Project Hail Mary

The Sun is being eaten. Earth has just decades before it cools to the point of mass extinction. The world launches a one-way interstellar spacecraft to study the one known star unaffected by this phenomenon . . . and send the results back to save the world.

Scientist Ryland Grace wakes up on-board the spacecraft with no idea how he got there. He's alone . . . and Earth's only hope. Or is he? When he encounters an alien craft near the unaffected star, hope is born. But it will require sacrifice.

This movie is outstanding. It's an amazing blend of story, suspense, humor, effects, and message. It is at its core a powerful look at the need for others and self-sacrifice. Highly recommended.

Rating: A

X-men Origins: Wolverine

Logan (aka Wolverine) was heavily featured in the first three X-men films from 2000-06. This 2009 film looks at his backstory. 

Logan his brother Victor are different. with claws and regeneration abilities, they seem nigh-immortal and destined for unending battles, fighting in the Civil War up to present day. And Colonel Stryker has taken notice. 

Stryker recruits them for his strike force, and they live as mercenaries fighting around the globe—until Logan has had enough. He abandons the team and seeks a new life.

With peace, a girlfriend, and job as a lumberjack in the Canadian Rockies, Logan enjoys solitude for a few years . . . until he learns that someone has been hunting down his old team. He will be forced to confront his past—and face his future—with everything on the line.

---------

I wanted to like this movie, and there were elements that satisfied (like the action, some of the twists, and seeing Gambit make his big-screen debut). But ultimately, I think this movie suffered from trying to do too much. Was the focus on Wolverine? His relationship with his brother? His enmity towards Stryker? The rise of Deadpool? The origin of the X-men? Or just being a simple action-laced spectacle? The answer is yes and no to all of those. 

Stepping back to look at the X-men franchise, it gets confusing. Wolverine has a trilogy of his own (2009-2017), which is interlaced with (and yet separate from) the other films. Ultimately, this movie was subsequently retconned with the X-men:First Class series (2011-19), especially Days of Future Past. See my overview page for the X-men films and links to each. It is best enjoyed as an action-filled romp that held promise but tried to deliver on too many fronts and was since superceded by better tales.

Rating: B-

The Last Manager (John W. Miller)

The Last Manager is a biography about Earl Weaver, the legendary and controversial manager of the Baltimore Orioles from 1968-82 and 85-86. It covers his childhood in St. Louis, minor-league career,  brief foray into the big leagues, years spent at the O's helm, and life after retirement. 

Weaver was a spitfire. He yelled at Umps. He kicked dirt on home plate. He screamed at this players (but never held a grudge). He cussed, smoked, drank, and threatened. Ultimately, he rallied and united his players through hatred—of him.

Weaver was also a visionary. He was years ahead of his time in using data to make decisions. He preached approaches now widely used throughout the sport. He was respected and successful, winning four pennants and one World Series and coaching Hall-of-Famers including Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, and Cal Ripken Jr.

This book was a fun read, presenting a complex portrait of a man both revered and disdained by friends and foes alike. I wish it was longer. I'd recommend it for baseball fans and middle-aged Orioles fans in particular, whose memories of the players and times mentioned will increase their enjoyment.

Rating: A-

Venom

When journalist Eddie Brock tries to expose Life Foundation owner Carlton Drake as a criminal, he loses everything—his job, his reputation, his relationship. But he will soon gain something much more . . .

Carlton Drake's company has found alien life, and is secretly studying the specimens on Earth. These symbiotes cannot survive on their own; they need a suitable host. And one just got away . . .

As a symbiote bonds with Brock, he discovers his tremendous new powers even as he learns the terrible truth: this is an invasion force. Is there anything he can do to stop them? And will his parasite—who calls himself Venom—let him?

----

I finally got around to watching this 2018 film today. It was . . . okay. 

- Tom Hardy stole the show . . . he must have had a lot of fun playing this character. He does a great job wrestling with his new-found "dual nature."

- It was different than the typical superhero flick, as this is about an antihero. You're not sure whether you're rooting for or against Venom.

- The plot had its good points but suffered from uneven development. It starts off nicely, but without warning or much explanation, Venom's goals and motivation shift mid-movie. Then a bunch of other stuff happens that was poorly explored.

- I wasn't clear on what the message was. Maybe it is about co-dependency and how we need each other. Or maybe it's that everyone is a loser, so do what you can to look out for yourself.

- It was scary and gross in places. 

Overall, the potential for something amazing was there—a superhero movie off the beaten track—but it didn't quite deliver.

Rating: C

Thunderbolts*

Shortly after Captain America: Brave New World . . .

Yelena Belova, Black Widow's sister, mourns her passing as she struggles with other demons in her past. And everyone has regrets—John Walker, the failed Captain America. Red Guardian, silent father. Bucky Barnes, brainwashed killer. Ghost, tormented soul. Many of these are sent, individually, on one final mission with a promise to wipe their past and start anew. But things take a turn when they discover they've been set against each other to clear crooked CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's name. They join forces but face a great foe. They're not super, and not heroes. But if they stick together, they may just make it.

I did myself a disservice by skipping Brave New World; that omission left me confused, and I only vaguely remember the immediately preceding MCU films. That aside, this film took a markedly darker and more pyschological tone than the standard MCU offering. The themes were failure, regret for past sins, loneliness, and the need to belong. Yelena summarizes: "There's something wrong with me. An emptiness. I thought it started when my sister died, but now it feels like something bigger. Just a void." The movie looks at that. A worthy theme to be sure, and one message (sticking together despite failures) was top-notch. The humor was decent. But it is dark, so approach with caution.

Rating: B

Battle of Hoth

Today's review is of the 2025 release, Battle of Hoth. For 2-4 players, it takes 30 minutes.

Overview

The opening of The Empire Strikes Back is the famous snow battle scene on the ice planet of Hoth. The Battle of Hoth game seeks to re-create that event. Will you be the courageous Rebels or ruthless Empire? Regardless of which side you choose, you will maneuver your units with Command Cards, roll battle dice, and seek to meet your objectives—before your opponent beats you to it. Will you prevail?

game in progress; image from here

The game comes with a rule book, scenario book, and campaign books. For a new game, you select a scenario in that book (probably the first one) and set up the board as shown there (placing terrain and miniatures of the right type in the specified grids). Each player draws a specified number of Command Cards and the game begins (with the first player determined by the scenario). 

Turn Order:

1. Play a Command Card. This tells you how many units you can activate (and in which zone; the board is divided into three).

2. Order. Announce which units you intend to activate (within limits stated by your Command Card).

3. Move the ordered units, one at a time, within their movement restriction.

4. Attack with the ordered units, one at a time, within their combat range constraints. 

5. Draw a new Command Card.

For attacking, roll dice and record hits as indicated. The number of dice you roll here depends (generally) on range: if you are in an adjacent hex from the defending unit, you can roll 3 dice. Hit units are removed from the board (but a given hex can contain several miniatures, and some may survive to perform their own attack).

The goal in a given scenario is to earn a certain number of 'medals' (generally by defeating units). Sometimes you can earn more medals if you defeat a specific type of unit.

And speaking of units, each has different movement ranges, attack ranges, and other abilities. Play continues until one side earns the stated number of medals. They are crowned the victor!

Review

This is a light and fast miniatures game based on the Memoir 44 rules system, a classic WWII game. It also reminded me of a simplified version of Star Wars Miniatures. The Command Card component is the largest element of choice in this game—and can be the most maddening (if your cards don't align with your existing unit placement or desired strategy). But overall, this is enjoyable as the light experience it is intended to be.

Rating: B+

The Way of Kings (Brandon Sanderson)

Roshar is a world subject to fierce tempests called Highstorms. Alethkar, one of the lands therein, is at war against the Parshendi on the Shattered Plains, seeking to avenge their slain king. Against this backdrop . . .

- Kaladin, surgeon-turned-warrior-turned-slave, leads a bridge crew on the Shattered Plains. He wrestles with his blessings and curses, fighting for hope and purpose in a world that seems devoid of both.

- Dalinar, brother to the slain king and uncle to the current, is one of many highprinces fighting the Parshendi. Subject to horrific visions during Highstorms, he fears something is coming . . . and needs to unite his fractious people before it's too late.

- Shallan, ward to the heretic Jasnah in the City of Bells, will stop at nothing to see her family retain its status. But she soon realizes something much bigger is at stake . . .

 

- Szeth-son-son-Vallano is an assassin, beholden to a secret master and unable to disobey or force his own death. Horrified by his lot, he is given one final assignment . . . 

The past is a vapor. The truth is uncertain. Were the Knights Radiant traitors or heroes? Who are the Voidbringers? When is the Last Desolation . . . and can anyone stop it?

So begins The Stormlight Archive, a massive saga (book one was 1250 pages). I had delayed reading this for years because I was daunted by the length; I'm glad I finally picked up this work. I enjoyed the story—it moved along at a good pace, seeming neither complicated nor boring. The characters were excellent. The world was intriguing. There was wisdom, action, suspense, and mystery. As with Tolkien, Sanderson brings the readers into a much larger world and gives us only glimpses. And that's a good thing.

Rating: A