I don't care what anybody else says, Fifth Element is an epically amazing cinematic thriller. Often when I find an appropriate to weave a reference to the movie into everyday conversation I am met with exasperated sighs of disgust and pain. For those that are unaware, The Fifth Element takes place in a futuristic world - set some 250 years in the future - where technology has surpassed our wildest imaginations and alien gangs roam the universe. Enter Korben Dallas , scruffy ex-soldier turned cab driver mans - played by the then still hunky Bruce Willis - who gets thrown into the middle of an intergalactic war that miraculously only he can prevent. A powerful entity known as Evil - which has the appearance of a gigantic volcanic rock- is hurtling its way toward Earth. Should Evil reach Earth life as we know it will cease to exist and death, dying, destruction will ensue and cloud the Earth in a fog of darkness for a thousand years .... or something like that. While Dallas is traversing around town in his flying cab, an alien super fighter named Leeloo - played the gorgeous Milla Jovovich - literally lands in his cab wearing nothing by an orange rubbery bikini that looks like Swiss cheese. While Leeloo and Korben are attempting to prevent Armageddon, a slimy and slightly gay villain Mr. Zorg - portrayed by the infamous Gary Oldman - attempts to aid Evil in its destructive intentions and ultimately profit from the chaos that will ensue.

Now there are a variety of reason of why the Fifth Element remains to this day to be of the best Sci-Fi movies of all time.

(1) The villain of the movie is pure evil. How do you even begin to compete with it. It gives an ominous tone to the entire movie. Similarly, as the movie plays out, audience members are left questioning whether or not Earth truly deserves to be saved. With all of the evil that we personally generate with wars, violence, and hate what is there lef to save?

(2) The hero of the film is your average Joe. Granted that average Joe is Bruce Willis so you better watch out. However, he doesn't have super powers or is immortal or sparkles in the noon day sun. He is just a disgruntled ornery man thrown into a battle he didn't start and really doesn't want to finish.

(3) The Diva's Dance. Probably one of the prettiest pieces of music I have ever heard. Fifth Element deviated from so many of it's contemporaries by including an operatic number within the film. While the Diva's Dance is playing, a beautifully choreographed fight scene takes place between Leelooand a race of alien assassins. The final product is an awe-inspiring moment of emotional intensity for audiences ... I got a little verklempt ... not going to lie.

(4) Chris Tucker as Ruby Rhod. Definitely Chris Tucker's best performance to date. Rhod is the love child of Elton John and Prince - with a little bit of Cher thrown in for fun. His campy, flamboyant, and over the top performance provides a brilliant compliment to Willis's quite and monotone demeanor. I will never forget Willis shouting at Tucker to count to ten and Tucker in his high-pitched voice screaming to ten before a bomb explodes nearby. Make sure to check out some of his scenes below.

Unfortunately we do not see too many movies like this anymore. Instead, we now rely on CGI effects and loud explosions in order to keep audiences attention. Part of the reason why science fiction is so fun is there is an inherent sense of camp and ridiculousness and I partly feel we have lost some of that in recent year. If you haven't seen The Fifth Element or just need a refresher I definitely recommend this movie.

Yesterday afternoon I was eager to see the anticipated New York Times best seller turned Blockbuster hit “I Am Number Four”. I most recently finished the book and looked forward to see the story come to life on the movie screen. Unfortunately, not only did the movie fail to live up to the legacy left by its inspiration, the movie was slightly painful and awkward to sit through. I had a similar sensation when I went to the opening premiere of “Eragon”. Oddly enough, Eragon also begin as a New York Times best seller young adult fantasy novel and the movie too lacked the magic that drew audiences to the book in the first place. I remember convincing a few of my frat brothers – yes once upon a time I was in a fraternity … well a gay one, but none the less – to go see Eragon with me. Skeptical of talking CGI dragons and a dubious storyline, it took a few bribes, tons of begging, and an act of God to even get them into the theater. What ensued then was two hours of sheer embarrassment; I was embarrassed to be watching the movie and embarrassed that I convinced six other people to witness the devastation with me – six people who still haven’t let me forget about it

The movie was in general disappointing and at times boring. Alex Pettyfer plays John Smith, an orphaned alien on the run with his guardian, from a race of killer aliens. Though gorgeous beyond question, Pettyfer lacked any depth or emotional complexity. He spoke in the same monotone voice throughout the majority of the movie. Dianna Argon plays Sarah, the once cheerleader and former girlfriend to the quarterback, who realized her boyfriend and friends were shallow and decides to turn her focus toward photography and a life out of Paradise, Ohio. She played an exact copy of her GLEE character Quinn and brought nothing new nor original to the character. The best parts of the movie involved John’s adorable magically-transforming beagle and the sassy attitude of Number Six. Alex and Dianna’s on-screen romance was stagnant and inauthentic and audiences found themselves chuckling at the obviously clichéd lines. Perhaps that is why Alex and Dianna broke up in real life, no chemistry – that or they were mortified by each other’s on screen performance.    

So I am about to go on a geeky rant about the pitfalls of the movie. If you intend on seeing the movie and wish to be “surprised” then read no further and good luck, perhaps you will have a different interpretation than I.

In the book one of the first appearances of John’s power is a bright light that shines from his hands. Aptly named “Lumen”, meaning light in Latin, this is a typical first Legacy to inherit. Apparently in movie world a power like that translates into freaking laser beams and the ability to re-charge a fallen comrade. Similarly one of the coolest parts of having this perhaps seemingly uncool power is that it made John resistant to heat and fire, which the directors neglected to include in the movie.

Secondly, the Mogadorians in the book are a creepy and incredibly powerful race of super aliens. They were able to take down an entire planet full of people with super powers. In the book, the authors build tension and emphasize the importance of keeping hidden from the Mogs because they are so hard to kill. The movie makes them out to be a band of easily disposed of storm troopers. An epic moment in the book centers on John’s first encounter battling a Mog – a battle that zaps John of all of his strength and nearly kills him. John and the intrepid Number 6 were able to take down all of the bad guys – of which there were about 8 - in a matter of minutes in some sci-fi Rambo action flick. Umm excuse me, if these awful evil super aliens are so easily defeated … why are you running? Also, if you are a Mog and these children could be the key to your downfall, wouldn’t you send your entire army to ensure their demise, not a skeleton crew of idiots?

I understand that movies cannot entirely capture every element of the book, but seriously. Why, when you basically have a script in hand do you feel the need to alter important plot details such as, oh I don’t know, unnecessarily killing one of the main characters for dramatic effect. Henri, John’s grizzly alien protector, is anti-climatically killed during the end of the movie for no good reason. In the book, Henri was a protector who not only raised and loved John as his own son but trained and helped John hone his new powers so that he might one day be strong enough to battle the Mogs. In the movie, John acquired his powers with little or no problems or side effects, received no training on how to control his powers, and Henri served as the generally creepy man who found photos and videos of John on the internet and deleted them – way to cut out about 65% on the novel.

What is most troubling is that, aside from the Harry Potter series, very few teen fantasy novels have successfully translated from the text to the silver screen.  More often than not, directors rely on a hot blonde male lead and dazzling special effects to confuse audiences into thinking the movie is actually good.  Movie adaptations for critically acclaimed teen fantasy novels “City of Bones” – also starring Alex Pettyfer - and “The Hunger Games” are already in production. I just hope that they are even marginally better than “I Am Number Four” and Hollywood does not continue to butcher and distort these popular and loved books. 

Final recommendation is to wait until I Am Number Four arrives at Redbox and watch it then ... and even then approach with caution. If you are looking for answers to life, comedic relief, or a compelling and engaging story, then watch Dogma and forgo this movie experience. 

When does life begin? If and when do we as human beings begin to have souls? At what point do we as a society begin to make judgments on the value of said lives? The novel “Unwind”, written by Neal Shusterman, tackles these questions in this gripping novel. The United States has just recovered from its second Civil War; known as the Heartland War, this war was fought over reproductive rights with the pro-life movement and the pro-choice movement waging the battle. A document, entitled the Bill of Life, was born as a compromise between the two factions to end the war. The Bill of Life simply stated that:

“Human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until a child reaches the age of thirteen. However, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, a parent may choose to retroactively “abort” a child … on the condition that the child’s life doesn’t “technically” end. The process by which a child is both terminated and yet kept alive is called “unwinding”. Unwinding is now a common and accepted practice in society”.

Enter Connon, Lev, and Risa – the main characters of the story – who, for all very different reasons, are sent to be unwound. Connor, a troubled youth, prone to fights and temperamental behaviors, feels betrayed by his parents when they decide to give up on him and sign away his life to a harvest camp. Lev, from a religious background, is the tenth child in his family and therefore was destined from birth to serve as a tithe and be sacrificed for the greater good. He openly accepts his fate and welcomes it in fact. Risa, a beautiful pianist, has no parents and has grown up in a state home her whole life. However with more children finding their way into state homes and the increasing costs of maintaining these homes, state home boards often send children they have deemed to have reached their potential to a harvest camp – to make room for more children.  A tribunal, comprised of “suits”, effectively ends Risa’s life and she has no control or say in the matter. None of them did in fact. A series of bizarre circumstances puts these three children on the run as they try to survive to eighteen and thus evade the dreaded unwinding process. Through the unwinding process every single part of the human body is recycled – organs, skin, brain tissue, limbs – and given to those in need. What is striking is that though the body is disassembled and distribute to patients around the world remnants of that person’s soul, muscle memory, consciousness remains within the limbs and organs.

The story, narrated from each of the main characters at various points, relates their journey as they travel from safe house to safe house on their way to a safe haven known only as the graveyard. The graveyard, which is a desert of decommissioned jets in Arizona, serves as a refuge for Unwinds – a place from them to reach eighteen and re-enter society under a new false identity. All of them are striving to stay alive and remain whole.

It was an interesting and novel concept; parents can get rid of their “problematic” children and are absolved from guilt because the children don’t necessarily die, but are recycled to make the lives of others better. One part that was particularly poignant was, while fleeing to safety, Connor and three other boys find themselves sealed in a cargo crate and with nothing else to do, begin to examine the unwinding process. What unfolds is a philosophical discussion told through children using the rhetoric of pro-lifers and pro-choicers, and the overall effect is incredible. Is it such a stretch of the imagination for something like this to happen? Will the divisive polarizing politics of the United State eventually lead to a scenario such as this? Classified is young adult fiction, this book shows us all a potentially and entirely plausible future where life is both valued and discarded just as easily. 

I have no shame in bypassing the Classics section, the New York Times best sellers, and Oprah’s choice of the month in order to make my way to a growing sensation; the young adult/teen sci-fi fantasy section. The Twilight series has certainly sparked a wave of writers tailoring their books to grab the attention of pre-teen (and adult) populations everywhere.

I have noticed a pattern inherent in all of these books. Invariably there are hot people with incredible powers – whether through magic, alien heritage, or supernatural curses – who find themselves in small remote towns that later plays as the stage for an epic war. Most of the time the teenager in question desires one of two things; a break from the mundaity and ordinariness of their miserable, yet privileged, lives or the opposite, a desire to be normal and experience the everyday rituals that we take for granted.  Similarly, the book usually includes a love story sub plot that is often the cause of all the trouble - like some modern day Romeo and Juliet. I rather enjoy these books for there is just enough "human drama" to make it relatable but the majority of the novel is epic battles and displays of incredible powers.

Most recently I have fallen in love with the novel “I Am Number Four”; a four hundred and some page book that I voraciously finished in one day.  The novel relates the story of a planet named Lorien, not unlike our Earth, which was savagely attacked by a race of harbingers known as the Mogadorians. In order preserve the culture and give their people a chance of survival, nine alien children were sent to Earth. They were scattered throughout the world, each given a protector to guide them and develop their powers, so that one day they may reunite, defeat the Mogadorians, and restore life to their once beautiful planet. A clever nuance of the story is that the aliens can only be killed in sequence.The book opens with the death of #3, thus prompting #4 to go into hiding in a small remote Ohio town known as Paradise. Here #4 - also known as John Smith - must develop his supernatural abilities (known as Legacies) before the Mogadorians can track him down and kill him. The Legacies can be anything from invisibility, controlling the elements, creating light, and telekinesis. This series is projected to have 5 more additional novels, and if they are anything like their predecessor, this will surely be the next Harry Potter series of the sci-fi world. What sucks is that fans will have to begrudingly wait until August for the release of the next novel entitled "The Power of Six".

The novel has garnered enough attention that it is about to be released as a major motion picture February 18th. Typically I am leery of books getting converted into movies for they usually fail to meet the expectations of the book lovers. Typically the characters lack authenticity, story lines are dropped, and new elements are added to the movie that was found nowhere in the book. I am actually extremely excited for this release of this movie. Sporting an impressive cast ( Alex Pettyfer, GLEE's Dianna Argon, and Timothy Olyphant), critics have expressed that the movie is an excellent tension-filled adventure that stays very true to the original novel. If nothing else, the movie is going to feature the ridiculously hot Alex Pettyfer - who often gets his clothes burned up in the novel - and the grizzly hotness of Timothy Olyphant, as they battle aliens with really cool powers. It honestly doesn't take much to amuse me these days. Check out the trailer for the movie before.

“The Graveyard Book” is another example in Gaiman’s vast cannon of distinguished works. I’m always impressed by the whimsical and dark writing of Neil Gaiman. Author of such books as Coraline, Stardust, American Gods, and Mirrormask, Gaiman has a zeal and zest for chilling stories with complex characters and novel twists.

“The Graveyard Book” is not your average children’s Newberry award winning novel. This one begins with a man, referred only to as Jack, murdering a man, woman, and their daughter in their home. The killer is about to end the life of the baby boy at the top of stairs, when the child crawls to safety and finds himself in the town’s local graveyard.  Given the name Nobody Owens by the inhabitants of the graveyard, Nobody is raised, protected, and educated by the denizens of the graveyard.  Nobody is given the Freedom of the Graveyard allowing him to talk to ghosts, travel through ghoul-gates, run errands for witches, and have magical powers including Fade, inducing Terror, and Dreamwalk. While the ghosts and guardians of the graveyard raise Nobody as their own, the man called Jack is out there somewhere seeking to finish what he started that night.

Gaiman truly has mastery in creating a narrative landscapes ripe with deep and complex characters. From Silas, Nobody’s Guardian, to Liza Hempstock, the graveyard witch, each person is delicately woven to add a beautiful piece to the puzzle of the overall story. At its heart, “The Graveyard Book”, is a coming-of-age story of a boy learning the intricacies of life through some unconventional tutors. Who better to learn the potentials and hardships of life from than the dead?

During his Newberry acceptance speech for this novel, Gaiman relating the impact that fiction had on his childhood. He said;

“Fiction was an escape from the intolerable, a doorway into impossibly hospitable worlds where things had rules and could be understood; stories had been a way of learning about life without experiencing it, or perhaps of experiencing it as an eighteenth-century poisoner dealt with poisons, taking them in tiny doses, such that the poisoner could cope with ingesting things that would kill someone who was not inured to them. Sometimes fiction is a way of coping with the poison of the world in a way that lets us survive it”

The science fiction community is all atwitter over Syfy's new supernatural drama "Being Human". The show, which premieres Monday January 17th at 9/8c, premiered as a BBC original program that followed the lives of three 20-something supernatural beings - a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost - as they attempt to navigate the complexities of life while dealing with their deep dark secret. At first, I must admit I was skeptical. Syfy is typically renown for terrible made-for-TV movies, an infinite number of "Stargate" reincarnations, and the odd WWE wrestling show. Syfy is not generally known for their quality programming. When I saw the previews, I assumed that Syfy- like so many parties at the moment - was attempting to cash in on "vampire" fever with this show.

However, after researching the show more and previewing some of the promos, I am actually extremely excited for this show. I am many things in life, but at my core I am a large nerd and it doesn't take much to entertain me. Start with some hot supernatural creatures in a remote Eastern United States coastal town, throw in some unrequited love affairs, and a flamboyant villain from time to time and I am happy. However it is a rarity for a sci-fi piece to engage me. Syfy is offering their own creative spin on some classic themes. 

The show is essentially a coming-of-age tale where supernatural beings are attempting to find balance in both of their worlds. Their trivial, mundane human problems allow us as audience members to relate to them as characters while simultaneously their other worldly experiences excite us with their foreignness.  Here are a few places though, in my opinion, that "Being Human" will break away from their contemporaries. In every piece of SCi-Fi that comes out at the moment werewolves and vampires are pitted against one another and established as mortal enemies often no rationale is given as to why this feud exists. In this show, the main vampire and main werewolf are not only roommates but co-workers as well and have a bit of a bromance relationship. I am excited to see this new development and intrigued to see where they go with the story line. Keeping in line with other TV/Movie vampires, Aiden - played by the hunky Sam Witwer - is tall dark and brooding, just the way I like my vampires. However Josh,  the werewolf in this show is not some butch, hairy, steroid-popping muscle man. Instead he is the adorable, slightly nerdy & awkward guy next door. Perhaps the biggest deviation from the norm is the incorporation of ghosts into the TV show. For all the supernatural shows/movies out there, ghosts often do not make the cut. Sally, the intrepid ghost of our show, demonstrates great promise. Due to the fact that ghosts are generally left alone, Syfy will have a lot of flexibility in how they develop the storyline of this character.