“The Moons of Vulpana” is a Doctor Who audio drama written by Emma Reeves and stars Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor.  This is the second adventure in a trilogy where he is accompanied by star-crossing werewolf known as Mags, played once again by Jessica Martin.  Beth Goddard and Peter Bankole are part of the guest cast. Of course, Big Finish Productions are the distributors with a vast and still growing collection of these adventures.

The Doctor brings Mags to her own planet of Vulpana in the distant past where the Four Great Wolf Packs each worship one of the four moons orbiting the civilizations.  Mags founds out that she is considered to be rather high born and worthy of embarrassing amount of respect, however there is a traitor in the midst, and the Doctor has his own plans as well.

This particular story takes a bit to get going.  There is also a good amount of time where the Doctor seems to get sidelined, which works well enough with some of the more established companions.  I am not sure I was that pleased with the decision since Mags is still quite new as a TARDIS crewmember.  Mags of course was first seen in the television story “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy”, and someone at Big Finish Productions came up with the idea of learning of whatever happened to the punkish werewolf the Doctor and Ace first met as they discovered the secrets of the Psychic Circus.  It’s an interesting idea to explore, I suppose.  I don’t dislike Mags, but I am not all that enthralled with finding out her backstory.

Of course, McCoy’s performance and energy does help me find some enjoyment in this even if I found the story itself hovering around the average level.  In spite of my misgivings about this particular, I did get a bit more interested in the final episode when the family drama among the guest characters come to a head.

Anyway, this particular episode is a reasonably good diversion but not one I will return to in a great hurry.

“The Captain’s Oath” is the latest Star Trek novel by Christopher L. Bennett which explores the earlier years of James Kirk’s starship command.  This novel postulates that before Kirk succeeded Captain Christopher Pike of the Starship Enterprise, he commanded the USS Sacagawea NCC-598 where he first met Dr. Leonard McCoy.

The premise here explores the growth of Kirk from an untried starship captain to the beginnings of the more familiar Starfleet legend.  The novel jumps between the periods just after Kirk accepts command of the Enterprise back to his tour aboard the Sacagawea.

This turned out to be a pretty intriguing read.  In his acknowledgements, Bennett seems to reference some throwaway line in the original television series which inspired this little saga.  Bennett comes up with some other characters from Kirk’s past that influences his command style, and they seem to work quite well.  This also explores the early days of the renowned friendship between Kirk and a certain Vulcan science officer who would come to be by his side for decades.

There have been a few other attempts to explore Kirk’s early days before audiences met him onscreen in previous novels and I would count this one of the better efforts.

My next literary port of call will be a return to the perilous streets of Los Angeles where LAPD Detective Harry Bosch discovers the secrets of “The Black Box” by Michael Connelly.

“Spider-Man: Far From Home” is the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise and reunites Tom Holland, Zendaya, and several other familiar faces from the previous Spider-Man movie.  Jon Watts is the director with Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers credited as screenwriters.  Jake Gyllenhaal joins the cast as Quintin Beck, otherwise known as Mysterio.  Samuel L. Jackson returns as Nick Fury, which is as welcome here as in previous appearances.  It was also good to see Cobie Smulders return as Agent Maria Hill.

Anyway, Peter Parker wants to take a break from being New York’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and enjoy his school trip starting off in Venice, Italy.  But trouble predictably follows the web-slinging hero when a creature known as the Water Elemental splashes onto the scene.  Then, a new hero known as Mysterio emerges to help defeat the watery menace.  Parker is then reluctantly recruited by Nick Fury to help fight the other Elementals which have arrived from another dimension pursued by Mysterio, supposedly.  Parker has his own plans to enjoy the trip with his friends and find the most romantic setting to reveal his heart for Zendaya’s MJ.  Anyway, Spider-Man is either about the emerge as the heir to the legacy of the recently deceased Tony Stark or he has become enmeshed in a monumental deception that compels him into a catastrophic mistake he must correct while protecting his friends.

This film was not quite as good as the predecessor, “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, however it was still more then worthwhile.  Holland does overplay Peter Parker’s awkwardness a little, but he is still fun to watch.  He actually seems to have pretty good comedic chemisry with Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, who plays best friend Ned Leeds.  Zendaya has the potential to be a bit of a scene-stealer.  Sure, she is a little overly sarcastic, but I rather liked her.

I also like Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, although this depiction is a very significant departure from the original conception in the comic books.  She gets herself into an unlikely romance with Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan.

The MCU films are known to have their more than fair share of humor, but this one loads up on the funnies, which was a nice reprieve from the emotional heaviness of the recent Avengers movies.

The coherence of the plot gets a little shaky at times, but the film still delivers a good time.  The visual effects are pretty convincing and do seem to match the images one would likely see on the comic pages.  Quite a few liberties are taken when compared to the original comic range canon, but enough of it is still recognizable to not be terribly upsetting.

The film has enough strengths in the performances and the humor to make the more questionable moments irrelevant.

“Dead Reckoning” is a noir crime film released in 1947 and stars the incomparable Humphrey Bogart alongside Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky, and William Prince.  John Cromwell is the director of this film which was written for the screen by Steve Fisher and Oliver H.P. Garrett.  The idea for the story is credited to Gerald Drayson Adams and Sidney Biddell.

The film starts off with Bogart, as Captain Warren “Rip” Murdock, stumbling into a church to meet with a former fellow World War II paratrooper who has donned the robes and collar of clergy.  Murdock has a story to tell in case the enemies he has made since returning from war catch up to him.

The flashback begins with Murdock’s friend disappears after learning he is to be awarded the Medal of Honor.  Murdock decides to conduct his own investigation and learned that his friend entered the military under an assumed name after being suspected of murder stemming from a love triangle involving a wealthy old man and his much younger  wife.  Lizabeth Scott plays the sultry, smoky-voiced blonde at the center of this mess. Of course, there is a crime boss in the mix as well. That role is taken on by Morris Carnovsky, who is fairly menacing in a campy sort of way.  He even has a psychopathic henchman to handle the familiar beatings given to so many of Bogart characters.

This kind of film is familiar territory for Bogart and he delivers his lines in that classic Bogart way.  Scott was okay as the femme fatale but some of the contemporaries of her time such as Rita Hayworth or Lauren Bacall could have sold it a little better.

This seemed to be standard Bogart fare.  I love the guy, but I am not sure he had that much of a range as an actor. I did get a kick out of the name of his character though.  Maybe I can name my hypothetical son Rip Murdock Kanelis.

The narration from the good captain became sort of intrusive as the story unfolds.  I am not sure that the whole business with the priest was all that necessary.  I found the overall cinematic viewing to be fairly average and just a bit disappointing.  Bogart himself is still the best ingredient in this particular concoction, but there is not much that felt all that unique.

“Yesterday” is a film that does not seem to fit easily into one common genre, but I suppose a romantic comedy with some fantasy sprinkled in would be an apt description. Danny Boyle is the director of this piece which was written by Richard Curtis.  Himesh Patel plays struggling songwriter Jack Malik as he tries to break into the music scene with his own material, however he can’t seem to find his break as he strums and sings his way through the pub scene and local festivals. Lily James and Kate McKinnon are part of the cast as they are also joined by Ed Sheeran and James Corden.  Robert Carlyle is also in this, but his role is a bit too much of a spoiler so I will hang on to that one.

Jack Malik is riding his bike one evening after a tough gig and is hit by a bus at the same time the world is inflicted with a brief global blackout.  During that time, something most peculiar has happened.  He finds that he is the only one who remembers the music of the Beatles along with other cultural institutions that seem to have been erased from the minds of those around him.  Malik makes the dubious decision to release the music he remembers as his own, and the fame and fortune start to tear him away from the one woman who believed in him.

I am not terribly familiar with Himesh Patel, but he seemed to be a good fit for this part. He puts forth quite a bit of sincerity to his tortured indecision at times.  He seemed to work well with Lily James.  Kate McKinnon was a little over the top, but that’s sort of what she does.  She was pretty good as the ruthless manager who steps in to bring Malik’s newfound talent into the limelight.

The movie does require a little patience at times, but it’s rather charming.  It was fun to see Malik stumble on to all of these cultural icons that the rest of humanity have forgotten.  In this movie, Coca-Cola never came to be, which is a shame.  It has an appropriate amount of eccentric and obnoxious characters.

It’s a pretty quirky movie that hits all the rights emotional chords of nostalgia.  The soundtrack was well chosen, although they’re basically celebrating the Beatles, so it’s hard to go wrong there.  There was a bit Ed Sheeran music as well. Sheeran was there playing himself, so that was not much of a stretch.  It was an amusing inclusion that worked well enough.

Fans of the Beatles should be largely pleased with this homage, but I think most movie goers will enjoy it.  It turned out to be a pretty good if occasionally perplexing movie.

“My Sister, the Serial Killer” is a novel by Nigerian author, Oyinkan Braithwaite.  It is told from the perspective of a young nurse named Korede, who has a prettier sister with a fatal method of ending relationships.  Family loyalty compels Korede to protect her sister by hiding the bodies and cleaning the scene.  Ayoola is the name of the killer beauty.

Braithwaite is a competent writer, but I felt that not much was resolved when the book ended.  I did have some sympathy for the hapless Korede and her predicament.  It was interesting when the comatose patient she was confiding in wakes up.  Ayoola is pretty spoiled and does not seem to appreciate the risks Korede takes to protect her gruesome extracurricular activities.

The book ended up being mildly interesting but a little unsatisfying.  Maybe Braithwaite tends to visit these people again. Anyway, it was still pretty cool to read a novel taking place in a locale that I have yet to see or study.  There did seem to be a lack of revelation concerning Nigerian culture though. The book works well enough as a diversion, but it could have used either a more definitive resolution or a better stated promise of a continuation.

Cristopher L. Bennett has come out with a new Star Trek novel that explores the early days of James Kirk’s command before he took the chair on the USS Enterprise.  “The Captain’s Oath” is up next on the literary trek through life.

“Out of the Darkness” is a trilogy of three Doctor Who audio readings featuring Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri.  I think this release was first published about twenty years ago as part of BBC Radio Collection.  I think a couple of the stories were first published in the “Short Trips” volumes several years ago.

The first story is “Moon Graffiti” by Dave Stone in which both Baker and Bryant share the narration.  The Doctor and Peri are caught in a struggle between humans in the far future and aliens known as the parachnids.  I remember Stone’s earlier contributions in the novel ranges and found him to have some of stranger offerings in the series, which is saying something for Doctor Who.  Baker and Bryant are both well practiced narrators and performers, but there was not much to make this all that memorable to me.

“Wish You Were Here” by Guy Clapperton was presented by Baker all on his own.  The Doctor looks in the disappearance of an old friend where he encounters an alien holiday camp and a strange robot Redcoat.  Once again, it is Baker’s somewhat bombastic delivery that helps me stay somewhat interested, however only somewhat.

“Vigil” by Michael Collier completes this little anthology and this time is read by Nicola Bryant all on her own.  The Doctor and Peri arrive in Hastings and find that a serial killer may be on the loose, or it could be something else more troubling.  This is probably the best of the three entries, but once again nothing to write home about.

This is fine for fans such as myself who just had never heard it before, but I am not sure there is much to really miss here.  There is nothing really horrible about it, and Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant are compelling readers and performers as they usually are on audio, but nothing really popped for me in the actual stories.

“Annabelle Comes Home” is the latest film in the franchise what has become known as the Conjuring Universe.  Gary Dauberman came up with the screenplay and directed the film which sees the return of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the adorable paranormal investigators and exorcists.  James Wan returns as producer and a co-story developer or something.  As far as the cast goes, we get to introduced to young Judy Warren, played by McKenna Grace.  Madison Iseman joins in the terror as the babysitter who gets too close of a look at the artifacts of the Warrens’ ghostly pursuits.  Katie Sarife is a lesser known actress who plays the babysitter’s best friends who unwittingly releases the unholy gifts of the demonic doll Annabelle.

There was some potential to make the main characters somewhat cliché here, however the female protagonists were quite likeable.  Even the somewhat naughty best friend was not beyond redemption.  McKenna Grace was a solid casting choice for her role as the Warrens’ daughter.  She is pretty but also has an appropriately unusual look that helped to sell her performance.  Of course, I am sure there is little that is unusual about the Grace’s features in real life, but she seemed a good fit for this type of film.

Iseman was also quite good as the compassionate, at times heroic babysitter.  It was a good choice to give Sarife a back story that was a bit heartbreaking.  Her character of Daniela had a little deeper motivation than her reckless demeanor would suggest.

These kind of movies typically portray teen-agers as quite shallow and somewhat deserving of their gruesome fates.  This film manages to avoid these clichés, which I found rather refreshing.  Yes, there are some of the goofy decisions made which is typical of these kind of films, but I didn’t hate any of the main characters and was rooting for them to outfox the malevolent Annabelle.

The elder Warrens are largely absent in this film, and I found myself missing them a bit, however the three girls at the center of the supernatural maelstrom are interesting enough for me to not get too distracted by that.

There were some pretty effective scares once the spirits are unleashed from the locked room where the Warrens’ keep their souvenirs.  The movie isn’t without its predictability though.

Look, this isn’t the greatest of all horror movies, but I think it works well enough for the most part.  I have mentioned before that it is nice to see a married couple who are united in their goals and willing to support and indeed save each other from the spooks and ghouls they encounter.  It’s an unusual genre to find such support for the idea of committed marriage in a Hollywood production, but I like the Warrens and hope there are some more films to come with them, and I think McKenna Grace could join in as well.

Now these movies are based on an actual couple who apparently looked into these kind of cases.  I am sure there are plenty of Hollywood liberties taken in the depiction of Ed and Lorraine, but I don’t have any complaints.

It’s a pretty good time for those of use who have a twisted enjoyment of the macabre. Until next time, Annabelle….

“The Kiss” is a 1929 film with an interesting history.  It is one of the last of the silent films released by MGM and was also the final one to feature Greta Garbo before her transition into the “talkers”.  Jacques Feyder is the director of this piece which was written by Hanns Kraly.  Conrad Nagel, Lew Ayres, and Anders Randolf are included in the cast as well.

Garbo plays a young woman in an unhappy marriage who is having an affair with a successful lawyer.  When a much younger man also has his eye on the admittedly lovely Irene, the husband walks in and ends up dead.  The police do not believe her claims that her husband killed himself and charge her with murder. Remember when I mentioned that her lover was an attorney?  Yeah, he gets the unenviable task of representing her in court.

The plot falls a bit on the cheesy side,  but the performances were pretty good.  Garbo certainly had the looks where it was believable that she was worth all of this angst and controversy.  The historical significance of this film makes it a bit more fascinating as well.  I would not recommend watching this lying on the couch after a busy weekend since the music can be rather hypnotic, and one doesn’t have the benefit of raised voices suddenly breaking in to grab the wandering mind.

It’s a film that works quite well for the era it was released and has a pretty fascinating legacy for the real film historians.

“The Masters of Luxor” is a Doctor Who audio play released a few years ago by Big Finish Productions as part of the Lost Stories range.  Nigel Robinson adapted a script that was originally conceived by Anthony Coburn.  This story has an interesting history in that it was supposed to have been the second television serial if another more intriguing adventures known as “The Daleks” had not have been broadcast instead.  William Russell and Carole Ann Ford reprise their roles as Ian Chesterton and Susan, respectively, as well as share narration duties.  Joseph Kloska joins them as a guest actor portraying several characters, but most notably as the not so aptly named The Perfect One.

The Doctor and his companions are drawn to a seemingly dead world by a mysterious signal and find a vast dormant army of robots. Then, a creation of theirs known as the Perfect One reveals himself and has some plans to make himself more human which does not bode well for the TARDIS crew.

This adventure has six parts, and I am not sure this story needed to be that long. It seemed to move at a slow crawl at times.  Ford and Russell are both effective storytellers so that helped a little.  Russell, of course, has to stand in for the late William Hartnell as the First Doctor and does his best.  He’s pretty impressive anyway for doing these performances when he is closing on a century of life.

The sound effects and musical score were effectively realized, but Big Finish almost always comes through with the technical requirements.

It’s a worthy addition for Doctor Who fans who appreciate the very early years, but it just seems longer than necessary.