Fantasy films have been moneymakers for Hollywood recently—the Marvel, Harry Potter, and Star Wars series come to mind. The Marvel movies, based on that venerable comic book enterprise, don’t pretend to be serious—both DC Comics and Marvel Comics were once kids’ introductions to fantasy. I like the origin stories the most because I missed them in my comics reading as a kid. The Harry Potter series of books represent Rowling’s verbose description of a magical world, a bit juvenile at the beginning but darker as it went along, and so verbose that they made two movies of the last book. She has tried to keep it going—is that Broadway show as verbosely boring as those later novels? The series had examples of Deus ex Machina all the way through it. Magic is the epitome of fantasy, of course, and Rowling wouldn’t argue with that classification. But the Star Wars movies really turned me off. None of Lucas’s or Disney’s hype calls them fantasies. What’s more, they’re bad ones.

First, there’s the rampant plagiarism of sci-fi classics and action traditions. I consider ninja classics’, Edgar Rice Burrough’s, and Isaac Asimov’s influences plagiarism, but I suppose the statute of limitations applies and prevents the last two writers’ estates from taking legal action. You’d think Japan would make a national outcry about the ninja-like material too, but that’s not the first time Hollywood has distorted that tradition, turning reality into fantasy.

Second, there are glaring absurdities. Consider that freaky, sizzlin’ light saber. It’s not really a saber, of course—it’s not curved. While ninja warriors might covet such weapons, they are absurd weapons in that galaxy so far, far away. By the way, some wag said that Star Wars isn’t really fantasy because it’s in this universe, but Harry Potter occurred on Earth and no one denies it’s fantasy, so I’ll ignore that argument. But back to the light saber: Remember this scene from an Indiana Jones movie? An evil ninja-like combatant threatens Indy, swishing his sword back and forth in a menacing display of speed and skill. Indy pulls out his gun and plugs his attacker. Now translate that to Star Wars. I’d just pull out my blaster (or ray gun, or whatever they call it) and blast the guy with the light saber who’s threatening me, just like Indy did. Swords were appropriate for the Jedi warriors on Burroughs’s Martian stories that Lucas plagiarized, but they’re absurd in Star Wars (yes, Lucas plagiarized even the name Jedi as well as the concept).

Third, while we still have princes and princesses in the modern era (a particular nasty prince in Saudi Arabia and the British queen’s son are modern and anachronistic examples of princes), Lucas’s use of them is also absurd. They turn Star Wars into one big formulaic fairy tale. Of course, the entire Star Wars social structure is absurd, including the Senate and Empire, both stolen from Asimov and morphed into ugly fantasy. Whatever those speeds obtainable by the Millennium Falcon are, empires are hard to maintain among the stars. Loose trade unions a la the EU are only possible because the starships in use are the fastest means of communication—and that’s not fast enough to grip that galaxy far, far away in the iron hand of Lucas’s evil empire.

Fourth, the fantasy world of Star Wars doesn’t have consistent rules. Rowling also fails at that in her fantasy series, but it’s not so obvious as Star Wars. Lucas and other Star Wars directors fail miserably at this in their movies—or maybe their screenwriters are the real culprits. (Most Hollywood screenwriters have no idea how to write a good fantasy, so their screenplays are bad ones.) A fantasy universe has to have a consistent set of rules. Each Star Wars director makes them up as he goes, especially Lucas.

I’m not against fantasy. I just want it to be done right. I’ll read it and watch it on the silver screen if it is done right. Star Wars doesn’t do it right. And don’t come at me saying, “It’s not fantasy. It’s sci-fi.” It’s not sci-fi, it’s bad fantasy. Viewers are delusional if they think it’s sci-fi. And they should also realize it’s bad fantasy.

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Comments are always welcome.

Want some really good fantasy? Check out Veiled Memory by S. P. Brown (a sequel is on the way) and Kilts and Catnips by Zoe Tasia. The first fantasy describes a dark conspiracy involving Celtic runes that are mysteriously ancient; the second takes a few Celtic legends and plops them down into a modern setting. I reviewed both in this blog. They’re writing comrades at Black Opal Books, but I’ve discovered that searching through small press catalogs is a great way to find new and exciting authors…at least new for me. And you can avoid the overwhelming lists at Amazon that way. Black Opal Books are available wherever books are sold, and directly from the publisher. Support indie publishers like Black Opal.

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

Ad Astra. James Gray, director. Here’s a summary of my review of this clunker: there’s so much wrong here! If you want more info, read on.

First, there’s the confusing, illogical, and boring plot. The idea is that Brad Pitt’s character had daddy problems and wants to find his father and ask him why daddy left mommy and young’un back on Earth to go to the far reaches of the solar system. What daddy tells his son isn’t at all surprising, but I would have told him, “What the hell is the matter with you?”

Second, scientific errors abound. Didn’t they hire some scientific consultants? Some specifics: Antimatter experiments out in space? Probably not a good idea to do them on Earth, but the tokamak researchers would probably be interested in how to contain them. Pirates on the moon’s far side? The explanation for that is lame, but so is the whole movie…scientifically speaking. Experiments on animals in space beyond Mars? Zero explanation for that. They’re already experimenting with humans in zero grav, after all. Where’s PETA when you need them? Using a metal shield to get through Neptune’s rings? Maybe the Pentagon doesn’t need all those tanks, just crap ripped off a Space X rocket.

Third, they translate the movie title for those who don’t know Latin, but the movie has nothing to do with going to the stars. Everything takes place in the solar system. Moreover, that very same intro says “In the near future…”. With several bases on Luna and Mars where spaceships launched from Mars toward the outer reaches of the solar system, that future isn’t near. But I guess it all depends on what “near” means to the screenwriters.

Fourth, how can Brad Pitt’s character fool the psychs? He’s nuts. Maybe the screenwriters (a team which includes the director) want to prove AI is evil a la Kubric’s HAL? If so, that point is lost, and, of course, wrong.

Fifth, Space Com takes over as the evil corporation. Maybe the point here is a dig at the president’s new initiative, which hasn’t launched yet (pardon the pun). And it’s not quite clear why they’re evil. And, if they are, why does the Pitt character do their bidding?

Sixth, did I already say slow and boring? The acting doesn’t help. They shouldn’t have chosen Pitt or Jones. They would have done better with newcomers because neither protagonist can save this movie with their famous names. This movie is yet another case of critics lauding a clunker and audiences having more common sense than the critics…and screenwriters. Definitely not worth the money. If you thought Gravity was boring, you have to see how boring this one is. Any ahs for special effects (and you will have many–they basically got Neptune’s rings right) reduce to nothing if you take into account the bad science and slo-mo boredom that gives you plenty of opportunities to relieve yourself.

I fortunately had an immediate respite. After the movie I came home and watched Jeremy Irons discuss Shakespeare’s Henry plays on PBS’s “Shakespeare Uncovered.” Now there are three great dramas! Drove Ad Astra right out of my mind…with the help of some Jameson as I toasted Willy.

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More than Human: The Mensa Contagion. In a twist on the alien invasion or apocalyptic contagions, an ET virus infects Earth and creates Homo sapiens 2.0 and a new society for them full of new vigor and desires for adventure. The new humans colonize Mars and find the ET colony ship in an orbit around Saturn. One reviewer said of this epic sci-fi novel:  “More than Human kept me turning pages after I should have put the book down…. I found the characters well developed and the plot fresh. I was reminded at times of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars trilogy.”—Debra Miller, in her Amazon review. Available in ebook format at Amazon and Smashwords and the latter’s affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.) and lenders (Overdrive, etc.)

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

Angel Has Fallen. Ric Waugh, dir. Gerard Butler. Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is set to become the next Secret Service director. He saves President Allan Trumball (Morgan Freeman) from an overwhelming attack that puts the president in a coma. The Rambo-like security man is framed for the attack, so much of the film is dedicated to his discovering those responsible for the frame and hunting them down. I soon picked out the sniveling jerk in the White House responsible for everything, so there’s not much left to the imagination here. Nick Nolte is great as Banning’s father and Butler and Freeman are okay too.

Reviewers didn’t like this movie; I did. So did audiences. I guess I’m not a reviewer yet! This action/thriller is entertaining, albeit violent. Mr. Waugh must be another director who loves to blow things up. Much better to see it on the silver screen than in real life, of course, where the good guys so often win.

Official Secrets. Gavin Hood, dir. As many readers of this blog know, I favor British-style mysteries a lot in my reading for R&R. This is one on the silver screen. Unfortunately it’s not fiction but a true piece of history I was unfamiliar with. And it’s simply the best movie I’ve seen this year! It now replaces Vice as #1, although it overlaps the same period. (Funny that Cheney wasn’t in this one—he’s more responsible for all those deaths in Iraq than anyone else!).

Katharine Gun (Keira Knightly), who works at Britain’s GCHQ (the Brits’ counterpart of the NSA), receives an email about Blair’s bro act with Dubya to spy on UN diplomats so they can blackmail them into voting for a resolution against Saddam Hussein. Said resolution would give some legitimacy to the US government’s murdering nation-changing plans.

Gun gives a copy of the email to an antiwar activist who in turn gives it to a reporter from the Observer, Martin Bright (Matt Smith). Thus begins a year of hell for Gun, which includes the invasion of Iraq, as Blair and company torment her, including trying to deport her husband, a Kurdish refugee who has no love for the Iraqi strongman.  Real video is interpolated into the film at key spots to add authenticity. A free-speech lawyer Ben Emmerson (Ralph Fiennes) helps Gun finally get around that Official Secrets Act that doesn’t even allow Gun to discuss her defense with her lawyers.

This is a true exposé of American and British duplicity used to initiate an illegal war where millions were killed—Americans, British, Iraqis, and others. Like that movie about the atrocities in Benghazi, I wonder how long this movie will stay around before authorities on both sides of the pond force it out of theaters. Like that Benghazi movie, this is at least a damning indictment of ineptitude at the highest levels of government. Maybe with bigger stars, American and British governments wouldn’t dare censor this movie this time.

In this case, the audience was stunned. Getting the information about bad deeds after the governments do them does that to people.

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Son of Thunder. #2 in the “Esther Brookstone Art Detective Series.” This sequel to Rembrandt’s Angel has Esther Brookstone, now retired from Scotland Yard, obsessed with finding St. John the Divine’s tomb, using directions left by the Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. The disciple’s missionary travels and Botticelli’s trip to the Middle East make for three travel stories that all come together. Esther’s boyfriend, Interpol agent Bastiann van Coevorden, has problems with arms dealers, but he multitasks by trying to keep Esther focused and out of danger. The reader can also learn how their romance progresses. History, archaeology, romance, and art make for a tasty stew in this mystery/thriller novel soon to be published by Penmore Press in print and ebook formats. While it can be read independently of the first book, you can learn more about Esther and Bastiann in Rembrandt’s Angel—available in print and ebook formats at Amazon and in ebook format at Smashwords and the latter’s affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.) and lenders (Overdrive, etc.).

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

Luce. Julius Onah, dir. A better title for this movie would be Boxes. Its theme is about the artificial boxes built around people (societal expectations) and boxes built around themselves (goals), especially for blacks in America.

A seven-year-old refugee from war-torn Eritrea is adopted by the Edgars and given the name Luce. We’re left to wonder throughout the movie if this adoption occurred for the wrong reasons, including the Edgars feeling good about themselves. Luce is black; the Edgars are white. And Mrs. Edgar (Naomi Watts) works hard to fit Luce (Kevin Harrison Jr.) into genteel white upper middle class society in Arlington, VA.

The boy grows up and develops a love-hate relationship with a black high school teacher Harriet Wilson (Octavia Spencer), who also wants more for Luce but suspects he hasn’t left behind the violence of his homeland. Luce resents both boxes, the one his parents have constructed for him and the one Wilson wants to build for him.

Everyone in this movie has baggage; everyone is flawed…but not any more than real people. It’s much ado about not much, slowly building an artificial intensity that seems to accompany the music instead of the other way round. Frankly, considering audience conversations afterward, not many viewers understood it…or could identify with the problems portrayed that are, pardon the expression, white-washed.

But there is some great acting that saves this movie, especially by Kevin Harrison Jr. and Octavia Spencer. The director Onah and J.C. Lee wrote the screenplay. Maybe it would have been better as a true play on a Broadway stage? The history of Sundance and other critics’ praise couldn’t sway me to think better of this portrayal of a war refugee’s story. It’s like art imitating real life…and failing. You might want to give it a chance, though. The story’s better than most Hollywood movies’ these days…where Sturgeon’s Law applies all too well.

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Comments are always welcome.

The Last Humans. LA Sheriff’s Department forensics diver Penny Castro surfaces to find a post-apocalyptic world in this thriller set in the near future. Her struggles to survive, find new friends, and create an adopted family make for adventures that will have you asking, “Could this really happen?” Available in print and ebook format from Amazon or the publisher Black Opal Books, or in ebook format from Smashwords and its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.). Also available at your favorite local bookstore (if they don’t have it, ask for it).

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

The Kitchen. Andrea Berloff, dir. I saw one family walk in to see this movie—daddy, mommy, and three little kids—and thought, Does daddy think this movie is a comedy because Haddish and McCarthy are in it? Either daddy and his family were surprised, or daddy just wanted to see a violent, bloody Quentin Tarantino-style movie that makes Wise Guys seem like a little kindergarten skirmish. I wasn’t surprised—I saw the previews—and there aren’t many good films now (that sappy dog story doesn’t appeal to me), and I like both Haddish and McCarthy in serious roles.

Three women, Kathy Brennan (Melissa McCarthy), Ruby O’Carroll (Tiffany Haddish), and Claire Walsh (Elizabeth Moss), take over the Irish mob’s territory aka Hell’s Kitchen, circa late seventies, after their good-for-nothing lowlife hubbies get sent to prison. That’s the plot, all wrapped up in a nice if bloody bow.

But the movie has its moments as well as its inconsistencies, if the plot isn’t illogical enough for you. One of the three (Claire), whose husband uses her for a punching bag—she’d already lost her baby because his favorite target is her gut—receives what’s due him as far as I’m concerned. And a nice lowlife Gabriel O’Malley (Domhall Gleeson) returns to Manhattan just in time to kill Claire’s new attacker—too much of a coincidence and in the plot mostly because Claire deserves some true romance, even if it’s a killer romance, literally. Another inconsistency is the Brooklyn Mafioso who defends the three criminal newbies. Brooklyn? Really? He belongs in Little Italy.

Gloria Steinem is mentioned once, so I guess this is a female empowerment film. Okay. We all know the world would be a far better place if women were in charge (I’m speaking truth here)…but maybe not in this way! Instead, I saw the movie as an excellent example that Haddish and McCarthy can act in serious roles. I want to see more of that—they’re very talented. So is Elizabeth Moss. The three aren’t exactly the Three Musketeers, i.e. not all for one and one for all…or whatever Dumas’s phrase was. Instead, there’s friction, just like in any good crime family.

In fact, that friction is related to a nice twist that really caught me by surprise, mostly because no clues were offered in the script (I might have missed them, of course)—deus ex machina without the deus. Still, as a writer of mysteries and thrillers, I should have seen it coming. That twist alone makes me respect the screenwriter who, by the way, is also the director…and also a woman! (I hope she can break through old Hollywood’s glass ceiling and make more movies.)

Do I recommend this movie? Sure, for some great acting and a great twist. Just don’t take your little kids to see it. We have enough kids with PTSD on the southern U.S. border and in broken families elsewhere.

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The Last Humans. “’We’ve done a real number on the environment, Miss Castro.’ ‘Call me Penny.’ ‘She’s ex-navy,’ said one air force guy, winking at me. ‘She only understands salt water.’” Penny Castro makes a forensic dive for the LA County Sheriff’s Department and surfaces to find the apocalypse. In the post-apocalyptic thriller where survivors include feral humans and incompetent bureaucrats, she manages to find some good people. Her adventures will still have you asking, “Could this really happen?” Available in print and ebook formats at Amazon and ebook format at Smashwords and its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.). Also available at the publisher Black Opal Books and your favorite local bookstore (if they don’t have it, ask them to order it).

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libettas!

The Lion King. Jon Favreau, dir. I’ve seen The Lion King in three different media formats: animated feature, Broadway play, and now the CGI version. At the end of this review, I’ll say which one I like the best. For now, let me discuss the latest Disney incarnation of the story.

The plot here is basically a repeat of the animated feature: Scar is the lion villain, the hyenas are his willing accomplices, and Mufasa and Simba are Scar’s victims. The romance is supplied by Nala and Simba, the prince, who must reclaim his throne and become king. You could sleep through the whole thing like it was the next Pirates of the Caribbean installment if it weren’t for the music. However, The Lion King was the first and only one of a few original stories the Disney studios have created. The great “circle of life” has been augmented by the great Disney circle: animation, Broadway show, and CGI extravaganza. Ho-hum. The Lion King now joins the ranks of The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Frozen, Hunchback…ad infinitum? (Some of these haven’t made CGI or real world yet. I’m not sitting here breathless in anticipation.)

I’ve always had reservations about the plot. It forces the animal world into a fairy tale setting of deposed kings, princes trying to recover their thrones, royal romances, and courts full of jesters. If you don’t see that, I’m sorry. In fact, this version is dark enough (I heard little kids crying) that one could say it’s the Disney version of Game of Thrones. Also, while I accept that animated features have talking critters, I didn’t like realistic-looking CGI mockups talking like humans. Makes me wonder where Dr. Doolittle aka Eddie Murphy is.

I like the Broadway version best. The elaborate costumes hark back to the original animation and make talking animals more appealing. The music is better too. In the Broadway version, those contrapuntal drums gave me a primal, wild sensation akin to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, one that is completely missing in the film versions. And Queen B’s song doesn’t make up for that loss in the CGI version. Moreover, this show has offered many black authors a chance to appear on Broadway—their talents don’t get that much chance to shine there. To summarize, I like the Broadway show best—music, dancing, good acting, and colorful and original costumes. Skip the two movies and go see that show.

But alas, it’s a CGI world now, and Disney has mastered that technology. But here’s a warning: Starting with The Jungle Book, I began to think, if they can do CGI with animals, they can do it with humans. Except for a few special effects in sci-fi extravaganzas, CGI hasn’t yet replaced real human actors. Actors have agents and unions; animals don’t. But it’s only a matter of time. Of course, we’ll need more and more CGI for animals as species become extinct due to poachers, hunters, and humans’ attacks on the environment. Who knows? Maybe in the future all the PBS Nature shows will be CGI. Ugh!

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The Last Humans. “‘We’re in a year-round rationing and fire-danger situation here and often los a good percentage of our crops along the river for lack of water. It’s worse in the Big Valley, of course. We’ve done a real number on the environment, Miss Castro.’ ‘Call me Penny.’ ‘She’s ex-navy,’ said one air force guy, winking at me. ‘She only understands salt water.’” Ex-USN Search and Rescue and current LA County Sheriff’s Department diver Penny Castro goes on a forensics dive off SoCal shores and surfaces to find herself in a post-apocalyptic world. A bioengineered and airborne contagion has been delivered to the West Coast and will be carried around the world, killing billions. Her adventures trying to survive in this new world will make you ask, “Could this really happen?” Published by Black Opal Books, this post-apocalyptic thriller is available in ebook and print format from Amazon and as an ebook version from Smashwords and its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.) Also available from the publisher or your local bookstore (if they don’t have it, ask for it). A sequel is coming.

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

Spiderman: Far From Home. John Watts, director. Fair warning to fans of the Marvel Universe: About the only good thing I can say about this movie is found in the few good glimpses I saw of Prague, a European capital I haven’t been to yet. Even for that, I would have been better off buying a Frommer’s tour guide.

The title comes from Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s visits to Venice, Prague, and London with his high school science group. I never understood how that came about, but I was ready to flee from the beginning. The professors are doofuses (or is that doofusi?), and the classmates are ignoramuses (same comment), except for MJ and Parker. Huh? These are STEM students? Parker also seems like a hapless nerd, even as Spider-Man–smitten by MJ and incapable of expressing it. Hey, you’re Spider-Man! No one can compete with you, so what’s your problem?

Yeah, something bad Marvel/Disney screenwriters conjured up called “the blip” changed the whole Marvel Universe of superheroes. In other words, Disney managed to destroy it with a do-over/sequel to End Game that just doesn’t work, creating a real Avengers’ end game. They should have stopped while they were ahead. I really hope this bombs to teach them a lesson!

Jake Gyllenhaal was terrible as Beck/Mysterio; likewise Marisa Tomei as Aunt May (she’s a young hotty now…instead of an old woman because of the blip, I think—not very clear). Samuel L. Jackson was old reliable as Nick Fury. Maybe he could have saved the show if they’d given him more screen time; he brought some maturity to the screen at least instead of banal pandering to teenagers.

A mediocre and illogical script added to this unmitigated disaster. Disney/Marvel should be ashamed. Definitely the worst of all the Spider-Man movies; even that animated Spider-Verse chaos beats it. And I yearn for #2 in the series.

I only recommend this for people addicted to Marvel and yearning for another fix, or tweens/teens who play terribly incoherent and infantile videogames in hypnotic states. How I wish I’d kept my old comics! I could fall back on them now and wipe this disaster from my mind. I walked out of this one stunned with how bad it is. Stan Lee’s probably turning over in his grave!

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Comments are always welcome.

The Last Humans. “Life’s nice little moments sometimes follow bad ones…or vice versa. Does it even out? Probably not, considering my present situation. Why did I survive?” Ex-USN Search and Rescue and current LA County Sheriff’s Department diver goes on a forensics dive off SoCal shores and surfaces to find herself in a post-apocalyptic world. A bioengineered and airborne contagion has been delivered to the West Coast and will be carried around the world, killing billions. Her adventures trying to survive in this new world will make you ask, “Could this really happen?” Published by Black Opal Books, this post-apocalyptic thriller is available in ebook and print format from Amazon and as an ebook version from Smashwords and its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.) Also available from the publisher or your local bookstore (if they don’t have it, ask for it). A sequel is coming.

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

Rocketman. Dexter Fletcher, dir. Many posts ago, I reviewed Bohemian Rhapsody. Rocketman is a very different biopic. The titles of each movie correspond to two famous songs, but that’s where the similarities end. Rocketman focuses on Elton John’s singer/pianist’s life just a bit beyond when he checked into a rehab center to save himself because he was abusing liquor and drugs…and ultimately to find himself.

The movie is a bit slow in parts, but it has its moments. I especially liked the part where Elton John (well portrayed by Taron Egerton, who actually sings) reports to the head mistress of the Royal Academy of Music. When he enters, she’s playing Mozart’s “Turkish Rondo” (Sonata Number 11 in A Major) and stops when she sees the future student enter the room. He brought no music with him, so she asks him to play anything. He sits down and plays to exactly the same spot where she stopped. He couldn’t play any further because he’d just memorized what she’d played!

The title song and many others are well sung and played, often couched within dream sequences or flashbacks with choreographed dancing, making this more like a musical than Bohemian Rhapsody. I’m still trying to decide if that works for me. Same for the group therapy session leading to the flashbacks—much of the movie stems from Elton’s self-analysis in those sessions.

Of course, Elton is one hell of a singer as well as a good piano man. His long association with lyricist Bernie Taupin (ably portrayed by Jamie Bell, with an excellent supporting actor’s performance) has motivated his song-writing. His wild initial success brought fame and fortune, not love, though. His long spiral down leading to that time in rehab is hard to watch. One complaint I have is that rough patch that could have killed him is the focus here, not the time after rehab where he did finally find love, and he has been sober for about thirty years.

His biggest failure in love was with the manager who seduced him, seeing a rising star he could get rich with. I’d like to focus on another failure, though. Like Freddy Mercury, Elton is gay; you can make your own conclusions about the reasons watching the movie (which had Elton’s approval, I’m told). But he tried a heterosexual marriage with another singer Renate Blauel, ably portrayed in the movie by Celine Schoenmaker—I’d like to see more of her. I hadn’t known about that aspect of Elton’s life.

The gay sex scenes aren’t the first ones in major movies as some reviewers claim (consider Brokeback Mountain, for example), but they’re just part of Elton’s story told in this movie, maybe justifying its R-rating. As such, Rocketman won’t have the success of Bohemian Rhapsody, which Hollywood sanitized to PG-13, thus trivializing Freddy Mercury’s similar struggles as a gay man.

[As an aside, I saw this in an AMC theater with those mechanically reclining chairs. When they first rolled out these chairs, I said to myself, “They’d better maintain them.” Well, I’m prescient. I was trapped at the end of the movie and had to struggle to get out of the chair! Just a warning for theater-goers.]

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Rogue Planet. Sci-fi books are generally “evergreen” books, at least the ones involving the future of human beings in our galaxy—they never get old. This is one of mine. If you read A.B. Carolan’s Mind Games, you’ve learned how difficult it is for ITUIP (“Interstellar Trade Union of Independent Planets”) to control the colonization of new worlds and bring them into the trade union. Eden is such a world, forced back into virtual savagery after one tribe takes over and establishes a brutal theocracy. It’s up to the son of the deposed king to do something about that. Hard sci-fi with Game-of-Thrones fantasy elements, action, suspense, and intrigue await this novel’s reader. Available on Amazon in both ebook and print format, and in ebook format on Smashwords and all its affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.).

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

Dumbo. Tim Burton, dir. Not Burton’s strangest by any means, and a mixed bag. Unlike the original cartoon feature, the animals no longer talk, and the humans, with the exception of Danny DeVito as the circus owner Medici, don’t emote as actors. The plot is more twisted too and doesn’t work well in this context.

Young kids probably won’t care. Most of them haven’t seen the original either. “Look, Mommy, the elephant can fly!” If that’s not enough suspension of belief in this fantasy world (should I say Dreamworld?) that you’ll have to make in this remake, consider one baby elephant’s trunkful of water putting out a ranging fir. Etc. Etc.

Tim Burton did no one any favors here. The film has some redeeming moments, and I think the cast were all trying to make it work, but they couldn’t pull it off. Disney has to stop trying to make animated films come to life. Aladdin was in the previews. Will Smith doesn’t do it as the genie after Robin Williams in the original cartoon feature and that guy on Broadway, James Monroe Iglehart, who is great. (Similar to Julie Andrews not getting the film role as Eliza Doolittle?)

I’m not sure how this film will do. It’s also bit dark in places for small kids, but not as bad as Voldemort in the last Harry Potter movies. Many kids in our theater got bored and started running around too. I’m not sure their parents weren’t bored either. I was too, for the most part, and I could have done with the animal rights” spiel at the end. Mind you, I’m a big believer in animal rights and protecting them, especially endangered species, but this was NOT a concern in 1919.

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Last man alive? What about last woman alive? Penny Castro, LA County Sheriff’s Deputy and forensic diver, finds she isn’t alone after the apocalypse, though—there are a few others who survived the contagion and now want to kill her. And the remnants of a US government could be the greatest danger for her and the family she’s adopted. The post-apocalyptic thriller The Last Humans has just been released by Black Opal Books (where you can also purchase the book) in both ebook and print versions and available at the publisher’s website, online retailers like Amazon and Smashwords and the latter’s affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc), and bookstores (if they don’t have it, ask for it!).

Here’s a review excerpt:

“The Last Humans is a thrilling ride into a dystopian world. Written in first person narrative, the heart and soul of the heroine emerges. Every thought, emotion, and action is seen from her perspective. She is courageous but not necessarily brave. She faces her fears and often vomits in the aftermath. Her femininity at times gets the better of her, but her humanity always prevails. The cast of characters and the tragic events surrounding her cause her character to grow beyond expectation. This concept is mandatory for survival in an apocalyptic world, keeping to the adage ‘that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’” —Cheryl E. Rodriguez, Readers’ Favorite reviewer

Read the full review on the Readers’ Favorite website.

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

[Note from Steve: As many readers know, I post a list of the week’s blog articles on both Facebook and Twitter. This is an addendum because, like millions of others, I saw the movie in question this weekend. Although it was the second weekend, the theater was still packed. Was the movie worth all the hype? Read on.]

Captain Marvel. Anna Erden and Ryan Flack, dirs. Loud, spectacular, and long, but I would have fallen asleep if it weren’t for the deafening soundtrack. Many moviegoers have here more of what they want I guess—loud, spectacular, long action without much substance, i.e. pure escapism—but there’s some good acting from Brie Larson (Carol AKA Captain Marvel) and Samuel L. Jackson (Fury). Larson perhaps overacts and gets carried away in her role as an amnesiac Paula-in-peril, but Jackson is in top form.

Here’s my ranking of the recent origin stories: (1) Wonder Woman, (2) Black Panther, and (3) Captain Marvel. Hmm. I sense a trend: they’re getting progressively worse–or should I say less awesome. Or, maybe I’ve had enough of the Marvel Universe? (I loved the comics when I was kid, but it seems like every year there’s more, like ants in springtime.) Can’t Hollywood come up with anything else? The answer is: yes, of course! See some of my other movie reviews for alternatives—better, meaningful stories, and without all the spectacle and overbearing soundtrack.

With the new comfortable, even heated, seating in many theaters (at last!) and earplugs, I guess I can always take a nap. But then I couldn’t write a review, could I? Movie reviews are like book reviews—the reviewers should really see and read what they’re reviewing!

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Comments are always welcome.

Last man alive? What about last woman alive? Penny Castro, LA County Sheriff’s Deputy and forensic diver, finds she isn’t alone, though—there are a few others who survive the contagion and want to kill her. And the remnants of a US government could be the greatest danger for her and the family she’s adopted. The post-apocalyptic thriller The Last Humans will be released by Black Opal Books in both ebook and print versions on March 30 and available at the publisher’s website, online retailers like Amazon and Smashwords and the latter’s affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc), and bookstores (if they don’t have it, ask for it!). You can pre-order on both Amazon and Smashwords.

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!