J.B. Sommerset

Blame this one on Disney, they recently added the franchise to their lineup on Disney+, which means one thing to a guy like me: Marathon!  Let me clarify, I don't mean the old classics , and I don't mean the Mark Walberg / Tim Burton version (just threw up in my mouth a little). No I mean the modern remakes. That's right, this is a remake review. Something I almost never do, out of kindness. I usually only do them because I need to spit venom. Not this time, this time I have some praise to give. Most remakes are atrocious, poisoned with " the message " in attempts captivate new audiences, and make that sweet, sweet, cash-money! All the while betraying the original story and plot to bring something "relatable" to a new audience. In the process, the work loses it's context, it's believability, and it's soul. The reality is that a good writer creates a relatable story, no matter the audience because they are writing with themes that all people

As promised in my review of Rebel Moon part 1 , I return with a review of Rebel Moon part 2: The Scar giver . So, strap on them Imperium uniforms and prepare for this Space-Viking-cowboy-Nazi-science fiction space opera.  This is the second part, and the thrilling conclusion of Rebel Moon... Wait, what's that, it made too much money, there's going to be a third? Maybe? We don't know yet... um okay. We'll just move forward with this review and cross that bridge when the enemy comes to shoot us all to crap. By now, you might have heard, or at the very least surmised there would be more rebel moons out soon, 4 more if old Zach has anything to do with it. However, I am not so sure the next one, Rebel Moon 3 has been greenlit. There are rumors it has, and also that it will start filming in 2025. If they make it, I will review it. For now, let just focus on Part 2. Don't want to get caught up in the assumption game and get taken out of context. I liked the first one, and

  Sometimes I go looking for shows with certain actors in them just to see what those gifted sons a bitches are up to. I feel certain actors deserve follow up. This week I got curious about our favorite malcontented sheriff from Duffer-ville: David Harbour of Stranger Things . So, what has good old Jim Hopper been up to recently? David is one of those actors who's in more movies than most people think. He just shows up, does a fairly good job and then fades into the background like " Homer Simpson into that hedge" . David's filmography is fairly long, and he's in a number of my favorite shows and movies. From Stranger Things to the Marvel franchise he does a little for everyone. And who could forget one of my favorite quirky, gorey, and slapstick Christmas Movies- Violent Night ? But what has he been up to recently?  The good news is he's still acting. A quick search revealed a couple of new movies and some Netflix work. So, I decided to indulge. You might h

While straggling through the wilderness of Netflix shows the other day I came across " The Three Body Problem ". I know of story, mostly of the Chinese novel   by the same name. It's on my reading list, I just haven't gotten to it yet. My list is pretty big, so I prioritize which ones I will read first. This one was high on my list, and that hasn't changed. I suspect there is more in the book than there was in the show. Normally I don't like to watch the show before I read the book, but in this case, I didn't see any good options- There's not much on Netflix I haven't seen, at least from a critical stand point. So when I see something new, I typically like to give it a spin. A lot of my friends recommended the book, so I knew something about it. It went on the old reading list when it was first translated. I decided to watch the show which made it to my plate first.  " The Three Body Problem " is an award winning Science Fiction book by

I was skeptical when I saw the trailer for " The Creator ", it seemed like it had been done a number of times before- from " Terminator " to " A.I. " In other words, I didn't think it could be original or even come across as authentic. I was wrong, and I will give this film more credit than most of the critics did. I think it deserves that, because it's hard to come up with anything that even has original paint. This movie has a crap ton happening, and while it's true that there are so many call outs and themes that appear to be stollen from other movies, I assure you this story is very much an original work. And those call outs are more tributes than anything else. The plot is one that I have addressed here many times and struggle with, especially right now. Artificial intelligence is something I am VERY cautious of. For the most part A.I. has been vilified in movies and stories, it's usually the big-bad-guy in most science fiction films t

Before I get started, let me express that I have not seen all of Nicholas Cages movies so I can't say for sure if this is the strangest one, but damn, it's up there. Lets get started. Okay, I admit it, Nicholas Cage is one of my guilty pleasures. For the most part, I don't think his movies are good, in fact his acting is, well, something... The thing is his movies are fun. Very fun, even the ones that get " meme " status. He has a habit of not taking much seriously. In truth, he actually can act, well sometimes. I think he just operates a little differently than most of us. When he's on, he's on, and when he's not, he's still on- success even with his failures.  This last weekend I stumbled across a movie I didn't expect out of Nicholas Cage. It's a weird little film, like super weird, and quite possibly it makes it into the top 10 most awkward movies I think I have ever seen. That's right, squirm in your seat awkward, get up and pret

I decided to watch " Lou" on Netflix and it was surprisingly good.  When I say I was surprised, I mean it impressed me more than it should have. There are three things about this film that really stood out about it. The first was that it was very well written. The second was that it took a pretty common premise and stripped it down like a dancer named Candi (that "i" on Candi was intentional). And lastly, it has what so many movies these days don't... a soul, and an actual soul.    I was bored and wanted to watch something out of my normal genre at the end of a very long day. Lou didn't really look like anything special by the descriptor. To be honest, it looked like another over-the-top, "super-woman" movie with all female leads. The kind of movie where the good guys are female and the bad guys are male. You know, a film where "the message" is really clear. Thankfully, it wasn't that, it was a surprisingly refreshing movie about da

One of my favorite shows back in my twenties was a show some of you might have heard about. In fact, a number of you might have envied the hosts for the jobs they had. That show was " MythBusters " , one of my all-time favorites. I went into a post-explosion withdrawal when the show ended. For a while, I left it as dead. All the hosts were dead. All the experiments and curiosities were over. And no one was testing urban legends anymore. Times were dark. I didn't think about it much and just moved on with life. Then a few years ago I discovered that Adam Savage (one of the hosts) had a Youtube channel. I started following him and enjoying the content- he created a lot of strange and really awesome things. Jamie Hyneman  (the other host) was also doing his own thing too, although I have really kept up with him. At the same time, I became aware of an author named Mary Roach who has her own esoteric interests. Her work is great, but it's a different kind of literature.

Every once in a while I get all nostalgic, nostalgic like a drunk historian under hypnosis. I start reminiscing about my life and how things have gone, thinking about the things that would be different had I made some different choices. Inevitably this leads me down the rabbit hole of old stories and movies.  I was in one such mood last night, a driftless melancholy, a stillness if you will. Usually, when I am in such moods I tell stories that start off with "back in my day", but last night there was no one to spin a yarn for. It was just me and my lonesome, so I did the next best thing- turned on the TV and found a movie that meant something to me. In this case, that movie was a classic from "back in the day", that day was a day in 1985.  You guessed it...  Back to the future .  I watched it, I loved it, then I went to bed missing the old days. But it got me thinking, why was Back to the Future such a good movie? What made it stand out in the eighties, and why does

( Photo by Pietro Jeng) I usually don't do movie reviews, but I felt this one is appropriate considering that  movies  are a storytelling medium- plus, this movie's made almost 2 billion dollars so far. In other words, it's doing something right. Study up my burgeoning writers, directors, and film majors!  Before I get started, I have to post a short disclaimer here: I am going to avoid major spoilers, however, I might give away some smaller ones. As much as I would like to go in-depth on this one I will abstain and perhaps bring it up in the future.  For convenience I will break this down into five parts; the story, the characters and their development, the use of elements and themes, world-building, and lastly, the visual aesthetics. Hopefully, this will answer the question-  Does it tell a good story and should I go see it ?  Starting off with the story and plot. There's no easy way to say this, the story and plot are the weakest part of the movie. That being said,

It's been sporadic as of late with posting the audiobook every other week, somewhere around Halloween my schedule broke down (I think that was "Dracula"). So I am hoping to get back on schedule and start delivering them in a manner befitting something called "biweekly". This week, and I don't believe I have ever touched on this, is " The Lord of the Flies " by William Golding . I didn't really appreciate this one until long after I was out of highschool- mainly because it's on the reading list for about four of the English classes I had. However, after highschool, I loved it. It's in my top twenty. If you haven't read it, I suggest you give it a listen below, and as always, keep on creating. Cheers!

I have said this before, and I will most likely repeat it; the older I get, the more I appreciate the works of Stephen King . Not so much his early works but his post-cocaine, post-alcoholic bender works. Even more so, his post-road-waffle works. There is something about his sober and mortal works that make them even better than his early stuff. Don't get me cliched; his early stuff is great. As I age, put down my own vices, and look both ways before I cross the street, I think there is a deeper understanding of the mechanics in his books. I was watching the green mile the other day, and I suddenly remembered how good the books were. Originally they were released as a series of books, a parcel if you will. I looked forward to each and every one of them. In the end, I collected and read them all, then packed them away when I moved- to my dismay, I still haven't found them. But I can remember how good they were, but now that I am older, I think back to the plots of each one, and

John Cleese is one of my all-time favorites when it comes to comedy, satire, and writing. I love most of what he does, from his work with Monty Python to his stage roles. His commentary has shaped the world of comedy for the better part of half a century. Today's video talks about creativity- which he is something of an expert on. However, the title of this one is a little misleading, it's not about a war on "wokeism" it does talk a little bit about the subject, but it is more about the creative process and how it can be stifled or hindered. For any aspiring author, writer, or musician, it's well worth a peep. Hope you all enjoy it! Cheers!