Packing for Mars

Most of the humor fell flat (for me); the science itself was good, though a little too elementary for my taste.  It is more of a kids-only book and I am sorry my youngest daughter did not like it.  2/5 stars.  

Shores of Tripoli

I have read all of the C.S. Forester books and all of the Patrick O'Brian books, along with some sundry other Napoleonic Sea war stories and am therefore a little disappointed by the un-sea-man-like manner in which these adventures are portrayed.  None-the-less the history itself is eye-opening and enlightening.  The timeless and unchanging institutions of the Barbary region are very-well presented.  And the characters are appealing despite the poor writing style.  3/5 stars.
​

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Despite my hate for all things Rowling writes, I actually found this play to be actually pretty good. It is very consistent with the original Pothead universe and the new characters are well-drawn.  The old characters are as terrible as the original books (e.g. Ron) and the time travel BS is well done.  3/5 stars.

​

Ballers

Really terrible, 0/5 stars.  I could not finish watching any of the episodes.
​

Last man on the moon

​much worse than the critics said, boring, un-engaging, blech.  1/5 stars.  Miss this one.

Intervention

This one was not nearly as bad as the trailers and reviews made it out to be.  The acting was weak and the dialog was not great but the story was awesome.

3/5 stars.  Worth watching if there is nothing better.
​

Independence Day: Resurgence

As bad as the critics said, 2/5 stars.  Miss this one.

Ferien

This one was really terrible.  1/5 stars.

Tarzan

Flying to / from Barcelona, I saw a bunch of movies that are either too new or below the cut line for home / family viewing.

I had very low expectations because the reviews were so terrible.  It is a "super hero" genre movie, not another re-telling of the hackneyed Tarzan myth.  Models strut perfect bodies with CGI and cardboard superhero characters.  I like superhero movies, so it gets 3/5 stars.
​

The Third Chimpanzee

Despite the weak, frequently debunked science and political slant of his books, I still like reading Jared Diamond and enjoyed this one more than the others.  There is depth and breadth in the examples.  4/5 stars.  It is a bit long and somewhat dense at times but a fun ride.
​