James English

The latest Dragon Age installment is a blast! I'm only 15 hours or so in the game...it starts small but gets bigger and bigger with plenty of areas to explore and stories to follow. As with all the Dragon Age games it is dark with a sense of humor, and it's this balance that makes it so enjoyable. As a long time fan of the series I was quite worried I would be disappointed when this game was finally released, but now that I'm in the game I'm very happy to say it delivers.

This film is a sci-fi version of a caveman clunking a woman over the head with a club and dragging her by her hair into the cave. Moreover, it is a shining example of why it is so very important to have women involved in decision making in this industry, starting at the top. Had there been women involved with this story's development, they might have pointed out that there is nothing romantic about a man stealing a woman's life, hopes, and dreams because he's lonely.

This is one of those movies you put on while you’re cleaning your house because you want some background noise but don’t feel like playing music. Poorly written, directed, and acted, it’s full of characters whose names you will forget no matter often they say them and have as much appeal as paper wrapped around a hamburger. Sure, it’s not meant to be a work of art but it’s less entertaining than waiting for the train and only slightly more entertaining than cleaning the tiles in your shower.

This is a film everyone needs to see. It is a stark view of what we face as a species if, both as individuals and societies, we do not begin making real changes today. Attenborough presents the problems and their sources, and offers solutions, all of which can be implemented today, with technology and resources already at hand, to avert this crisis that we are blundering into with our hands over our eyes. This is a film not only to watch, but to think about. Attenborough practically forces you to reflect, and 'A Life on this Planet' is this time's 'The Day After.' Make no mistake about it, the crisis presented by Attenborough is bereft of hyperbole, is unfolding now, in front of our very eyes, and will be the end of humanity if nothing is done about it. Watch this film to learn, watch this film to grow, and watch this film to change.

This show needs to be remanded to ‘Things Happen to Michael Burnham.’. While I enjoy it on it’s own, it’s connection to the rest of the Star Trek franchise is tenuous at best, and so as long as you divorce it from the idea that it is meant to take place in the Star Trek Universe, you can enjoy it. The show is nonstop action, which may appeal to some people, but it lacks the aspirational storylines that made the other Star Trek shows so very much better. Not only that but the stories don’t have space to breathe and everything is rather a bit silly, from the spore drive to the reason for The Burn. The actors do a good job with questionable writing, and the effect work nice, even if the idea of coherent set design and continuity are out the window. Long story short, if you need a show to make your time on the treadmill or exercise bike more endurable, then this is not a bad choice. But if you want a show that’s more like Star Trek, stick with Picard.

I was skeptical at first but the show won me over. It reminds me so much of certain shows from the 90’s, like Xena Warrior Princess in that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The story is fun, the actors are clearly enjoying themselves, and not overwrought with CGI. All in all, completely enjoyable.