Review – Wolf Man (2025)

If you typed “werewolf clichés” into a generative AI engine, you’d likely end up with the script for this clunker. Indeed, I’m starting to feel like I could type “Hoffman Lens 2020s movie review” into that same device and get “The cast was good, production values were high, but the story was somewhere between terrible and nonexistent.” See if desperate

Review – Clown in a Cornfield

This was about as good as any movie called “Clown in a Cornfield” was likely to be. The story was beyond stupid, but the acting and production values were fine. Mildly amusing

Book Review – The Icepick Surgeon

The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science by Sam Kean
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sam Kean does an excellent job of supplying the human perspective on the inhumane by recounting the circumstances surrounding several serious breaches of scientific ethics. The stories flow well, and the author carefully walks the line between making light of atrocity and subjecting his audience to a grim slog. I highly recommend this for anyone interested in examples of the difficulties that arise when trying to strike a balance between scientific curiosity, human ego and humane treatment of the people affected by experiments.

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Book Review – The Autistic's Guide to Self-Discovery

The Autistic's Guide to Self-Discovery: Flourishing as a Neurodivergent Adult by Sol Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sol Smith has clearly devoted a lot of thought and research to the question of unmasking as an autistic adult. And that may be the problem, as this book reads more like an info dump than an organized guide. Digressions are so frequent and extensive that they replace the chapters’ narratives. He also tends to rely on analogies and personal experiences, pushing both well beyond their natural limits. I’m guessing Smith does an excellent job of one-on-one coaching for autistic people. But when he has to communicate in more general terms, he frequently seems lost.

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Review – War of the Worlds (2020)

This time around the Martians (or whatever they are) attack Earth during the pandemic, and they’re after our data. I’d add “for reasons that aren’t exactly clear,” but then nothing in this whole movie makes much sense. Alien motives aren’t really the worst of it. If you’ve been pining away for a long Zoom call in which the hero spends more time fussing with his family than attending to his national security duties (which seem kinda important given the circumstances), then pine no longer. See if desperate

Review – The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout

This is basically Downwind with less time for Native Americans and way more information about The Conqueror. To be sure, nuclear test fallout remains an important topic. And The Conqueror was a creative failure that should never have been made. But honestly the latter does little more than add a dumb twist to the former. Mildly amusing

Review – The Compleat Al

I watched this so many times back in the 80s that I had a pretty good chunk of it memorized. So it was interesting to see which jokes were still funny and which ones didn’t age all that well, either because I matured away from them or circumstances changed their context (especially the Michael Jackson stuff). On the other hand, Weird Al is sufficiently charming that this mockumentary about his career survives a few rough patches. Mildly amusing