The Last Days of Richard III contains a new and uniquely detailed exploration of Richard’s last 150 days. By deliberately avoiding the hindsight knowledge that he will lose the Battle of Bosworth Field, we discover a new Richard: no passive victim, awaiting defeat and death, but a king actively pursuing his own agenda.

It also re-examines the aftermath of Bosworth: the treatment of Richard’s body; his burial; and the construction of his tomb. And there is the fascinating story of why, and how, Richard III’s family tree was traced until a relative was found, alive and well, in Canada.

Now, with the discovery of Richard’s skeleton at the Greyfrairs Priory in Leicester, England, John Ashdown-Hill explains how his book inspired the dig and completes Richard III’s fascinating story, giving details of how Richard died, and how the DNA link to a living relative of the king allowed the royal body to be identified.

The book is a deep dive into how Richard saw his place, and the rebellions against him. He’s seen here, not so much as a tragic figure, but of someone who believed in what he was doing, but who, unfortunately, suffered the fate of all disposed English kings. We get a second look at what happened right after the battle and in the days leading up to his burial and beyond.

There’s also the search for his family’s descendants and the find that would be the linchpin in proving that the bones found under the carpark were, indeed, those of Richard III. That a direct mtDNA existed was a truly lucky break.

It’s an interesting read, even for someone who has read extensively about the man. My only problem was with the small print, which made reading the book a bit of a chore.




Mount TBR 2025 Book Links


Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

1. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
2. The Silence of the Girls (Women of Troy #1) by Pat Barker
3. Withered + Sere (Immemorial Year #1) by T.J. Klune
4. The Traitor's Son by Wendy Johnson
5. All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson by Mark Griffin
6. You Like It Darker by Stephen King, Thomas Hayman (Illustrations)
7. The Fireman by Joe Hill
8. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
9. Lark Ascending by Silas House
10. Memorials by Richard Chizmar
11. The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History by Serhii Plokhy
12. Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
13. The Border by Robert McCammon
14. The 2084 Report: An Oral History of the Great Warming by James Lawrence Powell
15. Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
16. All Over the Town by R. F. Delderfield
17. The Last Days of Richard III and the Fate of His DNA: The Book That Inspired the Dig by John Ashdown-Hill







APR – Rest, Days, Upstairs, Sing, Shell, Starlight, Life, Couple

The Last Days of Richard III and the Fate of His DNA: The Book That Inspired the Dig by John Ashdown-Hill

In this remarkable and brilliantly readable novel, R. F. Delderfield confronts the hypocrisy and corruption of the small English seaside town of Sandcombe in the aftermath of the Second World War.

At the center of the novel is Nat Hearn, who comes back from the war and an RAF commission to resume his old job as assistant editor and chief scapegoat of the local newspaper, and who proceeds to change the paper into a crusading weapon against injustice and old-fogeyism, and turn the sleepy town of Sandcombe upside down.

Delderfield takes the lid off small-town lief with a relish born of experience, and with the sense of drama and humor that have made every one of his novels a success.

The book starts show, as we are introduced to Nat and his fellow workers at the local newspaper. Time seems to go along, not much happening, to the point that Nat seriously thinks of leaving town. But then there’s a dramatic turn of events, and everything changes.

It’s at this point where the story shines. Circumstances force Nat, as well as his fellow town members, to take a good hard look at what exactly is going on in their town and to pick sides.

Written in 1947, it’s amazing how little has changed over the last eighty year. Those who crave money and power are still trying to hide what they’re doing; those whose lives will be altered by it still often remain ignorant as to what’s going on. But one person can make a difference. It’s often sheer luck that that person is there to do so.

A good solid book that I found well worth reading.




Mount TBR 2025 Book Links


Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

1. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
2. The Silence of the Girls (Women of Troy #1) by Pat Barker
3. Withered + Sere (Immemorial Year #1) by T.J. Klune
4. The Traitor's Son by Wendy Johnson
5. All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson by Mark Griffin
6. You Like It Darker by Stephen King, Thomas Hayman (Illustrations)
7. The Fireman by Joe Hill
8. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
9. Lark Ascending by Silas House
10. Memorials by Richard Chizmar
11. The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History by Serhii Plokhy
12. Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
13. The Border by Robert McCammon
14. The 2084 Report: An Oral History of the Great Warming by James Lawrence Powell
15. Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
16. All Over the Town by R. F. Delderfield







MAR – Deep, Clever, Sand, Little, Happy, Date, Guest, Over

All Over the Town by R. F. Delderfield

This vivid, terrifying, and galvanizing novel reveals our future world after previous generations failed to halt climate change—perfect for fans of The Drowned World and World War Z.

2084: Global warming has proven worse than even the direst predictions scientists had made at the turn of the century. No country—and no one—has remained unscathed. Through interviews with scientists, political leaders, and citizens around the globe, this riveting oral history describes in graphic detail the irreversible effects the Great Warming has had on humankind and the planet.

In short chapters about topics like sea level rise, drought, migration, war, and more, The 2084 Report brings global warming to life, revealing a new reality in which Rotterdam doesn’t exist, Phoenix has no electricity, and Canada is part of the United States. From wars over limited resources to the en masse migrations of entire countries and the rising suicide rate, the characters describe other issues they are confronting in the world they share with the next two generations. Simultaneously fascinating and frightening, The 2084 Report will inspire you to start conversations and take action.

I wasn’t as taken with the book as I thought I would be. It’s a great idea, but not well done. A big problem is the way the book is set up. The chapters are interviews with different people, yet they all sound pretty much the same. So, though the subjects are different, it could well be the same person speaking. I think it would have worked better if each chapter had been written as a story of what a certain person was going through, rather than them describing a certain situation.

And for me, the last chapter sounded too much like preaching, as nuclear power seemed to be the author’s choice in saving the planet. Could very well have been (like all other solutions, it’s a little late,) but not every “con” was covered. And the idea of maybe doing something about the size of the population was never addressed.

Still, there were some interesting scenarios as to what we can very likely look forward to. Sort of unnerving was the author having the United States taking over Canada. What was done to Mexico in regards to Texas (“settling” someone else’s land and then stealing it,) could be the playbook used with Canada.




Mount TBR 2025 Book Links


Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

1. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
2. The Silence of the Girls (Women of Troy #1) by Pat Barker
3. Withered + Sere (Immemorial Year #1) by T.J. Klune
4. The Traitor's Son by Wendy Johnson
5. All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson by Mark Griffin
6. You Like It Darker by Stephen King, Thomas Hayman (Illustrations)
7. The Fireman by Joe Hill
8. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
9. Lark Ascending by Silas House
10. Memorials by Richard Chizmar
11. The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History by Serhii Plokhy
12. Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
13. The Border by Robert McCammon
14. The 2084 Report: An Oral History of the Great Warming by James Lawrence Powell







MAR- “It’s All Geek to Me” Read a book where technology, science, math, or engineering plays an important role in the story.

The 2084 Report: An Oral History of the Great Warming by James Lawrence Powell

For fans of Madeline Miller's Circe, a stunning debut following Clytemnestra, the most notorious villainess of the ancient world and the events that forged her into the legendary queen.

As for queens, they are either hated or forgotten. She already knows which option suits her best...

You were born to a king, but you marry a tyrant. You stand by helplessly as he sacrifices your child to placate the gods. You watch him wage war on a foreign shore, and you comfort yourself with violent thoughts of your own. Because this was not the first offence against you. This was not the life you ever deserved. And this will not be your undoing. Slowly, you plot.

But when your husband returns in triumph, you become a woman with a choice.

Acceptance or vengeance, infamy follows both. So, you bide your time and force the gods' hands in the game of retribution. For you understood something long ago that the others never did.

If power isn't given to you, you have to take it for yourself.

A blazing novel set in the world of Ancient Greece for fans of Jennifer Saint and Natalie Haynes, this is a thrilling tale of power and prophecies, of hatred, love, and of an unforgettable Queen who fiercely dealt out death to those who wronged her.

On parr with Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles, Clytemnestra tells the story of the Spartan princess who would become the queen of Mycenae. But this time the story is told through Clytemnestra’s eyes.

I never understood why Clytemnestra would be portrayed as a monster for killing her husband; not only does he have one of their daughters sacrificed to the gods for fair winds, but he had her first husband and their infant son killed. If that isn’t reason enough for murder, I don’t know what is.

Which is why I so loved the retelling of Clytemnestra’s story. So often she’s in the shadows of her more famous relatives: her sister, Helen, the beauty of Troy. Her brothers Castor and Polydeuces, who lived on in the sky. Her mother, Leda, seduced (or raped, depending on who’s telling the story,) by Zeus in the form of a swan. Even her cousin, Penelope, who would marry Odysseus. Here, at last, her story is brought to the fore.

She is a strong woman who had her faults. But she didn’t deserve the story created about her. She was a bitter woman who looked for justice the only way she knew how.




Mount TBR 2025 Book Links


Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

1. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
2. The Silence of the Girls (Women of Troy #1) by Pat Barker
3. Withered + Sere (Immemorial Year #1) by T.J. Klune
4. The Traitor's Son by Wendy Johnson
5. All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson by Mark Griffin
6. You Like It Darker by Stephen King, Thomas Hayman (Illustrations)
7. The Fireman by Joe Hill
8. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
9. Lark Ascending by Silas House
10. Memorials by Richard Chizmar
11. The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History by Serhii Plokhy
12. Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

A Meme from tinny. If you want to play, ask for a letter and I’ll give you one. Then post here or on your own account. Or both.

My letter is “V”.

Something I hate: Viciousness.

Something I love: Vegetables. Except maybe lima beans.

Somewhere I have been: Verde Valley outside of Phoenix.

Somewhere I would like to go: Versailles

Someone I know: Valerie

Best Movie: Village of the Damned

With fires devastating much of America, Lark and his family first leave their home in Maryland for Maine. But as the country increasingly falls under the grip of religious nationalism, it becomes clear that nowhere is safe, not just from physical disasters but also persecution. The family secures a place on a crowded boat headed to Ireland, the last place on earth rumored to be accepting American refugees.

Upon arrival, it turns out that the safe harbor of Ireland no longer exists either—and Lark, the sole survivor of the trans-Atlantic voyage, must disappear into the countryside. As he runs for his life, Lark finds two equally lost and desperate souls: one of the last remaining dogs, who becomes his closest companion, and a fierce, mysterious woman in search of her lost son. Together they form a makeshift family and attempt to reach Glendalough, a place they believe will offer protection. But can any community provide the safety that they seek?

Lark Ascending is a moving and unforgettable story of friendship and bravery, and even more, a story of the ongoing fight to protect our per­sonal freedoms and find our shared humanity, from a writer at the peak of his powers.

It’s strange that such a terrible time would be so beautifully told. While it’s never said, the time seems to be in the not-too-distant future. Things are falling apart; much of the country is on fire or already a burned out landscape. Religious fanatics have taken over the government. As the fires near, Lark and his family and friends decide to try for the one place they believe to still be safe; Glendalough, in Ireland.

But when Lark finds himself the sole survivor of the voyage, he must continue on alone. It is this tale, of the companions he finds along the way, that is the core of this story. There is Seamus, a beagle, probably the last dog left. And Helen, a woman on her own quest. Each has lost their family.

Lark is now in his nineties, and as his end nears he looks back on that time when, as a young man, he found a family to replace the one he’d lost. It’s an amazing and uplifting story, though also bittersweet. There is much grief, but also joy. I only wish we were given more of their story.

I can't thank severina2001 enough for recommending this book.




Mount TBR 2025 Book Links


Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

1. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
2. The Silence of the Girls (Women of Troy #1) by Pat Barker
3. Withered + Sere (Immemorial Year #1) by T.J. Klune
4. The Traitor's Son by Wendy Johnson
5. All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson by Mark Griffin
6. You Like It Darker by Stephen King, Thomas Hayman (Illustrations)
7. The Fireman by Joe Hill
8. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
9. Lark Ascending by Silas House

No one knows exactly when it began or where it originated. A terrifying new plague is spreading like wildfire across the country, striking cities one by one: Boston, Detroit, Seattle. The doctors call it Draco Incendia Trychophyton. To everyone else it’s Dragonscale, a highly contagious, deadly spore that marks its hosts with beautiful black and gold marks across their bodies—before causing them to burst into flames. Millions are infected; blazes erupt everywhere. There is no antidote. No one is safe.

Harper Grayson, a compassionate, dedicated nurse as pragmatic as Mary Poppins, treated hundreds of infected patients before her hospital burned to the ground. Now she’s discovered the telltale gold-flecked marks on her skin. When the outbreak first began, she and her husband, Jakob, had made a pact: they would take matters into their own hands if they became infected. To Jakob’s dismay, Harper wants to live—at least until the fetus she is carrying comes to term. At the hospital, she witnessed infected mothers give birth to healthy babies and believes hers will be fine too. . . if she can live long enough to deliver the child.

Convinced that his do-gooding wife has made him sick, Jakob becomes unhinged, and eventually abandons her as their placid New England community collapses in terror. The chaos gives rise to ruthless Cremation Squads—armed, self-appointed posses roaming the streets and woods to exterminate those who they believe carry the spore. But Harper isn’t as alone as she fears: a mysterious and compelling stranger she briefly met at the hospital, a man in a dirty yellow fire fighter’s jacket, carrying a hooked iron bar, straddles the abyss between insanity and death. Known as The Fireman, he strolls the ruins of New Hampshire, a madman afflicted with Dragonscale who has learned to control the fire within himself, using it as a shield to protect the hunted . . . and as a weapon to avenge the wronged.

In the desperate season to come, as the world burns out of control, Harper must learn the Fireman’s secrets before her life—and that of her unborn child—goes up in smoke.

Each time I read a Joe Hill book, it just gets better and better. This one was no exception. I loved Harper, John Rookwood, Allie and her brother, Nick, Renee, and so many others who shared their journey. And what a journey it is. There are so many ups and downs; I was hooked from the very beginning. Which is saying a lot, considering it’s almost 800 pages long. Just when I thought the story was going to settle down, off it would go again.

I thought the pandemic infection was quite original and thought out. And there is more to the story than just a good sci-fi/horror plot. There’s substance to it, as we read how different people react to their situation, whether as the infected or as one of those still clear of the disease.There are good people and bad people on both sides; it’s very much a tale of two worlds.

If you read the book, be sure to read the credits. The story isn’t complete without them.




Mount TBR 2025 Book Links


Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

1. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
2. The Silence of the Girls (Women of Troy #1) by Pat Barker
3. Withered + Sere (Immemorial Year #1) by T.J. Klune
4. The Traitor's Son by Wendy Johnson
5. All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson by Mark Griffin
6. You Like It Darker by Stephen King, Thomas Hayman (Illustrations)
7. The Fireman by Joe Hill










Black, gray, orange, or red cover

1. The Fireman by Joe Hill




FEB- “Emotional Rollercoaster”

Read a book that will make you feel all the feels! A romantic rollercoaster ride; psychological rollercoaster ride; any emotional journey works. Take your pick!

The Fireman by Joe Hill

Devastatingly handsome, broad-shouldered and clean-cut, Rock Hudson was the ultimate movie star. The embodiment of romantic masculinity in American film throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s, Hudson reigned supreme as the king of Hollywood.

As an Oscar-nominated leading man, Hudson won acclaim for his performances in glossy melodramas (Magnificent Obsession), western epics (Giant) and blockbuster bedroom farces (Pillow Talk). In the ‘70s and ‘80s, Hudson successfully transitioned to television; his long-running series McMillan & Wife and a recurring role on Dynasty introduced him to a whole new generation of fans.

The icon worshipped by moviegoers and beloved by his colleagues appeared to have it all. Yet beneath the suave and commanding star persona, there was an insecure, deeply conflicted, and all too vulnerable human being. Growing up poor in Winnetka, Illinois, Hudson was abandoned by his biological father, abused by an alcoholic stepfather, and controlled by his domineering mother.

Despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Hudson was determined to become an actor at all costs. After signing with the powerful but predatory agent Henry Willson, the young hopeful was transformed from a clumsy, tongue-tied truck driver into Universal Studio’s resident Adonis. In a more conservative era, Hudson’s wholesome, straight arrow screen image was at odds with his closeted homosexuality.

As a result of his gay relationships and clandestine affairs, Hudson was continually threatened with public exposure, not only by scandal sheets like Confidential but by a number of his own partners. For years, Hudson dodged questions concerning his private life, but in 1985 the public learned that the actor was battling AIDS. The disclosure that such a revered public figure had contracted the illness focused worldwide attention on the epidemic.

Drawing on more than 100 interviews with co-stars, family members and former companions, All That Heaven Allows finally delivers a complete and nuanced portrait of one of the most fascinating stars in cinema history.

Author Mark Griffin provides new details concerning Hudson’s troubled relationships with wife Phyllis Gates and boyfriend Marc Christian. And here, for the first time, is an in-depth exploration of Hudson’s classic films, including Written on the Wind, A Farewell to Arms, and the cult favorite Seconds. With unprecedented access to private journals, personal correspondence, and production files, Griffin pays homage to the idol whose life and death had a lasting impact on American culture.

Despite what the blurb say, I found the book to be badly written, with too much of the information not much more than gossip. The author includes everything, whether he can prove it or not, which makes a lot of the information suspect.

And much of what others do say about Hudson, or what the author says they say, sounds very much like what people say after someone dies. The praise is so overwhelming that it makes Hudson sound almost like a saint, though that flies in the face of some of the events noted. Hudson actually comes across as a very weak man, who would allow events to take their own course, unwilling, or unable, to chart his own.

I did enjoy the author’s covering of the movies Hudson made, though there was more of that than personal information. But since the personal information was suspect, I found the parts about the movies more enjoyable.




Mount TBR 2025 Book Links


Links are to more information regarding each book or author, not to the review.

1. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson
2. The Silence of the Girls (Women of Troy #1) by Pat Barker
3. Withered + Sere (Immemorial Year #1) by T.J. Klune
4. The Traitor's Son by Wendy Johnson
5. All That Heaven Allows: A Biography of Rock Hudson by Mark Griffin

My tv and movie viewing has been sort of erratic since my husband left his job. It was only part-time, but it did give me a break. Such is life. December at least picked up.

MOVIES WATCHED IN OCTOBER

Oct 5, 13 - American Historia: The Untold Story of Latinos (2024)
John Leguizamo travels through Mexico and the U.S., visiting historical sites and interviewing figures to uncover known and lesser-known Latino history, inspired by his Broadway show's exploration of underrepresented Americas narratives.
Creators: Ben DeJesus, John Leguizamo
Star: John Leguizamo

Not as good as his Latin History for Morons, but still pretty informative. Not as humorous, either.

Oct 9 - Origin (2023)
It is based on the life of Isabel Wilkerson as she writes the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Over the course of the film, Wilkerson travels throughout Germany, India, and the United States to research the caste systems in each country's history.
Director: Ava DuVernay
Stars: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, Niecy Nash

A really interesting look at what it takes to bring a book together, especially one that covers such an intriguing subject. I’d read the book, which is nonfiction, so I was really looking forward to seeing the movie.

Oct 10 - Tomorrow Is Forever (1946)
An American World War I soldier whose disfigured face is reconstructed by Austrian plastic surgeons returns home after 20 years, but no one recognizes him, his widow is married to another man, and his son is a grown young man.
Director: Irving Pichel
Stars: Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles, George Brent, Richard Long, Natalie Wood

They did an excellent job on Welles, so it was conceivable that his wife (Colbert) wouldn’t recognize him. All the major players were excellent.

Oct 28 - Lost In America (1985)
A husband and wife in their 30s decide to quit their jobs, live as free spirits and cruise America in a Winnebago.
Director: Albert Brooks
Stars: Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Sylvia Farrel

Not exactly the subject I’d pick for a comedy. The movie was a downer. Brooks was good, as usual, but I don’t think it was enough to make the movie enjoyable.


MOVIES WATCHED IN NOVEMBER

Nov 5 - Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)
Reeve's rise to becoming a film star follows with a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After the accident, he became an activist for spinal cord injury treatments and disability rights.
Directors: Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui
Stars: Christopher Reeve, Will Reeve, Alexandra Reeve Givens, Matthew Reeve, Susan Sarandon, Kevin Johnson. Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, Whoopi Goldberg, John Kerry

Reeve will always be my Superman, so I very much wanted to see this documentary. It’s very well done, with lots of clips that had never been shown before. Sad, of course, but also inspiring.

Nov 6 - Wolfs (2024)
Two rival fixers cross paths when they're both called in to help cover up a prominent New York official's misstep. Over one explosive night, they'll have to set aside their petty grievances and their egos to finish the job.
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Amy Ryan

I expected more from a movie with Clooney and Pitt, but it sort of fell flat. Amusing in some places, but mostly a disappointment. And way too much action.

Nov 7 - The Instigators (2024)
Follows two robbers who must go on the run with the help of one of their therapists after a theft doesn't go as planned.
Director: Doug Liman
Stars: Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Hong Chau, Alfred Molina, Ron Perlman

Now this is more like it. Funny, lots of action, but not too much action. I loved the Damon and Affleck characters. Highly recommended.

Nov 10 - Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)
Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills after his daughter's life is threatened for a family reunion that includes old pals John Taggart and Billy Rosewood to uncover a conspiracy.
Director: Mark Molloy
Stars: Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot, Kevin Bacon

I like Murphy, so had high hopes for this one. While not bad, it wasn’t as good as I had hoped it would be. Still, it was entertaining enough.

Nov 23 - David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived (2023)
A coming-of-age documentary of Daniel Radcliffe and his stunt double David Holmes, whose close friendship endures a life-changing accident.
Director: Dan Hartley
Stars: David Holmes, Sue Holmes, Andy Holmes, Daniel Radcliffe

A friend recommended this after we talked about the Reeve documentary. In one respect it was worse, because Holmes was so young. Yet he was lucky, if one could use that word in this situation, in that it wasn’t his entire body that was paralyzed. An excellent documentary.

MOVIES WATCHED IN DECEMBER

Dec 5 - In Search for Edgar Allen Poe (2024)
This documentary tells the poignant story of the poet, short story writer, and critic Edgar Allan Poe. It recounts how he invented the detective story, pioneered science fiction, and shaped the horror tale yet was beset by personal demons.
Director: Andrew D. Kaplan
Stars: Paul Synowiec, Stephen Shore

Kind of dull. I’ve seen much better documentaries about Poe.

Dec 15 - RKO 281 (1999)
Orson Welles produces his greatest film, Citizen Kane (1941), despite the opposition of the film's de facto subject, William Randolph Hearst.
Director: Benjamin Ross
Stars: Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith, John Malkovich, Roy Scheider

Yikes, Welles comes off as a real asshole. To the point that one can’t help but feel sympathy for Hearst. Part of that may have been the excellent job Cromwell did with the role.

Dec 21 - Dear Santa (2024)
When a young boy mails his Christmas wish list to Santa with one crucial spelling error, a devilish Jack Black arrives to wreak havoc on the holidays.
Director: Bobby Farrelly
Stars: Jack Black, Robert Timothy Smith, Keegan-Michael Key

Crude, but still funny at times. Not one I’ll watch again, though.

Dec 23 - Bad Santa (2003)
A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid.
Director: Terry Zwigoff
Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac, Lauren Graham, John Ritter

Now this one was crude but not funny. Take a pass.

Dec 24 - Scrooged (1988)
A selfish, cynical television executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve.
Director: Richard Donner
Stars: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Michael J. Pollard, Jamie Farr, Robert Joulet, Buddy Hackett, Lee Majors

I’d heard a lot about this movie, mostly good. But I found it dull and not very funny.

Dec 25 - Candy Cane Lane (2023)
A man is determined to win the neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest. He makes a pact with an elf to help him win--and the elf casts a spell that brings the 12 days of Christmas to life, which brings unexpected chaos to town.
Director: Reginald Hudlin
Stars: Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jillian Bell, Nick Offerman

Not bad. Often funny, but it doesn’t always work. I think I found it better the first time for some reason.

Dec 25 - A Christmas Story (1983)
In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.
Director: Bob Clark
Stars: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin

The quintessential Christmas movie. McGavin steals the show.

Dec 25 - Red One (2024)
After Santa Claus is kidnapped, the North Pole's Head of Security must team up with a notorious hacker in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, J.K. Simmons, Bonnie Hunt

I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Will most likely watch it again next year.

Dec 26-28 - Tsunami: Race Against Time (2024)
A documentary series exploring the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that affected 14 countries, offering a comprehensive look at the heart-stopping events.

A lot more information than I’d seen before. I hadn’t realized just how many countries were affected. Highly recommended.

Dec 28 - Carry-On (2024)
A mysterious traveler blackmails a young TSA agent into letting a dangerous package slip through security and onto a Christmas Eve flight.
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Stars: Taron Egerton, Jason Bateman, Sofia Carson

Bateman is delightfully creepy in this. Lots of twists and turns in this action packed movie.

Dec 29-31 - No Good Deed (2024)
It tells the story of three very different families vying to buy the very same 1920s Spanish style villa that they think will solve all their problems.
Creator: Liz Feldman
Stars: Linda Cardellini, O-T Fagbenle, Abbi Jacobson, Lisa Kudrow, Denis Leary, Ray Romano, Luke Wilson, Linda Lavin

Romano and Leary were especially good in this limited series. And a mystery with a surprise ending. Recommended.

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.