The perfect time to listen to Yacht Rock music is mid-Summer! Many critics compare Yacht Rock to Easy Listening music, but I would argue the quality of Yacht Rock music is a cut above. Some consider Steely Dan’s music of the 1970s the beginning of Yacht Rock. There’s no doubt that Michael McDonald is a key player in the genre. The same goes for Kenny Loggins.

The groups most closely associated with Yacht Rock music are Toto, Poco, Pablo Cruise, 10cc, Chicago, REO Speedwagon, and Air Supply.

Are you a fan of Yacht Rock? Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+ (for both)

TRACK LIST YACHT ROCK 1:

A1	Chuck Mangione–	Feels So Good Written-By – Chuck Mangione	3:30
A2	Toto–	Africa Written-By – David Paich, Jeffrey Porcaro*	4:23
A3	Kenny Loggins–	This Is It Written-By – Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald	3:37
A4	Little River Band–	Cool Change Written-By – Glenn Shorrock	4:49
B1	Peter Frampton–	Baby, I Love Your Way (Live) Written-By – Peter Frampton	4:41
B2	Player (4)–	Baby Come Back Written-By – J.C. Crowley, Peter Beckett	4:01
B3	Looking Glass–	Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) Written-By – Elliot Lurie	3:06
B4	Rupert Holmes–	Escape (The Piña Colada Song) Written-By – Rupert Holmes	4:34
C1	Bobby Caldwell–	What You Won’t Do For Love Written-By – Alfons Kettner, Bobby Caldwell	4:45
C2	Climax Blues Band–	Couldn’t Get It Right Written-By – Colin Cooper, Derek Holt, John Cuffley, Pete Haycock, Richard Jones (10)	3:18
C3	Ace (7)–	How Long Written-By – Paul Carrack	3:21
C4	Gino Vannelli–	I Just Wanna StopWritten-By – Ross Vannelli	3:37
C5	Dave Mason–	We Just Disagree Written-By – Jim Krueger	3:01
D1	Poco (3)–	Crazy Love Written-By – Rusty Young	2:51
D2	The Ozark Mountain Daredevils–	Jackie Blue Written-By – Larry M. Lee*, Steve Cash	3:34
D3	Pablo Cruise–	Love Will Find A Way Written-By – Cory Lerios, David Jenkins	4:08
D4	10cc–	I’m Not In Love Written-By – Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman	3:43
D5	Dan Fogelberg–	Longer Written-By – Dan Fogelberg	3:14

TRACK LIST YACHT ROCK 2:

A1	Kenny Loggins Featuring Stevie Nicks–	Whenever I Call You “Friend”Written-By – Kenny Loggins, Melissa Manchester
A2	Michael McDonald–	I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near) Written-By – Ed Sanford, Jerry Leiber, Michael McDonald, Mike Stoller
A3	Gerry Rafferty–	Baker Street Written-By – Gerry Rafferty
A4	Chicago (2)–	If You Leave Me Now Written-By – Peter Cetera
B1	REO Speedwagon–	Keep On Loving You Written-By – Kevin Cronin
B2	Air Supply–	All Out Of Love Written-By – Clive Davis, Graham Russell (2)
B3	Eric Carmen–	All By Myself Written-By – Eric Carmen
B4	Paul Davis (3)–	I Go Crazy Written-By – Paul Davis (3)
B5	Toto–	I’ll Be Over You Written-By – Randy Goodrum, Steve Lukather
C1	Little River Band–	Reminiscing Written-By – Graham George Goble*
C2	Seals & Crofts–	Summer Breeze Written-By – Dash Crofts, James Seals
C3	Gordon Lightfoot–	Sundown Written-By – Gordon Lightfoot
C4	Elvin Bishop–	Fooled Around And Fell In Love Written-By – Elvin Bishop
D1	Atlanta Rhythm Section–	So Into You Written-By – Perry Carlton Buie*, Dean Daughtry, Robert Lafayette Nix*
D2	Walter Egan–	Magnet And Steel Written-By – Walter Egan
D3	Exile (7)–	Kiss You All Over (1986 Version) Written-By – Michael Chapman*, Nicky Chinn
D4	Captain And Tennille–	Love Will Keep Us Together Written-By – Howard Greenfield, Neil Sedaka
D5	Santana–	Hold On Written by Ian Thomas

If you look closely at the cover above, you’ll notice this 1955 AVON Books paperback sold for 25 cents. AVON publishes a number of paperback collections of The Saint stories. From time to time, I dip into a stack of paperbacks featuring The Saint. The Saint, (aka, Simon Templar) is an adventurer and modern day Robin Hood. Many of these stories feature The Saint righting wrongs in clever ways.

My favorite story in The Saint Cleans Up is “The Charitable Countess” where an arrogant Countess challenges The Saint to steal her diamond neckless. You can guess how that turned out!

I also liked “The Arrow of God” where a rich man dies from being stabbed with a beach umbrella. All the suspects–including The Saint–found the rich man a boor and all had motives to kill him. But The Saint unravels the case with aplomb. If you’re in the mood for some entertaining, clever mystery stories, just read The Saint collections. Are you a fan of The Saint? GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

The green goods man — 7

The charitable countess — 26

The mugs game — 51

The unkind philanthropist — 75

The arrow of God — 102

The trailer for Music Box: Yacht Rock, A Dockumentary (above) explains what “Yacht Rock” is. You’ll be familiar with most of the songs featured in this one hour and 35 minute tribute to the mellow music of the 1970s and 1980s.

“Yacht rock is a subgenre of soft rock that emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s, characterized by its smooth, sophisticated sound, polished production, and influences from jazz, R&B, and funk. It’s often associated with a laid-back, breezy vibe, evoking images of relaxing on yachts or enjoying sunny California coastlines. While it’s sometimes considered a subset of soft rock, yacht rock is distinguished by its higher production quality, sophisticated arrangements, and focus on melody and musicianship. “

Music Box: Yacht Rock, A Dockumentary includes snippets of interviews and performances of Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Steely Dan, Steve Lukather, Toto, David Paich, Steve Porcaro, Brenda Russell, Jay Graydon, David Pack, Tom Scott, Gary Katz, JD Ryznar, Steve “Hollywood” Huey, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Thundercat, Mac DeMarco, Prince Paul, Brian Robert Jones, Bethany Cosentino, Fred Armisen, Steven Hyden, Amanda Petrusich, Alex Pappademas, Jason King, Molly Lambert, Rob Tannenbaum

Check out the compilation Yacht Rock CDs on Thursday, August 7, 2025. GRADE: A

“A moment of reckoning has arrived for the West. The loss of national ambition and interest in the potential of science and technology, and resulting decline of government innovation across sectors, from medicine to space travel to military software, have created an innovation gap.” (p. xiii)

Alexander C. Karp, CEO of tech company Palantir (palantíri are powerful, magical stones that allow users to see and communicate across vast distances.  These stones, also known as “seeing stones,” were created by the Elves and given to the Numenoreans in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings) sees plenty of problems for the U.S.–and this was before Trump took power and Elon took a chainsaw to Government agencies. Cuts in research and technology place our country at a disadvantage to the more advanced and focused Chinese. The race to master Artificial Intelligence slips away from us.

Karp defends his decision to use Palantir to provide advanced weapons systems for the Department of Defense (where Microsoft and GOOGLE refused). Future wars will be fought with drones and robots. AI will direct combat operations. And the better AI will win more battles.

The Technological Republic predicts a grim future for the U.S. and the world. The World Order that kept the Peace post-WWII is breaking down and an invasion of Taiwan in 2027 by China looks likely. What do you think? GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Preface — xiii PART I The Software Century — 1 Lost Valley — 3 Two Sparks of Intelligence — 16
The Winners Fallacy — 29
End of the Atomic Age — 37
Part II
The Hollowing Out of the American Mind — 55 The Abandonment of Belief — 57
Technological Agnostics — 69
A Balloon Cut Loose — 83
“Flawed Systems” — 97
Lost in Toyland — 103 Part III The Engineering Mindset — 113
The Eck Swarm — 115
The Improvisational Startup — 122
The Disapproval of the Crowd — 130
Building a Better Rifle — 139

A Cloud or a Clock — 156
Part IV
Rebuilding the Technological Republic — 169 Into the Desert — 171
The Next Thousand Years — 190
An Aesthetic Point of View — 205
Acknowledgments — 219
Notes — 221
Bibliography — 261
Art Credits — 285
Index — 287

I’m a sucker for a good Sherlock Holmes pastiche. I’ve read another Holmes pastiche by David Stuart Davies–The Tangled Skein (you can read my review here)–and decided to read Sherlock Holmes & The Veiled Detective which had been on my shelf for years.

Davies likes to mix things up a bit in his Sherlock Holmes pastiches. This time, Davies creates a scenario where Sherlock’s nemesis, Professor James Moriarty, surrounds Holmes with informants in order to manipulate the great detective.

Holmes’s situation looks dire until Davies provides a life-line to Sherlock before Moriarty’s dastardly plans can come to fruition. If you’re in the mood for a fun Sherlock Holmes pastiche with some unusual surprises, Give Sherlock Holmes & The Veiled Detective a try. And you might consider some of the other David Stuart Davies mysteries below. GRADE: B

DAVID STUART DAVIES: Sherlock Holmes Adventures:

Revenge from the Grave (2022): Holmes and Watson are once again pitted against the late Professor Moriarty‘s gang.

Sherlock Holmes and the Hentzau Affair (1991): A crossover with characters from The Prisoner of Zenda. Holmes and Watson are engaged to solve the disappearance of Rudolf Rassendyll.

The Tangled Skein (1992): Holmes battles Count Dracula in a re-imagining of the events of the Bram Stoker novel.

The Scroll of the Dead (1998): Holmes and Dr. Watson pursue an ancient Egyptian treasure with links to immortality.

Shadow of the Rat (1999): Holmes investigates the Giant Rat of Sumatra.

The Veiled Detective (2004): An alternate account of the relationship between Holmes and Watson that posits Watson as an agent of Professor Moriarty.

The Games Afoot (2008): A short story collection edited by Davies.

The Devil’s Promise (2014): An investigation into a corpse on the coast leaves Watson in a months long coma, and Holmes acting suspiciously.

The Ripper Legacy (2016): Holmes and Watson look into a child’s kidnapping that is connected to the Jack the Ripper killings.

The Instrument of Death (2019): A crossover with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

The original three Naked Gun films, released between 1988 and 1994 with Leslie Nielsen as maladroit police detective Frank Drebin, made comedy history with their wacky style. The new version of The Naked Gun starring Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin’s son tries to resurrect that classic comedic genre…and fails.

Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson are great, it’s the not-funny so much script that sinks this movie. Yes, I know The Naked Gun (2025) garnered high scores on Rotten Tomatoes, but believe me, this reimagining of the original series is not that funny.

Neeson investigates a crime scene that looks like a suicide, but Pamela Anderson claims the victim–her brother–was murdered. Neeson investigates and finds a billionaire–Richard Cane (Danny Huston)–is up to some apocalyptic shenanigans.

Yes, The Naked Gun is silly. The plot is loopy. Neeson and Anderson have great on-screen chemistry, but despite their efforts, this movie is a dud. GRADE: C

(Ron Walotsky’s cover for the 1973 edition)

Barry N. Malzberg was one of the more cerebral Science Fiction Writers of the previous century. The Remaking of Sigmund Freud , first published by Ballantine Del Rey, not only features Sigmund Freud, but also Emily Dickinson and her lover, Mark Twain. You can see where Malzberg shuffles the literary deck of cards and characters to produce a unique and original SF novel…which was Nominated for Best Novel in 1985.

Also Nominated

 Winner: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, published by Tor

Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling, published by Arbor House

The Postman by David Brin, published by Bantam Spectra

Helliconia Winter by Brian W. Aldiss, published by Atheneum

Dinner at Deviant’s Palace by Tim Powers, published by Ace

Blood Music by Greg Bear, published by Arbor House

That’s pretty strong competition. Although The Remaking of Sigmund Freud didn’t win, the novel remains significant because of Malzberg’s boldness in what would be his last SF novel. When Emily Dickinson wonders why she has been brought to Venus in 2176, Mark Twain explains: “They need a poet,” Twain said again. “They thought that you could help. There are problems here. Very serious problems.”

The later Freud, appearing in 2176 and then 2372, is: “a simulacrum of the actual Freud, a crafted organic duplicate”–equipped with what we today would term “Artificial Intelligence.” The Remaking of Sigmund Freud is a tour de force displaying Malzberg’s brilliance and insights. GRADE: A

Published just a year after Malzberg won  the John W Campbell Memorial Award with Beyond Apollo (1972), The Men Inside (1973) is a good match to be bundled with The Remaking of Sigmund Freud because Malzberg uses an audacious Freudian metafictional approach in The Men Inside to exploring the pitfalls of future societies and the price of freedom.

Malzberg employs a “filmic flashbacks” technique –flashbacks from the life of the central character, Leslie Blount, described as if they were documentary films. Leslie Blount escapes his slum life by volunteering to be a Messenger of the Hulm Institute. The Institute has developed a way to shrink people to tiny size, like in the movie Fantastic Voyage. The Messengers, when shrunk, enter the bodies of wealthy clients to excise inoperable cancers by hand. GRADE: B+

Both The Remaking of Sigmund Freud and The Men Inside celebrate Malzberg’s fascination with Freud and other literary icons. Malzberg wrote some of the most ambitious, challenging and profound Science Fiction novels of the 20th Century.

I was in a Joe Cocker mood so I listened to Joe Cocker–The Life of a Man which is a solid retrospective of Cocker’s career. Then I listened to Organic, an album of songs Cocker covered back in 1996.

I enjoyed listening to Cocker’s hits: “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window,” “I Can’t Find My Way Home,” “The Letter,” “With A Little Help From My Friends,” “You Are So Beautiful,” and “When the Night Comes.” Cocker had a long career with plenty of ups and downs, but he left a respectable amount of songs that have stood up to the test of Time.

Organic starts out with a cover of a Van Morrison song, “Into the Mystic,” and moves on to my favorite (and a Cap’n Bob recommendation), “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” a big hit for The Animals back in the Sixties. Also moving is Cocker’s rendition of “Darlin’ Be Home Soon,” and a cover of a Steve Winwood classic, “Can’t Find My Way Home.”

If you’re a fan of Joe Cocker, Joe Cocker – The Life Of A Man (The Ultimate Hits 1968-2013) and Organic are two albums that delivery a couple hours of quality listening pleasure. GRADE: A (for both)

TRACK LIST (Joe Cocker – The Life Of A Man (The Ultimate Hits 1968-2013)

		Feelin’ Alright	4:12
		High Time We Went	4:30
		Marjorine	2:40
		She Came In Through The Bathroom Window	2:39
		I Can Stand A Little Rain	3:34
		Many Rivers To Cross	3:45
		Shelter Me	4:23
		You Can Leave Your Hat On	4:16
		Can’t Find My Way Home	3:29
		Darling Be Home Soon	4:45
		One	4:35
		My Father’s Son	4:31
		Fire It Up	3:53
		Unchain My Heart	5:07
		Delta Lady	2:53
		Cry Me A River (Live At The Fillmore East)	3:58
		The Letter (Live At The Fillmore East)	4:16
		With A Little Help From My Friends	5:10
		You Are So Beautiful (Live At The Lanxess Arena)	4:06
		When The Night Comes	4:48
		Come Together	4:25
		First We Take Manhattan	3:45
		Summer In The City	3:51
		Up Where We Belong	3:54
		Don’t You Love Me Anymore	5:25
		Unforgiven	4:15
		Have A Little Faith In Me	4:19
		You Are So Beautiful	2:43
		Woman To Woman	4:29
		The Simple Things	4:51
		N’oubliez Jamais	4:43
		Tonight	4:44
		Night Calls	3:28
		Hard Knocks	3:25
		I Come In Peace	4:20
		Performance	4:38

TRACK LIST: (ORGANIC)

1		Into The Mystic Acoustic Guitar – Dean ParksBass – James “Hutch” HutchinsonDobro – Greg LeiszDrums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny AronoffElectric Guitar – Johnny Lee SchellElectric Piano – Chris StaintonOrgan – Billy PrestonSynthesizer – Jamie Muhoberac Written-By – Van Morrison	3:31
2		Bye Bye Blackbird Acoustic Guitar – Dean Parks Backing Vocals – Maxine Sharp, Merry Clayton, Myrna Smith, Portia GriffinBass – James “Hutch” HutchinsonDrums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny AronoffElectric Guitar – Johnny Lee SchellOrgan – Billy PrestonPiano – Chris StaintonSynthesizer – Jamie Muhoberac Written-By – Morton Dixon*, Ray Henderson	3:31
3		Delta Lady Acoustic Guitar – Dean ParksBacking Vocals – Maxine Sharp, Merry Clayton, Myrna Smith, Portia GriffinBass – James “Hutch” HutchinsonDobro – Greg LeiszDrums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny AronoffElectric Guitar – Johnny Lee SchellOrgan – Billy PrestonPiano – Chris StaintonSynthesizer – Jamie Muhoberac Written-By – Leon Russell	3:16
4		Heart Full Of Rain Acoustic Guitar – Dean ParksBass – Darryl JonesDrums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny AronoffOrgan – Billy PrestonPiano – Chris StaintonSynthesizer – Jamie Muhoberac Written-By – Michael Dan Ehmig	4:48
5		Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood Acoustic Guitar – Dean ParksBacking Vocals – Maxine Sharp, Merry Clayton, Myrna Smith, Portia GriffinBass – James “Hutch” HutchinsonDobro – Greg LeiszDrums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny AronoffElectric Guitar – Johnny Lee SchellOrgan – Billy PrestonPiano – Chris StaintonSynthesizer – Jamie Muhoberac Written-By – Bennie Benjamin, Gloria Caldwell, Sol Marcus	3:52
6		Many Rivers To Cross Acoustic Guitar – Dean ParksBass – James “Hutch” HutchinsonCello – Rudy Stein, Suzy Katayama*Dobro – Greg LeiszDrums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny AronoffElectric Guitar – Johnny Lee SchellPiano – Chris StaintonStrings, Arranged By, Conductor – David CampbellSynthesizer – Jamie MuhoberacViola – Denyse Buffum, Evan WilsonViolin – Peter Kent (2), Sid Page Written-By – Jimmy Cliff	4:23
7		High Lonesome Blue Bass – Darryl JonesDrums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny Aronoff Written-By – Joe Cocker	4:10
8		Sail Away Acoustic Guitar – Dean ParksBass – James “Hutch” HutchinsonCello – Rudy Stein, Suzy Katayama*Drums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny AronoffElectric Guitar – Johnny Lee SchellOrgan – Billy PrestonStrings, Arranged By, Conductor – David CampbellSynthesizer – Jamie MuhoberacViola – Denyse Buffum, Evan WilsonViolin – Peter Kent (2), Sid Page Written-By, Piano – Randy Newman	3:00
9		You And I Acoustic Guitar – Dean ParksBass – Darryl JonesCello – Rudy Stein, Suzy Katayama*Drums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny AronoffOrgan – Billy PrestonStrings, Arranged By, Conductor – David CampbellSynthesizer – Jamie MuhoberacViola – Denyse Buffum, Evan WilsonViolin – Peter Kent (2), Sid Page Written-By – Stevie Wonder	4:35
10		Darlin’ Be Home Soon Acoustic Guitar – Dean ParksBass – James “Hutch” HutchinsonDrums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny AronoffElectric Guitar – Johnny Lee SchellElectric Piano – Chris StaintonOrgan, Synthesizer – Jamie Muhoberac Written-By – Sebastian*	4:11
11		Dignity Acoustic Guitar – Dean ParksBass – James “Hutch” HutchinsonDobro – Greg LeiszDrums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny AronoffElectric Guitar – Johnny Lee SchellOrgan – Billy PrestonPiano – Chris Stainton Written-By – Bob Dylan	3:13
12		You Can Leave Your Hat On Acoustic Guitar – Dean ParksBacking Vocals – Maxine Sharp, Merry Clayton, Myrna Smith, Portia GriffinBass – James “Hutch” HutchinsonDrums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny AronoffElectric Guitar – Johnny Lee SchellOrgan – Billy PrestonPercussion – Joe PorcaroSynthesizer – Jamie Muhoberac Written-By, Piano – Randy Newman	3:46
13		You Are So Beautiful Acoustic Guitar – Dean ParksBass – James “Hutch” HutchinsonCello – Rudy Stein, Suzy Katayama*Drums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny AronoffStrings, Arranged By, Conductor – David CampbellSynthesizer – Jamie MuhoberacViola – Denyse Buffum, Evan WilsonViolin – Peter Kent (2), Sid Page Written-By – Billy Preston, B. Fisher*	2:43
14		Can’t Find My Way Home Acoustic Guitar – Dean ParksBass – Darryl JonesDrums, Percussion – Jim Keltner, Kenny AronoffOrgan – Billy PrestonPiano – Chris StaintonSynthesizer – Jamie Muhoberac Written-By – Steve Winwood

Back in the 1930s, a young writer wrote a series of stories about a criminal who had perfected a device that could drench a city in darkness. Murray Leinster wrote “The Darkness on Fifth Avenue” and the story featured a mastermind named Preston whose goal is to steal everything of value under the cover of artificial darkness.

NYPD Lieutenant Hines investigates the thefts with the help of beautiful and clever reporter Kathryn Bush of the Star. The pair teams up with the exotic Professor Schaaf whose scientific knowledge of the possible approach to projecting darkness gives New York City a possible defense.

“The Darkness on Fifth Avenue” is a mash-up of a gangster tale and a Science Fiction story. As most of you know, Murray Leinster went on to become one of the Giants of the Science Fiction genre.

The Masters of Darkness collects the sequels to “The Darkness on Fifth Avenue” for the first time. Steeger Books should be applauded for reprinting these stories from the 1930s that have long been unavailable. If you want to see a young writer learning his craft, The Master of Darkness presents a good example. Are you a Murray Leinster fan? GRADE: B

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION By Sam Moskowitz — i

The Darkness on Fifth Avenue — 1

The City of the Blind — 83

The Storm That Had to be Stopped — 141

The Man Who Put Out the Sun — 219

About the Author — 294

I bought the first issue of The Fantastic Four comic book back in 1961 (the sad fate of that issue while I was away at Summer Camp five years later is a story for another time). I was a Fantastic Four enthusiast for years. But I lost interest in comic books in the mid-1960s and moved on to ACE Doubles and paperback mystery novels.

There have been four Fantastic Four movies: a 1994 Roger Corman-produced movie (not officially released), the 2005 and 2007 films directed by Tim Story, and the 2015 reboot directed by Josh Trank. 

The new fifth film, Fantastic Four: First Steps, introduces Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and just made $128 million over the weekend. 

“Reed Richards /Mr. Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), his pregnant wife Sue Storm / Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm / Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm / Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) learn that Galactus is coming via the Herald / Silver Surfer / Shalla-Bal (Julia Garner) who comes to warn the people of Earth that their days are numbered and they should spend those days wisely.” (Forbes)

Galactus–for those of you who are unfamiliar with the MARVEL Universe–is an incredibly powerful celestial being who devours entire worlds as he wanders across the stars. Now, Galactus wants to devour Earth. The Fantastic Four jump into their space ship and go out to meet Galactus and try to negotiate with this titanic being. Their negotiating skills are about as good as Trump’s.

The Fantastic Four flee back to Earth to prepare for Galactus’s arrival. They come up with a couple of low probability of success strategies. The Silver Surfer dashes their first option and the Fantastic Four have to fight Galactus in the middle of a city. Plenty of action!

I found Vanessa Kirby–the best Susan Storm I’ve ever seen on the Big Screen–the character with the most exciting powers, the best lines in the movie, and the person I most want to see in a sequel (or the promised Avengers: Doomsday on December 18, 2026). The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a little better than the new Superman movie. At least it doesn’t have Krypto the Superdog. GRADE: B+