Movie Review: Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) directed by Destin Daniel Cretton

Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is back on the friendly neighborhood beat, helping the police to catch criminals, especially organized crime and super-powered types like The Hand, Scorpion, and Tombstone. Peter Parker is on his own, holed up in a rundown apartment where he builds new equipment and scans the police radio for more action. His friends )who don't remember him after Doctor Strange's spell at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home) have gone off to MIT. Ned (Jacob Batalon) is vlogging their academic adventures. Peter watches the videos winsomely, especially for the chance to see the love of his life that he abandoned, MJ (Zendaya). Bigger trouble starts brewing as an unknown assailant keeps attacking Damage Control, a government department that imprisons super-criminals (like The Hand, Scorpion, and Tombstone) and uses the bad guys' technology to make advancements for the good guys. The assailant can jump from person to person, almost as if possessing them. Spider-Man faces off against this new foe, though he has a hard time tracking the villain back to his or her own body. Frank Castle aka The Punisher (Jon Bernthal) helps out with one break-in attempt, providing Spider-Man with a buddy/mentor who is a bit of neither. Spider-Man also has the phone number of a police officer (Liza Colon-Zayas), so he coordinates efforts on that side of the law too.

The plot gets more complicated as it moves on, but describing it would spoil some of the surprises and nice twists. The movie does a masterful job of switching from action set-pieces to plot exposition to character development without any of the moves being jarring or out of place. The movie really shines in the interpersonal relationships. Peter struggles with his desire to reconnect with MJ and Ned. He also struggles with his partnership with The Punisher, whose modus operandi does not fit with Spider-Man's no-kill attitude. But they still have a camaraderie that is believable and interesting, even in the middle of set-piece action sequences. The actors are uniformly great in their roles (which they have been playing for years, so they've had plenty of experience). Usually, by the fourth movie in a franchise, things have gotten stale or they just run on autopilot. This is an exciting story that sets up more to come.

Recommended, highly for Spidey fans.

Rodef Shalom Biblical Botanical Garden, Pittsburgh

The Rodef Shalom Congregation has a Biblical Botanical Garden next to it. Rabbi Walter Jacob and his wife Irene started the garden in 1987. They planned for the congregation to work together on the garden as equals, so creating fellowship and community. The plan included bringing some of the Biblical realities from the past to us in the present.

A sign leading the way

Irene and Walter Jacob

Our first stop was their representation of the Dead Sea, the end of a stream that winds through the garden from their Lake Galilee. 

Dead Sea area

Looking up to the River Jordan

The euonymus compacta celastraceae represents the Burning Bush that Moses saw when he received his commission to return to Egypt and lead the Chosen People out of bondage. Behind it and to the right is hosta liliaceae, representing the River Nile.

Burning bush

On the path is a pergola overrun with grape vines. Grapes are a common fruit and used for making wine. Noah was said to be the first to have a vineyard and to make wine. The pergola provides very nice shade.

Grapes

Coming out of the vine-covered pergola

An herb garden represents many plants of the Holy Land, including poppies and almonds. This part of the garden is recommended for quiet meditation.

Plants of the Middle East

Chamomile and mustard were both used as folk medicines in Biblical times. 

Medical garden?

At the highest point of the garden is their Sea of Galilee, featuring fresh water pumped in and some fish swimming around. The waterfall makes a pleasant sound to add atmosphere to the soothing surroundings.

Sea of Galilee

The desert and its vegetation played a big part in the passage from Egypt to the Promised Land. A rock garden presents a desert-like environment. 

The rock garden

The whole garden is not very big but is a relaxing (and free) place to visit near the universities of Pittsburgh.

Book Review: Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 31 by Stan Sakai

Usagi Yojimbo Volume 31: The Hell Screen by Stan Sakai

More adventures from the rabbit ronin!

The River Rising--Usagi helps some villagers shore up the dike that protects their town. If the flooding rain wasn't bad enough, bandits rob the food stores from the village. Usagi chases after the bandits, leaving the desperate villagers to continue working. Once he catches up to the bandits, he makes a surprising discovery. The story plays out in typical fashion, though it ends with Usagi disappearing mysteriously from the village.

Kyuri--Kyuri is the word for cucumbers, which is the favorite food of kappa, the turtle-like demons that Usagi has faced before. Usagi chases after a villager who is attacked by a kappa. The kappa leaves the villager dead, so Usagi vows to destroy him. Once Usagi finds a cave with some kappa in it, he finds these kappa have a truce with the town. The new, hostile kappa is from up-river and is very troublesome. Usagi works with them to defeat the rogue kappa. It's another interesting story that resolves the prior cliffhanger.

Kazehime--Usagi is caught in a heavy storm and barely makes it to an empty shrine for shelter. As he approaches, a Neko Ninja named Kazehime falls from the sky. Usagi has had nothing but trouble from the Neko Ninja but he's too much of a humanitarian to leave an unconscious person to die from exposure. He nurses her back to health and they part ways. The story picks up three months later with another reunion of the rivals. This is another bittersweet story that is emotionally impactful.

The Secret of the Hell Screen--Usagi comes to a shrine that has some problems. The local lord is there to take possession of the shrine and its grounds, wanting to convert it to a hunting forest. The monks protest that the shrine has much more value as a place of worship where wayfarers can seek refuge. The situation gets more complicated when a death happens on the grounds. Usagi is pulled into the investigation by Inspector Ishida, who has been sent by the shogunate to moderate the dispute. The shrine is also protected by the Hell Screen, a large tapestry depicting the realm of the damned. It's claimed that the Hell Screen protects the shrine by cursing its enemies. Has the death (which is one of the lord's vassals) been caused by the Screen or is there a villain involved? Part of the story is very predictable but it is still enjoyable.

The Fate of the Elders--Usagi continues wandering as the rainy season finally ends. He travels near a village where they've clearly had a drought for a long time. On the road, he helps out a farmer and his invalid mother who are attacked by desperate marauders who have no food of their own. After driving off the would-be bandits, Usagi travels with the man and his mom to meet her husband at the top of a mountain. The story is very melancholy and has a surprise ending that is very moving.

Another fine collection of Usagi stories. 

Recommended.

Movie Review: The Truman Show (1998)

The Truman Show (1998) directed by Peter Weir

Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) lives in the idyllic seaside community Seahaven. He's lived there all his life, has a devoted wife Meryl (Laura Linney) and a best friend Marlon (Noah Emmerich). He's an insurance salesman. All his life he's dreamed of exploring the larger world. He's been kept from that dream because he is the main character in a 24-hour television show that started with his birth, "The Truman Show." Seahaven is an artificial community under a dome (a structure so large it can be see from outer space) with cameras and actors imbedded everywhere, including Meryl and Marlon. The whole thing is orchestrated by Christof (Ed Harris), the producer of the show who keeps things running smoothly and dramatically. This movie picks up where Truman discovers that there is something wrong about the world around him. His path of self discovery is thwarted by the cast and crew but cheered on by the viewers of the show, including Lauren (Natascha McElhone), a former cast member and bit player who fell in love with Truman and tried to get him to escape in his college days (yes, the town has a college).

The movie is anchored by a great cast. Carrey gives a very good performance with only occasional outbursts of his over-the-top style in moments when Truman is under great stress or trying to provoke a reaction. Ed Harris is cool and collected and manipulative as Christof, the would-be God of Truman's world. He has moments of being a father-figure to Truman but his true interest is recreating the world as "Truman's world." Christof even describes himself as the "creator" and plans out all the drama in Truman's life, including his love interests and his family life. 

The story is a fascinating commentary on reality TV, extensive surveillance, and media manipulation. People on reality TV are treated as entertainment even though viewers are meant to identify and befriend the characters they see. It's a way to spike ratings and keep people on the same channel. Even with his whole life on display, Truman has an inner self and a free will that is challenged by the discovery that his world is an artificial construct, even if it is built specifically for him. But it is not really for him, it's for Christof and for ratings and for product placement. Truman has no genuine human relationships in Seahaven. Anything close to that is taken away or immediately taken up by Christof to mold into the larger drama. It's both frightening and heartbreaking.

Even almost thirty years after its release, the movie has something to say about human life, truth, and genuineness that resonates with viewers. I had a professor who said that universal problems are always contemporary. Dealing with those problems, finding ways to overcome them, is a challenge that we all face--"we all" covering different times as well as different locations.

Highly recommended.

The movie was reviewed and commented on in A Good Story is Hard to Find Episode 367. Check it out! 

National Aviary, Pittsburgh

The National Aviary in Pittsburgh is a zoo devoted to birds. Not far from the sports stadiums, it is nestled among other museums and educational attractions across the river from downtown. 

Entrance

On the walkway from the parking lot

The main attraction that lured us there was Birdly, described as a "full-body flight simulator." Patrons put on 3D goggles after laying down on a contraption where they can simulate flapping wings and directing their flight through a virtual landscape. Options include current-day New York City or Jurassic lands, among others. When we got to the Aviary, we discovered Birdly was not working. They are waiting on some replacement parts. So we only looked at real birds.

Birdly flight simulator

Our first visit was to the Tropical Rainforest area, featuring many exotic birds. The tree canopy overhung the walkway, so we could have touched the birds (if that was allowed) or they could have touched us. 

The Southern bald ibis watched us from on high. It's from South Africa (so, very southern), more from mountainous regions. I found it a little scary-looking.

Southern bald ibis

The Victoria Crowned Pigeons live up to their regal name (yes, named after Queen Victoria). It hails from New Guinea.

Up in a nest

Showing some plumage

A left-wing bird

Demonstrating how to bow to royalty

The Hyacinth Macaws hail from South America and seemed ready to chew on anything. We noticed some of their branches had rope twined about it, maybe a human intervention to help the tree stay healthy.

Macaws hanging around

Being upside-down seemed natural for them

Showing off

Looks like that other bird is on his shoulder

The Great Argus has the longest tail feathers of any wild bird and loves to show off in mating season. It definitely was not shy about walking around in front of us.

Extra-wide shot

The Canary's Call area has lots of smaller birds on display, though the most fearsome were the Malayan Flying Foxes, a bat species from Southeast Asia. They were still because we were there in the afternoon.

Bats are birds too?

Burrowing Owls like dry, desert-like habitats and are one of the few owl species to be active during the day and at night.

Burrowing Owl

The Bearded Barbet gets its name from bristles that grow on its lower beak. Both the males and females have the bristles!

Bearded Barbet

We continued on to Penguin Point where the Antarctican birds were very active and entertaining. 

Swimming like a pro

Relaxing on a stone

Hiding in a hollow

The habitat includes both dry and wet areas, along with a tunnel underneath where shorter (or more limber) visitors could get in the middle of the action. 

Hanging around

My daughter in the display!

My son joins her

In its own habitat is the Harpy Eagle. Named after the Greek mythological horrors, the Harpy Eagle weighs around 20 pounds with a wingspan that is short compared to other eagles. It lives in tropical forests, hunting down medium-sized mammals (monkeys, sloths, anteaters, etc.). No wonder it has to stay by itself!

Harpy Eagle

In the Grasslands exhibit, a lot of tiny birds are on display. The Cuban Grassquit is from Cuba, though biologists have set up some colonies in The Bahamas to protect the species.

Cuban Grassquit

Island Canary from (you guessed it) the Canary Islands

More food than bird!

Peeking out

The Wetlands habitat has plenty of large and recognizable birds. The Roseate Spoonbill uses its bill to scoop up crustaceans from the shallow water where it walks. Like the Flamingo, it gets its pink color from its diet.

Roseate Spoonbill

Pink Flamingo

Typical curly-neck pose

Typical one-leg pose

Who's pinker?

Making an escape?

Maybe that lady should be more worried than she looks!

We paid a little extra so the kids could feed the Rainbow Lorikeets. They are kept in their own room in Canary's Call. Our kids had small cups full of nectar that the Lorikeets would land on to get a quick snack.

Dual-action!

Fun with feathered friends

A close encounter

Happiness is feeding others

Missing out on the action

The Wetlands had a nature talk by one of the employees, who drew many birds to her with treats, even ones she didn't want to talk about!

Showing off a starling

On our way back to the car we saw some of the outdoor exhibits of even larger birds. 

Andean Condor

Bald eagles, jailed for July 4!?!