Galena River

On the water
life is simple
purpose- paddle
direction- ahead
stroke and rest
watch the depth

watch the currents
look out
for fallen trees

critters

navigate

continue

continue

continue

'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' A Review

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a superhero movie, the latest in the MCU, the 4th Spider-Man with Tom Holland as the titular hero. Following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home the world has forgotten Peter Parker and he grapples with the loss of his Aunt May while also not having his friends around to console him until a new threat emerges that shakes things loose.

Holland continues to be great as the titular hero, emotionally compelling, physically sharp, it's a great performance and the script continues to give the character both internal and external problems to grapple with. Zendaya also is wonderful and the chemistry between them crackles. Nice to see both of them really explode after both of their unsuccessful performances in The Odyssey(the fault being Nolan's not theirs). Jon Bernthal as The Punisher brings some broad comic relief but also heart and a good use of the character and kudos to Bernthal for bringing an equally true but tonally different vibe to the character than he has in other appearances. The new comer to the MCU Sadie Sink, also pitch perfect casting, provides a complex and engaging heavy and hopefully sets up a bigger role in future MCU flicks.

Visually the film is rich, colorful, and thrilling with some great fight choreography and striking imagery. The soundtrack is effective, the runtime is over 2 hours but the pacing is relatively tight. All-in-all a good entrant in the MCU, more a return to form, focused on entertaining action and a story that has actual human stakes. There is some wonton destruction in the finale which is unnecessary, even so it's not the focus.

A solid piece of summer entertainment with enough heart to tear you up a time or two.

Currently in theaters.

See It.

The Green Heron

The long-beaked hunter

our curious companion
our fleeting fellow
for a bend or two

welcoming

but not obsequious

like all creatures

on the river

benignly indifferent

to our brief sojourn

The City and The City

And are we
always
in communion
with one another

on the street

the train

out to eat

at the beach

solitude

is only internal

we may feel lonely

isolated

dwarfed by the pillars

of concrete and glass

unmoored wanderers

amid the tumult

amid the churn

but we are never alone

we are never separated

division is only illusion

the reality-

we are all connected

each akin to the other

thrumming cells

in pumping arteries

moving, living, breathing tendrils

of this great and wonderous ever unfolding City

part and parcel to the incessant growth and shrink

the inevitable and ceaseless decay and renewal

small but integral, vital parts of this

transcendent municipal experiment back a thousand years and more

on the banks and beaches where the River meets the Lake

expressions of its endurance

'Mortal Kombat II' A Review

Mortal Kombat II is a fantasy/action movie a direct sequel to the 2021 reboot. The tournament comes again, Earth's heroes must defend it from the machinations from the villians out Outworld, this introduces two new characters Johnny Cage(Karl Urban) and Kitana(Adeline Rudolph).

Urban is really fun and Rudolph brings some soul but there's way more lore and plot in this installment and basically all of the supporting cast aren't given much to do other than reiterate exposition and, overall, there's just not that much action.

The action there is is compelling with some really deliciously gruesome kills but everything is weighed down but convoluted plotting and a baffling McGuffin. A Mortal Kombat movie should, above all, be fun and this one takes itself a bit too seriously to hit that benchmark consistently, sacrificing entertainment for attempts at 'worldbuilding' and setting up a broader franchise.

Classic, fold-laundry-to quality.

Currently streaming on HBO Max.

Stream It.

'Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass' A Review

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is a comedy about the titular Gail(Zoey Deutch) a hairdresser and Kansas who embarks on a trip to LA to sleep with her celebrity crush Jon Hamm after her fiancé hooks up with his.

Deutch is an energetic, committed, effervescent lead but doesn't have a particular facility for comedy or at least the kind of broad bordering-on-surrealist style deployed here. The supporting cast is chock full of talent, notably Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Ben Wang, and John Slattery(playing himself) along with other mainstays of writer/director David Wain. But the cast isn't given anything to do beyond the surface level, it all just feels like empty calories.

The production is decent, for a comedy it looks pretty good, there are some decent effects and one or two fun and funny fight scenes, but overall you get the feeling that money and time were tight. Everything feels truncated, abridged. Any emotional development or depth seems to have ended up on the cutting room floor, all that's left is a streamlined plot and jokes. It's diverting enough and nice to see Wain come out with a new picture but you can actually feel how difficult it was to get the movie made and get it in theaters. It's nice to see a straight-up comedy in theaters but this, unfortunately, fails in justifying a full fledged release. It feels like it was made for streaming.

Noble effort but lacking much impact.

Currently in theaters.

Stream It.

America's Pastime

The stadium
a communal cathedral

a place to gather
and in our togetherness
are we focused
on the moment
the present time

the wind

the grass

each other

and of course

the game

a celebration

not of past or future

not of outcomes or potentials

but only the glorious

and ever unfolding

Now