• I’ve enjoyed Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series and am just about done reading the latest installment Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone. I’m enjoying the novel: it has the series’ typically interesting characters, historically accurate themes, and the kind of humor that develops when characters have been together throughout many books. Even so, I’m a bit disappointed in this novel that’s set in North Carolina as the revolutionary war begins. Basically, I think the book has too much backstory almost as though we haven’t read the rest of the series and need to be brought up to date on what’s happened to everyone since the initial novel was published in  1991. The current novel is number nine out of a planned ten books. We need more action in this one.
• When I first heard about the “Barbie” movie, I assumed it was going to be all fluff like the OLD (1965) “Beach Blanket Bingo” and the 1989-2001 TV series “Baywatch.” What a surprise, “Barbie” is not only doing well at the box office but has gotten some good reviews such as this one on NPR: “‘Barbie’ review: Sometimes corporate propaganda can be fun as hell.” Here’s an excerpt: “Barbie isn’t just a movie that could never fully escape out from under the weight of its artistic compromises. It’s a hoot, a feast for the eyes and ears. Sarah Greenwood’s production design is sensorially astounding; Barbie Land is conceived as it’s appeared in kids’ imaginations for decades – both tangible (plastic shower, toaster, or car) and intangible (invisible water, toast, or motor). The makeup team confidently balances an essence of plasticity without drowning in it to the point of the uncanny. There are musical numbers and A+ cameos. (I’d love to get Lizzo to sing-narrate my life, too, please!)”
• I’ve recorded the 1971 movie “Klute,” a neo-noir thriller that I saw in a theater when it was released, and liked everything about it. I like noir a lot and neo-noir almost as much. I don’t know whether my wife will watch this one with me because she still hasn’t forgiven Fonda for her travels to Vietnam during the war. I haven’t either, but I see the movie as separate from its star’s Oscar-winning performance. According to Wikipedia, “Klute was widely praised by critics for its screenplay and Fonda’s performance, though some criticized Pakula’s unconventional direction. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Klute holds an approval rating of 93% based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The website’s critical consensus reads: ‘Donald Sutherland is coolly commanding and Jane Fonda a force of nature in Klute, a cuttingly intelligent thriller that generates its most agonizing tension from its stars’ repartee.’ On Metacritic, which assigns a rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating ‘universal acclaim.'”
• Are you planning to watch “Oppenheimer”? I’m thinking it’s one of those must-see films because it focuses on an important part of our history. Wikipedia writes that “The film was released on the same day as Barbie, a fantasy comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig based on Mattel‘s Barbie fashion dolls and media franchise, and distributed by Warner Bros. Due to the tonal and genre contrast between the two films, many social media users created memes about how the two films appealed to different audiences, and how they should be viewed as a double feature. The trend was dubbed “Barbenheimer“. In an interview with La Vanguardia, Cillian Murphy endorsed the phenomenon, saying “My advice would be for people to go see both, on the same day. If they are good films, then that’s cinema’s gain.” If I went to a theater to see “Barbie,” I’d have to wear my Batman costume to avoid attracting attention. As for “Oppenheimer,” I’ll probably watch it even though I think the bomb should not have been used against Japan in World War II.

—Malcolm