Movie Review: Wicked for Good (2025)

Wicked for Good (2025) directed by Jon M. Chu

See my review of the first film here!

The story returns to the land of Oz where Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) has been cast out and branded the Wicked Witch of the West. The smear campaign is orchestrated by Ms. Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) who is working with/manipulating the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Glinda (Ariana Grande-Butera). Elphaba continues her campaign to free magical beasts, especially those enslaved to build yellow brick roads from Oz to other cities and towns like Munchkinland. She wants to reveal the truth about the Wizard's ambitions and his lack of abilities (he uses a lot of mechanical inventions and passes them off as magic). Glinda still can't do magic but is on board with Morrible and the Wizard, accepting a "magic bubble" so she can fly around just like Elphaba does on her broom. The conflict gets more complicated when Glinda is engaged to Captain Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), who might be more romantically interested in Elphaba. Elphaba's sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) tries to win the heart of Boq (Ethan Slater) who has a thing for Glinda more than Nessarose. The romantic complications lead to more trouble as Morrible summons a tornado to drop a house on Nessarose.

The movie suffers from a lot of the same problems of the first one--a bunch of characters are unlikeable and/or shallow. This movie is still amazing-looking though the songs are less memorable and fun. The plot moves along so fast it skips a lot of explanations, leaving gaping plot holes that are very hard to ignore. The themes of disregarding the truth in favor of the popular and the lionizing of evil choices is hard to swallow. The film does try to move away from that at the end, but it is not very believable. The happy ending for Elphaba is especially dumb and feels tacked on because that's the way stories are supposed to end. The film has too many unsatisfactory elements. The actors do a good job with what they have, but the script is a failure.

Not recommended--maybe they should have left The Wizard of Oz alone instead of trying to subvert it.

TV Review: Agatha Christie's Seven Dials (2026)

Agatha Christie's Seven Dials (2026) adapted for television by Chris Chibnall from Christie's novel

Hosting a swanky party at their dilapidating mansion in 1925, Lady Caterham (Helena Bonham-Carter) and her daughter Bundle (Mia McKenna-Bruce) wake up the next morning to discover one of the guests has died. Not just any guest, either, but Gerry (Cory Mylchreest), a bright young fellow working the Foreign Office and soon to propose to Bundle. Circumstances make it look like suicide to the bumbling junior detective called in. Bundle, who is clever and likes to ask questions, does not buy that interpretation and begins her own investigation. The clues are very mysterious, like the seven alarm clocks set up on the mantle in Gerry's bedroom (even though eight were planted throughout the room as a practical joke) and a mysterious half-written letter to his half-sister that mentions "Seven Dials" with no context. As Bundle follows the trail of clues and bodies, a grander conspiracy is exposed.

The story starts off very promising. Bundle is the sort of spunky young woman most parents hope their daughter grows into--she has enough self-will not to get steamrolled by anyone and she's smart enough not to be hoodwinked. Random clues are revealed and suspicion gets tossed around in the typical Christie way. Unfortunately, in the last half hour the explanation of what is going on comes and it is rather preposterous. The bigger conspiracy does not quite hang together and many bits of action at the end are very implausible. The story veers off from cozy mystery into international espionage, a transition that is very abrupt. The ending is a bit silly and opens up the possibility of sequels more in Ian Fleming's genre than Agatha Christie's.

Barely recommended--this is eight- or nine-tenths good, but failing at the end hurts a lot.

As I write this (January 2025), this is only available streaming on Netflix.

Book Review: God, Freedom, and Evil by Alvin C. Plantinga

God, Freedom, and Evil by Alvin C. Plantinga

A popular problem in theology and philosophy is how an all-powerful and all-loving God could allow evil in the universe. Atheists use the Problem of Evil as a proof that God does not exist. In confronting the problem, Alvin Plantinga takes an unusual route--hard-core logical analysis. 

The first part of the book looks at the problem from the atheists' angle, assessing whether an omnipotent and omni-beneficent God could make a world with evil in it. Plantinga's prose is clear and precise, whittling down various possibilities and interpretations, including concepts like "the best of all possible worlds" and whether a world that has evil could have more good in it than a world only with good in it. He reaches the conclusion that the actual world does allow for a God who desires good in that world while allowing evil to take place in it. The second part of the book reviews three main arguments for God's existence: the Cosmological Argument, the Teleological Argument, and the Ontological Argument. He dismisses the first two arguments rather quickly and then focuses on the Ontological Argument, proceeding from Anselm's first formulation of it, going through the historical reactions to it (especially Immanuel Kant's), concluding with his personal analysis. Plantinga finds it a creditable argument.

The book is written with a lay audience in mind, so the logical analyses are not overwrought or full of technical language that requires prerequisite knowledge. The thinking is disciplined, so readers have to focus to follow the arguments. Plantinga has a lot of references that point to more thorough discussions in other books (many of which are his own). The writing is clear and the book is short, not more than 120 pages.

The book is not entirely satisfying. While the disciplined, logical analysis of the arguments is interesting and convincing, they don't make the final step into certitude. Plantinga admits as much--he's showing that there's no logical or systemic contradiction in an all-loving and all-knowing God creating a world in which evil is allowed to exist. It's not an incoherent concept like a square circle. But coherence (a system of truths that does not contradict itself) is not the same thing as correspondence (a system of truths that represents the world the way it is). When it comes to proving God's existence, he naturally prefers the Ontological Argument which is based in theory to arguments that are based on the contingency of the world (cosmological) or orderliness of the world (teleological). The challenge that Plantinga does not acknowledge is that logic is only as good as the premises it is based on. Logical arguments need a prior metaphysical base in order to be more than a word puzzle that works out they way you want. 

Recommended, though it is a bit challenging and not fully persuasive.

Encanto Park, Phoenix, AZ

Encanto Park in Phoenix, Arizona, has a lot of stuff spread out all over.

A large recreational lake is at the north end of the park. The Clubhouse and boat dock were built in the 1930s as part of the Public Works Administration. The clubhouse has that period's look, a bit of the Spanish Revival.

Clubhouse

Encanto Lagoon

The lagoon feeds into a bunch of waterways. Fishermen are welcome at the lagoon and the waterways, as many signs provide help to assess catches.

How big was it?

The Little Red Bridge was also built in the 1930s and became something of a local icon. Back in the day, lots of people took family photos or wedding pictures there. A tree crashed into the bridge and local officials decided to haul off what remained. A local contractor took on the task of rebuilding it, helped by local volunteers.

Relaxing waterway with view of Little Red Bridge

Little Red Bridge

I saw some ducks enjoying the water too!

Those who live in the park

A small amusement park is located here though we came too early to enjoy the rides and such. They have a railroad and the oldest working carousel in America.

Enchanted Island entrance

At the southern end of the park is a sports complex with a nice playground.

Encanto Playground

Tennis, someone?!?

An empty swimming pool (it was December)

We had parked up by the lagoon so that's where my son did most of his playing.

Rocking the boat

Book Review: Spy x Family Vol. 15 by Tatsuya Endo

Spy x Family Volume 15 by Tatsuya Endo

After an extensive and sober backstory about Eden Academy Headmaster Henry and Martha Marriott (a sort of nanny to Anya's best friend at school) and their doomed young love decades earlier, the story gets back to comedy and character bits with several short stories about specific characters. My favorite is a charming one about Frankie, the weapons/tech guy for super-spy Loid. Frankie has only bad luck with women until he gets some movie tickets that one of his possible amours really wants to see. The story ends up a bit like Henry and Martha's, but not so extensive or sobering. In another tale, almost all the kids from the Academy show up at a city festival, leading to more comedy and hijinks.

This is another fun volume and worth the read, even if the larger story only moves forward half a pace.

Recommended.

Movie Review: Weapons (2025)

Weapons (2025) written and directed by Zach Cregger

A small town is thrown into bleak misery when a whole third grade classroom of kids walks out of their houses in the middle of the night and disappear into the darkness. Well, all but one child. Suspicion falls on the teacher who doesn't know anything and the boy who didn't disappear but also doesn't know anything. Everyone has a hard time dealing with the situation, leading to the revelation of some awful secrets and even worse situations. This is one of those movies where the less you know going into it, the better the movie will work.

That's odd to me, because in many ways the film did not work, even though I saw it knowing almost nothing about it. The unrelenting misery of the characters is not balanced out by anything. In fact, a lot of other characters who have their own, separate problems are drawn into the central mystery, providing more bleakness and unhappiness. The ending provides only narrative resolution, no emotional or moral satisfaction. I did experience some humor toward the end but I think the filmmakers didn't mean for me to laugh at what I did. This film just wallows in misery from start to end. It's a shame, because the structure, looking at the story from the perspective of different characters, does a good job presenting questions and providing suspense. Structurally, the movie works very well as a thriller/horror tale. If only the tale had some catharsis.

Not recommended.

Bajada Nature Trail, North Scottsdale, AZ

While in the Scottsdale area, we hiked the Bajada Nature Trail at the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy. We did the Gateway/Horseshoe Loop, a path not too long for the smaller adventurers.

The nature center has a model of the mountains showing the various trails hikers can try out.

Physical map

Physical beauty

Part of the trail

The trail was mostly packed dirt and fairly level, so we were able to move quickly and enjoy the surroundings.

Easy land to traverse

A fallen cactus

Veg sharing the area

The variety of cactus was amazing to me. Cholla is smaller and fuzzier-looking than the typical barrel or saguaro cactus. Saguaro is the classic main stalk with arms growing out the sides.

Not as cuddly as a teddy bear, no matter what it is called

More typical, though no arm yet!

Signs explained the differences between cactus needles. 

A cactus by any other name would feel as sharp

Barrel cactus

A distant saguaro

A wash is a stream-bed that is dry most of the year. Many different plants and animals are drawn to washes, making it a "downtown" in the desert.

A wash

Scavenger nest protected by cactus bits

In the distance is Tom's Thumb, which would have required a more substantial hike. Some of us wanted to go but we had the little kids with us.

Tom's Thumb in the distance

More exotic landscape

One sign explained about the seasons in the Sonoran Desert, something I had never considered before.

Best time to visit--not summer!

A cactus flower

A big saguaro

Other flowers

Dark side of the cactus

Light side of the cactus

A barbed-wire fence!

Some civilization in the distance

It was a fun hike.