The Burden - Wood Engraving
My latest engraving is claustrophobic crowd scene with a crush of menacing characters carrying their “burden.”
Keeping Their Marbles
Jenkins meticulously documents how some of the great treasures of antiquity ended up in museums so far away from the places of their origin. There is also a bit of history about the forming of museums and their evolving roles. However, the primary topic is whether or not these objects should be returned. Both sides are given but she sides more with keeping stuff where it is now, among other arguments, citing that museums serve a broader purpose than nationalistic or ethnic pride.
Metroid: Samus Returns on Nintendo 3DS
It’s a Metroid game that plays like all the other 2-D Metroid games! Like every other game in the series there comes a point where you realize you don’t have to kill any of the enemies and you might as well just run past them, they’re just going to respawn anyways. But unlike the other Metroid game I’ve played there wasn’t much incentive for backtracking through previously explored areas unless you want to get a 100% completion.
Apparently this is a remake of Metroid II from the Gameboy. I finally get to experience the story of the baby metroid that has been alluded to in just about every incarnation after this. The game is mostly about exploring various regions to find a few boss-type aliens and collect their DNA. This opens the next area, then repeat. Yes, it gets repetitive, but each new upgrade makes you feel like you are somehow progressing. It probably goes on just a tad too long and I was so tired of the game by the time the surprise final boss made its appearance. A good game, but not great.
Undefeatable
My quest to find a good Cynthia Rothrock movie continues. This thing is absolute trash filled with non-actors and tons of extreme close-ups. I think most of the cast came straight out of some Orange County dojo. But there is a reason you must watch this movie: Don Niam is absolutely enthralling as the evil Stingray. He spends half the movie stalking redheads and maniacally calling them all “Anna” in the most pervy way possible. When he finally gets his comeuppance is the stupidest thing ever and it’s great.
Night of the Hunter
My Robert Mitchum film fest continues with this classic. There are some great, surreal visuals and Mitchum’s character is definitely memorable, but he is not as scary as the film wants him to be. He kinda comes across as a goof. It doesn’t help that he get a few stealth musical numbers in there.
Cape Fear
Classic thriller that, for a film of that time, was surprising brutal in both its themes and some of the violence depicted on screen. It’s very strange how quickly the do-gooder hero of the film was willing to put his principals aside to protect his family. But, then again, Mitchum’s character was just so ruthlessly evil he’s almost a cartoon by the end.
Marshal Law
I wanted to see what a post-Hong Kong Cynthia Rothrock movie would be like, and it’s pretty bad. Her talents are completely underutilized as most of the story is focused on the male lead played by Chad McQueen. David Carradine plays the main villain and he at least gives it all he’s got (which isn’t much). There is a genuine attempt at character development and story here but, unfortunately, this is supposed to be a karate movie and the fights are flat and un-energetic.
In the Line of Duty III
I was a victim of false advertising on this one. The Amazon backdrop to this clearly shows Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock back in form for a sequel to Yes, Madam! But this is a completely different story with different actors. The only through-line here is the lady cop who saves the day. There is still a healthy dose of over-the-top Hong Kong gunfights here but it doesn’t live up to Part IIand has some serious tonal issues.
Between Planets
A typical young-adult sci-fi tale from Heinlein. If there are deep themes here I missed them. This is mostly the story of a young man who, because he was born in spaceflight, is caught in the middle of an interplanetary war. Lots of , “Golly, aw shucks!” dialogue, but the plot moves along at a good pace.
Glass Onion
Not as good as Knives Out but it’s fairly entertaining. I wasn’t a fan of the hyper-unrealistic setting and it, again, is not much of a mystery, but weird characters abound and there’s much more focus on Detective Blanc and his thinking.