Friday Fictioneers – The Romance of Flight

~ Liam ~ 12 Comments

PHOTO PROMPT © Liz Young

Greta patted her pocket. “You have the tickets, Sean?”

“Ma, the ticket’s on my phone. Don’t worry!”

“Oh, I liked paper tickets better,” she said sadly.

Greta fell into pace behind her son and noticed something missing.

“Sean, where’s your carry-on bag?”

“Ma, they don’t let us carry-on anymore. Not without a big fee

“Oh …”

“You hungry, ma?”

“Won’t we get something in flight?”

“No. They don’t serve in-flight meals anymore. You can order a cheese plate for like $12.”

“Oh. I hope you didn’t spend too much on this trip!”

“Don’t worry, ma, I got a bargain!”

Friday Fictioneers is a weekly photo prompt flash fiction challenge on Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Addicted to Purple blog.  See additional stories from the prompt by other writers here!

50 Years, 50 Albums (2021): In These Silent Days by Brandi Carlile

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to listen to and review one album from each year of my life, 1973 to 2022.  The only qualification is that it has to be an album I’ve not reviewed previously. 

2021

Top Grossing Albums of 2021:

  • Evermore – Taylor Swift
  • Folklore – Taylor Swift
  • BE – BTS
  • Sour – Olivia Rodrigo
  • Fearless (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift

Grammy Award for Album of the Year of 2021:

  • We Are – Jon Batiste
  • Love For Sale – Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
  • Justice – Justin Bieber
  • Planet Her – Doja Cat
  • Happier Than Ever – Billie Eilish
  • Back of My Mind – H.E.R.
  • Montero – Lil Nas X
  • Sour – Olivia Rodrigo
  • Evermore – Taylor Swift
  • Donda – Kanye West

Other Albums I’ve Reviewed from 2021:

Album: In These Silent Days
Artist: Brandi Carlile
Release Date: October 1, 2021
Label: Low Country Sound | Elektra
Favorite Tracks:

  • Right on Time
  • Broken Horses
  • Mama Werewolf
  • When You’re Wrong

Thoughts:

I had only a vague awareness of Brandi Carlile as someone who is sort of a country artist but know a lot of people whose taste I respect like her.  “Sort of a country artist” is more accurate than I realize, since her music sounds more like Americana and Folk Rock with a pop sheen.  In fact, some of her songs have the building tension and drama that I think would make her a good collaborator with Jim Steinman (as far as I can tell, this never happened).  Whether it’s a huge number or a quiet ballad, all of the songs on this album have a big sound to them that I appreciate as well as strong vocals and thoughtful lyrics. I definitely will have to listen to more Brandi Carlile music.

Rating: ***1/2

TV Review: Star Trek: Picard (2023)

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

Title: Star Trek: Picard
Release Date: February 16-April 20, 2023
Production Company: Secret Hideout | Weed Road Pictures | Escapist Fare | Roddenberry Entertainment | CBS Studios
Episodes:  10
Summary/Review:

For the third season of Picard, the powers that be determined to give the fans what they want, reuniting Picard with the crew from The Next Generation.  I’ve seen this season described as the sendoff to the Next Generation crew that we never got in the films.  I agree with that assessment, although it’s not quite the high quality of the send off to the original series crew in Star Trek VI or even “All Good Things…”, the finale of The Next Generation.

Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, and LeVar Burton all return to their original roles as Will Riker, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Worf, Deanna Troi, and Geordi La Forge.  Brent Spiner, who has played various characters throughout Picard, portrays a new version of Data. To make room for the old crew, only a couple of characters from the Picard cast return: Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd).  Since Chris Rios stayed in the 21st century and Agnes Jurati turned into a Borg Queen in season 2, it makes sense that their characters don’t return (although a friendly Borg Queen may have been helpful in this story).  There probably weren’t any more stories that could be told with Isa Briones’ characters either.  But, I do miss Evan Evagora as Elnor, especially since he was underused in season 2.

The production of season 3 really leans into it being a sequel to The Next Generation.  The music, the title sequence, and other details are all changed to tie into the older series.  While obviously an exercise in nostalgia, I think they’ve done a decent job in balancing pleasing the crowd with telling an original story.

Related Posts:

WARNING: The episode summary reviews below the read more tag assume familiarity with the episodes and thus are full of spoilers.

Continue reading “TV Review: Star Trek: Picard (2023)” →

TV Review: Star Trek: Picard (2022)

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

Title: Star Trek: Picard
Release Date: March 3 – May 5, 2022
Production Company: Secret Hideout | Weed Road Pictures | Escapist Fare | Roddenberry Entertainment | CBS Studios
Episodes:  10
Summary/Review:

I watched the first season of Picard two years ago and didn’t like it.  I hated seeing one of my favorite characters inserted into a grimdark serial melodrama full of dramatic plot twists and questionable characterization.  This year I’ve heard that the third season of Picard is really good and the send of to the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew that we never got after Star Trek: Nemesis flopped.  I could probably skip season two of Picard, but my linear mind feels to compelled to watch it before watching season three.  So, let’s hope this is worth it!

Well, I don’t know if it was worth ten hours of my life, but it was fine.  It’s kind of a greatest hits of Star Trek: The Next Generation Picard stories – there’s the Borg, Q, Guinan, Time Travel, the Picard family, and even Wesley Crusher! There’s a good story in here although it’s unfortunately stretched out into a 10-episode serial.  That means that there are cliffhangers, dramatic plot twists, and a whole lot of filler that seems to be required in modern streaming media.

The cast from the first series all return with Alison Pill as Agnes Jurati, Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, Michelle Hurd as Raffi Musiker, Evan Evagora as Elnor, Orla Brady as Laris, and Santiago Cabrera as Chris Rios. Isa Briones and Brent Spiner also return to play different characters related to their first season characters.  I feel this “family” has become familiar and I like their interactions and characterizations even if the screenplay puts them in increasingly absurd situations. The one exception is Pill, who I don’t know if she’s a bad actor or just particularly badly written but her character and story arc just annoy me.

So, I got that out the way, bring back the reunion of the Enterprise-D crew!

Related Posts:

WARNING: The episode summary reviews below the read more tag assume familiarity with the episodes and thus are full of spoilers.

Continue reading “TV Review: Star Trek: Picard (2022)” →

TV Review: Star Trek (1968-1969)

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

Title: Star Trek
Release Date: September 20, 1968 – June 3, 1969
Production Company: Paramount Television
Episodes:  24
Summary/Review:

The common wisdom among Star Trek fans is that the series’ third and final season is the worst.  And yet, there are some diamonds among the rough.  When I was watching the show in syndication as a kid, I seemed to catch a lot of third season episodes multiple times and still ended up loving Star Trek (at the other end of the spectrum I heard about classic episodes like “The Trouble With Tribbles” for years before I got to see it for the first time).

There are a lot of reasons for the decline of quality including Paramount taking over Desilu Studios and their execs hating Star Trek, NBC moving the show to a deadend time slot, and the departure of several key creative minds behind the show.  William Shatner is genuinely a talented actor, but his response to bad scripts was to ham it up and thus his third season performances forever tainted him as an overactor.

That being said, I found this series has a lot of great science fiction premises and storytelling ideas.  They are not always executed well, but I give everyone involved an A for effort for trying new things at the same time resources were being slashed.  The season also features a significant number of scripts written by women and prominent guest roles for women actors.  Star Trek wasn’t always great in addressing sexual equality but this was a definite sign of progress. Of course, maybe the most important thing about the third season is that it gave Star Trek enough episodes to go into syndication.  Without it, Star Trek may never have become a phenomenon and I wouldn’t be writing about it right now.

My five favorite episodes in Season 3:

  1. Day of the Dove
  2. The Tholian Web
  3. Spectre of the Gun
  4. All Our Yesterdays
  5. The Empath

And the biggest stinker: And the Children Shall Lead

Below the Read More, I’ve written up short reviews of each episode with a letter grade. These reviews assume some familiarity with the episode and are full of spoilers

Related Posts:

Continue reading “TV Review: Star Trek (1968-1969)” →

Song of the Week: “Jacaranda” by Sivan Levy

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

Sivan Levy – Jacaranda

Israeli dream pop artist Sivan Levy’s song “Jacaranda” is a track off her most recent EP release SIDE:S.

Songs of the Week for 2023

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

Movie Review: Barbie (2023)

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

Title: Barbie
Release Date: July 21, 2023
Director: Greta Gerwig
Production Company:  Heyday Films | LuckyChap Entertainment | NB/GG Pictures | Mattel Films
Summary/Review:

“To be honest, when I found out the patriarchy wasn’t about horses I lost interest.”

Some might say this movie is just a promo by a big corporation for a toy, but Barbie has been a significant cultural artifact since the doll’s introduction 64 years ago.  In the hands of Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, Little Women), I figured the movie would be a lot of fun with some sociological messages worked in, and I was correct.

In the movie, Barbie (Margot Robbie, often referred to as “Stereotypical Barbie” because she’s the standard model) has an existential crisis.  She learns she has to leave Barbieland for the Real World to find the girl who is playing with her, reluctantly allowing Ken (a.k.a “Beach Ken,” Ryan Gosling) to accompany her. She meets up with Gloria (America Ferrera), a woman estranged from her teenage daughter Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt) and they begin to help one another.

I won’t go into too much detail to avoid spoilers, but the underlying themes of the film deal with feminism through the lens of Barbie.  The denizens of Barbieland believe they have solved the Real World’s problems by empowering women but reality is of course very different.  The movie deals pretty well with the positive and negative effects fashion dolls like Barbie have on society.  Through Ken’s story, we see that feminism is also for men as his story arc is akin to a teen boy being radicalized by Men’s Rights Activists, before he ultimately realizes self-actualization.

The cast of the movie is strong especially with the various versions of Barbie and Ken.  I’m particularly fond of Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) and Allan (Michael Cera), a discontinued “friend of Ken” character.  Lizzo’s musical commentary and Helen Mirren’s droll narration are also well done.  And the dance number lead by Gosling and Simu Liu as competing Kens is a showstopper!  On the downside, Will Ferrell’s role as the CEO of Mattel feels kind of extraneous and derivative of the character he played in The LEGO Movie.

Barbie the movie isn’t perfect, but as we learn from this film, perfection is not an attainable goal.  It is great as a fun summer blockbuster that makes you think as well.

Rating: ***1/2

 

 

DEEP DIVES – Album Review: Diamonds and Pearls by Prince and The New Power Generation

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

I am doing a deep dive into the work of the musical artist Prince.  Each week until December I will post my thoughts on albums released by Prince (and his bands and side projects) focusing on one year of his career. 

This week I’m focusing on Diamond and Pearls from 1991.

Album: Diamonds and Pearls
Artist: Prince and The New Power Generation
Release Date: October 1, 1991
Label: Paisley Park | Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

  • Thunder
  • Cream
  • Willing and Able
  • Gett Off (with Eric Leeds)
  • Jughead
  • Money Don’t Matter 2 Night

Thoughts:

Diamond and Pearls sounds more like a band album than anything from the Revolution. New Power Generation didn’t have a steady lineup, but they also existed and recorded outside of backing up Prince.  Most significantly, Tony M took the lead on the rap verses which become more significant in Prince’s music at this time.  The influence of New Jack Swing is also significant on this album.  The singles “Cream” (which was Prince’s final Number One song) and “Gett Off” were instant classics, and “Money Don’t Matter 2 Night” is also pretty great.  There’s nothing bad about the rest of the album but nothing else really stands out either. It feels weird that someone as talented as Prince is making music that is actually quite good but somehow feels less because it doesn’t hold up with his 80s masterpieces.

Rating: ***1/2

 

For You 1978 ***
Prince 1979 ***1/2
Dirty Mind 1980 ****
Controversy 1981 ****
1999 1982 Prince and the Revolution *****
Purple Rain 1984 Prince and the Revolution *****
Around the World in a Day 1985 Prince and the Revolution ****
Parade 1986 Prince and the Revolution ****
Sign “☮︎” the Times 1987 ****1/2
8 1987 Madhouse ***
16 1987 Madhouse ***1/2
Lovesexy 1988 ***1/2
Batman 1989 ***
Graffiti  Bridge 1990 ***1/2
Diamonds and Pearls 1991 Prince and the New Power Generation ***1/2
Love Symbol 1992 Prince and the New Power Generation
Goldnigga 1993 The New Power Generation
Come 1994
The Black Symbol 1994
The Gold Experience 1995
Exodus 1995 The New Power Generation
Chaos and Disorder 1996
Emancipation 1996
Kamasutra 1997 The NPG Orchestra
Crystal Ball 1998
The Truth 1998
Newpower Soul 1998 The New Power Generation
The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale 1999
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic 1999
The Rainbow Children 2001
One Nite Alone… 2002
One Nite Alone… Live! 2002
Xpectation 2003
N-E-W-S 2003
Musicology 2004
The Chocolate Invasion 2004
The Slaughterhouse 2004
C-Note 2004
3121 2006
Planet Earth 2007
Indigo Nights 2008
Lotusflow3r/MPLSound 2009
20Ten 2010
Plectrumelectrum 2014 with 3rdeyegirl
Art Official Age 2014 with 3rdeyegirl
HITnRun Phase One 2015
HITnRun Phase Two 2015

50 Years, 50 Movies (2019): Uncut Gems

~ Liam ~ 4 Comments

I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to watch and review one movie from each year of my life.  The only qualification is that it has to be a movie I’ve not reviewed previously. 

2019

Top Grossing Movies of 2019:

  1. Avengers: Endgame
  2. The Lion King
  3. Frozen II
  4. Spider-Man: Far from Home
  5. Captain Marvel

Best Picture Oscar Nominees and Winners of 2019:

  • Parasite
  • Ford v Ferrari
  • The Irishman
  • Jojo Rabbit
  • Joker
  • Little Women
  • Marriage Story
  • 1917
  • Once Upon a Time In Hollywood

Other Movies I’ve Reviewed from 2019:

Title: Uncut Gems
Release Date: December 13, 2019
Director: Josh Safdie & Benny Safdie
Production Company: A24 | Elara Pictures | IAC Films | Sikelia Productions | Scott Rudin Productions
Summary/Review:

This movie begins with Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) receiving a colonoscopy and that is the most relaxed we ever see him.  Howard runs a jewelry business in New York’s Diamond District and is a compulsive gambler.  Howard acquires a rare black opal from Ethiopia which he hopes to auction off in order to pay off his gambling debts.  During the course of the film, Howard loan the opal to Boston Celtics basketball star Kevin Garnet (himself) who believes it brings him luck, canoodles and then fights with his mistress Julia (Julia Fox),  attempts to reconcile with his wife Dinah (Idina Menzel) who wants a divorce, pawns items to gain money for his ill-advised bets, parties with The Weeknd (himself), and tries to avoid his loan shark brother-in-law Arno (Eric Bogosian) and his hired goons.

This a movie about loud and abrasive New Yorkers, and true to life of the loud and abrasive New Yorkers I know, they never stop shouting over one another the entire film.  It’s also a very Jewish film as themes of cultural Judaism are woven through the plot (although, even as a non-Jewish person even I know that Passover is over before the NBA playoff semifinals, but it’s dramatic license).  Sandler puts in an excellent performance that’s worlds away from his grossout comedies.  Howard is a complete and total asshole, and a self-destructive one at that, but Sandler gives him the personality that makes you still want to pull for him.

 

Rating:

Friday Fictioneers – The next great poet of their generation makes a statement

~ Liam ~ 7 Comments

PHOTO PROMPT © Jennifer Pendergast

“Woody Guthrie painted ‘This Machine Kills Fascists’ on his guitar,” exclaimed Ethan.

“Ya, bro?” questioned Alina.

“And Pete Seeger’s banjo said ‘This Machine Surrounds Hate and Forces It to Surrender.’”

“Uh-huh … so what’s that on your guitar?”

“It’s a TV test pattern.”

“Wha? Dude, why?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It means ‘The Revolution Won’t Be Televised!’”

“Not very original, bra.  You’re ripping off Guthrie, Seeger AND Gil Scott-Heron.  And still no one will ever know what the hell that means!”

“You’re just a normie, kid.  You don’t get it!”

“Whatever, just try writing a song that actually says something first!”

Friday Fictioneers is a weekly photo prompt flash fiction challenge on Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Addicted to Purple blog.  See additional stories from the prompt by other writers here!