Review of “John Wick: Chapter 2” (2017)

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Poster for the 2017 film “John Wick: Chapter 2”

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It’s been about two years since I watched and reviewed the first “John Wick” (2014) film. I hadn’t realized it had been that long until I looked it up.

Yesterday, I was at the public library and saw Blu-rays for John Wick Chapter 2 and John Wick Chapter 3. Naturally, I checked them out and watched Chapter 2 last night.

I decided not to read my review of the first film, letting this one stand on its own. The action begins pretty much where the original left off.

Having secured another dog in the first movie, John (Keanu Reeves) is out to retrieve his beloved 1969 Ford Mustang. The dog and the car are special reminders of his deceased wife Helen (Bridget Moynahan). The Russian mobster Abram Tarasov (Peter Stormare) sits at his desk as he hears John invading his lair. His plan to pack up his operation and get away wasn’t in time.

John does manage to wreak havoc on Tarasov’s operation, but in the process, the Mustang is trashed, barely drivable. Managing to get back home, he retrieves his dog (which doesn’t have a name throughout the film) and the mechanic Aurelio (John Leguizamo) is doubtful of his ability to repair the severely damaged car any time soon.

Wick settles down to life with his dog, still mourning Helen. However he has a visitor.

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Review of Quantum Leap S2E3 “Closure Encounters”

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QUANTUM LEAP — “Closure Encounters” Episode 203 — Pictured: Raymond Lee as Dr. Ben Song — (Photo by: NBC)

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So finally, after the airing of Quantum Leap season 2, episode four (which is currently locked), NBC unlocks last week’s episode 3 Closure Encounters. I’m sure this is meant to summon visions of both UFOs and Ben (Raymond Lee) and Addison (Caitlin Bassett) trying to bring closure to their relationship. After all, she now has a new boyfriend (Tom Westfall played by Peter Gadiot), so Ben is out.

Ben leaps into a government agent named Cook who works for Project Sign (also called “Project Saucer”). After looking at his host’s ID, he knows this means he’s an UFO investigator.

How did he know that? I’ll buy Ian (Mason Alexander Park) knowing that piece of obscure trivia since they are a super nerd, but just because Ben’s a physicist, doesn’t mean he’s knows about it, even if all his memory has returned. Heck, I didn’t even know about it until I looked it up.

He’s with a farmer at night on his land. Supposedly three of the farmer’s cows went missing and he tells Ben “they (the aliens) hide in the trees.” Turns out they’re a bunch of kids playing games with lawn gnomes.

Yes, it’s this year’s “Halloween episode.” My guess is that Ben will have less trouble producing proof of little green men than he did the existence of God.

Addison shows up and Ben is less than pleased. He also finds written orders in his car saying he needs to proceed to New Mexico. A supposed UFO forced a car with two teenage girls off the road. Both are in the hospital and one is in a coma.

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The Year of Alan

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PHOTO PROMPT © Lisa Fox

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The first snow. Alan was around ninety. He felt relatively robust, needing only a cane to walk. He cherished this path. He ran down it when he was three in January to build his only snowman.

It was here he had his first kiss in March and was married in April. May was the time for their only child, but by then, Jean knew the truth.

Little Dianna was only six months but he could have been be her great-great grandfather. He was born in January and would die in December. The seasons of his life were but one year.

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“Shoot the Devil 2: Dark Matter” is Available NOW!

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This is it. Shoot the Devil 2: Dark Matter is available from Amazon now. Be the first to purchase and review this science fiction anthology of eleven stories pitting good vs. evil in the farthest reaches of deep space.

As I’ve mentioned before, the book features my short story “The Heavens Declare His Glory.” Here’s a short excerpt.

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Lights and Life

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PHOTO PROMPT © Liz Young

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“It’s about time you showed up.” Constanzie tried to sound annoyed but she was too happy to see them. She expected to search throughout this section of the galaxy for them, but they were hiding on the first planet she visited.

“My husband’s going to be very happy I found you. He’s been examining the fossils you’ve left behind for years.” Con thought wistfully about the quirky xeno-paleontologist she’d fallen in love with. “He’ll win a Nobel.”

Standing in the remote grassy field, she adjusted her recorder. “This won’t hurt a bit. I just need to take a few readings.”

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The Planetary Anthology Series is Back!

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The Planetary Anthology Series relaunch

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Once upon a time, there was a “Planetary Anthology series,” eleven volumes each containing short stories written by multiple authors using a superversive theme. Although I submitted to almost all of the different “planets,” I only made it into three.

Sol contains my short story “The Pleiades Dilemma.” An object has entered our solar system from interstellar space. A team of NASA experts has been sent aboard a spacecraft to investigate. What they find is betrayal, the threat of global annihilation, and possibly a greatest hope for humanity’s future.

Mars contains my award-winning short story “The Three Billion Year Love.”. After a billionaire scientist tragically lost his young wife, he secluded himself with a new project. In finding the ancient past on another planet, he also found a new reason to live.

Keep reading past the break. There’s more.

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“Shoot the Devil 2: Dark Matter” is NOW Available for Pre-Order!

shoot the devil 2If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi.

You can now pre-order “Dark Matter” from Amazon for delivery to your Kindle device on October 23, 2023. That’s right, in just one week’s time, this book can be in your hands (virtually speaking).

As I’ve already mentioned, “Dark Matter” is a sequel to this anthology which was published a little over a year ago.

The stories in the first and now this collection are Christian-based with the theme of defeating a tangible evil.

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Review of Quantum Leap S2E2 “Ben & Teller”

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From the Quantum Leap episode “Ben & Teller” Ben (Raymond Lee) and Rebecca (Janet Montgomery).

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I just finished watching the Quantum Leap season 2 second episode Ben & Teller, apparently a pun on the magicians Penn and Teller. This also references that in this leap, Ben’s (Raymond Lee) “host” is a seventy-year-old bank teller named Lorena Chavez.

First of all, commercials are back, which is fine.

After the intro, the show opens with Jenn (Nanrisa Lee) at a high stakes poker game, apparently cleaning up. Somehow Ian (Mason Alexander Park) knows where she is, peeks their head in the door, and whispers “Turtle Time.” This is a code phrase Jenn made up in case she became a leaper and needed to identify herself to Quantum Leap project personnel.

It’s sort of like in the 1971 film The Andromeda Strain when project personnel were called to duty with the phrase, “There’s a fire.”

Jenn responds to Ian with, “Tell me you’re not about to say what you’re about to say.”

They find Magic (Ernie Hudson) at a jewelry store asking the person at the counter if the earrings he’s looking at would be an appropriate first anniversary gift. So Magic is married or re-married?

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The Yellow Shed

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PHOTO PROMPT © Rowena Curtin

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It had been a long time since Jack had been to Sunset Beach. The ugly yellow paint the caretaker put on the shed two summers ago was already flaking off.

Jack pulled the key out of his pocket and inserted it in the lock. Anyone watching wouldn’t notice, but a series of biometric tests were run to make sure he was part of the Calderone family.

A telltale click told him he passed. Jack slipped inside and closed the door behind him.

So, they wanted a war. Fine. He had all the weapons here he would need to end it.

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Review of Quantum Leap S2E1 “This Took Too Long!”

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QUANTUM LEAP — “This Took Too Long!” Episode 201 — Pictured: (l-r) P.J. Byrn as Sgt. Enock Abrams, Aaron Abram as Sgt. Ronny Abrams, Raymond Lee as Dr. Ben Song, Melissa Roxburgh as Lt. Ellen Grier, Francois Arnaud as Sergeant Curtis Bailey — (Photo by:NBC)

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So, against my better judgment, I decided to watch the season 2 opener of the current Quantum Leap television show titled This Took Too Long!

For S1, I tended to “soft soap” my reviews, giving the show the benefit of the doubt, even though I knew it’s stated intent was to completely highlight representation as it’s top priority, even above entertaining the broadest possible audience.

All of those episodes piled on top of each other had pretty much convinced me to abandon the show at the end of season one’s run. It wouldn’t be the first time. I watched the first seasons of Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (and boy am I glad I missed season 2).

For “Quantum Leap” I think I was just curious about why Ben didn’t leap home when Ziggy’s programming said he really should. Of course the real reason is that the show won a second season so Ben (Raymond Lee) needs to keep leaping.

I was also curious after the nature and character of S1 plus the recent writer’s strike, if the tone and content of the show might try to be more egalitarian. That is, would the showrunners stop trying to alienate large numbers of old school television viewers, science fiction fans, and time travel buffs like me. Never mind that I’m too old, too male, and too white to come anywhere near their target demographic.

Okay, that’s probably too much to ask for, but I thought at least the season opener should be pretty safe. After all, you want to re-engage the audience and pull them in again before blasting them with controversial content. Right? Am I right?

Let’s find out.

Oh, it goes without saying that this is a Spoiler Alert so if you haven’t seen the episode and don’t want to know all about it beforehand, stop reading now.

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