A friend of ours was kind enough to get Bridget and me an autographed copy of Nebraska-bred astronaut Clayton Anderson's new children's picture book "A is for Astronaut" at the Scoops of Support event for the Nebraska Friends of Foster Children fundraiser last year at eCreamery. The book is more than a space-based journey through the alphabet, in rhyme and verse. Each section of the book also features a few paragraphs of fact-based information on the space program that adults and older kids will enjoy as well.
"A is for Astronaut" features a series of colorful illustrations by artist Scott Brundage. I must admit that it has been a long time since I received a children's book as a gift. It brings back memories of my mom reading books to me when I was little — something I have vivid memories of to this day. Those stories stick with you in a way that later reading fails to match. Here's hoping "A is for Astronaut" encourages a generation of young people to reach for the stars.
“That's the problem with denial. Reality doesn't care what you think. It just keeps rolling.” — Jack Reacher in “Past Tense”
I’m happy to say that Lee Child’s latest Jack Reacher novel “Past Tense” is a return to form for the author.
I spent quite a bit of time during the first quarter of 2018 getting caught up on Child’s thrillers in anticipation of the author’s speaking engagement at UNO’s Baxter Arena last April. There were a few I hadn’t read (some old, some new), and “binge reading” them proved to be an informative experience.
Child’s 2016 and 2017 novels — “Night School” and “The Midnight Line” — left me wanting. They didn’t have the same depth possessed some of his earlier works. That was particularly true with “The Midnight Line” — which felt more like a treatise on opioid addiction than a nuanced Reacher thriller.
“Past Tense” finds inimitable protagonist Jack Reacher wandering the United States — as the retired military policeman is wont to do. In this instance, Reacher is trying to make his way from Maine to San Diego. A nice, diagonal line across the country.
Along the journey, he sees a sign for a place he’s never been — Laconia, New Hampshire, where his father was born. Reacher decides to make a pit stop in the town to see if he can learn more about the man.
In a parallel narrative, Canadian couple Patty Sundstrom and Shorty Fleck are traveling to New York City along the same highways and byways of New Hampshire in a rundown Honda. The two soon find themselves stranded with a broken down car at a small motel run by a group of peculiar men who prove far too friendly — one of them has the “Reacher” surname.
As Jack Reacher digs up clues about his family’s past — and as the young couple tries to repair their vehicle and leave the motel — all sorts of nefarious deeds (past and present) come bubbling to the surface.
The novel’s two storylines don’t intersect until the latter stages of “Past Tense,” but both are compelling in their own right.
Small Town U.S.A is familiar territory for Child. In most instances, Child’s story structure generally stays firmly planted on Jack Reacher’s point of view (even when employing the third person narrative). He typically offers “peeks around the corner” into what other characters are doing.
Structurally speaking, “Past Tense” was a bit different in that regard. The storyline involving Patty and Shorty could have been a novel all its own.
In some respects, that style feels a bit closer to watching a multi-episode TV series unfold. It’s something worth noting, since Lee Child recently revealed Skydance Media is developing a Jack Reacher television series:
As always with my book reviews, I won’t give up any spoilers.
“Past Tense” is full of recognizable Reacher tropes, wrapping them all up in a story that involves disparate elements like bird watching societies, ghost towns, and a subplot resembling Richard Connell’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game” (a story I revisited recently when one of my nieces was reading it for a school assignment).
For the past decade, Child’s Jack Reacher series has been among my favorite thriller properties. If you are uninitiated in the world of Reacherverse, it’s well worth visiting.
Child has created one of the most compelling protagonists in fiction. I’m happy that “Past Tense” gets the series back on track.
On Dec. 11, Bridget and I took a trek to downtown Omaha to see locomotive No. 4141 — the engine that carried the body of former President George H.W. Bush to his presidential library in College Station, TX.
Omaha is the headquarters of Union Pacific Railroad (they have a beautiful building downtown).
The train was on display at Union Pacific’s Home Plate (just north of TD Ameritrade Park). It is custom painted and was first unveiled in 2005 — using the colors of Air Force One. The “4141” designation was given the locomotive to honor the 41st president.
The car behind the engine (emblazoned with the U.S. flag) is a converted baggage car called the “Council Bluffs” (it was fitted with transparent panels in Texas to allow mourners to view Bush’s casket). For those reading the blog who don’t know, the city of Council Bluffs sits right across the Missouri River from Omaha.
Union Pacific is having the locomotve travel the U.P. rail system to give employees a chance to see the train. Word is that the locomotive will be placed next to the presidential library in Texas.
ABC’s Houston affiliate put together this informative video on engine 4141:
It was neat to get to experience a piece of presidential history. Union Pacific is an important employer in Omaha, and it was an honor that they brought locomotive No. 4141 to our city.
The new Warner Bros. comic book extravaganza is a 2-hour-and-23-minute water-logged mess.
The entire movie is over-Photoshopped, over-orchestrated, and over-long.
If you are someone who saw the scenes of Jar Jar Binks’s underwater home in “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” and said, “Damn! I wish they’d make a two-and-a-half hour movie of this!” — then you’ll probably be happy with “Aquaman.”
I suppose we need a DC Universe movie every so often to remind us that Marvel owns the “secret sauce” on superhero movies.
Granted, the filmmakers tried. They did their level best to make a deep-sea world that was an underwater version of Thor’s Asgard.
But instead it was just an indecipherable mishmash of “undersea kingdoms” that were largely indecipherable from one another (I mean, other than the world that was ruled by crabs).
King Orm (Patrick Wilson) wants to unite all the nautical kingdoms and go to war with land dwellers — who continually pollute and ravage the oceans.
Dolph Lundgren plays King Nereus — leader of another Atlantean tribe who is united with Orm in his quest.
(Honestly, Dolph is one of the best things in the movie.)
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
The movie starts off with a lighthouse keeper (Temeura Morrison, who played Jango Fett in “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones”) rescuing an underwater princess named Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) during a storm.
The two have a kid. The kid is named Arthur Curry. He is the bastard child destined to rule the underwater world of Atlantis. Eventually, the lighthouse is attacked and Atlanna leaves to keep her son safe — never to be heard from again.
Arthur, when he grows up, is a well-meaning brute — trained to be a deep-sea warrior by his mother’s advisor Nuidis Vulko (Willem Defoe), but is rejected by Atlantean society for being a half-breed.
Eventually, a woman named Mera (Amber Heard) comes from the sea to tell the adult Arthur (Jason Mamoa) that they need him to take control of the kingdom and save the world from King Orm’s sinister plan.
I’m not going to give you an entire rundown of what goes on. “Aquaman” blends Thor-like “mythology” with Tolkien-esque “world building.”
Along the way, it sort of becomes an Indiana Jones movie as Arthur and Mera hunt for a special trident. By that point, they could have been looking for a vintage package of Trident gum and I wouldn’t have known the difference.
It’s quite possible I’ve lost touch with what appeals to today’s younger set. A handful of people applauded after the 2:30 p.m. showing I attended. It made me wonder if I had been missing something.
Kevin Feige and the crew at Marvel understand how to make superhero movies. They know how to craft stories that appeal to more than video-game-loving fanboys.
It’s really hard for me to willfully suspend my disbelief when I look at a movie and ponder things like “layer opacity,” “Gaussian blur,” “unsharp masks,” and “digital grain” as I look at action scenes that feel like they employ every filter available in Adobe Photoshop.
(I use Photoshop for a living, so I’m allowed to notice these things.)
The film is directed by James Wan, who did a “Fast and Furious” movie and some popular horror flicks like “The Conjuring.”
Wan and the writers try to bring us a fun and colorful movie like “Thor: Ragnarok,” but most of the jokes fall flat. Unlike Marvel, the whole never feels more than the sum of its parts.
Watching a bunch of CG-manipulated characters fight to be “Ocean Master” in “Aquaman” lacks the deft touch found in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“Aquaman” would have been far more compelling if they’d found a way to keep the story grounded in the real world. Quite honestly, the “above water” sequences in the film are the most compelling in the narrative.
If you want to see a terrific superhero movie about the fight to be king of a “secret world,” do yourself a favor and watch “Black Panther” again (arguably the best superhero movie of 2018 — read my review).
Again, I understand the filmmakers were trying to make a cheesy 1980s cartoon. Unfortunately, the the timing in the film felt off, and the pacing was sluggish in certain sequences.
I haven’t yet seen all the holiday blockbusters, but in the battle between “Aquaman” and “Bumblebee,” I’m gonna have to give the edge to the Autobot (read my full review of “Bumblebee”).
Some of you might disagree with me about “Aquaman.” If you do, that’s great. If you haven’t seen the movie, I’d encourage you to check it out for yourself and see if I’m way off base.
In my mind, it was 20,000 leagues under the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The year came and went without a new edition of Netflix’s wildly enjoyable series “Stranger Things.”
The only morsels fans of the show sampled this year were the “Starcourt Mall” teaser trailer (which I reviewed on July 17) and a “title tease” released on Dec. 9:
While the first two seasons are currently streaming on Netflix, Target has an exclusive deal to distribute the series on disc. Since I have a love of physical media — and neat box sets — I picked up the second season of “Stranger Things.”
The packaging looks like something you would have picked up at a video rental store, complete with textured plastic holding the cover art, and stickers encouraging you to “rewind” before returning. Brings back memories of perusing the aisles of Applause Video back in the day.
When you flip open the cover, you are greeted with what appears to be a red VHS cassette tape — which looks surprisingly realistic in the photos I took.
This set includes both the 4K Blu-ray version and an HD Blu-ray set of all nine season 2 episodes. Each set of discs is stored “stacked” below the “red cassette” cover flap.
The set also includes a five collectible photos — stored in a flap beneath the box cover.
I can’t wait for season 3 of “Stranger Things” to drop on Netflix next year. It is arguably the most compelling original program the streaming giant offers, and I hope the long gap between seasons is worth the wait.
In the meantime, these box sets (both currently available at Target) should tide fans over until fresh episodes arrive.
If you’ve maxed out fresh ideas in a franchise, one way to rekindle the fun is to go back in the past and do a prequel.
That’s what the people behind the “Transformers” films decided to do with “Bumblebee.”
“Bumblebee” takes us back to 1987, when everything goes to hell on the planet Cybertron and the Autobots (about to lose a civil war to the Decepticons) make preparations to leave for earth. Autobot leader Optimus Prime sends a scout to earth — B-127, who crash lands in California, has a run-in with government agents, and is pursued by a pair of Decepticons.
The yellow-and-black transformer takes the shape of a 1960s-era Volkswagen Beetle and soon befriends a teenage girl named Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) after she discovers the Beetle under a tarp at a salvage lot.
The story is like a robot version of “E.T.” wrapped up in all the conventions of an action movie and a teen melodrama.
Charlie lost her father to a heart attack, has to deal with an all-too-sugary stepfather, and is something of a brooding outcast among her peers. She finds solace tinkering with an old Corvette she and her dad tried to get running when he was alive.
There are a number of plot points pulled from “E.T.” I won’t get into them all, but Charlie has to keep the B-127 (who she soon refers to as “Bumblebee”) under wraps in her family garage. He eventually gets from the garage into the home’s interior, and inadvertently trashes the house.
Charlie also has to keep the robot away from nefarious government operatives (led by Agent Burns, in what was likely the “easiest money” actor John Cena has ever made).
There are 80s songs strewn throughout the narrative, along with references to the movie “The Breakfast Club.”
I’ll admit I’m a fan of the “Transformers” movie series. I know movie-goers often deride the cheesiness of the previous entries in the franchise, but I enjoy the silly fun.
“Bumblebee” has a narrowed focus from its predecessors, and I thought this latest outing was entertaining — even if it lacks in the plausibility department.
Director Travis Knight (who started a cutting-edge stop-motion animation company that produced the animated film “Kubo and the Two Strings”) delivers a film that fits in with Michael Bay’s universe, while at the same time paying respects to the first generation of toys and animation.
He breaks down the retro designs in “Bumblebee” in this IGN video:
You need to check your brain at the door when you see “Bumblebee” (as with previous “Transformers” movies). Be that as it may, I found the overall production enjoyable.
Hailee Steinfeld did a yeoman’s job with the material (the script was written by Christina Hodson — which underwent a rewrite by “The Edge of Seventeen” scribe Kelly Fremon Craig). Despite the fact that it is a cheeseball action movie, her performance was one of the best things about “Bumblebee.”
If you are looking for something fun to see at your local multiplex this holiday season, you could do worse than “Bumblebee.” While it isn’t high art, it is mindless entertainment that captures what a “Transformers” movie should be (and could be without director Michael Bay at the helm).
The first time I saw a movie in the franchise was “Rocky III.” We went to see it at the Gemini 2 (our local dollar theater) for my friend Doug Stave’s birthday party back when I was in grade school.
Director Ryan Coogler’s “Creed” was a novel “reboot/refresh/sequel” when it was released in 2015. Not only was it a worthy entry in the series, it was one of the best dramatic films that year (in my humble opinion).
That film introduced fans to Adonis Creed — son of Rocky Balboa’s 1970s rival Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers).
Michael B. Jordan plays boxer Adonis Creed, and he does a really terrific job in the role.
He is back in “Creed II.” This time out, Adonis has the opportunity to avenge his father’s death when he fights Victor Drago (Florian Munteanu) — son of the man who killed his father, former Soviet boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren).
You can see where things are headed as you watch “Creed II.” It is a tad bit formulaic in that regard, but this is a “Rocky” movie.
For the most part, the formula works.
Had this film been in the skilled hands of Ryan Coogler, I think some of the issues that bugged me about “Creed II” wouldn’t have been as apparent.
There are moments where the timing felt off, and other sequences that seemed to drag on a bit long.
The director is Steven Caple, Jr. — a relative newcomer who does a yeoman’s job with the film, but he is ultimately unable to infuse the subtlelty and nuance Coogler brought to the first “Creed.”
The screenplay is written by Sylvester Stallone. Stallone deserves credit for trying to bring more depth to the Ivan Drago character than we saw in “Rocky IV.”
As much as “Creed II” is a story about ghosts from Adonis Creed’s past, it is also a story about redemption for Ivan Drago and his son.
We saw a similar setup used in the wildly entertaining YouTube series “Cobra Kai” earlier in the year — which did something similar for “Karate Kid” villain Johnny Lawrence.
There are instances where the Drago family dynamic feels a bit forced and manipulative (despite decent performances by Lundgren and Munteanu).
Be that as it may, the filmmakers should be commended for trying to add some depth to the film’s antagonists (something often lacking in “Rocky” films).
Mentor/father figure Balboa tries to discourage Adonis from facing Viktor Drago in the ring.
In addition to the main storyline involving Adonis Creed’s boxing exploits, the film also focuses on Creed’s personal life. His hearing-impaired, musician girlfriend Bianca (Tessa Thompson) helps our protagonist stay grounded throughout, and there is some nice interplay between the two during the narrative.
I’ll be interested to see if we get anymore films in the “Creed” series. I certainly enjoy Michael B. Jordan at the heart of this reinvigorated franchise, and wouldn’t mind seeing more entries.
The question is whether there is much more to tell in the saga of Adonis Creed.
It could be interesting to see a new film that focuses on Rocky’s son Robert Balboa, Jr. (Milo Ventimiglia). Might be intriguing to see “Rocky Jr.” jump in the the ring (maybe after his father’s death) and be trained by Adonis Creed.
Whatever direction the franchise ultimately takes, I hope they keep coming up with fresh takes on the series, because both “Creed” films have been entertaining.
“It’s amazing what a little terror can do for us, eh Jeremy? It can force us to do things that we never thought possible.” — Mr. Daymo, “A Cure for Nightmares”
I enjoy having the opportunity to write about Omaha-area creatives doing interesting things.
I was introduced to J.A. Ford (I know him as Jayson) several years ago by my good friend Barb Thompson.
“Dr. Ford Freud: A Cure for Nightmares” tells the story of Jeremy Bracken, an 8-year-old boy haunted by nightmares that have bored their way into his soul like the head of a pesky tick.
It is the first book in what the author refers to as the “Fordian Trilogy.”
Jeremy begins having the vivid dreams — involving a mysterious figure known as Mr. Daymo — after he gorges himself on Halloween candy, and has to have emergency surgery to fix a small bowel obstruction.
The nightmares become increasingly disturbing for the young boy. Anytime he tries to tell his parents, friends, or medical professionals about the dreams, his abdomen and groin are hit with an intense pain (and the boy is scolded in subsequent nightmares by Daymo).
Jeremy’s parents, Becky and David, seek the help of renowned clinical psychologist Dr. Ford Freud to help their son (he is described as a “medical doctor, a psychologist, and a certified public accountant, he has unique skills that no one else has.”)
Throughout “A Cure for Nightmares,” readers are treated to pop culture references from the 1960s and 70s — Vess Root Beer, Scooby Doo, Hardy Boys mysteries, G.I. Joe dolls, Saturday morning cartoons, and Captain Kirk...to name just a few.
There is also a recurring motif involving film strips strewn throughout the story (I haven’t seen film strips or film strip projectors in years, but they were a staple of my elementary school education in the late 70s and early 80s).
As you can imagine, a great deal of the novel’s narrative structure focuses on Jeremy Bracken’s dreams. Ford does a credible job drawing the random and bizarre structure nightmares can manifest in the subconscious mind.
Is Jeremy merely suffering from a medical condition? Or is something more sinister going on?
Because I know the author, I was able to ask him a few questions about his latest work, and his writing process (a luxury I don’t often have with other authors I review).
Ford says “A Cure For Nightmares” is influenced by writers like Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, and Lemony Snicket.
“The Lemony Snicket series of books had a big impact on me when I decided to write this trilogy,” says Ford. “The children in my books are wise beyond their years, much as Snicket’s orphans are clever and resourceful.”
You can see those influences in “A Cure for Nightmares.” I’d also suggest the story feels something akin to an old episode of “The Twilight Zone.”
Ford is reluctant to give up too many details regarding the upcoming books in the “Fordian Trilogy,” but did say, “all three books are linked in several ways.”
I asked Ford if the novel’s protagonist — Jeremy Bracken — was at all influenced by the author’s childhood experiences.
“There are a few things in Jeremy Bracken’s (life) that are taken from my childhood. The first nightmare I recall having was when I was about six years old, and involved sliding down a metal chute, whereupon I was deposited into a chair. Portions of this nightmare appear in the book. For the most part, however, Jeremy is quite different. Jeremy is much braver than I was.”
Readers of this blog know that I have dabbled in fiction writing over the years. I have a 90,000-word handwritten draft of a novel (finished in 2014) patiently waiting to be keyed into a word processor.
As a result, I am endlessly fascinated by the process various authors employ when crafting a novel. I was eager to learn what method Ford (a lawyer by trade) used when writing “A Cure For Nightmares.”
“I like to have at least a basic road map of where I’m planning to go,” says Ford, “but I don’t outline the entire story, per se. When I gave closing arguments, I typically typed them out word for word. However, I rarely followed the exact language I’d typed because I was living in the moment and reacting to the expressions of jurors.”
“When I sit down to write a book, I’ve already jotted down a number of scenes, characters, points of interest, and plot ideas in a notebook. I transfer those various elements onto Post-It notes, and stick them to the wall next to my computer so I can rearrange them to my liking.”
(Ford’s method of using Post-It notes is similar to the “index card” method described by author Elizabeth Gilbert in the book I’m currently reading titled “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.”)
Ford also references Stephen King as it regards his writing process: “King talks about letting the characters declare themselves, and warns authors not to limit character development simply because it doesn’t fit with your initial plan for the story. I’ve found that advice to very wise.”
(Note: If you haven’t read King’s writing treatise “On Writing,” it is definitely worth grabbing from your favorite bookseller.)
“A Cure For Nightmares” is Ford’s first published novel. I’m looking forward to seeing what he has in store for the rest of his “Fordian Trilogy.”
“I’ve typically enjoyed writing short stories the most,” says Ford. “Unfortunately, publishers are not very interested in collections of short stories. The first book I wrote is a collection of dark short stories and remains unpublished. Before I started my first novel (this book), I wasn’t completely convinced I could write a full-length novel. After writing two novels — and working on the third — it’s actually a little more difficult for me to get all my thoughts into a short story!”
I reviewed far too many pumpkin spice concoctions the past couple months.
I am so happy to be able to review a Christmas-themed cereal!
I mean, it has a Christmas-themed box. It says it is “limited edition.” I’m not exactly sure that sugar cookie-flavored rectangles will be making spirits bright in the way that candy cane-flavored wafers might, but we’ll make do with what we have.
Sugar Cookie Toast Crunch is a variant on the popular Cinnamon Toast Crunch (duh!)
It tastes like sugar cookies.
It isn’t remarkable, but it won’t offend you, either. It is sort of like a crunchy bowl of vanilla ice cream.
The packaging includes “dot-to-dot” and “word find” puzzles. Those should make a pedestrian bowl of cereal a bit more intriguing for ya.
I’m really hoping to find some sort of candy cane flavor cereal before Christmas. If I do, you better believe you’ll be reading about it on this blog!
It is in that spirit that “The Christmas Chronicles” travels.
The holiday film follows two siblings — Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy (Judah Lewis) Pierce. The two live with their mother, Claire (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), in the blue collar environs of Lowell, MA.
The movie starts out with old home video footage of the family throughout the years at Christmas. We see dad Doug (Oliver Hudson) in these vignettes, and learn in short order that he has died.
Kate is a precocious 10-year-old who carries on the video tradition — using an ancient camcorder to document life’s moments. Her brother is a teen of indeterminate age, but the wayward boy boosts cars in his spare time (something Kate captures on video).
Claire works to keep her family together. In the early moments of “The Christmas Chronicles,” she finds out she has fill in for a co-worker on Christmas Eve — leaving her two kids to fend for themselves.
Kate and Teddy entertain themselves by watching old Christmas videos. She catches a glimpse of an “odd” arm in some of the footage. She believes it is Santa Claus, and employs her skeptical brother to help her set a trap.
In the wee morning hours, the two discover that there is indeed a Santa Claus, find his sleigh floating in front of their house, and decide to get inside. When Santa (Kurt Russell) realizes he has two stowaways, all hell breaks loose — Kate and Teddy have to help Santa save Christmas!
What ensues is a whirlwind adventure that harkens back to 1990s holiday fare like “The Santa Clause.” It never achieves the same level of sugary goodness, but there are some funny moments strewn throughout the narrative.
“The Christmas Chronicles” took some time to get going. The early parts of the movie (without Russell) featured dialogue that felt wooden and stilted (the script isn’t anything to write home about).
But once Kurt Russell entered the pictured, things started to take off.
I enjoyed Russell’s turn as Santa Claus. He portrayed “Father Christmas” in an unorthodox manner, but the effect was relaxed, fun, and unassuming.
He serves as a temporary father figure (maybe more of a “fun uncle”) to Kate and Teddy, dispensing life lessons to the pair throughout.
Russell carried “The Christmas Chronicles” on his shoulders. He is one of my favorite actors, and has been capable in a variety of roles over the years.
There are also cute CG elves. They are involved in some fun little bits in the movie.
This affable interview with Russell about “The Christmas Chronicles” on NBC’s “Today” offers some interesting nuggets. Most notable was the fact that Russell had previous experience playing St. Nick in a Colorado shopping mall:
Many of you know that Bridget and I are avid college hockey fans. Kurt’s son Wyatt was a goalie at Alabama-Huntsville back in the early 2000s. We played the Chargers at one point during his years there.
“The Christmas Chronicles” will never be mistaken for high art, but it is likable enough that your family should have a good time with it this holiday season.
P.S. - The “Mrs. Claus” appearance at the end of the movie was a bit of casting genius. ;-)
