Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 89

Mr. Holmes

From the moment I first saw the trailer for this story of an aging, retired Sherlock Holmes, I knew I had to go see it.  From the instant Ian McKellen appeared on the screen, I was captivated.  Though the shape of its plot was obvious, I remained entranced until the credits rolled.  I loved this movie.

Which is not to say that Mr. Holmes is always an easy film to watch.  Witnessing the mental decay of a character I've loved since early childhood was frequently painful.  The thoughts of mortality the story inevitably summoned were not pleasant to contemplate.  Even though I expected everything to work out in the end, because that's what usually happens in movies these days, the film did a good job of raising my concern and keeping me tense.

I still loved it.

McKellen's performance was, of course, one of the biggest causes of my affection.  He can say more with minute facial movements than many actors can manage with five-minute monologues.  After the movie ended, I felt privileged to have witnessed his performance.  The rest of the cast was uniformly strong, though as fitted a film about the great Holmes, all of the other characters took a back seat to him.

The story also delivered all that it should:  a nicely intertwined main plot of Holmes grappling with his loss of mental acuity, and the mystery he is seeking to resolve--if only he could remember.

The less background you bring to this film, the better; just settle in and let it work its magic.  In a summer of big, loud movies--movies I generally love--this is a small, quiet film that grabbed a big place in my heart.

Do not miss this one.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

is exactly what it should be:  big, action-packed, frequently dumb, Mission: Impossible-style fun.  It starts fast, stays fast, and does the nice turn of dispensing with the scene its trailers most over-used--Tom Cruise hanging onto the plane--in its first few minutes.

As always, Cruise dominates the action and the film itself, but Simon Pegg, whose role is larger than ever, helps balance the movie.  Rebecca Ferguson did a solid turn as the woman who might be with them or might be an enemy.  The rest of the usual cast all turned in good performances.

Films in this franchise are at their weakest when they slow the pace and examine the inner lives of its characters.  At those moments, the movies typically sag to nearly the breaking point.  Rogue Nation never enters that danger zone and instead just keeps on moving.  It's the right choice for this film.

I had a fine time watching it.

Of course, you can't think too hard about the plot or the stunts, but you know that's the case when you walk into the theater.  No problem.  Some of the lines, particularly a late-in-the-film Alec Baldwin monolog about Ethan Hunt (Cruise), are laughable, but mostly they speed by so quickly that you don't have time to feel the pain.

If you enjoy this kind of movie--and you know I do--go see Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.

eARCs of Onward, Drake! are available now!

The eARC, or electronic Advanced Reading Copy, is, to the best of my knowledge, an invention of Jim Baen.  Advance Reading Copies (ARCs) are uncorrected, either unedited or not fully edited, limited-run, cheaply printed versions of books.  Publishers have produced them for ages and sent them to reviewers so that reviews of books could appear at the same times as the books themselves.  When Jim took Baen Books into the ebook business, readers started asking an obvious question:  given that you have the book in electronic form well ahead of official publication, why won't you sell us that form?  Jim did what, in my opinion, any sensible businessperson would do:  he took their money.

Thus was born the eARC.

Baen sells eARCs for $15, which is more than the cost of the final, edited ebook.  So, why would anyone pay more to get an unedited version?

Bragging rights:  you will have read the book months before others.

The chance to see the book as the author delivered it; others will see only the final edited version.

Indulging your completist side:  if you want all the states of a book, you'll definitely want this one.

eARCs clearly aren't for everyone, but they are for some.

Oh, yeah, lest I forgot to answer in advance a question I've heard before:  Of course Baen pays authors royalties on eARCs.  Baen, like any reputable publisher, naturally pays royalties on print and electronic versions of books.

Which finally brings me to this book, which I created, edited, and am quite happy with:  Onward, Drake!


For the low, low price of fifteen bucks, you can go to this page on baenebooks.com and purchase the eARC in every major ebook format--with no DRM, and no restrictions on where or how you read the ebook.  You buy the ebook, you get all the formats.  Period.

Wouldn't you like to be among the first to read Dave's new Hammer's Slammers story?  My story?  All the other great pieces in the book?

Sure you would.

So, buy and read this eARC, order the signed limited leatherbound edition (you gotta have that, just for Dave's signature and its limited nature), and pick up the regular hardbound version--a handsome item all on its own--for loaning to your (trusted) friends.

My spam says I need help

as you can clearly see in this screen shot of roughly six hours of spam from yesterday.
(Click the image to see a larger version.)
The good news is that my spam wants to help me get a new car, new windows, new electronics, and some Amazon points.

The bad news is that my spam is convinced I am suffering from all of the following:
hearing losslow testosteronefatness (true)memory lossand multiple other ailments.

At least this batch of spam did not accuse me of having any STDs, as many other recent batches have.

Spam should make you want to click on something.  The spammers who developed these messages clearly missed that point.  Nothing here was tempting--something for which I suppose I should be grateful.  I just have trouble with incompetence in any area.

I continue to want a better class of spam.

Rowdy Roddy Piper, R.I.P.

I grew up watching professional wrestling whenever I could sneak the time at the television.  I continued to watch it on and off for many years.  I knew it was fake by the time I was ten, but for some reason I still enjoyed the spectacle.  In 1980, I discovered Rowdy Roddy Piper and followed his exploits for many years.  Friday, at the age of 61--only a year older than I am, Piper died.

Piper appealed to many people because he made up in wit and insane behavior what he lacked in musculature.  He was rarely the more imposing man in a match, and as steroid use intensified and wrestlers grew bigger and bigger, Piper stayed relatively the same size.  Despite never being the physically most impressive athlete, he managed to become one of the all-time greatest wrestling villains--and also remained surprisingly likable for most fans.

Piper came from a legitimate athletic background.  He was a Golden Gloves boxing champion and a judo black belt (from Gene LeBell).

Ronda Rousey borrowed her nickname, "Rowdy," from Piper, with his permission, and dedicated last night's fight to him.

I'm sorry to see him die so young.

Watch Ronda Rousey fight while you can

In a UFC pay-per-view event earlier tonight, women's bantamweight champion and undefeated MMA fighter Ronda Rousey defended her title against undefeated contender Bethe Correia.  Rousey is known for her judo--she won a bronze medal in judo, the first American woman to do so, at the 2008 Olympics--and her armbars.  Correia's strong suit was supposed to be her striking.  Rousey out-struck Correia and knocked her out in 34 seconds.

Rousey is an extraordinary athlete, one so far ahead of her competition--and the current state of the art of women's mixed martial arts--that no one has yet posed any sort of serious challenge to her.  It's rare for an athlete to be this completely dominant in any sport--and she continues to improve.

If you're at all interested in MMA, watch Rousey fight before she leaves the sport.  It is a privilege to see someone performing at this level.

Blue moon over my house

Earlier in the evening, when I was driving home, the moon was bigger, prettier, and yellower, but this blue moon over my house was still a pleasure to see.

Click the image to see a larger version.
The great Billie Holiday delivered my favorite version of the Rodgers and Hart classic of this name.



I hope you saw the moon and enjoy the song.

Onward, Drake! has another cover

Sort of.  It's a gag the Baen staff pulled on Dave, but it's pretty funny, providing you're willing to accept something that is most definitely not politically correct.  (If you're not, don't look.  If you're not and you look, don't blame me; I warned you.)

You can see it and read about it on Dave's site here, or you can just jump right to it here.

Three days back at work

and I'm already missing the beach.  I thought you might feel the same way, so here's a photo fix courtesy of Gina.  The image is a bit melancholy and paints the beach is a less than favorable light, but it's also, at least to me, strikingly beautiful.

Click the image to see a larger version.
Enjoy.

Time to preorder the new Josh Ritter album

Oh, yeah, Sermon on the Rocks, the album he was recording in New Orleans, is now available for preorder on his site.  You can also check out "Getting Ready To Get Down," the first song available from the album on this NPR page.

I'm psyched and hoping he tours somewhere nearby.

And, yes, I've already preordered it.