Supergirl Sputters Into Flight

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Supergirl is another recent comic book movie that delivers another mediocre cinematic experience that comes closer to being utter garbage than much of what I have seen in a while. DC Studios may have gotten a few elements right, but I found those to be quite sparse as I subjected myself to this surprisingly, but mercifully short release. Ana Nogueira is the script writer with Craig Gillispie serving as director.

Milly Alcock is in the lead role as Superman’s somewhat dysfunctional yet formidable Kryptonian cousin. Jason Momoa has taken on the role of some intergalactic bounty hunter known as Lobo. Other cast members include Eve Ridley, Matthias Schoenaerts, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham. David Corenswet makes a couple of unnecessary appearances as Superman

At this point, Supergirl is goofing off throughout space as some party girl accompanied by her Kryptonian dog with the not so ingenious name of Krypto. Supergirl encounters a young girl on a mission of vengeance hunting for a space marauder named Krem of the Yellow Hills, played by Schoenaerts. After helping the girl retrieve a handmade sword that was crafted by her deceased father. The girl’s family had been killed by this Krem character, which is why she is rather hellbent on settling the score. Supergirl’s spaceship gets hijacked, and Krypto gets poisoned, which draws her into this mess. Lobo has his own agenda, but he becomes a somewhat unreliable ally. A chase ensues across several planets until a final confrontation takes place that solidifies what kind of hero Supergirl is going to be.

I understand that comic books require a lot of grace and suspension of disbelief, but the writing here gets pretty atrocious at times. Some flashback scenes are done with characters speaking in the fabricated Kryptonian language, but the translation in English has no sense of eloquence or originality. It was full of familiar colloquialisms and expressions. Then, we learn that Superman doesn’t know anything of his native language, which doesn’t make sense since he has some relics from his destroyed home planet and probably would have learned something of his own people’s language.

The casting of Milly Alcock isn’t a bad decision, but she was not served well by this script. There are some moments where I found her genuinely amusing and charismatic, but it wasn’t enough for me to forgive the more clunky production decisions in this thing. I know the actress has taken some heat for some comments made in interviews during the promotion, and it’s deserved. She still may have some talent that can be better utilized with a better writer.

Momoa’s performance was actually the more interesting one in this film. Lobo is a dangerous dude, but he has something of a code that can be respected. He did come in handy at some important moments, but there again even he wasn’t enough to improve the viewing experience by much.

The main villain with the stupid name was just another unhygienic, unhinged, brutish weirdo who got away with his misdeeds more by luck than judgment.

The performance of the cast was fine. The problems really are more from the editing and writing.

The action sequences and visual effects what one would expect. The fight scenes and moments of superpower display were not all that creative or interesting, but it wasn’t completely unimpressive.

On the whole, the film manages to not be a complete dumpster fire, but it does deserve the disappointing box office returns. It’s not one that is going to be remembered with any real fondness among the nerds and cinephiles who will show up hoping it is better than its reputation. Those hopes are likely to be dashed for many. It’s just another barely adequate release from Hollywood that is unlikely to improve with age.

Book Review: Even Robots Should Follow The Laws

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

I, Robot is probably the most well-known literary contribution from Isaac Asimov

It’s really more of an anthology than a novel, although some characters appear more than once. In fact, it is framed by a robopsychologist named Susan Calvin being interviewed and relating these stories to a reporter.

There is a variety of stories that examine the potential relationship between robots and humans should the technology become more prevalent. There is a progression in the malfunctions and difficulties, and recurring characters such Powell and Donovan are the window into these developments.

It was a bit of an endurance test to get through this one. There is a lot of exposition and meetings in almost every story.

Asimov is a pretty good writer, and the ideas he presents may have seemed revolutionary at the time. The book was released in 1950; however, the stories were published throughout the previous decade.

I am still glad to have given this a whirl, and I am likely to revisit the works of Asimov. It was hard to stay enthusiastic about this particular selection, but I can still see how Asimov is held un such high regard.

I have now returned to my preferred genre of the murder mystery. Robert Galbraith’s Lethal White has made it off the stack of intended reads.

Doctor Who Audio Review: Turlough Rejoins The TARDIS With A Different Doctor At The Console

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who-Expulsion is another audio boxset released by Big Finish Productions featuring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant picking up another one of the Doctor’s more intriguing former companions. Samuel Clemens and Scott Handcock share directing duties for this trilogy of episodes in which Mark Strickson reprises his role of Turlough.

I often get weary of the tendency to the practice of mixing up Doctors and their traditional companions, but I make exceptions when Turlough makes an unexpected appearance. How he reacts to this particular version of the Doctor is quite a treat, although they do find some equilibrium in their relationship as the stories unfold.

Nev Fountain begins this collection with The Reckoning which has Eve Winters and Nigel Fairs lending their voices as the guest cast. The TARDIS is forced to materialize in seventeenth century France where they encounter the famed playwright, Christopher Marlowe. Kit Marlowe has somehow lived well beyond the point where history records his death. A deal has been made, and Turlough seems poised to betray the Doctor.

It’s a pretty strong opening, but the return of Turlough seems to almost guarantee a promising bit of entertainment. The situation is not quite what it seems, and the solution is a sort of anti-climactic. Still, the performances make up for the flaws. Winters’ performance of the mysterious Tess is actually pretty memorable.

Turlough seems to be back to keeping secrets, but it seems understandable since he has to reestablish some trust with a Doctor that seems unrecognizable to him.

It’s still an enjoyable episode and offers a promising start to this collection.

A Crucible of Queens has the TARDIS crew in fifteenth century France during the conflicts between the French and England. The Doctor is asked to examine a king who has apparently lost his mind. Turlough has befriended a French heir to the crown. Two empires at odds are about to make history, and the Doctor has to make sure that it runs as it should while trying to reunite his friends.

Debbier Chazen, Julie Dray, Narayan David Hector, and Laurent Lafuma are included in this production as the guest cast.

This story served well enough as what fans call the “purely historical” addition. I liked that Big Finish actually cast French actors for this one as opposed to using those who try to emulate the accent. It does give some insight into some likely overlooked historical events.

Baker, Bryant, and Strickson continue to hit the right marks when it comes to the continued portrayals of well-known characters.

I didn’t find the story itself all that memorable, but it was by no means a terrible addition.

Finally, we get a return to Viking lore with Julian Richards serving up The Curse of the Duergar. An accursed sword is at the center with a malignant entity able to control minds, even the Doctor’s.

Lara Lemons and Daniel Hawksford are included in the guest cast.

There is an interesting performance from as there is an audio glimpse of a previous Doctor. Turlough still has secrets but seems to have finally come around to accepting this Doctor as an ally.

Overall, the return of Turlough is what makes this set a treat. The stories are fine but exactly ones that are expected to be considered classics, in my opinion.

It looks like we have Turlough around for a bit more in a future release, and I am still up for that ride..

Classic Film Review: Showgirls In Peril

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Trap is not one of the better films to feature Charlie Chan, as played by the late Sidney Toler. Howard Bretherton directed this film which was written by Miriam Kissinger. The character was first created by the late Earl Derr Biggers, who was also given some writing credit. Biggers died in 1933, so he probably didn’t have much to do with this bit of tragic cinema.

Victor Sen Yung, Barbara Jean Wong, Mantan Moreland, and Tanis Chandler are also included in the cast.

It’s kind of a classic murder mystery set-up where a where a theatrical ensemble is staying at a beach house where scandal and blackmail are ruining the camaraderie among the showgirls. When one of the showgirls is murdered, a pair of them fall under suspicion. San Toy happens to know the son of the great detective, Charlie Chan, and reaches out for some help. Jimmy Chan starts his own investigation; however, the big man turns up when he receives some information that Jimmy himself had been murdered. Charlie devises a trap to ensnare a murderer who has claimed a second victim as he discovers the secrets held by the performers.

There isn’t much about this particular film that works. Charlie Chan isn’t all that involved in the story as expected. I did a little research here and learned that Toler had been coping with a severe cancer diagnosis at the time of production. In fact, he died the following year. The story was not that interesting. Well, it did follow the basic tropes of the genre and the other films in the series, but it was not executed all that well. It felt rushed and a bit incoherent. Now that I am aware of Toler’s condition during filming, it does seem the studio was rather ruthlessly trying to make as much money as possible from a star who was terribly sick.

I do think the Charlie Chan movies themselves are worth some viewing time due to the cultural impact at the time of release, but I also believe this particular film deserves a pass. The actors did their best, but the script did little to help.

Book Review: Tracking A Killer Is No Easy Business

~ Peter Kanelis ~ 2 Comments

White Butterfly by Walter Mosley is the third installment in the Easy Rawlins mystery series and is okay. Rawlins is becoming a little too dysfunctional for me to gin up much sympathy for him.

Mosley is still a talented writer, and the book wasn’t a total waste of time.

Rawlins is now married with a new baby and doing well as a property owner. He has not been involved in any major investigations in a few years. The police come to him to ask him to head into the ghettos of Los Angeles to look for a killer of several women. Initially, it was black women who were in somewhat less wholesome occupations targeted by this psychopath. When a young white woman is found, the police get more interested and seek Easy’s unique ability to assist. As extra motivation, they have his best friend, Mouse, in their crosshairs. Mouse is a dangerous psychopath, but even he has some standards. Easy Rawlins risks his marriage and his life once again as a reluctant assistant to the police as he crosses into territory where only he could gather the clues to identify one of L.A.’s dark souls..

This one has a plot that is a little stale. Easy does go through a bit of an emotional wringer, but he brings a lot of his personal troubles on himself. The friendship between him and Mouse is kind of interesting, although the idea of the somewhat psychopathic sidekick is also kind of an overdone trope in detective fiction.

The story takes place in 1956, not long after Easy’s service in the Second World War.

Mosley is a fine writer on the whole, and my dissatisfaction with this novel isn’t going to be keep me away from his works for long. Ezekial Rawlins is still a pretty compelling character for me to not to give up on the series. Mosley also has other series which I am likely to explore as well in the near future.

Anyway, White Butterfly isn’t terrible, but it could have used a bit more originality in the climax. Walter Mosley is still a writer worthy of having some space reserved on any mystery fans’ bookshelves.

It is time for the literary journey to take a rare detour into some classic science fiction. I, Robot by the revered Isaac Asimov is next to be lifted from the still growing stack of novels still to be read.

Big Finish Audio Review: Jago & Litefoot In The Twentieth Century

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Jago & Litefoot Series Five contains four audio plays featuring the two Victorian gentlemen with a knack for finding the most unearthly adventures after their first encounter with the Time Lord known as the Doctor. Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter are reunited within the studios of Big Finish Productions to continue their adventures as the theatrical Henry Gordon Jago and the crusading intellectual, Professor George Litefoot. Lisa Bowerman directs this set as well as continuing her portrayal of their trusted and now seemingly immortal friend, Ellie Higson.

Jago and Litefoot were last known to be traveling briefly with the Sixth Doctor when they were dropped off back in their familiar surroundings of the Red Tavern. After the Doctor bid his farewells and left, they realize that they were misplaced several decades into their future which is now well into the twentieth century. They encounter their old friend, Ellie Higson, who has not seemed to have an aged a minute since their last encounter. It is 1968, Jago is a television star, and Litefoot is running a modest antique bookstore. As usual with these two, trouble still is lurking in the shadows, and the pair of displaced Victorians find themselves once again preserving the future of London, if not the whole world.

Big Finish has once again assembled a formidable guest cast to either help or hinder the efforts of the duo. Ken Bones, Raquel Cassidy, Chook Sibtain, Duncan Wisbey, and Jamie Newall are included in this engaging collection of audio plays.

The stalwart and engaging Jonathan Morris starts off this set with The Age of Revolution in which the story the begins several months into Jago and Litefoot’s temporal exile in 1968. As it happens, they have made the most of their unusual circumstances, with the aid of their friend Ellie, who has avoided the more severe consequences of old age. She has become a successful restauranter and member of polite society while still maintaining her more endearing and selfless qualities. Jago has become a popular television host while Litefoot has been able to indulge his more cerebral pursuits running an old bookshop. A detective is investigating a strange disappearance and meets Jago and Litefoot. They recognize the detective as a descendant of an old ally from their Victorian days. A lot of this story sort of explains in flashbacks how Jago and Litefoot adjusted so agreeably to their new surroundings. In the meantime, a new enemy is the beginning of new and supernatural troubles gathering to challenge the resolve of Jago and Litefoot.

Morris has some interesting things going on and does a good job of catching the listener up as to how Jago and Litefoot are coping in their new situation. Baxter and Benjamin continue to exercise their chemistry with their usual aplomb. It isn’t the most memorable of plots, but it serves well enough to orientate the audience as to the unusual circumstances the protagonists find themselves.

Another prolific Big Finish contributor, Marc Platt, serves up The Case of the Garrulous Guru. in which Jago’s impressive appetite works against him as he belches his way through this investigation of apparently food that consumes the eater from within. Litefoot once again has to save his friend from his own indulgences.

This is apparently meant to be the more humorous of the episodes and mostly works. The belching and carrying-on do get a little distracting. Jago is a naturally bombastic and exaggerated character, but he gets to be a little too much here. It’s also another story where Jago falls under some malign influence and needs to have his fat pulled from the fire. Platt is still an interesting and properly venerated writer for Doctor Who and its various spin-offs, but this story tested my patience a bit.

The more interesting episode to follow is The Bloodchild Codex by Colin Brake. There is a secret book of spells that is said to bring immortality to those understand it. A malevolent figure from before the time of Jago and Litefoot is about to return, and more adversaries are becoming more obvious to the intrepid pair of Victorians.

This one is probably my favorite out of this set. The premise is not that original, but it still works well. Jago and Litefoot really come off well. They are both displaying their unique courage, even though Jago is still the same cowardly clown who somehow manages to come through in a pinch. Brake finds the right balance of menace and humor with this one, and how Jago and Litefoot sort of cope with these supposedly terrible occurrences remain as admirably amusing as ever.

Finally, Justin Richards brings the curtain with The Final Act, in which all sorts of old foes have come back from the dead or had only been inert. This turns out to be a pretty shameless sequel to the Doctor Who serial that introduced the audience to this pair, The Talons of Weng-Chiang. Richards is one of my favorite writers in this world, and he does elevate a story which could be dismissed as a sort of expected trope and still makes it pretty engaging. It’s not exactly hard to predict how things are going to wrap up for Jago and Litefoot, but Richards still make this worth the time.

This set a solid continuation that manages to avoid having any real failures on the whole. Some stories work better than others, but the characters have become so vivid and entertaining that much can be forgiven.

The fifth series of Jago & Litefoot is not without some flaws, but it remains engaging enough to keep me motivated to purchase the next one.

Film Review: Bart Sees It All

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

The Night Clerk is an almost painfully mediocre suspense film written and directed by Micchael Cristofer about a motel clerk with Asperger’s Syndrome who sets up cameras in rooms to spy on guests so he can learn how to imitate their mannerisms. He apparently believes this will help him be less socially awkward.

Tye Sheridan is in the lead as Bart Bromley with Ana de Armas, John Leguizamo, Helen Hunt, and Johnathan Schaech included in the pretty small cast.

Bart finds that he is the lead suspect when a pretty lady is found dead in the motel room with him in the vicinity. He is assigned by a sympathetic boss to another location where he meets another pretty lady who flirts with him and reveals that she is in an affair with a married man. The detective, played by Leguizamo, continues to hound the hapless Bart while the real killer is desperate to cover his tracks.

This is a bit of a knock-off of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, which isn’t a bad source for inspiration even if it has been overcooked over the years. The cast is solid enough with convincing performances; however, it just feels so slow. There are no real surprises. Bart does come off as a bit creepy at times, so I found it hard to maintain any real sympathy for him. An actress of Helen Hunt’s caliber feels wasted in the role as Bart’s protective mother. There are also times where it feels that the killer takes a somewhat more convoluted approach than necessary to keep his secret. I can go on and on, but I have a full plate today.

The bright spots in this film were there but seemed a little muted at times. Overall, I think audiences have seen this kind of setup too many times, and Cristofer really doesn’t offer up much in the way of an interesting or unique twist. I didn’t really care much about the protagonist in spite of him being inflicted with a very challenging condition. Sheridan does do a solid job in his portrayal, but that wasn’t enough for me to muster up any real appreciation for the film as a whole.

Book Review: A Mother Like No Other

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Pieces of Her is a thriller by Karin Slaughter that is pretty good but kind of felt longer than necessary.

Andrea and her mother, Laura, are having some lunch at a diner in a shopping mall when a mass shooter breaks up the repast with an intent to kill. When her daughter is threatened, Laura moves with unusual efficiency for a middle-aged speech therapist and dispatches the killer with surprising brutality. Laura’s seemingly heroic actions make the news, which brings some troubles from a buried past of which her daughter has no knowledge. A pretty harrowing attempt is made on Laura’s life, and Andy kind of returns the favor by saving her life. Andy is on a search to discover the history that her mother has kept secret. Andy finds that murder and fanaticism have followed her mother for some time. She also learns of a family she never knew she had and may wish she had not found out.

Slaughter makes liberal use of flashbacks to fill in the strange and tragic history of Laura Oliver when she had another name. Slaughter has been in the writing game for a while, and she is an interesting writer. I can see why she has her fans, but this novel sort of dragged for me.

The basic plot is pretty good, and Slaughter does toss in some pretty clever reveals. Slaughter does sometimes let the story get a little bogged down with exposition.

I found the revelation of Laura’s true identity to be somewhat creative. I will try to avoid spoilers, but some of the standard tropes did not appear. Laura is not a retired spy or something like that.

Slaughter did a decent job of keeping me guessing as to how certain people were significant.

It’s another novel that provided some solid entertainment without it being uniquely memorable. It is more than likely that this will not be my last foray into the works of Karin Slaughter

More literary mystery and mayhem is forthcoming with Walter Mosley’s White Butterfly.

Doctor Who Audio Review: A Time War Would Indeed Be Hard To Chart

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Doctor Who: Pursuit is a reasonably entertaining audio boxset which is the second volume in the series known as Time War Uncharted. Paul McGann is back before the microphone in the Big Finish studio. The set was directed by Ken Bentley and is comprised of four episodes. The Eighth Doctor has had his TARDIS stolen by his great-grandson, Alex Campbell, played by Sunny McGann. Emma Campbell-Jones returns as Cass, who is accompanying Alex on his escapade separated from the Doctor.

The mysterious Hieronyma Friend, whose face is often changing, is played by Lizzie Hopley and then Niky Wardley. Friend seems to be in the employ of someone or something else and seems to shift from being an ally to an adversary. Either way, the Doctor needs to remain wary.

Dan Starkey returns as various Sontarans encountered throughout the set. Sontarans are apparently now Time Lords as a consequence of the Doctor’s meanderings through different realities. A Time War does strange things to the universe, and even the Doctor will have a challenging time keeping up with the sudden shifts in reality.

As mentioned before, there are four episodes that should be given some brief impressions.

Spoil of War is written by Mark Wright and brings Alex and Cass to an estate where an unusual auction is about to take place. The Doctor and Friend are on their trail but have problems of their own. The Time Lords are now Sontarans. The Doctor is about to discover bow navigating the consequences of the Time War is going to throw many obstacles in his pursuit of his stolen TARDIS and his renegade great-grandson.

Once again, the performances make an otherwise average story a little more enjoyable. The strange relationship between Friend and the Doctor provides enough intrigue to keep one engaged, but I find the plot somewhat unmemorable.

The Tale of Alex by Katherine Armitage sort of sets up Alex as taking up the legendary mantle of the Doctor. Sam Stafford is on hand as a kind of bard and narrator and does a good job with it.

It’s kind of an obligatory offbeat sort of story but has the sense of being done before. Armitage still manages to have a story that feels overdone because we have heard this type of poetic narrations before. She does a good job with it, but it does not come off as original as intended.

James Moran dips a bit more into the spookier aspects of the series with See-Saw with another sometimes-overdone trope with creepy children reciting whispering nursery rhymes. Alex and Cass sole the mystery alongside the Doctor and Friend without being able to see of communicate with each other, which is actually quite intriguing. I sort of like creepy tropes in Doctor Who, and this episode is probably the one that gripped me the most. It’s actually a pretty clever idea in spite of some of the story elements having a history of being overused.

Finally, Tim Foley brings this collection home with The First Forest. John Ramm plays a strange hermit type character who finds an injured Alex, who is separated from Cass. The Doctor and Friend finally find Alex and are close to the purloined TARDIS. Of course, more mysteries are revealed even when the Doctor accomplishes an important goal.

This was a little mid of a muddled episode, but the performances and the climactic encounters make the time well spent.

On the whole, it was an enjoyable but unremarkable set. This series in which we get to experience the Eighth Doctor’s somewhat limited participation in the Time War is a fascinating venture. Of course, he will become more active when he regenerates into the shunned incarnation known to us fans as the War Doctor. Paul McGann is a still a joy to hear in these episodes.

I don’t know how one can chart a course through a Time War, but I am still enjoying the ride.

Film Review: Dancing With The Devil

~ Peter Kanelis ~ Leave a comment

Apartment 7A is a mildly interesting horror film which I just read was supposed to be some prequel to the classic film, Rosemary’s Baby. The film is directed by Natalie Erika James, who co-wrote the film alongside Christian White and Skylar James. Julia Garner is in the lead as aspiring stage dancer, Terry Gionoffrio. Other cast members include Dianne Weist, Jim Sturgess, Kevin McNally, and Marli Siu.

Terry Gionoffrio is a dancer who was seriously injured in a fall onstage and is having some difficulty getting booked for other Broadway gigs. She meets an elderly couple who befriend her and offer a rent-free apartment in a lavish old complex. Of course, Terry starts having strange dreams and hallucinations. She does have a seemingly convenient fling with a Broadway producer which could lead to her desired fame on the stage. In the midst of these strange circumstances, Terry learns that she is pregnant, but there is something odd about the developing child. It turns out that Terry has been ensnared by some dedicated Satanists eager to bring forth a manifestation of the one they worship.

The film hits some of the right notes that engage my interest. It takes place in the 1960’s in New York. There is a rather spooky apartment, although we’re not really confined there with Terry. Terry does get to leave and figure out what kind of situation keeps her on the edge of hysteria. I have no real complaint about the cast. Garner is a pretty good actress. Wiest is kind of a legend and is easily able to pull off the part of a strange old woman who can be deadlier than she first appears.

The script is okay. There is nothing really that unique about setup or plot. Geriatric Satanists seems like an interesting idea, but I just ultimately found it to be kind of hammy. Some of the imagery of the devil was kind of clever, but nothing too jarring or unique.

I don’t think I have gotten around to seeing Rosemary’s Baby. Even though I may eventually be curious enough to see it, this film didn’t really kickstart my interest that much.

Apartment 7A is not a bad film on the whole and does have some merit in the horror genre, but there isn’t much that’s unique and will likely be considered another unnecessary prequel that has a tenuous connection to the film that inspired it.