Monthnotes 21 Oct 2023

Since I only seem to be posting every month rather than every week, I'm going to change the title of these accordingly.

I was at my bi-annual work gathering in Philadelphia. Getting together with my co-workers is always the best, but I also love just walking around the city and seeing stuff like this that I wouldn't be able to see anywhere in Arizona.

The day after I got back home from my trip, there was a solar eclipse that Sedona was in good view of. We didn't get a full-on ring of fire, but it got about this close.

Movies

• A Haunting in Venice is the third film in Kenneth Branaugh's Agatha Christie films. It was my least favorite of the three so far, but hasn't thrown me off of checking out further entries in the series if he continues.
• The Creator is both visually amazing and refreshing. It's a sci-fi film that's not based on Star Trek or Star Wars. While it definitely owes a lot to other films, Neil Blomkamp's Elysium comes to mind, that didn't lessen my overall enjoyment of the film.
• Three Thousand Years of Longing is a film from last year I'd missed out on. I think it helped because the trailer made it maybe seem like more of a film than it is. I really liked it, as it did come across more like a modern day fairy tale.
• Haunted Mansion (2023) was a bit of a cheeseballer. I think it had most of the elements of the ride it's based on. Fun, but nothing I remember much of, just having seen it a few days ago.
• Talk to Me was maybe the best horror film I've seen in a number of years. Not sure if it was coincidence that Reelhouse Foundation chose to play The Hand this month.
• The Last Voyage of the Demeter is the story of the ship from Dracula that unknowingly transported him to England. Kind of a standard pick-them-off-one-by-one movie, but on a boat.

Reelhouse Foundation Films

October is generally a month of horror films.

• The Hand (1981) is a film starring Michael Caine that I saw a number of times on HBO when I was a teenager. I hadn't seen it for at least 35 years. It was maybe a little better than I remember, so it was nice to check it out again.
• Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) was primarily known as the first film Brooke Shields was in. She's not in it long, but the film is pretty bad.

Xia: Legends of a Drift System Board Game

The very first game I posted about on this site about five years ago was this one. I have it out on my table again to freshen myself up on the rules. Why? Because in a few short weeks, I'll be joining my board game companions for a board gaming retreat, and this was a game they requested.

Still a lot of fun and can't wait to share it with them finally.