The Americans (Season 3)

I love this show.  Russian spies, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings continue to go deeper into the abyss of moral dissolution as they not just endanger themselves but also the ones they love.  It’s all a recipe for suspense that makes for great binge watching.  The writing is so good and this season has a lot of great surprises.   This is one of the top shows to watch without a doubt.  Grade: A

Big Driver by Stephen King

One of the novellas from Full Dark, No Stars, it tells the story of a mystery novelist named Tess who gets attacked and left for dead on her way home from a book reading.  Tess decides to take matters in her own hands to avoid the attention such media coverage would put on her life.  It’s a fun revenge story and King proves again that even with a simple and tired plot he can engage his readers.  He’s just so good at spinning a yarn, even one like this that’s pretty routine.  Grade: B+

I'll Give you the Sun by Jandy Nelson

This has got to be one the best YA novels I’ve read in a long time. It’s the story of a twin brother and a sister, Jude and Noah, and how the secrets they keep create misconceptions that ruin their relationship. The writing is excellent and I love the structure of the novel, how it goes back and forth between the two characters but at different points in time.   It’s a wonderful book.  Grade: A

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

I’m really annoyed. DC comes out with a flawed superhero film and it gets blasted by the critics and everyone says it sucks. Here Marvel puts out a flawed superhero film and it gets nothing but praise and everyone says it’s awesome.  This film is not awesome folks. This entry is going to come across as a bitter DC fan.  I get it.  First, I’m not a Marvel hater.  If I was, why would I keep going to see these films?  I love the Marvel movies and I just wish they were better.  Here for example is an exciting Avenger film (it’s not really a Captain America story, sadly) and it contains many fantastic action sequences.  The story is built around a strong premise: what if our heroes become divided over the principle of governmental control?  The promised battle between frenemies Steve Rogers and Tony Stark is the kind of clash that we- comic book fans- dream of seeing.  Yet behind all of this greatness is a glaring plot contrivance that makes Batman Vs. Superman’s issues seem null.  (More on that later.)   And for all the action, I must admit I became numb after while.  When does it get old seeing people fight each other over and over again?   I was exhausted by the time we got to the big battle at the end.  Still there is a lot to cheer in this film.  Spider-man’s introduction is comic gold and I’m so hyped to see him in his solo offering.  Ant-Man almost steals the show.  Black Panther also promises to be an excellent addition to the MCU.   The Russo Brothers are great at action and I’m glad we get to see what they can do with the Infinity War.  But hopefully the writers of the next big Marvel team combo will give us a villain worthy of existing.  Grade: B+

Spoiler:

The villain in this film is okay.  I like his story. I just hate his plan to destroy the Avengers. Why?  Because it’s the kind of plan that relies so heavily on coincidence that it’s impossible to take seriously.  If one thing had gone wrong, and many of them would have in the real world, Tony and Rogers would not have ended up together with Bucky to battle it out.  And couldn’t this Baddy have just released the video that shows Bucky killing Tony’s parents?  Why all the outlandish breakouts and Mac Guffins?   It’s ludicrous and completely taints this film credibility.  So much so, I don’t want to ever see it again.  In the end I think this film will be remembered for the Airport scene and that’s about it.  That’s the only really perfect moment.   It’s too bad.  After Captain America’s Winter Solider, I couldn’t wait to see what Marvel had planned for the Captain.  I guess it’s clear they’re ready to move on from that character, my favorite. 

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine

Valentine re-imagines the fairy tale about twelve dancing princesses by setting it during the roaring twenties.  It’s a tightly written novel with strong characters and a fine sense of suspense.  While I almost would have enjoyed even more details about each of the sisters, I think Valetine’s instincts are right not to overwrite and potentially ruin a book that does essentially have one main character and that’s the eldest sister, Jo.  One might question if such a father could exist, a man that would coldly shut up his daughters and keep them from the world, but it is a frightening idea and Valentine does a great job making it work.   This is my first experience with Valentine and I will have to pick up another book of hers if I see one.  Grade: B+

The Harder They Come by T.C. Boyle

Take three complex characters add in Boyle’s brilliant writing gifts and what you have is a dramatic and engaging novel that I highly recommend.  You have a vet named Sten dealing with a son going through a mental break, said son, Adam, diving deeper into behavior that’s anti-social and dangerous.   And the older woman named Sarah that becomes romantically entangled with Adam, a rebellious horse trainer who is anti-government and in trouble with the law.  The switch in point of view is insightful and proof there’s many sides to a story.   From my research on Wikipedia, this book was inspired by the real case of Aaron Bassler of Northern California.   Don’t look into this unless you want a major spoiler. Boyle proves again that he’s a master of taking a real story and making it his own.   Grade: A

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

So much done right.  So much done wrong.   As a fan of the DC Universe it’s hard not to be excited seeing the Holy Trinity of Superheroes up on screen at last.   At the same time it’s very disappointing because the end result is ultimately a mixed bag.  I was certainly entertained and thought Zack Synder did a fantastic job giving us a war between Batman and Superman that looked incredible.   I loved seeing Superman’s continued story unfold after the events of Man of Steel.   Wonder Woman’s introduction was beyond good.  [I must eat crow.  I was one of those that thought Gal Gadot was an awful choice to play the Amazonian warrior.  Boy, was I wrong.  She nailed it.  I thought she’d be too tiny and looked more like a Victoria Secret model than an action hero.  Gadot proves to have the presence to play the part.  We’ll see if she has the acting chops to hold together an entire stand-alone film now.]   I thought the film worked well as a jumping point of more Justice League stories.   At the same time, there was some cringe-worthy moments that even had me (a biased fan) shaking his head.   In the end if you're a fan of DC superheroes, you’ll probably enjoy this film.   But if you’re more of a DC hater (a Marvel lover) you’ll mock it and cheer.   Warner Brothers has some work to do to get this shared universe in check but I have hope they’ll find away.  Grade: B+

Spoilers:

More on what went wrong.  1) Lex Luthor (played by Jesse Eisenberg) did a fine job and I can’t blame him for missing the mark.  For that I have to blame the writers.   Lex starts off great as a scheming and brilliant puppet maker.  Then in the last act his entire sanity and motivation is tossed way and it’s here where the film really unravels.  And they were on the right track: Lex’s reason to create Doomsday should have been to have a Superman replacement, one that he could control.  When Batman doesn’t kills Superman, he sets into motion plan B, commanding Doomsday to kill him.  More on Doomsday below.  2) Ben Affleck, I think, is a great choice to play Batman.  But his character needed more work.    I don’t need Batman joking around or anything, he should be serious, but his transition from angry avenger to inspired hero was not very believable.  Also it’s a bit hard for me to swallow someone as smart as Bruce Wayne so easily being tricked by Lex Luthor.  3) Then there’s Doomsday.   Please DC if you learn anything from this film, hire a new creature designer (of course they didn’t learn from Green Lantern but maybe three’s a charm).   Doomsday is a mess.  Not only is he nothing like the character from the comics (which would be fine) he’s boring.   Instead of giving us an intelligent and menacing villain that wants to kill Superman at all costs, Snyder and company gives us a brainless Frankenstein-hulk.   They could have done better.  They should have done better.