Joseph Baneth Allen's Blog, page 49
November 17, 2023
Music Inspired by Middle Earth, Volume II
Just finished listening to "Music Inspired by Middle Earth, Volume II" by David Arkenstone, released by QVD.
A little over 20 years ago Arkenstone released the first volume of "Music Inspired by Middle Earth" when the original live action The Lord of the Rings movies were released, with Tolkien’s original books serving as the inspiration.
Volume II of Music Inspired by Middle Earth continues the sweeping orchestral compositions Arkenstone composed. Of note, in an interview, he noted that it took 20 years for advances in music technology to allow him to play must of the instruments he used in this sequel album.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "The House of Healing," "Fongorn Forest," "Daughter of the River," "The Green Dragon," "Servant of the Secret Fire," "The Great River - The Argonath," and "The Light of Imiadris."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Music-Inspired...
A little over 20 years ago Arkenstone released the first volume of "Music Inspired by Middle Earth" when the original live action The Lord of the Rings movies were released, with Tolkien’s original books serving as the inspiration.
Volume II of Music Inspired by Middle Earth continues the sweeping orchestral compositions Arkenstone composed. Of note, in an interview, he noted that it took 20 years for advances in music technology to allow him to play must of the instruments he used in this sequel album.
My favorite tracks on this CD are: "The House of Healing," "Fongorn Forest," "Daughter of the River," "The Green Dragon," "Servant of the Secret Fire," "The Great River - The Argonath," and "The Light of Imiadris."
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Music-Inspired...
November 11, 2023
Salt & Pepper
Just finished watching "Salt & Pepper" released by MGM Studios back in 1968.
The late Sammy Davis, Jr. was a personal hero of mine when I was a young boy growing up in the 1970s because he shared one characteristic with my father - both renounced their Christianity and converted to Judaism, though Davis did it much later in his life and my father converted when he was still a teenager. As the only Jewish child at Camp Lejeune at that time from 1966 on up through the early 1970s Davis was a Jewish icon who actively practiced Judaism for the entire world to see, and he wasn't afraid to do so. [Now yes, Davis did suffer from depression later in his life and allegedly flirted with Satanism, but he was a Jewish role model for not just me, but I suspect many other Jewish children as well.]
Davis played Salt, and Lawford played Pepper, the two co-owners with a shared possibly criminal past, who own and run a popular night club in London's Soho District. When a dead woman turns out to be a secret agent, and Salt and Pepper start discovering bodies of assassins out to kill them in the club, they find themselves being recruited by a government spy agency to look into the matter for themselves, but it soon takes a darker twist when Salt and Pepper stumble onto a plot to overthrow the British government and no one with authority believes them. So they set out to save England on their own.
Surprisingly, "Salt & Pepper" is a cut above the standard Spy Spoof movies that came out in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Pepper-Sa...
The late Sammy Davis, Jr. was a personal hero of mine when I was a young boy growing up in the 1970s because he shared one characteristic with my father - both renounced their Christianity and converted to Judaism, though Davis did it much later in his life and my father converted when he was still a teenager. As the only Jewish child at Camp Lejeune at that time from 1966 on up through the early 1970s Davis was a Jewish icon who actively practiced Judaism for the entire world to see, and he wasn't afraid to do so. [Now yes, Davis did suffer from depression later in his life and allegedly flirted with Satanism, but he was a Jewish role model for not just me, but I suspect many other Jewish children as well.]
Davis played Salt, and Lawford played Pepper, the two co-owners with a shared possibly criminal past, who own and run a popular night club in London's Soho District. When a dead woman turns out to be a secret agent, and Salt and Pepper start discovering bodies of assassins out to kill them in the club, they find themselves being recruited by a government spy agency to look into the matter for themselves, but it soon takes a darker twist when Salt and Pepper stumble onto a plot to overthrow the British government and no one with authority believes them. So they set out to save England on their own.
Surprisingly, "Salt & Pepper" is a cut above the standard Spy Spoof movies that came out in the 1960s and early 1970s.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Pepper-Sa...
Ernest & Celestine
Just finished "Ernest & Celestine" released by Shout! Factory.
Based on a series of children's books of the same name published by the Belgian author and illustrator Gabrielle Vincent, "Ernest & Celestine" is an open love letter to the type of animation style and technique that Walt Disney himself aspired to, but never quite achieved with his animation during his life time.
In many ways "Ernest & Celestine" resembles the best of Studio Ghibli's willingness to go boldly with animation that resembles a watercolor painting brought to vivid life as it tells the tale of how two misfits who can't get along in their own worlds manage to create a new life with each other when fate and their own tragic circumstances bring they together.
Celestine is an orphan mouse who dreams of being a great artist, but is stuck in the role of being a dental apprentice regulated to be a tooth collector.
Ernest dreams of being an entertainer instead of being a lawyer/judge career path that his family wants him to pursue.
In the universe of "Ernest & Celestine" bears eat mice, yet using her wits, Celestine convinces Ernest that the basement of a candy store is where to go since there is a lot to eat there, yet the two of them become partners in crime and pull off a heist that changes the course of their lives as they realize that they belong with each other as friends.
And a sequel, "Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia" will be released in 2024.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Ernest-Celesti...
Based on a series of children's books of the same name published by the Belgian author and illustrator Gabrielle Vincent, "Ernest & Celestine" is an open love letter to the type of animation style and technique that Walt Disney himself aspired to, but never quite achieved with his animation during his life time.
In many ways "Ernest & Celestine" resembles the best of Studio Ghibli's willingness to go boldly with animation that resembles a watercolor painting brought to vivid life as it tells the tale of how two misfits who can't get along in their own worlds manage to create a new life with each other when fate and their own tragic circumstances bring they together.
Celestine is an orphan mouse who dreams of being a great artist, but is stuck in the role of being a dental apprentice regulated to be a tooth collector.
Ernest dreams of being an entertainer instead of being a lawyer/judge career path that his family wants him to pursue.
In the universe of "Ernest & Celestine" bears eat mice, yet using her wits, Celestine convinces Ernest that the basement of a candy store is where to go since there is a lot to eat there, yet the two of them become partners in crime and pull off a heist that changes the course of their lives as they realize that they belong with each other as friends.
And a sequel, "Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia" will be released in 2024.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Ernest-Celesti...
November 7, 2023
Defiance
Just finished reading "Defiance" by C.J. Cherryh and Jane S. Fancher, published by DAW Books.
I remember eagerly buying Cherryh's first novel in this series, "Foreigner," when it first appeared in the new release section of the science fiction and fantasy section of the Barnes & Noble near where I live back in back in 1994. If I'm not mistaken, I do believe that Mom, Dad, and Selma Franz was with me when I bought "Foreigner."
Now since I am a firm believer in full disclosure, while I am friends of science fiction and fantasy writers here on Facebook and other social media who are friends with C.J. Cherryh, I only follow her here on Facebook. I have never met C.J. Cherryh, nor have I ever, to the best of my knowledge communicated with her. You'd be surprised how many people throw online temper tantrums and accuse you of being "deceptive" and report you if you don't reveal a connection you may have with an author, musician, actor, ect.... So hence the reason for these disclaimers.
When I discovered C.J. Cherryh's "Hunter of Worlds" on the shelves in the new arrival section of Michelle's Bookstore back in Jacksonville, North Carolina back in 1977 I was intrigued because it seemed similar to one of Andre Norton's novels and since I had read just about everything of hers that was available for me at that time, I decided to take a chance on Cherryh since I had read her preference in "Lore of the Witch World" - one of Andre's Witch World collections that she had been invited to her home to drop off an award that she had won.
Silly reason to buy a book, I know.
Cherryh's use of displaced people disconnected and somewhat isolated by their own culture is similar to themes in Norton's work.
"Defiance" is the 22nd novel in Cherryh's Foreigner's sequence/universe, and the first one she has openly written with her co-writer and life-partner Jane S. Fancher - their previous joint work being "Alliance Rising" in "The Hinder Stars" sequence. Francher's previous work includes "The Dance of Rings" trilogy - which I have yet to read.
In a preference, Cherryh does note that Fancher has been a sounding board and has even written scenes in previous Foreigner novels - which is not unusual for writers to do. Still, there are some who nitpick over such a triviality.
"Defiance" provides fascinating insight into the dowager empress Ilisidi of Malguri and how she used her dual regencies in a multi-generation goal to unite the people and lands of the Great Continent. We get her backstory for the first time and we get to understand her point of view as someone raised outside of the aishidi'tat but also as someone who has served as Regent to the aishidi'tat not just once but twice.
Surprisingly Bren only gains additional insight into the dowger empress's motivations when he is given a biography of her dual regencies; but he is hampered by her apparent sudden illness and lack of ability to communicate with Tabini and the complications of being virtually clueless and at the potential mercy of the Shadow Guild.
A beat-by-beat suspenseful entry in the Foreigner series. I eagerly await the next entry by Cherryh and Fancher in the series.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/075...
I remember eagerly buying Cherryh's first novel in this series, "Foreigner," when it first appeared in the new release section of the science fiction and fantasy section of the Barnes & Noble near where I live back in back in 1994. If I'm not mistaken, I do believe that Mom, Dad, and Selma Franz was with me when I bought "Foreigner."
Now since I am a firm believer in full disclosure, while I am friends of science fiction and fantasy writers here on Facebook and other social media who are friends with C.J. Cherryh, I only follow her here on Facebook. I have never met C.J. Cherryh, nor have I ever, to the best of my knowledge communicated with her. You'd be surprised how many people throw online temper tantrums and accuse you of being "deceptive" and report you if you don't reveal a connection you may have with an author, musician, actor, ect.... So hence the reason for these disclaimers.
When I discovered C.J. Cherryh's "Hunter of Worlds" on the shelves in the new arrival section of Michelle's Bookstore back in Jacksonville, North Carolina back in 1977 I was intrigued because it seemed similar to one of Andre Norton's novels and since I had read just about everything of hers that was available for me at that time, I decided to take a chance on Cherryh since I had read her preference in "Lore of the Witch World" - one of Andre's Witch World collections that she had been invited to her home to drop off an award that she had won.
Silly reason to buy a book, I know.
Cherryh's use of displaced people disconnected and somewhat isolated by their own culture is similar to themes in Norton's work.
"Defiance" is the 22nd novel in Cherryh's Foreigner's sequence/universe, and the first one she has openly written with her co-writer and life-partner Jane S. Fancher - their previous joint work being "Alliance Rising" in "The Hinder Stars" sequence. Francher's previous work includes "The Dance of Rings" trilogy - which I have yet to read.
In a preference, Cherryh does note that Fancher has been a sounding board and has even written scenes in previous Foreigner novels - which is not unusual for writers to do. Still, there are some who nitpick over such a triviality.
"Defiance" provides fascinating insight into the dowager empress Ilisidi of Malguri and how she used her dual regencies in a multi-generation goal to unite the people and lands of the Great Continent. We get her backstory for the first time and we get to understand her point of view as someone raised outside of the aishidi'tat but also as someone who has served as Regent to the aishidi'tat not just once but twice.
Surprisingly Bren only gains additional insight into the dowger empress's motivations when he is given a biography of her dual regencies; but he is hampered by her apparent sudden illness and lack of ability to communicate with Tabini and the complications of being virtually clueless and at the potential mercy of the Shadow Guild.
A beat-by-beat suspenseful entry in the Foreigner series. I eagerly await the next entry by Cherryh and Fancher in the series.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/075...
November 6, 2023
Will-O'-The-Wisp
Just finished watching "Will-O'-The-Wisp" released by Strand Home Video.
Now as frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media platforms know, I will not review anything that I find is x-rated. Okay, I'm a prude. Live with it, I do.
"Will-O'-The-Wisp" does contain a rather shocking x-rated scene and it highlights a problem with the movie rating system - if you don't submit it for review to the Motion Pictures Ratings Review Board, a movie is automatically slapped with a "Not Rated" rating. Most independently produced movies by-pass the ratings board, but that doesn't mean that they're x-rated.
All I will say about the scene in question is that it is/was the reason why I stopped going on overnight camping trips in the Boy Scouts - Troop 490 and Troop 90 before they combined into one troop, Troop 90 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. [My testimony is already on record in the Abused in Scouting Lawsuit, though I'm not participating in it.]
Now "Will-O'-The-Wisp" can best be described as an alternative universe movie where Portugal still has a monarchy and where people beak out in songs and perform dance routines about protecting the environment. And let's not forget nude firemen striking the poses of famous artworks. Think art house movie wanna be and you pretty much sum up this movie.
Not Recommended.
Zero Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Will-Wisp-Maur...
Now as frequent readers of my reviews here on Facebook, Goodreads, and other social media platforms know, I will not review anything that I find is x-rated. Okay, I'm a prude. Live with it, I do.
"Will-O'-The-Wisp" does contain a rather shocking x-rated scene and it highlights a problem with the movie rating system - if you don't submit it for review to the Motion Pictures Ratings Review Board, a movie is automatically slapped with a "Not Rated" rating. Most independently produced movies by-pass the ratings board, but that doesn't mean that they're x-rated.
All I will say about the scene in question is that it is/was the reason why I stopped going on overnight camping trips in the Boy Scouts - Troop 490 and Troop 90 before they combined into one troop, Troop 90 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. [My testimony is already on record in the Abused in Scouting Lawsuit, though I'm not participating in it.]
Now "Will-O'-The-Wisp" can best be described as an alternative universe movie where Portugal still has a monarchy and where people beak out in songs and perform dance routines about protecting the environment. And let's not forget nude firemen striking the poses of famous artworks. Think art house movie wanna be and you pretty much sum up this movie.
Not Recommended.
Zero Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Will-Wisp-Maur...
Asteroid City
Just finished watching "Asteroid City" released by Universal.
Now truth be told I've only seen one previous Wes Anderson film, "Fantastic Mr. Fox." It was a pretty good and quirky stop motion animated movie.
"Asteroid City" is also a quirky movie as well. It's a rather stylistic one as well - being a play within a play within the black and white realm of real life. I'll give Wes Anderson points for the reference to WXYZ - the Golden Age Radio Station responsible for a slew of hit radio shows - The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon.
"Asteroid City" is an odd mishmash of a movie that seems to be an exploration of how people deal with grief over the passing of a loved one in a science fiction setting of the 1950s with modern tropes.
I suspect die hard Wes Anderson fans will love this movie.
I did not.
Not Recommended.
Two Points for it's quirky style.
https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-City-...
Now truth be told I've only seen one previous Wes Anderson film, "Fantastic Mr. Fox." It was a pretty good and quirky stop motion animated movie.
"Asteroid City" is also a quirky movie as well. It's a rather stylistic one as well - being a play within a play within the black and white realm of real life. I'll give Wes Anderson points for the reference to WXYZ - the Golden Age Radio Station responsible for a slew of hit radio shows - The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon.
"Asteroid City" is an odd mishmash of a movie that seems to be an exploration of how people deal with grief over the passing of a loved one in a science fiction setting of the 1950s with modern tropes.
I suspect die hard Wes Anderson fans will love this movie.
I did not.
Not Recommended.
Two Points for it's quirky style.
https://www.amazon.com/Asteroid-City-...
November 4, 2023
"Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning -Part One"
Just finished watching "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning -Part One" released by Paramount Pictures.
The latest movie in the "Mission: Impossible" film franchise, does a little bit of rewriting of Ethan Hunt's [Tom Cruise] back story now making him a former criminal who was given a choice to be recruited into the Impossible Missions Team 30 years ago. That may come into play in Dead Reckoning - Part Two when it's released in 2025, which is supposed to be the final send off for Ethan Hunt in the series.
"Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning -Part One" does have the feel of being an entry in a "Mission: Impossible"/Tom Cruise multiverse with a wink and a nod to other movies that Cruise has appeared in, like "The Mummy.
Hunt and his team are tasked with recovering part of a key that would allow anyone who had it the ability to control an artificial intelligence program designed by Russia known as "The Entity" - that is self-aware and has an agenda all of it's own.
Yet as the agents from other nations try to obtain the key, Hunt and his team are declared outlaws and must stay one jump ahead of the Entity who can make changes to outcomes in the real world.
"Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning -Part One" concludes on a somber note, indicating success may have a very high price for Hunt, a price that he paid once already to get the key.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Mission-Imposs...
The latest movie in the "Mission: Impossible" film franchise, does a little bit of rewriting of Ethan Hunt's [Tom Cruise] back story now making him a former criminal who was given a choice to be recruited into the Impossible Missions Team 30 years ago. That may come into play in Dead Reckoning - Part Two when it's released in 2025, which is supposed to be the final send off for Ethan Hunt in the series.
"Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning -Part One" does have the feel of being an entry in a "Mission: Impossible"/Tom Cruise multiverse with a wink and a nod to other movies that Cruise has appeared in, like "The Mummy.
Hunt and his team are tasked with recovering part of a key that would allow anyone who had it the ability to control an artificial intelligence program designed by Russia known as "The Entity" - that is self-aware and has an agenda all of it's own.
Yet as the agents from other nations try to obtain the key, Hunt and his team are declared outlaws and must stay one jump ahead of the Entity who can make changes to outcomes in the real world.
"Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning -Part One" concludes on a somber note, indicating success may have a very high price for Hunt, a price that he paid once already to get the key.
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.amazon.com/Mission-Imposs...
Marriage of Inconvenience
Just finished watching "Marriage of Inconvenience" released by TLA Releasing.
"Marriage of Inconvenience" originally came to be a Kickstarter project that was funded and eventually aired on the dekkoo streaming service.
It follows the misadventures Owens and Franklin, who are brought together under the auspices of the witness protection program. Being complete opposites Owens and Franklin struggle to adjust to their new lives in the shadows and to the fact that they have to pretend to be married to each other.
The first season, or maybe the series, ends on a cliffhanger with their lives potentially endangered by a stalker.
I'd like to see this series continue.
Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Marriage-of-In...
"Marriage of Inconvenience" originally came to be a Kickstarter project that was funded and eventually aired on the dekkoo streaming service.
It follows the misadventures Owens and Franklin, who are brought together under the auspices of the witness protection program. Being complete opposites Owens and Franklin struggle to adjust to their new lives in the shadows and to the fact that they have to pretend to be married to each other.
The first season, or maybe the series, ends on a cliffhanger with their lives potentially endangered by a stalker.
I'd like to see this series continue.
Recommended.
Four Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Marriage-of-In...
The Boatniks
Just finished watching "The Boatniks" released by Walt Disney Pictures back in 1970.
"The Boatniks" is a rather bit of an interesting "period" piece Walt Disney Studios. It's not exactly a comedy aimed at kids and families, but more to an "adults" only fare.
Disney veteran Norman Tokar, who directed 15 films and TV movies for Disney Studios, from 1961 until his untimely death in 1979 helmed "The Boatniks." His titles include "The Cat from Outer Space", "The Horse in the Grey Flannel Suit", "The Ugly Dachshund", "Rascal", and "The Apple Dumpling Gang". The screenplay by Arthur Julian, based on a story by Marty Roth. Disney filmed extensively on location at Newport Beach in California and its marina, in addition to shooting scenes at the Disney studio back-lot, sound stages, and in a water tank to simulate the sea. Many stuntmen were used in the multiple scenes of boats that capsized.
When seasoned Coast Guard Lt. Jordan is transferring out of one of the craziest, most crowded recreational harbors in the US coastlines, Newport Beach Harbor, California. His bumbling new replacement, Coast Guard Ensign Thomas Garland. This wacky movie is about the trials and tribulations faced by those rescuers at sea that must save the amateur weekend boaters (beatniks) from themselves. Garland feels that he is jinxed to live in his father's shadow, contributing to his bad luck. Kate who runs a local boat rental and sailing school. After rescuing him from his own wreck, she gets romantically involved with the Ensign as they must join forces to catch some jewel thieves.
While "The Boatniks" is pretty typical standard Disney fare for the time, it's a bit uneven of a comedy movie, but it did earn a lot of money on the drive-in movie circuit which allowed it to be re-released by Walt Disney Pictures seven years later back in 1977.
Recommended. It's a pleasant way to pass time and it is lighthearted Walt Disney fare.
Three Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Boatniks-Rober...
"The Boatniks" is a rather bit of an interesting "period" piece Walt Disney Studios. It's not exactly a comedy aimed at kids and families, but more to an "adults" only fare.
Disney veteran Norman Tokar, who directed 15 films and TV movies for Disney Studios, from 1961 until his untimely death in 1979 helmed "The Boatniks." His titles include "The Cat from Outer Space", "The Horse in the Grey Flannel Suit", "The Ugly Dachshund", "Rascal", and "The Apple Dumpling Gang". The screenplay by Arthur Julian, based on a story by Marty Roth. Disney filmed extensively on location at Newport Beach in California and its marina, in addition to shooting scenes at the Disney studio back-lot, sound stages, and in a water tank to simulate the sea. Many stuntmen were used in the multiple scenes of boats that capsized.
When seasoned Coast Guard Lt. Jordan is transferring out of one of the craziest, most crowded recreational harbors in the US coastlines, Newport Beach Harbor, California. His bumbling new replacement, Coast Guard Ensign Thomas Garland. This wacky movie is about the trials and tribulations faced by those rescuers at sea that must save the amateur weekend boaters (beatniks) from themselves. Garland feels that he is jinxed to live in his father's shadow, contributing to his bad luck. Kate who runs a local boat rental and sailing school. After rescuing him from his own wreck, she gets romantically involved with the Ensign as they must join forces to catch some jewel thieves.
While "The Boatniks" is pretty typical standard Disney fare for the time, it's a bit uneven of a comedy movie, but it did earn a lot of money on the drive-in movie circuit which allowed it to be re-released by Walt Disney Pictures seven years later back in 1977.
Recommended. It's a pleasant way to pass time and it is lighthearted Walt Disney fare.
Three Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Boatniks-Rober...
October 31, 2023
A Brighter Dawn
Just finished listening to "A Brighter Dawn" by Wychazel, released by MG Music.
Wychazel is the recording and production alias used by Chris Green. With a career spanning two decades, Green first appeared on the new age music scene as part of the duo Runestone and has since established himself as an award winning solo artist.
Using rhythm influences from both western and eastern cultures, Green used Bamboo Flutes, Asian Percussion, Tibetan Bowls, Hang Drum, Vocal Chants, Synths & Samples and atmospheric effects to create the tracks for "A Brighter Dawn."
My favorite tracks are: "Tomorrow's Dream," "The Gift of Life," "The Voice Inside," and "A Brighter Dawn."
Highly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://medwyngoodall.com/wychazel
Wychazel is the recording and production alias used by Chris Green. With a career spanning two decades, Green first appeared on the new age music scene as part of the duo Runestone and has since established himself as an award winning solo artist.
Using rhythm influences from both western and eastern cultures, Green used Bamboo Flutes, Asian Percussion, Tibetan Bowls, Hang Drum, Vocal Chants, Synths & Samples and atmospheric effects to create the tracks for "A Brighter Dawn."
My favorite tracks are: "Tomorrow's Dream," "The Gift of Life," "The Voice Inside," and "A Brighter Dawn."
Highly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://medwyngoodall.com/wychazel
