what Dave thinks about movies, books and everything
{5/5} “Maybe I should play all the parts.” Collateral Beauty, released in 2016 Howard’s six-year-old daughter died, and now he’s uninterested in life. He plays with dominoes at his marketing company, and he rides his bike against traffic. He writes letters to Love, Time, and Death — after previously having talked about those concepts at […]
{4/5} “It’s mostly dull routine, of course, but every now and then you get to sail on a beautiful evening like this. And sometimes work with a decadent agent of a corrupt Western power.” Tomorrow Never Dies, released in 1997 It seems like two Chinese jets and a British submarine fired at each other. The […]
{4.5/5} “If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you’re a princess.” Moana, released in 2016 Moana’s father has taught her that she will one day be chief, everything she needs is on the island, and it would be dangerous to go beyond the reef. But the ocean calls to her. Her grandma […]
Here is an updated version of this list. Marvel has been able to keep remarkably close to its schedule, and although a few of their movies have been a bit disappointing most have been delightful. Here are my mini-reviews of the first 5 movies. Iron Man 2008 -> 4.5/5 The Incredible Hulk 2008 -> 4/5 […]
{4.5/5} “That sounds like a cult.” Doctor Strange, released in 2016 Dr. Stephen Strange is a brilliant doctor but he’s also a pain to be around. When he’s in a terrible car accident, his hands don’t work the way they used to and he can’t be a doctor any more. He’s looking for an experimental […]
{4.5/5} “Before them was yet another plane of existence, separate from their own. How similar was it to the dimension they had left behind? What wonders awaited them here, and what might they find if they were to go exploring?” Star Trek: TNG — Headlong Flight by Dayton Ward, published in 2017 Captain Picard aboard […]
{4/5} “It is most unusual, although not unheard of, that members of my species leave our planetary home… Excalbians simply don’t want to go anywhere else. The usual excuse is that we are far too busy exploring the inner space of our being to bother with mere physical reality.” Star Trek: Savage Trade by Tony Daniel, […]
I attended DaCapo Chamber Choir’s concert “Mid-Winter Songs.” As always, the choir is directed by Leonard Enns. Enns says in the program that the “concert is inspired by the physical immensity of the land” of Canada. The choir was joined by Catherine Robertson on piano (*) and Lance Ouellette on violin (+) for certain pieces. […]
{4.5/5} “You can’t get so hung up on where you’d rather be that you forget to make the most of where you are.” Passengers, released in 2016 The starship Avalon is heading for Homestead II. Everyone on board is in hibernation, but then something goes wrong and Jim wakes up — 90 years early. With […]
{4.5/5} “It was very, very strange, but he replied, saying words that he’d said countless times before but meant — really meant — for the first time: ‘I’m happy for you.’” Quantum Night by Robert J. Sawyer, published in 2016 James Marchuk is a psychology professor who’s been called to testify at a murder trial […]