Reviews and thoughts about movies, books, pop culture, and Doctor Who
Author: Peter Kanelis
I was born in Portland, Oregon and currently reside in Texas. I am an avid reader and movie watcher. I also am a long-time Doctor Who fan and collect the audio dramas as well as watch the television series. I have been writing reviews of this nature on social media for a few years now and want to expand on that practice.
Doctor Who-Sontarans vs. Rutans comes to a satisfying conclusion with John Dorney’s In Name Only from Big Finish Productions. The audio drama was directed by Ken Bentley. Jonathon Carley has taken over the role of the War Doctor from the late John Hurt. During this particular incarnation, the Time Lord once known as the Doctor has rejected the moniker due to his reluctant participation in the Time War. Although he has not lost much of the morality shown in his other selves, this version of the Doctor is certainly more ruthless and dangerous in many ways. The guest cast is comprised of Dan Starkey, Christopher Ryan, John Banks, and Debbie Korley.
In the midst of the Time War, the Time Lords suffer a devastating attack apparently committed by the Rutans. The War Doctor has arrived and has some different ideas as to who to blame for the attack on his people. The Time Lords are itching to deliver a terrible retaliation, but the War Doctor conducts his own investigation before Time is damaged beyond repair.
I have enjoyed the mini-series overall. The story is a little confusing, but it does tie together the other plots in this series pretty well. Carley does sound uncannily like John Hurt at times. I was not a fan of the series introducing some secret incarnation of the Doctor, but this particular iteration is starting to grow on me, mostly due to the presentation by Big Finish.
I also find myself enjoying the encounters with the Sontarans more. The performances of Starkey, Ryan, and Banks are well done. There seems to be some add a little more diverse personality in the Sontarans. I normally would balk at such an effort, but the writers are still remaining true to the original concept.
There is plenty of reason to enjoy this episode, but it may take more than one listen to fully understand it.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die is not likely the best entry into the franchise, but it certainly is not a terrible film on the whole. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence return as long-time Miami buddy cops Mike Lowry and Marcus Burnett in the fourth movie in this series. They are joined by Vanessa Hudgens, Tiffany Haddish, Joe Pantoliano, and Jacob Scipio as well as several others. Eric Dane plays the main villain and is menacing enough. Adil & Bilall are the directors with the script being written by Chris Bremner and Will Beall.
The film begins with the pair thwarting an armed robbery on the way to Lowry’s wedding. Their celebration is marred by allegations that their deceased captain was involved with Mexican drug cartels. Captain Conrad Howard was killed off in the previous film, Bad Boys For Life. He apparently left some video messages to his two favorite “bad boys” under his command. While Lowry and Burnett search for the means to clear their captain’s name, they are framed for murder and corruption themselves and have to go on the run with Lowry’s recently discovered son. Lowry’s son has been imprisoned for killing Captain Howard, but he has a chance for an unlikely redemption this time. Of course, the city of Miami is plunged into chaos as Lowry and Burnett shoot and sass their way to exoneration and victory.
I will that one thing that these movies attempt to do is give the main character some interesting character development. This time, Burnett suffers a heart attack and survives, which convinces him of having some sense of indestructability. Lowry has started suffering panic attacks at inopportune moments such as when the bad guys are unloading an arsenal of firearms at him. In spite of the ludicrous action scenes, it is interesting that the writers take some time to explore some internal conflicts one or the other seem to be experiencing. Of course, it also depicts the humorous yet profound bond these two men share after so many adventures together.
I had some mixed reactions to the action sequences. The fight scenes were pretty well realized. There was a moment where a first-person shooter perspective was depicted as if this was a video game, that didn’t really work for me for some reason. The special effects were pretty good although some moments felt too much like I was watching a comic book movie.
Lawrence and Smith have these characters down, and the charisma and occasional witty banter did help me overlook and forgive some of the flaws in this film. It was kind of heartening to see Lowry finally get married, and Burnett remains a devoted family man. Burnett gives his son-in-law a bit of an unnecessary bad time even though the kid is US Marine, which ends up being quite useful when the outlaws come calling on the Burnett household. The was one of the action sequences that was ridiculous yet fun to witness.
Overall, this turned out to be an entertaining enough film. The predecessors are better, but this one doesn’t go off the rails too badly. If another film is announced, I may remain interested enough to give it a chance. The script here isn’t great, but the two leads are funny and talented enough to prevent me from experiencing much regret in seeing it.
Christopher Eccleston makes another solid return to the microphones of Big Finish Productions as the Ninth Doctor in another set of Doctor Who audio dramas entitled Pioneers. Helen Goldwyn directs this trio of adventures. The guest cast includes Louise Jameson, who is better known as Leela in the series, however she is playing a new character here. Adam Martyn, Harki Bhambra, Ian Conningham, and Andrew James Spooner are some of the other performers lending their vocal talents.
The trilogy of stories begins with Roy Gill’s The Green Gift. The Doctor is accompanied by a bling young man and his talking dog, who were introduced in the previous collection entitled Shades of Fear. Louise Jameson appears as the apparent leader of a colony spacecraft known as the Greenwood. Earth has been all but destroyed, and humanity needs a new home. There is an artificial intelligence aboard which the Doctor may have encountered before.
It is pretty cool when other well-known Doctor Who actors appear as new characters. Jamison is best known as playing the Fourth Doctor’s companion, Leela, but she gets to stretch her range a bit here with Big Finish, and I think it’s a great idea. I can work through the distraction of recognizing her as Leela without much problem. The story is interesting and sort of revisits a very distinctive episode from the classic series. There are some engaging character moments when the Doctor is getting some explanations for the setting. that did quite well with building the intrigue until the revelations of the threat was revealed. Eccleston is unsurprisingly compelling during these more thoughtful scenes. The two new companions of Callen and Doyle, who really aren’t long-term mainstays in the TARDIS, are kind of fun. The dog, played by Harki Bhambra, is able to talk with some fancy, futuristic AI assistance. Anyway, the story is a pretty solid beginning to this particular set.
Next up, Robert Valentine takes the audience to a bit of Norwegian history with his story entitled Northern Lights. The Doctor crashes in the Arctic Circle toward the end of the nineteenth century and encounters Norwegian explorers, Fridtjof Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen. There is another presence within the famous Aurora Borealis, and the Doctor discovers that his current location may not be as isolated as it appears.
This story had a few fairly heartwarming moments that were unexpected. I have not heard of these particular explorers before this audio. Doctor Who does have a way of introducing historical figures and events that are not widely known or appreciated. The science fiction element is nice, but it’s pretty cool that Valentine did some research and brought forth some important historical figures that are not known as well as they probably deserve. Valentine has yet to put out a bad script, and this one is quite good. I think I appreciated the historical background that was rather new to me, but the overall drama was pretty good too.
Finally, Katherine Armitage takes the TARDIS to the early days of a football league formed in the United Kingdom with her script entitled The Beautiful Game. An American would recognize this as soccer. Another rather important historical sports figure in the shape of William Sudell, played by Raymond Coulthard, is brought forth. The Doctor attends to attend the meeting which formed the league, but he arrives a week early and finds himself witnessing another important meeting instead which involves the women’s suffrage movement in the late nineteenth century instead. Since it’s Doctor Who, there is an alien presence lurking around that feeds off others’ obsessions and is able to change size in seconds.
The alien threat is hard to really visualize through an audio play. However, there are some great moments between the characters. Once again, I am exposed to some influential figures from the past that I would not have otherwise known if not for a script. The cast does a great job, as is normal for a Big Finish drama. This episode is not bad, but it didn’t quite impress as the first two. It does have an interesting, little-known setting so that helps.
Overall, Eccleston himself makes the set worthwhile. The episodes are solid contributions, but they don’t really stand out other than some interesting touches on little discussed historical events. It’s still something I would recommend for the fans to collect because Eccleston is still worth the effort, and the stories have plenty of points of interest, and the history aficionados will get a pretty good kick.
Desert Star is a crime novel written by Michael Connelly which marks a welcome return of Harry Bosch and Renee Ballard.
Bosch has been retired from the Los Angelos Police Department for a while now, but he still follows up on a few cases he was unable to close. Ballard has continued to stay on with the department and is in charge of a revived cold case unit. She wants to close a long unsolved murder of a teen-ager who is the sister of a city councilman who championed the return of the unit. She wants to recruit Bosch, but there is a rift to mend. Meanwhile, Bosch has been haunted for many years by the unsolved murder of a family of four. He knows who was behind it, but he was unable to gather the evidence. Ballard’s invitation gives him a chance to bring justice that has eluded the victims’ family for far too long. Bosch also has to learn to work with a team and tolerate the politics that has often hindered his efforts to take more killers off the board. Also, Bosch has a medical condition hanging over his head, but even that is going to have a hard time keeping him from his relentless pursuit for justice.
Connelly is consistently quite good, but this particular novel is one of the better ones. Bosch is still as uncompromising as ever but for the right reasons. The sometimes-complicated friendship with Ballard is compelling. There are some threads that seem a little far-fetched, but my joy at some new cases for Bosch and Ballard overshadowed those concerns. With Bosch’s health in some peril, I do feel that I better get as much enjoyment as I can if Connelly decides to make some radically tragic decisions regarding his most popular protagonist.
The story does take a few unexpected brutal turns on the road to the resolution. It was a worthwhile treat to revisit LA as seen through the writings of Michael Connelly and the eyes of Harry Bosch.
The trail of fictional murders and detectives will next lead me back to the world created by J.A. Jance as she reveals the Blessing of the Lost Girls.
Sight is a pretty good biopic about renowned eye surgeon, Dr. Ming Wang. Andrew Hyatt directed the film as well as co-wrote it with John Duigan and Buzz McLaughlin. Terry Chen stars as Ming Wang with Greg Kinnear taking on the role of his business partner, Dr. Misha Bartnovsky. Fionnula Flanagan also stars as a nun who brings in a young girl who lost her sight at the hands of a wicked stepmother. The film is based on an autobiography written by Ming Wang and is likely quite compelling.
Dr. Wang had grown up during a period of time in China when there was a violent uprising against the Communist government. He had a thriving practice in Nashville, Tennesse after he earned his medical degree and worked alongside Dr. Bartnovsky. As Ming tries to help a young girl from India regain her sight, he struggles to put his painful childhood memories to rest. He is haunted by the memory of a young girl with whom he was friends who was torn from him by the dissidents, never to see her again. Ming is dedicated, but the dark memories are often on the verge of overwhelming him. It will take a young girl’s courage and sense of hope for him to develop a perspective that propels him to rediscover the drive to continue his mission to help as many people as possible out of their darkness.
Angel Studios produced this, and it is a pretty solid film. It is quite interesting and inspiring as intended. I also appreciated some exposure to some of the history and culture of China. The performances were quite compelling. Ming has a younger brother who is a bit of a mooch, and it’s not quite explained what happened there. The brother is a likeable mooch, but he feels like a bit of a loose thread as far as the story goes.
Angel Studios does a much better job of sharing their religious beliefs or biases without a lot of clunky or unrealistic dialogue. The producers and writers were smart to not have all of the challenges resolved in a perfect, glorious manner which would feel just a little too contrived. The ending is still heart-warming and seems to fulfill the message that the movie was trying to convey.
The film doesn’t drift into anything too incredulous. The book is still likely much better. The major purpose of this film seems to have been fulfilled quite effectively.
Basically, Angel Studios released a film that is not necessarily flawless, but it is still better than many Christian or faith-based films that have been produced in recent years.
M.L. Stedman’s novel, The Light Between Oceans, is one of those with quite a bit of acclaim, and now that I have read it, it does seem to be well-earned.
The story takes the reader to Australia just after the end of the First World War where we meet a former soldier named Tom Sherbourne. Tom takes a rather lonely job as a lighthouse keeper, but he has met a woman named Isabel and fallen in love. The two of them move out to some desolate coastline so Tom can take on his new duties. They have married and attempt to have a family, however each of the three pregnancies end tragically. Some years into this endeavor, a boat has washed ashore with a dead man and an infant girl who is very much alive. Tom and Isabel take her in and decide to raise the girl as their own, however the girl has a very brief past life, and a mother of her own who misses her very deeply. The fantasies of this family collide with the reality of this little girl’s origin, and it gets even messier from there.
This is one of those stories where there is not really a clear villain. No one has any evil intentions. The only real resolution is going to require what would seem to be an impossible amount of forgiveness from more than one character.
Stedman does a pretty decent job of setting the scene. She is apparently Australian, so she would likely know how to depict the setting. The characters are interesting and complex, and sometimes loyalties shift a bit throughout the story. It is definitely one of those novels where any book club is likely going to contain some pretty lively discussions on morality and forgiveness.
Stedman has a pretty decent if unremarkable prose style. She just constructed a pretty fascinating scenario and populated it with characters who are multi-faceted.
There is some reliance on a pretty unlikely set of coincidences that were at times difficult to suspend my disbelief, but I understand why so many fiction writers dop that. If I was writing my own novel, I am sure some critic would fairly be able to point that out in my hypothetical work.
Overall, I would recommend any habitual reader to slip this into their nightstand stack and actually get to it.
Next up, I will be returning to Los Angeles as depicted by crime fiction writer Michael Connelly. Former LAPD detective Harry Bosch has a chance to solve a case that has haunted him for years. He and Renee Ballard join forces to close some cold cases in Desert Star.
The Sontarans vs. Rutans saga continues with another enjoyable audio drama from Big Finish Productions. This time, the Doctor Who range pits the Sixth Doctor against the Sontarans again in Born to Die by Tiegan Byrne. Colin Baker is back behind the mic and is joined by India Fisher reprising her role as Charlotte Pollard. Jon Culshaw, Christopher Ryan, and Dan Starkey make up the guest past portraying various Sontarans.
This is the Big Finish era where Charley is keeping the rather peculiar secret that she has already traveled with the Doctor in his future. The TARDIS has brought them to the planet of Taxodon where they come across a Sontaran who dies under mysterious circumstances. The Doctor has a chance of prove their innocence, but he discovers that a race is in captivity due to the Sontarans experimenting with their natural ability to camouflage. He also finds another experiment which appears to be at the behest of the Rutans, and not every Sontaran may be as he appears.
This has been an interesting little mini-series. Colin Baker is quite engaging as usual. India Fisher still sounds great as Charley Pollard even though she is over twenty years older than when she started playing the role. The story is pretty good as well. Byrne is at least a competent writer who knows how to run with an interesting idea. It was kind of fun to hear the Doctor paired with a Sontaran who is acting in a kind of Watson-esque role.
The episode itself isn’t necessarily a stand-out, but the performances and the overall idea of examining some aspects of the endless war between the Sontarans and the Rutans does make it worthy of collecting and revisiting from time to time.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga manages to not be one of those mistaken decisions to continue a cinematic franchise further than necessary even though it is a fifth film in a series. George Miller directs this film as he has all of the previous ones. He has co-written this script with Nico Lathouris. This film is a prequel to the famous Mad Max series of films that had previously starred Mel Gibson. Tom Hardy took on the role in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road. In that film, Charlize Theron portrayed Furiosa, a girl who was once abducted from an idyllic home in the midst of a dystopic wasteland following a nuclear catastrophe.
This latest film takes the audience back to Furiosa’s early years and then up to the point where she is encountered by Mad Max and audiences in the last installment. Anya Taylor-Joy has taken over the role and is joined by Chris Hemsworth, who plays the main antagonist known as Dr. Dementus. Other members of the grimy cast include Tom Burke, Lachy Hulme, Angus Sampson, and Nathan Jones.
Furiosa is abducted by a group of marauders who answer to a warlord named Dr. Dementus. Her mother, who made a valiant and bloody attempt to rescue her, is murdered leaving Furiosa in captivity for several years. She is able to make her escape sometime after being bargained off to another warlord known as Immortan Joe. She has grown to a very dangerous and cunning woman who wants to return to her home known as the Green Place. Furiosa has some unfinished business with Dementus. There will be a lot of wrecked vehicles and gruesome deaths before that business is concluded.
First of all, the stunt work is truly first rate. Movie goers are not used to seeing Hemsworth in a villainous role; however, he really delivers an impressive performance here. Taylor-Joy does pretty well here, but I sometimes felt that the make-up crew really had a hard time making her look as grimy as the others. She just does not look hardened enough even after she matures throughout the movie for me to buy into some of the fight scenes. Taylor-Joy is a pretty good actress, and she by no means sinks the ship here, but I am not sure she really was the best option for this particular role. The overall world created and realized by Miller does help considerably in not making that casting decision too much of a distraction. Taylor-Joy is of course a beautiful actress, but there is something a little more distinctive about her looks that sets her apart from many of her colleagues. I have seen enough of her in other films to acknowledge that she is talented and interesting enough to hold my attention. Her casting for this role is a bit of a head scratcher for me, but it’s not a major irritation.
The film does sometimes feel a little too long, but some of that was due to not being all that clear as to the timeline. I had some trouble keeping up with the passage of time in the story. It was a little jarring when Furiosa revealed the amount of time that had passed toward the end of the film, but I will not give too much away there.
As mentioned before, Hemsworth really went for the jugular with his part. Dementus more than lives up to his moniker, but there were interesting moments of something resembling humanity as some of his history is exposed.
George Miller has created a crazy cinematic world and manages to still write a pretty compelling script. I think his exploration of the collapse of society and just utter moral decay is pretty fascinating. The cinematography was great as well. The characters were weird and far-fetched, but they could be rather chilling as well.
The film does have a few questionable elements, but most of it still works. I think most real fans of George Miller and this particular franchise are going to have some legitimate reasons to enjoy it.
Big Finish Productions returns to Tom Baker’s era Doctor Who with the audio drama release Storm of the Sea Devils, which turns out to be quite enjoyable, which is not surprising with this version of the Time Lord. Nicholas Briggs returns to the director’s seat. There are actually two stories in this audio set. Baker is joined by Christopher Naylor as Harry Sullivan, who was originally portrayed by the late Ian Marter. Eleanor Crooks is a recent addition to the TARDIS crew in this range as Naomi Cross.
Storm of the Sea Devils is written by David K Barnes. The guest cast includes Tracy Wiles, Silas Carson. Nicholas Briggs, and Satnam Bhogal. Although some previous audio dramas have included Harry Sullivan and Naomi Cross, this one actually sets up their meeting. For Harry, he also is reunited with the Fourth Doctor. He is supposed to be in holiday in Calcutta, but Naomi Cross intercepts him and wants him to look into the sudden cancellation of a new hotel’s opening. There have also been sightings of strange figures that appear familiar to UNIT. The Doctor is also on hand conducting his own investigations. There is a mysterious prisoner at the hotel, and its continued internment may have dire consequences for the human race.
The fact that Tom Baker is in the lead is already going to give this story a huge advantage, but the episode does get even better than that. The Sea Devils are an interesting adversary because, like the Silurians, they are part of a civilization that thrived on Earth well before the humans came along. The Sea Devils are not necessarily driven by the most evil of motivations, but they are still dangerous, especially when one of their number is in captivity. Naomi Cross is becoming one of the better creations by Big Finish as a companion to the Time Lord. Crooks has an interesting voice and is developing some nice chemistry with Harry. There is also a fantastic scene with just her and the Doctor in which the Doctor uses a bit of subterfuge to convince the Sea Devils that not all humans operate out of a sense of fear or bigotry. That was really well written and of course performed brilliantly by the pair.
I have to say that Naylor is doing quite well capturing the essence of Ian Marter’s portrayal of Harry Sullivan. I am a little ambivalent about Harry’s presence in the television series, but the writers for Big Finish make him more interesting as a character.
Storm of the Sea Devils does a great job of blending some of the traditions of the Fourth Doctor’s era with something fresh, most notably the inclusion of Naomi Cross.
Then we get to Worlds Beyond written by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky. The guest cast is comprised of Anthony Howell, Amaka Okafor, Oscar Pearce, and David Shaw-Parker.
Naomi Cross gets her first trip in the TARDIS with Harry Sullivan and the Doctor. They find themselves in a resort world where the holidays are custom-made after a brain scan. The Doctor has a stimulating chess match with Alan Turing while his companions find other diversions. Since they are traveling in the TARDIS, this idyllic getaway has a terrifying secret, and the Doctor will have to fight for his mind to keep it from being fed upon by a dangerous alien presence.
This story is pretty good as well, but not quite as engaging as the first one. The cast, as usual, are up to the job. The Doctor encountering historical figures is almost always a delight. Of course, when that Doctor is played by Tom Baker, one is not quite certain how the entertainment will be enhanced, but it never becomes a disappointment. This one may take another play for me to grasp some elements of the plot better. Still, it’s a solid contribution for the range, but it’s not just that uniquely memorable.
The release as a whole is well worth the time. The sound effects are beautifully realized, but one is always able to predict that when Big Finish puts something out. Crooks is likely going to turn out to be one of my favorite casting decisions. I have heard some other Naomi Cross episodes and have grown to like her more with each episode. It is great to have Harry Sullivan continue to be represented, even with the original actor no longer able to step to the mic.
Storm of the Sea Devils is likely to be a favorite of mine of the 2024 Big Finish releases.
Shadows Have Offended is a pretty mediocre entry into the catalog of Star Trek: The Next Generation novel range. The writer responsible for this fairly disappointment reading experience is Cassandra Rose Clarke.
While the Enterprise is having to take some prominent guests to Betazed for some cultural ceremony, an away team comprised of Commander Riker, Dr. Crusher, and Lt, Commander Data are sent to a planet called Kota to assist after the commanding officer of a science station is killed in a storm. There is also a strange affliction affecting the crew there, and even the android Data is not immune to the effects. Captain Picard is having to contend with the overly amorous mother of Counselor Deanna Troi. The ceremony is interrupted by the theft of some cultural Betazoid artifacts. Lt Worf and Counselor Troi start the investigation while Picard copes with the panic of the crowd.
I know that I shouldn’t set the bar all that high for a Star Trek novel, but this one was just a little too bland for my liking. Part of my disdain is likely due to it taking place in the seventh season of the television series where the producers through it would be a good idea to have Troi and Worf engage in some kind of romantic relationship. It just seemed like such a stupid idea back then, and Clarke does little to make it more palatable.
Anyway, I suppose some Star Trek novel readers may find some reason to appreciate this effort from Clarke, and it’s probably not the worst in the series, but it certainly is on the lower rung of quality. If one must read it, keep the expectations low.
`Next up, I will be looking for the source of The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman.
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