Never say never

Hmm. Perhaps I will fire this thing back up again...

This new ornithopod is about the size of a wallaby.

This is a dice bag I made for a very good friend of mine. He’s definitely super amused by it.  

My GM was using really plain, kinda boring poker chips as Inspiration Coins. So, this year for Christmas, I decided to make some fancy ones for him, as he makes super cool terrain and miniatures for our games.  

Ten seemed like a good number.

I gave them to him. He started chuckling evilly and I realized, these are NOT going to be Inspiration Coins. These are going to be Significant Plot Thingies. 

I have handed my DM our doom.  I really hope our party doesn’t start hating me.

This new Tyrannosaur is named after polar bears!

I love the fact they’re calling this dinosaur a Pinocchio Rex. And, yes, it is a relative of the Tyrannosaurus.

My gaming group keeps telling me I need to DM. They keep expressing to me that they’re very certain I will make a great DM.  I remain skeptical.

I was informed that our next gaming session will be a “Honey Heist” and I am running it.

So, my gaming group has essentially decided I will learn to swim because they are throwing me into the sea.

I was curious about “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, but not exactly excited. There was another big super-hero flick consuming far more of my attention. Still, when the opportunity to see it came up, I went for it.

First of all, I love the animation style. It’s bright, gorgeous, and lush.  It’s practically like an ultra-plush blanket for your eyes. The glitchy effects used to denote when realities are phasing because of a giant collider device are jarring and give urgency to the plight of the characters.

“Into the Spider-Verse” takes on the Miles Morales storyline. Miles is my favorite big screen Spiderman thus far. He’s smart, he’s funny, and he reacts in the most realistic feeling way to his superpowers, despite the fact he’s read plenty of comic books to inform him what’s going on. The movie takes enough time to soften Kingpin’s character enough to make him at least an understandable maniac.

There are some jokes that will probably fly right over most kids’ heads, but might prompt an awkward question or two from more precocious sprockets. There are a lot of flashing lights and plenty of loud noises and tension. It gets intense, so smaller kids may need to sit this one out or wait until it’s on a smaller screen. The Kingpin isn’t the scariest guy in the story, despite being the Big Bad of this particular film, and there were a few kids in the theater who did start crying and got pretty scared. 

It’s a great action-comedy movie, and it’s a pretty good sci-fi flick, too.  It’s also a fantastic introduction to the Spiderman Universe. I was surprised how much I liked it, it’s already on the “must own” list when I can.

Pretty sure if the “Elf on the Shelf” people made a Momoa version, they’d get a whole new group of people totally willing to buy the things.

At first, I thought “We don’t need another lousy Grinch movie.”  I’ve got no love for the Jim Carey one at all.  I suppose, weirdly, if there is such a thing, I considered myself a Grinch purist. The original animated special with Boris Karloff’s voice was, as far as I was concerned THE Grinch.

A funny thing happened at the theater, though. I kept seeing previews for the newest, animated version.  This CGI rendered Grinch was almost...adorable. The movie’s design looked...pretty okay.  I suppose I felt my little,shriveled heart growing a bit. I decided I would give this Grinch a chance and see what there was to see.

“The Grinch” holds true to the spirit of the original special and the Seuss source material. Where the original Chuck Jones animation was skritchy perfection to match Seuss’s own illustrations in his book, this production, by Illumination studios, is a slicker, softer sort of film.

Benedict Cumberbatch is the voice of the Grinch. He’s fantastic and almost unrecognizable as he snipes and snarks his way through the movie.

Pharell Williams is the narrator. He sounds like he’s having a blast putting this update on the story.

The thing I enjoyed most about the movie is the fact that Cindy-Lou Who has much more agency in the story. She identifies a problem and comes up with a solution she then implements. She’s a brave, smart, fun character who reminds me quite a bit of some little girls I know.  She’s one of the most realistic girl characters I’ve seen in an animated movie in a long time.

I enjoyed “The Grinch” far more than I thought I would, to the point that I’ll be buying it when it come out on DVD. It’s a bit warmer and fuzzier than previous incarnations, and it’s really kid friendly. I can’t think of any visuals that would be too scary for them.

Also, I may now have a severe case of lair envy from seeing the Grinch’s cave.

I really lucked out and got to see a screening of “Aquaman” last night. It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of Jason Momoa. I was already stoked to see this movie, but it’s almost ridiculous how many of my happy buttons “Aquaman” gleefully not only hit but kept mashed completely to the dashboard.

It’s a beautiful movie. The character designs, the costuming, the CGI, it’s all gorgeous. I went in happy I’d get to see Momoa on screen for a couple hours in the majority of the movie, and in the process I got a kickass fairy tale, some great mythology, sea dragons, subversion of some fantasy tropes, a smattering of horror, a kaiju, and lots of “holy crap goosebumps!” moments.

Arthur Curry isn’t a big, dumb piece of meat, which I love. So often, a superhero movie dwells on the physical and completely neglects everything else. In “Aquaman” we finally get to see some of that playfulness in Momoa’s actual personality get translated onto the big screen. He’s charismatic and definitely has the badass attitude going on, but there are moments where they let him be scared, where he gets to laugh, and where he gets to be confused and doubtful. I’m not going to lie here, there’s a moment in there, towards the end of the movie, where I wanted to give the man a huge hug, take him home, wrap him in all the big soft blankets, and feed him pancakes because I know he hadn’t had carbs in something like two years.

Amber Heard plays Mera. She’s flat out steel in the movie. The moment she sees what’s happening in her world, she takes action to change it. She’s strong and smart and realizes, yeah, Arthur kind of needs some help, because there’s a ton of stuff going on he doesn’t understand quite yet. She gets in some good one liners and she keeps Mera a solid, contributing presence in the movie. Mera’s never relegated to the sidelines, she’s never treated like a sidekick, and, even more importantly, she never ends up only serving as eye candy or the obligatory wife/girlfriend.  She’s more and “Aquaman” never lets you forget it.

It’s also cool seeing Willem Dafoe play Vulko. He gets typecast so often in creepy, bad guy or slimeball roles, and he’s great at them, but he doesn’t get to see kind or wise as a character very much. It feels like a deliberate choice to remind the audience that looks aren’t going to tell you who someone is.

Which feeds directly into Patrick Wilson as Orm. Wilson has had a few roles where he plays questionable or dark characters. As Orm, he strikes the right balance of regal and competent, but also too driven by his own ideas of what leadership looks like.

James Wan told a hell of a story and helmed a hell of a movie. “Aquaman” is the first movie all year I’ve decided I’m going to see again. It’s proof DC should focus on the single-character movies, which they do a much better job on, than the ensemble movies they keep trying to shorthand together. We need the groundwork like this to buy into the DCU the way we have with Marvel.

“Venom” takes a step away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to deliver a story that goes from flirting with the dark side to cuddling right up in the depths, building a pillow fort out of some really bad guys who needed some killing, and making itself completely at home.

Tom Hardy takes on the role of Eddie Brock, who ends up being a host for alien symbiote Venom. Brock is by turns confused, terrified, repulsed, and grudging about Venom’s influence over him. Hardy gives him all of those emotions and seems like he’s having fun bringing the story to life.

Riz Ahmed’s Carlton Drake is skin-crawlingly creepy. He makes the character’s polished, media-ready slick persona an alarming red flag about where the rest of the movie is going. It takes some doing to be able to stand out as the morally reprehensible villain where the star spends a substantial amount of the film eating people.

It’s not all doom and gloom. Black humor peppers the movie with some great moments.  This is also not a movie I’d recommend for young superhero fans. There’s pretty graphic killing and a large number of intense scenes with no shortage of straight up horror imagery going on. 

It was still worthy of my popcorn and my time. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and I had high expectations of Tom Hardy.  It’s one I will definitely recommend--to the right friends. 

The first time I ever heard “Bohemian Rhapsody” was in the movie “Wayne’s World.”  It was weird, given the range of music my family listened to around me, that a movie would be my first brush with Queen, but the older generations were more given towards either the psychedelic or the country-rock sides of the genre map and somehow never pointed me to the albums which would have revealed this treasure sooner.

These days, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is my litmus test for friends. If we’re in a car and the song starts and you don’t immediately pick a part and start singing, I feel like I probably can’t trust you.  Even my mom, who doesn’t know any of the lyrics can still limp along in the “Galileo” section, even if she can’t understand why the hell she’s singing along.  

I’ve seen a lot of disappointment regarding the new movie.  A lot of it seems to come from people who were expecting an in-depth study of Freddie Mercury. Quite frankly, if that’s what you were hoping for, you’re going to be nothing but disappointed. The man was complex enough a mere 2 hours and 14 minutes of runtime isn’t going to cut it.  “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a sketch created through the lens of people who knew him and who, ultimately, prove not to be Mercury himself.  This is a story told by people who obviously loved him but also saw him to be difficult and enigmatic, even towards them. There’s a sense hanging over the film of a desire to protect Mercury’s privacy as he did in his own life, as well as a desire not to speak ill of the dead. 

And, even if Queen was never about the comfort of others, this seems to be the story they were comfortable telling.  “Bohemian Rhapsody” feels more like a celebration and memorializing of both memory and a rock legend than any kind of attempt at revelation or demystification. 

Overall, the movie delivers a Mercury as conscious and assured of his power and charisma as a performer as he was conflicted about himself personally.  The dialog in the film often references Mercury’s feelings as an outcast and a misfit. He’s often depicted as being tormented by loneliness and surrounded by people who often fail to grasp how much he didn’t want to feel alone. 

Some could argue Brian May and the other band members cast themselves in a highly flattering light, but I didn’t see that as much as I thought I would. The middle and last thirds of the movie show points where they clearly left Mercury to his own devices for good or ill, and in hindsight realize what it did to him. They know they weren’t angels and don’t waste time trying to convince us they were. 

Mercury tried to defy labels with his music and his personal life, and “Bohemian Rhapsody” does show a number of people trying to apply the labels they wanted to put on him. Much of it was likely self-preservation for Mercury as it was wanting to protect his own privacy. The movie acknowledges partners both male and female and brings in mentions of Mercury’s sexuality but never goes so far as to declare it definitively.

Rami Malek does look eerily like Mercury and he did a ton of research that shows in his portrayal. It’s haunting, if nothing else.

I admit, I was a little worried about the tone and direction “Bohemian Rhapsody” would take.  It could have been an ugly, dirty, take-down trotting out grudges and long-buried skeletons with the singular goal of tarnishing an icon. I, for one, am glad it wasn’t. Mercury is a fascinating person and definitely worthy of study, but in a movie theater, in this year especially, I want to see Freddie Mercury in that triumphant light regaining his crown. 

Life has happened once again and gotten entirely too in the way of blogging.

When you go in search of a myth, you may end up encountering the truth.  Migo is a yeti who lives in a village where everyone has a job, working according to their traditions to maintain their way of life on their mountain.  When he has a chance encounter with a tiny creature out of legend, he has to make the choice between keeping the world he knows as it is and revealing the truth.

“Smallfoot” seems like an adorable movie, and it is, but it’s also a great statement on governance and community, as well as acceptance. Most kids movies these days, especially the animated ones, focus on smaller, more personal stories of accepting yourself as you are, which is a thing I can totally get behind, but it’s refreshing to see a family film take on bigger issues and give kids some credit for awareness of the wider world beyond their own lives. 

I’ll admit, I wasn’t necessarily a fan of the music in it, mostly because my tolerance for musicals isn’t that great, although the number where James Corden’s Percy reworks the lyrics to “Under Pressure” (and subsequently gets called out for using the wrong words) is really funny and the, song Common does recounting the whole history of the yetis is also very catchy-for better or for worse, depending on how much you like songs you don’t know yet stuck in your head.  The songs are a very small piece of the over all movie and they aren’t randomly stuck in to sell a soundtrack, they all forward the plot or deepen the characterization.

The vocal cast is great. Zendaya (Meechee), Gina Rodriguez (Kolka), LeBron James (Gwangi), Danny Devito (Dorgle), and Common (the Stonekeeper) all give great performances to bring their characters to life. 

“Smallfoot” is a fun movie with an excellent message delivered without bashing you over the head with it.  It’s got jokes the adults in the audience will appreciate, songs kids will likely love, and a lovely visual style.  I’m really looking forward to owning this movie when it’s available.

The Predator franchise is one I grew up with. I’d say it was the first sci-fi movie I was aware of that appealed mostly to adults and which a significant number of women enjoyed watching. In fact, one of my cousins had a poster from the original movie proudly displayed in her bedroom right up until she went to college. 

In its newest incarnation “The Predator”, the movies go back to the idea of an apex hunter firmly committed to hunting the human race for sport.  It’s a brutal chase film on more than one level. There’s the soldier who knows too much and his contingent of new buddies being hunted by the government, while the soldier and his crew are trying to take on the alien menace who’s hunting one very specific human for one very specific reason. 

This time the soldiers hunting the Predator are a motley crew of men being led as often by Olivia Munn’s scientist Dr. Casey Brackett as they are Boyd Holbrook’s Quinn McKenna. Nobody’s a shrinking wallflower in this movie. Everyone, when confronted with the very real danger of the creature before them, fights in every way they can. Women, men, kids, it doesn’t matter, everyone has a reason to join in the fight and they do.

There are some great lines in the movie to give it some comic relief amid all the explosions and chases.  There’s also a lot of emotional backstory, particularly in the character of Coyle, who’s played by Keegan-Michael Key, who is probably my favorite character in this new movie. He’s funny and self-aware and really brave.

If you liked the original Predator movie, then you’ll like “The Predator”, too. They remembered what worked the first time, and if they didn’t exactly duplicate it, then they did a good job staying true to the spirit of it.

“A Simple Favor” is a movie with connections at its core. Stephanie Smothers and Emily Nelson each have a child going to the same elementary school . When their two boys decide to become friends, Stephanie and Emily start becoming friends as well. Stephanie runs a mommy vlog, while Emily works as the PR person for Dennis Nylon.  One day, Emily asks  Stephanie to pick up her son, Nicky, from school. Emily doesn’t come back home. Stephanie starts looking for her friend, sending her deeper and deeper into a rabbit hole of lies and deception.

Anna Kendrick plays Stephanie Smothers. She makes Stephanie seem very normal, she’s practically an everywoman.  We all know that one mom that always goes above and beyond for every school event, always has the best healthy lunches for their kid, and runs circles around everyone else. That’s Stephanie, so it’s no wonder, when  Emily disappears she’d step in to help out Emily’s family while also trying to find out what happened to her friend.

Blake Lively gives Emily Nelson both the sophistication and the devil-may-care attitude to make the character seem impossibly glamorous. While the audience doesn’t doubt Emily loves her kid, as the movie goes on, you start doubting everything else. Emily’s cultivated mystery around her while also  underestimating the breadcrumbs of truth she’s left in her wake.

As thrillers go, “A Simple Favor” is a satisfying one. It’s got elements of classic gothic storytelling with hints of heist movies and a fantastic woman of mystery in Blake Lively.  I found some of the twists easy to call, but the solid acting in the movie still makes it enjoyable to watch.

A word to the wise: “The House With a Clock in Its Walls” is not a faithful adaptation of the book. Don’t go into this movie expecting such things.  There, the bad news is out of the way, and that’s honestly the worst thing I have to say about this movie.

Young Lewis Barnavelt loses both his parents in an accident. He’s subsequently sent to live with his Uncle Jonathan.  Jonathan picks Lewis up from the bus wearing a kimono, which is about the most normal thing the man does over the course of the movie.  What Lewis discovers is his uncle is a real magician and lives in a fantastical house full of wonders and danger. Jonathan’s best friend Florence Zimmerman also does magic, though she mostly avoids doing any these days. The former owner of the house Isaac Izard left a mysterious device within the walls of the house, one which neither Jonathan nor Florence knows what it will do, and they’re running out of time to stop it.

The movie script is written by Eric Kripke, a name anyone who’s familiar with “Supernatural” will recognize.  Kripke brings a lot of the same sensibilities to “A House With a Clock In Its Walls”, though it seems to have come through by way of the gentler more technicolor aspects of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”.  There’s humor and suspense and a bit of angst mixed in with a touch of romance all spun through a save the world or at least our tiny corner of it scenario.

The design of the movie is gorgeous and sumptuous. I know I’m going to be watching this one several more times just so I can watch backgrounds. The sets are saturated with creepiness and wonder, which helps build the subtle ominous quality of the story. It’s also not so entirely threatening that it makes me question how in the hell anyone would think it was a good idea to spend a night in that damn house under any circumstances. Admittedly, I’d probably sleep in the library, but that wouldn’t be unusual for me in any other house which had a library.

Jack Black plays Jonathan Barnavelt and Cate Blanchett plays Florence Zimmerman.  The pair of them play off each other remarkably. They’re sarcastic and lob ridiculous insults at each other back and forth through three-quarters of the movie, but they’re not cruel to each other. These aren’t jugular lunges, instead they’re jabs meant more to keep prying eyes and wagging tongues off-balance. Both actors sink deep into their eccentricities without allowing the characters to dissolve into a playbook of tics and affectations.  The emotional moments in the movie feel far more like genuine moments to add depth to the characters rather than cheap grabs for empathy.

Owen Vaccaro is Lewis Barnavelt. He strikes exactly the right balance of alienation (he is the new boy at school after all, and Uncle Jonathan has a bit of a reputation, as does his house), precociousness, and eager wonder. Lewis is a kid who’s easy to identify with and to root for. He’s not perfect and doesn’t try to be, but he does, desperately, want to learn magic as soon as he knows it exists.

Kyle McLachlan is Isaac Izard, and he looks like he’s having an absolute blast playing the part, which makes Izard a joy to watch.

“The House With a Clock in Its Walls” is a fun, fantasy movie. It delivers visually and story-wise, and it’s absolutely going on my perennial list of movies I watch in the fall.

I do have one more bad thing to say in this review. I really wanted an “Art and Making of” book for this movie, I want to be able to see more behind this film and I’m pretty disappointed there isn’t one.

As much as I love action movies, it’s rare seeing a female-fronted action movie at all, much less one that treats the star as a full-on female action star,

“Peppermint” is a straight-up vigilante revenge action flick. Riley North’s daughter and husband are gunned down in front of her. When it’s time for the guilty parties to be incarcerated, the justice system fails, in part due to corruption so obvious it practically curdles the popcorn butter.  Riley goes off grid to train and plot her next move. When she comes back, she starts a chain of brutal retribution which rocks the city where it transpires to its core.

Jennfier Garner not only projects competence, she gives Riley an air of controlled rage.  This is a woman who lives for only one thing and will not let anyone stand in her way. She’s a far cry from that sweet, polite goody-two-shoes populating the “What’s in your wallet?” commercials, and it’s great to see.  Yes, Riley used to be a mom, but now she’s a finely honed killing machine.

The action sequences rarely strain the confines of real credibility. Riley gets hurt and those injuries remain.  By the end of the movie, you’re pretty sure it’s force of will propelling her forward to see it through to the end. She’s strong and fierce and completely changed from the woman who used to have a family. There are some funny moments of payback, too, regarding one particular woman Riley was at odds with in her former life, which provided a much needed break among all the skull cracking and shooting going on. It’s also surprisingly not all that gory. In fact, the ratio of blood and splatter I expected to see versus what I actually saw was pretty low. I could actually eat a plate of spaghetti or lasagna through this one and be okay.

“Peppermint” wasn’t just a good female-centric action movie. It’s a good action movie period.  If you like fast paced shoot ‘em ups where the bad guys get theirs, this is definitely a keeper.