The Host ( 2013)

Okay, it's a Stephanie Meyer story. Let me finish! I cringe when I think of Twilight, so I won't blame you if you refuse to watch this one. Had I known prior to watching it that it was a Stephanie Meyer story, I would have passed. Darn you Netflix! However, I'm glad I didn't know. This is not to say that this movie is some marvelous piece, but it was palatable. The Host is definitely better than Twilight. The acting is better, the story is better, and the actors are decently attractive. Beyond mere comparisons to Twilight, The Host is mildly entertaining and has a framework that piques curiosity.

Essentially, earth is caught in an alien invasion. The aliens survive by being transplanted into a host body, not unlike Stargate's Goa'uld. Except these aliens look like Christmas tree ornaments rather than ugly snake-like creatures.

Unfortunately, instead of focusing on the interesting aspects of the alien invasion, this movie gets lost in love; another Stephanie Meyer tweeny bopper love triangle. The details are washed out because of this love triangle. I wish Steven Spielberg would have taken this movie and mangled and twisted it into something spectacular. Sigh...I digress.

The movie moves a little slow. A good one to watch in the background while you're doing something else; cooking, cleaning, exercising, etc.

I reluctantly recommend it.

**A couple of recognizable names, Diane Kruger and William Hurt; both doing a good job.

The Host trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRKjf8b4f2E

The 4400 Season 1 (2004)

Intriguing story. A group of seemingly random people disappear at different times over the course of several decades. One day, 4400 of them, reappear together on a lake. They all look exactly the same as they did when they disappeared. As they attempt to adjust, we start to see that some of them have unique abilities.

The acting takes a little getting used to. It's a tad on the cheesy side, but you get over it fairly quickly. I'm not sure if the actors get better with each episode or if you're just too engrossed in the story to notice it anymore.

There are literally jaw dropping moments in almost every episode. Episode 3 has a particularly scary concept involving a serial killer reappearing, with the 4400, after 20 years.

Episode 4 introduces a new character that looks incredibly similar to the lead 4400 detective, Tom Baldwin. It's confusing because you initially think it's Tom when it's actually Warren Lytell, an investigator from D.C. It's crazy to have two people in the same show who look almost identical to not be related in some way. Tom Baldwin is played by Joel Gretsch and Warren Lytell is played by Mark Valley. Do a google image search on both of them and you will see what I mean.

Season 1 is short; only 5 episodes. If you like mysterious scifi, alien abductions, X-Men type powers, etc. you will find this entertaining.

Oblivion (2013)

After a long break from routine, I'm slowly wading back into the calmer waters. What might the calmer waters include? MOVIES! WOOHOO! Now that I have been introduced to Ultraviolet, the movie cloud, I'm even more excited!

The first movie I watched on my shared Ultraviolet library was Oblivion with Tom Cruise. Although other actors are in it, Tom Cruise commands the entire movie...like a movie hog. The only other well-known actor is Morgan Freeman and trailing far behind is the guy who plays "Jaime Lannister" from Game of Thrones. I'm not at all saying that a movie needs to have well-known actors to be good. This is just clearly the Tom Cruise show. Quite frankly I can't tell if he saved the movie or ruined it with his persona.

Oblivion is a strange one. Intriguing story but lacking in it's delivery. Every moment is just one step away from being great. In the end, it feels like you woke up and you're trying to tell someone your dream really quickly before you forget. This movie feels like they took a rushed synopsis of a dream instead of using it as a foundation to expound upon. Even if they had done that, the concept would be better suited for a tv show.

Worth a watch if you like Tom Cruise, but otherwise you're not missing much if you skip it.

On a scale of 1-10, Oblivion is 6.5