“Beautiful Boy” stars Steve Carell as a father trying to save his son from the grip of drug addiction.  Timothee Chalamat plays the son who outs himself and his family through all sorts of emotional hell on this devastating journey.

I have not experienced this first hand.  I do work with drug addicts in my professional life and have been through some training courses on the matter.  I have some distant family members who have fallen into the trap over the years.  There have been people in my life who have died because of their inability to quash this compulsion.

Although it is hard to say that this movie is enjoyable, I will say that it was well-made and seems to have been well-researched.  It is based on the experiences chronicled by David and Nic Sheff.  There was some effort to infuse some actual data about the biological effects that drug use can have on people.

The movie also explores the notion of the addict can’t be saved by anyone except himself once he is ready to really accept the help.

The performances were powerful, Carell plays the turmoil that most loving fathers in this predicament must experience quite convincingly.  Chalamat certainly held up his end quite well.  Maura Tierney was quite good as Sheff’s second wife and steep=mother to young, hapless Nic.  Tierney is always good so that’s no surprise.  I was surprised to see Timothy Hutton in a brief turn as the doctor trying to explain the scientific side of drug addiction to David.

The film seemed to have done the information down pretty well.  I am no expert on drug addiction, but the material seemed to have lined up quite well with what I have been taught over the years and have heard from addicts.

There were some flashback scenes that were a little sudden at times.  It’s one of those films that starts with a startling conversation and then backtracks to catch the audience up.

It’s a tough movie to watch sometimes, but it is an important one. Sadly, there are too many families in the world that will find this agonizingly familiar.  It may not be the most joyous of cinematic diversions, however it is an enlightening and emotionally powerful one.

“The Thinking Log” by R. Rachel Gauna is a bit of a departure from my usual preferred reading selections.  It is a self-published novel by an Amarillo author and is about a very tumultuous and perplexing relationship between two people who have been a part of each other’s lives for years.  I had to put aside some preconceptions and prejudices that usually involve self-published novels, however I had met the author since she sets up a kiosk at the local mall and enjoyed talking to her.  I went into reading this thing with some trepidation because you know, “what if it’s no good?”. I was rather relieved to find that this lady can write and started caring about the characters and the outcome of the story more than just being too compulsive to not leave a book unfinished.  If only that compulsion manifested in my own writing aspirations!

The story begins from the perspective of Liberty Rose Anderson as she relates the rather complicated and heart-rending path her love for Adam leads her down.  This seems to be about how complicated people are even when their actions are quite loathsome.  It would be easy to dismiss the complexities of human interactions and affections and judge Libby for getting roped back into what turns out to be a pretty toxic situation rather harshly. however I have been known of several situations like this and have been involved first hand in some.  To be fair, nothing with quite so much far-reaching tragic consequences as depicted in this novel.

Anyway, there times where the story can fool one into thinking it’s fairly predictable. Although some of the roads are not unknown in literary fiction, Gauna does manage to throw some emotional gut punches that kept me hooked.

Not all of it is told in a very linear fashion.  There are some tricky flashback scenes where I did have to backtrack a bit to get my bearings.  There were some side characters that I found interesting enough to wish for a bit more development while a few others I thought were given a little too much attention.

As despicable as Adam’s actions could get, I couldn’t bring myself to hate him entirely, which I think is a goal the author wanted to achieve.  I also think I have mishandled personal and romantic situations bad enough for me to somewhat sympathize.  Not wholly sympathize, but somewhat.  Once again, it brings home the lesson that people are complicated.  It is possible to actually love someone and somehow keep inexplicably hurting them, even more than just physical abuse.  Adam comes off as a likeable guy, but he’s selfish and careless.

Although it is easy to see Libby as sort of the victim of Adam’s reckless approach to relationships and love, she still has her flaws in spite of the descriptions of her generous and forgiving nature.  Even sweet, naïve, reliable Libby has some shades of grey in her as well, which also emphasizes makes her more relatable for the reader.

This isn’t something that leaves you with a lot of warmth and happiness  by the end, however it doesn’t leave one entirely in despair either.  As mentioned before, it highlights the complications of people and their efforts to connect with each other, to build lives together, and to forgive each other.

If anyone who lives in Amarillo, or will be in Amarillo, up to the end of this year R. Rachel Gauna will be standing post at her kiosk at Westgate Mall with quite a few books left to sell.  I would recommend saying hello to her and checking out her first book. I also think it’s a great opportunity to support local creative talent and try out something new. Meeting Gauna and reading her first piece is a great way to do that.

“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak will be the next step on my journey of literary diversions.

“Demons of the Punjab” is another Doctor Who episode which stars Jodie Whittaker in her first year. Finally, there is a story written by someone other than head writer, Chris Chibnall.  Vinay Patel presents a story where Yasmin Khan convinces the Doctor to take her back to 1947 India where she could meet her grandmother in her younger years.  Yasmin learns a secret in her grandmother’s past and is not sure that history will unfold correctly so she would be born.

Meanwhile, the Doctor learns of an alien presence observing events as the Partition of India occurs and a murder complicates matters even further.  Mandip Gill performs well enough as this episode centers on her character.

I was hoping for something a bit more above average since Chibnall does not have or share writing credit, however the season of mediocrity marches on. It’s too bad this episode did not grab me more because there was some basic ideas that I could appreciate and have wanted in this episode.  It had new aliens and it explored a fairly not commonly discussed piece of history.

There ended up not being much the Doctor needed to do once answers were revealed. The other companions played by Tosin Cole and Bradley Walsh were fine.  Walsh, in particular, still engages me the most out of the four main cast members.

I think it’s getting long past time that Whittaker’s version of the Doctor get into a real fight with an adversary where there is no doubt about the dark and corrupt intentions.

I was never a proponent of the Doctor changing gender, but I am having more problems with the types of stories being told this year.  I really wanted to enjoy this series in spite of the reservations concerning the direction and production decisions.  If BBC wants to keep going with Whittaker in the lead role and the rest of the main cast, there needs to be some overhaul concerning the writing and overall direction of the series..

I am ready to be more impressed than this.

“The Girl in the Spider’s Web” is a film adapted from a novel written by David Lagercrantz who has continued the series first created by the late Stieg Larsson.

Claire Foy takes on the role of genius computer hacker and vigilante, Lisbeth Salander. It was a decent enough casting choice.  I was not so impressed with this version of Salander’s  friend and former lover, Mikael Blomkvist, played by Sverrir Gudnason.

Fede Alvarez is the director who delivers an unfortunately average cinematic experience. It could have been worse.  The criticism from professional film reviewers is well-deserved, however I was relieved that I didn’t end up hating it. I wish I could have enjoyed it more

There seems to be some problems with the editing of the film. Also, the relationship between Salander and Mikael was not explained all that well.  In the initial trilogy, Lisbeth was on trial for murder. She also endured some very significant abuse in her childhood and has a very complicated background.

The film was not a complete disaster, but it was a long way from a triumph.

 

“Overlord” mixes the war film with horror…of the supernatural kind. The screenplay is presented by Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith that is brought to the screen under the direction of Julius Avery.

A group of WWW II paratroopers survive an air attack and are out to destroy a radio tower in the heart of Germany, an act which will aid the Allies in their struggle against the Nazis.

Jivan Adepo plays a young private who infiltrates the compound but finds that the denizens of a nearby village are subjects of some ghastly experiments.  By that, I mean experiments more terrible and implausible than those recorded by history.

Let’s face it…the story is rather ridiculous, but I ended up enjoying it more than I expected when I just started to roll with it.  The visual effects were impressive. The mutated results of the experiments were quite formidable and appropriately disgusting.

Those that made up the surviving squad members were a little cliché but likeable. There were even some quite heroic moments from the American soldiers in the face of even more horrors of war.

Pilou Asbaek plays the repulsive lead villain and does well enough even when it seems to have gone over the top.

The performances were pretty solid.  There are some glaring historical inaccuracies, but I found myself being more tolerant of them as the film progressed.

As with any film of this sort, it’s not a masterpiece, but it serves its purpose as being a macabre yet reasonably entertaining distraction from the pressures of real life.

 

“The Dalek Occupation of Winter” is a Doctor Who audio play from Big Finish Productions.  Peter Purves and Maureen O’Brien share narration duties as well as reprising their roles of Steven and Vicki, respectively. Purves also delivers a very solid impression of the First Doctor, as played by the long departed William Hartnell.  David K Barnes writes this latest release from the Early Adventures range of the vast catalog of audio dramas produced by Big Finish.  Although I can weary pretty quickly of the Daleks, this is one of the stronger efforts in the series.

O’Brien seems to have done well with finding her younger voice since she first Vicki in the mid-1960’s. Purves also does well to distinguish his various roles in this release from each other.

All of the guest cast did well, but I thought Robert Daws was quite effective as the sycophantic Ganus Majorian , the leader of this isolated colony who seem to have entered a peculiar cooperative relationship with the dreaded Daleks.

The Doctor and his companions arrive in a city called Winter which is located on some unnamed distant planet somewhere in the universe with another group of citizens who sound remarkably British.  Actually, the story is good enough for me to forgive these implausible circumstances quite readily, but it amuses me to point them out anyway.  The lack of background on the locale isn’t all that troublesome either, or all that unusual in Doctor Who.  Anyway, the Doctor and company are further perplexed and then suspicious when they find the Daleks there as well apparently being in service to this colony. Also, the planet is perpetually frigid with 500 year long winters.  Only one city seems to have been established on this world. I love these sorts of settings in spite of the unlikelihood. Besides it gives the Daleks a great locale to cause some trouble.

Anyway, the Daleks haven’t really changed as much as things appear in this story, but I thought there was real effort to have a little originality to their appearance in this story. If it’s one thing the Daleks need these days, it’s a bit more originality.

The performances were just solid and engaging all around. There were some very creepy and appropriately horrific moments that unfolded that were realized well by the writing and sound production.  I thought there were some moments that sort of went a little beyond what audiences would have seen on television during that era, but don’t take that as criticism. I liked the effort to really stoke my imagination beyond what I would have expected to have seen if this episode actually aired during the appropriate era of the television series.

I really enjoyed this release and would encourage any other fan to not give this one a pass.

“The Sniper” is a 1952 thriller released by Stanley Kramer Productions and was directed by Edward Dmytryk.  Harry Brown wrote the screenplay from a story conceived by Edna and Edward Anhalt.  Arthur Franz plays the psychotic sharpshooter, Eddie Miller, who stirs up panic in San Francisco by shooting women from afar.

The film also stars Adolphe Menjou, Richard Kiley, and Marie Windsor. Menjou plays the lead detective, Frank Kafka. I am not sure that anything really stands out in the character, but I somehow liked him regardless

The film has plenty of interesting ideas, particularly for the time it was released.  It seems to have one of the first to really explore the psychology of a serial killer. It tackled the issue of those who kill for sexual pleasure, although that motive for Eddie Miller is not entirely prevalent.  Kiley plays a psychologist who is consulting with the police and can get a little off-putting with the delivery of his insights at times. I am not sure if that was the intent of the character, but he evoked a bit of an eyeroll from me sometimes.

Franz’s performance was pretty compelling for the most part.  He was quite convincing portraying Eddie Miller’s downtrodden demeanor.  Miller’s disdain for women was quite evident and but also managed to come across as over the top.  It was a pretty solid portrayal for the most part.

The movie does have some problems through. Some of the investigative practices employed by the police seems to be lacking in research from the producers.  There seemed to be contrived scenes providing the opportunity for the writers to share their views on how to treat suspected sex offenders in the criminal justice system. I was impressed that such ideas were conveyed in a film that was made in 1950’s.  I did get distracted by the implausibility of moments such as having various known sex offenders in a line-up and some guy basically heckling them, discussing their cases in front of the other suspects as well as the large group of police officers in the room.  It was an odd moment which I was not sure was all that realistic even for that time.

The film has its share of shortcomings, but it takes some chances that were interesting.  The performances overall weren’t bad in spite of the problems I had in suspending my disbelief.

There was also a bit of silliness such as the killer reaching out to the police warning them that he needed to be stopped.  Miller was written as someone in the grip of mental illness, yet knowing that he was wrong to be executing these women.

The ending is rather strangely abrupt as well, however I think it was just unique enough for me to appreciate it.

I would say that this film should not be overlooked because there was some effort to make it unique for its time.  Not all of it was executed well, but not all of it failed either.

“Three Doors To Death” is a trio of novellas by Rex Stout which feature the deductive talents of oversized private investigator Nero Wolfe. It was first collected and published in one volume in 1950.  Archie Goodwin is the assistant and narrator of stories who often has to goad his employer into working.  They reside in a brownstone on W 35th Street in New York City.  Wolfe is as curmudgeonly and eccentric as they come.  He rarely leaves the comforts of his home.  Business is not to be discussed at mealtime, and nothing is to get in the way of his care for the orchids planted on the roof.

This is not a series where the main characters are subject to change or grow, but it’s a fun series to read in spite of the implausibility of it all.

“Man Alive” is the first story in this little volume where Wolfe and Archie find that a faked death is the prelude to a real murder in the world of fashion.  A young heiress is under scrutiny for the death of her uncle who was thought to have killed himself earlier. I found this to be the strongest story in this set.

“Omit Flowers” has Wolfe doing a favor for a friend to solve the murder of a public relations supervisor for a restaurant chain known as Ambrosia. The police have a suspect, but Wolfe is convinced that he should make sure that the right man is on the hook.  It’s not a bad story but nothing too outstanding. That’s rather par for the course for this story.

“Door to Death” concludes this collection and has Wolfe getting more exercise than usual. He and Archie need to find a substitute for the man who cares for Wolfe’s precious orchids.  They have to leave the city to interview a potential replacement when a dead woman is discovered in the greenhouse. This story is fairly unique in that Wolfe himself makes a rare excursion outside of his brownstone.

One of the more amusing features is a foreword where Archie reminds the reader that his formidable employer does not solve murders for the thrill of it.  In two of the stories, Wolfe doesn’t receive any monetary award for his efforts, however he doesn’t habitually exercise his superior brainpower unless his accounts are going to see some replenishment.

It’s a good enough addition to the series with some amusing quips and banter. Even if the plots are by the numbers, the interactions between the main protagonists and others who encounter them whether they need help or questioning are enjoyable enough for me to recommend this or any other opportunity to meet Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin.

I will be next be trying out the debut novel of an Amarillo author by the name of R. Rachel Guana entitled “The Thinking Log”.  I hope it’s good because I have met this lady, and she seems nice.

“The Dispossessed” is a Doctor Who audio play released by Big Finish Productions and is written by Mark Morris.  Sylvester McCoy returns alongside Sophie Aldred and Bonnie Langford.

The Doctor, Ace, and Melanie Bush find a portal to a world that has no daylight where an alien feeds on others’ life energy leaving them as walking husks.  The Doctor gets separated from his companions, as usual.  Mel and Ace do get to stick together throughout most of the story, which I thought worked pretty well.  Langford and Aldred make a pretty engaging team.

There is not much particularly remarkable about the story, but it still manages to be reasonably enjoyable.  The sound effects are well realized.  Nick Ellsworth seems to have a good deal fun as the stranded and powerful being known as Arkallax. I rather liked that the Doctor had a temporary companion in form of a character known as Ruck, played by Morgan Watkins. I usually find it interesting when the Doctor has to work with someone new to fill the companion role when he is either separated from his usual buddies or traveling alone.

It’s a fine story, but it doesn’t particularly stand out other for the most part.

“The Tsuranga Conundrum” is the fifth episode of the eleventh series of the revived Doctor Who in which Jodie Whittaker stars as the Doctor.  Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, and Mandip Bill play the new companions in the TARDIS.

The Doctor and her friends are injured by a sonic mine on some kind of junk planet in the 67th century and wake up on board a hospital ship taking them away from the TARDIS.  They encounter the two crewmembers on board a mostly automated vessel and the various patients including a man about to give birth and a well-known general of that time keeping secrets as to her health.

Things take a much more problematic turn when some kind of weird space gremlin shows up and starts eating its way through the ship.

Head writer Chris Chibnall turns in another pretty average installment, although there are some minor improvements.  The Doctor gets to show off her vast experience and knowledge when discussing the workings of the ship.  The only threat to the crew is from a new alien called the Pting. I do appreciate the effort to create new aliens for the Doctor to face, although this one wasn’t really intelligent, and couldn’t communicate on a level for the audience to witness some type of verbal sparring between it and the Doctor.

This was what was once dubbed a “base under siege” story with a small group of people trapped in a tight setting with a threat of destruction looming over them.

The appearance of the Pting is a little hard to take as a serious threat.  The guest cast was pretty good.  I rather liked Suzanne Packer’s role of General Eve Cicero.  The general is accompanied by an android consort and her younger brother.  The strained relationship between the siblings was well played.  I could have done without the pregnant man who is from an alien race, but that turned out to not be entirely intolerable.

Bradley Walsh continues to be a favorite casting choice so far.  The two younger main cast members are fine.  I am still hoping to see some moments where Whittaker’s version of the Doctor really makes a unique impression.  So far, she hasn’t made me want to smash my television in frustration but I have yet to be convinced that it was entirely necessary to cast a woman in the role after 55 years of the series’ existence.  I guess I will never think it necessary, but I have yet to feel pleasantly surprised at the effectiveness of such a decision.

There are some engaging moments in this episode, but overall it continues Chibnall’s string of mediocre contributions.