A Case Of Conscience

tags: classics, Christian theory, morality tale, philosophy, sci-fi

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5

From GoodReads

Father Ruiz-Sanchez is a dedicated man--a priest who is also a scientist, and a scientist who is also a human being. He has found no insoluble conflicts in his beliefs or his ethics . . . until he is sent to Lithia.

There he comes upon a race of aliens who are admirable in every way except for their total reliance on cold reason; they are incapable of faith or belief.

Confronted with a profound scientific riddle and ethical quandary, Father Ruiz-Sanchez soon finds himself torn between the teachings of his faith, the teachings of his science, and the inner promptings of his humanity.

There is only one solution: He must accept an ancient and unforgivable heresy--and risk the futures of both worlds.

The 1959 Hugo winner was originally published in 1958. IMHO, it is an awesome mind bending sci fi mixed with Christian faith theory novel. I never expected to like it but I did. 

Highly recommended. 

The Eyes Have it

tags: humor, idioms, Philip K Dick, sci-fi, short story

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I started my 2025 reading with the shortest short story written by Philip K Dick, The Eyes Have It. He probably had fun writing in a few American idioms to his sci-fi stories. I like it.

Read it here

When The Stars Gossip

 

From AsianWiki 

Gong Ryong (Lee Min-Ho) is an obstetrician and he is the prospective son-in-law of the largest chaebol group MZ. He has a secret mission that he can't tell anyone about. For his secret mission, he pays large sum of money to travel to the space station as space tourist. At the space station, Eve Kim (Kong Hyo-Jin) is stationed there. She is an elite space scientist and is currently on her first space station mission as a commander. She is a perfectionist who strictly follows rules and doesn't tolerate a single mistake in an area where dangers lurk everywhere. Her crew members including fruit fly research scientist Kang Kang-Soo (Oh Jung-Se), who is the second son of a family that runs a global financial company.

The plot sounds interesting. I will watch anything with Lee Min-Ho. I also like Kong Hyo-Jin. 

Starts streaming January 4, 2025 on Netflix.

APT APT APT

Catchy and fun tune/video. I love it!

Maria

tags: Maria Callas, Netflix movie

⭐🥱

Don't bother. The movie is extremely boring. I must be crazy to even consider watching it because I don't care much for Angelina and Maria. They are both overrated performers. Maria Callas dubbed as the greatest diva ever is laughable, IMHO. I never owned a single song/aria nor watched any of her performances. Same with Angelina. I have seen just two of her movies, Hackers and Salt. 

Yeah, I was a bit nuts to watch the Netflix movie. 45 minutes in, I started looking at my cellphone and realized the movie is making me sleepy. I stopped and removed it from my list. 

Christmas Tree Cats

Cats and trees.. 😂

Who can relate? pic.twitter.com/JCQMMm25Q6

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) December 6, 2024

Mary

 

December 6, 2024 on Netflix

The Fiery Priest Season 2

Finally, the wait is over after 5 years! Kim Nam GiI, Honey Lee, and the gang are back. I miss the old villains but the new group of villains, led by Sung Joon as a drug lord in Busan, is as good if not better. 

From AsianWiki 

Kim Hae-Il (Kim Nam-Gil) is a hot-tempered Catholic priest with a burning sense of justice. He heads to Busan to pursue a drug case which originated in Gudam-district, Seoul. Helping him in his pursuit are Prosecutor Park Kyung-Sun (Lee Ha-Nee), Detective Gu Dae-Young (Kim Sung-Kyun) from Gudam Police Station, and Detective Gu Ja-Young (Bibi) from Busan.

Sung Joon

The Forest Of Lost Souls

tags: mystery, thriller

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From GoodReads 

A fearless woman, raised in the forest, fights against a group of powerful men in a novel about good versus evil, the enduring nature of myth, and the power of love by #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz.

Raised in the wilderness by her late great-uncle, Vida is a young woman with an almost preternatural affinity for nature, especially for the wolves that also call the forested mountains home. Formed by hard experience, by love and loss, and by the prophecies of a fortune teller, Vida just wants peace.

If only nearby Kettleton County didn’t cast such a dark shadow. It’s where Jose Nochelobo, the love of Vida’s life and a cherished local hero, died in a tragic accident. That’s the official story, but Vida has reasons to doubt it. The truth can’t be contained for long. Nor can the hungry men of power in Kettleton who want something too: that Vida, like Jose, disappear forever. One by one they come for her, prepared to do anything to see their plans through to their evil end. Vida is no less prepared for them. Vida, the forest, and its formidable wonders are waiting. She will not rest until goodness and order have been restored.

Dean Koontz's latest book is absolutely riveting. A fight between a young woman living alone far from the town and seriously evil men. She was orphaned at 5 years old and adopted by her great uncle who died of old age and she never left her forested 18 acre home.

The degenerate men who came for her with murder in their mind didn't know what was coming. The story unfolded slowly and the reader would feel scared for Vida but will find out how clever and prepared she was.  

A Hazard of Hearts

tags: Amazon streaming, gothic romance, rewinding the 80s

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

From IMDB

When compulsive gambler Sir Giles Staverley (Christopher Plummer) has lost his estate and all of his money playing dice, he realizes that he only has one thing left of value: his daughter Serena (Helena Bonham Carter). In a final game, he stakes his daughter's hand in marriage, convinced that this time he will not lose. Unfortunately, however, he does lose; to the evil Lord Harry Wrotham (Edward Fox). Unable to return home and tell his daughter that he has lost her in a game of dice, Sir Giles kills himself there and then.

Lord Justin Vulcan (Marcus Gilbert), who has witnessed the events, takes pity on Serena Staverley, although they have never met. He challenges Lord Harry Wrotham to a game of dice in which the winner takes Staverley Court and Miss Serena. Lord Justin Vulcan wins and is simply pleased that he has saved someone from the nasty Wrotham, he thinks no more about the event. One evening, however, Vulcan's friend Lord Peter Gillingham (Robert Addie) insists upon them going to Staverley Court to take a look at Vulcan's "prize". When arriving there, Vulcan finds Serena Staverley more beautiful than he ever imagined.

The gothic romance movie is based on a Barbara Cartland book. I've read a few of her books eons ago. They are all the same. You read one and you don't need to bother with the rest of her novels. They have the same stories with new names and titles of the lead characters. LOL.

I was not expecting much but I did enjoy it. It has the 80s campy vibes but with a British Lord and his household.  I couldn't believe how bad the movie is, yet I couldn't look away. I just had to finish it and liked it. Diana Rigg's acting as the evil mother is over the top, but I also liked it. hahaha. This movie with all its flaws is much better than the garbage Hollyweird is making these days. 

Recommended for fans of British period romance movies.