After many years of running this bookblog my life has shifted a bit. I will continue to review books I am reading but will be adding in TV and movie reviews as well. Enjoy! Check out my companion blog: http://dcvegeats.blogspot.com/
Sunday, August 03, 2025
"Wonderwell"
Sunday, July 27, 2025
"Superman"
SPOILERS AHEAD
It gets Superman right. He's wholesome. Legitimately. And that alone makes this better than most of the Superman films which came after Christopher Reeve (that being said, I do have a soft spot for Brandon Routh). It's dark, but not as dark as the last few films. The politics, which were reported as "subtle" is anything but, and since it's my politics, I appreciated the digs. Nathan Fillion makes a delightful turn as a corporate shill superhero. Rachel Brosnahan, who I love, is rightly perky and determined as unstoppable Lois Lane. The dog is adorable.
But.
There is a lot of action. Like, a lot. Like every superhero film these days, it is battle after battle after battle. Even my stepfather, who loves Superman and was the reason we entered a movie theatre for the first time in a very long time, said it was too much. Perhaps at the expense of story.
There are all the elements. The characters we have come to love (including Cat Grant??? and a somewhat more world-wise Jimmy), the fortress (inexplicably set in Antarctica, not the Arctic, which creates a moment of disbelief which is hard to swallow ... do these people not realize that the Arctic is solid ice and Antarctica is a land mass??? I digress ...) But few of the characters outside of the leads get more than a line or two of dialog. There is no fleshing out of, well, anyone. Including Lex Luthor.
And that's a problem. I'm a fan of Nicholas Hoult, and first picked up on him in the brilliant and underrated series, "The Great". But he's not ... "it". The character is just a self-obsessed bully. And not only is that hard to play, it doesn't make for a good foil. Lex is best when actors bring humor to the role, add in levels. Gene Hackman let Lex really enjoy it all. John Shea played it with such a level of class that you ~~almost~~ could see the attraction. This Lex is either not written, or the actor directed, to do much more than snarl and yell and direct his minions and his robot. It's like a sad version of a dark Ironman. And so, without a great enemy ... well, you get it.
There are also minor irritations. Ma and Pa Kent are played like country bumpkins, and this is the second time in a week I've seen rural people portrayed that way. Also, does Supergirl really have to be a drunk social media influencer? Of course, the female superhero is dismissed as a joke. Not cool, Hollywood.
There will be a sequel. There are a million unaddressed threads. And, a possible enemy worth fighting. Maria Gabriela de Fabria makes for a creepy-as-hell adversary and there are some real questions about a message left by Jor-El and Superman's Kryptonian mom. We'll see. Probably takes a couple of years for another film to be put together. I'm mildly interested in where they go from here, but would love more story, more development of the characters. It's okay to have big fights. But maybe less???
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
"Where We Belong" by Hoda Kotb
Monday, July 21, 2025
"Obi-Wan Kenobi"
And the problem is this. Disney keeps grabbing fairly minor phrases or characters out of the original films and building whole mini-series out of them. But we know what is going to happen. It is not a spoiler to say that Vader survives, Obi-Wan survives, Leia, Luke, etc all survive. Because this is a prequel. It takes a lot of the edge, the "what's going to happen next" out of the equation. Yes, we now understand why Leia loves Kenobi like a father. But there isn't a lot of room for creativity. The bad guys are the same bad guys, the good guys include some lovable droids. There are a host of planets, various blaster and light saber battles. Some of the dialog is actually lifted from Episode IV. There is a kind of Star Wars playbook and this series sticks heavily to the canon. It doesn't help much to see a 44 year old Hayden Christensen playing the young man he played 22 years ago. Vivian Lyra Blair is engaging as the young Leia, and Moses Ingram knocks it out of the park not only by playing an impressive villain but by having levels upon levels of emotional depth. Other than these little sparks, it is pretty much same old, same old. I prefer "Mandalorian" and "Skeleton Crew", as they are new stories with new characters, and are far less predictable.
Thursday, July 10, 2025
"The Batman" (2022)
Monday, July 07, 2025
"Personality Isn't Permanent" by Benjamin Hardy
Friday, July 04, 2025
"Nine Perfect Strangers"
This is where the series worked for me, even though I question the use of drugs to acheive anything. Where things go off the rail, a little: Nicole Kidman. Her skeletal frame, her distracting accent, her creepy persona (~this~ is someone you want counseling you? Doesn't really engender trust ...)
The first season focuses on one character after another while the second season focuses primarily on Kidman's character, "Masha". To the detriment of character building of the other characters. Which is a shame. There are some great backstories, great actors. I am happy to watch Christine Baranski and Lena Olin in anything (and have added Dolly de Leon to the list) but none of them (or some of the other gifted actors) had enough screen time to fill out their roles in the way they should have.
In any case. It's a way to spend some slow days of summer, if you don't want to think too hard.
Friday, March 21, 2025
"Circe" by Madeline Miller
This book, by very young Madeline Miller, is a wonder. Beautifully lyric and literary, it is still accessible. And it does for the Greek myths what Marion Zimmer Bradley did for the Arthurian legend with "Mists of Avalon". "Circe" takes the feminine point of view and an epic tale and make them human and relatable. Circe is a child, a young woman, a girlfriend, an outcast, a lover, a parent. Her life spans centuries but the ache she feels, the distance and loneliness, is real. She becomes a fully fledged woman by the end but we travel the road with her, seeing the growing pains and the sacrifices. She is not perfect but she is like us. We celebrate each step towards her self actualization. It is one of those books I didn't mind reading slowly because I didn't want it to end. When it did end, I cried. Just a bit. It was the only ending which would bring peace. Brava.
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Oh, Canada
Very few network shows, and a growing number of streaming shows, are filmed in the United States. More than 60% of what you watch these days is filmed in ... Canada. Which explains a lot. But first, the list of projects filmed in Canada.
On ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX
High Potential
Watson
Tracker
Fire Country
The Hunting Party
Found
The Irrational
Brilliant Minds
Doc
Murder in a Small Town
Almost all Hallmark and CW shows are filmed in Canada, as
well as streaming shows like Handmaid’s Tale, The Boys, all of the new Star
Treks. Shows on AMC, TNT and others,
like the recently departed (pun intended) “What We Do in the Shadows” are also
filmed there. It’s a long list.
So, why?
1.
It’s cheaper.
2.
Canada is wide open – fewer roads to shut down,
more places to film with a lot less people.
3.
Canada is diverse. It can look like places in the US.
4.
It’s not that far away. Toronto to NYC is only an hour and a half by
air, Vancouver to LA is 3 hours.
5.
Seasons.
Canada is suffering from climate change a tad less than we are. If you need snow, they have it. If you need a real Spring, as opposed to a
couple of cool weeks, you are good. And
in the Summer, you have a LOT of daylight.
Does it lower the quality of the shows?
Depends on your tastes.
Lead actors (some of whom are from the US) are just as good, if not
better. They are just a little less
famous. The actors generally look more
human and less like runway models and semaglutide addicts. Diversity with the actors is just like here,
but you see more Asians and fewer Hispanics.
My issue (and it is just my issue) – some of the “day player” actors (those
who appear in a single scene, for instance) – can be a tad weak. Canada just doesn't have as deep a pool of actors
to draw from, and it shows. There is
also a subtle thing about storytelling.
The Canada “vibe” comes out now and then … a little lower key, a little
darker … than in US produced shows.
That’s not a bad thing, but it is palpable (to me anyway).
So grab your poutine and your remotes and settle in. This trend, tariffs or not, is likely to
stick around.
Monday, February 10, 2025
And the Award Goes to ...
FILMS: “Meh”. Beautiful filming but few, if any, films
which raised the bar. Favorites included
women-forward films like “Emilia Perez” and “The Last Showgirl”. There were tired themes done well – cognitive
decline in “The Great Lillian Hall” and another musician biopic where the women
are set pieces in “A Complete Unknown”.
There were creepy-as-hell films, “The Substance” and “The Piano
Lesson”. Clever films which made you
think, like “The Brutalist”, “Conclave” and “A Real Pain”. “Sing Sing” brought tears aplenty. At least one film I loathed, “Anora” (it ran
rampant on my feminist sensibilities) and the sparkly fun of “Wicked”. But nothing which rocked the boat. Films which made an impact but nothing that
said, “Wow”. A so-so year for so-so times.
This year’s nominees in the STREAMING/TELEVISION category were
… bleak. But not bleak like in past
years, where themes of death and loss have prevailed. Bleak as in film noir. Dark.
Violent. Depraved. Ugly. I
swear, if I heard “psychological thriller” or “true crime” one more time, I was
going to hurl. There is a morose malaise
which filters through nearly every project.
Can’t say I enjoyed many of them, including the comedies. Even some of
the so-called funny stuff had an “edge” (although “Nobody Wants This” was
charming). There was just a prevailing
sense of hopelessness and few characters you really wanted to succeed. Not my speed.
I will say, however, that almost universally, the “filmmaking” aspect of
the shows was extremely high. “Ripley”,
“True Detective: Night Country”, “The
Penguin”, “Baby Reindeer”, “Disclaimer” and “Under the Bridge” were nothing if
not artful and beautifully brought to screen.
In the end there was only one drama which truly drew me in. “Shogun”.
It is a cinematic masterpiece with Shakespearean overtones. A showcase for brilliant actors. A sensitive and layered script. I had put off watching it because I knew
there were lengthy subtitles, but once I started in, I could not turn
away. Paradoxically, it is large screen
in concept and yet humbling and very real in execution. These aren’t characters, they are
people. Are there bad guys? Sure.
But every single role is multi-dimensional. There are no simple reasons for anyone’s
behavior. There are even laughs now and
then, as there are in real life. Colonialism
is dealt with realistically while the Japanese culture is respected and put at
the forefront. I would hesitate to say
that this treatment of the famous Clavell novel is about the conqueror. It is about the nation he stumbles into and
the people trying to make the best of bad hands. Worth the time. And the tears.
Deciding on my votes was difficult. In some cases, there was an overabundance of
choices, in other cases no choices at all.
Below are the ones I settled on.
The Motion Picture Nominees are:
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
ADRIEN BRODY / László Tóth - "THE BRUTALIST"
TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET / Bob Dylan - "A COMPLETE UNKNOWN"
DANIEL CRAIG / William Lee - "QUEER"
COLMAN DOMINGO / Divine G - "SING SING"
RALPH FIENNES / Lawrence - "CONCLAVE"
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading
Role
PAMELA ANDERSON / Shelly -
"THE LAST SHOWGIRL"
CYNTHIA ERIVO / Elphaba - "WICKED"
KARLA SOFÍA GASCÓN / Emilia/Manitas - "EMILIA PÉREZ"
MIKEY MADISON / Ani - "ANORA"
DEMI MOORE / Elisabeth - "THE SUBSTANCE"
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting
Role
JONATHAN BAILEY / Fiyero - "WICKED"
YURA BORISOV / Igor - "ANORA"
KIERAN CULKIN / Benji Kaplan - "A REAL PAIN"
EDWARD NORTON / Pete
Seeger - "A COMPLETE UNKNOWN"
JEREMY STRONG / Roy Cohn - "THE APPRENTICE"
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting
Role
MONICA BARBARO / Joan Baez - "A COMPLETE UNKNOWN"
JAMIE LEE CURTIS / Annette - "THE LAST SHOWGIRL"
DANIELLE DEADWYLER /
Berniece - "THE PIANO LESSON"
ARIANA GRANDE / Galinda/Glinda - "WICKED"
ZOE SALDAÑA / Rita - "EMILIA PÉREZ"
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
ANORA
CONCLAVE
EMILIA PÉREZ
WICKED
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a
Motion Picture
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
DUNE: PART TWO
THE FALL GUY
GLADIATOR II
WICKED
The Television Program Nominees are:
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television
Movie or Limited Series
JAVIER BARDEM / Jose Menendez - "MONSTERS: THE LYLE AND ERIK MENENDEZ
STORY"
COLIN FARRELL / Oz Cobb - "THE PENGUIN"
RICHARD GADD / Donny - "BABY REINDEER"
KEVIN KLINE / Stephen
Brigstocke - "DISCLAIMER"
ANDREW SCOTT / Tom Ripley - "RIPLEY"
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television
Movie or Limited Series
KATHY BATES / Edith Wilson - "THE GREAT LILLIAN HALL"
CATE BLANCHETT / Catherine Ravenscroft - "DISCLAIMER"
JODIE FOSTER / Det. Elizabeth Danvers - "TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT
COUNTRY"
LILY GLADSTONE / Cam
Bentland - "UNDER THE BRIDGE"
JESSICA GUNNING / Martha - "BABY REINDEER"
CRISTIN MILIOTI / Sofia Falcone - "THE PENGUIN"
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
TADANOBU ASANO / Kashigi
Yabushige - "SHŌGUN"
JEFF BRIDGES / Dan Chase - "THE OLD MAN"
GARY OLDMAN / Jackson Lamb - "SLOW HORSES"
EDDIE REDMAYNE / The Jackal - "THE DAY OF THE JACKAL"
HIROYUKI SANADA / Yoshii Toranaga - "SHŌGUN"
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama
Series
KATHY BATES / Madeline Matlock - "MATLOCK"
NICOLA COUGHLAN / Penelope Featherington - "BRIDGERTON"
ALLISON JANNEY / Vice President Grace Penn - "THE DIPLOMAT"
KERI RUSSELL / Kate Wyler - "THE DIPLOMAT"
ANNA SAWAI / Toda Mariko -
"SHŌGUN"
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy
Series
ADAM BRODY / Noah Roklov - "NOBODY WANTS THIS"
TED DANSON / Charles Nieuwendyk - "A MAN ON THE INSIDE"
HARRISON FORD / Paul -
"SHRINKING"
MARTIN SHORT / Oliver Putnam - "ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING"
JEREMY ALLEN WHITE / Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto - "THE BEAR"
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy
Series
KRISTEN BELL / Joanne -
"NOBODY WANTS THIS"
QUINTA BRUNSON / Janine Teagues - "ABBOTT ELEMENTARY"
LIZA COLÓN-ZAYAS / Tina - "THE BEAR"
AYO EDEBIRI / Sydney Adamu - "THE BEAR"
JEAN SMART / Deborah Vance - "HACKS"
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
BRIDGERTONTHE DAY OF THE JACKAL
THE DIPLOMAT
SHŌGUN
SLOW HORSES
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
THE BEAR
HACKS
ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING
SHRINKING
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a
Television Series
THE BOYS
FALLOUT
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON
THE PENGUIN
SHŌGUN