What Happened to Monday (2017)

What Happened to Monday (2017)

Director:

Tommy Wirkola

Starring:

Noomi Rapace

Glenn Close

Willem Dafoe

Plot:

In a world where families are limited to one child due to overpopulation, a set of identical septuplets must avoid being put to a long sleep by the government and dangerous infighting while investigating the disappearance of one of their own.

Review:

After watching the trailer I was hoping for more of an action based movie about sisters that work seamlessly together to thwart their government. That’s close to the exact opposite of what I got.

About a third of the way through I realized I would not be getting a super happy ending and then just over halfway through I figured out what was going on but continued watching in the hopes I was wrong. I was not and it was a bit depressing.

The movie did end on a slightly positive note for the sisters, but for the world as a whole it was pretty negative.

The acting was good, so at least it had that going for it.

2.5/5

Triple Threat (Lois Lane #3) By: Gwenda Bond

Still loving these covers, the hardcover is awesome

 

Triple Threat (Lois Lane #3) By: Gwenda Bond

Plot:

For the first time, Lois Lane has almost everything she wants. Non-temporary home? Check. Dream job? Double check. Incredible BFFs? The absolute best. And now, her online crush, SmallvilleGuy, is coming to Metropolis. If all goes well, they’ll turn their long-distance friendship into a some-kind-of-fairy-tale romance. But when does all ever go well? Before she can check boyfriend off her list, Lois must take down a mad scientist plus a trio of mutant teens, protect the elusive flying man from the feds (including her dad), and navigate her very first date with SmallvilleGuy. In the follow-up to FALLOUT and DOUBLE DOWN, Gwenda Bond’s reimagination of DC Comics’s first leading lady takes on her toughest challenge yet: Love.

Review:

One of the things I love most about this series is the lack of teenage angst and drama. It’s not a complete lack, but it’s not enough to be annoying, just believable. Sadly, “Triple Threat” changed all that and there was a definite increase in the angst and drama. It wasn’t a ton, but it was enough to affect how much I enjoyed the story.

Lois spent a lot of time worrying that she was keeping too many secrets, but then didn’t really stop until forced too. She also spent a lot of time reacting emotionally to the fact that she finally gets to meet her online boyfriend. That was mostly alright, though. We also got to meet TheInventor, who was not who I thought he was going to be, but as soon as he was revealed I mentally kicked myself.

The story itself was the weakest of the series so far. It felt rushed at the end and I’m not sure if Lois’s story would have been accepted by a paper with the reputation of The Planet, but then I recently watched Newsroom and I could just be projecting their high ideals.

Things were quickly resolved, but there were still questions, and it left me feeling like I’d skipped pages, only I hadn’t.

Overall, the series is excellent. I would love books like this set with these characters only as adults. For now I will keep reading their teenage versions, especially if Gwenda Bond keeps writing them.

3.5/5

The Orville (2017-?)

The Orville (2017-?)

Network:

Fox

Starring:

Seth MacFarlane

Adrianne Palicki

Penny Johnson Jerald

Plot:

Follows the crew of the not-so-functional exploratory ship in the Earth’s interstellar fleet, 400 years in the future.

Review:

I honestly have nothing to add to the hundreds of reviews that are already out there for this pilot. It was like a Star Trek work drama with comedy thrown in. If it had stuck to one thing, drama or comedy, it might not have been that bad, but just when it would start to be alright as a drama it would throw in crude humor. It was unbalanced and if the goal was for a dramedy it failed.

I didn’t like the pilot much, but I like the concept enough that I’ll give it a couple more episodes.

2/5

Fate of Perfection (Finding Paradise #1) By: K.F. Breene

Fate of Perfection (Finding Paradise #1) By: K.F. Breene

Plot:

In a corporate-controlled future where the ruling conglomerates genetically engineer their employees, Millicent Foster is the best of the best.

Physically perfect and exceptionally intelligent, Millicent is granted the uncommon privilege of breeding. But her daughter inherits more than superior genetics…little Marie has a rare ability that the world has never seen, and her conglomerate, Moxidone, will stop at nothing to have sole possession of the child.

Teamed with Ryker, the formidable master of security, Millicent must risk everything in a life-and-death struggle to tear her daughter away from the ruling force who wants to own them all. The odds are stacked against them, but Moxidone will learn that the pursuit of perfection comes at a perilous cost—and that love can’t be bought at any price.

Review:

I had no idea this was a romance going in, but thankfully it wasn’t too heavy on that side of things because that’s not what I was looking for. I wanted a story about a mom who would stop at nothing to protect her child and that’s exactly what I got.

Millie is the best hacker/programmer on Earth and she’s owned by a company that wants her to create weapons, so she does. She doesn’t care about the world and how screwed up it is, nothing really matters to her except figuring out the next puzzle. When she’s selected to breed her security is upgraded and she meets the new security dude that annoys her but for the most part that’s it. They’ve got chemistry, but she’s on a pill that takes away her sex drive.

Ryker is a security director and one of the best in the business, not sure if he’s the best or just the best at his conglomerate, doesn’t really matter. He likes Millie and hits on her constantly. The constant names are a bit annoying and he seems almost like a throwback, not sure how he fits into a futuristic society any other way. He’s the one that puts the idea of leaving in Millie’s head.

At first I was a bit disappointed that she ended up needing his help, I was afraid she would become all weak and unable to save herself and her child, but she had plenty of opportunities to kick ass and she was just as violent as he was.

There was one other character that was fleshed out, but for the most part it was all about the tech. The world was interesting, but the descriptions of tech and what Millie was doing, at times, was too much. My eyes would start skipping ahead. There was also an almost constant sense of urgency and peril once we started and that pace was hard to keep up.

I liked the book, mainly for the world and the possibilities there, but also because Millie was so capable and the side character, Trent, was interesting. He was the one that was explaining the world and history so that might be why I liked him. There is no possibility of a relationship there so I don’t have to worry about future love triangles, which is nice.

Anyway, I’ve got the next book downloaded and I’m looking forward to learning more about Millie’s sister and everything going on, on Earth.

4/5

The Incredible Jessica James (2017)

The Incredible Jessica James (2017)

Director:

Jim Strouse

Starring:

Jessica Williams

Chris O’Dowd

Lakeith Stanfield

Plot:

An aspiring playwright in New York strikes up a friendship with a guy while on the rebound from a break-up.

Review:

I like Jessica Williams from The Daily Show and I thought the trailer for this looked funny. There were definitely funny moments but it was really about a young woman trying to figure her life out. Which is fun, but I’m past that point in my life, until I have a midlife crisis, so it’s not as entertaining for me as it used to be.

Jessica is ridiculously confident, except when she isn’t, which I can relate to. I did find it difficult to watch when she took out her frustrations on the kid, but they made up and she apologized. She does sincere very well, sincere and passionate.

Is it weird that I find it sad when people who have good families, families that love them and just want what’s best for them, but they can’t handle being around them? Jessica’s family loves her, but she doesn’t “fit it” with them so she’s got her own family in NY basically. I’m glad she has her own family, I just wish she didn’t seem so sad around her biological family. I think I feel that way because it reminds me of a specific family member that I love, but that acts like being with family is the worst.

Anyway, the movie was fine, I liked the ending a lot, loved the character of Jessica James, really just need to stop watching indie movies cause I’m not a fan of the genre.

3/5