Movie Review: Ant-Man and the Wasp

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Action, laughs, effects

Cons: All cons shrunk to microscopic size

The Bottom Line:

Size shifting heroes

Movie filled with laughs, action

A delight for all

Ant-Man is Back for another Epic Size-Shifting Adventure

Fans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe were quick to note the one hero that was missing from Avengers: Infinity War – Ant-Man.  I wasn’t that surprised since he had his own stand along moving coming out just two months later.  Ant-Man and the Wasp is set about the same time as the latest Avengers movie, and is a fun, wild ride.

It’s been two years since we last saw Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd).  After getting captured following his adventure with Cap (as Captain America’s friends call him), Scott has spent the last two years under house arrest.  He’s three days away from getting his ankle bracelet removed, and he’s doing everything by the book to avoid violating the terms of his deal, which would get him sent to prison for 20 years.

One of those terms was avoiding any contact with Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas).  He’s been very good about that as well until a very vivid dream makes him think he might have had contact with Hope’s mother, who disappeared into the sub-atomic world decades ago.  Next thing he knows, he’s working with Hope and Hank to rescue Janet.  Unfortunately, they’ve attracted the attention of a mysterious Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) who can phase in and out of existence as well as some thugs lead by Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins).  Will they be able to rescue Janet without the FBI catching Scott breaking his deal?  Or will these added complications make it impossible?

Without spoiling anything, I can tell you that you are in for a very fun ride.  I was laughing the entire way through the movie, as was the audience I saw the movie with.  There are fantastic lines and funny situations from start to finish.  I think I was smiling the entire time even when I wasn’t laughing.

And, of course, there is plenty of action.  As the title suggestion, Hope is in on the action as The Wasp, and that means double the size changing action as she and Scott work together to save the day.  Those looking for action won’t be disappointed either.

The special effects team must have had to work overtime on the film.  With all the size changes, there are so many effects shots it is mind boggling.  Yet each of them came out perfectly believable.

With all the action and laughs, there isn’t a lot of time for serious character development.  Yet when the story does slow down a little, the actors shine at those quieter moments.  They never miss a beat throughout the entire film.

As we’ve come to expect, there are two additional scenes, one near the beginning of the credits and one at the very end.  You MUST stay for the first scene, and that’s all I will say about it.  The second scene is fun, but not a must see.

I’m sure the events of this film will dovetail with the upcoming Avengers sequel in some way, although I’ve no idea how that will happen.  It just made me more anxious for next May to roll around so we can get the cliffhanger resolved.

Marvel has proved again that they know how to make an audience pleasing movie.  Ant-Man and the Wasp will leave audiences smiling as they await the next adventure with these characters.

Book Review: A Souffle of Suspicion by Daryl Wood Gerber (French Bistro Mysteries #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Good mystery and cast

Cons: Mimi’s relationship with Tyson

The Bottom Line:

Crush Week, festival

Complicated by murder

Delicious puzzle

Crush Week, Sweets Fest, and Murder

Fans of Daryl Wood Gerber’s books (and the books she wrote as Avery Aames) know that she loves creating event for her mysteries.  So I wasn’t surprised to find that A Souffle of Suspicion, the second in her French Bistro mysteries, features a festival.

In this case, the festival is centered around sweets, a sure fire crowd pleaser.  However, Mimi Rousseau’s Bistro and Maison Rousseau are only providing the grounds.  This Sweet Treats festival is also timed for Crush Week, the time in the fall when the Napa Valley swells with tourists coming to watch the grape harvest.  Between the two, the hotel has no vacancies and the bistro is booked solid for both lunch and dinner.

Mimi is not responsible for the festival, that falls to Renee, the sister of Mimi’s head chef Camille.  However, Renee has ruffled a few feathers in her efforts to turn the festival company she just bought into a successful business.  Still, Mimi isn’t prepared to get a call from Camille that she’s just found Renee dead in Camille’s kitchen.  While it was clearly murder, the police are looking at Camille.  Can Mimi clear her?

Who doesn’t love sweets?  That alone helped pull me into the story.  Not that I needed much since we meet Renee and a few of the suspects early on and it isn’t too long before Renee dies.  I did feel the pace could have been better a time or two, but overall that was a minor complaint.  The climax was surprising and pointed out some clues I had completely missed when I was reading the book.

My bigger complaint comes from one particular relationship between the characters.  One of Mimi’s good friends is Tyson, the detective in charge of the case.  Now, I get the police not liking her help is solving things.  I am perfectly fine with warnings about staying out of police work.  However, I have a hard time buying that they are friends.  Most of their interactions feel more antagonistic than that.

That’s the only character or relationship I have an issue with, however.  The rest of the returning characters are charming, and I loved getting to spend time around them again.  The suspects were strong, and I really couldn’t figure out who was going to wind up the killer until Mimi figured it out.

Of course, we get plenty of recipes to go with the culinary theme.  They do focus on the French bistro theme of the series, although we do get a couple of treats as well.

A Souffle of Suspicion features a well done puzzle with characters we love and plenty of mouth water food.  What more could culinary cozy fans want?

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Ornament Review: Tea Time! #2 - Penguins - 2017 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun, creative tea set

Cons: Short, stout penguins bother me still

The Bottom Line:

Penguins serving tea

Festive set has grown on me

Certainly is fun

Tea for Penguin Lovers

I’m not sure I would have thought of penguins at Christmas time.  Yes, they live in the snow and cold (although Antarctica and not the North Pole), but they aren’t something you see regularly at Christmas.  Except with Hallmark.  They are doing well marketing penguins in their Christmas decorations, so I wasn’t too surprised to see them pop up for the second in the Tea Time! series.

This set of two ornaments features two penguins, an adult and a child.  The adult forms the tea pot itself, with one wing acting as the handle and one as the spout.  While it is mostly black and white with orange for feet, it sports a little blue and purple in the hat and scarf it is wearing.

The child is the cup.  It’s crouched down, and the top of its head is off so we can have the opening of the cup.  At least that’s what it looks like to me.  Again, the cup is mostly black, white, and orange, but this penguin is wearing a purple scarf that also is forming the handle of the cup.  The person drinking this tea likes it sweet since there are sugar cubes floating in the top.  Oh, given the chocolate brown of the liquid we can see inside, maybe this is hot chocolate.

I don’t typically think of penguins as short and fat, but that is exactly what we see here.  I know, I know, they are supposed to be a tea pot and tea cup; I get why they look the way they do.  But it still looks slightly wrong to me.  It doesn’t help that their cheeks are puffed up like they are holding their breath.

On the other hand, I really do like them; they are a fun addition to the Tea Time! series.  I could totally see someone wanting them as a fun seasonal tea set.  In fact, if this set were real, it would work great for the entire winter, not just Christmas.

Being a teapot and teacup, both stand up straight if you set them out to be displayed.  You’ll find the series marker on the bottom of both ornaments.

Unlike most Hallmark ornaments, these ornaments include the white ribbon you’d need to hang them on your tree.  When you do, you’ll find that they both hang straight.

Both pieces of the set are made from porcelain, so they are more fragile than many Hallmark ornaments, which are made from plastic.  You’ll want to keep this in mind when you display them so they don’t accidentally get broken.

This set has grown on me the more I looked at it.  While I’m still completely on board with the short, stout penguins, it makes a fun second Tea Time! set.

Enjoy more Tea Time! with the rest of the series.

Original Price: $19.95

Movie Review: Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Loving look at a loving man

Cons: Seems the video could have been better at times; could have been better focused

The Bottom Line:

Mr. Rogers tribute

Wonderful document’ry

Nostalgia induced

Remembering the Best Neighbor

Like many, I grew up watching Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.  In fact, I watched it much longer than most probably did.  I usually blame my brother, who is seven years younger than I am, but let’s be honest – I still haven’t grown up, so I was very much enjoying watching the episodes.  With those fond memories in mind, I knew I had to see Won’t You Be My Neighbor? as soon as I heard about it.

This movie is a documentary about the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, best known to most of us as Mr. Rogers, the creator of that seminal children’s TV show.  Through archival video and interviews with family, friends, cast, and crew, we get a look at the man who created such a huge part of American culture.

This is not a hit piece – not even remotely.  If you are looking for any dirt there might be on the man, you’ll have to look elsewhere.  But I’m perfectly okay with that.  We don’t need to know any and all secrets about a person, not that I think there are any with Mr. Rogers.  Everyone interviewed for the movie says he was exactly how he came across on the show, a kind, caring man.

The movie fills us in a bit on the history surrounding the show starting and even some moments where the show or Mr. Rogers himself made history.  However, it isn’t exactly a biography.  It is almost more of a character study instead.  The film does follow a lose timeline of the show, but it also seems to jump from one subject to another.  Honestly, I wish it had been a bit more focused.

Watching the documentary as an adult made me appreciate the show in an entire new way.  The show is so anti-everything on TV, even back then.  The actors are able to take moments that would be cheesy and make them work in powerful ways.  The show teaches with little if any lecturing.  And the songs!  The songs came back to me in just a few notes, and I felt like I had seriously been missing them.

The picture quality is uneven.  Naturally, that is to be expected with the age of some of the video they have for us, but I felt like some of it was done that way on purpose.  I wish they would have cleaned up what they could and left the archival footage grainy as it has become over the years.

I was a bit surprised to see a documentary on Mr. Rogers earning a PG-13 rating.  They come from a couple of stories one crew member told.  Again, don’t worry, they don’t reflect poorly on Mr. Rogers.  In fact, they show a fun sense of humor.  I’m torn because I did like them, but it seems like, given the subject, they could have been left out.  Then again, this probably isn’t a movie kids would enjoy anyway, so I’m most likely overthinking this.

Be prepared for a heavy dose of nostalgia as you watch.  I spent the afternoon after watching the movie thinking about some of my favorite moments from the show, like the film on making crayons or meeting the killer whale trainers or the “Bubbleland Opera.”  (Seriously, I loved that as a kid!)

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is a loving tribute to a man many of us still consider a neighbor.  And it leaves you with stuff to think about – how are you impacting those around you.

July 7th's Weekly TV Thoughts

I'm a little surprised that there was no American Ninja Warrior on Monday.  But that means I just had one show to watch this week.

Take Two – Once again, the show was lots of fun, but I’m not sure I buy that ending.  The owner would really talk to the guy responsible instead of doing something to hurt him?  I’m really not sure I’m buying it.  Love the new office, and that commercial was pretty funny at the end, too.  I love how they are giving Sam something to help solve the case each week.  This really is reminding me of early Castle, which is a very good thing.

Ornament Review: A Tasty Treat Repaint - Petite Penguins #1 Repaint - 2017 Hallmark Ornament

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Cute penguin

Cons: None

The Bottom Line:

Treat revisited

With some fun color changes

Must for collectors

This Tasty Treat Repaint is Just Grape

Hallmark loves making slightly different versions of their popular ornaments, especially if the ornament is part of a series, not that the collectors like me complain too loudly.  It’s how we got the 2017 repaint of A Tasty Treat, the first Petite Penguins ornament.

Like the original, this miniature ornament features a penguin holding a popsicle that is bigger than he is.  However, the popsicle has changed from red to purple.  Clearly, this penguin wanted a grape treat.  The scarf on his neck is a different color as well, a yellow-green and light blue strip this time around.  Of course, the penguin himself is still black and white, and the end of the popsicle is still covered in glitter to represent the ice frozen on the top.

I thought the original was cute, and I love this version just as much.  Maybe even a little bit more.  While purple isn’t a traditional Christmas color, somehow it makes this ornament stand out.  I just love that color choice.  But maybe that’s because I would have chosen purple as a kid over red because red was usually cherry, and I would prefer the purple grape flavor.

Either way, since this ornament is the exact same mold as the original just painted differently, it still stands on its own.  I know, it doesn’t look like it will since the popsicle is so big, and it’s not the most stable, but it will stand up as long as it isn’t somewhere you will bump it.  Likewise, the ornament tips slightly thanks to the oversized popsicle, but it actually looks straight at that angle.

What is most interesting is the series marker.  This is the only part of the ornament mold they changed.  Not only did they leave the series marker out, but they changed the copyright to reflect the original release year and the year of this repaint.

I want to mention again that this is a miniature ornament.  The entire thing is an inch tall.  As long as you expect that when you purchase him, you’ll be fine.

I have more ornaments than I know what to do with, but I couldn’t resist getting A Tasty Treat to add to my collection.  He’s just so cute.  If you are a fan of Hallmark’s penguin ornaments, you’ll love him, too.

You'll enjoy this ornament with the official entries in the Petite Penguins series.

Original Price: $7.95

Italian Iced Winner

I know, I know.  I'm a couple of days late pulling the winner for Italian Iced.  But I finally did it tonight, and the winner is...

...Carol!

I just sent you an e-mail, so please get back to me as soon as possible so I can make sure you get your prize.

Book Review: One Fete in the Grave by Vickie Fee (Liv and Di in Dixie #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Enjoyable mystery, great cast of characters

Cons: Pacing a little uneven

The Bottom Line:

Fireworks on fourth

Perfect disguise for murder

Fun summer cozy

This Fourth of July Ends with the Bang of Murder

Typically, my quest to read books around the holiday when they are set is limited to Christmas.  However, when I realized that One Fete in the Grave started on the 4^th of July, I had to make it an early summer read.

A killer used the annual fireworks display in Dixie, Tennessee, to cover murder.  As soon as the fireworks display has ended, the body of Bubba Rowland is discovered.  He’s a member of the town council who has plenty of people who dislike him thanks to his corruption.

Party planner Liv McKay was in charge of the festivities this year, but she isn’t planning to get involved in the investigation.  That is until Earl, her mother’s fiance, is accused of the murder.  True, Earl and Bubba had their disagreements, but he couldn’t have done it.  Unfortunately, the evidence does look pretty convincing.  Liv has her work cut out for her.

If you like books that start with a bang, you’ll like this one.  Okay, so maybe that bang is the fireworks, but Bubba’s body is found at the bottom of page two.  While we don’t meet the victim alive in the book, we still get to know what kind of person he was as Liv’s investigation unfolds.  Yes, at times she gets distracted by her business, something that slows down the plot, but there are still plenty of suspects, and the climax surprised me even though it was perfectly logical.

We’ve got a great cast of characters in this series, and they are all present.  Liv’s mother is a hoot, and I enjoyed a sub-plot she was involved in.  I still love Liv’s relationship with her husband, and Liv’s best friend Di has a large part in this book.  We don’t spend as much time getting to know the suspects, but they still come across as completely real.

If you are planning a party, there are some tips in the back to help you.  We even get a couple of completely appropriate recipes, although neither is for the chocolate cake I was drooling over in this book.

Whenever you party with this book, you’ll find it enjoyable.  One Fete in the Grave combines the lazy days of summer with a murder in an enjoyable way.

Party even more with the rest of the Liv and Di in Dixie Mysteries.

Movie Review: Incredibles 2

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Laughs and action with a family we love

Cons: Cons would make this movie less Incredible

The Bottom Line:

More action and laughs

As Incredibles return

Sequel well worth wait

Incredibly Fun Sequel

It’s been 14 years since we first met the family of superheroes known as The Incredibles.  Since that time, the superhero genre has exploded with the Marvel Cinematic Universe reaching new heights with each movie and plenty of superhero shows on TV.  Like others, I’m surprised it has taken so long for us to get this sequel, but I found Incredibles 2 well worth the wait.

This movie picks up moments after the last one ends.  And I do mean moments.  We actually get to watch as this family of superheroes takes on The Underminer, which means we don’t have to search for John Ratzenberger’s cameo.

Unfortunately, the fight doesn’t go well, and it means that the Incredibles aren’t changing any minds about bringing superheroes out of the shadows.  In fact, the family finds themselves staying in a hotel without any job prospects.

That is until Lucius Best, aka Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), passes on an offer he’s received.  It seems that a mystery man wants to help bring superheroes back into the light, and he thinks that Helen Parr, aka Elastigirl (Holly Hunter), is the best person to do that.  This means leaving Bob, aka Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), with kids Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Huckleberry Milner), and baby Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile).  Will Elastigirl succeed in her mission?  Can Bob handle the kids?

And we are off on another fun ride.  I must admit I was worried from the previews that this movie would make Bob out to be an idiot when it comes to dealing with the kids, but I felt the movie walked the fine line when it came to that plot.  What do I mean?  There were plenty of laughs with the issues the kids were having, but they weren’t all at Bob’s expense.  And he definitely tried hard, which helped a lot in my mind.

I will admit that the previews spoiled many but not all of the best laughs in the film.  But that didn’t seem to matter.  When we hit those scenes in the movie, the audience I was with laughed just as hard, and I was right there with them.  I must admit that Jack-Jack stole much of the show.  Overall, this is a great comedy.

What the previews didn’t spoil was the superhero storyline that Elastigirl is involved in.  Granted, the twists weren’t all that surprising, but it was still very well done.  And the villain, while pure evil, does provide us some things to think about.  Just maybe not quite to the extremes presented here.  We also get to meet a host of new superheroes with a range of powers, and I enjoyed them very much.

The voice cast is wonderful again.  They bring their characters to life perfectly and allow us to get lost in the story.  The animation is stylized like it was in the first movie, but perfectly captures the feel of this film.

Speaking of which, I once again loved the retro 50’s look of the film.  With modern references worked in, it allows the film to feel timeless.

There were warnings outside the theater and before the film started about flashes of light that might bother those with photosensitive epilepsy, so keep that in mind.  I was a bit surprised to find a couple characters used God’s name in vain as well, something we don’t usually see in animated movies.  Despite this being a superhero movie, I didn’t find the fight scenes that violent, especially compared to other superhero movies, so the crew did remember their audience when it came to those.

This is a sequel just as they should be – a chance to see what happens next to our favorite characters that is as much fun as the first one.  If you haven’t seen Incredibles 2 yet, fix that today.

Book Review: The Floating Light Bulb by John Gaspard (Eli Marks #5)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Plenty of page turning fun

Cons: Other things overwhelm mystery at times

The Bottom Line:

Myst’ry at the mall

Makes Eli learn a new act

Lots of magic fun

Eli Finds Himself Creating Magic and Stalking a Killer at the Mall of America

When it comes to magic in mysteries, you can’t go wrong with Eli Marks.  Of course, he has a distinct advantage since he is a magician by trade.  He finds himself in another situation where he needs to conjure up some clues in The Floating Light Bulb, the fifth book in the series.

As the book opens, Eli and his uncle Harry are attending a magic show inside the amusement park inside the Mall of America.  The magician, Billy Blume, is one of Harry’s former students, and he has asked the older magician for some pointers.  The show is rather lack luster, but it’s nothing compared to the big climax, when Billy fails to appear on cue.

The next day, Eli and Harry find out why Billy never appeared – he’d been shot.  Then, to Eli’s surprise, his ex-wife, Deidre, and her new husband, Homicide Inspector Fred Hutton, ask him to take the job as Billy’s replacement.  They just want him to observe what is going on and report anything to them.  He is not – repeat not – supposed to do any questioning or investigating on his own.  But will Eli find anything, or will learning the show keep him to distracted?

While magic has always played a part in these books, as it should, I felt the magic overwhelmed the mystery a bit.  Eli learning the act and rehearsing with his new co-workers does seem to take the focus from the mystery quite a bit of the time.  Yes, events related to the mystery are sprinkled throughout these scenes, so they aren’t all wasted, and we do get a great climax that resolves things.

And please don’t misunderstand, I had a blast reading this book.  The scenes involving magic were fantastic, and I found the story of Eli trying to learn all of this to be a lot of fun.  Equally fun was a sub-plot involving the Minneapolis Mystics, an unofficial group of older magicians that Harry belongs to.  They weren’t in the previous book, so I enjoyed getting to see them again this time.

It certainly helps that Eli is surrounded by a great cast of the characters.  Both returning and new are fantastic and really helped pull me into the story.

I really enjoyed my time with this book, and the pages flew by all to quickly.  The Floating Light Bulb gives Eli’s fans another magical adventure they will enjoy.

Need to catch up on this series?  Here are the Eli Marks Mysteries in order.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.