geekery

Whatever I’m geeking out about at the time.

Asylum by Una McCormack

by

72/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

As always, Trek is at its best when it’s looking at modern issues through an SF lens. On the surface, this is about Pike and Number One at Starfleet Academy, paired with a later mission that ties back to those experiences. But when dealing with minority ethnic groups reacting to years of oppression, there’s a lot more there as well. Plus, of course, some very entertaining ties to wider Trek lore.

Me holding Asylum.

Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 218 edited by Neil Clarke

by

70/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Favorites this month were “LuvHome™” by Resa Nelson, “Luminous Glass, Vibrant Seeds” by D.A. Xiaolin Spires, “Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being” by A. W. Prihandita, and “Unquiet Graves” by Michael Swanwick.

Me holding Clarkesworld 218 on my iPad

Wolfs

by

🎥: Wolfs (2024): ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A thoroughly entertaining blend of Heat and Adventures in Babysitting. Clooney and Pitt play really well off each other. A good choice when you’re in the mood for a low-key action comedy.

Living Memory by Christopher L. Bennett

by

69/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A mysterious and dangerous astral phenomenon threatens the Earth, and Spock, Uhura, and Chekov must try to solve a mystery that ends up being tied to Uhura’s forgotten past. Meanwhile, Kirk, overseeing Starfleet Academy, has to deal with some problematic new cadets. The Kirk-centric B-blot is okay, mostly interesting for fleshing out more of Kirk’s time between the films. The primary plot is more interesting, especially as it picks up the thread of how Uhura was affected by her loss of memory during the Nomad incident, something never (or very rarely) explored. That part of the story I very much enjoyed.

Me holding Living Memory

Twisters

by

🎥 Twisters (2024): ⭐️⭐️

Oh, this was just dumb. Not that I expected much of it, but I was hoping for more enjoyably dumb instead of just…meh. Not so bad as to be a single star, just enough amusing moments for two stars, but definitely not any more than that.

Mad Max 2

by

🎥 Mad Max 2 (1981): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

While the first now feels like an unnecessary origin story, this is where you can really see the world of the modern Mad Max movies taking shape in Miller’s mind. The homoeroticism and queer coded villains are simultaneously hilarious and cringy, but wow, did this film ever solidify an aesthetic. The car chases and stunts, along with the customized vehicles, really set the stage for what will come along a few decades later. Once again, I have no idea when I last watched this, but I enjoyed watching this one again more than I did the first film.

Deadpool & Wolverine

by

🎥 Deadpool & Wolverine (2024): ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is not a good film. It’s two hours of profanity, obscene violence, and ludicrous fan service, with barely enough plot underlying it to string the fight scenes together. Basically, it’s a Marvel Cinematic Universe porno. It’s also rather entertaining, which I feel like I should feel bad about. I’m not disappointed to have watched it, but it’s not one I’ll ever really need to watch again, either.

Mad Max

by

🎥 Mad Max (1979): ⭐️⭐️

I don’t remember how long ago I last watched this, but it’s interesting watching this now, particularly with the more recent two (Fury Road and Furiosa) much more in my mind. Those are so woman-focused and nonstop, that going back to where it started, where very little happens for much of the film and women exist almost entirely as victims, is rather jarring. It’s most interesting to me as kind of a prologue to the rest of the Mad Max stories — in today’s franchises, it would be the origin story that no-one really asked for but the studio felt compelled to make, only in this case, it was actually the first one made. I can’t really say I like it, even, but I can see the impact it had and respect its place in kicking off a franchise that has just kept improving over time.