In the throes of winter, I’m finding myself missing the dog days of summer. Not only has it been extremely cold here, this is the windiest winter I recall. It’s miserable even stepping outside. But closing out the year, it marked the ending of a few things near and dear. I was able to hit my reading goal of 21 books (I actually exceeded it by hitting 22 books. Yay!) And I finished watching Lost in Space, the network show that cleared the streets on Wednesday nights when I was a wee lad. And it was a time for new beginnings as well, the return to my novel manuscript that’s been collecting dust for years. But hey, with this nasty weather, there’s not a better time to lose oneself in books, movies, and games! I’ve been falling down the rabbit hole of premium headphones as of late, and it befuddles me how all of the YouTube and online reviews I read are produced/written by users who connect these hi end headsets to . . . wait for it . . . iPhones and laptops! Seriously? Doesn’t anybody listen to a home hi-fi deck anymore? It’s like buying a Lamborghini car kit. Sure, it looks like a Lambo cruising down the road, and only you know it’s sporting a Volkswagen engine, but it certainly can’t feel good when you’re found out, “Oh yeah, it's just a kit.” What are you going to do when a real Lamborghini pulls up next to you at a stoplight and gives you an encouraging rev?
Lost in Space on Blu-Ray: I finally watched the last season of Irwin Allen’s sci-fi series about the wayward Robinson family who are, indeed, lost in outer space while on a mission to colonize Alpha Centari in the late 1990s. The third season strayed far from the seriousness of the first season and went into total camp territory. The series ended with no real closure, and cast member Angela Cartwright stated, “there was no phone calls or post cast parties. We were told we’d be back next season. And then we weren’t. It was very sad.” But even June Lockhart, who played the motherly Maureen Robinson, said after the release of “The Great Vegetable Rebellion” in which Doctor Smith must be saved from becoming a man-sized celery stalk, “we were just running out of ideas.” She and co-star Guy Williams were punished by being written out of the show’s next episode because they couldn’t stop laughing during filming. Bill Mumy, who played the venerable Will Robinson, contacted producer Irwin Allen in later years about making a true series finale. Allen shut him down, explaining Bill Mumy would sue him if Irwin crafted his own series finale. It caused strange sentiments between the two men, but after Allen’s demise, Mumy wrote an official script which the surviving cast members sit at a table and read. It provides a closure to the show and is a nice added feature only available in the Blu Ray set.
The Battle of Britain on Blu Ray: Released in 1969, this British based film heads an all star cast including Michael Cain and Robert Shaw. Despite top Battle of Britain ace, Adolf Galland, being a technical advisor for the film, the movie definitely has a British bias to it. The film had great pacing and special effects. The German pilots were portrayed by German actors, and Adolf Galland himself was played by a German actor. The film is notable for its spectacular flying sequences. It was on a far larger scale than had been seen on film before, or since, making the film's production very expensive. (This does not include the expansive CGI effects we see in today’s films.) MGM brings Battle for Britain to Blu Ray in a 1080p/MPEG-2 encoding that overall is very pleasing and natural. The print from which the encoding is derived looks free from blemishes and scratches. There are no pumped up colors, no highly polished look, no overly contrasted images, just natural looking images that resemble what we see when we go outdoors. For this to be a fifty plus year old film, there is an amazing amount of detail in this action-packed film.
The Resurrection of Joan Ashby by
Cherise Wolas: Joan Ashby is a brilliant and intense literary sensation
acclaimed for her explosively dark and singular stories. She plans to continue
being a full-fledged novelist. When she finds herself unexpectedly pregnant,
she is stunned by her husband Martin’s delight, his instant betrayal of their
pact. She makes a fateful, selfless decision then, to embrace her unintentional
family. Challenged by raising two precocious sons, it is decades before she
finally completes her masterpiece novel. Poised to reclaim the spotlight, to
resume the intended life she gave up for love, a betrayal of Shakespearean
proportion forces her to question every choice she has made. Ms. Wolas’s way
with words and her flair for writing fiction have me bedazzled. I’m only in the
first quarter of the book, but it’s difficult one to put down.
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II on PC: I enjoyed the first iteration of this game immensely. I actually played it twice. This one, which seemed almost identical in art style and gameplay was somewhat lackluster. Much is to be said for an action RPG in which instead of fighting rats and goblins and orks, you get to take on mummies and vampires, and all things Transylvanian. Unfortunately, with faulty mechanics that forced me to dumb down the difficulty or cheat my way through, I didn’t feel very gratified getting to the game’s ending. At least it only took me 33 hours compared to the 50 plus hours I spent in the first game playthroughs.
Tank Squad on PC: This game is really rough around the edges. Could there be a diamond in there somewhere? I’m not sure. I knew what I was getting into, however. I saw where the game creator/designer (one man, by the way) was in the forums addressing each and every concern by disgruntled players. So, I thought I’d take a chance and support this one-man army of a developer. If, and that’s a big “if” the guy holds heart and keeps plugging away, this is going to be a great game. This is Panzer Commander for these days. The feel of the tanks and the backdrop of Operation Barbarossa is definitely there, the game just needs to become a finished product. The music score, however, A+. That’s a decent start.
The Convert by Edward C. Burton: When I first played LucasFilm’s darling PC game, Their Finest Hour: The Battle of Britain back in 1990, a seed was planted. The whole idea that Germany with its massive air force of 2,200 planes attacked England with its scant air force of 600 planes and England defeated them really intrigued me. And this gave birth to six months of research at my local library and the start of a novel I wrote about pilots in this, the world’s first battle fought entirely in the air. I’ve had the manuscript done for decades and it did float the NYC publishing houses, about forty of them to be exact. No takers. So, I did further edits and revisions but the manuscript sat in a drawer. Being that I now have the time, I’ve taken it out and blown the dust off of it. The keystrokes are singing, and I should have this thing ready to go out into the world of agents and publishers very soon.
Death Race and Death Race 2 on Blu Ray: I was lucky enough to find a double disk set of both of these movies in a local resale shop. I rewatched the first movie not simply to catch up to where the second movie begins, but rather because it’s such a fun bombastic movie to watch. The plot is over the top, not much more than a Saturday morning kids’ show only made for adults, but both movies’ plots, though predictable are compelling and make for great popcorn movies. The second movie which is actually a prequel to the first movie was done quite well, pulling off the task of using older actors (who were in the first movie) portraying younger versions of themselves. These movies have a certain grit to them which contributes to the edginess of the films and they are both a testament to the fact that B movies can be good enough.
Sponge Rotting Pinata on CD: Formed in 1992 in Detroit, Michigan, this band has been described as a versatile blend of classic hard rock and punchy alt-pop with a thin metal veneer. Vinnie Dombroski, whose father was a guitarist and taught him to play at age 12 has been the only consistent member, being the frontman and main songwriter. Sponge’s debut album, Rotting Pinata made it to the 58th position on the Billboard Top 200, thanks to their song “Plowed.” That song was quickly followed up by a second hit, “Molly (16 Candles Down the Drain.)” This is their song that caught my ear, so to speak, and it was inspired by a local story the band members heard about a girl who developed a crush on her teacher and then attempted suicide when he rejected her. Rotting Piñata received mostly positive reviews. However, AllMusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that the album was derivative of Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam, with a few good songs but otherwise featuring "half-finished ideas". Trouser Press was more positive about the album, noting "Plowed" and "Molly" as having "catchy hooks and hummable choruses" while also being "colored by murky sonic structures that layer a bit of lead around their listener friendly cores.” I hadn’t listened to this album since probably 2000, and personally, I forgot how good it was. It’s a shame there is an untitled song that plays at the end of the album that takes a good 4-5 minutes of complete silence to get to. This song could very well be the best song on the whole album and I don’t think the album has a bad song. The album has a pop feel to it blended with a dual guitar hard rock sound. If you pick it up in a thrift shop and give it a listen, you won’t be disappointed.
The Dark Knight on Blu Ray: Since its release, the original movie of this Christopher Nolan trilogy, Batman Begins has often been cited as one of the most influential films of the 2000s. The film helped popularize the term “reboot” in Hollywood, inspiring studios and filmmakers to revive franchises with realistic and serious tones. It was followed by The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), with the three films constituting The Dark Knight trilogy. The Dark Knight had its work cut out for it, being the follow up to Batman Begins. Being one of the first films to be filmed with IMAX high resolution cameras, I would infer this was a good way to follow up. Casting Heath Ledger as Joker, was perhaps the ultimate in follow ups, however. His portrayal of the archvillain Joker was perhaps the greatest follow up of all because Ledger received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor which made it the first time in history an actor received the award posthumously. One reviewer stated Ledger would have become a legend even had he lived because of his performance. Ledger’s Joker is a psychopath completely devoid of empathy. He’s almost devil-like in his drive to show that every man can be corrupted. His mode of ops can best be summed up in his own words. “Their morals, their code ... it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. You'll see—I'll show you ... when the chips are down, these civilized people ... they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster ... I'm just ahead of the curve.” The movie’s script penned by brothers, Christopher and Jonathan Nolan was influenced by The Godfather and Heat. There was nothing delightful or fantastical about this film. (Although I was able to pan these beautiful bright shots below.) It was brooding and dark and presented the evils of humanity fully frontal. The subtle dark that permeates the film along with its delve into the 70mm IMAX format made this movie look remarkable on Blu Ray on an OLED television, however. Watching this makes me want to pick up the 4K version.
Sennheiser HD599 Headphones: These mid-fi headphones first released in 2016 as part of Sennheiser’s 5 series. For casual listening at home, these cans are hard to beat. They are open back so others in the room are going to hear a little something something emanating from the headphones, but the bass is quite present for open back, and their cloth-like velour pads can sit comfortably on your ears all day long. I listened to Sponge’s Rotting Pinata CD in its entirety and was amazed at how clear the songs were. I was discovering new sounds in songs that I was previously not aware of. These cans are priced low enough that they’re a great dive into higher resolution listening. If you want to dip your toes in, these are a great baby pool to do so.
