Author of sci-fi/fantasy, horror and adventure/thriller fiction

THE NEXT CIVIL WAR by Stephen Marche

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In THE NEXT CIVIL WAR: DISPATCHES FROM THE AMERICAN FUTURE, Canadian novelist and essayist Stephen Marche examines America’s crumbling political foundations and imagines a series of scenarios that could spark a civil war. As with DON’T LOOK UP, many reviewers tut-tutted about its tone and nitpicked its plausibility. Personally, I thought it was frank, honest, and accurate in its analysis of why America appears caught in a fantasy and unable to solve its problems. It did miss one important element, however, in my view, which I’ll explain in a bit.

First, let me describe the book. Marche evaluates several fictional near-future scenarios that could start a civil war. He regards a civil war as likely occurring everywhere, a war largely fought between rural and urban, which I totally agree with and used in my novel OUR WAR. In THE NEXT CIVIL WAR, we have a standoff between the Army and a coalition of hard-right militias at a bridge, the assassination of an unpopular president, climate change producing mass migrations from coastal regions, a dirty bomb blowing up in Washington, DC, and outright secession and breakup of the union. Each scenario is loaded with background information for context.

This background info is the real education in the book, information I’d consider essential reading for Americans wondering why the country seemed stuck in a hostile malaise even before the pandemic made everything ten times worse. How elimination of earmarks (pork spending) eliminated the only basis of compromise in the two-party system, resulting in hyper partisanship. How the electoral college, the Senate, and gerrymandering warps democracy such that it can scarcely be called democracy (62% of senators represent 1/4 of the population, while 6 senators represent another 1/4, Democratic presidential candidates regularly win the popular vote but lose elections, etc.). How gridlock means America is becoming incapable of enacting major policies and confronting the greatest threats to its existence, which are income inequality and climate change, and how this fuels the rise of the imperial presidency, as the executive branch claims more and more powers simply to get something done. How Congress can’t even properly investigate an assault on itself by violent protesters seeking to overturn a democratic election result, with one of its major parties (the GOP, obviously) essentially having a political and a militant wing that are starting to work together. How social media manufactures and refines rage, helping to fuel a right wing terrorist movement. How hyper partisanship means everything becomes politicized along tribal lines, from Trump’s big lie about the election being stolen to whether people should take the basic self-preservation steps of wearing masks and getting vaccinated during a pandemic. The story of the woman literally drowning in her own COVID snot and fighting nurses trying to intubate her in the belief COVID is a government hoax, based on “doing her own research” on YouTube, is pretty much a defining image of these strange times we live in.

As for the scenarios that Marche presents as trigger points, they seem fair enough as major stresses on the system. What I think the book is missing is a major Constitutional issue that literally breaks the country. Marche logically concludes a match and kindling are what makes fire, but bringing the US to a literal state of civil war would require a healthy dose of gasoline, to extend the metaphor. Secession would do it, or an attempted or successful hard coup. In my novel OUR WAR, the civil war starts almost by accident, as far-right groups take over government buildings across the country as an armed protest over an impeached president that snowballs into something much bigger. Far more likely as a result of the depicted scenarios in Marche’s book would be civil strife, terrorism, government impotence and de-legitimization, and continuing decline. Civil war is very unlikely when it’s so much easier to simply take over the government through elections and rewriting election laws, and then stack the courts with friendly partisan hacks as we’re seeing with today’s Supreme Court.

In its conclusion, Marche nails the idea that America is itself an idea, a dream that creates a nation from what is really just another of history’s multi-ethnic empires. Political tribalism has destroyed this idea, or rather created parallel ideas, parallel Americas with different interpretations of government, history, and even basic reality. He wonders if the only solution is a divorce, where different regions of the country can be freed of each other to pursue their own dreams.

Overall, THE NEXT CIVIL WAR is a powerful if unhappy read. Even if you don’t agree the country is headed to civil war, the way Marche depicts the fault lines in American stability is compelling, provocative, and eye-opening.

WEREWOLVES WITHIN (2021)

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Based on the video game of the same name, WEREWOLVES WITHIN (2021) is a goofy, low-expectations horror comedy. It’s fun, without being particularly funny or frightful.

Forest ranger Finn arrives at his new post in the small town of Beaverton. At first, he meets mail carrier Cecily, who introduces him to the town’s wackier residents, which include an environmental scientist and a sinister corporate agent representing an energy company that wants to build a pipeline in the area, an issue that is dividing residents. When a local dog disappears in a severe snowstorm and power outage, a body is discovered, leading to townsfolk banding together at the local hotel. As the body count rises, they believe a werewolf is in their midst. The trick is finding out who it is before it’s too late.

It’s a fun premise with solid promise, and the attempt has plenty of heart with some decent comedic actors. Finn has an interesting character arc who starts off too nice only to learn how important that is. Cecily messes with the manic pixie girl trope. Otherwise, however, despite the actors pouring their comedic hearts into it, it’s not particularly funny, there isn’t much in the way of surprises, and it’s not scary at all, failing to make the beautiful connection that the kissing cousins of horror and comedy can create.

The result felt a bit paint by numbers for me, a movie that plays it safe, and I’m a little old for the trope of naive newbie walks into a place where everybody is performatively wacky. I did, however, find it fun, and as comedy is even more individual than taste in movies, you might find it hilarious. This movie scored pretty well with audiences and critics at Rotten Tomatoes, indicating others got more out of it than I did. Check it out if you’re looking for something super light and kinda fun.

THOR: RAGNAROK

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As I get older and more jaded, I am always on the lookout for something original and provocative, but I still find joy in a very simple story that is well told, which brings me to THOR: RAGNAROK. Like most other Marvel fare, it is fairly predictable and leans hard into the campy humor to defuse any drama, but it’s just good fun, the best kind of comfort food.

In this third film in the THOR franchise, Odin is missing from Asgard, which results in his firstborn, Hela, the goddess of death, returning to claim the throne. This unites Thor and Loki to fight her, but first they have to free themselves from a planet ruled by the Grandmaster, where they find the Hulk and the last of the Valkyries to enlist as allies. The story throws away or puts aside a lot of stuff in preceding movies, notably the Warriors Three and Thor’s relationship with Jane Foster, but I was fine with it.

As with other Marvel films, RAGNAROK boasts some stellar actors, notably Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, and Jeff Goldblum. Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston as always perfectly bring the iconic main characters alive, though this Thor is a little sillier than in previous films built around the character (as is The Hulk, honestly). There’s a pretty funny cameo with Matt Damon and Sam Neill. I’m usually not a fan of Tessa Thompson, but she’s great in this. Taika Waititi directs, keeping things buoyant and energetic with fairly quick pacing and some terrific action sequences, particularly when Thor gets his mojo going for some god-level violence.

And that’s it, that’s the review. A true popcorn flick.

UNDERWATER (2021)

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UNDERWATER (2021) is a decent popcorn flick that nonetheless drags, a problem that could have been solved with a traditional first act and a little more character agency. Let me explain.

Mechanical engineer Nora (Kristen Stewart) works on an underwater drilling rig at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. When an earthquake damages the facility, she collects other survivors and faces a long struggle to escape. As there are no escape pods left (plenty of the crew died and there still weren’t enough pods at the main base, so somebody needs to talk to management about the terrible safety features), they must walk underwater to another drill, which offers incredible dangers due to the heavy pressure on the ocean floor. And there are far more horrific dangers among the ruins, creatures stirred up and hungry in a story that was probably pitched as, THE ALIEN meets THE MIST and THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE.

There are some likeable elements here. The monsters that appear based on the Cthulhu mythos. The claustrophobic feeling of being trapped at the bottom of the sea. The likeable cast of actors including Vincent Cassel, Mamoudou Athie, John Gallagher Jr., and T.J. Miller. The overall competence and effect.

In my view, however, the film suffers from several flaws, ultimately making it kind of boring for me. First, there is no first act. We jump right into the crisis, so there’s no real character arc for anybody, I don’t have a feel for the work that goes on in the rig, and everybody feels like a placeholder: Noble Captain, Lovable Girl We Want to Live, Comic Relief Guy. I don’t think Stewart is a bad actress, but her style is a bit monotone, which doesn’t serve her otherwise unknowable character well. As a result, I didn’t really feel invested in anybody. Second, the physics of being that deep underwater aren’t well explained or respected; it would have been good to be told one or two simple rules, and then the film would strictly follow them as an obstacle. Finally, the scenes in the water are dark such that you have no real sense of place, and the characters have almost no agency to protect themselves, basically walking around until somebody sees something, they all stop and stare, and then one of them gets plucked for lunch. This worked for THE MIST because we saw everything clearly before the mist fell, and our imagination could fill everything in. Not so much here.

Overall, I found UNDERWATER compelling for its spectacle and basic curiosity how it would end, putting this film in the junk food category of just turn off your brain for a while, make some popcorn, and wile away a few hours.

SILENT SEA

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In SILENT SEA (Netflix), a team of Korean astronauts travel to an abandoned moon base to recover research materials that could save Earth from a growing, dire water shortage. The result is a pileup of typical thriller and survival horror tropes. The series is overall fun and has some good ideas, though it’s far more Hollywood than what I’ve grown to love about Korean series making.

It’s the future. Earth is in dire straits due to desertification and water shortages, resulting in conflict, die-off, and rationing. Song Ji-An (Bae Doo-Na, familiar for me from her roles in SENS8, CLOUD ATLAS, and KINGDOM), an astrobiologist, is recruited for a team led by Han Yun-Jae (Gong Yoo, THE SQUID GAME and TRAIN TO BUSAN) to go to the moon. Their mission? Penetrate an abandoned research base and recover materials from a project that may be able to solve the water crisis.

The set up is cool, it’s Korean dystopian sci-fi, some familiar solid actors, count me in. The only trick is immediately a bunch of thriller tropes are piled on. The ship fails, they don’t have enough air, the highly fit astronauts exhaust themselves over a reasonable hike in a fraction of Earth’s gravity, the base’s systems are pretty broken down. The crew yell at each other but otherwise often don’t communicate well, with Song Ji-An staring blankly when she should speak up or even move to save herself or others.

After catching so many terrific Korean series and films like THE DOOMSDAY BOOK, TRAIN TO BUSAN, SQUID GAME, HELLBOUND, SWEET HOME, FLU, DERANGED, THE WAILING, and so on, I just don’t think it lived up to the standard I’d grown to expect. God help us if Korean directors look at their Netflix success and start to think they need to tailor their stuff to the U.S. market. Hollywood needs strong alternatives, not imitators.

All that said, I liked it. The characters aren’t lovable, but they are likeable enough. The pacing is a bit off, but once things get into high gear, it really rolls. The monster element is creative, I loved that part. The base is a cool setting and there are some good ideas. Critics and audiences seem to agree that this is a good show, and I can’t argue with that. Overall, it’s a good popcorn watch, definitely watchable, even if for me it didn’t live up to other terrific Korean movies and series.

AD ASTRA (2019)

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Directed by James Gray, AD ASTRA (2019) is a visually interesting film aspiring to far more pathos than it earns. I liked it, though its blatant allusions to APOCALYPSE NOW and the discordance between the space journey and the simple message made it feel a little empty.

In the latest Twenty-first Century, the solar system is colonized up to Mars. Human installations are beginning to be struck by mysterious power surges that ultimately threaten civilization and possibly all human life. Major Roy McBride (Brad Pitt being Brad Pitt and as usual great to look at), son of astronaut H. Clifford McBride (the great Tommy Lee Jones), who is believed dead, is called into a meeting with space brass. They tell Roy that his father is alive and that his Lima Project–exploration past Neptune to search for extraterrestrial life–is the source of the power surges. His mission is to travel to Mars and try to reach his father, though he finds himself going much farther.

Similarly to APOCALYPSE NOW, the film appears based on Joseph Conrad’s HEART OF DARKNESS, though it bears far more similarities with the movie than the novel. If you know that classic war film, you’ll recognize many of its elements in AD ASTRA. The plot rolls out in a similarly episodic fashion, with Roy surviving violent encounters on the Moon, on the way to Mars, and on Mars itself. Along the way, he narrates an internal monologue about his relationship with his father and that he’s afraid of what he’ll find. His father is set up as a larger than life figure whose singled-minded pursuit of fulfilling his mission turned him utterly ruthless and possibly mad.

AD ASTRA has a nice literary feel to it, a simple message that there is much to discover among humanity right here at home, visually stunning landscapes, some terrific action sequences, and great casting. Overall, it has a really cool feel to it, a moody atmosphere. The problem is it simply doesn’t tie together and the parts don’t sum up to earn the gravitas claimed for the whole. Nothing about the violent episodes Roy survives changes or prepares him for finding his father. They serve no thematic purpose, no purpose at all, in fact, other than to produce action scenes and eat up runtime. The descent into the “heart of darkness” is supposed to be about gradually stripping away moral convention to discover the violent human animal, but this isn’t that story. Otherwise, the characters are mostly coldly detached, which creates an emotional distance with the viewer; that serves the theme, but without the plot and theme jiving, it only bogs the story down.

Overall? I liked AD ASTRA a lot. Good, though it could have been fantastic, an instant sci-fi classic, if it had the right story to justify its pretensions. Overall, AD ASTRA certainly reached for the stars. Though it failed in that for me, it settled for the moon.