Author Archives: Max U.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

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Animal Farm is a novel written by George Orwell about animals who over throw there farmer and establish a new government. This book is known as a allegory. This is supposed to depict the Russian Revolution.

They have many similarities in the book like how animalism sounds a lot like communism. Communism is the government that was first thought of by Karl Marx. The idea consists of that every one is equal.

In the book the Farmer Mr Jones just treats the animals horribly. He never feeds them and often he just shoots them and orders them around. The animals decide they have had enough of this and overthrow Jones and establish animalism.

Now in the book the pigs took power and told the half witted animals lies and the most stupidest things that you could think of. Because of course that actually happened. The three main pigs in the book are Napoleon, Snowball, and Squealer. They represent Stalin, Trotsky, and Squealer was actually the propaganda Machine.

In the book he would win every argument because he knew Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. They are known as Ethics, Emotions, and Logic. He would use these in every argument in the book. When Squealer would say something he would win the dumb animals over to him and Napoleons side.

If you know your Russian History you can probably guess what happened to Snowball because he is Trotsky. There aren’t really any spoilers in the book because these events actually happened. But when you read the book you find at least some sentiment for the things that happened to people during the Russian Revolution.

The one fact that stuns people is that how dumb the animals are. I mean you would think that they would be a little more smarter but there not. They are just plain dumb. Another main part of the book was that it also showed other countries as farms such as England and Germany as Pilkington and Fredrick who represent the farmers.

-Max U.

Animal Farm by George Orwell is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

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The Alchemist is about a young boy named Santiago who hears about buried treasure and actually discovers it is his personal legend. He must go and find his personal legend to fully complete his life.

The book adds a new component in books that I’ve never read before, a philosophical element. When Santiago is on his journey he meets an Alchemist. An alchemist is a person who can turn lead into gold. In this book he possess the Philosophers Stone and the Elixir of Life. They give him the power to turn lead into gold and give him immortality.

They have many philosophical conversations about life attracts life and how most of the times people don’t believe the ridiculous things people say. Most of the things the Alchemist say is actually true. There are many sequences in the book that seem really weird but most of the time they are actually pretty cool. At first usually he has to channels the soul of the world and use it to do the amazing things he does

At the start of the book there is a main idea that you can be whatever you want to be. You don’t have to listen to your parents or anyone else. If they say one thing but you say the other then go what you say. Then as the book begins to fold out you start making progress to your treasure. There were many times that Santiago said that this journey is worth nothing but truthfully at the end it was worth every penny.

He has met many people such as the crystal merchant, Fatima his love of his life, and The Englishman who first tried to do alchemy. Later on in the book it is realized that the true treasure that lied at the end of the pyramids was the journey itself.

The Alchemist is a great read if you ever have the chance you should read it

-Max U.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. The book is also available to download for free from Overdrive. 

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

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And Then There Were None is a great book written by Agatha Christie. She was known as one of the greatest writers of her time. She is also called the Queen of Mystery.

The book is about ten people who have done bad things in there life and are killed one by one because of the bad deeds. The murderer is following a nursery rhyme that explains how he or she will kill all the victims.

The author adds a big element of suspense into the book. It even adds the best setting for this all to happen: a creepy old mansion on a island. This read is differently then any murder mystery you have ever read.

Just at the end of every Agatha Christie book the murderer is a big shocker. She always adds the person that had nothing to do with it actually kill the victim. In this novel especially there are many red herrings. Sometimes they are meant to throw you off but either way it is awesome that they are in murder mystery novels.

My favorite part of the book is the whole nursery rhyme scheme. It is a great way for the author to incorporate the suspense in the book. I mean how creepy is it that your killing people based on a nursery rhyme? There is also a mini series based off this book. I haven’t watched it yet but I while and I hope it is really good.

Another thing about murder mysterious is that people who seem one way may die in a way that is surprising because the is the opposite of how he or she is behaving. For example if someone died from suicide and that person is having the time of your life.

That is just one of the thought turning things that Agatha Christie does in her novels. It’s like you think one thing and then he or she dies then it just goes on and on until the murderer is found.

Max U.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive. 

Film Review: Avengers Infinity War

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Avengers Infinity War was a marvelous work of action, suspense, and many plot twists along the way. The movie would most likely to get an award in at least not just one category. It is about the critically acclaimed Avengers that was first introduced by Marvel Studios in 2012 and was a very good movie fueled by Disney’s purchase of Marvel in 2009, making the Marvel Cinematic Universe an even bigger money maker.

They started with the Iron Man trilogy which was at the time the best Marvel movie until a year later, with Captain America: Civil War. Like Civil War, Infinity War movie was not a happy family gathering. It speaks what the all the trailers where speaking. Something very bad is going to happen in this movie.

As the movie started there was silence when we saw the well done Marvel Studios sign. Usually there is music that introduces us to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You could already tell from there that it wasn’t going to be pleasant. It also introduced us to the title of Avenger Infinity War first instead of at the end of the movie. Which is not something Marvel does often. That also right there is a key that this movie is going to be something very different about this film.

Now on the bright side, we finally see the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avengers fighting Thanos’ army which was something that most fans including me have waited for a long time. We have waited for Thanos’s big reveal ever since the end credits of the original Avengers movie. Then again we saw him in Guardians of the Galaxy sitting high and mighty on his chair. Then again we saw him at the end credit scene in Avengers Age of Ultron. As much Marvel teased Thanos I was not disappointing about him. He had a clear motive about what he was doing and I thought to myself maybe is he right.

-Max U.

TV Review: What is missing from Arrow?

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Arrow is a great show. It is about Oliver Queen. A man who was marooned on a island with one goal: to survive. When he was found and brought back to Starling City he became a crime fighting vigilantly known as the Arrow.

I decided to re-watch seasons 1, 2, and 3. Why those seasons you may ask? Because they are the most enjoyable.

I just thought that there was too many sentimental moments in the new series of Arrow then the old seasons. In seasons 1 Oliver wouldn’t talk about his love interests. He would keep it to himself and tell no one because he has better things to do.

Another thing is that they don’t have villains that don’t have to do just with the main bad guy. For example: In season 2 they had a villain that made human dolls. In season four they just fought assassins for the first half of the season.

There is also a rule about no killing that was enforced in season 2 but he would let it slide now and then. In season one however it was all he did which made it seem like more of his character. But up to season 4 and beyond he would stop the killing with a new arrow Felicity invented that wouldn’t kill Oliver’s target.

One thing that this show answers on all DC fanboys mind is what Oliver Queen did on that island for five years. When the show was first introduced we saw Oliver who started out as a pretty boy rich kid and became a survivor and most importantly a killer.

We see his experience in and out of the island that made him the arrow. We saw this through seasons 1 through 6. The sad thing is that they will not continue the flashbacks for the next season.

That right there makes me so mad that i want to smash my TV. There is just so many things that they can do in replace of Oliver Queens flashbacks. Those are my thoughts on the new seasons of arrow.

-Max U.

Film Review: Ready Player One

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Ready Player One was a great film directed by Steven Spielberg that really came alive as soon as the title screen appeared. The movie was said to be a real Spielberg story and it really was.

Our protagonist is Wade Watts. The movie takes place in Columbus, Ohio or if you want to be technical it really takes place in the Oasis. In the movie, Oasis was designed by James Haliday, a pop culture genius. He made the Oasis as another reality where people can be who they want to be.

Think of the Oasis as modern day VR Chat but bigger. In the movie Haliday died but, before he died he announced a contest. He said he hid an Easter Egg in the game. Who ever finds the Easter Egg will inherit the ownership of the oasis. This had everyone going crazy to find the Egg.

Even though that the fortune was very generous of Haliday people did insane things to find the Egg. The antagonist of the movie is Nolan Sorento, head owner of IOI which is trying to seek control the Oasis.

The start of the movie was slow but surprisingly this was a good thing. It gave everyone to spot out some of the many Easter Eggs Spielberg put in the film. Now when I say Easter Eggs I mean a lot of Easter Eggs. Some of them you could easily spot but also some of them where hard to spot. This helped viewers still feel joy that they saw there favorite video game character or just the title on the screen.

Even though the movie was visually stunning it was tragic in some spots. I mean is this what we want our future to be like? People spending so much time in the fake world they don’t even know what happened to the world? I mean one day you spend so much time in the oasis and then you forget who you are or where you are.

-Max U

Film Review: Black Panther

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Black Panther had a lot of ups and downs but it was still a good film. I wouldn’t praise it as the best Marvel movie but it is still a good movie. To me this movie was like a lot of Marvel movies. We have the hero who was defeated by the villain then gets saved and comes back to save the day. It seems like Marvel is trying to keep following that pattern.

This kind of had to do with some history. To me T’challa and Kilmonger represented Malcolm X and Martian Luther King Jr. One had extremist beliefs while the other had peaceful beliefs. It seems fitting that they use these comparisons because of the film’s release during Black History Month.

I thought that Eric Kilmonger played by Michael B Jordan had a very empowering role as the villain. I think he really improved as a actor since Fantastic Four which was his last marvel film. This movie also had a Lion King feel to it. Like when T’challa fought Kilmonger he was struck down and then came back to defeat him.

Now I’m going back to Kilmonger because he had such a deep part in the movie. One of the deepest things he said in the movie was “Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from the ships, because they knew that death was better than bondage.” Those few words could probably be the most deepest thing in the whole movie. That is what is so cool about his character.

Since he lived in America and has Wakanda blood, he goes back to the secret country where nobody has ever heard of The Civil Rights Movement. Which makes no sense what so ever to the people but we as a audience get it.

I also thought that the costumes in this movie really understood the type of look that Wakanda would have. The technology in the movie was really cool in every aspect.

I thought that it was funny that the whole world thought that Wakanda was a very poor country but, it was the most advance in the world.

-Max U.

Fan Expectations for Predator (2018)

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Recently I came upon a movie called Predator featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was about his crew of commandos going to South America and eliminating a threat. What they didn’t know was that the cause of the threat wasn’t human. Throughout the movie they were being hunted by the Predator, an alien from outer space who came to earth to hunt.

This was the major plot of the Predator movie which led to several other movies. I later found out that it was getting a reboot this year. The only thing on my mind is that the other Predator movies haven’t been successful as the first one. One other remake of a successful Sci-Fi movie is Alien. You might remember the movie Alien Covenant that came out last year. The movie turned out to be not that bad. I don’t see why Predator can turn out the same way as Covenant did. I think fans have a better view for this movie just like the first and most successful one.

The reason why the first movie turned out so good was because it was very straightforward. There were no love interests and not a lot of backstory. Fans wanted this out of Predator 2 but didn’t really get that same aspect as the first film.

I also think they should use a rural area for the setting in the new movie. The setting in the first Predator was a jungle in South America and the setting for Predator 2 was in Los Angeles. If you can see what i’m getting at right here it is that the good movie of the two had a rural area as the setting and the bad movie didn’t.

But maybe this movie doesn’t have to be Predator type like movie. It could also be a whole different kind of movie in the saga. Like a movie that actually talks about the Predator’s backstory. Like the movie Prometheus did for the Alien franchise. But seeing that the movie is named Predator it is most likely going to be a Predator based film. Which means it should be straight forward.

-Max U.

Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz

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Prisoner B-3087 is a true story of Jack Gruener. Alan Gratz was the person who made Gruener’s story into a novel. The novel tells a tale of Yanek, a boy who was put in a concentration camp.

I choose this book because I needed something to read. When I found it I saw that it was about the Holocaust. I thought that it would be very interesting and it was.

I haven’t read every Holocaust story but this one was very deep. The way Gratz wrote this was very in depth. That is what I think that more of these stories need. They need a more detailed story.

It really made you feel like you where there. Right next to Yanek in the concentration camp. I also learned many news things about the Nazis. Like how they hired convicted criminals to be Kapos in the camps. At the start of the book Yanek was a boy about 10. He was just a innocent boy. Then when the Nazis came he was coming on 11 or 12 maybe. Then when they took him he was going on 14.

The important thing about 13 is that it means its time for your barmitzfah. Before they took him and his uncle had his barmitzfah. Now they couldn’t have had it in there house or else they would’ve been shot. What they did was they had it in the basement.

This was one of my favorite parts of the book because usually Jewish people have a huge celebration for there barmitzfah. I mean my friend rented out half of the Los Angeles stadium for his barmitzfah. Yanke’s family could’ve had a big celebration for his barmitzfah. The only down side is that they would’ve been shot dead on spot.

Another thing that shocked me was the cruelty of the Nazis. There was one point of the book where they would make prisoners move huge rocks for no real reason. They just wanted to see the Jews suffer. In the novel you could see how Yanek changed over time. In the beginning of the novel he was a innocent little boy. At the end of the novel he was a grown man who didn’t fear death.

I thought this book was great and I wouldn’t mind reading it again.

-Max U.

TV Review: Stranger Things Season 2

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My father and I have always wanted to watch Stranger Things but we never had the time for it. When we finally had the time we watched the first season. Lucky for us at the time, the second season was at least one week away.

The second season was really cool. You could really see the character development in everyone. The thing I liked about this season was that it answered my questions that I had.

I like how Stranger Things uses a lot of Dungeon and Dragons references in the episodes. I just hope that the next villain for season 3 is another Dungeon and Dragons villain.

This season also continues with the adults in the show being completely oblivious. If you thought it was funny that Mikes dad had no idea what was happening last season, then you are in for a treat. Season two also introduced a character named Maxine who is actually a main character in the season. I feel like she is going to have a bigger role in season three.

My favorite character in the whole season was probably Dustin. He was very funny when they were in danger and always made a big commotion about everything. I hope that Dustin remains this way and never changes. I also liked how sometimes Hopper would just dive into the situation and not think of it first. It made it look like he was very committed to what he was doing. He didn’t care what the odds where he just wanted to discover what was going on.

Another thing I liked about season two was that the 1980s in Hawkins, Indiana were so real. I can say that for myself because my father lived in Indiana in the 80s. Another fun element they did again was hire actors from the 1980s. I hope they keep doing that in more seasons.

Another thing was that since Will was back he had a lot more screen time. The season also showed how Mike and Will are really good friend. They would go to the end of the earth for each other.

I would recommend Stranger Things season two for anyone who saw the first season and liked it.

-Max U.