You are presented with the full edition of Wells’ The Time Machine. The tale now reads like a genteel odyssey, one man’s wanderings through time for no other reason than to see what’s there. The book’s monsters don’t scare you anymore — they seem almost quaint, like desperate little nocturnal apes — but something else does. Time continues to pass.
Even if you’re Starfleet Captain James T. Kirk, a man whose life has had its share of wild adventures and death-defying moments, the desire for comfort can be overruled by this fear of routine. Not even life in the 23rd century can change that. What’s getting lost in space when compared to the ennui of endlessly just going through the motions? Enter: Star Trek Beyond.
Stranger Things, the new series on Netflix, has no qualms with shooting straight into a spirit of unabashed 80s-ness. It relishes the look, feel and sound of that era, applying it liberally throughout. And yet, it’s hard not to ask: is that necessarily a good thing?
Tonight, the Tragically Hip begin their final tour. We think. We can all hold out hope against hope that Downie will recover, but the odds seem slight. It’s an odd concept, announcing your impending death before it becomes imminent.
The newly minted All-Star has become more than the Blue Jays and their fans could have hoped for this season, exceeding all expectations by harnessing his devastating natural ability, and pairing it with a combination of strength and mechanical consistency that was lacking during his first stint in the starting rotation in 2015. So why are we still worried about Aaron Sanchez and his role?
HBO’s latest mini-series The Night Of does something rather rare in the annals of TV drama, and particularly in police procedurals. It makes time for all of it, all of the little cogs in the wheel that get a person from one place (a crime scene) to another (the courtroom) to yet another (jail). There is drama here; a gruesomely murdered woman and a mystery at the core of things. But the effectiveness of the story is not in theatrics, but in the minutia, the little details.
Intrepid Blue Jays fan Dan Grant takes a look at the current team roster and ranks what he finds within. An important distinction to make is that this set of rankings is not one designed to judge overall talent, current skill, potential upside or even strength of character. It is one simply designed to reflect how important the performance of the ranked players are to the success of the team, both in the recent past and near future. From top to bottom, who’s hot, and who’s not? And more importantly still, who needs to be?
On July 4th, Kevin Durant irrevocably altered the course of NBA history. Even if the newest version of the Golden State Warriors doesn’t work well together (unlikely) or if he changes his mind before the moratorium ends and goes somewhere else (unlikelier still, but let us never forget DeAndre), the debate his defection to the Dubs has sparked rivals only the kind of frothing rhetoric spewed following LeBron James’ infamous ‘The Decision’.
Swiss Army Man opens with a man trapped on a deserted island, in the process of hanging himself, just as he finds a bloated corpse with, hmm, powers? The corpse begins to let loose great, powerful rippling farts. It’s hard not to laugh. This is how the man gets off the island. And then the journey — of man and corpse — really begins.
It’s the July picks for What to Watch. Ten films for five weeks, plus a bonus 11th limited screening pick. Never tell me I don’t try to help.
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