Movie Review: Pitch Perfect 2

If you liked Pitch Perfect, you’ll like Pitch Perfect 2. If you didn’t see Pitch Perfect, then get with the program! Watch the original—as my previous post advised at the time—get a feel for the joy a daffy group of girls have as they learn to sing together, then go see the sequel.

Anna Kendrick reprises her role as Beca, the new girl who had led her a cappella group the Barden Bellas to victory in the first movie. She and the returning members of that group are seniors now, and they perform with confidence their elaborate dance and quasi-gymnastic moves that accompany their singing. But because of a wardrobe malfunction by Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), the Bellas may be disbanded unless they win an international competition against a scary German group.

As for the inevitable question—is it as good as the first movie—well, no, that would be just about impossible. The first movie had the Barden Bellas as obvious underdogs, whereas the sequel has them as a senior-dominated group capable of professional productions. And Beca was experiencing first love in the first movie, but in this one she is so established in her relationship, the boyfriend is relegated to a minor character. Keeping that in mind, it’s still good entertainment.

 A number of characters are back: Chloe the talkative redhead, who is the actual leader of the group. Stacie, the tall girl who is preoccupied with sex. Lilly, who can barely be heard, whose best line is, “I sleep upside down, like a bat.” Even the two minor characters who don’t have real speaking parts are back, and the joke this time is that after all these years, Beca still doesn’t know their names. And when Aubrey, the blonde leader from the first movie, makes a surprise return, it’s quite funny.

So overall it’s a good effort by the director, Elizabeth Banks. Yes, she plays the female color commentator who puts up with the misogynist comments by her co-host.

Mingle Media TV

Grace Lee Whitney—In Memoriam

Grace Lee Whitney: 1930 – 2015

Grace Lee Whitney was more commonly known to fans as Yeoman Rand from the old Star Trek (though she became Lieutenant Rand for the movies and one episode of Star Trek: Voyager.) I strongly recommend her autobiography, The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy.

The cover shows them holding flashlights, since the prop department hadn’t issued them phasers yet. She covers other tidbits of insider information like that.

Even if you’re lukewarm about Star Trek, she has funny stories about Hollywood. She was an extra in Some Like it Hot, starring Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe. She describes what an airhead Marilyn Monroe was, sometimes opening a drawer for no reason during filming because she had hidden a page of the script there to read.

What she mainly wanted to be known for was how she survived addiction to alcohol and drugs. Her autobiography is brutally realistic about how she hit rock bottom as an addict. She actually reached the stage where she could not get drunk no matter how much she drank, and could not get sober when she stopped. Her friends in Alcoholics Anonymous warned her that was the final stage before death.

I’m glad she penned such an honest chronicle of her life, and I’m amazed she lived to age eighty-five.

Book Review: Night Owls

“Val opened her mouth to retort, but before she could speak, her nostrils filled with the scent of blood. Not a bright, fresh-from-the-vein smell. This was old, congealing, like blood left to pool in a dark place and forgotten. She wanted to retch as her taste buds kicked in and helpfully supplied the rancid companion to the smell.”

If something creeps out a vampire, that’s not a good sign. Val is my favorite character in Night Owls by Lauren M. Roy. Val is fabulous looking, and I believe she seems about thirty, though she’s really somewhat older. That scent she’s smelling is of a Jackal, an enemy she thought she left behind years ago.

The novel actually starts with Elly, who I think is about nineteen. She comes fleeing into town with Creeps close behind her. (We find out the Jackals and the Creeps are the same thing.) Elly is a streetfighter who likes to use her favorite stake when things go down.

You can probably guess which is which

The Jackals are hard to describe. They give off a rotten stench, but they are intelligent, so they’re not like zombies. Their faces transform so that they have snouts, but they don’t fully transform like werewolves. And they’re irredeemably evil, so it’s fun to read about them getting killed.

The rest of the characters mostly center about the off-campus bookstore that Val runs. She was hoping to lead the quiet life there. But then Elly comes to town. I like how they meet: Through a little misunderstanding, they try to kill each other.

This novel has multiple viewpoints, and the only one I didn’t like was that of Chaz, Val’s Renfield. Believe it or not, I didn’t like to read his viewpoint sections because of his frequent casual swearing. And he seems to remind us about a dozen times that he’s Val’s Renfield.

But I like Lauren M. Roy’s Night Owls. There’s an interesting plot involving the Creeps/Jackals, and it all comes down to a good ol’ hand-to-hand, hand-to-stake and burning wards battle.

Norwescon III—Live Dalek, Julie Dillon, Throne

This is a wrap-up of my time at Norwescon—the region’s largest science fiction and fantasy convention for writers. 

Here’s another Dalek. This one was live.

We also had Lady Sif.

She criticized herself for lacking a shield, but I said, “You look great. You don’t have to apologize for anything.”

The artist guest of honor for the convention was Julie Dillon. Back in January, I posted that her cover for Upgraded was the best science fiction cover of last year.

So when I heard that Julie Dillon was going to be at Norwescon, she was my chief reason for going. Her session in which she showed samples of her art and explained her process was fascinating. Afterwards, she gave away six of her artbooks to some of us who stayed around and asked her questions.

I managed to get a picture with her.

And here’s a video of her Kickstarter project.

Finally, here’s the picture you will see in your mind even when you close your eyes tonight. Please choose the best caption.

KNEEL BEFORE ME

or

YOU WILL BUY MY NOVELS WHEN I’M PUBLISHED

or

SORRY, I LEFT MY BIG SWORD AT HOME

Norwescon II—Carbon, It’s Her

Here are a couple pictures from Norwescon. If you don’t get the one below, read her T-shirt.

Below is Torrey Stenmark. She is an organic chemistry major who teaches college chemistry.

Miss Marvel

She said “Miss,” not “Ms”

Unfortunately, her panel talked mostly about industrial carbon, which didn’t give her much to add. She deals with the more messy, organic compounds. And yes, she spoke on the panel dressed like that.

When looking up things to spell her name right, I realized it’s HER. She’s the one I saw at Worldcon in Reno in 2011.

I saw her again at Norwescon in 2012.

Then she changed into Padmé Amidala.

It’s the same person each time. And I fail to recognize her when she changes. 

[Permission granted to use any photo on this post, so long as it is labeled “Photo by Mark Murata”]

Norwescon I—Reading, Dalek, Footfalls

I was at Norwescon—the region’s largest science fiction and fantasy convention for writers—over the weekend. On Thursday I only arrived in the evening, so besides attending the opening ceremonies, I simply listened to one author do a private reading from an upcoming book of hers.

There was also a Dalek

Parking was terrible. I had to park at the overflow parking a few blocks down. I do not like walking in SeaTac in the dark. (Believe it or not, the SeaTac—Seattle-Tacoma—airport came first, then the area around it became incorporated as SeaTac later.)

As I did the final long walk towards the other hotel’s parking lot, I heard footfalls behind me. Running. They were some distance away. I changed the way I was walking and carrying my case to hear better. Still the sound of running. Catching up.

I approached the parking structure. Not afraid, I paused to take a picture of it. As I proceeded in, I heard a cough behind me. Not breathing over my neck—it was how sound carries at night, but still getting closer.

I went to the passenger’s side of my car. I store an object there that can be handy for a time like that. But no need. After I put my case and got in my car, I saw an older fellow with gray hair head for the parking elevator. He was the one who would have coughed.

But where was the person who was running?

Emerald City Comicon Pictures

A friend of mine went to Emerald City Comicon in Seattle. Here are some of her pictures.

She’s on the right, her husband is dressed as Spider-Man

Guess which one he is

Plus one

Plus two

The new Avengers

Insurgent Poster

Look at the size of this outdoor poster for Insurgent. The field lights above and the railing below for the walkway give you the scale of the thing.

The firemen below weren’t stopping to see the movie. They were giving CPR lessons at the nearby mall.

Cherry Blossoms at Dawn

Anybody can take pictures of cherry blossoms in broad daylight. Here’s one in just the light from early dawn.

The one below is half in dawn light, half lit from below by a building’s ground light.

Click to enlarge