Movie Review: Longlegs (2024)

Longlegs (2024) written and directed by Osgood Perkins

Young FBI Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) has a talent or instinct that helps her investigative work. She can sense where the problem is. The agency tests her ability to see if she is psychic or at least has psychic-like abilities. She goes through the test in the same detached way she deals with everything else--her job, her home life, her mom (Alicia Witt). Her mother is a bit distant but they talk on the phone often, her mom typically asking if Lee says her prayers. Lee is evasive at the beginning of the movie about this issue, eventually admitting that she does not pray. At work, she becomes involved in tracking a serial killer named Longlegs (Nicolas Cage) who has a strange modus operandi. Families are killed, usually the father killing mom and the kids and then committing suicide. Longlegs leaves letters in a cryptic alphabet with his signature in regular letters. Other than the letter, he leaves no physical evidence at the scene. All the families have daughters born on the 14th of the month and the murders happen close to their birthdays. Harker sifts through the evidence while she works with her supervisor, Agent Carter (Blair Underwood). The mystery gets weirder and more disturbing as Harker has flashbacks to her childhood when Longlegs came to her house.

The movie is a clear homage to Silence of the Lambs, with the rookie female FBI agent up against a truly deranged killer with the aid of an only moderately-supportive agency. The tension is very high with hardly any bits of comic relief. Longlegs is a different sort of killer. Sure, he manipulates people into killing for him like Hannibal Lecter or John Doe from Se7en, but he is a Satan worshipper and seems to have demonic abilities. The story is vague enough about this possibility to make the situation more excruciating (which is what you want in a horror film, right?). The ending has plenty of twists that also ratchet up the tension. While not as great as Silence of the Lambs, it is a solid homage and also its own film.

The story moves at a strong pace which helps to paper over some plot holes and inconsistencies. I was wondering about several possibilities that I felt like the characters should also wonder about though they never did. The larger story does not make a coherent whole when thought about. But there are so many interesting ideas in the film, especially the conflict between the subtle Satanism and the need for prayer as protection from evil. These ideas are not spelled out for the viewer. Their presentation is clear but their resolution is left for the viewer, which I think is a strength of the film. This is the sort of film that sticks around in your head for days afterward in a good way.

Recommended.

The movie's religious implication are discussed in this fascinating article from Word on Fire. 

Movie Review: Midsommar (2019)

Midsommar (2019) written and directed by Ari Aster

Dani (Florence Pugh) is the very needy girlfriend of Christian (Jack Reynor), though not without some justification. Her sister is more troubled than she is (the sister has a bipolar disorder) and, right at the beginning of the film, the sister kills herself and their parents. Dani is devastated and Christian, who has been looking for a way out of the relationship, is very supportive in spite of his misgivings. He's an anthropology student who hangs out with three other students. One member of the group, Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren), is from Sweden and is going home for a special summer festival in his small, remote town. He invites the other guys. Christian tells them he's extended an invitation to Dani, which they are disappointed with (they also want the couple to break up). She hems and haws about the trip but goes anyway. They have a long drive north from Stockholm in mid-June. On the outskirts of town they are greeted by the young people of the village who are getting high before getting to town. Dani reluctantly joins in the drug-taking. Once they get to town, the nine-day festival starts with a lot of folksy activities. Things take a darker turn when one of the rituals has an old couple jump to their deaths from a local cliff while everyone watches. The outsiders are horrified and some want to leave, but there is no leaving this festival.

The movie follows in the tradition of The Wicker Man, presenting a pre-Christian society whose superficially charming surface masks a much darker, much grimmer situation. The locals are very welcoming but not forthcoming about what is about to happen. They seem oblivious to how outsiders will view their ceremonies. Since the visitors are anthropology majors, they bend over backwards trying not to judge their acitons even when the locals do clearly barbaric things. Their attitude leaves them stuck in a trap they probably could have escaped. Instead, they become entrenched in the proceedings, leading to a horrible ending.

While the movie is well crafted and acted, I have a hard time finding a justification for watching it. The mystery is sort-of interesting but if you have seen The Wicker Man, you know exactly where this is going. Dani and Christian are sort-of sympathetic, though she really needs a therapist and he needs some backbone and a lot more honesty with other people. A lot of the situations are very preposterous and only drug-induced stupidity could possibly explain why people went along with the bizarre ceremonies. After watching the film, I read online that people in Sweden laughed at this film as a black comedy (because it really has nothing from the Swedish Midsommar festivities) rather than shuddered at it as a visceral horror. The Swedish probably have the right attitude toward the film, though I doubt the filmmakers share that attitude.

Not recommended, unless you want to see a second-rate Wicker Man.

The movie's religious implications are discussed in this article from Word on Fire.

 

Book Review: Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Psalms 1-50 ed. by C. Blaising and C. Hardin

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Old Testament VII: Psalms 1-50 edited by Craig A. Blaising and Carmen S. Hardin

This commentary provides an overview of patristic thought on the first third of the Psalms. The book has the text of each psalm (the translation is the Revised Standard Version) followed by a synopsis of the comments from the ancient Fathers of the Church. After that is texts from the Fathers (usually a paragraph of commentary, see the sample texts below), with citations for further research. 

This book is valuable as a study guide for exploring the Psalms as the earliest Christians saw them. The Fathers range from the first disciples of the apostles down to Saint Augustine in the 400s. They have a lot of interesting insights intot the meaning of the psalms. The commentaries also provide a way to pray the psalms more deeply by extending the time a reader spends with each psalm, highlighting nuances that can be passed over with a quicker reading.

I found this very valuable and am looking forward to the next volume.

Highly recommended.

Some sample texts:

From the commentary on Psalm 29, by Basil the Great on false glory:

The cedar is at time praised by Scripture as a stable tree, free from decay, fragrant, and adequate for supplying shelter, but at times it is attacked as unfruitful and hard to bend, so that it offers a representation of impiety.

And from the commentary on Psalm 32, by Caesarius of Arles on confession:

God wants us to confess our sins, not because he himself cannot know them but because the devil longs to find something to charge us with before the tribunal of the eternal Judge and wants us to defend rather than to acknowledge our sins. Our God, on the contrary, because he is good and merciful, wants us to confess them in this world so we will not be confounded by them later on in the world to come.

And from the commentary on Psalm 42, by Augustine on seeing God:

"Where is your God?" If a pagan says this to me, I cannot retort, "What about you? Where is your God?" because the pagan can point to his god. He indicates some stone with his finger and says, "Look, there's my god! Where is yours?" If I laugh at the stone, and the pagan who pointed it out is embarrassed, he looks away from the stone toward the sky; then perhaps he points to the sun and says again, "Look, there's my god! Where is yours?" He has found something he can demonstrate to my bodily eyes. For me it is different, not because I have nothing to demonstrate but because he lacks the kind of eyes to which I could demonstrate it. He was able to point the sun out to my bodily eyes as his god, but how can I point out to any eyes he has the sun's Creator?

Billy Goat Trail, Great Falls, Maryland

I took the family hiking at Great Falls, Maryland, a national park that is part of the C&O Canal. The park features the canal's tow path (now a walking and biking path), canal locks, historic buildings, overviews of the Potomac River (including the eponymous falls), and wooded hiking trails. We came for the Billy Goat Trail Part A, which is perhaps more rocky than wooded. It is a fun and challenging hike that only my eldest son and I had hiked before. On the way to the trail head, we passed the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center (which was not open). It was an inn along the canal serving travelers.

Great Falls Inn, right next to Lock 20

Another lock further down the trail

We went to an overlook that had dramatic views of the falls.

A river rushes through it

Calmer part of the water but still treacherous

Much calmer water

As we walked down the tow path we were amazed to see a deer nonchalantly munching on some vegetation as we passed. It didn't run away even though we were close.

Nothing to see here

A pedestrian bridge over the canal

We made it to the trail head where things got more interesting.

Ready for a new adventure!

The trail was a lot more rocky, with some scrambling over boulders. We were surprised how many trees managed to poke up out of the rocks.

More rocks than trees

The Potomac (and Virginia) in the distance

My family

My wife played up the scariness to the satisfaction of our youngest, who helpfully pointed out ways through the rocks and safe spots to put your feet.

Scrambling together

Another good view of the river

The most dramatic part of the hike is the Traverse, a rock scramble of about a hundred feet up the rock face. My wife was legitimately scared here.

Just climb up to those trees

The brutal sun beating down on us as we went up

Getting to the top was a relief and time for water and snacks. We continued following the trail with its blue blazes.

Making a face for the camera

More big boulders

Unfortunately, we did not bring enough water for the whole family. Fortunately, the trail has an Exit Trail that lets hikers skip the bottom or top half of the trail. We voted to bail out. The exit took us back to the tow path. We headed north back to the car.

How does the canal have more water here?

A little body of water on the side

Another lock

A lock with ruins of a house

We did have a lot of fun and bought the year-long pass for this park, so we will be back for other trails at Great Falls, including the gold mine trail.

Book Review: Invincible Compendium One by R. Kirkman et al.

Invincible Compendium One written by Robert Kirkman and art by Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley

Mark Grayson is a high-school senior who has a mostly normal life. He works at a fast-food joint and wants to date girls, though he has not competence at either. Lucky for him, his dad is from another planet literally. His dad is Omni-Man, the most powerful superhero on Earth with powers that come from his original home planet, Viltrum. Mark's a little late to superhero puberty but it kicks in at the beginning of this comic series when he can suddenly fly and do a bunch of other things. He trains a bit with his dad and starts to explore the superhero world, including teaming up with fellow high-schooler Samantha Eve Wilkins, known as Atom Eve. While he has the standard Superman power set (flying, super strength, invulnerability), she can only rearrange atoms at will (which is powerful enough). Life gets even more complicated as he starts dating and his dad's superhero team gets slaughtered by an unknown assailant. There are plenty of super-villains to suspect and there's also the secret government agency monitoring and maintaining the group that seems suspicious too.

The series's initial tone is comedy-filled as the young man discovers his powers and the many complications that come with them, including the other superheroes who come off like a misfit bunch. The story then drifts into melodrama and a lot of romantic entanglements with a variety of characters, i.e. into a soap opera. While I enjoy the world-building and the interesting cast of characters, there's a bit too much unoriginality. It is very easy to line up characters in this book with characters from Marvel and DC. Also, a lot of the panels are reused, like they don't have enough time to do the art. The authors even hang a lantern on it but that only makes it more noticeable, because they keep doing it through the 48 issues in this compendium. I find it more lazy than endearing, especially in an emotional scene with the same images right next to each other. Otherwise, the art is standard super-hero fare with a lot more blood and gore in the fights (which again works against the comedic tone at the beginning). 

Mildly recommended--I can see why this is popular because it is entertaining, but it is not long-term satisfying.

Movie Review: Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) co-written and directed by Shawn Levy

Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is feeling a bit insignificant, mostly because his girl (Morena Baccarin) has dumped him. She has realized he only cares about himself. To show he has greater ambitions, he tries to join the Avengers and gets turned down almost immediately. He lives the lackluster life of a car salesman until his birthday party is interrupted by the Time Variance Authority. The TVA wants to take him in for the time travel shenanigans from the previous film, though they really have an ulterior motive. When the TVA official who pulled him in (Matthew Macfadyen) explains what he really wants, Deadpool doesn't want to play along, partly because he doesn't understand and partly because it reinforces his insignificance. He makes up his own plan (getting a hero who can save his world, i.e. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman)), which doesn't quite work out, so he keeps on coming up with other plans as the movie gets wilder and weirder.

The movie has a lot of action, a lot of jokes, and a lot of gore. The plentiful fights are mostly played for comedy and involve a lot of bloodletting. Deadpool's jokes stick to his two standbys--adolescent humor and fourth-wall-breaking remarks. Wolverine's laconic, grim dialog provides some laughs too. The high body count has so much blood being spilled, it's hard to take seriously and helps to mask a lot of mean-spirited acts. 

One or two characters point out that Deadpool is more a joke than a hero, a reality that he bristles at and tries to change. Of course, reality itself is on the line since the universe Deadpool is from is about to collapse. He travels through several other universes in search of a Wolverine to help him out (since his own universe's Wolverine is the one who died in Logan). He winds up in a "dumping ground" universe which allows for a bunch of cameos from previous films and new characters who appear for the sake of some laughs and to move the plot along. Deadpool does do something heroic at the end but it does not really change his character. This is probably deliberate since who wants a Deadpool who behaves like an actual adult? His appeal is his ultra-violent, ultra-selfish, ultra-jerky behavior.

The Wolverine Deadpool winds up with is the most interesting character. He has an actual character arc with pathos. He provides a welcome contrast to both Deadpool and Jackman's previous Wolverine character. But he's still stuck in a Deadpool universe. At one point, the two main characters fight all night, which points up the pointlessness of their conflict. Both have a healing factor that means neither can really kill the other. There's a lot of mayhem but no real stakes and viewers already know how the situation will turn out. With all the fourth-wall-breaking, I was fully aware of how the movie would turn out and had a hard time finding the peril credible. 

Not recommended--this a lot of Deadpool humor and violence, cranked up past 11. If you enjoy that, you'll like the movie. I have had my fill of Deadpool.

Ghosts Series Five (2023)

Ghosts Series Five (2023) written, created by, and starring Matthew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, and Ben Willbond

See my reviews of series one, series two, series three, and series four!

The new money-making scheme for Alison and Mike (the guest house burned down at the end of the last series, so no more rentals) is selling some land to real estate developers to make a golf course. A lot of complications ensue with the ghosts and with the neighbors, especially the annoyingly snooty Barclay Beg-Chetwynde. The other big change is Alison getting pregnant, which draws a lot of different reactions from everybody (even snooty Barclay).

The show has a lot of the same fun as in previous series. They are starting to run out of ideas, something they acknowledge with the final episode, which is another Christmas episode. I still enjoyed this outing with the big cast in their haunted house.

Recommended.

Webelos-o-ree 2024

My youngest went to the local Webelos-o-ree, a day of fun stations for the oldest cub scouts. Local troops host each station. They teach various skills and try to sell the boys on joining their troop. Parents go along and meet the leaders of the troop (typically the older boys since troops are scout-led).

Our first stop was a gaga ball pit. Gaga ball is like dodge ball, but the ball needs to hit a player below the knee to get the player out. The game has no teams, every man is for himself. My son took a "let everyone fight each other" approach, calmly waiting by the side for the crowd to thin down. 

Going for the under-the-leg shot

Keeping his eye on the ball

The next station was the axe yard. Here, cub scouts learn safe handling of saws, hatchets, and axes. This particular station was run by my eldest son's troop, so the boys got to see each other.

Using an axe

Practicing sawing with a sibling

Later on, my son had to practice his army crawl under a bunch of strings pretending to be lasers. The station also had some knot-tying skill challenges. 

Being safe

Down by the water, a teamwork exercise challenged the boys to communicate without using words (they were only allowed to say "lava"!). They had to cross a field of lava with only a few boards of different lengths. It was a fun exercise. Since my son was alone, we joined up with another pack for the group challenges.

Getting to the other end

The last station before lunch involved climbing to the top of a wall. Some of the boys could make it on their own, some needed help. They worked together to lift up or pull up the boys who needed assistance (my son included), eventually getting everyone up.

Seven on the wall

We had lunch at my older son's troop, which was a bit of a hike from the wall. After eating, we had to go back to the middle of the trail for the shooting range. After joining a different pack for the trail, we had a good time with the bb guns. 

Posing with Pack 737

Practice with the rifle

Other stations we went to were the first aid station (with some realistic-looking injuries), orienteering (with some awesome home-made cookies), and more teamwork challenges. We had a fun day but didn't camp there, so we headed home for dinner.

Soldiers Delight Choate Mine Trail

We went for a hike in the Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area outside of Baltimore, Maryland. The first European settlers to come to this area were frustrated in their attempts to farm the land. The serpentine ecosystem is made from an oceanic rock called "serpentinite" that is high in magnesium and low in other nutrients typically need by most plants. The land was barren of trees for timber but had some scraggly oaks and lots of grass. Settlers switched to raising livestock on the land rather than growing produce. A lot of rare plants and animal thrive in this area, making it an interesting place to visit.

Around 1808 chrome was discovered in the area. Isaac Tyson, Junior, opened a chromite mine that operated from 1828 to 1850. The trail we hiked was the Choate Mine Trail.

History on a stick

Start of the trail

The trail leads to two holes in the ground that show the oceanic rock not far below the surface. Surprisingly, the mine came later on the hike (though that did not surprise me since I had looked at a map beforehand). These holes are pit mines.

Grassy hole (safer than the grassy knoll?)

Inside the pit

Picture for the earthcache

We continued our hike along the trail. The day was a bit hot for late October and the path was very rocky. The hard stone really is close to the surface, providing little soil for the vegetation and little comfort for our feet.

Moving on

Barren land

Looks more like a stream bed than a walking path

More trees and the blazing sun

The hike was not very long and the landscape is very much unlike other nature hikes in the area. Maybe it was the late autumn that made everything brown and blasted. Or the unseasonable sun. I felt like this would be a good place for an H. P. Lovecraft story.

Unusual vegetation

Some scraggily forest

We finally made it to the mine ruins. The main shaft into the mine has some cart tracks. A nearby hole was dug to ventilate the air in the mine. Both holes have been fenced off and an audio recording said that the mine is flooded now, so there's no point in even trying to go in.

The entrance is behind me

Another view of the entrance

Mine cart tracks

Ventilation shaft

Across the road from the Choate Mine Trail is the Serpentine Trail, a longer trail that we decided to do another day.

View over the Serpentine Trail area

Soldiers Delight also has a visitors center that was closed when we were there. We will probably come again.