MOVIES
Disneyland Handcrafted (2026), directed by Leslie Iwerks, is a very good documentary streaming on Disney+ about the building of Disneyland. The documentary consists of never-before-seen footage. From what I could tell, the footage was shot on 35mm color film, then scanned and transferred to high definition. 35mm is the ultimate medium because it transfers beautifully for HD viewing. I was shocked to learn how fast they built Disneyland.
Pigs and Battleships (1961) directed by ShÅhei Imamura. Out of all the Japanese noir I’ve been watching on the Criterion Channel, this was the toughest one to watch. What stood out to me is the cinematography and the way Imamura captures the gangster underworld of Yokosuka. A gritty film.
Blue Heron (2025), directed by Sophy Romvari. A good film that follows a family who moves to Vancouver in the 1990s. Their eldest son is showing dangerous behaviors, putting the family into a crisis. I was a little thrown off by the structure of the film, but I did enjoy how the film played with the documentary and fictional modes. The movie is streaming on Criterion.
TV
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. What a great start to the fourth season. The first episode has a classic Star Trek vibe, involving time travel, and reminded me of Star Trek IV. I’m looking forward to episode two.
We finished Stranger Things season 4. This was my second time watching it, and I think it’s one of the best. Episode seven is probably one of the top episodes of the entire series. The Duffer Brothers weave a very large cast of characters, but never to the point where you are confused. There should have been Emmy nods for acting, especially for Joseph Quinn. But as usual, horror and sci-fi are often snubbed when it comes to acting nominations.
BOOKS
The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre by Tzvetan Todorov. This is a well-known book in literary studies. Todorov’s definition of the fantastic is the hesitation between reality and the imaginary. The book is a little dense, but Todorov offers lots of examples from different novels to help explain the nuances of the fantastic, including the difference between the uncanny and the marvelous.
From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury is a book that took him over 55 years to complete. There is definitely an Addams Family vibe in these stories of the Elliott family. After I finished the book, I was surprised to learn that Bradbury and Charles Addams were friends and had discussed working together on the Elliott family. This did not happen, but Addams went to create the famous Addams Family that we all know.
