Monday Movie Mania - Solo: A Star Wars Story

This is the movie those of us who were kids when Star Wars came out have been waiting for! Rogue One was good; Solo is excellent.

We won't talk about Episodes VII and VIII.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) Bringing in Ron Howard as director to complete the movie was a smart decision. Ron GETS Star Wars!

2) Phobe Waller-Bridge wins my vote for favorite new character as Lando's subversive love interest.

3) Donald Glover was delicious as Lando.

4) John Powell's score with its nods to John Williamson's originals gives the film a true classic feel.

5) The fabulous surprise cameo from someone from the Phantom Menace.

6) HAN SHOT FIRST!


CONS
1) Alden Ehrenreich wasn't bad, but I think Taron Egerton would have been a better choice as the new Han Solo.

2) Emilia Clarke's Qi'ra felt too much like Daenerys from Game of Thrones.

3) A few too many "why the hell did they do that" holes in the plot (or maybe I've been writing fiction too fucking long).


Overall, Solo earns its 9.5 stars out of 10.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

And there's the classic talent. They all sound incredible!

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Three Funerals and a Wedding

I didn't get the post I'd planned for today done. One of DH's uncles died over the weekend. Visitation is today, and the funeral tomorrow. I find myself once again scrambling to wash my dress up clothes needed for the events.

That's the third death in the family within the last 365 days. We've only had one wedding. I'm getting to the age where that's the normal ratio, and it sucks donkey balls.

Monday Movie Mania - Deadpool 2

In general, sequels are rarely as good as the first movie. There are exceptions. The Empire Strikes Back. The Godfather, Part II. And now, Deadpool 2.

Though to be totally honest, the part that made me wet myself with laughter was the mid-credits scenes. Depends, Poise, or whatever brand of leak product you prefer will be a necessary evil to attend this movie.

We went to AMC's double feature. Despite using the ladies' room between Deadpool and D2, well, just use protection.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) If you thought Reynolds got his previous disasters portraying superheroes out of his system, he didn't.

2) Zazie Beetz fucking rocked it as Domino!

3) I'm a little ashamed to say I loved what they did to Shatterstar because I found him to be one of the most annoying members of X-Force in the comics.

4) Unfortunately, Stan Lee didn't make a cameo, but the surprise cameos of some other fan favorites (referenced by Deadpool in the first movie when he arrives at the X-men's mansion) had me giggling.

5) The other cameo that had me laughing my ass off was the gentleman who played the Vanisher.

6) I was ecstatic to see Brianna Hildebrand back as Negasonic Teenage Warhead. It was even better seeing Shioli Kutsuna playing a decent, closer-to-the-comic version of Yukio.


CONS
1) Really, guys? You had to do that shitty, obvious plot thing before the opening credits?

2) I've got some mixed feelings about Josh Brolin as Cable. Ultimately, I have to come down on the con side. There's plenty of actors who could have done the job, and done it better. (Psst - Pierce Brosnan was free.) Josh did a wonderful job as Thanos, but it almost felt as if he phoned in the Cable role. And he didn't need a chance to redeem himself like Chris Evans and Michael B. Jordan did.


Overall, I give Deadpool 2 10 stars out of 10 for the mid-credits shenanigans alone!

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

There's a former band member of Oingo Boingo who surprise you with the depth of his talent...

End of an Era - RT Book Reviews Is Closing

I heard a couple of rumors floating around the interwebs, but yesterday morning, those rumors were confirmed by some of the publishing trades. RT Book Reviews, both the online magazine and its annual readers conference, were shuttering their doors effective immediately. RT's founder Kathryn Falk made the announcement during the 2018 Annual RT Booklovers convention this week.

Falk's fairwell letter was posted on the magazine's website.

Falk and her magazine (originally published under the title Romantic Times) was a mainstay in the romance genre for nearly forty years. It started out as a newsprint newsletter before it was eventually transformed into a full-color glossy with the latest industry news and interviews with authors. In the 21st century, Falk changed the magazine's name and expanded the reviews into other popular genres such as sci-fi, fantasy and mysteries.

Additionly, Falk was an romance author herself. Her How to Write a Romance and Get It Published (Paperback, 1984) was my first guide into the mysterious world of publishing.

In July of 2016, RT Book Reviews management closed the published magazine, a move all too familiar to the publishing industry as all glossies struggled for reader attention. However, the magazine continued in its online form until this week.

I find it ironic the magazine is closing at a time when the trad publishing companies are essentially ceding the romance genre to indies. It'll be interesting to see what emerges out of all this.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Or it's the scores that haunt you for decades...

Geek Fun

Did everyone watch The Big Bang Theory's season finale last night?

Monday Movie Mania - Avengers: Infinity War

If you go into the theater, realizing this is The Empire Strikes Back of the MCU, you'll come out, if not satisfied, at least with a calm understanding that the story is not done yet.

Also, if you haven't been watching the other MCU movies, a good chunk of the story might be a bit confusing. If you don't plan to see them before a loved one drags you to the theater, here's a primer.


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SPOILERS


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The Run-Down
There's this asshole, Thanos, who thinks the universe is overpopulated, and to save the universe from total consumption of resources, he wants to kill half the sentient beings before they do the same to their worlds as his people did to his. But to keep anyone from stopping his mass genocide, he needs the six Infinity Stones, the ultimate power in the MCU universe. The stones were introduced in the following movies:

The space stone - Captain America: The First Avenger
The mind stone - The Avengers
The reality stone - Thor: The Dark World
The power stone - Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1
The time stone - Doctor Strange
The soul stone - Avengers: Infinity War


PROS
1) There's a certain satisfaction in seeing everything come together. Once upon a time, cross-overs in the comics were truly a special event, and the movie captures that feeling.

2) The MCU reinstated the Scarlet Witch-Vision love affair, one of my favorite story lines of the '80's.

3) The payoff in that both Tony and Thor's nightmares from Avengers: Age of Ultron are coming true and how each person deals with it.

4) Out of the handful left standing after the battle with Thanos, it will be interesting how the core Avengers deal with their first real loss in the next movie.

5) I got a chill down my back when I saw who Nick Fury contacted before Thanos took him out. I was the only one in the theater who cheered.


CONS
1) In the movies, Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye has become my favorite Avenger, and I was disappointed not to see him in this one.

2) What the hell were they thinking by putting that cheesy porn 'stache on Starlord? Seriously, dudes?!


Overall, Avengers: Infinity War earned 8.5 stars out of 10.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Then there's the classic orchestral scores that is so awesome and brand-new...

Happy Star Wars Day!

Murphy Is the One True God

Dear Readers,

I'm so very disappointed to say that any new releases scheduled for 2018 will be delayed indefinitely. My body has run into a brand-new issue that necessitates a bunch of diagnostic clinic and assorted doctor visits.

What does this mean for the current books-in-progress exactly? I will continue to write in between various scans, the taking of bits of flesh and blood for assorted tests, and talking to medical personnel. However, my mind is not in a place to concentrate on the finer details of publishing, such as editing and marketing.

Once we know the extent of the issue and we have a treatment plan in place, I'll let you all know the revised release schedule.

In the meantime, blogging may also become sporadic for the reasons above. Thankfully, I'm a few blogs ahead. LOL

Thank you for your patience.

Love,
Suzan