Endgame: Cool

After 10 years and 20 movies, it comes down to this, an epic movie to bring it all together. So much so that it almost feels like a conclusion, though, we know so many more movies are planned to come out in the near future.

Here you can see my kids and me going to the "midnight" open viewing of this show...

We had a very participatory crowd, cheering and sniffing and saying, "I knew it!" when their favorite fan theories came true. It was all a testament to the fact that the movie delivered. Very few were disappointed.

After Thanos' big win, the Avengers decide to come together and save the day. The plan: grab Thanos' gauntlet and use it to reverse the damage, but wouldn't you know it? Things do not go as smoothly as they had hoped.

It ends up being three hours of build to an epic conclusion.

Sure, there were slow parts, and as usual there are a lot of plot holes. There was only one 30-second gosh-awful-did-they-really-go-there-and-it-doesn't-even-fit-the-story scene they could have easily left out -- by far the most eye-rolling scene ever placed into a Marvel movie. But other than that, the movie was so enjoyable and the payout was so great that all of these weaknesses pale in comparison.

As you may have guessed, the Avengers revert to time travel. And why not? Time travel was used in Doctor Strange, and even a little in Infinity Wars, so why not in this last movie? Some complain that the time travel mechanics don't make sense. But after my work friend and I talked it out over a few days, we were able to put together a consistent map that explains it all. I'll detail this in not one, but two blog entries later this week. It still leaves some glaring plot holes, but so it goes.

I recommend catching this in the theater, if perchance you haven't seen it yet already. If you missed IMAX because of it being sold out, check out your local theater and see if they've extended showings another week, like mine has. There still appear to be several good seats left.

Slaughterhouse-Five: So It Goes

Here it goes: the first of four posts this week touching on the subject of time travel in some shape or fashion. Yeah, I know. You don't believe I can get out four posts in one week, but I've seen the future and it has already happened.

I begin with a spoiler-filled review of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, as I know most of you have already read it in high school. Somehow I had missed the pleasure, but got caught up when all my kids were getting the assignment. If you haven't read it, this is your last chance to stop, read the book, and then come back.

Anyway, this book is about Billy Pilgrim, an American POW who witnessed the fire-bombing of Dresden. Vonnegut spends most of the time detailing the terrible conditions Americans had to survive behind German lines, leading to what could arguably be the most atrocious act committed by the British and Americans against innocent civilians: burning an entire city with liquid fire -- a city once known for its art, architecture, and high society. Tens of thousands of people died, and Vonnegut, himself, witnessed it firsthand.

Thus, war is just terrible all around. There are terrible acts committed by all players -- sometimes justified, and sometimes not.

The book is written by some unknown Author, who was with Billy Pilgrim during the war, leading one to wonder how much of the book really happened, and how much was made up to fill in the fiction. It's all about how the Author's been working so hard to put together his Dresden book.

Well after the war, Billy is abducted by aliens who teach him how to see along the fourth dimension. He then becomes unstuck in time and can travel back and forth within his own consciousness. He immediately sees how he dies: an assassination by laser gun in the year 1976. In fact, all of the aliens can see their own death and the ultimate death of their planet. When Billy asks why they don't do anything to stop these deaths, the aliens explain that the timeline can't be changed. It is what it is. Things die, and so it goes.

Thus, throughout the book, whenever someone dies, or even when a concept dies, the Author writes, "so it goes." Sometimes it's funny, and sometimes it's sad. There are even moments when the Author comes out and tells you this guy over there is going to die in a couple of weeks, and when it actually happens, it's still sad -- though I found myself still hoping he'd avoid it somehow.

At times, I could only read a few pages at a time. Sometimes I had to take a few days off from reading. It just got depressing to read, even with the black humor throughout.

But get this: just like in The Wizard of Oz (the movie), Vonnegut has created a story that could either have happened exactly as he had written, or it was all in the head of a damaged veteran with PTSD. Whichever it is, there is no way to determine what really happened, and the reader can almost decide for himself what he would like to happen.

You, too, can be unstuck in time, once you realize that time is just another dimension that you can travel. Just close your eyes, and remember your favorite memories. If you do it long enough, you can almost imagine yourself being back there, looking ahead to the future events that are yet to come. And then you jump ahead and imagine new futures that can not yet be verified or contradicted. Now, doesn't death by laser gun sound like a plausible death on Earth? It does if you can't prove that it hasn't happened ... yet.

And get this: it's easy to get depressed about death and all that until you realize, there really is no death when you're unstuck in time. You can go back and forth along your entire lifeline ad infinitum, as that is when you're actually alive. You ... just ... exist, and nothing can change it. Something may mark the beginning and end of your existence, but nothing can take you away from your existence during the entire middle.

Stephen Hawking once explained a similar concept when talking about our universe as a big 4-dimensional sphere, where one end could be the Big Bang, and the opposite end could be the Big Crunch. And then the universe would have no beginning or end of time, as it just exists as a 4-D object. It ... just ... exists.

And so it goes. I can't remember how the book ends, but as a whole it can mess with your head. It remains a highly recommend book to read if you haven't read it -- even after reading this spoiler-filled review. But then again, can anything really be spoiled when you can already see the future?

Oh and when you're done reading that, I hear that Billy has a brother who's really good at video games ...

2019 Checkpoint #2

One-third of the way done with the year. The time is flying fast. And what have I done?

My writing success has been off and on. The one-hour-a-day approach has been helpful in helping me push forward. I completed the one short story "The Immortal Actuary," and I've gone back to working on "Descendant History." That last one needs more research and world building, and then I need to throw out everything and try again.

Evidently, the one-hour-a-day approach also takes up a lot of time, taking away from my music ventures. It's almost as if I need to find a balance between all the things I wish to accomplish. Weird!

Stresses from the day job still sucks up much energy leaving little for after-work activities. But I'm doing whatever I can. Sometimes it feels like I'm just going from one thing to the next until I crash at night. It can be both fun and tiring at the same time.

Looking ahead, the next two months are for bringing together all the hymns and songs I've been writing for my church's call for additions to the hymnal and primary songbook. Part of this includes having to write lyrics for two of my hymns -- first time I've tried to do this. July 1st is the deadline, and then time should free up for other activities.

I also need to think about starting up the story submissions machine again. Maybe this time I'll have a hit. And then when I get enough energy, I'll finally get back to finishing my first book, "Justice" so it can be published. After reviewing it a couple of months ago, I see several opportunities for improvement.

So many ideas and so little time!

I hope you all are doing well.

Into the Spider-Verse: in Pseudo 3-D

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is possibly the most comic-book-looking animated film I've ever seen. And it was able to pull together nearly all past versions of Spider-man into one movie.

Somehow, each Spider-man who has ever existed, or been dreamt up, exists in his or her own universe. (Sorry -- I just can't misuse the word "dimension" as most shows do. The proper word is "universe.") After Kingpin opens a portal to these other universes, they all clash together.

In one sense, this is yet another movie like TRON, where the overall idea is ludicrous, but when put together in an enjoyable way--a good plot, good humor, and good action--no one seems to notice the ludicrousness. You want to see how good writers can effectively fit in a looney-tunes talking spider pig? Then watch this film.

The animation is awesome. It seemed like it was constantly switching between different styles, and I couldn't find any patterns, but it all seemed to work. Sometimes the animation was an intentional low bit rate, helping to create a jerky comic-book action feel. Sometimes there was an out-of-focus double vision to emulate 3-D without the glasses -- sometimes with red-blue borders, and sometimes more like today's polarized 3-D look. (In fact, during the viewing, I thought the theater had accidentally shown us the 3-D version without the glasses. I only found out later through research that the pseudo 3-D effect was intentional, even in the 2-D version.)

Sometimes the animation looked like the old 4-color dot matrix comics. Other times it was a newer more modern type of animation with computer-aided 3-D shading and the like. And often we got to see word bubbles with some humorous variations.

Overall, it was fun for the whole family. I saw it in the theater, but it's out now on disc and streaming. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. I'll probably be watching it again sometime soon to catch what I missed the first time.

Shazam: A Marvel of a Movie

SHAZAM! helps to bring DC out of the dust in the movie sphere. Using a good balance of humor and action, this movie keeps attention from start to finish.

Billy Batson, foster teenager in search of a good home, is chosen to be the champion to help protect the world. All he has to do is say, "Shazam!" and he turns into an adult-sized superhero with several superpowers.

This movie brings back several memories from similar movies and TV shows in the past. Just like in The Greatest American Hero, Billy doesn't receive an instruction manual and needs to discovers the powers on his own. Of course he has a friend to help him along, and the results are hilarious.

Just like in Big, Billy must learn how to deal with an adult body while having only the experience of a child. As one might expect, Zachary Levi pulls this off remarkably well. Then again, he's always been great in acting as a child.

It appears that the writers give intentional nods to these works that came before it. And before anyone accuse the current writers of being unoriginal, just remember that SHAZAM (Captain Marvel) did it first in the comics in the 1940s, well before these other shows.

This movie, as well as providing tons of good laughs, also provides good action scenes. Dr. Sivana is a good evil villain. He obtains his powers through impure means and provides Shazam a formidable foe. A warning though: at least one scene is likely to scare younger children. Warner Brothers still allows its foes to go a little further than we've yet to see in the Marvel universe. I actually enjoy the darker feel in these movies.

When you go see this movie, be prepared to relax and enjoy the show. If you think too hard, it should be easy to find plot holes (such as: "Where are Superman and Batman, et al?"), but this movie is too much fun to care about those.

Random trivia: SHAZAM is a acronym of Solomon (wisdom), Hercules (strength), Atlas (stamina), Zeus (power), Achilles (courage), and Mercury (speed). Also, I doubt there has been any superhero character that has been sued more than SHAZAM (Captain Marvel). You should look it up and enjoy the whole story.

Take your family (teenage kids and older) to catch this in the theater. It's not an Adam Sandler movie as some previews would have you believe. Rather, just a good humorous action-filled fun movie.

First Contact: Rocking in Space

I'm not one to pick up a book featuring a rock star in space, but Kelly Brewer makes it work in First Contact. I was asked to provide this review, and occasionally I love to read works from new and uprising authors.

Earth has reached the edge of its solar system and is slowly branching out further, an effort known as the Deepening. While things are bad on Earth, Kyle Supplantis, lead singer of the Cosmic Mechanix, embarks on a rock-and-roll tour throughout the solar system in an attempt to bring hope to mankind and to inspire further exploration.

Along the way, nefarious parties try to sabotage and otherwise destroy the tour. Even those close to Kyle have hidden motives. And evidently unseen aliens are watching as well.

As one may expect from a rock-and-roll book, there is music, crazed fans, dangerous drugs that kill, band member issues, backstabbing, some strong language, and a little bit of sex. Though, Kyle is noble and pure, almost to a fault. He needs to be clean if he's going to try and save the world.

The writing style is new and interesting, incorporating what might be called Millennial speak. Several words contain periods or emoticons, like one might see in code or on the Internets. The people of the strange Coexist religion seem to have their own language heavy with the letter Z.

The concepts in the book are highly imaginative: robots that are half human / half machine, long distance jumps in space involving the switching of matter, built-in communication devices, new kinds of drugs, and so on.

Overall, the plot is satisfying, though it leaves much open to sequels. This book seems more about building the world and stage setting for these future books.

If you love rock-and-roll and you also love space operas, then give this book a try. It's good light entertainment.

Captain Marvel: Another Hero

Here we are ... the movie what proceeds Endgame. That means you have to watch it, right?

Then again, is an excuse needed? Captain Marvel is a fun ride all the way through. Again proof that Marvel still knows how to put together an enjoyable movie. This is yet another standalone origin story -- and get this -- possibly the best noninvasive incorporation of Avengers mythology out of all of the other post-Avengers (1) origin stories. (Maybe?)

Vers (as the future Captain Marvel is called in this movie) has joined her fellow Kree in their war against the Skrull. When things go wrong, she finds herself on the planet Earth. Cool for us! The Skrull, who are able to shape-shift and imitate anyone, start infiltrating and trying to stop her. Along the way, she joins forces with none other than younger 1995 versions of Nick Fury and Agent Coulson.

The action was fun. The music by Pinar Toprak was good and different. The plot was decent. The acting was believable. Special effects awesome -- especially in a theater, with an amazing young-ification of Nick Fury's face, though Agent Coulson's face had a little uncanny valley going on.

Some people have accused this movie of pushing a feminist agenda, but honestly, I must have missed it all. There were little "you go girl" moments here and there, such as one lady saying, "Who are you calling a little lady?" For a movie with a so-called agenda, it certainly had a lot of men helping her along the way!

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and I look forward to see how it all comes together in the upcoming Endgame. Take the family, and catch this before it leaves theaters.

2019 Checkpoint #1

Two months of 2019 are now passed, and now I report in on my progress.

The year started off great. During January, I successfully built up my writing habit (the goal of one hour a day), and I was able to put together my first new short story in two years. You can read it here:

The Immortal Actuary

By the end of this month, I should learn if I won anything in that contest.

And then on January 31st, I got sick. Not one, but TWO stupid flus. The first was short, but the second one (which may have been a resurgence of the first) lasted for two weeks. And I'm still recovering. It wiped out all of my productivity.

I'm happy with what I accomplished so far, but I am also frustrated knowing it could have been more. Now I must build up the writing habit again. So much to write!

I hope you're doing well with your writing goals. Ever onward and keep pushing forward!

Mary Poppins Returns: Worth Watching

Every now and then, Disney pulls off the unthinkable ... making a decent sequel to a perfect movie. Despite a couple of distractions, I was blown away with how much of the original magic made it into this release, and how well it was made to relate to a newer generation.

Just like the first movie, this one seems to remind each of us what we can learn from children and how to reach our inner child.

Michael and Jane are now older. Michael, who still lives in the Banks household, has lost his wife, and now his sister is staying with them to help. Having accrued too much debt, Michael is about to lose the home to the bank -- all making for a perfect time for Mary Poppins to return.

My two youngest children, who don't remember the original, seemed to love this movie. It spoke to them.

For me, it was more of revisiting what I had already seen, as many of my emotional responses were from remembering scenes from the original. The sequel relies heavily on the original form and plot. In fact, almost everything from the original seems to be mapped to something in the sequel. In some respects, the sequel did better, and in others it came only close.

My only disappointment was that the writers decided to introduce a nefarious element. Since the original movie had already demonstrated how a writer can build so much tension without there being any "truly bad guys," I was disappointed to see bad guys in the sequel. It didn't faze my children, though, who are more than used to that Hollywood formula. It just felt out of place for a Mary Poppins movie. Plus, the plot would have been nearly the same with the nefarious elements removed.

The music was great, though slightly inferior to the original. If I were to give the first score a 10, I'd give this one a 9. The songs were good and intelligent, but just slightly less memorable than the original songs. Plus, I heard more parallel 5ths in the newer film, which usually distracts me. The "music box" scene was quite effective until right before the box was closed when the music played just one non-music-box note that took me out of the moment. My 13-year-old daughter also independently pointed out that "wrong" note.

One of the songs, which was cleverly worded and performed, seemed a little too "burlesque" for a Mary Poppins movie. I enjoyed it, but it felt out of place.

And one more thing about the music I must compliment before wrapping up ... something that really needs to be said: if there was any auto-tuning going on, it was very well done and nonintrusive. I perhaps heard some minor auto-tuning for Jack in the very last song, but other than that, it sounded like real human beings singing. Disney in particular has been very bad and lazy with auto-tuning in their recent movies, and this was a pleasant surprise.

If you haven't yet seen this movie, I would recommend it for a great family outing. Go ahead and bring out that inner child and perhaps leave feeling better about the world around you.

Goals for 2019

Looking back on 2018, I actually accomplished quite a bit, but not in the area of writing. The good news is that I've restarted the writing machine, so I anticipate that the upcoming year will be productive.

As I mentioned somewhere earlier, I'm going to do away with the stats. I'm such a numbers guy, but I realize numbers are usually boring to us writing types.

Last year I introduced my annual movie lists back to 2010, which is both fun and yet annoying, as I'll have to keep updating these as I watch more movies.

Here's my favorite post from last year:

• Why I'm Slow to Submit: How I've come to realize why I'm tired of submitting to the 'zines.

Looking ahead, here are my goals for 2019:

• Novel writing:
• Revise "Justice" and prepare for publication.
• Work on either "Space Cadets" or "Time Sleuths."
• Short stories:
• "The Immortal Actuary" (a new idea that recently came up)
• "The Jesse Flag" (flash fiction)
• "The Rainbow Flush" (flash fiction)
• "Godspring"
• "Descendent History"
• Short story submissions: restart

I hope 2019 turns out good for you!