Book: Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir

Although I very much enjoyed The Martian at the time, after reflection I saw it for what it was - a book of puzzles and problem solving using creativity and science. It was like the analogue version of watching a physics experiment on YouTube or something. As such, I didn't have much interest in reading much more from the author, expecting anything he wrote to be more of the same. Given that I'm between franchises and a film is due for release next year I thought I'd give this one a shot. And (spoiler alert) Project Hail Mary is pretty much the same book.

That's not a bad thing of course. Being so formulaic meant reading more puzzles, seeing more problems solved - unlike many others I don't see these books as sci-fi but just examples of very tight storytelling, something that is a treat to those who thrive on feeding their mild OCDs. One evolution Hail Mary has is parallel storytelling in the form of flashbacks, lending some further twists and drama to another dimension of the story.

It's short, punchy, and (unlike certain other books I've been reading recently) doesn't require access to the Internet to follow. Any questions the reader has are headed off - the author has a natural ability to anticipate any queries had - in that sense he carries you with him on the ride as the book unfolds.

And yet the conclusion remains the same - there's something about this book that makes it feel like a novelty, cheap and fun calories that you won't necessary regret but probably won't stay with you in the longer term. That's not a totally bad thing, particularly given the size of the book, and so Project Hail Mary receives a recommendation from me.

Film: Him

In was turned out to be a perfect counter point to last week's One Battle, Him is a masterclass in how to make a short film feel bloated and clumsy. As opposed to the former movie, which used solid and to-the-point film-making to make its 2h45m feel like a breeze, Him chose convolution and overreach in a manner that got in the way of itself.

It's a shame, because otherwise Him had some good bones on it. The story may not have been the most original, but the context was and it could have survived if it decided to tell it in a more simple and straight forward way. Instead we got a mess.

So no, not really a recommendation here, even considering its blessedly short runtime.

Film: One Battle After Another

At a mammoth 2h41m, it took a lot of faith to sit down for this film. A confused and manic trailer didn't help much but in we went. And I'm rather glad that we did. One Battle After Another is another great example of a film getting the basics so right that everything else just gets pulled up with it.

A great cast, solid plot, equal sprinkling of drama, comedy and action makes it a film for almost everyone. The subject matter was topical (and perhaps deliberate), and any slight flaws with the story were quickly forgiven.  

The scary runtime evaporated as we watched it was that good, and so I can not recommend the film enough.

Ilford in Conversation: Marking Two Years of Genocide: Courage and Sacrifice

Titles aside, this was actually a conversation between Leanne and Ibtihal Aboussad, famous for making that stand against Microsoft, her employer at the time. Today's talk showed that Ibtihal wasn't just full of hot air, but a principled, thoughtful and meticulous activist who is very clear on what she sees as our responsibilities in this world we find ourselves in.

Leanne deserves some credit too, being a host asking some decent questions while making us all forget exactly how young she is. Of course, as is par for the course, the lowlight of the session was the audience Q&A with the usual droll and self-serving questions being asked. Thankfully it didn't make up the meat of the talk.

For a last minute gathering the space worked well, and I look forward to the next one. 

Book: Isles of the Emberdark, Brandon Sanderson

In many ways Emberdark is the opposite of Wind and Truth, the last "main" Cosmere novel that I read. It's concise (well, relatively anyway), it doesn't hold back on the fun - it even goes to a pretty extreme length to catch the reader up in the form of recounting the previous short story set in First of the Sun in the form of flashbacks.

The characterisation falters at times (I've somewhat given up on searching for this in the Cosmere now) but the story and worldbuilding is more than enough to carry it all through. Yes, there are implications and teases, but these seem far more respectful of the reader than they do elsewhere - I suspect due to the shorter length of this book.

Emberdark has quickly become one of my more favoured Cosmere novels and reminds me why I've put so much into this universe so far. Recommended.

Film: The Long Walk

Sometimes a film just needs a single concept to focus on and do well with. You can't really get more simple than a film about walking - you won't find any twist or complication or multi-faux-dimensionality here.

As such, there's really not much to talk about either. If you want a solid buddy movie about men bonding over a shared mission, then this is it. It's pacey, concise and to the point, and the 110 minutes seems far short than it was. Recommended.

The Lioness of Justice: Dr Naledi Pandor vs Israel

Apart from obvious contextual stuff, there were a few other things that I learned during tonight's audience with Dr Pandor. The most striking was that, yes, it is possible to have a genuine, humane, intelligent and articulate leader (where "leader" is to be taken in its most literal, governmental form).

Perhaps it's as basic as being highly educated, or maybe something a little more deeper about not having travelled through the usual path of hypocrisy and compromise that makes one a candidate in western democracies. Whatever the reasons, this alone, the fact that leaders can be excellent and are not inevitably awful, brought hope (and possibly despair if it's proven such integrity is impossible where we live).

But to the talk itself. A lot wasn't new, apart from in how it was presented (I may have mentioned how excellent the speaker was), and it's the precision and conciseness with which Dr Pandor expressed ideas the audience already knew of that shows why she is so valuable to the cause.

Aamer Rahman was excellent as the QA host - he kept out of the way and acted as a filter to a passionate, yet potentially tiresome, crowd. It was especially cute when the event ate itself when the question of SOAS's actions against its own Palestinian advocates was raised.

The topic is hot, with various deadlines approaching (both legally and on the ground in Gaza), so this was a useful opportunity to re-shift our minds to the apparent working of justice going on miles away from ground zero. 

Twenty One

It only occurred to me as I write this how post count could be a pretty good indicator of blog productivity. I'm on for around 40 posts for 2025, which sounded pretty impressive until I saw the almost-500 that were being created during The Good Times.

That's not to say I'm too sad about the slowing down - for example I've long realised that I don't care enough about food to write about or recommend restaurants and as such I no longer spend time thinking about what I'm eating. I think that's a win win? The point is that as a litmus test of who I am (or rather, what I think about), this blog holds some useful insights. It's like an objective measure of where I am.

Otherwise 21 is a milestone apparently, although perhaps not as much in the UK. One odd observation is how it's approaching the age that I can remember being, which probably says something about my conscious or mental development at the time or something. I wonder what further years around here will reveal?

Book: Wind and Truth, Brandon Sanderson

More often than not, bigger is never better. At [stupid number] of pages long, WaT is the longest volume in the Stormlight Archive, and therefore also the longest book in the Cosmere - in fact, it might be longer than some trilogies in this particular universe.

That isn't enough to wreck a book, but it didn't help that this one was especially terse. The time passed since the previous books (as well as the dragging of the Roshar stories) didn't help, and I got up to page 13 before giving up and going to the Internet to read the four 200 page summaries of what came before. Doing so was helpful both in getting me up to date, but also allowing me to think about the series as a whole.

You see, The Stormlight Archive isn't a book or even an epic - it's a lifestyle choice. To get the most out of it you have to be part of the meta, read and contribute to forums, follow off-book developments. That kind of thing. Needless to say I didn't sign up to that.

In some ways the summaries were actually better than the books themselves, distilling the story to the essentials, while skipping some of the more dubious character development present here. And indeed that might have been my issue with this series - the characterisation failed at what it tried to do, and for me any development was cheap, gimmicky and shallow, especially in the shadow of the faux-depth they tried to have.

Another example of the gimmicks at play here were the epitaphs sprinkled throughout each chapter start. Perhaps I'm too procedural or one dimensional, but having to read in two different directions was a chore and reminded me of how much this book felt like work.

The multiple threads were somewhat tied up - or at least reduced - by the end of the book, and we finally have the wider Cosmere context that's been promised for so long. Given that this is the first arc (of two) in Stormlight, I'm not sure how excited I am for things to proceed.

So here I am over six months after starting Wind and Truth, complaining about how much it all was. In many ways I had the same complaints during the middle of The Wheel of Time, and in many ways Stormlight was a bit of a rip off of that series too. I can only hope that, like in the WoT series, the ending made the middle worth it in the end.

Film: Weapons

It was only as the credits rolled that I realised what Weapons was calling me back to. So it was with little surprise to learn that yes, Weapons is from the same people who brought us Barbarian, and just like that previous film it was great. In fact more than great - you could even call this Barbarian+.

The film was excellent whichever way I cut it. The acting, plot, characters, production - there wasn't any aspect which I felt was lacking. Like Barbarian (and to an extent, Companion), the mix of horror and humour was subtle and understated in a way that horror-comedies aren't. In many ways this is a film that rejects any genre you put it in.

It's August so I guess around the time one can make the call - and so for me Weapons is definitely contender for film of the year. Highly recommended.

Film: The Naked Gun

Nostalgia aside, this 2025 rendering of a spoof classic was experimental in many ways. How would it fare in this post-political correct world? Do these kids even find spoofs funny? I was a little unsure before sitting down to watch The Naked Gun, but am pleased to say that it just about managed to pull it all off.

It might be offensive to say that these kind of films don't really need any real acting chops, but regardless our Liam and Pam did more than enough to keep the show rolling. The film wasn't thick with laughter but in many ways that kept the interest levels up. Plot wise, well there was enough to frame the laughs anyway.

All in all we have here an unoffensive 90 mins that won't be film of the year but wasn't a total failure either.

Film: Saiyaara

It's fair to say that I've been absent from the Bollywood scene for a good while now. I didn't recognise anyone in this film nor had any idea about what it was about. I had been dragged along by a friend who was being dragged along by his wife after what seems to have been a compelling social media campaign mesmerising young and old alike.

Anyway. Saiyaara wasn't the worst. In some ways it was a bit of a throwback to the YR era at the turn of the century. Yes, it had been updated with sex and nudity and kissing that did nothing for the film (never has a movie make me feel so old), but the emovibes were there and the plot enough to get us to the end.

Without spoiling too much, I'm not sure if the subject matter was given the full justice it deserved but on the other hand the 150+ minutes runtime did kind of fly by.

So perhaps not quite a full recommendation, but not something I hated myself for watching either.

Film: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Sometimes you go into a film with such optimism that you forget to keep yourself in check. I'm not sure why I thought this would be different in a declining MCU, but that's okay - I forgive myself. What I don't forgive is this film for being so awful.

The trouble is that I can't quite put my finger on why I found it to be so bad. The acting was fine, the plot alright, the production overall passable. Maybe that's just not enough these days and I've just been spoiled by a certain recent superhero movie?

But it's okay - this wasn't really the main event anyway. That will all happen next year and I'm 100% certain that those films are going to be brilliant. Sigh. 

Film: Superman

Sometimes a film comes along that you just vibe with, that you get, and seriously enjoy. For me Superman is such a film - from the immediate start to the almost constant humour (even during the darker times) through to the telling plot and acting, there really is very little I am able to complain about with this movie - I even liked the dog.

It manages to both pack in a lot (particularly of note is the wider superhero cast) and remain concise in way that makes me want to watch it again and again. It's fun, breezy and even managed to prove an effective troll for certain cohorts in real life.

I guess there's not much else to say without more gushing except that Superman is very much recommended and quite probably will be my favourite film of the year.

Film: Jurassic World: Rebirth

I don't think there's anything wrong with going back to where it started. After the wildness (and I don't mean in the wildlife sense) of the second trilogy Rebirth goes back to basics - we have people stranded in a jungle with dinosaurs going after them. That alone makes this more of a Jurassic Park film than at least two from the Pratt era.

The structure of the movie has pros and cons. On the one hand, it's almost like a video game, with three separate levels almost treated as the independent set pieces that they are. On the other hand... the plot is as thin as that of a video game.

Overall though, I liked Rebirth. It was a solid dino movie, not a patch on the original, but making its way back to the place that made the first so special. 

Ilford in Conversation: One Year On Since the General Election: Breaking the Two-Party Nightmare

To be clear, I didn't ape into today's talk because of the presence of one Jeremy Corbyn - although having the three of Leanne Mohamad and Andrew Feinstein and him made for a compelling panel already.

No, today was what I thought would be the announcing of a new project, maybe even a party. On this I was a little disappointed given how it turned out to be not much more than a political rally.

But seeing it for what it actually was, the launch of a series of political sessions down the road in the politically interesting Ilford North, was exciting and something I do look forward to participating in. They could be huge, but even if not I suspect there'll be lots to learn in attending them.

Film: F1®: The Movie

Yes that is the full certified title, but I have to be honest, this wasn't the puff piece I was expecting it to be. I'd be cheating if I described it as "Top Gun on Wheels" but the parallels are undeniable, even when you discount the makers of the film. Speed? Check. Fabulous set pieces? Check. Charismatic washed up old guy coming out of retirement? Check. Female interest that has very little to do with the film? Check.

I liked Top Gun and indeed this was close to being an enjoyable movie - I even found myself laughing out loud at the charms of Sonny Brad at times. The issue with it was how it had been poisoned by the very subject matter it was trying to film - F1 is a very technical sport and much of its nuance can't be told just by an action scene alone. And so we had a constant level of narration and real time exposition which would have been only mildly annoying until I realised how essential it was... at which point it became really irritating.

So yeah, it was fun enough but not really the summer blockbuster it wanted to be. One for the home I think. 

Film: Ballerina

Ballerina is a solid enough John Wick film. It has all the key ingredients - a reason for revenge, escalating violence and some decent set pieces - but suffers from being the fifth film in the universe. 

Props to Armas who wasn't afraid to be chucked around. Yes, I realise there are stunt people involved, but the story didn't just reduce to super woman powers.

If anything Ballerina reminds us of how excellent and genius the first JW was, but as treat to fulfil our itches for more of the same it does the job well. 

Film: Karate Kid: Legends

If there was ever a film that knew what it was, it's this. The Karate Kid formula is well established - you have the new kid, the bully, the girl and the showdown. Much has been subverted by Cobra Kai, but the beats stay the same. Except now we have a kid already knows kung fu, but we'll let that slide for now.

The problem is that you start letting a lot slide by the end of the movie. The main oversight was the plot - a strong start was let down by a overly rushed third act with no redemption arc, giving it all a bit of a flat vibe overall. But still, the acting was passable, the choreography smart enough to keep us interested and there's just enough charm to see us through to the credits.

Legends is by no means a bad film, it's just really a good one either. Make of that what you will. 

Film: Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

This film was a lot. Like, so much. Ordinarily that might have been enough to make it the hit of the year, but the MI franchise has been so increasingly fantastical that "a lot" can sometimes be to it's detriment.

I think the key to enjoying this, the last instalment in the series, is to just ignore the plot and enjoy the action. As a series of set-pieces it's pretty great, in the way a heavily scripted narrative videogame might be.

And yet, I can't help thinking that this was a wasted opportunity to really have been the swan song the collection of films needed. That it is not is a shame, but then at least it wasn't a full on disaster.

Film: Final Destination: Bloodlines

Depending on your perspective, you'll either love or hate the idea of this, the latest instalment in the Final Destination franchise. If you're looking for novelty, or an expansion in the lore, or something different - then unfortunately you're in for some disappointment. If you're looking for more of the same of a somewhat successful mousetrap concept... well then Bloodlines excels.

A good job is done with the set pieces (and that's all they are - don't look for any plot here). The acting is alright. The film is fun, but forgettable. Basically you'll know if you'll like this or not, and therefore also the best way in which to watch it.

Film: Thunderbolts*

Sometimes all you need to do is go back to the basics. Thunderbolts* does this well, and is a solid, safe, and stable movie as a result. The plot goes from A to B to C, doesn't take many risks and instead leans in on its character and chemistry to power through.

That's not to say it isn't irrelevant - there's plenty of core MCU here. It just didn't feel like homework watching it, and for that it gets a great recommendation from me.

Film: The Accountant 2

I found the first Accountant (2016! Yelp) to be a great film. It was tight, multilayered, as much of a puzzle as the themes were in the movie itself and was actually a pretty decent bit of outreach for autism.

The sequel was not great. They laboured the autism and even went as far as making brain damage a Marvel-esque super power origin story. Affleck did his best with a script that made a bit of a clown show out of the main protagonist and his brother, and the plot appeared to be window dressing for a couple of okayish set pieces.

I'm more upset that this film tarnishes the memory I have of the first rather than because it's a bad film itself. Either way though this is one to skip.

ELSC London Fundraiser: Solidarity Forever

Although I was already planning to attend this, I was looking forward to it even more as a counterpoint to a recent comedy gig I attended. The link of course was Palestine, but whereas Sundeep was a new voice on the scene (and doing a job), this was a fundraiser which for me made it more authentic and of a greater depth than previously. Of course Aamer Rahman was the main ticket but I was also looking forward to the "variety show" line up it promised.

And on that it delivered. All the acts were great, educational and moving - albeit in different ways. It had Rebel Music vibes, where you could enjoy the material at whatever level you wanted (or were ready for). Aamer Rahman stood out of course - but in a lot of ways his higher profile made him seem a little out of place with the rest of the ground roots being laid. Of course, that didn't take anything away from the power of his content.

Which brings us to the ELSC. We were told a lot about the charity and its work, and it seemed very important to support during the days in which we find ourselves living. Knowing that this was all in support of that greater cause made the evening even more special, and I hope they managed to hit both their fundraising and word-spreading targets.

The evening ended at 10.45pm which made it quite the long night, and indeed some acts did feel like they were overly long. Otherwise it was a great evening out and I'm glad I got the chance to attend.

Frankfurt, Day Four: Frankfurt

Between needing to catch both Jummah and our flight home today, we didn't hold much hope for our activities today. That said, given some careful planning we could have optimised and made the most of staying in Frankfurt, but it turns out that even after having a dead morning in our hotel room waiting for prayers there was ample time in the afternoon to wander around and soak in a little of Frankfurt.

There seems to be two sides to the city - the skyscrapers (of which apparently it has the most of in Europe) and the Romer area (essentially the old city). So yes, another cathedral and more distinctive German architecture - by this point I had realised why I was so familiar with it, the answer shamefully being my overdosing of certain boardgames over the past decade or so.

My initial impression of Frankfurt being a great place to live, if not visit, held and I was glad that we pivoted from one road trip (with a full day in Frankfurt) to the two that we eventually did. The second thing I realised was that actually Hahn wasn't as far as we thought it would be and the cheap-flights-with-rental-car option worked quite well with us (and at a push we could have done that day trip after all).

But as first proper German exposure goes (I previously dipped my toe in during a trip to Austria), this trip was pretty good, and left me realising just how close and accessible Europe is.

 

Frankfurt, Day Three: Wiesbaden and Mainz

After yesterday we decided to keep things a little closer to home and spent the day thirty minutes away in Wiesbaden. This was yet another quaint city (as well as the capital of Hesse, the German state we were in), and between having seeing a lot of the same yesterday and the atrocious weather we took it easy on the walking around and itinerary stuffing, and even stopped for a coffee at one point. Apart from the casino, the Neroberg offered some things to see, including a view of the city.

As we were time rich, we decided to squeeze in a look at Mainz across the river from Wiesbaden. This had a couple of quick wins, including wooden beamed buildings (you know the type) and even some Roman ruins embedded in a shopping mall. It was just the thing to tidy over the day as we headed back to Frankfurt.

Frankfurt, Day Two: Heidelberg

Having a car meant that we could go on day trips, and there were a few options given our base in Frankfurt. We settled on Heidelberg as a good solid choice - it was only an hour away and seemed to have enough for a day.

And it did seem to have everything you would want from a quaint German town - some great hilly views, a rustic bridge over a river surrounded by beige and brown buildings, a cathedral and a castle.

The castle was a pretty decent deal. A combo ticket would get you a trip each on two separate funiculars, the middle of which had a castle to explore. Apart from the views of the town there was a couple of interesting things in the castle, including a Museum of Pharmacy and a (literally) big barrel.

The second funicular took us up to 500m, although our luck with the weather had run out by that point, resulting in us being stuck up there during a thunderstorm. The view was still decent given that.

Given the turning of the weather we decided to have a final quick look at the bridge before heading back to Frankfurt, where we rewarded ourselves for having such a busy day with some comfort halal pizza (served to us by a Karachite no less).

Frankfurt, Day One: Getting In

Given that a couple of relatives had moved to Germany recently we felt it was our duty (you know, as existing and veteran European citizens) to see them and let them know that "we're there". However in what is a great real life example of scope creep, our cheap and quick same-day £35 return to Frankfurt grew to a three night jaunt, which in hindsight was a little long for a city break really. Due to us flying into Hahn (remember: £35 return), we needed to hire a car to get into Frankfurt proper. This in turn changed the nature of the trip as a whole... but more on that later.

Our first day was orientation: checking in, finding the boys, doing an Aldi shop. There wasn't really much time for any sightseeing after that so we grabbed dinner in town at an Afghan place which was pretty wonderful given how generic it was. Chai was then had at "Taste of Pakistan" which made me chuckle a little.

First impressions of Frankfurt though: a bit boring but in a way that seemed positive for these guys.

Film: Sinners

Although well made and acted, Sinners suffers from some structural issues that stop it from being a brilliant movie. It's a shame because even though it doesn't really push the genre much further than, I dunno, a certain Tarantino flick from the 90s, there was enough basic ingredients and class here to really have produced a class act. This is definitely a film with more hype than substance.

It is fun and scary I guess, and as a timepass you could do much worse. But its a film that I ultimately wish I had saved for a cosy home viewing (if only so I could use subtitles).

Film: Drop

Although I was disappointed that the main gimmick of the movie - the airdropping by an unidentifiable blackmailer - ultimately doesn't have any impact, Drop was a great example of a closed room mystery that doesn't overstay its welcome.

Apart from the thrills, the dreamy chemistry between Violet and Henry elevates the film in that way contrasting tastes do. The upshot is that even though there's not much originality here, it does manage to scrape up some novelty.

Fun, thrilling and engaging, Drop comes with a recommendation here.