Review

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet


The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers #1) By: Becky Chambers

Plot:

A rollicking space adventure with a lot of heart

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn’t expecting much. The patched-up ship has seen better days, but it offers her everything she could possibly want: a spot to call home, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and some distance from her past.

And nothing could be further from what she’s known than the crew of the Wayfarer.

From Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the chatty engineers who keep the ship running, to the noble captain Ashby, life aboard is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. That is until the crew is offered the job of a lifetime tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet. Sure, they’ll earn enough money to live comfortably for years, but risking her life wasn’t part of the job description.

The journey through the galaxy is full of excitement, adventure, and mishaps for the Wayfarer team. And along the way, Rosemary comes to realize that a crew is a family, and that family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe… as long as you actually like them.

Review:

This was a nice change of pace, the universe was no more negative or positive than our own, which was nice. It painted a future that wasn’t dystopian that I enjoyed. There was a ton of detail put into the different races, the worlds, and the tech. It was very impressive, though, at times a bit more than I cared to know.

One of the things I appreciated was the diversity of the races and their cultures and norms. We met several difference races since the ship was multispecies and the differences and the attention to detail Chambers goes into was interesting.

The story was a bit lacking. Most of the book was details about tech and the different species and cultures within the universe and on the ship. We did have some character development but it followed the entire crew so it was spread thin. While I appreciated the details, there could have been a bit less and a bit more to the story. Basically the crew traveled from one place to another with little stops during that time and only a couple off minor incidents until the end.

I liked the characters and I would be interested in reading more, but the pacing was a bit slow so I’m hoping that future installments have a bit more happening or something more.

3.5/5

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Seasons 4 & 5


Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Seasons 4 & 5

Network:

ABC

Creator:

Maurissa Tancharoen

Jed Whedon

Joss Whedon

Starring:

Clark Gregg

Ming-Na Wen

Chloe Bennett

Ian De Caestecker

Elizabeth Henstridge

Henry Simmons

Natalia Cordova-Buckley

Jeff Ward

Plot:

The missions of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.

Review:

I dropped Shield three episodes into season 4. Later I heard so many people talking about how amazing it was and how the last two seasons were the best and after watching several other superhero shows I decided to go back and give it another shot.

First off, I have to disagree about Season 4, it was very much more of the same for me. The virtual world they were in was interesting, but went on way too long. I never warmed up to the Ghostrider arc.

Season 4 overall, was alright, but didn’t do much for me. It just kept dragging out the relationship drama more and the big bad never seemed to be beat, but they were fighting it forever. It was draining. Just when you thought there was a resolution, they’d discover some new connection, or their “solution” would have all kinds of bad consequences.

Finally they beat it, take a breath, and then disappear. I was all prepared to drop Shield again, but the Season 4 finale had me deciding to try out at least the first episode of 5, which then had me watching the entire season.

Season 5 was, for me, when things finally got good. I love time travel, I love space, and Fitz, Iain De Caestecker, as a mercenary is something I never knew I needed in my life until now. The first half was fun, though, by the end it had gotten increasingly darker as more revelations about the future were made. They finally get back home and things just get horrible.

It was back to the constantly trying to fight an inevitable conclusion that finally wasn’t resolved until the last episode. It’s one thing to hint at something throughout a season, but having it basically be the focus for entire episodes is just draining. I just wanted it to be over. I wanted Fitz and Simmons, Elizabeth Henstridge, to be together and not fighting to survive the destruction of the world. I wanted Deke, Jeff Ward, to stop being a love sick puppy and go back to being a Dollar Store Starlord. I wanted Daisy, Chloe Bennett, to just be gone. And please, everyone, just get off of Yoyo, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, back. She made a hard decision that needed to be made and most of the team *cough* Daisy *cough* were being absolute hypocritical assholes about it.

The ending had me in tears. Not because Phil, Clark Gregg, was leaving, even though he’s one of the best characters, but because they fucking killed Fitz. But then, they didn’t. There’s a second one floating in space waiting for them to find him, because of course there is, but that’s honestly the only reason I’m going to watch the next season. I’m really hoping for a less world ending season and more of a focus on smaller things. Leave the world to the Avengers, please.

2/5

The Incredibles 2 (2018)


The Incredibles 2 (2018)

Director:

Brad Bird

Starring:

Holly Hunter

Craig T. Nelson

Sarah Vowell

Huck Milner

Samuel L. Jackson

Plot:

Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) is left to care for the kids while Helen (Elastigirl) is out saving the world.

Review:

This is the first movie I took my daughter to see in theaters, because of that I did miss parts of the movie because I was focusing more on her and she does not know how to plan a bathroom break lol.

The Parr family is back and just as good as before, even after such a long break. This time around instead of a husband trying to relive the glory days he’s trying to take over the job of mom so that Elastigirl, Holly Hunter, can prove to the world that supers deserve to be able to fight crime.

I loved that Elastigirl got her chance to shine. She’s smart and capable and a total badass. In the first movie she was mostly a mom, just trying to keep everyone safe and on track, while Mr. Incredible, Craig T. Nelson, got to go out and save the day. She saved him, which was nice, but it was more of a mom thing than a superhero thing. In 2 she gets to have that superhero spotlight and you see why she was a beloved hero.

Mr. Incredible was very much in the traditional father role in the first movie. He went to work, backed up his wife’s parenting decisions (when he wasn’t accidently undermining them), and tried to find ways to hold on to his hero persona. The role reversal in The Incredibles 2 was a relief. He started out dismissive of what his wife did, learned he was wrong, and figured out the best way for him to handle things. He loved his kids and of course rose to the occasion.

Naturally, it took the whole family to save the world from the villain. We also got to see a whole new group of superheros as well as the most important superhero of all, Frozone! He’s my daughter’s favorite so she was super excited when he showed up.

There were some dark moments, but I wouldn’t say as dark as Toy Story 3, and a very long warning at the beginning about possible seizures, still I had no problem with my four year old watching the movie.

5/5

Letters to Juliet (2010)


Letters to Juliet (2010)

Director:

Gary Winick

Starring:

Amanda Seyfried

Gael Garcia Bernal

Vanessa Redgrave

Christopher Egan

Plot:

Sophie dreams of becoming a writer and travels to Verona, Italy where she meets the “Secretaries of Juliet”.

Review:

I was in the mood for a light Romance and this just popped up on Amazon Prime movies so I figured why not. I watched this years ago and remember it being really romantic. I’m not sure what I watched all those years ago but I did not feel much romance. Maybe I was in the wrong mood?

The setting and plot are all super romantic, Italy, finding a long lost love, but the two young leads had almost no chemistry. They also just sort of happened. Amanda Seyfried’s character was engaged, her fiancé was just sort of there, it was clear they weren’t working. She argued with Christopher Egan’s character a lot, he was a pessimistic ass, but it’s okay because he’s a lawyer for human rights. It was all just sort of eh.

The best part was the ending. Finally, all the passion and chemistry I expected made itself known, though, Seyfried was a bit flat in the buildup. Whatever, it was something sweet to have on in the background.

3/5

A Wrinkle in Time (2018)


A Wrinkle in Time (2018)

Director:

Ava DuVernay

Starring:

Storm Reid

Oprah Winfrey

Reese Witherspoon

Mindy Kaling

Levi Miller

Deric McCabe

Plot:

After the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend to space in order to find him.

Review:

When I was a child I read the first book in this series, I know I did, I vaguely remember it, but I don’t remember really anything about it. Still, I was excited to see this so as soon as it was out at Red Box and I had time I rented it.

Visually the movie is stunning. The settings and costumes are gorgeous. So bright and colorful and fanciful. I loved them all.

Sadly, the story was lacking. I don’t remember the book, but the movie felt disjointed and it jumped around. It didn’t flow very well. One minute things were progressing at a breakneck speed and then all of sudden you’re looking at flowers in a field. Honestly, I got bored. Things were crazy but it didn’t hold my attention. I didn’t care about what was happening. I liked the characters alright, but you were just thrown into this mad world and it just didn’t work for me. Made me sad because I was hoping for another “Tomorrowland.”

I wanted this movie to work for several reasons, female director, kids sci-fi, but it didn’t.

2/5