Entertainment

CHRIS HEWITT Star Tribune Screen stars and literary stars will share the shelf space at bookstores in the coming weeks. With new books from Ann Patchett, Jamel Brinkley and others, August began with a bang but this week is light on new titles.

‘JULES’ Rated PG-13 for strong language. What it’s about: Ben Kingsley plays a lonely older man who has an alien crash in his backyard.

From August 11 through 13, for a one weekend showing, “Forever Plaid” will grace the stage at the Ponca Playhouse. The Ponca Playhouse is a long and cherished member of the Ponca City area, soon entering their 65th season of performances. Before the start of their official 65th season though, they are holding their summer fundraising show, “Forever Plaid”.

The live action adaptation of Blue Beetle will be hitting theaters next week, and I thought this would be a good time to talk about the character and legacy superheroes in general. Now there have been three Blue Beetles in comic books since 1939, and published under the umbrella of several different comic book publishers, with DC Comics being the current owner of the comic.

NONFICTION: Poet Lynn Melnick finds inspiration and support in Dolly Parton’s life and words. “I’ve Had to Think Up a Way to Survive” by Lynn Melnick; Spiegel & Grau (269 pages, $18) ——— To the list of reasons we love Dolly Parton — her singing, her songwriting, her acting, her financial contribution to the COVID-19 vaccine, her wisecracks, her status as the country’s No.

It’s “Dracula on a Boat.” Not on a cruise ship or on a pontoon boat, both of which might yield more interesting results than “The Last Voyage of Demeter,” a stiff tale of the count’s journey by sea from Romania to the shores of England in the late 1800s. Here, the undead creature terrorizes the crew on a shipping vessel on the high seas, sucking their blood one by one as the ship clips along.

Comically Serious Back in May we talked about the recent death of Kamala Khan, aka Miss Marvel, and how her death was emblematic of a wider trend in comics to use death as a cynical means to boost sales with shock value. Of course, everyone knew she would return eventually.

Radioactive ooze generated the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and “Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse” has helped birth “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” the new animated feature about everyone’s favorite rambunctious, pizza-loving reptiles. Directors Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears showcase the turtles in a way we’ve never seen them before, utilizing a blend of 3D and 2D animation to create a unique, rough-hewn (on purpose) style that suggests children’s book illustrations blended with teenage sketchbooks.