Yearly Archive:: 2021
Dec 30 2021
The Matrix Resurrections Is a Testament to the Power of Stories and the Necessity of Hope
It’s difficult to describe the premise of The Matrix Resurrections without any spoilers, because the premise itself is built on inherent mystery: How is this happening? Why is this happening? Aren’t Neo and Trinity dead? And if they aren’t, why are they in the Matrix without seeming to know they’re…
Dec 27 2021
The Live-Action Cowboy Bebop Is All Style, No Substance
What a fever dream. It’s 2021 and the live-action Cowboy Bebop series has finally arrived. Fans have anticipated this for a very long time. For better or for worse, it’s here. My expectations were low when this was first announced, and they remained so after the first trailer. Cowboy …
Dec 26 2021
This Week in Geek (12/27/21–1/2/22)
Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, December 27, to Sunday, January 2.
Virtual Events
SocietyX: Making a Home for Houseplants
What: Educational
When: Monday, December 27, at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Virtual event
Learn best…
Dec 23 2021
Sing 2 Is a Lot More of the Same
Illumination’s Sing (2016) was a jukebox musical that felt both bare-bones and overstuffed. It was bare in that it stripped the let’s-put-on-a-show musical formula down to its basic essentials. It was also overstuffed in that there were so many characters singing so many songs that there was hardly…
Dec 20 2021
Wish You Were Here Is a Heartbreaking Getaway
Jodi Picoult’s new novel, Wish You Were Here, opens on March 13, 2020—the day a state of emergency was declared and the realness of COVID-19 started to sink in for many of us. At the time, it was hard to gauge how long lockdown would last, and I admit I was naïve in thinking it wouldn’t last more…
Dec 19 2021
This Week in Geek (12/20/21–12/26/21)
Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, December 20, to Sunday, December 26.
Virtual Events
SocietyX: Making a Home for Houseplants
What: Educational
When: Monday, December 20, at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Virtual event
Learn best…
Dec 17 2021
No Way Home Delivers the Spider-Man Every Audience Deserves
Note: This review does not contain spoilers.
Spider-Man: No Way Home could easily fall into the trap that so many other nostalgia-leaning retreads have fallen into. It’s certainly the way the film has been marketed, generating hype for how much previous Spider-Man movie lore will be tapped. Thankfully,…
Dec 17 2021
Minnesota’s Nokomis Energy Hopes to Expand Community Solar across the State
According to a recent statement, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has set an ambitious new goal regarding expanding clean energy use across the country. Clean (renewable) energy includes energy sources that come from naturally occurring and constantly replenishing processes such as wind, solar,…
Dec 16 2021
West Side Story Melds the Best of Stage and Screen into Something Wonderful
West Side Story is a movie that isn’t afraid to feel like a stage show. With it being directed by Steven Spielberg, a prolific filmmaker who had never made a musical before, a prevailing concern about before its release was that it would shy away in embarrassment or snobbishness from the flash and sweep…
Dec 12 2021
This Week in Geek (12/13/21–12/19/21)
Welcome to This Week in Geek, your guide to events of interest to the Minnesota geek community for the week of Monday, December 13, to Sunday, December 19.
Virtual Events
SocietyX: Making a Home for Houseplants
What: Educational
When: Monday, December 13, at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Virtual event
Learn best…