63/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A trio of Federation spies must escape the Klingon empire after being uncovered, and Kirk and company are brought in to assist. An enjoyable fifth-year TOS adventure.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024): ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I wanted to like this more than I did. I wasn’t bad, but — and here’s a big surprise for a sequel appearing thirty years on — it wasn’t nearly as good as the original, either.
The good: The story is fairly self-contained and is explained as it goes along, so you could, in theory, watch this one cold without knowing the original and not be totally lost (however, lots of settings, situations, and gags are callbacks, so it would be pretty obvious that you’d be missing jokes or setup). The use of lots of practical effects kept the look very much in line with the original. Each of the cast, individually, did perfectly acceptable work, and I do enjoy watching Keaton chew the scenery.
The bad: It’s jumbled and unfocused, with too many underdeveloped antagonists, none of whom really get terribly satisfying resolutions.
In the end, I was entertained enough in the moment, but would have gotten much more bang for my buck if I’d waited for video rather than seeing it in the theater, and likely won’t be adding this one to my physical media collection.
Failure to Launch: A Tour of Ill-Fated Futures edited by Kel McDonald
62/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Really good anthology of short comics about historical moments, ideas, and efforts that were unsuccessful. I’d forgotten the premise between the time I ordered this one and when it arrived, so it was a peasant surprise to discover it was all non-fiction, and while a couple of the stories I’d heard of before, much of these little tidbits of history were new to me.
Uncanny Magazine Issue 60 edited by Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas, Monte Lin, and Betsy Aoki
61/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This issue’s standouts were “The 6% Squeeze” by Eddie Robson, “A Stranger Knocks” by Tananarive Due, “¡Sangronas! Un Lista de Terror” by M. M. Olivas, and “A Menu of First Favorite Meals” by Jo Miles.
Murder Mystery 2
Murder Mystery 2 (2023): ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ridiculous and amusing. Adam Sandler always makes my skin crawl, but Jennifer Aniston makes up for it. Ridiculous, over-the-top characters and situations, but kept me laughing, though sometimes it was with and sometimes it was at. Still, it joins a small, very select group of films that star Adam Sandler where I don’t feel like I need to take a shower after watching.
The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy (2024): ⭐️⭐️
How is this getting at all decent reviews? The worst part is that you can see a fun movie in there, and there is one sequence in particular that stands out because it works, it’s clever, and it’s hilarious. But the rest of the time it drags, is confusing, and just doesn’t work as well as you think it should. At the very least, it needed to be tightened up a lot in the editing room. Mostly an uninteresting, occasionally slightly amusing mess, with one great split-screen scene.
What Fresh Hell is This? Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You by Heather Corinna
59/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
While I wasn’t born with a uterus, roughly half of the people I know and encounter throughout my life were (including my wife, who handed this book to me after she read it), and as most of the ones I’m most familiar with are within a few years of my age (51 as of this moment), this seemed like good info to have. The book is great; very readable and often quite funny, with a wealth of information. I certainly had no idea how much research into menopause has only been done in the past couple decades; I’d guess that even people who think they know what’s up are likely to find something new. This is an excellent, informative, and likely quite validating resource for anyone with a uterus who is approaching or experiencing menopause, who is planning on yeeting their uterus and facing sudden menopause, who never had a uterus but values understanding (as much as possible) what those who do are going through. There’s also a postscript chapter addressing what trans women may expect as they age.
Tremors: Shrieker Island
Tremors: Shrieker Island (2020): ⭐️
These movies just keep getting dumber. The original is great, and the next few are at least watchable, but the series has long since reached the point where it just need to be left alone to fade away.
Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
58/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Shakespeare, more or less, by way of Pratchett’s Discworld, and quite a lot of fun. Particularly enjoyed the recognition of the power of the word, and how it can bend history out of joint if used unscrupulously.
