Fairy Tale Spotlight: Master Levels for Doom II [Video Game Review]

"Master Levels for Doom II" is a series of 21 Doom II maps released commercially by id Software in 1995. It was originally released without any sort of map order. People had to load them up manually which kind of sucked. Through the recent Nightdive remaster of Doom and Doom II, we can actually play this game as its own episode.

The first half of this episode is very good. The level designs were very solid. The enemies come at you fiercely and in great numbers. That's just the sort of Doom experience I am looking for. The trouble began with most of the second half. The problem here is mainly the confusing map design. Everything looks really good, but to circumvent the map, you have to find a lot of secret paths. They broke a major rule in Doom map-making. The secret areas are not suppose to lead to crucial areas.

It got so bad that I would often spent up to an hour, searching around a map where all the enemies were already dead. It was boring. I don't play Doom to solve complicated puzzles. I play it to fight tons of enemies in various interesting environments!

That said, the maps themselves were still well-built. I actually do like solving puzzles, but I just don't play Doom for that sort of thing. This felt more like I was playing a game like "The Room." I spent so much time just dragging my face against every single wall, desperately hoping to find some hidden door. It sucked. I mean... it really sucked.

The last few missions were not as bad, but they still suffered from the puzzle bug. I did like that it all leads up to a fight with John Romero's severed head at the very end. This time you could actually see him, although he was still kind of far away. I kind of enjoyed that mission, despite how long it took me to figure it out.

There was one hidden mission. I could not find the secret entrance to it, so I had to load it up with only a pistol. Unfortunately, it was something called a "slaughter map," which basically means it's just absolutely packed full of enemies. In this case, there looked to be a room full of at least 30 Cyber Demons. I was actually able to finish it. The mission was designed in such a way that you could actually beat it and even kill everybody even if you go in with no weapons. I liked it!

Sorry to say this, but I am not going to recommend "Master Levels for Doom II," however I do recommend just poking around at the maps individually. They are not all bad, and I am actually happy that the maps were put together into an episodic format. There really isn't a downside to doing that, but the maps are still what they are.

This blog was written on August 19, 2024.

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This Is My 1000th Blog

I actually had no idea I had written this many blogs. 1000? What the heck?! But here I am. It's a nice whole number. I'm happy to finally get here, and I guess I should say a few things before I move on to 1001.

I started this blog Tuesday, June 18, 2013. It was a bunch of introductions and book promotions. I did not have any idea of where I was going with it, but at least I was writing something. It took a little time, but I soon began experimenting with the whole Spotlight thing. I actually got the idea from some Star Trek comic books I was reading back in the day. They had a special series of comics that would spotlight each alien race in the franchise (such as "Vulcan Spotlight"). I liked the term and how it could be used to focus on one particular thing.

I started off focusing on something I was and am still a fan of: Rodents. "Rodent Spotlight" was a way for me to give to the world a look into one aspect of my interest that I was really into. When I eventually ran out of that, I moved on to other Spotlights, ultimately landing on the final leg of the journey: Fairy Tale Spotlight. The latter probably will never end since it sort of encompasses everything in reality. I've turned it into the whole identity of my blog.

"Fairy Tale Spotlight" ultimately began as a way for me to explore fairy tale concepts, but the further I looked into it I soon realized that I could see fairy tales in just about every facet of reality. Everything had a little fantasy in it, even things that were real. Everything seemed to inspire one thing or another. Even the Bible, a book I consider to be a work of truth, seemed like a fairy tale to me. And that is why I have kept it for as long as I have.

I now use this blog to simply review the books I read, and some movies and video games too. I don't do book promotions anymore because the bulk of my writing is done under an alternate name. Yes, I am still writing. My closest friends knew this for a long time. I am publishing and doing okay with my stuff. Some people already found out about my other penname, and that's okay. But I just felt that I did not have enough literary freedom to write as T.K. Wade. Ann Rice would probably understand the problems I was having, if that makes any sense to you.

As far as the future is concerned, I am just going to continue writing reviews. I am backlogged pretty heavily as I read a lot and am finishing books all the time. I always look forward to working on a review, even if my intention is to bash it. I actually love smacking down on a bad book just as much as I love raving about a good one.

First and foremost, I firmly believe in the First Amendment and literary freedom in this country. A writer should never be cast down for what he writes about. Authors write about what they like and love, and it provides us with a release that we actually really need. We get inspired by the books we read, and then we write out our "corrections" by way of our own stories. It's always been this way. It is a privilege that should never be oppressed in any way. In fact, we should get more freedoms to write fiction in the manner we please. If you don't like it, don't read it. Don't tear people down. Always build them up as much as you can. If you can't do it, then mind your own business.

Even the books I have hated still deserve to exist, and the authors deserved to write them. All you get from me is a recommendation based on my own opinion. There's something out there for everybody at the end of the day.

I think that's all I wanted to say. I'm just going to keep doing what I am doing. I want to thank Shawn O'Toole, Christopher Buffaloe, and Donald White for replying to most of my blogs through the years. They are all close friends of mine, and I always looked forward to their replies.

That's it! Time to just keep going. Lots of books to read and reviews to write.

This blog was written on August 19, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the main premise of the story.]

"The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World" is a short science fiction story written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1968. This is more of a traditional science fiction with aliens and such, but the premise is still pretty surreal.

The idea here is that there is a seven-headed dragon with dogs heads that is completely insane. As a matter of fact, he is the very spirit of insanity. The aliens who capture him drain him of his insanity and somehow transmit his spirit across all time and all space. This is used to explain why some people in our world throughout history just did horrible things for seemingly no reason.

Where this explanation is a bit dry of substance, the presentation of this story is very ambient. I actually liked how everything was described. It is a very surreal story for something I consider fairly mundane. For that reason, I think it is okay to recommend this one. It has a visual appeal to it if anything. Just understand that there isn't much substance behind the point it's trying to make. Just a simple "what if."

This blog was written on August 15, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Paladin of the Lost Hour [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the premise of this story.]

"Paladin of the Lost Hour" is a short science fiction story by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1986. I can't help but feel like I've seen this one before. I did notice that it was adapted into a Twilight Zone episode, but I looked it up and don't really remember it. It might just be Deja Vu.

The story here is about an old man who is actually carrying around the universe's last hour in an old pocket watch. Basically, he is not allowed to use any of that time or else the world will end. And that is a really neat idea. Imagine if you were in charge of keeping the end of the world at bay.

I did spoil this story because the entire premise of it is revealed in the final moments, and I still wanted to write this review. I do like the idea of it, but one weird thing about it is just how secular it is. A pocket watch like this would easily fall under the realm of God, but it seems like it just sort of exists or is the result of the actions of ancient men. But what are you gonna do? It's modern science fiction.

Either way, this one was a fun read, and the way they presented the pocket watch was really surreal and interesting. The author definitely had some really fascinating visuals in his head when he wrote this one. I do recommend it.

This blog was written on August 15, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Naked Lunch [Movie Review]

Well, here I am again.

"Naked Lunch" is a movie released in 1991. It was written and directed by David Cronenberg. Yes, that David Cronenberg. The "Scanners" guy. Him. Somewhat more astounding is that this movie was not in any way made by David Lynch. How did that happen? They got a different David to make a Lynchian movie. It is, of course, based off the book of the same name, written by William S. Burroughs.

Anyone who reads the book will probably wonder how in the world are they going to interpret it into a movie. It seems impossible! And in many ways, it is impossible. I'm not joking. It really is. No one should make a movie for that book. It's a bad idea. Of course, they actually did make a movie, and the movie is about as close to the book as it can be. I'm actually surprised. They actually did it.

It would be impossible to do a movie word-for-word of the book, but they did their very best to get as much of the content into the film while trying so very hard to both capture the feel of the book while also being a movie. By the latter point, I mean that this really is a movie. It has actors, and there is a script, and they are reading their lines at the appointed places, and I really don't think there is any adlibbing going on. Don't quote me on that, but everything seems to be done very purposefully. But this is not a normal movie. This is a surreal drug-scape with a story that is still very interesting... as long as you just relax and pay close attention.

The main character is a man named William Lee, but he is very clearly William S. Burroughs. They made the author of the book the main character. This was a great idea since that is the impression I got from the book. Almost in every scene, William is on drugs and fully addicted to them. Like the book, the movie makes his altered perception of reality part of the story. It is extremely hard to figure out what is real and what isn't. The hallucinations are mixed in with the reality. It is one big trip from beginning to end.

And during this long drug trip, you have a very intricate spy vs. spy intrigue story that you have to circumvent. It's all very good, and I really did notice that a lot of it was directly taken from the book and implemented in a fascinating way into the film. Cronenberg did this flawlessly, and I loved it.

Even though it is hard to really figure anything in the book out, the book did have characters in it, and my favorite was always a certain Doctor Benway. He is in the movie, but he doesn't have a whole lot of airtime. Even so, he is very important to the plot and his few scenes are spectacular. If this story has a high priest character, it would be Benway.

I do recommend this movie. If you read the book, it's even better. If you haven't read the book, the movie may make you wonder how the book would actually go, and visa versa for reading the book first and then wondering about the movie. I really like both of them, and I am very pleased they went through the trouble to make this film interpretation.

One warning though! This movie will make you feel filthy. You will want to take a shower when you are done watching it. It is one of the most filthy films I have seen in a long time. I felt gross.

Also to David Lynch, I really disliked his movie "Inland Empire." I would say that it was similar in feel to "Naked Lunch," but it did not seem to have any good direction to it. "Naked Lunch" actually sells the "sureality mixed with actual plot" better in my opinion. I know that comparing those two movies might be kind of a stretch, but I just felt the need to mention that because of how they both made me feel when I watched them.

[And if you are seeing this David Lynch, I am actually a huge fan of yours and "Inland Empire" is literally the only movie you ever did that I did not like. Keep up the great work.]

This blog was written on August 14, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Naked Lunch [Book Review]

"Naked Lunch" is a novel (or rather antinovel) written by William S. Burroughs. It was published in 1959. It is a complete mess to read, but it's also not really that bad. I'll try and explain.

This is less of a story and more of a book written by a man absolutely blasted on opium. He's also a beatnik, so he was already kind of "out there" to begin with. There is no real story here. It's just a man who is writing what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants. If you go into it expecting a traditional structure, you will not find it. Go somewhere else.

But what is there is really very interesting, if you are willing to just relax a bit. There are thoughts and ideas sort of blasted at you from the author's pen. A lot of drug use. A lot of sex. A lot of extremely violent and gross stuff. Stuff I cannot even go into in this blog. This book has probably offended a lot of people, but at the same time, this book has been a soldier for free speech in both America and Europe. I guess that's the point. Maybe it's something else. I don't really know. The book reads like gibberish.

But that gibberish is often poetic and interesting in its presentation. Once you get past that you probably are not going to understand most anything you are reading, it becomes a lot easier to just... read it. And that's really all that's expected of you here. You are just supposed to read it and move on. Or don't read it. I don't think anyone will care if you do or don't. "Naked Lunch" just is what it is. It doesn't try to be anything it isn't. You are either going to like it or hate it.

Do I recommend it though? Well, see if you can't get ahold of one of the chapters. It doesn't matter which one. They can be read out of order. Read a few pages, and if you want more, go read the entire book. If not, move on--this book is not for you. It's really that simple, and I have nothing left to say on the matter.

This blog was written on August 14, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Project Eden [Video Game Review]

"Project Eden" is a video game developed by Core Design of "Tomb Raider" fame. It was released in 2001 on PC and PlayStation 2. I have actually attempted to play this game multiple times since it came out, but I only recently finished it. It's one of those games I would give up on over and over but still somehow obsess over it.

The game takes place in a world where civilization just kept building on top of itself, working its way up into the heavens. The world below would get forsaken and only the top level actually got policed. The people living in the many levels below were just people who wanted to get away from the laws of the top level. Now, you might see this as one of those stories where the oppressively rich people live on the top with the peasants down below, but no. It's nothing like that. Human civilization just moved upwards, and there doesn't seem to be anything bad about life there at all.

You play as four security forces that are trying to figure out what's going on in one of the facilities. Carter is the point man and the one with all your security clearance. Andre is a mechanic, and he can repair things. Minoko is a hacker girl. And then there is Amber who is a big strong battle robot. You have to go through the entire game playing all of these characters (one at a time) in order to solve each mission, which in a very big way is a puzzle unto itself.

There is combat too. As you go lower and lower into the forsaken cities down below, you will run into all sorts of enemies... and eventually some sort of mutants. You have to balance your puzzle solving with the combat. It isn't always an easy thing to do, but I did eventually get the hang of it. By this I mean that I just sent Amber ahead of everybody until I found something for the others to do. You don't have to play it this way, but it was the strategy that made me the most comfortable.

As you proceed down, down, deep into the most forsaken places of the past cities, the story that unfolds is quite interesting. I don't want to spoil it, but I really got into it. I wanted to know why all this was happening. It is one of the strangest stories I have ever encountered in video games. That said, the ending felt a bit rushed and... kind of silly. It wasn't awful. I got a chuckle out of it, but I think it could have been better.

I still really enjoyed the journey though. Everything about this game is interesting, and sometimes it's legitimately scary. Imagine coming out of an old run-down building, but instead of seeing sky, you just see darkness and other buildings going off as if into infinity above you. Exploring the lower levels in this game is so dark and atmospheric. And I actually do respect that they didn't make the topside to be all that corrupt. I felt like I was on a good team working for a respectable organization, just trying to solve a very complicated problem.

I do recommend "Project Eden," but I don't think it is for everybody. The reason I quit this game a few times I played it previously had to do with respawning enemies. This seems like something that might get on people's nerves. Just know that if you push forward past these moments, the enemies tend to stop respawning. It's annoying, but I think the experience of this game is worth the hassle. Give this one a try if you can find yourself a copy.

This blog was written on August 14, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: On the Downhill Side [Short Story Review]

"On the Downhill Side" is a short story written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1972. It is a ghost story.

But this isn't just any ghost story. It is a ghost story about ghosts... not people encountering ghosts. In fact, ghosts are the only characters in the story. There is also a unicorn. I'm not sure why... but there is a unicorn.

The story is about two ghosts, male and female, who are trying to mend mistakes of their past lives, which seem to be fairly ancient. They are meant for one another, but they can't seem to tie the knot. This is like a "last chance" scenario. They have to figure this out, or else someone needs to be sacrificed.

I won't spoil this one because the ending is actually kind of shocking and dramatic, but I will say that this one took me a while to even get into. It was written in such a sudden way... with there being a random unicorn in it and all... that I was already kind of bored of it by the time I got to the good parts. I basically finished it because I was going to do that anyhow.

The thing that makes this special is that it is a ghost-only story. That's cool. I haven't seen anything like that before. However I don't think I'll recommend it. He's written better stuff than this that were more fun to digest.

This blog was written on August 9, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Mefisto in Onyx [Novella Review]

"Mefisto in Onyx" is a science fiction novella written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1993. It is a good story but has some problems that I will try and cover in this review.

The story is about a black man who had the ability to jump into people's minds. He could instantly walk around in there and learn everything about them. He is asked by a friend to jump into the mind of a serial killer on death row to see if he is innocent or not. The reason he does this at all is because the girl he is doing it for is in love with the killer and thinks he may be falsely accused.

I don't want to spoil this one. If I go any further then the whole twist of it is revealed and that really ruins the story and makes it not worth the read. I do want to say that the narrative, which is in the first person, is very hard-edged and impactful. You really get to know this physic man for who he is, and the ultimate conclusion of this story is actually fairly fun and brilliant.

The problem with this story is a small one but it was enough to annoy me. There is one part where the main character dumps really hard on Christians. There was no real need for it. It did not help the story in any way. It was in very bad taste, and I really wish the author had not done it. This was neither a Christian or atheist story. It was a fantasy tale about ESP.

This sort of thing can make people dislike what would otherwise be a wonderful science fiction tale. And it is good. Genuinely good. Riveting even.

If you are capable of getting past the garbage attack on Christianity that happens in one paragraph then you'll enjoy yourself just fine. Otherwise, I should recommend some other story.

This blog was written on August 3, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: I Am Fish [Video Game Review]

"I Am Fish" is a video game developed by Bossa Studios. It was released in 2021 on a number of platforms. It is a physics-based action/puzzle game.

The ridiculous idea behind "I Am Fish" is very simple: four fish consume sentient bread which makes them sentient fish. They quickly become intelligent creatures that think and problem solve like human beings, but they are still fish. They also get separated, and the point of the game is to get all four fish back together in the ocean where they can be free.

As silly as the actual premise is, the story itself plays out something like a children's movie. Even the animation and the sets of this world look like it came from a Pixar or a DreamWorks movie. The fish cannot talk though, although they do squeak in a way that makes them sound like people.

Although the game does involve some puzzle solving sections, the bulk of the game has you trying to manipulate physics to your favor. Remember that you cannot last long outside of water, so in order to traverse your environment, you have to keep to areas where there is water. Sometimes this means rolling around in a fish bowl, a mason jar (I hated those), a mop bucket, and the occasional rolling trashcan. Even though the physics of this makes no sense, you can push these around from inside them. It's something you just have to accept and move on about.

There are four types of fish, and each of them has something that makes them special:

-The Goldfish does not have any powers, but he does have really shiny scales that act as a beacon for the other fish to eventually find him. Other than that, he's just a regular fish.

-The Flying Fish can glide through the air for a while before he dries out. He can actually cover a large distance while out of water, probably way more than the others. He is also the most difficult to control, in my opinion.

-The Puffer Fish can blow up like a balloon. If you do this while at the bottom of the water, he will fly up and out really quite high. He can also roll around on dry ground for a little bit and is very easy to control. I found him to be the easiest to play with.

-The Piranha is all about destruction and violence. He is way stronger than he should be. A normal mission with him is all about flooding homes by ripping into the water pipes. The idea is to fill the house full of water until he can escape through a window or something. His music was my favorite. It had a good beat and was full of mischief.

Once you get them all to the ocean, you have one final mission where you have to play all four of them at once. Along the way, there is this poor guy who keeps having a bad day, because, by random chance, he continuously has ban run-ins with each of these four fish. It's sort of an ongoing gag and very funny.

The game is extremely fun, but it is also very difficult. The maps are really not that big, but you may end up getting stuck in some parts trying to get your fish to jump just right or glide the way he's supposed to. It's one of those games where the premise is simple, but it is so hard to master. The ending, however, made the whole journey so worth it.

I absolutely recommend "I Am Fish." I'll go a step further. This game needs to be a movie. I really loved the premise and the whole adventure aspect of it. To see how far four sentient fish go to join together in the ocean made all the frustrating aspects of the game worth it. Just be prepared to fail a lot.

This blog was written on August 2, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Two Stories by Janet Kuypers [Short Story Reviews]

The two stories I am referring to in the title are "Christmas at the Old House" and "Driving to Champaign." They were both written by Janet Kuypers and published in 2012. By the way, Janet Kuypers is also the editor of "Down in the Dirt" magazine. These two stories came from issue 107 (June 2012). I did not really care for much in this issue at all, aside from a few exceptions and a story by my friend Donald C. White Jr.

The two final stories in the book were surprisingly off the dark themes of the magazine, and they were very enjoyable, I thought. Say what you will about Janet's choice in contributed works, she has one of the most enjoyable writing styles I have ever come across. I might even look up some more of her works in the future.

"Christmas at the Old House" is a very short little anecdotal story about being the youngest child at a family Christmas get-together. There's no real plot or intrigue to it. It was just a cute story about a little child not able to pronounce the the name of her new electronic toy properly. That was it... and I kinda loved it.

"Driving to Champaign" was a bit different and slightly more in line with the magazine's theme. It was the same person, although much older, sitting in the back of a car, while the driver was being a tad reckless. The author decides that she should write something down incase they end up dead. A lot of it is just rambling about musical choices and stuff, but then it slips into good life advice that made me smile.

The rambling nature of Janet Kuypers is relaxing and quaint. It made these stories very enjoyable, and I really do wish the best for her. Janet, if you are out there, I loved these two stories. Keep up the good work!

This blog was written on July 29, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Mario Polzetti [Short Story Review]

Oh, thank God. A story from "Down in the Dirt" magazine that's actually decent.

"Mario Polzetti" is a short detective story written by Rod Hamon. It was published in 2012.

It is a very quickly-paced detective story about a gangster boss named Mario Polzetti who allegedly shot his wife. The detective in charge of the case, Dabrowski, is trying to prove that he did it. Everything is boiler plate detective stereotypes here, but that isn't necessarily bad. Sometimes diving into stereotypical stuff can be charming and even relaxing.

The detective reminded me a little of Columbo. He was not perfect by any means. He even came across as nervous, biting his nails and all that. I liked him. Mario the boss was a little bit on the goofy side, but I still liked him. He was definitely not a good man.

I was rather surprised to see a detective story run so quickly from beginning to end. This is a story that will begin and end before you can even blink... so don't blink. It even had a solid conclusion which I won't be spoiling today.

I think this one is worth the read, and I recommend it. Good job! It's good to see that there are at least a few decent stories in this magazine. It's been a pain for me to read through. Sorry to all those stories I bashed, but I don't pull punches on this blog.

This blog was written on July 26, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The History Teacher [Short Story Review]

[I spoil this story. If you don't want to know the ending, don't read this.]

"The History Teacher" is a short story written by John Ragusa. It was published in 2012. It's another story I found in the "Down in the Dirt" magazine. I was not actually going to review it originally, but there are some parallels to the story "Lady Killer" by Donald C. White Jr. Oh, and I don't like this one. I'm writing this to kind of show how similar ideas aren't always accepted equally.

The story is written in the first person by a history teacher. For two solid pages, he explains how much he loves American history and how he is so very good at teaching it. Seriously, that's two whole pages of self-aggrandizement. I was actually kind of curious where it was going. It was certainly very weird to have so much exposition about how good a person is at something.

The problem lies with the very last paragraph. The history teacher just suddenly drops that the reason he is so good at teaching history is because he is a vampire. So he is long lived and stuff. He's been there and all that. Sorry, but that's really lame. I know this author thought he had a good idea, and maybe it would have been a great story is better presented.

I can totally see how a history teacher who is a vampire would actually work as a story. That is an intriguing idea, but to just drop it at the end to wrap up the story... I just don't care. It's barely interesting. I'd much rather know more about him than to just leave it that way.

With "Lady Killer," the vampire twist had so much substance baked into it. Not only was the intended victim a vampire, she was a vampire that was hunting predators. In that case, the twist was shocking and desirable.

You shouldn't just write a whole story and then place a "Reason: vampire!" sticker right at the end of it. You gotta give me more, man! So for that reason, I just can't recommend this one. It was an eye-roller. Although I would suggest that the author re-write it to be longer and integrate the vampire aspect into it better. I think the concept is excellent. It just needs to be delivered in a more palatable way.

This blog was written on July 26, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Family Diary [Poem Review]

"Family Diary" is a poem written by Steven Pelcman. It was published in 2012. This is another thing I found in that "Down in the Dirt" magazine that I have not been enjoying. This, however, is one of the exceptions. I did like this one.

I don't normally like to review poetry. I usually don't have a reason to, as poetry tends to need to be read to get your own interpretation out of it. This poem was unusual because it was done as a diary. It told a story that isn't normally told in this kind of format.

It goes into the life of a farmer and father who works hard for a living. He reminded me of my granddad that I knew when I was a kid. He was sort of a quiet hard worker that was amusing to talk to from time to time. I guess that's why I related to it so quickly.

The poem's story does eventually get tragic, but it shows life's tragedies as things that can't always be avoided. Life also seems to go on, and we take the memories of the good and bad times with us. All true. This isn't what I had come to expect from stories in this magazine. Most of them just want to hammer you with tragedy and then leave you alone so you can properly hate life like the authors do.

This poem was written by a person who knew how to properly make peace with the hardships of life. I respect that, and I hope I will have the strength to do that when those things begin to happen to me. I do recommend this poem, although I'm not a fan of the magazine I found it in.

This blog was written on July 24, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Second Sight [Video Game Review]

"Second Sight" is a video game developed by Free Radical Design. It was released in 2005. I sometimes think of this game as TimeSplitters 3 and a Half. It was made by the same team with an extremely similar animation style, but the gameplay itself is completely different.

Gone is the off-beat humor of the TimeSplitters games. Suddenly, we are thrust into the gritty world of psychics and ESP. You play as John Vattic, a man who is waking up with no memory, although he does seem to have some psychic abilities. As he tries to escape the facility, the game will occasionally transition back to his past where he slowly learns what led him to that point. That's the basic structure of the game's presentation.

If you pay very close attention to the present day segments of the game, you will begin to realize that you are killing a lot of innocent people who are just at their daily jobs. They are mostly security guards who aren't actually working for some evil organization. It actually kinda hurts when you realize you're doing this, but the game does deal with this in a very cool way later on... something that I refuse to spoil.

Your powers as a powerful psychic are as follows:

-Telekinesis: The ability to lift objects and people up with your mind. You can also throw switches at a distance. Super useful.

-Healing: The ability to heal yourself and others.

-Charm: The ability to convince people that you are not there. It can also be used to calm hysterical people down.

-Psi Pulse: This is an attack. You toss a forceful energy pulse at someone, sending them flying into a wall with enough impact to damage or kill them. You can also send out a blast wave that will knock multiple people down, but it's less powerful.

-Projection: My favorite. You can run around outside your body. You can also use it to posses other people and temporarily take over their bodies. It is a good way to do reconnaissance without putting yourself in danger.

You have to utilize these powers as well as the weapons in your arsenal to deal with the threats this game sends your way. One thing I dislike was that if you switch to one of your powers, he automatically holsters his gun. It is an annoyance you just have to get used to.

The presentation of the game is quite good, but it does sometimes come across as a bit video gamey. There was one scene where you were walking with a squad into enemy territory. One of your sharpshooters gets hit by a bullet--blood and everything. I was like, "Oh, god! He's dead or wounded!" But the game just sort of ignores that he ever got hit from that point on, treating it like a loss of HP rather than a real wound in battle. In mid-gameplay that sort of thing is okay... but in a cutscene?!

The game definitely borrows a lot of inspiration from Metal Gear Solid 2. It even lets you switch to a first person perspective, letting you do some fine aiming with your gun or your powers. The first person gun stuff definitely reminds me of the look of the TimeSplitters games, but you are not allowed to move around while in this mode. It very much feels like they just took the TimeSplitters engine and made a Metal Gear Solid game with it.

To be absolutely fair, this game is a bit janky. Also for those of us who prefer an inverted Y control scheme, they totally dropped the ball. I had to create my own mod in order to get it to play comfortably for me. The story, however, is one of the best ever told. They dropped all the silliness of the TimeSplitters games and made a really interesting and intriguing story. I was totally sold and enjoyed it right up until its fantastic twist ending.

Sadly, "Second Sight" is the last good game by Free Radical Design. Their next game was called "Haze," and it was a load of crap. It also destroyed their whole group. I won't be reviewing that one. I do easily recommend "Second Sight" though. They set out to make a serious game, and they succeeded. It might not be a perfect game, but it's good enough to enjoy.

By the way, if you want to play this one, it is available on Steam. It is the only game by Free Radical Design that is still publicly available. For some reason, the TimeSplitters games are just gone. Can't find them anywhere. It's really too bad.

This blog was written on July 24, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Warm [Short Story Review]

"Warm" is a short story written by Bob Strothers. It was published in 2012. A lot of the recent stories I have been reading have been coming from a magazine called "Down in the Dirt."  I gotta say... I have not really been enjoying them. They are either too politicized or pointless with hardly much of ending. I'm not asking for every story to inspire me; but I do want to feel like I was not wasting my time by the end.

"Warm" is just such a story. It's about a boy and his mother who become suddenly homeless. A whole lot of bad things happen to them, one after the other. The mother is arrested, and the boy ends up lost and alone with no one to turn to. It honestly just keeps getting worse, and it does feel a bit contrived to pull at the heartstrings. I worried that the whole story was going to be like this.

The whole tale has a direction problem. It jumps to a complete different character right towards the end and just barely manages to deal with the problem the boy has by the end of it. I won't spoil it though, not that there was a lot to spoil. The ending did not really resolve much, and it left me with a lot of questions as to the fate of everyone.

I have read tragic stories before. It is a very hard genre to write in. You have to strike a balance between showing the tragedy while regulating the mood and interest of the reader as you go. There also needs to be a concrete ending. I'm serious. Especially in tragic stories, you have to end it. It is one of the greatest disservices you can do to your reader if you pull them through the mire and then give them nothing. This story does that, and I don't recommend it.

This blog was written on July 22, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Shatterday [Short Story Review]

"Shatterday" is a short story written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1980. Interestingly, it was featured as the story in the very first episode of The Twilight Zone's 1985 reunion show. I have not seen it though.

So back in the olden days, we did not all have cellphones. We had regular telephones, and you had to remember the numbers for everyone important in your life. You especially had to remember your own phone number as well, so you could tell people how to contact you. This is a problem that people just don't have anymore with the advent of mobile contact lists.

One of the things that would often happen to people was that you might accidently dial your own home number when you meant to dial the number for someone else. It happened to me all the time when I was growing up. In the case of "Shatterday," the main character makes this very common mistake. He calls his own house... but to his surprise... he actually picks up the phone on the other end.

Both versions of this man are surprised by this supernatural occurrence, but it soon leads to them both trying to take control of their one life. This is a very hard thing to do when you both understand each other. That's not all this story has to offer though. You see, the original man who accidently made that call is kind of a shitbag. I know that sounds mean, but that's also kind of the point. His doppelganger is actually trying to fix his life and make it better. Interestingly enough... it's kind of working for him.

The story is not so much about running into yourself as it is with running into a darker (or lighter) version of you. The part of you that you might have been if you had made different decisions in life. For that reason, the battle is actually a matter of good versus evil. Whoever loses will end up fading away into nothing.

This is a great crossroads story! I was really impressed with it. There is a lot to learn from it, and it might make you think what you might have been like if you were a on the opposing side of the moral spectrum. I recommend the story. I love fiction that makes you turn the view inward. Introspection can be a good thing sometimes.

This blog was written on July 22, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Lady Killer [Short Story Review]

[Although the author is still active, I still spoil the story since it's a bit old. Avoid if you intend to look this one up.]

"Lady Killer" is a short story written by Donald C. White Jr. It was published in 2012. I know the guy who wrote this. He is a regular commenter on this blog (and he'll probably be replying to this one as well). That said, I won't be sugar coating anything in this review. I owe him that much.

The title of this story is appropriate. It's about a guy who murders women. This is plain and simple, and it is entirely from his perspective. But this perspective is presented in an almost comical manner. It comes across as childish at times, but at least he is consistent. The writing is good enough, but I found it hard not to giggle at some of his dramatic reactions to things. Just imagine a male killer who overdramatizes absolutely everything.

This was almost a reason not to like the story, but don't worry. It gets good and makes up for all of it. The real highlight of the story [and this is the big spoiler] is when you find out about the woman he murders. Well, that is to say... he didn't actually murder her. She was already dead... and a vampire. But wait; there's more!

She's apparently a vampire with a conscience. She only wants to feed on bad people. She's a killer hunter. She wanted him to try and murder her so she would have a clear conscience when she feeds on and murders him back! That is a very satisfying ending, and I totally took it seriously. Good stuff!

I do recommend "Lady Killer," although I can see why some people might have trouble getting past the silly drama that it opens up with. Absolutely forgivable once you get to the end. It actually makes all the perceptible bad writing seem good once you get to the end. I've read a few stories that were like that. It's kind of a rarity these days. Give this one a read if you're curious.

This blog was written on July 18, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes [Short Story Review]

[I do not spoil the ending of the story.]

"Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" is a short story written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1967. This is a ghost story! I actually have not read hardly any ghost stories in my life. That is to say that I have read stories that have had ghosts in them, but they were not themed entirely around the ghost.

I'll just come out and say it. This is a story about a haunted slot machine at a casino. That's just what it is. And the man who plays it just keeps winning over and over again. That's the fantasy of it. Imagine if you had the angry ghost of a woman inside a slot machine who was messing with the gears so that it would always produce a jackpot. The better question would be: Should you actually be playing this particular machine?!

The ghost, I believe, was a woman named Maggie who was down on her luck. She plays the machine right as she dies. She then, of course, haunts the machine. I do want to say that the author wrote up one of the most compelling, striking, and fun descriptions of this woman before she dies. It packed a huge punch. I even laughed a bit at how almost jazzy the portrayal was. It had a beatnik feel to it, and I liked it.

The main character, a guy named Koster, ends up making a ton of money of this machine. Every time the bars would come up, there was a pair of pretty eyes in between them. Imagine that! It would be a very surreal thing to go through, and the author here paints the scene out so well.

I won't spoil the ending, but I just know that you are going to love it. It's good. It's scary. It's a great ending to a really well-written ghost story. I do recommend it, and I would also like to remark that this was a good story for how it was written, but not necessarily what it was written about. Harlan's fun presentation is why this short story is so good. Give it a try! You'll find it very hard to put down.

This blog was written on July 15, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Crossroads [Short Story Review]

[Minor spoilers. I give the gist of the ending as well.]

"Crossroads" is a short story written by Kerry Lown Whalen. It was published in 2012.

The story is about a guy involved in illegal drugs, trying to pull his life together for the sake of his girlfriend. He wants to make a change, but these things are hard to pull out of realistically.

Most of the stories in the collection I got this from are very dark and pointless. This story actually was about a guy sincerely trying to fix his life. He does actually do it as well, but it's how he does it that is what makes it so interesting.

Even so, this story does still feel like it comes from a place where the world just kind of sucks. Even if these characters do well for themselves, I still see them as terminally flawed. But at the very least, it looks like they are making an effort, and that is more than I can hope for most people I see in these stories.

I do recommend "Crossroads." It's a good title for this one as well. It makes me think about a number of crossroads I've had in my own life.

This blog was written on July 15, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: TimeSplitters: Future Perfect [Video Game Review]

"TimeSplitters: Future Perfect" is a video game developed by Free Radical Design. It was released in 2005. It is the third and final game in the "TimeSplitters" trilogy.

This game feels a lot more like a modern shooter. The first two games had a weird sort of wobbly fine aiming mechanic. The aiming thing was a leftover from the old "Goldeneye 007" and "Perfect Dark" days. The new aiming scheme was a sort of iron sight/zoom mechanic, which is more like what the newer games utilize. It was a welcome addition.

Another new aspect was the very linier story which flowed like most other games at the time. Instead of giving the player a map with a list of objectives, you are mostly always on a linier path, taking on enemies as you go. It works well enough, but it does distinguish it from the first to games quite a bit.

The story takes place right after the ending of "TimeSplitters 2," but you will very quickly realize a very notable change. Everything is comedy now. The first two games were a bit goofy and were filled with a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor, but they were never outright comedies. "TimeSplitters: Future Perfect" is an outright parody of itself, and it cracks wise near constantly.

Cortez is now back. He is still an action hero, but now he is also kind of a dork. They wrote him up to be kind of too old to make hip jokes. Every time he would say his wonderful line, "Time to split!" the other characters would act like he was some sort of idiot. The jokes are hit and miss. Sometimes they are crude just to be crude, and it doesn't always work.

Instead of quantum leaping into other people, Cortex now just partners up with some of the protagonists of the first two games. This is very cool and a heck of a good time. But the real treat and main gimmick of the game is when you partner up with yourself within a time loop. These somewhat awkward encounters have you meeting yourself in the past and having to play the scene out twice or more in order to fulfill the time loop properly. The implementation of this mechanic is a little bit janky. You'll quickly notice that your past or future self is not doing the same actions you took (or will take), but it is still amusing enough to enjoy it for its story aspect.

Without a doubt, this game is remarkably fun to play. The action is constant and the shooting is well implemented. There are now vehicles which are hit and miss. They also have this weird new feature where you can log onto people's computers and read their emails or access cameras and whatnot. Not bad!

This game also has arguably the best version of the map maker. You can make really complex missions that are more similar to that of the first two games in functionality. I still like messing around with it to this day.

All said, I do recommend "TimeSplitters: Future Perfect." It probably should be considered the best of the three, but I do kind of want to give them a slap on the wrist for all the unnecessary humor and parody. I felt that the humor found in the second game was just the right amount. This game's story turned the whole thing into a joke. At the very least, the story does have a satisfying conclusion, and it is genuinely fun to play.

This blog was written on July 8, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Jeffty Is Five [Short Story Review]

"Jeffty Is Five" is a short story written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1977. This is one of his most compelling fantasy stories. It very much feels like a Twilight Zone episode.

It is about a five-year-old boy named Jeffty who never actually ages up. For something like 20 years, he remains five while his best friend, a man named Donny, keeps aging. Now, that alone makes for a great story, but it gets more complicated.

Jeffty isn't just five. He feels like he is five as well. All that childhood innocence is present. He only seems a little aware of the modern world around him, but he himself acts and even seems to perfectly portray a kid that is five-years-old from a bygone age.

The supernatural aspect of this story is also fascinating. Not only is Jeffty still five almost twenty years later, he also has the ability to listen to the old forgotten radio shows of the past. But he isn't listening to reruns. He is hearing new episodes of the shows as if they never got canceled. This was probably the most shocking thing for me. It was like Jeffty was locked in a version of the past that never actually went away.

Remember a show you loved when you were a child. Imagine if it was still running to this very day with the exact same cast. Imagine if the original Star Trek show was still going, and William Shatner had not aged a day, but they were still making new episodes... and you'd only be able to see it if you were with this one kid that was the same age as he was when the show was young. That's what it was like to be around Jeffty.

Now, I don't want to spoil the ending of this story, but it hits extremely hard. It packs more of a punch than I was ready for, but I really did love this story regardless. I absolutely recommend it and rather wish it had been made into a movie. It's that good.

This blog was written on July 8, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Last Time I Proposed [Short Story Review]

[I don't really spoil anything about this story.]

"The Last Time I Proposed" is a short story written by Liam Spencer. It was published in 2012. I am not sure how to classify this one. I haven't really read anything like it.

I don't always feel like I belong in this world. I have a lot of beliefs and morals that don't line up with the common practices of Planet Earth. Because of this, I am often depressed, especially if I think about it too much. This story makes those feelings come alive in a bad way.

The whole story is just miserable humans doing miserable human things. There's no real love or anything in it. It's just terrible people playing the same games everyone always plays with each other. It's about a man trying to chose the woman he wants to marry, but it's more about him than her. And she isn't all that great either. Both are divorcees. Both have to have sex in order to figure each other out. It feels more like he is shopping for a wife than really trying to form a real relationship.

The problem is that everything in this story just feels like it's normal. Nothing feels taboo or wrong. It's meant for people who just know about this game and play it. Honestly, I just can't get into it. It just makes me feel like I was born into the wrong world.

The story never really grabbed me. The ending especially lost me. It doesn't even feel like it had an ending. The author just sort of stopped writing it, making it feel like the characters were lost in a limbo of sorts. I also noticed that towards the very end of the story, typos began to happen frequently. Maybe the author was just sort of giving up himself. Who knows? I can't really speak for him.

Either way, I don't really recommend this one. I just don't get it, and I certainly don't want it.

This blog was written on July 8, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: TimeSplitters 2 [Video Game Review]

"TimeSplitters 2" is a video game developed by Free Radical Design. It was released in 2002, two years after the original.

Here we have the first time the series really explains itself. There is an alien race called the TimeSplitters who are causing havoc throughout human history. Enter Cortez for the very first time. He invades the TimeSplitters space station and travels through time to find the stolen time crystals.

Weirdly, when Cortez goes through the portal, he takes on the form of different people. At first, it looks like it might be some sort of disguise, but in later levels, it seems like it is more of a quantum leap sort of thing. The cutscenes before each level go into the story of each character he ends up taking over, so that is the only conclusion I can come up with to explain it.

This game is at least 150% more developed than the original. It has plot, cutscenes, an interesting series of stories, and an absolutely exciting conclusion. No kidding on that last point. Cortez is a certified badass in this game. There's like nothing funny about him at all. The only weird thing is that his very last line is, "Time to get out of here." Yes, this was before he was turned into a funny character, using the line, "Time to split!" No, in fact, he is a very believable action movie star in this game of the Rambo variety.

Each mission has a rather large series of objectives you have to complete. It's usually straight forward, but there were a few times I missed something. (Like that damn communications dish on the very first level! Does that happen to anyone else?! Am I just stupid?!) This is much nicer than the first game which just had you do the same thing every time. In fact, the game's base design is actually a lot like "Goldeneye 007" and "Perfect Dark." This game seems like it is somewhere in between those two as far as content, but I am still very impressed.

The three difficulty settings for each mission are also a highlight for me. Now, I can't do Hard at all, but I do like to play on Easy first to get a feel for the mission, and then I'll switch to Normal. Normal usually adds more objectives and might even add new areas to the map. I really like that model. Like I said, Hard is just too much of a challenge for me, but Normal is right at the tippy top of my skill level, and I appreciate that.

The greatest thing about this game are the individual stories of each character that Cortez quantum leaps into. They really capture the feel of every timeline you find yourself in. I especially enjoyed the western mission. That was something that was missing in the first game. You also get to be a secret agent named Harry Tipper. He was in the first game too but cast as a sort of 70's cop. He is a lot better as a spy. If I recall, he is a 70's spy in this game and then you get to see the 60's version in the next, but I might be remembering it wrong.

All in all, "TimeSplitters 2" is still fun. It is still enjoyable, even after all these years. It even has a better map maker in it that you can play with. Really great stuff. I totally recommend it! I had a blast.

This blog was written on July 5, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Whimper of Whipped Dogs [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the main plot of the story, but nothing about the ending.]

"The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" is a short horror story written by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1973. It is entirely inspired by the famous murder of Kitty Genovese. Apparently she was killed while tons of people watched and ultimately did nothing about it.

This story is about a woman named Beth who sees the murder. She doesn't want to get involved, as horrible as it is to see.  It focuses on her for the rest of the story as things just seem to get worse and worse for her. It's almost as if God is angry at her for her inaction.

Oh, but it isn't so much God as it is some sort of god. Like... its a god of street justice or something. I found the writing of this to be a bit unclear. Honestly, I found the story to be a little too angry and depressing. I get that what happened to Kitty was bad, but this story sounds more like narrative revenge than anything else.

It's like the city itself is sort of treating Beth like shit because of what she didn't do on the night of the murder. There is a market for stories like this. It's usually about poetic justice, but I just felt that the presentation of it just fell a bit short because of the author's unceasing anger. I can still see how some people might like this one though.

I know this is strange but I'm still going to recommend it. It's one of those times I just feel like a story is good enough but not necessarily for me. It be like that sometimes.

This blog was written on July 3, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Tired of Running [Poem Review]

"Tired of Running" is a poem (I guess) written by Fritz Hamilton. It was published in 2012. This is going to be a short blog.

This poem, if you want to call it a poem, starts off with the author poetically going off about how difficult work is and how he is not paid enough and generally unappreciated for what he does. The hilarious thing is that, about half way through, it stops being a poem and ends up being a very angry rant that even outs the company's name that he is working for.

I actually began laughing at this. All poetry was thrown out the window, and he spent the rest of the page pumping out anger and hate for the people that had captured his ire. I don't think it was intended to be funny. It might have been. It's hard to say.

I actually work with someone who has a similar personality, but he doesn't write. All the rants come out verbally while he is working.

There is actually a chance that you could hate this poem. I can see how someone might read this and just get annoyed. However I did like it and I do recommend it. That's it.

This blog was written on July 3, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: TimeSplitters [Video Game Review]

"TimeSplitters" is a video game made by Free Radical Design back in 2000. It only ever came out on PlayStation 2. It is a first person shooter made by roughly the same people who made "Goldeneye 007" and "Perfect Dark" for the Nintendo 64.

The story of "TimeSplitters" is almost nonexistent. Each mission takes place in a different time period between 1935 and 2035. You play as random people who are going into dangerous situations in an attempt to get something that is important to them. In every case, you have to gun down anyone and everyone you see. There are no allies here. Whenever you pick up the item you need, the mission will suddenly be invaded by an alien race called the TimeSplitters. For some unknown reason, they are trying to disrupt what you are trying to do. Unfortunately, that reason is never explained. Not even a little. Not even a teeny tiny bit. This game has exactly zero cutscenes.

Every mission is just pick up an item and take it to an exit point. It never changes or gets more complex. Just get in, get the thing, and get out. Nobody really cares about the TimeSplitter aliens. It's just another obstacle to overcome in each mission. This is actually an interesting way to introduce an antagonist in a game. They did it in such a way as you would be curious but get nothing for that curiosity, and they must have figured people would come back for more because a sequel was literally promised in the credits.

This game was made in sixteen months and made with a very small budget. The idea was just to make it fun and get it out. It doesn't even look very good, but it plays smoothly. That was the point. Give them a bare bones story, but make it fun to play. They even made a map maker, where you could build and program your own levels, although this is very rudimentary in the first game.

Happily, this game was a success, and it led to what would become the "TimeSplitters" trilogy. It is a series that got better with every new entry. Even though the first game isn't much to look at, it set the tone for a good idea that would be built upon over the next years.

All said, however, this is not a very fun game to play. It is greatly obsoleted by the next two games in the series. I don't really recommend it for that reason. I still respect it for what it accomplished and the legacy it made for later years.

This blog was written on July 3, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Wizard of Oz: The Screenplay [Book Review]

"The Wizard of Oz: The Screenplay" is a book that came out in 1989. It is the word-for-word screenplay for the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz." The screenplay itself was credited to Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf. The book also included a very informative introduction by Michael Patrick Hearn. He also edited the book.

Just as an aside, this blog is a review of the book, not the movie. That is to say that I am not reviewing the movie or even really the script for that matter. I am doing this to help you decide if this book is worth the purchase. After all, if you've seen the movie, the script is really just the same content.

Firstly, the introduction by Michael Hearn was excellent. It was a comprehensive look at how the movie became what it was. It showed that it was a total mess from inception and right up to the beginning of filming. If you could only see what it looked like when the first script was written, you would not have even recognized it. It probably wouldn't have been a classic either.

Interestingly enough, Hearn is actually a well-known L. Frank Baum historian. He was the perfect person to task with this introduction. It was very easy to read, and I came out of it knowing far more about the movie's production than I had heard previously through rumor. It is a very interesting journey and well-worth the effort to read it before you get to the script.

The script itself is just like the movie, and it was intended to be that way. In fact, I am certain that it was prepared for this very sort of exhibition. The original script was probably a lot more bloated with cut content. What is nice about this book is that the editor flags you when you get to an alternate scene. It is either laid out at the bottom or placed in the appendix. This is where the book shines.

I actually began looking forward to these alternate or cut scenes. There were even entire cut musical numbers such as "The Jitterbug" which didn't make it into the film. You will finally get a chance to see how they would have played out with this book.

One cut scene that I found rather surprising was the "Rainbow Bridge" scene, where the witch attempts to trick Dorothy into crossing a rainbow bridge at her castle. She actually gets a Winky soldier to do it first, and he slips through it and falls to his death. But when Dorothy tries it, her ruby slippers begin to glow and saves her. Not a bad scene, but it was considered much too expensive to shoot.

A lot of the cut scenes were okay to let go, but there was one that I did feel bad about losing. It happens when the Wicked Witch leaves Dorothy in the tower with the hour glass. Dorothy does a very tearful and pitiful reprise of "Over the Rainbow." It's a very touching scene, and I have actually heard the recording of this. It's too bad that one got cut. It would have added to the movie quite a bit, without taking up too much time.

It wasn't really necessary, but I did like one cut scene where they exposed the Wizard behind the curtain. He started producing a bunch of silly parlor tricks as he attempted to explain himself. It was kinda goofy, but I liked it. I guess it did sort of make him too much like Professor Marvel at the beginning, but I think it would have gotten a pass.

All in all, I do recommend "The Wizard of Oz: The Screenplay." Just make sure you get the 1989 version published by Delta. That's the one I reviewed. I can't speak for any other version. It's well worth it for anyone who enjoyed the original film.

This blog was written on July 2, 2024.

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