Stephen Adams

The Back Cover

Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters. The mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.

Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it’s a good thing Brother Diaz has the devils on his side.

Rating: ★★★★ (4.0/5)

This review may contain spoilers.

I love The Bad Guys. It’s one of my favorite animated movies of all time. It’s like Oceans 11 made for kids but with enough adult stuff going on that grown-ups can enjoy it just as much. I wish I could be 10% as cool as Wolf in these movies and I might have a small crush on Diane Foxington, but that’s just a holdover from my Robin Hood days as a kid.

I was infected, but now I’m healed!

It was a long and annoying journey and I feel like I now have a better understanding of what some people go through when they have some kind of illness that they can’t figure out. I was definitely not as bad off as a lot of folks but I thought it would never end.

After finally getting in with a dermatologist, I was able to get a diagnosis of contact dermatitis derived eczema. The dude was absolutely certain that I got into something that set off an allergic reaction and turned into some gnarly eczema and what I needed was steroids. I told him that I’d been through a steroid treatment and he basically told me that the urgent care offices generally don’t know how to fight this the way they should. I told him they put me on steroids for 5 days and he shook his head and told me that was not nearly long enough. The guy was super sure of himself, but I think that might be what I needed anyway. His staff asked me a handful of questions about the history and he came in like a whirlwind and gave me the diagnosis. They see this kind of thing all the time so I shouldn’t be that surprised.

Rating: ★★★★★ (5.0/5)

James Bond brought back to his roots for a reboot of sorts, without truly rebooting anything. This is the first adventure Bond goes on in Ian Fleming’s novels and we get to see him get his 00 status and his license to kill, but we still get the Bond we know and love.

This is how an origin story is done.

We don’t wait two hours to see Bond do something “Bond-ish.” He’s who he is right out of the gate, and instantly recognizable, but we get those winks and nods to some of the staples along the way. We get his suit, his drink, his way of introducing himself, but none of that is done in a way that screams “look at what we’re doing!” It’s subtle and elegant and appropriate.

Rating: ★★★½ (3.5/5)

This movie was a lot of fun. I liked it as a kid and really dig watching it with my kid. It’s silly, but also a great time. Definitely worth a rewatch every now and then.

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For the last three weeks, I’ve been fighting this gnarly skin issue that I just can’t seem to get a handle on. It all started when I pulled up to my small group on a Wednesday a couple of weeks ago and noticed that the back of my hand was itching. I looked down and I had this tiny little blister on the back. Not a clue where it came from or what it was, but I figured I must have just been bit by something. I didn’t give it much though.

Rating: ★★★★ (4.0/5)

This review may contain spoilers.

A lot of folks think that Marvel has been on the struggle bus since Endgame came out and they’ve had a hard time finding their voice again without Iron Man and Captain America holding it down. I don’t completely disagree but I’ve been a little more gentle on them and honestly have thoroughly enjoyed most of the movies that other people have taken a crap on. Looking at you, Marvels.