PHIL ON FILM: Movies Leaving Netflix in May 2021

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PHIL ON FILM: "Thunder Force"

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Book Report: "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

 

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Douglas Adams' trailblazing, free-wheeling, eminently quotable novel is a fun, exuberant experience that ends way too quickly. The sense of playfulness, the sharpness of the wit and satire on display, and the endless trove of imagination no doubt inspired the likes of "Futurama" and "Rick & Morty."

Sci-fi absurdity elevated beyond its extreme is the order of the day, and Adams hits his stride in the opening, never looking back and only reaching farther and getting stranger as he goes.

While his characters leave little to connect to, and his plotting is a snake eating its own tail, then puking it up and swallowing it once again, all the perceived shortcomings are mitigated by the wild, untamed nature of the storytelling. At times the story plays as though concocted by Mad Lib. There is always a sense of Adams making it seem like he's getting away with something that he shouldn't bem and you're along for the ride.

He gives you many fish for which to be thankful, and proves beyond any reasonable doubt that the answer is indeed 42.

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PHIL ON FILM: 5 Shows to Binge in April 2021

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PHIL ON FILM: "Godzilla vs. Kong" Review

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BOOK REPORT: "The Room Where it Happened: A White House Memoir"

 

The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir by John R. Bolton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a juicy, old-fashioned revenge-fueled tell-all that provides an unsettling -- if unsuprising -- peek inside the inner workings of the Trump presidency.

Bolton, a diehard GOP foot soldier who was brought into the Trump fold in order to provide experience and perspective in matters of global affairs, found himself hoofing it on a treadmill to nowhere. His exasperation is amusing, and bravery commendable.

The author's insights into Trump's scattershot approach to domestic and international crises are sharp and poignant. What emerges is a picture of a man in over his head. There was little effort to portray Trump as a sympathetic figure, but -- as Bolton sees it -- it's easy to feel some sympathy for a man unequipped to deal with the role in which he was thrust.

While there are few bombshells or juicy revelations in "The Room Where it Happened," what emerges is a steady, enthralling instant history that reads like a novel. It's a page Bolton seems relieved to have turned.

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"Explosionade DX" Review

Suiting up inside giant, overpowered mech in "Explosionade DX," you unleash destruction upon your hapless foes. The action title grants you an exuberant feeling of vigorous angst as a renegade Lieutenant who finds himself as the realm's last defense against assaulting forces.

A revamped version of the Xbox Live Indie Games release, the new version feels and plays like a modern game rather than an Xbox 360-era relic.

Inspired by the likes of "Cybernator" and "Metal Warriors," the game is a whiz-bang energy.

The Mommy's Best Games dev team packs the 60 levels with increasingly frenetic thrills. To survive, you must juggle an array of attacks, defenses and evasive maneuvers. Revamped graphics, leaderboards and new enemies amp up the package.

The two-player, local co-op mode expands the fun considerably, allowing you and a pal to team up in your torrent of destruction.

Bubbling with the exuberant passion of a project dreamed up in a garage, "Explosionade DX" bubbles with the excitement of an independent game while sparkling with the polish granted by a heftier budget and technological advances. Time has been kind to the buried gem of the past.

When life gives you explosions, make "Explosionade."

Publisher provided review code.

"Taxi Chaos" Review

A takeoff on the 1999 arcade classic "Crazy Taxi," "Taxi Chaos" sets you loose among a chaotic New York cityscape, tasking you to spirit passengers from one places to the next.

Your ride is equipped with nitro boosts and jump capability, making each fare a real-time strategy puzzle to navigate traffic, exploit shortcuts and shave seconds off your time to up your score.

The Lion Castle dev team figuratively floors it on the pick-up-and-play aspect of the concept, but stalls in neutral when it comes to the replayability side of the equation. There are nominal upgrades and advancements on deck, but most of it is just window dressing, with no tangible reason to surge ahead other than the exuberance of the gameplay, which wears thin after a bit.

A mission-based mode in the vein of "Stuntman," or a sizable multiplayer dimension would have done wonders to the base game, which -- as it stands -- is barely more than a casual touch-screen tapper.

"Taxi Chaos" is a lighthearted diversion that works as a palate cleanser between more serious enterprises. It's fun to take for a spin, though it falters over the long haul.

Publisher provided review code.