Stretch

I enjoyed this film but my wife hated it.  We have a split decision.  If you hate LA Hollywood insider movies you will hate this one 3/5 stars.  The out-takes during the closing credits are fantastic.  Don't miss that part if you do watch the movie.

Unbroken

Tonight we watched "Unbroken."  It was pretty good.  I found it a little formulaic and melodramatic; the characters are 1-dimensional.  But the cinematography and special effects were great.  3/5 stars.

Blind Sight

I enjoyed this novel and recommend it.  It is very absorbing.  I stayed up very late reading it.  4/5 stars.  The book explores the metaphysics of consciousness and the “philosophical zombie,” through the old “Chinese Room” thought experiment criticism of the Turing test.  It is a packed with action, adventure, space opera, warfare, aliens, autistic people, vampires, awesome characters, awesome ideas, mystery. . .  Fun read!

Living is easy with eyes closed

This one is very good, 4/5 stars.  An English teacher in southern Spain is a John Lennon fan and encounters two kids hitchhiking.  Great dialogue.  A little "talky," but well acted, well scripted. Warm, slice-of-life, positive outlook on life despite all the imperfections.

The Hydrogen Sonata

I finished listening to the audio book version of this great space opera and recommend it.  I am prioritizing the other “Culture” books in Banks’ universe higher in my reading queue.  Peter Kenny, the voice actor who reads the book is fantastic.  His accents and voice drama are what made the experience so wonderful.  4/5 stars, highly entertaining.

The Immigrant

We watched “The Immigrant” last night and it was not bad but not outstanding.  3/5 stars, barely worth watching.

Newest Member of the Class of 2019 at UC Irvine School of Biology is . . .

. . . former Bellevue full back #30 (Yofi).  Congratulations, Yofi.  California: here you come!

Wild Card

I can’t believe we sat through this entire puke awful film.  0/5 stars.

It is the worst film we have seen this year, despite the redeeming last 70-sec fight scene where Statham kills 7 people with a spoon.

Wild

If you like “chick flicks” you should watch this film; 3/5 stars.  I didn’t like it that much but it has enough redeeming characteristics to make it watchable.

La Peau Douce (The Soft Skin)

Last night we watched an old Francois Truffaut film that we had missed in our “watch everything by Truffaut” frenzy thirty years ago.  It took less than 10 minutes to realize the English subtitles are so awful that it is easier to understand the story by turning them off.  The film has aged well – worth watching 3/5 stars.