E.R. Torre's Blog, page 10

Election 2022

We’re a few days away from election day, Tuesday November the 8th and I hope everyone out there takes some time to vote.

If you’ve been ’round these parts you know, more or less, my politics.

Regardless of them, I hope everyone out there takes the time to look into the various candidates and issues presented on your local ballot and, even more importantly and as I said above, takes the time to vote.

I may not agree with all issues from all/any candidates, but not voting is simply not an option. At least for me.

Happy Halloween 2022…!

Some pieces I’ve been working on most recently, from the wonderful The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari…

And another…

Have a happy one…!

Barbarian (2022) a (almost right on time!) review

Heard a lot of good things about this film when it was released in August and, thanks to the speedy move from theaters to streaming, I managed to catch Barbarian a few days ago.

Here’s the trailer:

Barbarian is an intriguing horror film whose plot is probably best left for viewers to discover, so I won’t get too into what happens.

I will say this much (and you can see some of it in the trailer above) we start with Tess (, quite good) showing up at a home she rented through Airbnb only to discover another person, Kieth (, also quite good) is already there renting it. His rental was through another agency and it looks like a simple screw up, though Tess is rightfully uncomfortable with the whole situation and takes a while before warming up -with plenty of guards up- to Kieth.

I’ll not say more, except that the home carries a very scary history and plenty of deep secrets, all of which will be revealed in the end.

I liked the film but will fault it on its tone. It’s kinda all over the place, at times outright horror while at other times seems to be emulating the crazed horror/comedy stylings of an Evil Dead 2. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but it does make the film feel at times off kilter and unfocused, like it is either not sure where it was going with some of its elements and/or parts of its tone were made up as they went along.

There is also a lot of misdirection, of characters who seem like they might play a larger role in the story but don’t and things that are done which seem like they might be important but aren’t (there’s a Checkov’s gun-like artifact you can spot in the trailer above which has absolutely no payoff and I can’t help but wonder if maybe as the film was being edited down that payoff element was ultimately cut).

Still, Barbarian is ultimately a very entertaining horror/comedy hybrid and while not all of its parts may mesh perfectly well, it is ultimately worth the wild ride.

Recommended.

Reviewing Electric Cars Based On A Two Minute Experience…

So this past weekend they had the annual Miami Beach Car show and the wife, daughter, and I headed out to experience it.

Truthfully, I wasn’t expecting all that much and I’m not needing a new car anytime soon but I was curious to see how many of the car companies would display/promote their electric vehicles.

I’m of the opinion, by the way, that we’ve already crossed the threshold into EVs and that the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles are already a thing of the past… even if it may take a several more years before that transition is complete.

Anyway, to my delight, it turned out Florida Power and Light (FPL) was presenting several EV models and the people at the event were able to drive in them. Not drive them, mind you, but sit in the passenger seats while someone drove you around a small track.

We got to experience several models and this is what I found…

Hyundai Ionic 5

This car was available to be driven in two different areas, one devoted to the Hyundai vehicles and another at the aforementioned FPL section. We drove in the Hyundai section and while in that area they didn’t show the car’s acceleration (this was part of the FPL show) I found the Ionic 5 a great ride. It was very comfortable and had plenty of bells and whistles even if the two monitors it had were a little small compared to what I have in my Tesla. The car’s range seems slightly less than the Tesla as well but truthfully not that much of a difference. I can say this car, the first we rode, was the one that impressed me the most.

Polestar 2

This was the first car we were driven in on the FPL track and, as I mentioned above, they had a small area where the drivers did a hard acceleration followed by some tight turns and I liked the car but honestly wasn’t wowed by it. That’s not to say it was a “bad” experience. It just felt like I was riding in a Volvo and if you like that, this car is for you but it felt a little too old fashioned for me. Otherwise, though, a nice car!

Rivian R1T

I’m not into pick up trucks, though I have family members who are. Having said that, this was the car that impressed me the most after the Ionic. Very comfortable and smooth ride and an insane acceleration. I like SUVs so even if I wouldn’t consider getting this pick up truck model, I might in some future time consider their SUV.

Cadillac Lyriq

A nice vehicle but, as with the Polestar, not necessarily anything that totally blew my mind. Comfortable, roomy enough but my understanding, from the driver, was that this car won’t be released until next year and the one we were driven in is one of only 16 prototypes currently on the road and/or at shows. I imagine the car is close to being complete but as it stands now, not bad at all.

Mustang Mach E

The last car we were driven in was the Mustang Mach E. As we were waiting in line to ride in it, I must say that was the one I felt might be the most disappointing. Why? Because they had models of the car on the floor for display and, frankly, sitting in the car I found it disappointing. It felt a little too small in the rear passenger section and I found the front seats and displays only ok. So, as I said, going into the ride I figured this wouldn’t be good. I was wrong. Sitting in the front passenger seat, there was plenty of space and the car rode really well. Acceleration was insane on this one although the driver really pressed down hard on the brakes as well. Quite a shock!

…however…

That was my view from the front seat. My wife and daughter, in the back seats, said it was a little too tight there and they felt this was the smallest space available of all the EVs we rode that day and therefore weren’t quite as positive about the experience.

*****

There was a Lucid, Porsche, and Hummer EV at the show as well. The Lucid for some reason had one guy showing it off outside the Convention center (were they too late to get a floor space?) while the Porsche and Hummer were inside the Convention Center but were closed and could only be seen from the outside. They all looked very nice but without being able to either sit in them or ride them, all I can say is that they looked nice parked where they were.

So there you have it.

I strongly suspect next year’s show will feature an even stronger EV representation!

Confess, Fletch (2022) a (almost right on time!) review

The character of I. M. Fletcher, ie “Fletch” first appeared in the 1974 novel by Gregory MacDonald of the same name and was sucessful enough to span plenty of novel sequels and prequels (you can read more about the books here). In 1985 Chevy Chase appeared in a film version of the first novel, also titled Fletch…

The movie did well enough that a sequel, Fletch Lives, also starring Chevy Chase, was released in 1989. While many hold the original film in high esteem, there was, IMHO, a pretty big drop off in quality with Fletch Lives, which I felt was a far sillier film than the first.

Anyway and regardless, people have fond memories of the books and/or the movies and for years I kept reading here and there that another Fletch film would be made. For a while, it was Kevin Smith (Clerks) who was tied to such a film and, if memory serves, Ben Affleck taking the role in a new movie was talked about.

It never materialized.

However, this year I was surprised to see the release of Confess, Fletch, featuring in the titular role and directed by (Adventureland, Superbad)…

Seeing as we’re still in the process of emerging from the COVID pandemic, movies releases are still scattershot, with some films simultaneously appearing in theaters and streaming/VOD at the same time and, in the case of Confess, Fletch, it appeared the same happened. I caught the film using the VOD system for VUDU because I heard good things about it and was a fan of that original Chevy Chase film and thought the idea of Jon Hamm taking on the titular role might prove good.

So… was it?

Here’s the thing: There are films that are good. There are films that are bad. There are also films that are perfectly fine yet don’t necessarily blow you over.

I’d place Confess, Fletch squarely in that category.

There is nothing at all wrong with the film. It’s well acted, has some good laughs, and the mystery is decent if not on the level of, say, an Agatha Christie.

However, it is also a film that seems to reach a certain level of quality and remains there throughout the runtime. There are no big shocks or surprises and, perhaps the film’s biggest “sin”, there is no really spectacular climax.

I mention this in particular because I feel the most successful films have that going for them: They start at zero and gradually -or perhaps not so gradually!- move up and up. The climax of the best films should be where the suspense or horror or comedy should be at its highest and the resolution should leave audiences pleased to have spent their time watching the film.

Alas, Confess, Fletch never quite reaches that point. Again, the film is perfectly fine through its runtime. I very much recommend it!

But I can’t come out and say the film was spectacular or a “must see”. It unfortunately never hits that second or third gear in its climax, instead flowing at a regular pace through its end.

Jon Hamm makes for a good but very different from Chevy Chase version of Fletch. He’s not quite as comedic as Chevy Chase’s version and there’s less of a sense that we’re watching a comedic movie. Further to that, an effort is made to “modernize” the character into this day and era where journalism isn’t quite what it used to be. It is also my understanding Jon Hamm used some of his salary for this role to pay to complete the film and I think that’s incredibly admirable.

Again, the bottom line is that I would recommend the film but caution people to not expect incredible fireworks here. The film is a pleasant time killer and enjoyable as is, but not necessarily a film of the ages… then again, how many are?

Recommended with that caveat!

So sorry…

It has been a very long while since I’ve posted here and for that I’m sorry.

Those who have been ’round these parts know that things have been rather… rough… of late. I don’t want to keep repeating things, but scrolling back through the most recent posts of the last year/year and a half will tell you what you need to know.

In some ways, it feels like I’ve been floating about life since the events of June 24, 2021. There is a paradoxical feeling that my sisters and I are trying to settle the estate of my parents and, because of that, I haven’t been able to fully acknowledge the loss.

I might have noted this before but there was a Sunday a while back, perhaps some two or three months ago -this is another thing I’m noticing, time is so damn fluid and one day seems to blend into the next- where I woke up feeling quite good.

I felt like my old self and found myself smiling and enjoying the day more than I have any day since the collapse of Champlain Towers South and the loss of my parents.

What stunned me more than anything else was that in feeling relatively “happy”, I was able to realize just how down/depressed I have been all this time. The good feelings, alas, didn’t last beyond that day but at least having an understanding of those feelings has made me aware of the need to do things to try to get myself out of this pit.

Unfortunately, there were many things related to the estate that had to be dealt with. I don’t want to go into those things too much, but suffice to say the process is long and difficult but estate issues are being resolved, one at a time.

So after a month or more of not coming around here, I’m back. I’ll try to make up for lost time as best I can but, as was the case for the days between my last posting and now, I can’t guarantee too much.

For those who enjoy my writings, during the past month I worked on and completed -from my end, for the most part- a new project which hopefully will bear fruition in the next year. It’s something I can honestly say I’ve hoped to do in collaboration with someone I’ve known for some 30 years now and he’s a terrific talent and deserves to be better known.

Maybe this project will help make that a reality.

I’ll be speaking with him later today and we’ll see what happens!

A little something…

… I did…

Queen Elizabeth (1926-2022)

What is there to say?

There is perhaps no other figure that has endured in the public spotlight as brightly as Queen Elizabeth. Her passing yesterday at the age of 96 drew understandable media scrutiny, but what surprised me the most, though it probably shouldn’t, was an article that stated some 90% of the people alive today have lived while she was queen.

Queen Elizabeth, it should be noted, became Queen on February 6, 1952, meaning that she held the title for an incredible 70 years.

As I noted, a figure that has endured in the spotlight for so long… its going to be strange with her presence no longer around.

Australia’s Somerton Man mystery… solved?

I first read this story about the possibility of Australia’s Somerton Man mystery being solved over on CNN in the below article, written by Hillary Whiteman…

Somerton Man mystery “solved” as DNA points to man’s identity, professor claims

As someone who is fascinated by reading about so-called “unsolved” mysteries, the Somerton Man one was on my radar for many years.

Way back in December 1, 1948 a man’s body was found a beach outside of Adelaide, Australia. He was fully dressed and the first people to spot him thought he was sleeping. Soon, it was realized something was amiss and when examined, it was realized he was dead.

There were no identification papers on him and, as time passed, no one came forward to identify the mysterious man nor were any reports of missing people tied to him. In the end and over the years, police were unable to identify him and for well over 50 years who he was remained a perplexing mystery. The story gets a little more elaborate, involving re-examining his clothing and finding some bizarre seemingly coded notes, a suitcase found at the train station, and a book with a ripped passage which apparently belonged to the Somerton Man.

(This link, Have Scholars Finally Identified the Mysterious Somerton Man? found on Smithsonian Magazine and written by Melian Solly offers a very good background on the story and its many mysteries)

Anyway, thanks to DNA analysis of hair strands which were found on the Somerton Man’s plaster “death mask”, it appears the Somerton Man has finally been identified as Carl “Charles” Webb, an electrical engineer and instrument maker born in Melbourne in 1905.

Mr. Webb did indeed appear to “disappear” at roughly that time and there appears to be no information about his passing anywhere to be found. Further, his estranged wife was living in this general area at the time and it is possible he was on his way there to try to meet her.

So all those lovely theories of the Somerton Man being an international spy or other such devious ideas seem to be washed away with a more mundane reality.

If indeed Mr. Webb is the Somerton Man, the big question that remains is how did he die? The original examination was inconclusive and there remains thoughts that he was poisoned but, again, nothing was found to prove foul play.

The Somerton Man’s body was exhumed as part of the examination process so perhaps that mystery will also be solved in time.

A fascinating, fascinating story!

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) a (abracadabra… mildly belated you are!) review

Been flying around and this film was available to be seen on my way back home. I’m a fan of director Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, Darkman, etc.) though of late not such a huge fan of the MCU films out there (a shame, truly… while I wouldn’t say the films are “bad”, I find the scripts/storylines tend to blur into each other and carry fewer and fewer surprises. Still, I wish I could like them like others!).

Anyway, with Raimi involved, I was curious as to how this film would turn out.

…so…

It wasn’t bad at all!

Having said that, it felt like it could’a been so much more. Here’s the movie’s trailer though for those who haven’t seen the film and know nothing about it, it might be better not to see it and I’ll explain why in a second:

My general burnout toward the Marvel films goes back to the one-two punch release of Guardians of the Galaxy and the first Dr. Strange film, both of which I felt were lacking story-wise (in the case of GoTG, I genuinely don’t understand what others saw in that film… I really didn’t like it at all!).

As with all film, though, I tried to wipe any preconceptions from my mind and sat back and watched the film and, as I said, I generally enjoyed it.

The story focuses on America Chavez, a young latina who has the ability to move through the “multi-verse”. As the movie opens, she and an alternate universe Dr. Strange are running for their lives from someone/something that wants to take America’s power from her.

The end result of this chase has America appear in “our” Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) universe, where he is dealing with romantic heartbreak (his superheroics cause him to lose his love to another).

Once America shows up, though, that is set aside and Dr. Strange fights off the creatures who are following America through the universes and trying to steal her power… which will result, of course, in her death.

Dr. Strange and Wong rebuff the attack and hide America away. Then, Dr. Strange sets out to find the source of this danger to the young girl, and finds it to be coming from a surprising character in the MCU.

The above trailer, unfortunately, hints strongly as to who the “villain” of this piece is and, going into the film, I kinda knew already as well and I’m sad that I did.

That should have been kept as a surprise!

Having said that, this is where the film both triumphs and, alas, fails a bit as well. As the movie went along, I couldn’t help but feel that Sam Raimi was being throttled down and held back in terms of what he wanted to show. I mean, this is the guy who went all out with the Evil Dead films and the thought of seeing him showing the vast, unvarnished darkness of the villain in this piece… it could have been something.

If he had been allowed to do so!

Still, the film is far from a disappointment. It worked for me much more than the previous Dr. Strange film and other Marvel works I’ve seen of late.

I can’t say it changed my opinion of the MCU films in general, though. They remain generally disposable entertainment, things you don’t think much of once you’ve seen them, though thankfully all the smarmy “jokey” dialogue was also held back quite a bit.

All in all, I recommend Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It’s a fine time killer even if one can’t help but wonder what might have been… had Sam Raimi been given a more free hand!