Yearly Archives - 2021

The Dark Herald Recommends: The Tomorrow War

The Dark Herald2021-07-10T11:23:54+00:00

Time travel movies are always a problem.Either they fall into logical pitfalls due to screwing around in the past or they are in the predestination genre, where everything the character does advances a narrative that you already learned in the first half of the movie. The latter can be clever, but the truth is after you’ve seen a couple you’ve seen them all.  Which makes that its own form of predestination. I’ll get into the problems this film has in a little...

Black Widow – First Impressions

The Dark Herald2021-07-09T16:15:12+00:00

Does NOT pass the Bechdel test.I'll do The Tomorrow War review first. There is no rush on this one. It's not as bad as I thought it would be and since almost no one who reads this blog on the regular is going to see it anyway, Black Widow is now reprioritized. If I was going to rate it at Does Not Recommend I'd get it done today but it's not that bad. I thought it was finally...

Disney Death Watch – July 2021

The Dark Herald2021-07-08T20:39:39+00:00

Well, I haven’t done one these for a while but today seems dismal enough for some Dismalney news.DISNEY PARKSThere was a time many ages ago that Disney parks were getting pretty trashy and by that, I mean the quality of the people showing up was ruining the experience for people who don’t have fifteen rusting appliances in their front yard and drink cheap liquor out of Mason jars. Walt Disney had wanted his parks to be affordable to all.  Sadly, the quality of...

Arktoons Roundup is Now Live at BIC

The Dark Herald2021-07-07T23:12:40+00:00

This weeks Arktoons Roundup at Bounding Into Comics, spotlights the work of Jon Del Arroz.

Tomorrow War – First Impressions

The Dark Herald2021-07-07T17:52:59+00:00

It will surprise none of you to learn that the 55% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes is utter bullshit.  It’s better than a ton of films that have gotten a “fresh” rating.  If given a choice between Black Panther or Captain Marvel and The Tomorrow War, I’d take the latter any day of the week.  The action surpasses either of the former films, and there is an actual character arc for the main protagonist, unlike Captain Marvel where she just became even more...

The Dark Herald Does Not Recommend Artemis Fowl

The Dark Herald2021-07-06T18:44:27+00:00

REPOST: My wrist is in a sling at the moment. Consequently, you get to revel in the glory of one of my older reviews.From the company that brought you modern masterpieces like A Wrinkle in Time and the Rise of Skywalker comes Artemis Fowl.  I should start by saying, I have not read the Artemis Fowl books.  Neither have my kids.Maybe this film is an accurate representation of the stories.  Maybe it gets the feelz, right.  But if that’s the case then there...

Monday Catchup 7/5/2021

The Dark Herald2021-07-05T22:20:10+00:00

There hasn’t been much in the way of big stories but there have been some little ones I haven’t covered yet.Black Widow is Tracking BadlyFrom my friends at Bounding Into Comics:  “Box Office Pro predicts that Black Widow will have an opening weekend between $65 and $90 million. However, they specifically home in and predict the movie will make $77 million in its opening weekend.As for its domestic total they believe it will make between $155 and $225 million.These numbers...

Was Raiders of the Lost Ark a Rabbinical Parable?

The Dark Herald2023-06-30T13:16:08+00:00

Stories are the prism through which we view the world.Whether we agree with them is completely and absolutely immaterial.  What matters is that we were exposed to them.  They affect how we view the cosmos, no matter if we like how those stories do that, or not.From my article on Eastern Story Structure.“Hakawati, is the Arabic tradition of storytelling wherein each story must have…and teach a moral lesson.  I suspect this tradition is more Middle Eastern than specifically Arabian because the story of...

Authorial Intent: H.G. Wells

The Dark Herald2021-07-12T13:18:02+00:00

REPOST: My day blowup in the wire. Enjoy some best of the Dark Herald.In June of 1870, France had been the dominant land power in Europe since the reign of Louis XIV. Sure, it had had its ups and downs, and yes, granted, Napoleon was defeated (eventually) but look at the size of the alliance it took to take him down. My point is this, France had been the big dog in Europe for so long, everyone’s worldview was built...

UPDATE: Harrison Ford is Out for Three Months

The Dark Herald2021-06-30T21:35:18+00:00

This is much worse than has previously been reported.From the Ny Post:"And while the team had initially suggested that the mishap wouldn’t derail filming too badly, the Oscar nominee and franchise film icon will reportedly be sidelined for at least three months as he undergoes shoulder surgery. 

“The film’s bosses have come together to work out the scheduling and it’s chaos,” lamented the source. “The earliest they think they can restart the production is September.”They added, “It was...