At 163 minutes, No Time to Die is the longest James Bond movie. Daniel Craig ends his run as 007 by being called out of retirement to undertake a mission in Cuba. Bond meets up with his old friend Felix (Jeffrey Wright) and two fascinating women. Ana de Armas (Craig’s co-star in Knives Out) plays a screwball agent full of surprises. And then there’s Lashana Lynch, the present 007. She’s impressive, too.

What’s not impressive is the villain: Rami Malek’s mumbling psychopath who plans to spread his deadly nanobots all over the planet. I was less than impressed with the final confrontation between Bond and his old SPECTRE nemesis, Blofeld (Christoph Waltz). The love affair between Bond and Vesper Lynn is replaced by a love affair between Bond and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux)–a step down in my opinion.

Director Cary Joji Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation), keeps this long film chugging along with frequent chase scenes and a body count higher than a John Wick movie!

I’ve enjoyed Daniel Craig as James Bond. But No Time to Die delivers a mixed message of suspense and the blandness of an awkward retirement party. What’s your favorite Bond movie? GRADE: B

I read my first Josephine Tey mystery, The Daughter of Time, a few weeks ago and enjoyed it (you can read my review here). Deb mentioned Tey’s A Shilling for Candles in her comment so I figured I’d give that mystery a try.

A Shilling for Candles was published in 1936 the  Josephine Tey pseudonym that Elizabeth MacKintosh used. The mystery follows the investigation of the drowning of a film actress, known as Christine Clay. But Inspector Alan Grant determines the death was murder, not an accident. Christine Clay’s frenetic life-style generated a number suspects who would like to see her dead.

A Shilling for Candles is the second of Tey’s five mysteries featuring the wily Inspector Alan Grant, and the first book written under the Josephine Tey pseudonym. A Shilling for Candles kept me guessing right until the end! GRADE: A

Back in 1969, The Beach Boys started work on an album called Sunflower. A year after Sunflower, the group released what was to become their “come-back” album, Surf’s Up. Feel Flows is largely dedicated to material that the group recorded during the making of the albums Sunflower (1970) and Surf’s Up (1971). Feel Flow, just released in 2021 after 50 years in the Vault, includes unreleased songs, remixes, alternate versions, and live performances. Sounds great! Listening to this wonderful music took me back to my youth!

The 2-CD set I purchased includes 56 tracks (34 previously unreleased). I enjoyed the 9 unreleased songs and promos, the 3 unreleased live tracks, and the 22 unreleased new mixes and alternated versions. If you’re a Beach Boys fan, this is a must-buy! Do you have a favorite Beach Boys song? GRADE: A

TRACK LIST:

Disc one:

Sunflower 2019 remaster – as above

Disc two

Surf’s Up 2019 remaster – as above

Spaceworlds: Stories of Life in the Void, is the latest volume in the British Library Science Fiction Classics series edited by Mike Ashley. The stories selected by Ashley were published between 1940 and 1964. The most famous story in this collection is Anne McCaffrey’s “The Ship Who Sang” about an intelligent starship and the bond with its Captain.

My favorite story, Jack Vance’s “Sail 25” (aka, “Gateway to Strangeness”), involves the testing of young recruits in space by an eccentric teacher. I also enjoyed E. C. Tubb’s “Umbrella in the Sky” where anti-matter asteroids threaten to trigger our Sun to send out waves of heat that would fry the Earth. The project to shield the Earth is stalled and an agent is sent to find out why.

Jame White wrote many stories and several novels about the massive Sector General Hospital space station that treats all life-forms. It’s an entertaining series revolving around medical mysteries somewhat like House except with exotic alien maladies. “O’Mara’s Orphan” shows how clever White can be with unusual diagnoses. John Brunner’s underrated “Lungfish” explores the dilemmas a generation space ship faces when it finally reaches its destination. As with all of the Mike Ashley anthologies I’ve reviewed, Spaceworlds: Stories of Life in the Void delivers solid story-telling and some thrilling adventures! GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION by Mike Ashley — 7

Umbrella in the Sky — E. C, Tubb — 19

Sail 25 (aka, “Gateway to Strangeness”) — Jack Vance — 47

The Longest Voyage — Richard C. Meredith — 87

The Ship Who Sang — Anne McCaffrey — 113

O’Mara’s Orphan — James White — 139

Ultima Thule — Erie Frank Russell — 185

The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years — Don Wilcox — 207

Survival Ship — Judith Merril — 251

Lungfish — John Brunner — 267

Story Sources — 317

Diana: The Musical was supposed to open on Broadway in the Spring of 2020. Then the Pandemic hit and Broadway closed down. Netflix approached the producers of Diana: The Musical and negotiated a deal for the play to be filmed and then shown on the Netflix streaming platform.

Christopher Ashley, director, filmed this performance in the summer 2020, in an empty theater–no audience–with Covid-19 protocols in place. Ashley is also a Tony Award winner for his staging of the Sept. 11 musical “Come From Away,” and the director of an excellent filmed version which is streaming on Apple TV+. Highly recommended!

Ashley knows how to make a theatrical production feel intense, compelling, and involving for the home-viewing Netflix audience with Diana: The Musical. With 39 incredible, inspired, wickedly sly on-stage costume changes, Diana: The Musical pulls a lot of magic tricks that even Cher would be proud of. When de Waal steps into Diana’s behemoth pouf of a wedding gown, it’s hard to figure out how she did it in the blink of an eye. Costume designer William Ivey Long recreates dozens of Diana’s most famous outfits, including the incredible sweater with the little sheep on it.

Pacing is a problem. For example, Diana (Jeanna de Waal) gives birth to both of her children–William and Harry–with Prince Charles (Roe Hartrampf) in attendance during a single song.  Then there’s Charles admitting he’d been unfaithful to Diana with Camilla Parker Bowles (Erin Davie). Everything seems rushed in this 2-hour performance. The music is basic pop with the intension of moving the action. If you’re interested in the Royals and Princess Diana, you’ll enjoy Diana: The Musical. Not a great performance, but entertaining. GRADE: B

TRACK LIST:

1. Prologue
2. Underestimated
3. The Worst Job In England
4. This Is How Your People Dance
5. Snap, Click
6. Whatever Love Means Anyway
7. I Will
8. The World Fell In Love
9. Happiness / Simply Breathe
10. She Moves In The Most Modern Ways
11. Diana (The Rage)
12. As I Love You
13. I Miss You Most On Sundays
14. Pretty, Pretty Girl
15. Here Comes James Hewitt
16. Him And Her (And Him And Her) / Just Dance
17. Secrets And Lies
18. The Main Event
19. Whatever Love Means Anyway
20. Pretty, Pretty Girl
21. The Words Came Pouring Out
22. The Dress
23. An Officer’s Wife
24. If (Light Of The World)

I’m always fascinated by writers writing about the writing process. Alice McDermott shares her thoughts on the craft she has been practicing for decades. In a bold move, McDermott quotes an entire chapter of Nabokov’s Bend Sinister to make a point!

In books like What About the Baby? authors reveal who influenced them. With McDermott, Fitzgerald, Henry James, and E. M. Forster show up quite a bit. Eudora Welty chimes in occasionally. My favorite chapter is “Story,” where McDermott analyzes what makes a good story…or a dud. McDermott continues her take on story in the chapter “What About the Baby?” asking the key fiction question: “What is this story about?”

McDermott displays again and again in the pages of What About the Baby? that she has studied the writing process and analyzed what works and what doesn’t. Along the way, McDermott quotes some wonderful writers offering their perspectives on the creative process. This is a book that will provide plenty to think about long after you read the last page. Excellent! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Foreword: Alice McDermott Speaks in Italics Tony Earley ix

What I Expect 3

Story 23

Sentencing 41

What About the Baby? 67

Mary McCarthy 83

Only Connect (Eventually) 87

William Rehnquist, Robinson Crusoe, Rabbit Ears, and Something About Passion: Advice from Me to Me 113

An Unreasonable Degree of Sympathy 135

Starting Over 141

Coaching 155

Faith and Literature 169

All Drama Is Family Drama 189

Voice-overs 191

Things 207

Remembrance of Things That Never Happened: The Art of Memoir, the Art of Fiction 213

The Buffalo Bills are 17-point favorites over the Houston Texans. Vegas obviously thinks the Bills will run up the score. I’m not so sure. Rain is in the forecast and it could be breezy. How will your favorite NFL do today?

Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage has a running time of 97 minutes but it seems shorter. Journalist Eddie Brock ( Tom Hardy) is infected with a symbiote who calls itself Venom. When Venom manifests itself, it looks like a humanoid out of H. P. Lovecraft: plenty of tentacles and sharp teeth!

The story this time involves a serial killer, Cletus Kasaday ( Woody Harrelson), willing to be interviewed by Eddie Brock before Kasaday is executed for his multiple murders. Brock gets too close to Kasaday who gets infected by Venom and has his own symbiote who calls itself Carnage. Carnage appears to be stronger and more powerful than Venom.

Of course, carnage results as Kasaday/Carnage break out of prison. And this sets up the epic fight of Venom vs. Carnage in–of all places–a church.

Once again, Michelle Williams, on of the great actresses of our time, is wasted as Eddie Brock’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, Anne Weying. Director Andy Serkis gives Williams nothing to do. Kasady’s girlfriend, Frances Barrison (aka, Shriek), played by Naomie Harris, is similarly under utilized. Wall Street Journal movie reviewer, Joe Morgenstern, wrote the about Venom: “He’s the H. L. Mencken of symbiotes.” That’s about the size of it. GRADE: C+

Robert P. Mills’s The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction, Tenth Series anthology doesn’t have the fireworks of his stellar The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction, Ninth Series (you can read my review here), but several stories stand out. Daniel Keyes returns from the triumph of “Flowers for Algernon” with the moving story of a troubled youth with powers needed by the Future in “Crazy Maro.”

I’m a big fan of Eric Frank Russell’s work and “A Divvil with the Women” features his sly humor and cunning wit. Perhaps the best known story in this anthology is Ward Moore’s frequently anthologized “The Fellow Who Married the Maxill Girl,” a story that offers some hard choices to its characters. All in all, The Best From Fantasy and Science Fiction, Tenth Series is a solid anthology with quality stories. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• 9 • Introduction (The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction, Tenth Series) • (1961) • essay by Robert P. Mills
• 13 • Nikita Eisenhower Jones • (1960) • novelette by Robert F. Young
• 33 • Who Dreams of Ivy • (1960) • short story by Will Mohler [as by Will Worthington]
• 50 • Mine Own Ways • (1960) • short story by Richard McKenna
• 68 • The Rainbow Gold • (1959) • short story by Jane Rice
• 80 • Crazy Maro • (1960) • novelette by Daniel Keyes
• 104 • Something • (1960) • short story by Allen Drury
• 112 • It’s a Great Big Wonderful Universe • (1960) • short story by Vance Aandahl
• 116 • Man Overboard • (1960) • novelette by John Collier
• 143 • The Blind Pilot • (1960) • short story by Nathalie Henneberg (trans. of Au pilote aveugle 1959) [as by Charles Henneberg]
• 162 • A Divvil with the Women • (1960) • short story by Eric Frank Russell (variant of Heart’s Desire 1955) [as by Niall Wilde]
• 168 • The Martyr • (1960) • novelette by Poul Anderson
• 189 • Double, Double, Toil and Trouble • (1960) • short story by Holley Cantine
• 207 • Après Nous • (1960) • short story by Avram Davidson
• 209 • Interbalance • (1960) • short story by Katherine MacLean
• 218 • Infinity • (1960) • poem by Rosser Reeves
• 222 • The Replacement • (1960) • short story by Robert Murray
• 235 • The Fellow Who Married the Maxill Girl • (1960) • novelette by Ward Moore

The Police were one of the top selling group in the 1980s. Plenty of Platinum records! As Sting tells it, the group took a “pause” after their Synchronicity Tour  (1983–1984). During that time, Sting released his solo album and the other band members engaged in separate projects.

The Police reunited briefly for the Amnesty International A Conspiracy of Hope Tour in June 1986. The atmosphere was tense. According to Sting, “It was a very symbolic moment. We’d broken up, then sort of reformed to do the Amnesty Tour. U2 were there as well and as we closed our set with “Invisible Sun“, Bono came out and sang it with us. And then we symbolically handed our instruments over to U2, because they were about to become what we were — the biggest band in the world”.

Every Breath You Take: The Singles is essentially a Greatest Hits album. Are you a fan of The Police? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+

TRACK LIST:

All tracks are written by Sting.