The Marvels is the 33rd movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The budget for The Marvels was around $270 million according to a report from Forbes, making it the fourth most-expensive MCU movie and the highest budget for a non-Avengers film. With just an $80 million gross at the domestic box office, “The Marvels” is the only MCU film to fail to cross the $100 million mark—falling more than $50 million behind the $134 million grossed by the domestic box office’s second-worst performer, “The Incredible Hulk.” Now The Marvels is featured on Disney+.

The director of The Marvels, Nia DaCosta (“Little Woods,” “Candyman”), who co-wrote the screenplay with Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik is going to find it difficult to direct another MCU movie with the poor showing of this film.

Brie Larson plays Captain Marvel a.k.a. Carol Danvers, a former Air Force pilot who inadvertently picked up superpowers. Marvel should have just stuck with Captain Marvel instead of adding Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel,to an over-plotted, overextended, overstuffed movie.

Part of the problem of The Marvels is the necessity of taking a lot of time on the screen to bring the audience up-to-date on all the backstories necessary to explain what the heck is going on. The Kree attack The Skrulls and Captain Marvel and her two buddies need to fix the disaster affects before the Universe is damaged.

Did The Marvels need a dance number? Why do all the fight scenes seem lame? Why does this $270 million movie look like it was made for TV?

As one of those Marvel fans who has seen all 33 MCU movies and watched the Ms Marvel TV series as well as WandaVison, I found The Marvels tedious. Maybe this is one of reasons Disney stock is down. GRADE: C

Fred Chappell, the great writer and teacher, died on January 4, 2024. Chappell wrote in a number of genres, but the one that I was most interested in was Chappell’s stories of Lovecraft pastiches. I’ve mentioned Chappell’s “The Adder” in several posts. It’s one of the most convincing and terrifying Lovecraftean stories I’ve ever read.

Dagon was first published in 1968. Dagon was awarded the Best Foreign Book by the French Academy. In 2009, Boson Books reprinted Dagon and its story of a man who encounters one of Lovecraft’s Gods. Dagon presides over the Deep Ones, a hidden amphibious humanoid race that resides in the Earth’s oceans, and is worshipped by the Esoteric Order of Dagon, a secret cult based in Innsmouth. He is the consort of Mother Hydra.

Peter Leland inherits a farm and discovers he has some very strange neighbors. In a series of chilling scenes, Leland slowly finds himself in the grip of a power that takes over his world. Leland doesn’t realize it, but readers recognize the eerie power of Dagon is at work.

With almost psychedelic intensity Chappell’s prose maps the Fate of Leland as he changes and declines into state that prepares him for a meeting with Dagon. If you’re in the mood for a mysterious and sinister encounter with one of Lovecraft’s fiendish Gods, give Dagon a try. GRADE: B

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought two CDs of love songs would be appropriate for this post. The first is a traditional collection of instrumental love songs, An Arthur Fiedler Valentine (2001) performed by The Boston Pops with Arthur Fiedler conducting. I love “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” “Love Me Tender,” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”

For those of you who prefer love songs with a little more energy, I’ve included Love Bites: More Romantic Power Ballads (1998). There’s a range of songs with various performers and groups. I’m sure you’ll recognize many of the songs on this CD (but, you may not like them). Do you have any Valentine’s Day plans? GRADE: B (for both)

TRACK LIST:

1		Moonlight Serenade	4:18
2		Smoke Gets In Your Eyes	4:21
3		Love Is A Many Splendored Thing	3:18
4		Michelle	3:40
5		Embraceable You	3:15
6		Love Is Blue	4:16
7		Love Me Tender	4:02
8		Days Of Wine And Roses	3:31
9		A Man And A Woman	3:56
10		Laura	2:54
11		In The Mood	3:24
12		Star Dust	3:09
13		And I Love Her	2:21
14		Love Is Here To Stay	2:47
15		The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face	5:12
16		You Are The Sunshine Of My Life	3:18
17		Moon River	3:42
18		I Want To Hold Your Hand	2:16

TRACK LIST:
1 Poison –Every Rose Has Its Thorn

2 Meat Loaf–Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad

3 Pat Benatar–Fire And Ice

4 Cinderella –Nobody’s Fool

5 Corey Hart–It Ain’t Enough

6 Enuff Z’Nuff–Goodbye

7 Starship –Sara

8 Europe –Carrie

9 Bonnie Tyler–Total Eclipse Of The Heart

10 Toto–I’ll Be Over You

11 Firehouse –Love Of A Lifetime

12 Styx–Lady

13 The Babys–Every Time I Think Of You

14 Kingdom Come –What Love Can Be

15 Mr. Big–To Be With You

16 Night Ranger– Goodbye

Sherlock Homes: The Sign of Seven includes seven longish pastiches. My favorite story is Stuart Douglas’s “Death of a Mudlark.” Holmes and Watson investigate the death of a man who scavenges muddy and stinky tunnels. Holmes, of course, finds some intriguing clues the leads the investigation into some surprising twists and turns.

In the other stories Holmes attends a deadly séance that may prove a man’s guilt; visits a dark carnival with an unusual menu; solves the murder of an Egyptologist’s butler; uncovers the shocking secret of a tobacco dealer; sets sail for America to investigate the death of a cult leader and settles an old score for his famous associate Inspector Lestrade! If you enjoy Holmes pastiches, this anthology will delight you. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction — Martin Rosenstock — 1

Death of a Mudlark — Stuart Douglas — 5

The Adventure of the Deadly Seance — James Lovegrove — 99

The Adventure of the Heroic Tobacconist — Derrick Belanger — 167

The Dark Carnival — Andrew Lane — 229

The Moncton House Mystery — David Stuart Davies — 295

The Adventure of the Koreshan Unity — Amy Thomas — 365

Our Common Correspondent — Lyndsay Faye — 429

About the Editor — 507

About the Contributors — 509

In the past six months Diane and I have gotten a Covid-19 Booster shot, a flu shot, and an RSV shot. Now I’ve just had a Prevnar 20 injection at my local Rite Aid Pharmacy. Diane had her yearly physical last week and her doctor recommended the Prevnar 20 shot even though we both got the two pneumonia shots before the Pandemic.

Prevnar 20 is a vaccine approved for the prevention of invasive disease caused by 20 Streptococcus pneumoniae strains (1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 8, 9V, 10A, 11A, 12F, 14, 15B, 18C, 19A, 19F, 22F, 23F, and 33F) in individuals 6 weeks and older.

Sadly, Diane and I saw a dozen family and friends die of pneumonia in the past few years so we want all the protection we can get. Are you up-to-date on your shots?

“This is the story of the moment when American democracy began to unravel. It is the story of the men and women who fought to save it, and of the enablers and collaborators whose actions ensured the threat would grown and metastasize. It is the story of the most dangerous man ever to inhabit the Oval Office, and of the many steps he took to subvert our Constitution.” (p. 3)

I don’t agree with Liz Cheney’s conservative politics, but I admire the steps she took against Donald Trump and the Republicans who remain loyal to him…which ended up costing Liz Cheney her seat in the House of Representatives. And made her the target of numerous death threats.

Taking a chronological approach, Cheney describes the shenanigans Trump and his minions were up to after the 2020 Election. The lies, the frauds, the misinformation grew and grew as Cheney and a few other Republican colleagues grew concerned with the toxic tactics of the White House. Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Peter Navarro were espousing conspiracy theories on FOX NEWS claiming the Dominion voting machines were rigged (we all know how that turned out: a $700 million judgement against FOX NEWS).

Cheney documents Kevin McCathy’s double dealing. She also shows that Mike Johnson–who would become Speaker of the House–worked to get the House members to reject the results of the 2020 Election and not certify the results. What a weasel!

McCarthy and Devin Nunes–the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee–joined Trump in defending the online platform PARLER because it was conservative. Here’s some of the hideous posts on PARLER:

“We need to act like our forefathers did Kill [Black and Jewish people] all Leave no victims or survivors” and “After the firing squads are done with the politicians the teachers are next.” (p. 169-170)

Cheney and others grew more worried with the approach of January 6th as Trump rallied his supporters. Some of the most harrowing chapters in Oath and Honor tell the story of what happened on January 6th as the crowd chanted “Hang Pence!” and trashed the Capitol. Cheney calls out the political hacks who supported the invasion: Josh Hawley and Jim Jordan.

Cheney was only one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump. And, of course, that triggered Cheney’s removal from the Number 3 position in House leadership. Cheney’s participation on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol sealed her political fate in the GOP.

Liz Cheney pulls no punches in her tale of the Trump attempt to overturn the Election and the aftermath of January 6th. If you really want to know what was going on–and it’s shameful!–I highly recommend Oath and Honor. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Prologue — 3

Part I: The plot against America: Election Day 2020 to January 5, 2021

The only thing that matters is winning — 9

Put up or shut up — 18

Someone is going to get killed — 27

The blood of patriots & tyrants — 37

The oath — 48

The secretaries of defense — 53

Just humor him — 58

More sinister than I was prepared for — 63

Fake electors — 67

Powder keg — 73

Part II: The attack: January 6, 2021

The oath does not bend or yield to popular sentiment — 81

This is because of you! — 88

It turned out Kevin was lying — 98

These are the things that happen — 108

He was going to let the travesty go on — 112

Part III: A plague of cowardice: January 7 to June 30, 2021

Impeachment and 25th Amendment are real — 117

A vote of conscience — 125

Impeachment — 133

Trump lied. People died — 144

Trump’s not eating — 147

RemoveLiz.com — 150

They stared down at their desks — 159

This isn’t their party anymore — 164

But what if he is our only hope? — 167

That we love our country more — 175

The inescapable force of freedom — 181

A personal favor — 184

The power of propaganda — 186

Select committee — 193

Part IV: No half measures: Summer 2021 to Spring 2022

A different world — 197

McCarthy withdraws his nominees — 205

I was electrocuted again and again and again — 214

Hideaway — 220

Winning in court — 224

The Meadows text messages — 230

Presidents are not kings — 238

Legitimate political discourse — 241

Taking the 5th — 244

The illegality of the plan was obvious — 248

Trump thought Pence deserved to be hanged — 252

To the best of my recollection, I don’t recall — 258

Not the mastermind — 263

Part V: The relentless march of evidence: May to December 2022

Seven-part plan — 269

I was slipping in people’s blood — 282

A grave disservice to the country — 285

Tantamount to a revolution — 292

Conspiracy theories and thug violence — 297

It may have spiraled us into a constitutional crisis — 305

Hideaway 2.0 — 308

Ketchup on the wall — 315

We did our duty and we stood for truth — 318

President Trump is a 76-year-old man. He is not an impressionable child — 324

Freedom must not and will not die here — 333

You’re welcome, @KariLake — 344

They knew — 347

State of mind — 351

Never again — 353

Unfit for any office — 355

Epilogue — 363

Acknowledgments — 369

Notes — 373

If you put Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, Peter Benchley’s Jaws, and Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” in a blender, the result would be something like Julia Armfield’s weird Our Wives Under the Sea.

The story is told in alternating chapters: Leah (a woman obsessed with the sea), tells her story in the form of a journal she kept on a disastrous deep-sea dive that stranded her and two others in undersea darkness; and that of her wife, Miri, who presumed her lost, after Leah’s return.

The tale travels, with Leah and the doomed submarine, down through the terrifying six months and the ocean’s vertical zones (sunlight, twilight, midnight, abyssal, hadal), while on land Miri tracks how their relationship is changing in the present.

As someone who is slightly claustrophobic, the prospect of being trapped on the bottom of the ocean in a tiny submarine freaks me out!

A six month hiatus with the prospect of death mixed in would not, even under the best circumstances, be easy for Leah and Miri to resume where they left off in their marriage. But Leah has also changed in fundamental and creepy ways–not surprising given the terrifying experience she had at the bottom of the sea–and Miri is forced into a reevaluation of their relationship.

If you’re in the mood for a quirky story of a eerie encounter that deals with the strange happenings under the sea and even stranger ones on land, you might want to give Our Wives Under the Sea a try. GRADE: B

You might recognize Kaley Cuoco (“Penny” fromThe Big Bang Theory) wearing a red wig and sharing drinks with Bill Nighy in the photo above. Cuoco plays a highly paid assassin who wants to “retire.” But, because she’s such a good assassin, forces move to keep Cuoco “in the game.”

Where Role Play goes off the rails is when Cuoco flees to Berlin to meet up with her handler, Raj (Rudi Dharmalingam) and engages in a lot of fighting and shooting. That is just a prelude to Cuoco informing her clueless husband, Dave (David Oyelowo), that she’s a legendary international assassin and not just his workaholic wife. Then, the Bad Guys grab Cuoco’s children and Cuoco goes ballistic.

The best part of Role Play are the scenes with Bill Nighy, but those are all too brief. The rest of this movie is a mess. A good cast ruined by an idiotic script. GRADE: C

One of my great delights in Life is to come across a book I never knew existed. Richard A. Lupoff’s Lovecraft’s Book (1985) published by legendary Arkham House is one of those books. I discovered its existence a few weeks ago as I was researching another horror book. I’ve never seen a review of Lovecraft’s Book or any mention in the numerous articles I read on Lovecraft and his Mythos.

I tracked down a copy of Lovecraft’s Book and quickly read it. Here’s the background:

“Lovecraft’s Book is a historical novel by American author Richard A. Lupoff. It was released in 1985 by Arkham House in an edition of 3,544 copies. It was the author’s first book published by Arkham House.

Originally a 160,000-word manuscript, the published novel was a shorter popular re-write destined originally for mainstream publisher Putnam. When Putnam demanded even more re-writes, the Putnam version was sold to Arkham House and became Lovecraft’s Book. The original 160,000-word manuscript was lost, but a carbon-copy was found in 2000 and the full original novel was published unabridged as Marblehead: A Novel of H. P. Lovecraft (2006).”

Fascist sympathizer, George Sylvester Viereck hires Lovecraft to write a political tract in the vein of an American Mein Kampf. In return, Viereck promises to arrange for the publication of a volume of Lovecraft’s stories. A helter-skelter plot follows.

Hardcover editions of Lovecraft’s Book are pricey, but you can buy the inexpensive e-book version here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lovecrafts-book-richard-a-lupoff/1123153826

I’m a fan of Richard A. Lupoff and you can tell he is a true fan of H. P. Lovecraft after reading this book. Are you a Lovecraft fan? GRADE: B