Ironhold

My reservation is for tomorrow. Today I'm bracing for that gender-reversed remake of "Overboard" that's set to come out next week by re-watching the original so I have a proper frame of reference. If I'm familiar with previous incarnations of a film, I reserve the right to make comparisons. ...

The original "Civil War" story arc was a lot *worse* than that. The basic plan was "How can we get supers fighting each other?". What things degenerated into was "a whole bunch of writers going off on their own and using the event as a means to voice their political opinions, up to and including declaring that anyone who disagreed with them politically was no better than a Nazi". Most actual honest observers regard it as a massive misstep, and perhaps the first clear sign that the social justice movement had infiltrated the comic industry.

Sgt. Stubby. The studio had to make a kid-friendly film about WWI, and do so on a limited budget, but they more or less pulled it off.

So are we looking at just books, or would this include other entertainment?

Define "fiction". Genre? Format? Et cetra?

Gene Simmons is Jewish. He was born in Israel, and after he and his mom came to the US he spend much of his youth in a religious private school. By his own admission, during the 1970s when the whole "KISS is Satanic!" bit was at its peak, he got a kick out of quoting the Bible right back at the Bible-thumpers who'd go after him. I kid you not.

Rampage (2018) It's a good popcorn flick, but it's not for kids. Among other things, it's a running gag that Dwayne Johnson's character once taught the gorilla how to make obscene hand gestures as part of the sign language training.

Depending upon what part of Austin you'll be in, you could spend that long waiting in line at one of the better restaurants. No joke. Austin is pretty much a "destination" town nowadays, given all of the educational, cultural, entertainment, and culinary destinations in the city. We'd need to know what you're into and what part of town you'll be traveling through.

"A Quiet Place". There's no reason to bother with this movie. I couldn't find a single redeeming bit to it.

As someone who *lives* retro gaming and retro pop culture, the film just left me cold. It tried way too hard, and for minimal results compared to other similar films.

Spirit Halloween has a pre-existing Bob Ross costume, complete with wig and beard. Might want to check out their website.

Basketball: If someone is bleeding, you're doing it wrong. Church Ball: If someone isn't bleeding, you're doing it wrong.

"To Sir, With Love" Sidney Poitier brings his best to the role, but you can tell that the film ran into a number of difficulties during production.

I've been trying to tell people this, but it's not what anyone wants to hear right now. So long as kids continue to be bullied and ostracized through no fault of their own. So long as administrators continue to care more about their jobs than their schools. So long as the curriculum doesn't teach real character and real class. So long as there's fame to be had in opening fire. So long as parents continue to ignore their children. So long as law enforcement doesn't take warnings seriously. So long as campuses aren't secure. So long as mental illness, radicalization, and other issues are ignored. So long as all of the above continue to happen, you can confiscate all the guns in the world and we'll still have dead kids. It's the culture and the mindset that pushes people over the edge, not the weapon itself. Even a properly-sharpened #2 pencil can do horrific damage to the human body, after all.

Sherlock Gnomes. You're better off forgetting that this movie ever existed.

Tomb Raider (2018) A far more human treatment of Lara Croft than the first live-action movie or the Top Cow comics, but otherwise it doesn't rise that much above being a generic action number.

In business school I had to do a case study on an alcohol company's low-end booze product. Something tells me that the case study in question was no longer assigned once I was done with it...

I'm actually an MBA with a background in marketing. Between that and my time on the job as a movie reviewer, the official promotional material for "Wrinkle" sent up all sorts of red flags. This included the focus on the big-name celebs and the race & gender of the director as opposed to any sort of focus on the movie's plot or writing. Something like that is rarely a good sign.

Disney's "A Wrinkle In Time". Imagine that it's Christmas morning. You see a big, shiny, prominent present sitting right under the tree, and it has your name on it. Inside the box you find a dead possum. As someone who's actually read the book, that's what this film felt like for me.

The rituals have to do with how one uses them. For example, you're supposed to bathe *before* you actually get into the hot springs to prevent from contaminating the water. As far as "mixed" baths and "mixed" hot springs go, they're rare, and the ones that *aren't* intended for families to bathe together in are generally going to be off-limits to foreigners.

One story that's commonly told is about how the LDS faith managed to get a temple - not just a chapel, but a temple - behind the Iron Curtain. When the decision was made that the members behind the Iron Curtain needed a temple of their own, the church selected a spot in East Germany. The local and regional leadership of the church went in through the front door, made it clear to the local Communist authorities what was going on, worked with them closely during the construction process, and continued to work with them through the open house phase and into the completion phase. Because the church was up front about everything and did everything within the guidelines, the local authorities were more than eager to rubber-stamp anything the church requested of them, especially after realizing how respectful and dignified even non-Mormons were during the open house... such that the authorities refused to believe that such a large number of people had gone through; it wasn't until they saw the ledger where people had signed in that they'd realized how many people had been there, as the authorities didn't think it possible to have such a huge gathering of persons without conflict. This story is frequently brought up as a tale of what can happen when the church successfully works within the law to go about its mission.

"Death Wish" (2018) If you can get past the blood and gore, it's worth it for the philosophical points raised.

If the OP really wants to know more, I'd recommend: https://www.amazon.com/Mormon-Conflict-1850-1859-Norman-Furniss/dp/0300113072

When Brigham Young was notified that there were simmering tensions in Iron County, he actually ordered the militia to *stand down*. He figured that the Paiutes would do as they pleased, but wanted the militia to stay out of whatever was going on. However, his written orders arrived too late to be of any use. So anyone who says that Young ordered the incident is playing an angle.

Here's a version that isn't behind a paywall: http://time.com/5171239/woman-assumes-norwegian-flag-is-confederate/