Iron Pirate - Douglas Reeman

Any Old Iron?

Advantages: It's great fun and has solide direction, writing and performances.
Disadvantages: The peripheral characters are unremarkable.

Billionaire industrialist Tony Stark has made his fortune creating evermore innovative weapons. But when he is captured by insurgents while showcasing his latest invention, he is ordered to build a devastating weapon for his captors. Instead he constructs a high-tech suit of armour that he uses to escape. Returning home he decides to devote his money and ingenuity to help mankind. He modifies the suit, increasing its powers to include super-strength and the ability to fly and superhero Iron Man is born? Actor-turned-director Jon Favreau takes a step up from his kids films ("Elf" and "Zathura") for this thoroughly enjoyable superhero romp that never takes itself too seriously. His visuals are glossy and the effects, of which there are many, are suitably impressive. He understands cinema as spectacle and makes the most of his big budget ...

afy9mab 05.01.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: exceptional
Review of Iron Man

Generation X - Douglas Coupland

Advantages: An intelligent read
Disadvantages: A bit on the light side

I must be such a sucker. A year or so back I bought the book Jpod by Douglas Coupland and hated it with a degree of hostility out of all proportion to its inherent quality, yet here I am shelling out good money for another one. I?d bought that first book largely on the basis of the author?s reputation as a modern, zeitgeist surfing writer with a savvy appreciation of the turn of the century world. A reputation almost entirely earned with this break through novel; ?Generation X?. Unfortunately, Jpod was so annoyingly self-regarding, so out of touch with the 21st century that I felt almost personally insulted that I had been so duped ? hence my disproportionate loathing. Still, once bitten ? never learn is my motto and I resolved to go back to the source of all this trouble and actually read Generation X, the book that created a reputation ...

brereton66 11.03.2009 (15.03.2009) · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Generation X - Douglas Coupland

JPod - Douglas Coupland

Advantages: It has a nice cover
Disadvantages: The stuff in between is bad

"Oh God, I feel like a refugee from a Douglas Coupland novel." "That asshole" "Who does he think he is?" As opening lines to novels go that was a first for me. I've never known an author name check them self so brazenly and I have to say it set me off on the wrong foot with this book. I've never read Coupland before so wasn't really sure what to expect. As the celebrated author of 'Generation X' I was looking forward to an IT literate book for the information age. What I got was something far less, a self serving work lacking irony and intelligence. A book that wastes the reader's time and provides little in return. But I'm rushing to a conclusion so let me step back and tell you a little about it before I completely trash it. The story follows events over a year or so of Ethan Jarlewski's life. A regular kind of guy he ...

brereton66 07.03.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of JPod - Douglas Coupland