Mrs Harris Goes to Paris (2022): ⭐️⭐️⭐️: Delightful, funny, and sweet. Very pretty as well, both in terms of scenery and costuming. An excellent way to spend a couple pleasant hours on a slow Saturday afternoon.
TV And Films
The shows and movies I like (or don’t).
🎥 Ticket to Paradise
Ticket to Paradise (2022): ⭐️⭐️: Unimaginative and entirely predictable, but harmless, and more or less (you choose which of those is most correct) saved by Clooney and Roberts’ undeniable easygoing chemistry.
However:
No points to whoever decided to dress Julia Roberts in a series of jumpsuits. She spent most of the film looking like a 1960s garage attendant.
Also no points to the screenwriters for apparently not knowing that one doesn’t become a lawyer about to start at a prestigious New York firm directly out of “four years of college”.
Nic Cage is a Trekkie
Here’s a fun snippet of an interview between Nic Cage and Kevin Polowy, where Nic definitively declares himself a Trekkie:
Video originally posted to Twitter by Kevin; I downloaded it to add subtitles. Transcript below as well.
…speaking of Massive Weight, the last time I talked to Pedro, he said he wanted to recruit you into the Star Wars fold. How do you feel about this? Has there been any movement on this?
I’m — No, is the answer, and I’m, I’m not really down. I’m a Trekkie, man, I’m on the Star Trek, I’m on the Enterprise, that’s where I roll.
Oh! Okay — I didn’t know this about you.
Yeah, well, this is the first interview of the new year, you might at well get something that no one knows.
But that’s a fact. I grew up watching Shatner, I thought Pine was terrific in the movies, I think the movies are outstanding, and I like the political and the sociological —
To me what science fiction is really all about, and why it’s such an important genre, is that is really where you can say whatever you want, however you feel, you put it on a different planet, you put it in a different time, in the future, and you can, without people just jumping on you. You can really express your thoughts, like Orwell, or whomever, in the science fiction format. And Star Trek really embraced that, I thought they got into some serious stuff.
This is a great nugget of information, and now we have to make that happen, we’re gonna put this out to the internet: Nic Cage for Star Trek, 2023. It’s gotta happen.
But I’m not, I’m not in the Star Wars family, I’m in the Star Trek family.
Got it, got it. We’ll put it in the record. I’ll break the news to Pedro for you.
Okay, thank you.
🎥 Enola Holmes 2
Enola Holmes 2 (2022): ⭐️⭐️⭐️: Like the first, it was a cute and entertaining adventure, though not quite as good as the first.
🎥 The Menu
The Menu (2022): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Best watched as if you’re going to a fancy new restaurant for the first time: no reviews, no trailers, just enjoy experiencing what the chef has planned for your evening.
But if you do want a little bit of an amuse-bouche to whet the appetite: It’s kind of the foodie world’s version of Galaxy Quest, by which I mean both that it’s really funny and that it knows its subject very, very well. Though Galaxy Quest approached its genre with love, this is a (very) dark comedy instead of bright and shiny. Reminded me in the best way of the twisted films my friends and I would gather together to watch in our 20s.
🎥 Everything Everywhere All At Once
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Well, now I see what all the fuss has been about — and how richly deserved it is. That was the most confusing, bizarre, hilarious, unexpected, touching, and sweet film I’ve seen in ages. So glad I went in knowing next to nothing about it. Just excellent, on every level.
📚 Sacrifices of War by Kevin Ryan
68/2022 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wraps up all the threads quite nicely, in a way that I didn’t expect when I started the first book – by revisiting Errand of Mercy. While the episode always mentioned that the Federation and the Klingon Empire were at the brink of war, the combination of TOS’s weekly adventure format and ‘60s TV styles always meant that it never really felt that dire. By exploring the buildup of tensions between the powers over six books and several bloody encounters in space, on the ground, and on space stations, the events of the episode, and even Kirk and Kor’s frustration at being prevented from going to war, gain much more weight and solidity.
📚 Demands of Honor by Kevin Ryan
67/2022 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
As we approach the end of this hexology, it’s worth noting that it’s doing a really neat job of exploring the state of affairs with and within the Klingon empire from both Starfleet and Klingon viewpoints. While these are some of the more violent Trek novels I’ve read, it works well to give weight to the interactions hear referenced and see onscreen in TOS episodes.
📚 Seeds of Rage by Kevin Ryan
66/2022 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Picks up directly after the end of the prior trilogy, with tensions between Starfleet and the Klingon Empire continuing to deteriorate. Moves the larger story along, while also using flashbacks to revisit events in the prior books from another viewpoint. This continues to be a strong series.
📚 River of Blood by Kevin Ryan
65/2022 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A strong conclusion to the trilogy, culminating in an all-out battle between invading Klingons and Starfleet defenders on a starbase that takes up the majority of the book. Something of the literary equivalent of the final act CGI battle of any given Marvel movie. The threads wrap up satisfyingly well, with a few nicely placed ties to future events and characters. Though I rated each standalone book at three stars, taken together, the trilogy as a whole is definitely above average for Trek novels. (Though all books do suffer from occasional typos missed in the editing passes; in this one, the starbase’s first mention is given the designation Starbase 43, but in the next paragraph it becomes Starbase 42 and remains there for the rest of the book.) Also, keep an eye out on the character names — many throughout the series are named for notable people in Trek’s real-world past.
