When his supervisors at the CIA refuse to take action after his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a decoder takes matters into his own hands.
In the evening Esme and I watched The Amateur (2025) - IMDb. The movie was OK and I give it a 6 out of 10.
During a human expedition to colonize space, Mickey 17, a so-called "expendable" employee, is sent to explore an ice planet.
In the evening Esme and I watched Mickey 17. I think the movie is OK and give it a 6 out of 10. I was expecting more from it.
A troubled and racist African-American L.A.P.D. Officer will stop at nothing to force out a friendly interracial couple who just moved in next door to him.
In the evening Esme and I watched Lakeview Terrace. I liked the movie and give it a 7 out of 10.
In the evening I finished Nightshade by Michael Connelly. It was an excellent read; a real page turner. I like the new character a lot and hope to see more books with Stilwell in it.
A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.
In the evening Esme and I watched Collateral. Esme was sure she had already seen this movie but I couldn't remember having seen it. Near the end she fell asleep. I liked the movie and give it a 7 out of 10.
Holy work sometimes requires unholy deeds.
Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters. The mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.
Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it's a good thing Brother Diaz has the devils on his side.
In the evening I started in The Devils by Joe Abercrombie.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell has been “exiled” to a low-key post policing rustic Catalina Island, after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the mainland. But while following up the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Detective Stilwell gets a report of a body found weighed down at the bottom of the harbor—a Jane Doe identifiable at first only by a streak of purple dye in her hair. At the same time, a report of poaching on a protected reserve turns into a case fraught with violence and danger as Stilwell digs into the shady past of an island bigwig.
Crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction, Stilwell doggedly works both cases. Though hampered by an old beef with an ex-colleague determined to thwart him at every turn, he is convinced he is the only one who can bring justice to the woman known as “Nightshade.” Soon, his investigation uncovers closely guarded secrets and a dark heart to the serene island that was meant to be his escape from the evils of the big city.
In the evening I started in Nightshade by Michael Connelly. I was looking forward to meet Connelly's new character.
In 1985 devoted father Bill Furlong discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent and uncovers shocking truths of his own.
In the evening Esme and I watched Small Things Like These. Alice also watched a part but considered the movie too slow. And she was right, it was a slow movie. Near the end I thought: "Now something is going to happen." But it was the end of the movie. It was OK and I give it a 6 out of 10.
In the evening I finished Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I liked the story, but I also think Alien Clay is slightly better.
Former CIA spies Emily and Matt are pulled back into espionage after their secret identities are exposed.
In the evening Esme and I watched Back in Action. The movie was OK and I give it a 6 out of 10.
A stuntman, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job.
In the evening Esme and I watched The Fall Guy. The movie was somewhat OK and I give it a 6 out of 10.
An inexperienced rookie is teamed up with a hardened pro at the California Highway Patrol in Los Angeles; the newbie officer soon learns his partner is really an undercover Fed investigating a heist which may involve some crooked cops.
In the evening Esme and I watched CHIPS. I had a few good laughs and give the movie a 7 out of 10.
In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction.
In the evening Esme and I watched Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. We had seen all episodes of each of the two seasons of Andor so time for the sequel movie. We both had seen Rogue One before, at least once, but to me the movie was still very good. I think it's my favourite movie in the Star Wars universe. I give it a solid 9 out of 10.
Mohamedou Ould Slahi fights for freedom after being detained and imprisoned without charge by the U.S. Government for years.
In the evening Esme and I watched The Mauritanian. I liked the movie and give it a 7 out of 10.
When a shopping mall is taken over by a gang of organized crooks, it's up to a mild-mannered security guard to save the day.
In the evening Jaiden, Esme, and I watched Paul Blart: Mall Cop. I had seen the movie before but still liked it. I give it a 6 out of 10.
In the late afternoon I finished Son of the Tree by Jack Vance. It was an OK reread.
They looked into the darkness and the darkness looked back . . .
New planets are fair game to asset strippers and interplanetary opportunists – and a commercial mission to a distant star system discovers a moon that is pitch black, but alive with radio activity. Its high-gravity, high-pressure, zero-oxygen environment is anathema to human life, but ripe for exploitation. They named it Shroud.
Under no circumstances should a human end up on Shroud’s inhospitable surface. Except a catastrophic accident sees Juna Ceelander and Mai Ste Etienne doing just that. Forced to stage an emergency landing, in a small, barely adequate vehicle, they are unable to contact their ship and are running out of time. What follows is a gruelling journey across land, sea and air. During this time, Juna and Mai begin to understand Shroud’s dominant species. It also begins to understand them . . .
In the evening I started in Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
In the late afternoon I checked on Jaiden's Brazilian whiteknee tarantula (Acanthoscurria geniculata). It had turned itself upside down yesterday, ready to molt. And indeed it had molted!
In the above photo you can see the spider in the bottom half and its exuviae (cast-off exoskeleton) in the top half. All in all it looked like a successful molt.
In the early evening I finished Madouc by Jack Vance, the final book in the Lyonesse trilogy. I liked the book, it was a good reread.
"The Tree ruled the horizons, shouldered aside the clouds, and wore thunder and lightning like a wreath of tinsels- it had come to be worshipped by the first marveling settlers on Kyril". Joe Smith arrives from Earth and soon is caught up in a political plot between opposing worlds. Ultimately he discovers the true, horrific nature of The Tree of Life...
In the evening I started in Son of the Tree by Jack Vance. My copy of the ebook came with a cover art by Howard Kistler.