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bobswanay
Reviews
Star Trek: Picard: The Bounty (2023)
Staying on target
Another great episode! Six episodes in, it is now clear that season 3 of Picard will be regarded as the high point of the series. More than that, it is on track to being a standout for the Star Trek franchise.
This season is succeeding for the following reasons: the principle characters are written as logical versions of their older selves. Each episode has a satisfying story while advancing the larger narrative. The performances are great, especially Gates McFadden's Dr. Crusher, and notably we are treated to the best performances of Sir Patrick Stewart of the Picard series. You can really tell that Sir Patrick is connecting with the material here, and so the viewer will be treated to seeing some great Picard scenes in this series. It is now becoming apparent that every TNG character is given a meaningful story, something none of the movies were able to offer. If that weren't enough, this season is effectively a sequel, a love letter, to TNG, DS9, and Voyager. Finally, the music score is amazing, another love letter to the franchise.
Thank you to show runner Terry Matalas for giving this crew the sendoff they deserved, for understanding Star Trek, and here's hoping the powers that be see fit to let him continue to play in this universe.
The Public (2018)
View of America through the Library Prism
This movie allows us to view homelessness in America through the prism of the public library. Far from becoming obsolete, libraries have emerged in modern life as even more important public social spaces than ever before. The inherent equality of the public library inevitably means that it is one of the few places left where the homeless population is welcome. The homeless are not an invisible population in our libraries, and writer/director/star Emilio Estevez did his homework and got this dynamic right. His deep understanding of libraries and how they relate to the issue of the homeless allows him to tell this story with confidence. I recommend everyone go see this movie, not only is it charming and very often quite funny, but it could well serve as a much needed kick-starter for a national conversation that we should be having but aren't about homelessness and community. Excellent movie.