Diane wanted to see Despicable Me 4 in June, but we came down with Covid-19 so that plan was put on hold. When Diane checked the AMC website, she found that Despicable Me 4 would soon be leaving after this week so she booked some tickets to the 2:45 P.M. showing yesterday. When we arrived at our local AMC Theater, there were plenty of cars. When we entered the theater (Number 4 of 8 theaters in this complex) it was almost full of parents with young kids.

For those of you not familiar with the Despicable Me franchise, it’s a series of animated films featuring a former Villian, Gru (voiced by Steve Carell). Gru is a grouchy, brilliant, and arrogant former supervillain, who now serves as a secret agent for the Anti-Villian-League (AVL) in order to fight other supervillains. In Despicable Me 4, Gru and his family are sent to a Safe House when Supervillain and Gru’s old high school rival, the coackroach-obsessed Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell) vows to steal Gru’s baby son.

There’s a lot of silliness in Despicable Me 4 but the audience we saw it with loved it. Plenty of laughter and giggling! I laughed a few times, too. GRADE: B-

Jon M. Chu is the Director of CRAZY RIGH ASIANS and Wicked. Viewfinder is Chu’s story of growing up in Silicon Valley and working in his parents restaurant. Chu’s childhood was full of wonder as his mother took him, his brothers and sisters, to movies and plays and musical events. All of that culture motivated Chu to want to make movies. And, Chu started early in high school where his teachers allowed students to turn in assignments and projects in written form…or in video form.

Chu encounters problems while working on his degree at USC and more trouble when he graduates. “But the collapse of Hollywood is one of the dislocations that have upset my world–and everybody else’s. The 2020s have seen the rise of forces that a lot of us never thought possible: the pandemic, broad social undress, threats directed tat Asian Americans. The more dangerous the country gets for us, the more I quest the belief in the place that I inherited from my parents. Is this still where we belong?” (p. 6-7)

Fortunately, Chu has some powerful connections to help him succeed. I was blown away at Chu’s encounter with Steven Spielberg. Chu not only gets a boost from his favorite Director, he learns important lessons by spending a day on set with Spielberg. “Just as he’d made me fall in love with movies when I was five years old, just as he’d reveal al that they could do–move people, bring them together, harness a power much bigger than any of us–he’d now show me the right way to make them. My teachers could lecture me, but they could really make me understand what it was like to direct a movie. Neither could my peers. Only another. director could do that. And in Spielberg, I had the best of all possible guides. He proved, in that instant, that you could make giant-scale movies with kindness, patience, joy. ” (p. 112-113)

Later, Chu meets one of his heroes, Steve Jobs, and comes away inspired at a time when he was struggling. Life is about struggle. But Chu’s story shows how one nerdy kid overcame his obstacles to become a successful movie maker. Inspiring story! GRADE: A

How is the state of your world?

It took me about 10 minutes of watching Episode 1 (of 6) of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder to recognize Emma Myers, who plays Pippa “Pip” Fitz-Arnobi (aka, Modern Nancy Drew)–the girl who delighted me in her former role as Enid Sinclair, a late-blooming werewolf and roommate of Wednesday Addams in another Netflix series (you can read my review here).

I was faked-out for 10 minutes because Emma Myers is an American actor playing a British nerdy teenager. But, once I got past that and Emma’s British accent, I was ready to plunge into the Netflix series. It’s based on A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, a Young Adult mystery novel by Holly Jackson. The novel is the first in a series of three novels and one novella: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (2019); Good Girl, Bad Blood (2020); As Good As Dead (2021); and Kill Joy (2022).

Five years after the murder of a well-liked, attractive 17-year-old girl, Andrea ‘Andie’ Bell, in the sleepy English town of Little Kilton, Buckinghamshire, Pip is determined to uncover the facts and find the real killer. Pip’s investigation, hampered by her high school commitments and college prep, includes the suspicious suicide of the perpetrator, Salil ‘Sal’ Singh. Pip enlists the assistance of Sal Singh’s brother, Ravi, to help crack the case.

I know I’m not the target teen audience for A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder but the characters involved me in Pip’s sometimes hapless investigation where she takes far too many risks. Pip is a Good Girl with a strong motivation to solve puzzles and find the truth. And the murder/suicide of two people she knew drives Pip to some extreme actions in the four episodes I’ve watched so far. I can’t wait to watch the other two! GRADE: INCOMPLETE, but trending towards a B+

 

I’ve been reading Bill Pronzini since 1971 when I picked up the first Nameless Detective novel, The Snatch, and loved it! Ten of the 26 stories in Cream of the Crop are Nameless Detective stories. At the beginning of the series–which grew to 41 novels, three collections, and several uncollected stories–the Nameless Detective was a pulp-magazine collector operating a one-man private investigator agency. Over time, the Nameless Detective series grew more complicated and thrilling to read from novel to novel!

I’m also a fan of the Carpenter & Quincannon Western series–9 novels and numerous stories–set in the 1890s. Pronzini collaborated with his talented wife, Marsha Muller, on these mysteries featuring a duo of detectives who solve some unique crimes.

The “Standalone” stories show Pronzini’s broad range of interests: impossible crimes, dark suspense, and puzzle stories. The common factor is all these stories are character-driven and compelling.

Bill Pronzini, one of the best mystery writers ever, personally chose all the stories in this collection. He did a great job! I’ve always admired Bill Pronzini’s craftsmanship. I admire him as a consummate professional writer whose long and successful career is epitomized in Cream of the Crop. Are you a Bill Pronzini fan? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

9 * Preface * 

Standalones 

13 * Opportunity * Bill Pronzini * ss * Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine December 1967

24 * Proof of Guilt * Bill Pronzini * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine December 1973

33 * Sweet Fever * Bill Pronzini * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine December 1976

38 * Smuggler’s Island * Bill Pronzini * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine December 1976

53 * Under the Skin * Bill Pronzini * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine October 1977

58 * Strangers in the Fog * Bill Pronzini * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine June 1978

66 * A Craving for Originality * Bill Pronzini * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine December 17 1979 

75 * Stacked Deck * Bill Pronzini * nv * The New Black Mask No.8  ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli & Richard Layman, HBJ, 1987

95 * Liar’s Dice * Bill Pronzini * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine November 1992

102 * Out of the Depths  * Bill Pronzini *ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine September 1994

117 * Possibilities * Bill Pronzini * nv * The Strand Magazine #17, October 2005/January 2006

131 * The Cemetery Man * Bill Pronzini * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine July 2013

139 * Hooch * Bill Pronzini * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine June 2014

147 * Snap * Bill Pronzini * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine December 2015

162 * Goodbye, Ms. Damico * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine January/February 2023171

 * Carpenter and Quincannon

173 * Gunpowder Alley * [John Quincannon & Sabina Carpenter] * Bill Pronzini * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine August 2012 

195 * Nameless Detective

197 * Thin Air [Nameless Detective] * Bill Pronzini * ss * Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine May 1979

214 * Cat’s-Paw [Nameless Detective] * Bill Pronzini * nv * Waves Press, 1983, chapbook

233 * Skeleton Rattle Your Mouldy Leg [Nameless Detective] * Bill Pronzini * nv * The Eyes Have It ed. Robert J. Randisi, Mysterious Press, 1984

256 * Incident in a Neighborhood Tavern [Nameless Detective] * Bill Pronzini * ss * An Eye for Justice ed. Robert J. Randisi, The Mysterious Press, 1988

263 * Stakeout [Nameless Detective] * Bill Pronzini * ss * Justice for Hire ed. Robert J. Randisi, Mysterious Press, 1990

274 * Souls Burning [Nameless Detective] * Bill Pronzini * ss * New Crimes 3 ed. Maxim Jakubowski, Robinson, 1991

281 * La Bellezza Delle Bellezze [Nameless Detective] * Bill Pronzini * ss * Invitation to Murder ed. Ed Gorman & Martin H. Greenberg, Dark Harvest, 1991

305 * Home Is the Place Where [Nameless Detective] * Bill Pronzini * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine November 1995

313 * The Big Bite [Nameless Detective]  * Bill Pronzini * nv * Shots Winter 1999

326 *  Who You Been Grapplin’ With? [Nameless Detective] * Bill Pronzini * ss * Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine December 2014

339 * Bill Pronzini Bibliography (1943- ) * Bill Pronzini *

I’ve enjoyed CDs in the TIME-LIFE Body + Soul series and I pick them up whenever I run across them. Body + Soul: Love and Tenderness from 1998 includes–according to the cover–Twenty-four Sensual Grooves.

If I had to pick one of these songs as “sensual” I’d have to go with Major Harris’s “Love Won’t Let Me Wait” from 1974. Of course, Sylvia’s “Pillow Talk” from 1973 has its moments, too. Also included is an extended version of Barry White’s “I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby.”

Although I wouldn’t categorize it as sensual, I like Grover Washington, Jr. and Bill Wither’s version of “Just the Two of Us.”

There’s plenty of variety on Body + Soul: Love and Tenderness. Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+

TRACK LIST:

1	Barry White–	I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby	7:13
2	Larry Graham–	One In A Million You	4:12
3	Aretha Franklin–	Until You Come Back To Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)	3:28
4	Quincy Jones Featuring James Ingram–	One Hundred Ways	4:21
5	Regina Belle–	Baby Come To Me	4:14
6	Bobby Caldwell–	What You Won’t Do For Love	4:47
7	Force M.D.’s*–	Tender Love	3:56
8	Earth, Wind & Fire–	That’s The Way Of The World	5:46
9	Stacy Lattisaw–	Love On A Two Way Street	4:11
10	The Delfonics–	Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)	3:23
11	Dorothy Moore–	Misty Blue	3:42
12	The Spinners*–	Love Don’t Love Nobody – Pt. 1	7:13
13	Roger*–	I Want To Be Your Man	4:05
14	Shirley Murdock–	As We Lay	5:58
15	Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly–	Can’t Get Over You	4:42
16	Lionel Richie–	Truly	3:23
17	Blue Magic–	Sideshow	4:14
18	Major Harris–	Love Won’t Let Me Wait	5:32
19	Karyn White–	Superwoman	4:35
20	Atlantic Starr–	Always	4:03
21	GQ–	I Do Love You	4:48
22	The Stylistics–	You Are Everything	2:57
23	Sylvia*–	Pillow Talk	4:09
24	Grover Washington, Jr. And Bill Withers–	Just The Two Of Us	7:24

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I’m a fan of Medieval Mysteries so I was familiar with most of the names on the Table of Contents. My favorite stories involve women solving murders. Doug Allyn’s “The Country of the Blind” features a blind girl, Noelle, a ward of a convent. Together with an ex-soldier turned minstrel, Noelle overcomes her lack of sight with a special ability to solve puzzles…and murders.

In “Like a Dog Returning” Sister Fidelma–a judge who wields power rare for women of that era–solves a murder occurred 20 years in the Past. I’ve read over a dozen of Peter Tremayne’s Sister Fidelma mystery novels and this story delivers some shocking surprises!

If you’re looking for an excellent collection of mystery stories with excellent writers, you’ll find Murder Most Medieval (2001) ideal! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION / John Helfers — vii

Like a dog returning…a Sister Fidelma mystery / Peter Tremayne — 1

The country for the blind / Doug Allyn — 19

Cold as fire / Lillian Stewart Carl — 61

A horse for my kingdom / Gillian Linscott — 81

The simple logic of it / Margaret Frazer — 97

Plucking a mandrake / Clayton Emery — 117

A gift from God / Edward Marston — 139

The Queen’s chastity / Tony Geraghty — 159

The reiving of Bonville keep / Kathy Lyn Emerson — 175

For the love of old bones / Michael Jecks — 197

The wizard of Lindsay Woods / Brendan DuBois — 219

Improvements / Kristine Kathryn Rusch — 247

A light on the road to Woodstock / Ellis Peters — 259

Authors’ Biographies — 285

Copyright and Permissions — 291

Diane and I loved Inside Out (2015), an animated film about a young girl, Riley (now voiced by Kensington Tallman), as she struggles to adjust to a family move from Minnesota to San Francisco. Pixar shows Riley’s emotions with characters: the voices of Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Liza Lapira) and Fear (Tony Hale). One of the noticeable changes from Inside Out and Inside Out 2 is the replacement of Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling, the original voices of Fear and Disgust, for other actors.

Where Inside Out mainly took place in Riley internal world, Inside Out 2 presents a mix of internal world and real world where Riley experiences a stressful time during a three-day hockey skills summer camp she attends with her two best friends, Grace (Grace Lu) and Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green).

The cruz of Inside Out 2 is the conflict between the old emotions and the new emotions that join and temporarily overthrow them: Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

While Diane and I were struck down by Covid-19, Inside Out 2 earned  over $1 billion at the worldwide box office faster than any other animated film. While we liked Inside Out better than Inside Out 2, the movie was a good Summer Movie. GRADE: B+

Since “Weird” has become the adjective of the moment thanks to Trump and J.D. Vance, I thought I’d review this book from 2023 that explores the weirdness of 21st Century fiction.

In order to execute that exploration, Kate Marshall, an associate professor at the University of Notre Dame, delves into weird fiction from the past. Her analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838) made me want to reread that classic (I’m searching the shelves for it today). Marshall also tackles one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read, Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian (1985), where someone is killed on almost every page. Then she grabbles with that classic, iconic magazine, Weird Tales (1923-1954).

Once you get past Chapter 1–The Old Weird–Marshall starts her tour of 21st Century weird fiction. Some of the titles, like Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country (2016), are very familiar to me (you can read my reviews here and here) I’m a big fan of the novel and the short TV series. I’m also familiar with Victor LaValle’s The Ballad of Black Tom (2016) (you can read my review here). Other weird novels that I’ve heard of–but haven’t read–include Colson Whitehead’s Zone One (2011) and Ali Smith’s Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer (2018).

In Chapter 6–After Extinction–I wanted to drop everything and read Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves (2015). Stephenson, known for his Big Thinking, sets Earth on fire with a comet storm. Marshall also dives into Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy and Jeff and Ann VanderMeer’s The New Weird (2008) anthology.

Novels by Aliens is a brief but fascinating journey into weird fiction, both old and new. I completely enjoyed it and I think many of you might enjoy it, too. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction: Dispatches from the Extinguished World — 1
1 The Old Weird — 27
2 Cowboys and Aliens — 49
3 Cosmic Realism — 74
4 The Novel in Geological Time — 100
5 Pseudoscience Fictions — 121
6 After Extinction — 142
Acknowledgments — 167
Notes — 171
Works Cited — 195
Index — 207