THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER (André Øvredal, 2023)

Went into this one more skeptical than it deserved - no doubt because of how much I loved the second episode of the Moffat / Gattis DRACULA that covered the same chapter of the novel - and came out satisfied. Nothing spectacular, but not a bad film by any means: solid performances throughout, some great shippy-atmosphere, and an Orlock-infused Dracula. That being said, all of the above deserved a less pedestrian direction; can only imagine what a more visceral, artistic director would have made of it. Can’t stop thinking that DEMETER would have been a perfect fit for John Carpenter or Ridley Scott (especially given its ALIEN inspiration). (*** / *****)

“let’s fly”

Can’t wait for this to start, don't want it to end. Alas, all good things…

three quick (+/- spoiler-free) notes on STRANGE NEW WORLDS, 2-10

• Everyone's been Pelia's student, haven't they? (Welcome, Mr...)

• STAR TREK meets ALIEN: we've come a long way since Shatner v. Man in Suit.

• Pike's Kobayashi Maru, to be continued (after studios get their shit together and negotiate in good faith)...

three quick ((+/-) spoiler-free) notes on PICARD, 3-10

• While I still hate that it took the show this long to get this good, I'm glad it got there eventually – though it was so very, very close to losing me at multiple points in the first two seasons. Seven and Raffi saved it both times for me.

• Which means I'm all there for the next next generation – be it a series or a standalone film.

• I'll miss the TNG'ers, but what a sendoff. Glad they finally got the farewell they deserved; as they said once before, “All good things…”

four quick (spoiler-free) notes on PICARD 3-9

• YES

• I hope that 3-10, once we're over the utter glee of seeing what we're seeing for the first time since we last saw what we're seeing, all those years ago, explains why – beyond, possibly, a single line in this episode – the status quo at the end of season two seems to have been forgotten.*

• WOW

• YES

five quick notes on PICARD 3.6

• Best episode of the season and of the series. I repeat: why did it wait this long to get this good?

• Felt, appropriately, like the start of a goodbye to an era – but also a hello towards a new one.

• (Reiterating my desire for a series featuring the crew of the Titan and Jack Crusher.)

• Are you going to make it out of this one alive, Will?

• Way to call back to the start of the series; that's a hell of a McGuffin.

three quick notes on PICARD 3.1

• Why did the series have to wait until its final season to be THIS good?

• Assuming Seven and much of the Titan crew survives, they need their own show. The next next generation.

• Goldsmith’s FIRST CONTACT theme is the most beautiful thing he wrote for TREK and hearing it again gave me chills.