Armageddon (film, 1998) & Making Money (novel, 2007)

Armageddon (1998)

Armageddon on IMDb

I'd heard good things about this film before I saw it, especially about it's excellent ending. The soundtrack, which was basically an orchestral score and Aerosmith, was also recommended.

Bruce Willis is good throughout, and the star cast performs excellently, easily one of the best features of the film. The film is a typical space-disaster-tragedy-type-thing, a team of drillers are drafted as astronauts to destroy a meteor before it destroys Earth. There's quite a bit of lad-type humour, which is surprisingly rare outside of British films, and the story has enough gravitas to carry it. Some of the bits on Earth when it's all very tense are brilliant.

While perhaps a little improbable, the film is a good watch. Its length is perhaps off-putting, but it's OK to watch in two or even three sittings. I was also impressed by the lack of gratuitous sex, which is usually a curse of long films. There was one scene, but it was written to emphasise the danger, rather than sex itself.

I'd recommend this as a world's-end film, definitely one of the classics. Many lines of memorable dialogue help too.

Making Money (2009)

Author: Terry Pratchett

Another Discworld novel, this the sequel to 'Going Postal'. Moist von Lipwig is back, unable to settle down in his job at the Post Office, and has been offered, in a sense, the job of chairman of the Bank of Ankh-Morpork.

Pratchett's novels are always laden with humour, and this was no exception. I rarely laugh out loud at novels or films, but this was one which managed it. The classic mixture of silliness and situations make all of his books funny in a great way. Making Money is very good, building on the characters established in Going Postal and producing an excellent story. The science fiction is also at a height, with the kind of pseudo-history and mystique that makes any setting intriguing.

The story has an amusing circular plot, and works out very well. Moist is one of Pratchett's best characters, his laid-back manner again ready for much trouble making. The usual suspects are in for those who've read Going Postal or any other Discworld novels, but it's easy to follow if you haven't. It's actually been months since I last read one, so I picked it back up easily.

Perhaps if you haven't read anything of Pratchett's before, there are better ones to pick (shorter, too), but this one is a worthy addition and for younger people, a good way of getting a basic grasp of economy and currency. As well as a good laugh.