Reviews

Inception has an interesting concept and is well done. The ending is ambiguous, which frustrates me--I think a story should give a sense of closure, which this didn't--but it certainly made me think about the film; we've come up with half a dozen ideas of "what really happened". I also like how the relationship with Ariadne developed, and the effects for the fight in the hotel hallway were very well done.

The Expendables was an action packed, star studded movie which accomplished nothing in particular. If you want to watch hand to hand fights, shooting, and explosions, this is the place. If you want anything else, move along. It felt like the pilot episode for a TV show.

Passage at Arms, by Glen Cook. I have never seen Das Boot, but even so, this book was transparently "Das Boot in Space". See the movie instead.

Family Trade, by Charlie Stross.  I like some of the other things Stross has done, but this was bland. If you've read Roger Zelazny's Amber books, you have the general idea, but the Amber books were more imaginative and had more vivid characters.