The premise to this book sounded like tons of fun. I went into it expecting a "riveting" and intense recounting of the various attempts (successful and failed) to steal the First Folio over the years. What I ended up reading was indeed interesting but not nearly as compelling or intriguing as the numerous marketing blurbs and synopses made me expect.

First, I must applaud the author and his team. They have done astounding detective work to track down, identify and extensively catalog the known First Folio's out in the world. The amount of detail put into this effort is truly mind boggling. The knowledge and expertise that the author and the team have is amazing.

The book gives an initial overview of WHAT the First Folio is and what its significance is in the literary world. This description is interesting and educational. From my own studies, I'd heard the basic overview before…the comparison of the Folio versus the Quarto, the timing of how the Folios came about, etc. The overview also goes into the rarity of the Folio as a medium and with regards to the Shakespeare Folio specifically.

After the overview of the Folio history, the rest of the book follows the history of some of the known copies of the Shakespeare Folio still in existence. It is amazing the degree of detail recorded about these books…not only about their history and lineage of ownership, but also about identifying characteristics (down to creases or stains on specific areas of specific pages).

Each chapter was usually focused on the specific history of one of the known surviving Folios, though some chapters were more thematic in describing similar events or occurrences that happened to numerous Folios.

There were dozens of fun and interesting stories of theft, vandalism, fraud, mistaken identity (both of ownership and of the Folio itself) and more. Some stories were more interesting than others and the amount of research and detail for each story was always impressive.

Where the book was lost on me was the narrative style. For some reason, I never did find myself gripped by the writing, even by the most exciting or intriguing of the histories. I think this was partly due to the number of stories and the rapidity of their telling. Even with the amount of details involved, each story usually only covered a few pages and often only a few paragraphs. Add to this that the language was often steeped in scholarship and focused on presenting everything as factual as possible, and these brief stories read more like a history textbook than an exciting retelling of intrigue and suspicion (as promised by the summary).

I still found the book to be very interesting and informative. It told me a lot more about the Folios than I ever knew before and it also gave me a ton of interesting little tales of intrigue within the book world. But the book never hit home for me as the compelling read I was expecting based on the synopsis. I suspect it will have a narrow audience that may be even more narrow due to maintaining so scholarly and deep. I feel like it could have broadened its appeal by providing more engaging narratives and I'm sure this could be done without sacrificing the academic nature of the book.

This isn't a bad book…in fact, it is an excellent book. But it's certainly not going to be for everyone. I'm worried that the publishing and marketing team of this book is going to lose its audience by presenting the book as something it's not. The title, the synopsis, the quotes/blurbs, etc all suggest that you're looking at a literary thriller. If you go into this book looking for an academic thriller from someone like Eco (or the more pulp-fiction version like Brown), you'll come away disappointed. If you go in looking for a scholarly analysis on the Folio, then this book is a masterpiece and will leave you very fulfilled.


3 out of 5 stars


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Merry Christmas!!!

Our Christmas festivities this year were a little different in terms of scheduling, but still a lot of fun. Lynette went in for her second hip surgery less than a week before Christmas, so we knew ahead of time we'd have to do most of our "out-and-about" activities well before Christmas itself.

As per our normal tradition, we set up our decorations and trimmed the tree on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Both Lynette and I have a bunch of ornaments from our childhood as well as dozens that we've collected in the 15 years we've been married. Then add to that those ornaments chosen by, given to, or made by our kids, and we have a hodgepodge of decorations.

We have no set theme on our tree...rather, it's a jumble of old wooden ornaments, new plastic ornaments, glass globes, paper trees and stockings, Disney rides and figurines, Hallmark pop-culture decorations, and much much more. It's all over the place...and very clearly ours. I love it.

During the first week of December, we had a fun filled windstorm in our community which delayed a few of our pre-Christmas activities, but mostly gave us a nice teaching lesson for the kids as we worked together as a community to help and serve others.

We then made our trip to Salt Lake to see the lights on Temple Square and the plaza. I still think there are fewer lights than there used to be, but that's probably just the crotchety old man in me talking. The lights were gorgeous and we had a nice time walking around and taking in the sights and sounds.

It was a cold night. We bought some hot cocoa and cookies from a little street cart but even that didn't help warm up little Andrew enough and we had to speed walk through the last few hundred yards back to the car to get him home and warm.

The fairpark hosted a Dickens Festival again. I'm so glad they've decided to bring this back. I have fond memories of the festival from my childhood and I love being able to share it with my kids. While it is, to a large extent, a bunch of booths and vendors trying to fleece the public with overpriced gifts, there are still those diamond-in-the-rough treasures you may find. Besides...the entire thing is themed Victorian London.

So even though many of the booths are something you may find in a mall, they at least have that Dickens flair to them. And there are a few booths that embrace the authenticity both in their mannerism and their wares. This seemed especially true of the food booths and some of the clothing booths. Plus...they have Father Christmas...and he is amazing.

We also made it up to Ogden to see their annual Christmas Village down by City Hall. Once again, it was a cold night so we cut it a little short, but it was very fun. We love looking at all the cute little houses each decorated with a different theme or motiff by a company or community group.

About mid-month, we went to our local "care center" for the elderly. The primary was in charge of putting on a home evening lesson for them. A couple of their teachers gave talks and the kids sang a bunch of Christmas songs. I was caught a little off guard when Jason got up to sing a solo...so I didn't get a full video of him singing, but he did great. They all did. It was a very cute night and everybody had a good time.

We did manage to get out and visit grandparents and cousins, though sadly Lynette didn't get to make all the visits because of her surgery. The kids had a ball playing with their cousins and getting to open a few gifts prior to Christmas day.

Once Lynette had her surgery, we stuck with more indoor activities...making gingerbread houses, watching Christmas shows, relaxing and playing games and the annual reading of the Christmas story from the Bible complete with some impromtu costumes and acting from the kids. :-)

Christmas morning was a little more subdued than normal as we let Lynette hobble in first on her crutches and then the rest of us gathered around and opened gifts, laughed and played together. It was actually nice that it was more relaxed as that made it easier to convince the kids to get dressed up for Church. There were a few seconds of reluctance but I assured them their toys would still be there after we came back. So we went over to Church for a lovely Christmas morning program and then came home and just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company.

In the days after Christmas, we've played a few new board games, watched a few new movies and played with new toys.

Jason has recently taken a passion for Airsoft guns (hence his starring role in the "Christmas Story" Jibjab video I posted recently) and so he and I stepped outside for a little Airsoft war. I nicked him a few times in the cheek and gave him a couple of welts. He smacked me in the forehead really well once and left a little red spot. The kids and I also got out to see a movie (their vote was for the new Chipmunks film...definitely not my first choice, but it was a fun outing).

I have had a ton of fun these past few weeks spending time with family and celebrating our lives and our love. I love the Christmas season for its power to bring us together even more than usual.

I also love what Christmas truly stands for. I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and what He means to me and my family. I chatted a little with the kids the day after Christmas and asked for some of their favorite moments...I loved the answer Andrew gave about how excited he was to watch Jason open the present Andrew had picked out. He truly had the joy of giving. And I think they're starting to understand more about Christ and His role in our life and the world...His selflessness and love.

I hope all of you have had a fabulous Christmas season and that your lives are truly blessed.

It's no secret that Peter Pan is one of my favorite children's stories, Disney movies, etc. I've sometimes been told I suffer from Peter Pan syndrome and while I don't know all the ins and outs of what that means, but I definitely have plenty of immature tendencies and am willing to revel in the joys of childhood more than your average stuffy adult. Anyway, when I heard about Peter and the Starcatchers, I was stoked.

This book (the start of a series) is a re-imagining of the Peter Pan story. This book is the story of how Peter became the Peter Pan that we know….how he (and others) got to Neverland. Where the magic came from. How he and Captain Hook became rivals. Basically a new beginning of a new and fresh telling of the Peter Pan adventures.

I had encouraged my two boys to read the book at the same time as me so we could talk about it. Unfortunately, the book starts out a bit slower than they were in the mood for and they both gave up about 40 pages in. Now that I've finished the book, I have encouraged them to push through…letting them know that they are nearly to the point of exciting adventure that goes on nearly non-stop through the end of the book.

The opening few chapters have a lot of character and plot development that is very interesting and creative and even a bit suspenseful, but not very action packed or exciting right away. Granted, as compared to the original Peter Pan story, the opening here is probably more enticing to young readers. :-)

I really had a lot of fun seeing Peter grow into the Peter Pan I know and love. I also loved the way the pirates were portrayed (particularly the Captain)…they were much more violent and repulsive than sometimes portrayed. This made them feel more realistic (and more frightening and threatening).

I thought that the way Peter was transitioned into being Peter Pan was handled very smoothly and made for a natural and fun presentation. It also answered a few of the somewhat ambiguous questions from the general Peter Pan mythos.

The writing style was a lot of fun…dark and creepy at times, witty and humorous at others. For the sake of younger readers (and their 21st century short attention span), it might have been better to have one exciting action scene closer to the beginning. But as an adult reader and one who grew up with slower paced children's stories, I found it perfectly acceptable and I hope I can get my boys to give it a second chance.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to diving deeper into the series to find out what happens next.



4 out of 5 stars

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The Maltese Falcon is a classic. A definitive entry in the "Noir" or "Hard Boiled" detective genre. Probably Hammet's most well known work. I have very vague memories of watching Humphrey Bogart work his way through this mystery but I haven't seen the film in ages and had forgotten enough that the book was still very fresh to me. Granted, I still plan to pull out the video and watch it again…soon. :)

Like Hammet's other works, this is a gritty crime novel with a less than perfect protagonist. Sam Spade is, to me at least, one of the most famous and most copied/satirized of the detective characters. Even before seeing the movie or reading this book, I had a good feel for who Sam Spade was (though I didn't know him by name) through various cartoons, TV shows and other movies with similar characters. I was surprised to find that this is Spade's only complete novel though he was apparently in a couple other short stories.

The mystery of the book starts out fairly straightforward…Spade is hired to tail a man. That simple presence quickly takes turn after turn and pulls in numerous other shady characters and plots finally resulting in a global conspiracy of sorts.

I loved the simple, gritty and straightforward language of the book. It helped set and maintain the tone throughout the novel. I loved Spade's hard and cynical view on life as well as his approach to investigating and solving this mystery. I also found it interesting that the book never let us get into Spade's head (or anyone else's head for that matter). As far as i could tell, we never had a "Spade thought this" moment. Thus we were left having to try and deduce everyone's inner motivations and thoughts based on their actions and interactions. This made for a lot of fun and helped keep the resolution to the mystery at arm's length while at the same time seemingly presenting us with all of the information we might need to solve the mystery.

The only problem I had with the book was that I didn't want it to end. Don't take that wrong…I was fully satisfied with the ending (which gave even more of an edge to Sam Spade). I just wanted more of the same. I'll definitely have to seek out the other Sam Spade stories and keep reading Hammett. Maltese Falcon is one of those classics that I'm glad I finally read. I'll have to go watch the movie now to see how true it is to the book and the tone/feel of the story. Even if you're not a fan of mysteries or detective stories…give this one a try. I'd be interested to hear what you think.


5 out of 5 stars


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I received an ARC of Flygirl ages ago and let it sit idly on my bookshelf. I procrastinated reading it thinking it was going to be a trite, stereotypically emotional book pounding its message into my head at the expense of good writing and good storytelling. Once I finally picked up the book and started reading, I was dismayed that I'd waited so long to read this book.

In some ways, the story and plot were what I expected to find. A black girl living in the south in mid-1900s…trying to find her own identity while having it constantly defined by those around her (by both whites and blacks). As the title and synopsis indicate, she finds her strongest sense of identity defined by her absolute passion for flying…and especially for the freedom and exhilaration it brings to her.

The synopsis explains that this story is about Ida Mae Jones and what happens when she decides to join the WASP (Women's Airforce Service Pilots). However, the first third of the book is about her life in Slidell, Louisiana. We meet her friends, her family and see a bit of her interactions around town. We also learn about Ida Mae's passion to be a pilot. The writing is smooth and believable and really draws you into what it might have been like to be a young black girl in Louisiana in 1941.

Before long, we are given historical notes about America entering the war and about the sacrifices that people had to make. Finally, we learn about the WASP program and see Ida Mae grapple with the difficult decision of what she should do. As you know from the synopsis, she decides to try out for WASP and she ends up being accepted into the program. But in order to do so, she finds herself needing to "pass" as a white woman. She never explicitly says to anyone that she is white…but she doesn't have to. By dressing herself more "white" and by moving into white circles, she is essentially silently telling people she is no longer "black."

I loved that this book was written in first person. By having it in first person it allowed us to get very close to Ida Mae and to feel her anxieties, her regrets, her successes and her fears. I was very worried for her safety many times through her training and missions…not just because of the military aspect, but because her "passing" would have gotten her into a lot of trouble.

I found this book not only very entertaining but very interesting and educational. It was clear that the author did a lot of research on the era, on the war, on the WASP program and on most everything she shared with us in this novel. I really felt like I was reading about true moments from 1940s America.

My only real problem with the book was how it ended…not that it ended bad, but the position in which it ended. The end of the book leaves Ida Mae with a difficult decision about what to do with her future. And while I felt the author handled the ending very well and had Ida Mae make the decision that best fit her character and her life, I really wanted to know what happened next…in the following months, years, etc. Granted, that sort of speculation would be a hard ending to make and would result in a lot of problems for a writer and a reader. So it's probably best that we're left not knowing what happened next and we're thus left having to assume what happened based on what's presented in our novel and our own knowledge of the history of the times.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick but very engaging read. The history, descriptions, characters, and actions were all vivid, entertaining and thought provoking. While not an action packed war novel, you did feel the anxiety of being in America during World War II as well as the stress and worry of Ida Mae as she struggled to find part of her identity while hiding another part. Even though this is a "young adult" novel due to its young characters and simpler writing/plot style, I found this to be a great read and could recommend it to teens or adults without problem. If you have any interest at all in WWII, black-white relations in the mid-1900s or aviation/air-force and women's place in it, then you'll enjoy this book. And if you don't have much/any interest in those things, I dare say this book may spark some interest for you. It's well written and very accessible even if you know nothing about those topics…and it's interesting enough that you may just find yourself wanting to know more.


3.5 out of 5 stars


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I've been a fan of Batman for as long as I can remember but only really via TV Shows, cartoons and movies. I never really got into the monthly comic book scene and haven't picked up many superhero graphic novels. But I've seen The Killing Joke sitting on the store and library shelves for a long while and it kept calling to me...until I finally read it.

Of the Batman villains, my favorite is the Riddler. Mostly this is due to my own penchant for riddles, puzzles, codes and random mind games. However, close behind Riddler's methods of toying with Batman, my next favorite antagonist is the Joker. Thus having the entire cover devoted to him, really made me eager to read this. Add to that the writing of Alan Moore and I was stoked to get into this.

Apparently the original novel had much less color (mostly black and white, from what I understand) but the one I read was the "remastered" (that's the term for movies...does it apply to books?) version with cleaned up art and color.

I really enjoyed the art style. It was a little greusome at times and there were a couple of scenes that I would have prefered a little less "graphic" in the graphic novel.

The story was very fast paced and the writing very tight. Rather than the long back stories and explanations from something like Watchmen or V for Vendetta, this book just jumped right through all the hoops and presented the story with clean, concise movements that kept the plot jolting forward.

Probably my favorite part in the whole book was during the actual joke at the end. The joke itself was alright, but having Batman give a half smirk really just cracked me up. The stoic, withdrawn Batman who never reveals his humanity let himself emit a small sense of appreciation at the Joker's joke. Not a laugh or a giggle...more just a slight exhale with even slighter motion at the corners of his lips, but enough to see Batman's humanity.

For Batman lovers, this is a fun book. It's definitely not for kids (violence, language and covered/implied nudity) but for the more mature Batman crowd, this is an enjoying read.


3.5 out of 5 stars


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We all know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, right? Well, this new book tells the story of Jacob T. Marley both before and after he met Scrooge as well as what happened after he died and his side of the story familiar to us in A Christmas Carol.

When I first this book, I was a little nervous and unsure how good it would be. In recent years, there has been a wealth of books acting as sequels, prequels or retelling of classic tales (how many new versions of Pride and Prejudice do we really need?). Obviously with so much content coming out, there are both gems and stinkers. I went into this novel cautiously optimistic.

Within the first couple of pages I quickly became relieved that this book looked to be a winner. The style, tone and very language felt VERY reminiscent of Dickens' writing in his original work. There were naturally some snippets of modern vernacular but for the most part, I felt as though I was fully engaged in a piece of classic Victorian literature. The way the narrative was presented was very similar to the layout and presentation of Dickens' work and thus it felt like a very natural companion piece.

I will say that some of the segments were a bit more intense than those from A Christmas Carol. These weren't horrific or modernly grotesque by any means and would have naturally appeared other novels of the time (in fact they would have fit in naturally in some of Dickens other works) but they felt more intense than scenes from the original work. I won't call out specific details because I don't want to spoil the story…I'll just say that the 'fire rescue' scene struck me as slightly more intense than I would expect in the Christmas Carol story.

The first half of the book focused on Jacob's life up until his death. We get to see how his own greed developed, paralleled Scrooge and even mentored and shaped Scrooge into what he became. I really enjoyed the vivid backstory and well-rounded presentation of Marley's life. In the same way that Scrooge is an initially unlovable character, Marley is also very repulsive through the first half of this book.

As Marley dies, we are taken into an interesting new twist in the layout of the story. Instead of merely jumping ahead to Scrooge's experience on that fateful Christmas Eve, we first get to see into Marley's afterlife and the years between his death and his reappearance to Scrooge in the Dickens novel.

The presentation of Marley's afterlife is not overtly religious (there's a brief reference to "Him") but presents a lot of religious ideals. In A Christmas Carol, Dickens outlines Scrooge's numerous vices and presents counterpoints to him through the visions he sees. In this book, Jacob Marley engages in a conversation with a Spirit not present in the first book. Marley and this Spirit talk about the nature of humanity, morality, love, choice and other virtues. Their discussion felt natural and logical to the story while still definitely teaching a more profound message.

By the end of their conversation, Marley's remorse has extended into a hope for reconciliation not for himself (who he believes too far gone) but for Ebenezer Scrooge. Marley blames himself for leading Scrooge farther down the path that will lead to his eternal damnation. Marley pleads for the opportunity to help redeem Scrooge but first he must serve some of his own penance through wandering the earth with the chains of his own working.

After many years of wandering, Jacob Marley finally arrives at the crossroads we are all familiar with…his visit to Scrooge and the subsequent visits of the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. At this point, I expected the book to skip ahead or onto some parallel path rather than to let Marley share the journey with Scrooge. I was surprised to find that Marley was invited, even compelled, to travel with the ghosts and Scrooge (invisible to Scrooge, of course) to learn more about the nature of love, compassion, joy and goodness.

I really enjoyed seeing this aspect of the story through a different perspective. The side discussions between Marley and the various ghosts were also very fun and interesting and provided more insight. When Scrooge talked with the Ghosts, he was still caught up in his own greed, pride and humanity. When Marley spoke with the Ghosts, he did so with the insight of a soul long dead and already striving for his own redemption. As such, the commentary was more overt and direct.

Given the choice between the two books, I would probably read A Christmas Carol instead of Jacob T. Marley…but truly they are both very quick reads and great companion pieces to each other, so I think my preference would actually be to read both of them.

I am thoroughly impressed by this addition to the Christmas tradition. Bennett did a great job capturing the tone and feel of Dickens' classic work. Furthermore, he took the opportunity to expound on the wonderful lessons and emotions that we should share and teach at Christmastime. I found myself absolutely enjoying this book and eagerly recommending it to others. A fun and edifying read.


4.5 out of 5 stars

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And as a balance to the humorous videos, here are a couple of inspirational videos.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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Just in time for Christmas, here's some video fun from JibJab and other sources.

From my family to you and yours...Merry Christmas. :)


A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Story


Elves


It's a Wonderful Life


More Elves


Let's take a Sleigh Ride


A Calvin & Hobbes tribute



Phineas & Ferb



National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (warning - expletives)

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I was super excited when I first heard the news that they were making a sequel to the recent Sherlock Holmes film. I absolutely loved the first movie. Holmes and Waston were wonderfully portrayed. The setting and cinematography were great. And the plot was absolutely enjoyable. I was also stoked when, in the first film, they introduced Moriarty as a character hiding behind the scenes but at the very end of the film becoming the prey to Sherlock's intellect. I suspected we'd see a sequel, and I suspected we'd see Moriarty play a greater role.

So yes, I was super excited going into this film. Because of the nature of the plot, I tried hard to avoid any information about the story. And I will try to provide the same courtesy here by avoiding any spoilers in this review. Instead, I'll give sort of general reactions.

The first general reaction I had was that this movie was so much LARGER in scope than the first film. In terms of setting, we find ourselves whisking around Europe investigating things in numerous countries unlike the first film that stayed not only in England, but just in London. The changing environments allowed for more over the top sets and scenes. In some of these I felt like the sets were a little too over the top and lost some of the charm of the smaller settings of the first film.

I also felt like the action and adventure had been cranked up to the extreme as compared to the first film. The fights were longer, the explosions were bigger and the chases were longer. Again, the larger than life adventure was fun but I missed some of the charm from the smaller investigations and interactions. I really did like some of the cinematic effects during the larger scenes (such as the transition between fast-and-slow during the chase scene through the forest). I also really enjoyed the effects reused from the first movie such as the panning, transition of focus and other camera effects that helped us to see the scenes through the perspective of Sherlock's observation techniques.

I absolutely loved having Moriarty as the villain in this story. I'm always a fan of seeing the hero go up against his arch-nemesis. In the books, I wish there was more involvement with Moriarty, so I was stoked to have him be in this second film. I loved the dialogues between Holmes and Moriarty…each one fully aware of the scrutiny from the other…each one respecting the skills of the other while viciously trying to undermine their efforts. I felt that Moriarty was well cast and well executed, though perhaps a bit stereotyped and lacking at times…generally he was good.

I was a little bummed that Irene Adler played a smaller role in this film...I guess they figured they needed some new female blood to pit against Holmes's wit and they figured that it would have been too much to have two female leads on screen at the same time.  The gypsy character Sim was interesting, but not nearly as engaging as Adler.

The overall plot and mystery was, like other aspects of the movie, taken to the extreme when compared with the first film (which is especially worth noting since the plot of the first film was adequately complex already). At times, this plot felt overly convoluted for the sake of added complexity. At other times, the revelations felt too simple or mundane. Still…sometimes the best plots are those that draw you in with complexity and intrigue only to stun you with something so simple that its success seems inevitable.

I felt like the various moments of investigation and revelation weren't handled quite as well in this film. Partly due to the complexity, partly to the way the various parts were solved…I just felt like the smooth, calculated Holmesian deduction from the first film was perfect…and in this film it felt a bit more rushed or unbalanced.

Finally…the ending of the film. As I mentioned, I will work to avoid spoilers. I will say that for those who have read Holmes and Moriarty, you will be somewhat familiar with what to expect…at least to some regard. While the plot of this movie is certainly a new story that doesn't map to an original from the Conan Doyle books, I was pleasantly surprised to see them pull in elements from the original Holmes-Moriarty relationship.

During the final scene between Holmes and Moriarty, we had another interesting directorial/cinematic choice…instead of just being given a glimpse into Holmes' analytical reasoning, we see Moriarty's analysis as well. I thought this was very fun to see each of them plotting out what would happen in the next few moments, even to the extent that their analysis overlapped one another. It was a lot of fun.

Scanning back over what I've written so far, I worry that you may get the wrong impression and feel like I disliked this movie. On the contrary, I absolutely loved this film. Like the first one, I was very impressed with the sets, the costumes, the music and the cinematics. They all did a great job of drawing me in to the reality of the time and setting.

I had a lot of fun with the new characters for this movie (particulary Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes…though I could have done well to have him leave his clothes on the whole movie…that particular departure left me unsettled). I again felt like Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law did a great job as Holmes and Watson and had a wonderful chemistry. This movie presented a more frantic and frenzied Holmes that somewhat unbalanced the smooth deduction skills from the first film, but felt logical given the circumstances of this adventure.

My biggest complaint of this film is also one of the things that makes it so much fun…the fact that it Went Big. The adventure was taken over the top. This gave the movie a somewhat different feeling than the first film. The story was still very enjoyable and a lot of fun but some aspects felt more like a big-budget adventure film than a methodical mystery to be solved. Fortunately I like both genres and had a lot of fun seeing this new Holmes find his way through the adventure.

So in some ways this movie was better than the first and in other was it wasn't as good…but generally speaking, it was just as good as the first and was primarily just different in tone and style. Some people may be turned off by some of the differences, but I really enjoyed it and hope they continue on with the series.



5 out of 5 stars

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