Micro Reviews April 2024

The Concierge (Florida Film Festival) -Akino is a young woman who is a concierge trainee at Hokkyoku Department store. All the customers are extinct anthropomorphized animals. She is under the watchful eye of a stern floor walker.. The costumers are looking to fulfill a desire, want, or need. Akino must meet up to task to help her customers. This is a dramedy. The setting is surreal with Akino dealing with talking animals. The fear of failure that Askino feels is all too believable. Akino wants to be as good as a concierge that helped her when she was a girl. The art is detailed as seen with the animal design. This film looks at something that we may have lost in an effort to get what we want directly rather than through intermediaries.

The Feeling That The Time for Doing Something Has Passed (Florida Film Festival) – Ann is trying to find a relationship that works for her, deal with her parents, and keep her job. What she looks for is traditional but it works. This is a very episodic film but the episodes are great. One hopes that Ann finds what she is looking for.

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper – Will Stanton discovers on Christmas time. There are dark forces near his English village. Can he collect all the Signs and stop the Dark? The is the second book in a series, yet it easy to get into. Will is interesting and goes to learn how to use his power and help his family.

Thelma (Florida Film Festival) – Thelma is over 90 and is scammed out a lot of money. She is determined to get her money back. Thelma sees old friends to get what she needs to fulfill her quest. An interesting look at aging. We all take different paths, but we deserve to be treated with respect.

Tuesday (Florida Film Festival) – Tuesday is terminally ill and lives were her mother Zora. Zora is in denial of her daughter’s illness and avoids facing it, Death comes to Tuesday in the form of bird. Something unexpected happens and Tuesday makes a deal with the bird. One that Zora cannot accept. Zora does something rash and there are worldwide repercussion. This film deals with how we react to death and what some of us would do if we could fight back. We do not want to lose our loved ones and given the chance we would do anything to save them. Zora is not a bad person. She is scared to face losing Tuesday. The CGI to make the bird is top notch. It looks on earthly but not out of place when it is full size. The responses to what is happening is believable. Fear and grief can makes us do reckless things.

Wildcat (Florida Film Festival) – This a biographical film about Flannery O’Connor. We see how life influenced O’Connor’s work. Maya Hawke brings O’Connor and her female leads to life. A mix of the writer’s life and their work is a great way to go for a biopic.

Naked Ambition: Bunny Yeager (Florida Film Festival) – Bunny Yeager was a model turned photographer. She pioneered the art of pinup photography. This brought her great fame. It was a rocky ride in the 80s but Yeager saw a re-examination of her work which would be shown in galleries. She made her home in Miami Beach. This was great Florida documentary film.

Foxy Brown (Florida Film Festival) – Foxy’s boyfriend is murdered and she goes for vengeance. There is action, comedy, and romance. Sadly one of the stars of the film Terry Carter shortly after I saw the film. He was great as Foxy’s boyfriend Mike. It was of its time, but still engaging.

Witch King by Martha Wells – Kai the Fourth Prince of the Underneath (demon or Witch King) is resurrected and finds a new world from the one he left. He with allies both new and old find what happened and find a lost companion. This world is complex and does not have easy answers. The story has a feel of Lost since a significant amount of the story is told in flashback to the time before Kai was killed.

SpyxFamily: Code White (Theatrical Film) – The Forgers go north to find a recipe to help Anya in school competition. Things go sideways when a General eats the only sample of the dessert in town. Can they get recipe and the ingredients? What was in the chocolate that Anya ate? Another great combo of old school action and comedy. A nice appetizer before the next season.

Micro Reviews March 2024

The Color Purple ((Musical), Academy Award finalist in film) – This was an engaging film. The performances and musical performances were great. I never got around to seeing the original and now I think I should.

Perfect Days (Academy Award finalist) – This is a perfect slice of life. We follow a person doing their job and hobbies. There a few curves but nothing crazy.

Nyad (Academy Award finalists in film) – Great use of the documentary format. This is incredibly inspirational for everyone. Bening and Foster were powerful in the film.

May December (Academy Award finalists in screenwriting) – This is a deeply disturbing film We see a relationship that should have never happened and the attempted to dramatize it. Everything about this feels wrong. Was that the intention?

Rustin (Academy Award finalist in film) – A film about the man who coordinated the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin understood the logistics of political movements. His work expanded our views on freedom. This film needed to be made.

Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (mini series) – It is interesting in the the first 3 episodes but it gets repetitive afterwards. It could have been done as a film or only 4 episodes.

Echo (mini series) – This was a well done action series. I hope we see more of Maya in other Marvel projects.

Robot Dreams (Academy Award Finalist) – This was beautiful but it tears your heart out. We feel for an anthropomorphized dog and his robot. We need our connections to function.

Dune Part 2 (Theatrical Film) – Changes are made but it is in the spirit of the novel. The scenes with Feyd are engaging. Walken is a great choice for the Emperor.

Micro Reviews February 2024

Children of Time by Adrain Tchiakovsky (Reader’s Group Choice) – Dr. Kern was planning to infect a nano virus to uplift a group of monkeys. The monkeys were going to be sent to an Earth like world. This experiment is sabotaged and the apes are destroyed but the planet local spiders get the nano virus. The spiders become sentient and form a technological society. An AI guards the planet. The Gilgamesh is a starship with humans in suspended animation ready to colonize an inhabitable planet. The AI will not let them go to Kern’s world and interfere with the planet’s inhabitants but the ship’s crew must find a place to stay. There is a lot going on. We are switching between the spiders and the humans POV. Can something be worked for the benefit of both species? What kind of world do the spiders build? I will probably checkout sequels.

Anatomy of a Fall (Academy Award finalist) – A man falls of his house. Was he pushed? The wife says no but is charged and we follow the trial. One sees a relationship not doing well. Is this motive? We get a solution, is it the right one. Do not use your dogs as guinea pigs.

Zone of Interest (Academy Award finalist) – We follow the lives of the Commandant of Auschwitz and his family. This is a disturbing look of the banality of evil. Heinous thing go on nearby and they continue with the routines of light. This was scary. No one should cut off their empathy.

Drive Away Dolls (Theatrical Film) Marion and Jaime are trying to sort out their lives and go on a road trip. They grab the wrong car and find trouble. They also find love with each others. It is fun trip.

Elemental (Academy Award finalist) – This is a great look and the immigrant experience and how one needs to follow their own path. This world of earth, wind, water, and fire is beautifully realized. I am disappointed the city services do not fix a problem in their domain.

Nimona (Academy Award finalist) – Who is the good guy? Who is the monster? Not everything is what they seem. Nimona find her place in the end after being hurt and people get their act together and solve the challenge of injustice.

Micro Review January 2024

Godzilla Minus One (Theatrical Film) – We go to post war Japan were people are trying to rebuild their lives and have to deal with a kaiju. We follow a kamikaze pilot who survived the war and faces his fears. A great look into a painful era of Japan. People come to meet the challenged of times and Godzilla.

Bodies (mini series) – The same body shows up in three different times in London (Victorian era, World War II, and a few decades in the future). Investigator try to figure what is happening. There is a big timey-wimey plot that will change the world. At the end compassion saves the day rather than force.

American Fiction (Academy Award finalist) – Monk is writer and teacher who challenges the paradigms of the day. He faces family challenges and he needs money. Monk writes a trope laden book, the kind he hates. The book takes off, now what. Trying to find our place is always a challenge. This film shows what we must face as country but we do not want to.

Past Lives (Academy Award finalist) – A man and woman from South Korea separate and reunite in New York. The try to connect and they do in a way. This is shot beautifully. I did not feel tension, I guessed the ending. It is not bad but I never thought anything else would happened. I would see more films by Celine Song.

The Holdovers (Academy Award finalist) A teacher is assigned to watch over a student during Holiday Break at all boys boarding school in 1970. They and cook learn how to deal with their pain. Great performances from Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Paul Giamatti. They recreated a past time which had its high and lows.

Star Trek Animated: “The Jihad”

The Jihad by Stephen Kandel (January 12, 1974) -Kirk and Spock have been recruited by the foxlike Vedala, the oldest known space faring race. Someone has stolen the Soul of the Skorr, an important artifact to the avian Skorr. With it stolen, the Skorr will start a jihad against the galaxy. Kirk and Spock are joined by 4 specialists to help they find the Soul of the Skorr. They are the reptiloid Sord, lock pick insectoid M3 Green, humanoid tracker Lara, and Tchar of Skorr. The Soul of the Skorr is on a geological unstable planet. Three expeditions have already failed. Can this new team succeed? Vedala needs some safety specialists in failing to give our team a vehicle without seat belts. Kandel does a Mission Impossible in the Star Trek universe which is appropriate since the live action shows filmed across the street from each other. There is some good alien design. We get a little into their personalities. I would like to see them again in media or a novel.

Star Trek Animated: “The Eye of the Beholder”

“The Eye of the Beholder” by David P. Harmon (January 5, 1974) – A science team from the Ariel disappears while investigating Lactra 7. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy search the planet for the team. The encounter a desert next to a rain forest and creatures that seem to be from other worlds. They are captured by huge slug like beings and put into a zoo with the Ariel‘s science team. Spock detects a high level of intelligence from telepathic impressions. How will the crew escape this zoo? The aliens look alien and they are not mean or evil, they are just way more advance than Federation. Its great that the Lactrans and the crew reach an understanding rather than using brute force to escape. The Kirk’s escape attempt is also more brains than brawn. This is a great first contact story.

Micro Review December 2023

Shin Godzilla (Theatrical Film) – Anno shows what bureaucrats can do when they are doing their jobs. Science and team work stop Gojira’s rampage.

The Boy and the Heron (Theatrical Anime Film) – A boy deals with grief while taking a trip into a fantastical world. It is wibley woobly timey wimey. It is a personal story that only Miyazaki can tell.

Poor Things (Theatrical Film) – A man makes a woman. That woman searches for her own path in the world. There are some bumps, but they are part of her development. This looks beautiful. It is a challenging story.

Eyes Wide Shut (Theatrical Film) – Dr. Harford takes a strange journey one night that has strange consequences. Kubrick examines the pro and cons of the sexual revolution in this man’s journey. People expected something that was not coming. A good end to a great career.

The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar – Three people search for a SF book that can alter reality. The writer of the book create a whole church from this book. Was it hoax or cunical attempt for cash? This is an interesting romp in the world of literary SF. We get the story of the people who were effected by the book, the book itself and the life of the writer. It looks into the power and motivations for creating art.

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older – A mystery in Jupiter orbit brings back 2 lovers back together. Can a police inspector and an academic find out what is going on on the colony? This is a great SF Mystery and there is more stories coming in the future and I want more.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Theatrical Film) – Mamoa’s performance as Arthur could be obnoxious at times. It is a good action adventure film loyal to the source material. There are some pleasant surprises for the comics fans in this one.

Maestro (Theatrical Film) – We see the strengths and faults of Leonard Bernstein through the eyes of his wife Felicia. The use of Bernstein’s work was well placed. This is a good biopic.

Monstress Volume 7: Inferno (Graphic Novel) – Maika continues to learn about herself. There is some real disturbing imagery in this one but it serves the story.

Once and Future Volume 5: The Wasteland (Graphic Story) – Bridgette, Duncan, and Rose conclude the fight for Britain’s heart for now. This was a good ending with possible places to go if Keiron Gillen wants to do so later.

Micro Review November 2023

Pluto (Anime TV Series) – This was a take on a classic Astro Boy story. There is more of a cyberpunk feel. The story asks what makes one human. This is also a timely criticism of recent wars. This is a great salute to the work of Osamu Tezuka.

The Marvels (Theatrical Film) – Seeing some of great women of Marvel in one film. They all contributed to the story. The singing planet was fun. I hope it gets more attention in the future.

Hopeland by Ian McDonald – One night in London Raisa Hopeland meets Amon Brightbourne and their lives are never the same. They meet each other’s family and build on their relationship. Raisa goes to Iceland to start a community business. Amon goes all over the world learning about and performing music. The fate of a Polynesian island ties them together years later. This is a book about family, community, and future of the nations state. What happens when climate problems takes one homeland? Can there be a boundless country? McDonald builds an interesting and world with new challenges and ways of life.

Killers of the Flower Moon (Theatrical Film) – This an in depth look at one of the biggest crimes in history. This shows a nasty side of the country that we need to face. All the performances were top notch. The ending was odd since it seems anachronistic.

Shagidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi – A dream god and succubus are asked to steal an item from the British Museum. They both are struggling in the spiritual world and this job would clear them. Some great takes on believe and worship and action scenes.

Micro Review October 2023

Gundam: The Witch From Mercury (Anime TV Series) – This was a great addition to the Gundam saga. Suletta Mercury is a great lead. There is some classic SF ideas with the conflict with space born and Earth born. The dueling culture is interesting. I wish this had come to Toonami.

Spy x Family (Anime TV Series) – This is a good mix of family situation and spy action. I want more Sylvia Sherwood, the beautiful and sophisticated head of the local branch of Westalis intelligence service. I do want to see how the develop Anya and the other children.

Red Team Blues by Cory Doctorow – Marty Hench is a forensic accountant who is usually on the red team (attacker) when testing security systems. He helps an old friend recover something stolen. This brings Marty great wealth and a big problem. Can he solve it to get a normal life or will he be on the run forever? This is a modern tech thriller with well thought out characters. There is interesting criticism of the Silicon Valley culture.

Stop Making Sense (Theatrical Film) – A fun look at one of the great 80s group the Talking Heads. It feels like one was at the concert.

Starter Villain by John Scalzi – A man down on his luck finds out his late uncle was a Bond-like villain (Moore era). He gets help to run the criminal enterprise from his former associate and intelligent cats. The novel investigates the logic and economics of super villainy. It make super villainy plausible.

Videodrome (Theatrical Film) – The ideas in this film is disturbing and some of the ideas are still relevant.

I re-read a lot of old issues X-Men for research on an article on Kitty Pryde and saw the Phantasmagoria’s Halloween show.

Star Trek Animated: “The Slaver Weapon”

“The Slaver Weapon” By Larry Niven (based on his story “The Soft Weapon”, December 15,1973) – Spock, Uhura, and Sulu are transporting a stasis box on the shuttle craft Copernicus. Stasis boxes freeze time inside and are remnants of a race know as the Slavers that once rule the galaxy. The stasis box detects another stasis box and Spock goes to investigate. They are captured by the Kzinti, a warlike feline race. The Kzinti open the box and find a picture, fresh meat, and a device. Is this a weapon? Can the crew escape? There is a good job doing the setup of the Kzinti, the Slavers, and their relationships in the Star Trek universe. The Kzinti are well drawn although the color scheme of their space suits are odd. Sulu and Uhura get great roles in the story. This was a fun puzzle story that centered on the Slaver device.