Movie Monday: Austin Powers

This week for Movie Monday I’m back with a movie that some of my family loves to the point that they got a cardboard cutout of the titular character from a Movie Theater. It’s Austin Powers; International Man of Mystery!

Plot Synopsis: In 1967, British spy Austin Powers thwarts an assassination attempt by his nemesis Dr. Evil in a London nightclub called Strawberry Alarm Clock and The Lemon Pipers Dr. Evil escapes in a space rocket disguised as a Big Boy statue, and cryogenically freezes himself. Powers volunteers to be placed into cryostasis in case Dr. Evil returns in the future. Thirty years later, in 1997, Dr. Evil returns to discover his henchman Number 2 has developed Virtucon, the legitimate front of Evil’s empire, into a multibillion-dollar enterprise…

Plot: The entire movie is absolutely ridiculous, and that’s the point. This being a spoof of the James Bond movies this pokes fun at all sorts of spy thrillers by making the situations and characters absolutely ridiculous. That being said the movie probably shouldn’t be watched by kids.

Cast: The entire cast is awesome, with Mike Myers playing both Dr. Evil and Austin Powers. The rest of the cast is just as ridiculous as well.

Cinematography: The special effects are just as ridiculous as the plot.

Overall: A fun movie to watch, if only to have a few good laughs at the sheer ridiculous nature of the movie.

For those who like: Comedy, Mike Myers, Parodies.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Bookish Wednesday: The Defector by Daniel Silva

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m covering the ninth entry in the amazing Gabriel Allon series. It’s The Defector by Daniel Silva!

Plot Synopsis:  Gabriel Allon is tasked with the mission to rescue Russian defector Grigori Bulganov, who was introduced in an earlier book in the series. His enemy this time is holding nothing back to try and kill him either.

Plot: This is probably one of the best entries in the entire series, as it takes characters introduced in prior books and jumbles them all together to create one of the most action packed entries in the series. I loved this entry’s story very much and if you loved any prior entry this will blow your mind.

Characters: There aren’t many newcomers to this entry, but those who are introduced are based off real life figures. I’ll leave it to you to figure out who they are imitating. My favorite of this entry still is Gabriel, but the entire cast is amazing.

Overall: One of the best pieces of fiction I’ve ever read, this is a must read.

Bookish Wednesday: Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m covering the eighth entry in the Gabriel Allon series. It’s Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva!

Plot Synopsis: New terror calls Gabriel Allon away from his wife Chiara and blissful honeymoon in Italy. Boris Ostrovsky, editor of the independent Moskovsky Gazeta, claims to have exclusive information about imminent terror threats to the West and Israel but only dares entrust his knowledge with the now-famous Gabriel Allon.

Plot: The plot is one of the best in the entire series and I love this book in particular.

Characters: The bad guys are the only newcomers really, but boy does this book’s baddie pull off being one of the biggest and baddest in the entire series to date. The rest of the now familiar cast is back, with Gabriel continually being a favorite. Although Eli is pretty close to being my favorite as well.

Overall: A must read, this is Daniel Silva at his best.

Bookish Wednesday: The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva

This week I’m covering the seventh entry in the Gabriel Allon series for Bookish Wednesday! It’s The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva!

Plot Synopsis: Gabriel Allon, the master art restorer and sometime officer of Israeli intelligence is summoned once more by his masters to undertake what appears to be a routine assignment: travel to Amsterdam to purge the archives of a murdered Dutch terrorism analyst who also happened to be an asset of Israeli intelligence.

Plot: This is a pretty intense entry and I enjoyed it quite a bit, but it’s not my absolute favorite entry in the series.

Characters: We get introduced to a few more people from the American spy services which is nice, but for the most part we don’t get to see too many new faces. The usual cast is great though.

Overall: This is an easily skippable book in the series; but if you love it, you might as well read it.

Bookish Wednesday: A Death in Vienna by Daniel Silva

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m covering the fourth entry in the Gabriel Allon series. It’s A Death in Viena by Daniel Silva!

Plot Synopsis: An Israeli-run Holocaust research office in Vienna is bombed, resulting in the death of the two female staff and serious injury to the Director. Gabriel Allon, a former assassin for ‘The Office’ and working under a new identity as an art restorer in Venice, is requested by former director Ari Shamron to go to Vienna to investigate.

Plot: This is one of the more serious entries in the series, and it covers parts of Gabriel’s past that we haven’t seen yet. I won’t say I loved the plot, because the content is upsetting to me, but it’s still very good.

Characters: We don’t get introduced to any new people really, but Gabriel continues to be the best spy in fiction I’ve ever read. The rest of the cast is great as usual, with Shamron being a grump also as usual.

Overall: An excellent entry in the series.