Review Day

There are no spoilers in these reviews.

The Boy Who Knew Too Much by Mika:
This Mika CD closely resembles the first, Life in Cartoon Motion, filled with rambunctious pure pop and cheesy falsetto, so if you liked the first, this is more of the same. A few tunes sound too much like the first CD's songs, and there are no stand out singles so far, but it's a solid CD.

Final Grade: B

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson:
I vacillated like a flagellum on whether or not to read this book, based on the reviews that said it was great by the end, but took a long, long time to get there. The book IS very long, but an easy read -- I could see someone quickly getting bored of it if they don't read very fast, but it kept me entertained until the momentum become inexorable. The bigger problem is that the author introduces eight million characters with similar Swedish names, and it's hard to "flip back" to the family tree when you're reading on a Kindle. The mystery is satisfying, and the scope of the book gives plenty of room for the characters to grow, but you definitely need patience.

Final Grade: B+

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:
I've had this on my shelf on loan from my parents for months now, and never put it on because I didn't think I'd like it. I was mostly right, as is often the case when I analyze myself. On the plus side, the atmosphere of the movie LOOKS great, and the tone of the movie is effectively dark. On the minus side, it's still far too long, but barely manages to get in all of the critical plot points before ending -- it ends up being more of a "Greatest Hits Road Trip of the Book" movie than a movie.

Final Grade: C+