Enthusiastically Ambiverted Hopepunk
The shows and movies I like (or don’t).
38/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
While following up on a relatively newly encountered alien race, the Enterprise finds itself dealing with a much larger issue than expected. A somewhat predictable primary antagonist, but balanced with a very interesting major threat to all parties.
34/2024 – ⭐️⭐️
A kid’s adaptation of the fourth movie, illustrated with stills from the film. Serviceable, exactly as expected, no surprises.
29/2024 – ⭐️⭐️
An uninspired children’s adaptation of The Search for Spock, complete with odd errors (“Uhuru”, for instance), illustrated with stills from the film.
Day 354: Found quite the score while out shopping this morning — an impressively good condition set of the classic Star Trek Blueprints from 1975, with all twelve sheets still in the original faux-leather pouch. If you’d like a closer look (and aren’t lucky enough to stumble across a set), here are scans of the full set at Cygnus X-1.
27/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A “year four” adventure that serves to both bridge the gap between TOS and TAS (and explain some of the changes to the ship and crew between the shows) and to take a much deeper dive into the First Federation as first introduced in The Corbomite Maneuver. Along the way, we get to learn more about Balok’s threatening puppet, Spock gets some introspective assistance, and Kirk…well, Kirk does his thing with impassioned speeches and eyeing alien women. The exploration of the First Federation is obviously the core theme, and it’s done well, extrapolating well from what little we learn in the TOS episode. One of the better TOS novels.
Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I love how this one just chucks any pretense at holding on to the more serious horror elements of the first and goes full-bore into off-the-wall ridiculousness. From lampooning major elects of the first to getting Christopher Lee to breaking the fourth wall, they don’t hold back when it comes to going over the top. The creature effects are still a lot of fun as well. Happy to see that this one is still fun to watch.
Arachnophobia (1990): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
While watching this at home doesn’t have quite the same impact as on the big screen at a midnight show that you had to sneak out of the house to go to and then walk home in the early morning dark…it’s still a fun and wonderfully cringe-inducing bit of comedy thriller. Holds up remarkably well for a 34-year old film. Highly recommended — unless (or perhaps especially if) you’re scared of spiders. ;)
25/2024 – ⭐️⭐️
Six mediocre short stories set between the first and second films, each focusing on a different primary character. Nothing astounding here. The upside-down shot of the Enterprise on the cover is amusing, though.
Lisa Frankenstein (2024): ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Delightfully, adorably dark and weird. Oddly paced from time to time, but a lot of fun, with a great soundtrack, and it’s good to see something from Diablo Cody again.
Trolls Band Together (2023): ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Continues to be a very enjoyable series. It’s bright, colorful, and cheerful, it has a lot of fun music, the humor covers the gamut from simple stuff that kids will enjoy to jokes for the adults that will fly right over the kids’ heads, and the animation and creature design is wonderfully cute (and occasionally amusingly horrifying; the RV in this one is a thing of hilarious nightmares), and the whole package has an ongoing current of hallucinogenic weirdness that I love. Particularly enjoyed the design of the antagonists and their entire part of the world, which was a clear homage to the art and animation styles of the ’30s, and whose clean balloon-like designs contrasted nicely with the everything-is-just-slightly-fuzzy world of the trolls.