Review

Lightailing Review (**): Beautiful, But Disappointing

UPDATE: Lightailing has updated their product page to include both a clickable link to the product reviews, and my own review. This prompted me to update this post to include only my product review. Suppliers should <em>never</em> lie. Ever. And fake or suppressed reviews? Those are lies. I’m basically a kid with extra decades on the […]

Read More

The Rise of Skywalker, The Fall of Abrams

Meh. (Minor spoilerettes ahead.) Much like The Force Awakens, as a movie, and even as a Star Wars movie, it’s hard to find fault with how Skywalker rises. Granted, J.J. Abrams seems terrified of showing any emotion, judging by the way he cuts off any meaningful exchange before it finds too much depth. And–again like […]

Read More

Sleeping Beauties: An Almost Evil Vintage King

As a metaphor for what’s wrong with present-day American society and culture, this book is a success. But not the way Steve and Owen intended, I think. On the surface, Sleeping Beauties is another trademark Stephen King novel. So much so, in fact, that one is left wondering what, if anything, Junior contributed. There’s the […]

Read More

War for the Planet of the Apes: A Technically Perfect Monstrosity

I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I’ve walked out of a movie theater halfway through a movie. My attempt at watching “War for the Planet of the Apes” is the third such occasion. And to think I had such high hopes! I can only conclude that everyone who rated the […]

Read More

Rogue One – Definitely A Star Wars Story ****

This review could actually be quite short. The subtitle to the movie says it all: it’s a Star Wars story. So Star Wars fans (which group probably includes all of humanity save some undiscovered tribes deep in the Amazon basin) should go see it. Nuff said. But in the unlikely event you’re here to learn […]

Read More

Dear Miss Bus Motormouth,

Do you ever shut up? I’ve had the misfortune of traveling on the same bus with you on numerous occasions now, and am still not sure whether I’m infuriated by the sheer volume of your voice, or jealous of your cheerful disregard for the people around you. In your defense, I must admit that you […]

Read More

“The Force Awakens”: Excellent and Mediocre – Simultaneously

SPOILER ALERT! IN CASE YOU WERE STILL UNCLEAR ON THIS POINT: YES, THIS REVIEW IS RIFE WITH SPOILERS. THE FIRST SENTENCE IS A SPOILER IN ITSELF. IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET, STOP READING RIGHT NOW (AND COME BACK AFTER YOU HAVE). “I’m being torn apart. I want to be rid of this pain.” […]

Read More

Iain M. Banks – Surface Detail

Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks My rating: 4 of 5 stars Having recently read The Hydrogen Sonata (the latest Iain M. Banks Culture novel), I was pleasantly surprised to discover another Culture novel I had missed. Surface Detail is further proof that Banks is back in top form after the mediocre offerings of The […]

Read More

Goodkind’s First Rule

Readers are stupid. This must have been the rule behind the rule, the one Terry Goodkind lived and wrote by when he conceived of Wizard’s First Rule. Wizard’s First Rule is the first volume in his Jordanesque Sword of Truth series, and the book annoyed me in more ways than I thought possible.

Read More

Movie Poster Read Rage

Anyone notice the fundamental difference between these two movie posters? I’m not talking different actors, different directors (though going by their initials, they both shot a bunch of B.S.), different decades, different millennia even. I mean something even more fundamental, something that goes to the heart of what a movie poster is, or should be, […]

Read More