is helping spruce up the Cap script (a movie, as I have previously written, I have great concerns about), but I cannot find an official announcement anywhere.
Back to my main point, though. I didn't dislike Norton as Banner in the '08 Hulk. I didn't love him, either. He just did a servicable job between episodes of Hulking out. I had heard rumors that he didn't always get his way on set and on story decisions and that this made him difficult to work with. I also heard some of the story ideas that were cut and I can't say that they would've made the film any better. It seemed that most of these ideas were more in line with the 70's Hulk show, which, other than the main character having the last name 'Banner' and that he would get angry and sometimes break things, didn't have a lot to do with the comic (or the Hulk).
Now, reading Kevin Feige's (Marvel Studios head exec...I think) comments on the whole deal, I only saw that the studio and Norton couldn't agree on terms for his appearance, so the decided to look elsewhere for Banner. I didn't think anything of it. Happens all the times in the film industry. How many times has a director, writer, actor, or even movie been announced only to be later dropped due to differences somewhere in the process?
Then Norton's agent opens his trap and well, just comes off as a douche. That is not the way to handle things for your client, Mr. Agent man. He claims that Marvel took a swipe at Norton in their statement (something I didn't see) and then goes on to "set the record straight." The whole thing is about two pages long. I couldn't even get through it all. Then...and then (I tell coworkers all the time: when do I ever tell a story that doesn't have multiple parts?) Eddie boy releases his own statement...of poorly written sorrow. Not sure what Norton was on when he wrote it, but it seems like a second grader could write better. Also, not a huge deal, but punctuation goes inside of the quote. Not outside.
The buzz is that Marvel wants and unknown. Hell, just get Bana back. He's not doing much right now, just being in a couple of comedies, and he has far more personality than Norton, anyway.
My hands hurt and my right pinky is going numb, so I'm going to knock off there. And that's why I put the promo code first. Those who couldn't make it through the whole blog won't miss out.
Project Zero Fun Fact #4: The original concept for the series was that it was going to be a globe-trotting superhero/super spy comedy. The more serious tone developed itself as the book was written.
Buy Project Zero: Bulletproof from Smashwords (also available on the iPad's iBook store):http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/10007
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