BOOK REVIEW: Planet Z by Kristen Middleton

 

Alex, her parents, and her brother Jimmy all embark on an interstellar mission to find a planet where what is left of the human race can live after their native planet's resources are depleted. Alex is not thrilled about the prospect of going to another world, but she tries to be a sport and accept her fate. What she does not know is that the people around her are not to be trusted, not even the ones she loves the most, and the revelations she discovers on the voyage plunge her into a reality of intrigue and danger.

This is a book told from the perspective of a teenage girl and so obviously targeted at that audience. The chapters are short and some of the details are confusing, but no more so than they would normally be for a person of that age. The premise of the story is good and keeps the interest, with a happy if surprising ending. Good for younger readers who are just getting into the sci-fi genre and looking for a heroine they can relate to.

MOVIE REVIEW: Everything Everywhere All At Once

 

Evelyn Wang is not having a good day. Her business is being audited, her husband has filed for divorce, and she is trying to keep her aged father from finding out that her daughter has just declared herself lesbian. Then, she is approached by a man who looks just like her husband but claims to come from a different reality and tells her that she is the key to fighting off a great evil that is trying to destroy all the worlds in the multiverse of time. The only way Evelyn can fight this evil and save the multiverse, including herself and her family, is to visit the different realities and bring their experiences and talents back into her own. Can she succeed?

This movie swept the 2022 Academy Awards, including a Best Actress award for Michelle Yeoh who plays Evelyn, Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan who plays her husband and the lookalike from the alternate reality, and Best Supporting Actress for Jamie Lee Curtis who, completely unrecognizable in wig and makeup, plays the IRS auditor who is in charge of overseeing the Wangs’ tax investigation. While this film was touted as a complete masterpiece by many, I have trouble seeing what makes it so wonderful. While the cast is completely enchanting (and let’s not forget Stephanie Hsu as Evelyn’s daughter Joy or James Hong has her father) I found the storyline extremely hard to follow. There were so many alternate realities coming and going for everyone that it was difficult to ascertain which one was which. (The Academy Award the editing team won for this was well deserved.) In addition, there were many moments of what was supposedly labeled as humor that were utterly profane (Joy beating up some men using giant penises as nunchucks comes to mind). Granted, I am not really a fan of comedy and only watched this to see Yeoh in her award-winning role, but the whole thing left me rather flat. If this is what is being labeled as high art now, I think I’ll be more than happy to continue watching movies from previous years. Do not let the kids see this one.