Ad Astra (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Ad Astra (2019): Moon pirates, rampaging space gorillas, and too many other absurdities and plot holes to fit in 280 characters. Even the human interest, a man's search for his missing astronaut father out by Neptune, consumes the whole movie, then reaches a nothing climax. C-

POTD: Navajo Dancers

From 2018 09 20 Monument Valley

Today's photo-of-the-day is from a window of the gift shop of the visitor center in Monument Valley on the Arizona/Utah border.

POTD: Irresistible Selfie

From 2018 09 20 Monument Valley

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Monument Valley on the Arizona/Utah border. It shows a couple of unidentified tourists taking an irresistible selfie.

POTD: Contemplating Infinity

From 2018 09 20 Monument Valley

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Monument Valley on the Arizona/Utah border. It shows a small boy sitting on a big ledge contemplating infinity. Or so that's how I like to see it.

Bonus photo after the jump.

POTD: Dreamcatchers

From 2018 09 20 Monument Valley

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Monument Valley on the Arizona/Utah border. It shows some dreamcatchers offered for sale at craft stands in the valley.

Bonus photo after the jump.

Raise Hell (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Raise Hell (2019): Documentary of Molly Ivins, the journalist who reveled in holding in contempt and ridicule powerful politicians. Lots of clips from interviews and speeches. If you remember her fondly, you'll like this movie. If you're MAGA, you won't. It's that simple. B-

POTD: Bumpy Ride

From 2018 09 20 Monument Valley

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Monument Valley on the Arizona/Utah border. The rock formations are the famous "mittens." But don't overlook the tiny cars threading their way through the valley. The best thing about Monument Valley is the drive. It's bumpy. It's dusty. It's slow. It's hard on cars. But it offers great views. Bumping along, you can even imagine John Wayne in a stagecoach.

Dark (TV 2018)

Rotten Tomatoes

Dark (TV 2018): Missing children, dead birds, a cave in the woods, a nuclear power plant, and secrets from 33 years ago, all make this a compelling time travel mystery. Plan to keep detailed notes of the timelines and a list of characters. Or just go along for the wild ride. B+

Hustlers (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes

Hustlers (2019): Ex-strippers move on to seducing, drugging, then separating men from their money. First half is trashy (you might be tempted to walk), second half is melodrama, the whole barely gets a thumbs-up, I guess because it shows women taking charge of their lives?? C+

Review: Fleishman is in Trouble

Amazon

From Fleishman is in Trouble, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner:

Rachel was gone now, and her goneness was so incongruous to what had been his plan. It wasn’t that he still wanted her—he absolutely did not want her. He absolutely did not wish she were still with him. It was that he had spent so long waiting out the fumes of the marriage and busying himself with the paperwork necessary to extricate himself from it—telling the kids, moving out, telling his colleagues—that he had not considered what life might be like on the other side of it."

A novel that captures the unhappy state of a marriage as believably as the most talented writer can. Not bad for a debut novel.