Category: Uncategorized

I gave this talk in sacrament meeting yesterday. I address my remarks today to the second-class Saints. You know who you are. The ones who show up, pay your tithing, pretty much do everything right – or at least don’t do anything wrong – who don’t expect the biggest reward in the hereafter, or really…

The November Man (2014) – Pierce Brosnan is the revered semi-retired spy/assassin who goes rogue from a compromised Company, and is hunted by the assassin he helped train. It’s Mission: Impossible Lite (“Mission: Unlikely?”) with plenty of stunts and double-crosses, but I’m not sure it makes a very deep impression on the viewers. (Big problem:…

The Cat From Outer Space (1978) – This is from that period of Disney history when every feature was really made with an eye toward showing up on The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights.  Throw together a fun and innocuous script, assemble a team of workhorse professionals (including 45-year-old Ken Berry as a…

Conan the Barbarian (1982) – Continuing my occasional series of “movies I haven’t seen in over thirty years, and then probably only saw it on TV”… This movie has two big problems, and I’m sorry if you disagree, but you’re wrong: 1) Despite the opening credit that says this is based on the character created…

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) – Thieves! Half-elf magic users (I’m old-school)! Paladins! Owlbears! Side quests! Artifacts randomly found! The element missing in previous attempts at passive Dungeons & Dragons entertainment media is the humor — not as a spoof, but mimicking the fun interaction of players in a good D&D group. This…

Plans are underway for Writers Cantina, held this year on June 28-29 at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center in West Valley City. Last year, our “issue #0,” was a single day; this year, we’ve doubled that, and added space for more concurrent panels/presentations, plus more room for “the Cantina,” the big room in which pros,…

Top Gun (1986) – First time watching it in over 30 years, and I had forgotten pretty much everything except the “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” scene. Apparently, the message is the chicks will find you irresistible if you’re a pushy horn-doggin’ showoff who happens to be Tom Cruise. This is the movie that “made”…

Oh yeah, this! I hit the end of my sketchbook, so that threw me off my game. No more sketches of the day until the next one’s full.

One of My Wives is Missing (1976) – The title unfortunately makes it sound like a comedy, but it’s actually a mystery/thriller TV-movie based on a stage play called Trap for a Single Man (and my daughters have seen a production under the title Catch Me If You Can). Jack Klugman is a small-town police…