Week in Review: August 20 - 25

Notes - This past week we were marked by the deaths of director/producer Tony Scott, comedian Phyllis Diller, and astronaut Neil Armstrong.  The world is a different place without them.

Movies - This week's Bond movie was You Only Live Twice and the new movie was The Bourne Legacy.  I wasn't really a big fan of either.  To mark Tony Scott's passing I did two of his films, Top Gun and Domino.  One is a classic, the other not so much.

Books - Book of the week was E.L. James' Fifty Shades Freed, the final instalment in the Fifty Shades trilogy.  To Mark the completion of the series, I also looked at the many signs of domestic abuse that the series marks in a note.

TV - TV show of the week was the first season of Revenge.  While I enjoyed it, I'm not entirely sure if I'll be tuning in to the second season; I don't think it'll be one that will keep me watching week-by-week.

Recommendations - New movies this week are Premium Rush, Hit and Run, and Robot and Frank.  My guess is that the best of the bunch is going to be Robot and Frank, which will also be the hardest to see given its limited release.

Next Week - The plan for next week includes the much delayed Pete Smalls is Dead, and a tribute to Neil Armstrong with the space-related disaster movies Armageddon and Deep Impact - because if you're going to do one, you might as well do them both.  New movie of the week will be Whitney Houston's final film, Sparkle.  Bookwise we're going to wrap up (for now) both the Tales of Dunk and Egg series and the Lord John series, with the short stories "The Mystery Knight" and "Lord John and the Plague of Zombies."

Requests -What about you guys? Anything you'd like me to watch or read?  Let me know in the comments.

A Note: Neil Armstrong

"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."

It was reported yesterday that Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon (assuming you believe that man has walked on the moon), has died at the age of 82.

Whether you believe that man did in fact walk on the moon or you believe that the government perpetuated a wide scale cover up saying as such, Armstrong still represents just all the things that we as a species have achieved - his one small step was in fact a giant leap for mankind.

His family has stated:

For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.

This, of course, has lead to the Twitter hashtag of #WinkAtTheMoon, because that's the kind of people we are now.  There's also a call to have August 25th become Wink at the Moon Night.  Not sure what to make of this legacy... but hey, at least Armstrong can be comforted with the thought that he didn't appear in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.