Batman Resurrection by John Jackson Miller (2024)

I thank the deals service BookBub telling me about this one, as it came up  on sale a couple of months ago.  The book takes place very soon after the end of the events of the first Tim Burton Batman movie (1989). If you are familiar with what DC has done with the rebrand of the property as “Batman ’89” (to distinguish from Adam West as “Batman ’66”) this book is adjacent but not related to the comics works published by DC using the Burtonverse.

Miller is a skilled tie-in author (I’ve enjoyed his Star Wars books) and I think he got the vibe of the characters and performances from the movies. This was not hard to read and better than many of the prose superhero novels I’ve consumed.

The best thing about the telling here is that Batman is still pretty new and he is still testing out some of his “wonderful toys”.  That’s not a side that we often see, and as a long time fan I enjoyed it immensely.  Miller is filling in the space between the  movies Batman and Batman Returns.

The book went on sale because he wrote another one, so I will be looking for that one to also go on sale once it’s been a while.  Worth picking up.

The Thursday Murder Club (2025, Netflix)

My wife and I recently watched this enjoyable cozy mystery set at a posh retirement community in the UK. (At least it looked posh to me!)

I thought it was wonderfully cast. Helen Mirren chews up any scene with just two actors in it. Pierce Brosnan isn’t 100% convincing as a labour organizer but close enough.  Celia Imrie has the skills the Murder Club needs and provides all the cozy with tantalizing cakes.  Ben Kingsley is fine, but out of all of the leads seems to have the least to do.

The biggest shock to me is the great 1970s music that is used in this movie and that it is entirely appropriate for these retirees.  The seventies were just twenty years ago, weren’t they?

Don’t think too hard about the twists and turns and how things turn out, just enjoy the ride on this one.  There’s a five-book series this is based on (so far,) and as long as the numbers are good I bet we see a sequel in short order.  Can’t wait to see the cakes!

Nowhere Boy (2009)

I happened onto this as a short clip on YouTube, then I found the full movie posted. (I think it’s also currently on Netflix.) I missed this one when it came out as I was in full work-family mode then.  As someone who’s read every major biography of John Lennon, I was curious to see how this one stood up.

Answer: it’s OK. I think my reaction was muted because I knew what was going to happen at just about every stage.  It’s good to see Mimi’s love for John come through. The brief period where John’s mother Julia re-enters his life is heartbreaking.

The best part of the movie is Julia showing John those first chords on the banjo and seeing the unfocused teen engaged and engrossed in something for the first time in his life.

All in all, if you haven’t seen this one yet, you’re not missing much.