Book Review: The Lost Symbol

The Lost Symbol
Written by Dan Brown

The Lost Symbol can easily be described as the most highly anticipated book since the last Harry Potter, maybe even more so. Its first initial print run is 6.5 million copies and it is poised to be just as big as its predecessor, The DaVinci Code which sold over 40 million copies.

Unfortunately, it's nowhere near as good (as I recall) as its predecessor, in fact, it's downright bad.

Click the Rawr! for the complete review.

The Lost Symbol brings the eagerly awaited return of Brown's hero Robert Langdon. This time he finds himself investigating secrets hidden in our own capital in order to rescue a friend from a deranged madman. This time he deals with the legendary, and oft discussed, Masons. The secrets brown discusses here on their own would be fascinating but for some reason everything we get here is rather bland and well almost boring.

The bloated novel runs over 500 pages, most of which seem like the same four or five scenes over and over again. Langdon states that whatever it is they're discussing is a myth or a metaphor, someone else says they can prove it, and Langdon has his mind blown.

The main villain seems like he is crafted specifically for the inevitable film adaptation and his revelations are so predictable that I had it figured out almost instantaneously.

It's a wildly overblown plot that is stretched out to its absolute limits to give the illusion of an epic when the actual quality is barely better than a $.99 trashy pulp novel. Even scenes that were meant to be shocking were downright laughable.

Sure the history is interesting, but the information around it was so heavy handed and poorly constructed that it makes one wonder what the fuss was about. This is what we've been waiting six years for? Such a massive let down.

Here is the worst part: The Lost Symbol has the single biggest cop out ending I have ever read. Don't worry I won't spoil it but my reaction was "WTF? Are you #(*$#($# kidding me? Really? REALLY? This is what we get?"

That may be paraphrased for humor. Then again it might not be.

I've never thought that Dan Brown was a literary master but I did enjoy his previous works. I don't know what's different now but I can see now that he's just not that good at all. One of the most annoying parts of The Lost Symbol is how much the characters think dialogue. I don't know if he thinks this kind of thing is natural or what but it is downright bothersome in the book.

The Lost Symbol will be a massive hit, that is for sure, but it really is one of the biggest disappointments the literary world has spewed out in this critic's recent memory.

If you are so inclined, and honestly, I hope you aren't, The Lost Symbol is in stores now.

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Trick 'R Treat finally out!

One of the most eagerly awaited horror films in years is FINALLY available today. The horror anthology Trick 'r Treat is being called one of the scariest movies in recent memory and I for one cannot wait to get my hands on it.

We're hoping to get a review copy so keep an eye out for the review.

Trick 'r Treat is on DVD and Blu-ray TODAY!
Before Jump

After Jump

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Win a Lights Prize Pack!

In celebration of the release of Lights new album, we're giving away a T-shirt and CD prize pack! Just drop an email to garon@popculturebeast.com with your name address and shirt size and I will randomly choose a winner! Contest ends on Friday!

LIGHTS, the Toronto singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist crafts her own brand of sparkling, otherworldly synth-pop thanks to her knack for the keytar and upbeat melodies. With songs that have already garnered a collective 15 million plays on Myspace, LIGHTS was also awarded the 2009 Juno (the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy Award) for New Artist of the Year. Her first full collection of music, The Listening, expands on her sound, which she calls “inter-galactic electro” and describes as “simple lyrics juxtaposed with sounds harvested from the far reaches of my alternate universe.” The album includes a few songs already familiar to die-hard LIGHTS fans, as well as plenty of new material including the first single, "Saviour," a propulsive pop anthem that represents her charming musical essence.

LIGHTS is currently headlining her first US tour with Portland indie-rockers, Stars of Track and Field supporting.

Official Site: http://iamlights.com

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lights
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=332673903&s=143441

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Blu-ray Roundup - Fox/MGM Horror!

It's October and that means Halloween is coming. It's the perfect time to catch up on some scary movies right? We're going to do a few round-ups dedicated to our favorite genre: Horror!

First up, Fox and MGM have recently released a few catalog horror flicks that might be just what the doctor ordered this Halloween.

Click the Rawr! to see what they're offering up!



It's a mixed bag in terms of quality, with two of the offerings being just okay. Let's start with those and end with the best shall we?

I hope you aren't afraid of inbred cannibals because we're starting with the first two chapters of horror franchise Wrong Turn.

Wrong Turn
Special Features: Commentary by Director Rob Schmidt and stars Desmond Harrington and Eliza Dushku, Deleted Scenes, The Making of Wrong Turn, Eliza Dushku: Babe in the Woods, Stan Winston, & Fresh Meat: The Wounds of Wrong Turn featurettes, Theatrical trailers.

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End
Special Features: More Blood, More Guts: The Making of Wrong Turn 2, Making Gore Look Good, & On Location with P-Nut Featurettes, Cast & Crew Audio Commentary

These aren't great movies by any means but that doesn't mean they aren't fun to watch. I am a sucker for crazy hill people movies so I may be a biased. There are some good jump scares in these films and they make for a decent watch. I wouldn't call them the scariest movies but they're gruesome enough to be worth it for those who enjoy the gore factors.

Both films look great on Blu-ray so you'll get optimum blood viewing.

Keep in mind, these are about as midnight movie as you can get. They're fun watches but they are not cinematic bliss.

Fans of this series will be glad to know that Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead is coming out this month as well (we'll have a review for that closer to Halloween), October 20, to be exact.

Next up, is probably the best Stephen King adaptation since Stand By Me or The Shawshank Redemption.

Misery
Special Features: 2 disc set. Disc One Blu-ray: Full-Length Feature Film in 1080p High Definition, Lossless Audio, Smart Menu Technology. Disc Two DVD: Commentaries from Director Rob Reiner and Screenwriter William Goldman and seven featurettes that cover topics ranging from Anti-stalking laws to music from the film, and more.

Would you believe I didn't know that Rob Reiner directed this movie until I sat and watched it? Talk about an odd choice for director. He did an admirable job though. The real star here of course is Kathy Bates, who won an Oscar for her part as lunatic book fan Annie Wilkes.

It seems odd that there are no features on the blu-ray for this disc. All of the features are on the second DVD disc. They're mildly interesting but nothing really stands out. It does look fantastic, I'll give it that much. It's better than I remembered it being also.

That hobbling scene is still cringe inducing.

Psycho fans not your thing? How about killer dolls?


Child's Play
Special Features: 2 disc set Blu-ray/DVD. Audio Commentaries with Alex Vincent, Catherine Hicks, and Chucky designer Kevin Yagher, as well as Producer David Kirschner and screenwriter Don Mancini, Scene specific Chucky commentaries, six featurettes including the vintage Introducing Chucky: The Making of Child's Play, trailer, and still photos.

Being as I grew up mostly in the 80's I am pretty loyal to the various franchises that began in that decade. The Child's Play series was one of my favorites. There was something about that doll that I loved watching. It's great to revisit the original, and second best in the series (the best being Bride of Chucky).

Chucky gets treated well with this release featuring a ton of special features. Sure it's mainly featurettes but it does give a lot of info about the film. The picture looks great, it's not perfect, but it's a step above the previous releases.

I can't wait for the rest of the series to hit Blu-ray, probably just in time for the remake that's in the works.

Lastly, but certainly not leastly, we get the last set featured in this round up. It includes the #1 villain on the AFI 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains list.

The Hannibal Lecter Collection:Manhunter, Silence of the Lambs, & Hannibal
Special features: NONE

Hannibal Lecter certainly is one of the most famous movie villains of all time and this set features his first three appearances on film. We get Manhunter, featuring Brian Cox as Hannibal and directed by Michael Mann, Johnathon Demme's classic and brilliant Silence of the Lambs, and the less than grand Hannibal from Ridley Scott.

Missing from this set are Red Dragon, which is based from the novel of the same name that also served as the inspiration for Manhunter, and Hannibal Rising.

Considering this set is completely devoid of special features, it would have been nice to get a complete set of the films. Instead, we have the first three. One of which is good, one brilliant and the last lame.

Still though, Silence of the Lambs alone make this the best option here and getting the other two films is just bonus. The set goes for around $30 so you're getting them for about 10 bucks each.

If you want any supplemental materials for these movies, this isn't the place to look.

Wrong Turn, Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, Misery, Child's Play, and The Hannibal Lecter Collection are in stores now.

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A Taste of the White Gold Rock Opera!

Today, White Gold & GotMilk? launched the rock opera “The Battle for Milkquarious” at www.milkquarious.com in its full 15-minute version. Here is a glimpse at that epicness with the video for "Almost As Beautiful As Me."

Hilarious. If you like you can download an MP3 by visiting http://tinyurl.com/whitegoldmp3.

The main reason I wanted to post this is for the great contest they're running along with it.
Check it out:

White Gold’s Milkdonculous Giveaway

WHITE GOLD and GotMilk? have teamed up to help save California high school arts programs with White Gold’s Milkdonculous Giveaway. California public high schools will be challenged to remake a scene from the rock opera for the chance to win part of a combined $50,000 in funding earmarked for arts programs--$20,000 scholarship for first place, one $10,000 winner for second place and 8 honorable mentions at $2,500 each. For more details, visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF4CoQSYprc.

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Abed's Student Film: Six Candles

Check out the student film from Community's Abed called Six Candles.

Funny and sad at the same time.

Don't forget that Community is moving to 8 on Thursdays!

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Movie Trailer: The Crazies

This looks pretty great.

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Music Video: Michelle Branch - Sooner or Later

Welcome back Michelle Branch!

Michelle Branch's new disc, Everything Comes and Goes arrives on January 26.

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The Movie Review: Zombieland

Ruben Fleischer's Zombieland is one of the best, funniest movies in a long time. With a brilliant cast, perfectly crafted screenplay, and inventive direction Zombieland is a truly fun and memorable movie-going experience.

Our hero on our journey through Zombieland is Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg, fresh from Adventureland, in another brilliantly nuanced, if slightly familiar, performance) one of the last surviving humans after most of the world has been taken over by blood-thirsty, flesh-eating zombies. He has a firm set of rules that he sticks to (cardio, seat belts, not being a hero) which has made him survive longer than most. Columbus is trying to get back home to where his maybe-still-human family may be. Along the way he meets Tallahasse (Woody Harrelson) who, like Columbus, is just trying to stay alive and human as long as he can, and find a Twinkie along the way, if possible. They find two more travelers in Wichita and Little Rock (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, respectivley) two sisters who are trying to get to Pacific Playland, an amusement park just outside of Los Angeles.

Click the Rawr! for the full review.

Zombieland just may be the perfect comedy/horror film. It has an amazing balance of hilarity and terror that separates it from other films in this genre. Really one of the most brilliant things about the film is the screenplay. Written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick the movie does the difficult task of creating a situation where an audience member will wonder about what they would do, how they would act in a situation like this. Not only does the movie capture the way that people would carry on, and the things people would do if there was no more worry about the law, but it does it in an intelligent and extremely funny way. Reese and Wernick brilliantly walk the line of showing some outrageous moments, while still making the movie not conform to typical zombie movie cliches and they infect in the audience a feeling of fantasy that there are limitless possibilities.

The cast doesn't exactly break any new ground, each of them sticking to familiar territory; Harrelson is the funny-tough guy, Eisenberg the awkward virgin, Breslin the little girl full of life, and Emma Stone the sarcastic irresistible one. However these particular actors are the best at playing their respective types, and so it is never annoying, or unoriginal. Each performer has a real knack for taking the dialogue and making the most out of it, making it their own.

For anybody that read my review of this year's Orphan (available here), you will know that I have been losing my faith in the horror genre for a long time. Zombieland is so good that it has instilled in me the hope that horror is still alive, it is still possible and can still be inventively done. While by no means a great movie, or a movie that is going to go down in history as being particularly exceptional, this is a movie that is capable of making an audience member have a good time; it accomplishes the difficult task of making a viewer feel like a kid again. I have not had a better time at the movies this year.

Zombieland is in theaters now, you should really go see it!

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Batman Motorcyle Suit: Fanboys cause surge in motorcycle sales, coincidentally motorcycle deaths...

Okay, so the last part of the title isn't true, but this is!


So UD Replicas is making 1,000 limited edition motorcycle suits ala the Bat Suit from the Dark Knight. Costing a pretty penny at $998, you have until October 31st to get yours.

I have to admit... I want one.

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