Book Review: Star Trek: Debt of Honor by C. Claremont et al.

Star Trek: Debt of Honor written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Adam Hughes and Karl Story

Captain Kirk is off on a holiday with Gillian (the cetacean biologist from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home). He's a bit preoccupied with sad and angry memories from the fallout of the Genesis Project. His memories go farther back, to previous encounters with a Romulan commander, T'Cel, a past both romantic and full of peril. Kirk and T'Cel are teaming up with a Klingon (also from Kirk's past, but no romance there) to fight a threat that has endangered every species that's gone near it. 

This classic graphic novel from 1992 is chock full of references from the history of the original crew of the Enterprise. Claremont knows his Trek history and uses it well throughout the story. The easter egg extravaganza is just a side highlight, though, because the plot is well-paced and full of fun moments. Claremont's penchant for lots of dialogue (just look at any X-men book he has written) relegates action to the background. The most dramatic fights are verbal, not fisticuffs.

Claremont also knows the Trek ethos, where villains have often turned into allies and heroes. Star Trek looks to a brighter future where people have a better understanding of each other and work together. A fan of the original show will have a lot of fun reading this.

Recommended.

Movie Review: 1917 (2019)

1917 (2019) co-written and directed by Sam Mendes

Two soldiers during World War I are tasked to get a message to an advanced British unit. The unit thinks the Germans are beating a hasty retreat. Aerial reconnaissance has shown that the Germans have only strategically retreated and are ready to wipe out the advancing British force. One of the soldiers has a brother in the unit about to charge into death. He is highly motivated to cross through no-man's land to deliver the message before the assault next morning. The movie follows the two soldiers, almost in real time, as they race to save a battalion and a brother.

The movie is famous for the editing gimmick where the whole film looks like one continuous shot. The technical achievement is impressive. The set-up is reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan and the movie follows the "boots on the ground" view of the conflict. The detail is rich, with long travels through the bunkers on both sides (the Germans really did do a much better construction job) and, more importantly, the harrowing impact of World War I on the countryside and the people involved. The style does result in some drawn out scenes that I found a little slow and repetitive. The two guys do a lot of walking around craters full of water and death, maybe a bit too much. The single-edit decision makes stuff like that inevitable. Even so, I found the movie enjoyable.

Recommended.

TV Review: The Queen's Gambit (2020)

The Queen's Gambit (2020) created by Scott Frank and Allan Scott based on the novel by Walter Tevis

Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) is a female American chess champ in the 1960s. She has a rough beginning. Her mom wrecks their car, killing herself and forcing Beth into an orphanage as an eight-year old. She's a bit rebellious and starts hanging out with the orphanage's janitor Mr. Shaibel (Bill Camp). He teachers her chess in the off moments where they can get together in his basement work area. He's fairly good and puts up with her feistiness. It's the 1950s and, in an effort to keep the girls submissive, the orphans are given tranquilizers along with their daily vitamin. Beth becomes addicted to the pills due to the influence of a fellow orphan. 

Beth gets out when she is adopted by a local couple. The dad is a traveling salesman who is hardly home; mom stays at home and his her own addiction problems. Beth plays chess more and discovers that there's money to be had in winning tournaments. Her career takes off, leading to a jetsetting life going national and international competitions. But can she beat the Russians and her addiction?

The show starts off a little slow and Beth is both sympathetic and unlikeable. Her addiction fuels her ability and it seems like her best playing is when she is high. She relies on pills to win tough matches. She does not make friends with others in spite of many people reaching out to her. I almost gave up after the second episode but heard some good feedback and gave it another episode. She becomes more likable as the story develops. Her addiction is not portrayed positively (except for causing her victories). Her friends are more supportive than she deserves, something Beth eventually appreciates. Taylor-Joy gives a solid performance, depicting Beth's naivety, brilliance, and social ineptness. Beth's ability to see possible further moves is shown in different, visually interesting ways. The cast is uniformly good.

The production values are very good. The period fashions and locations are fun. The male chauvinism of the chess community is shown but not turned into some over-the-top feminist screed. Even the Russians are depicted with more depth than I expected. The soundtrack uses a lot of pop music from the era, giving the show an authentic, vintage feel.

Recommended, though there is a bit of rough going throughout the series.

Right now, the show is streaming on Netflix.

Book Review: Legends of the Outer Banks by Charles Whedbee

Legends of the Outer Banks by Charles Whedbee

I'm a fan of local folklore and had read a previous volume by this author. This volume has more of the same. The stories range from pre-revolutionary era to mid-twentieth century. Some of the stories are about supernatural or seemingly supernatural events. One Outer Banker had a horse race with the Devil, leaving indelible hoofprints that have lasted two hundred years. A kooky old woman (everyone called her a witch) had power over the wind, causing trouble for the local fishermen. A pale dolphin used to lead ships safely through the narrow shoals of the inlets. Other stories are merely fantastic, like a new-built church that floated to a new piece of land or a batch of Prohibition-era whiskey that was tossed overboard when the smugglers thought the Feds were on the way (the beachcombers had a big party that day!). A few pirate stories are included too.

The author has a nice, informal style that makes each story come alive. He has also explored the Outer Banks, discovering some of the strange spots (like the hoofprints) for himself. The book is an enjoyable, quick read.

Recommended.

Sample quote, because I thought this was an awesome story...

One of the proudest traditions of the area is the reply that a grizzled Coast Guard captain gave to a young recruit who asked fearfully whether the boat crew could expect to return alive if they put out through the raging sea on the rescue mission to which they had been called. "Son," replied the Skipper, "there is nothing in the manual that says we have to return. It only says we have to go." [p. 159]

Book Review: Daredevil Vol. 4 by M. Waid et al.

Daredevil Volume 4 written by Mark Waid and art by Chris Samnee and Michael Allred

The Avengers perform some invasive surgery on Matt Murdock's brain after Doctor Doom filled it full of nanobots trying to steal Daredevil's sonar power. The surgery is mostly successful. Matt still has some troubles, especially when he starts hallucinating. His law partner, Foggy Nelson, has had it with Matt's instability and breaks up the legal team. Daredevil goes off the deep end as he faces a new villain, the Coyote. Coyote has been knocking off a lot of drug lord in New York City in gruesome and unlikely ways. Their confrontation resolves some problems for Matt but makes others worse.

The story takes a dark swerve away from the light-hearted swashbuckling in previous volumes. Matt deals with more personal demons and more horrible happenings. The ending itself is a bit of a downer for the Man without Fear. Still, I want to find out what happens, so I will keep reading!

Recommended.

Greenbelt Lake Walk

With a bit of unseasonably warm weather, we decided to get some sunshine and vitamin D by walking the trail around Greenbelt Lake in Maryland. 

We started at the community center complex, which includes the sadly closed library, and headed off to the lake loop trail.

Path to the lake loop

The first part of the lake was a body of water called a "forebay." Runoff water from storm drains often has a lot of junk in it. This bay collects that water and forces it through an embankment, giving it a bit of purifying before entering the lake proper.

Forebay

Explanation of the forebay

The trail around the lake is paved in parts, crushed rocks in other parts. The path is nice and flat, making the walk very easy and enjoyable.

The day was a little cold

The lake was a little sparkly

Less sparkly part of the lake

At the far end of the lake (that's the far end from where we started), we saw a giant tree that was fenced off. This precaution was to protect the tree from climbers. It does look like an easy climb.

Old, friendly tree

The sign

The lake was calm and serene. We spotted another drainage area that keeps the lake from overflowing.

Swans on the lake

He's smiling, I swear!

Overflow drain

This house has a cool inclosed porch. It's on the lake, too!

I'd live here

Once we started our way back, we saw a hotel in the distance.

What's that tower?

Hotel

Even though the walk is just a mile and a half, some of us had to stop for a rest.

Resting rock

Another house along the river had a lot of yard inflatables for Christmas.

Singing Santa and friends with a Grinch nearby

A lot of other inflatables

If you are lucky, you'll just get coal in your stocking

I didn't even see the Yeti!

Santa's elves go back in time

This house has a grotto. We weren't sure if it was deliberate or from flood damage.

I'd probably live here too

The walk was fun and we are thinking of going back for the historic Greenbelt walk. The town was built as part of the New Deal back in the 1930s and has an interesting architectural style.

Movie Review: Parasite (2019)

Parasite (2019) co-written and directed by Bong Joon Ho

A down-and-out Korean family lives in a basement apartment. They use their neighbor's wifi (without permission) and do odd jobs like folding pizza boxes for a local pizza place. They get a break when the son, Ki Woo (Choi Woo Shik), gets a visit from a college friend. The friend has a side-job tutoring a rich teen-age girl. But he is going to America for an extended period and thought of Ki Woo for the job. Ki Woo is worried that he isn't qualified, so his sister, Ki-Jung (Park So Dam), fakes some college records. The parents approve and Ki Woo discovers that the family is rich and has a beautiful home up on a hill. He recognizes how gullible the family is and starts to exploit them. The sister gets a job as an art tutor and therapist (something for which she has no qualifications other than Googling info about art) for the English student's younger brother. Soon enough, they've gotten some other people in the house fired so Mom and Dad can have jobs. The con goes fairly smoothly until the fired housekeeper comes back for something she left behind. Then the situation slowly and inevitably falls apart.

The social satire is sharp and acerbic. At first, the movie sympathizes with the poor family, though they quickly shift into manipulative and self-serving actions. The rich family is very passive but also incompetent. They don't check up on any of the lies they are told. The theme of class warfare is reinforced visually through the use of layers and staircases. The basement apartment has some ground-level windows but all they see is the street where drunks often come to pee. The house is on a hill but all they see is their yard and the carefully clumped together trees that blot out the rest of the city. Both families have limited and unrealistic views of the world, literally and metaphorically. The problem bleeds over into their relationships which are superficially cordial. Deeper down, they do not like each other. It's not that hard for conflict to start.

I have to say I don't share the pessimism of the filmmakers. They clearly look at the division of rich and poor as a class warfare that is bound to result in conflict. The characters' relations are parasitic, using the others for self-benefit while looking down on those others (a lose-lose situation). There's no sense that they could be symbiotic, doing different things for each other that are beneficial for the other and ultimately for the self (a win-win situation). Maybe if any of the characters had been decent human beings, things wouldn't have fallen apart like they did.

I admire this as a work of art, it is well-written and visually interesting. On the other hand, I wound up not liking any of the characters or the ending or the message of the movie. So I only have a half-hearted recommendation.

Slightly recommended.