MY VERY FIRST FRIEND WAS A boy who lived in the apartment building where I was born. He and his family lived in the apartment below us. With both sets of parents being friends, we would get together often. He was one year older than me, but it did not make any difference to us. Our apartment building was our playground. Being an “L” shaped building with two separate entrances, our entrance was on the side street side of the building. On the main street side there was a family on the third floor who had a daughter that was our age; she would play with us occasionally. Our backyard being “L” shaped was the mirror image of the building, together they formed a perfect rectangle. We would make up a variety of games that used both sets of backstairs and porches. And with our backyard right off the alley, you could find us running from the backyard to the front of the building, to the other side of the building to its back porches. I especially liked hiding in the laundry rooms that were hidden behind the back stairs, four steps down. During the summer months, we would be together almost every day. It was not until I was seven years old that my parents told me my best friend and his family were moving far away to the northern suburbs. I was devastated. Who would be an astronaut with me while we explored the backyard and alley?      IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO get over the loss of my friend. Though our families tried to stay in touch, as school became the primary focus, it got harder to visit each other. Eventually, I became friends with a boy who had moved into our neighborhood over summer break from school. He was assigned to my classroom. During recess, I included him with my classmates in whatever game we were playing. Having similar interests and liking the same type of board games and baseball cards, we would get together after school. His family was nice, and his mother always had a snack for us. During summer, we signed up for the same day camp. At some point, we would have sleepovers at each other’s house. All through elementary school we were best friends until the year before graduation, when his parents decided to move to a different school district. I was sad but at least we were able to see each other periodically. However, by the time we entered high school, we started seeing each other less. There was a sense of sadness, but on the other hand, having best friends through school was the best experience. It is just harder and comes with a deeper loss when the two grow apart. I cannot imagine what the main character in this superhero, action adventure, dealt with in his situation.      BEING HUNTED BY THE AUTHORITIES AND alien beings, the only thing that mattered to Eddie Brock, played by Tom Hardy (The Bikeriders, The Revenant), was to keep himself and his symbiote friend alive. But would it be enough to save the world? With Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Old Guard, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind) as Strickland, Juno Temple (Killer Joe, Fargo-TV) as Dr. Teddy Paine, Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spider-Man franchise, House of the Dragon-TV) as Martin, and Stephen Graham (Boiling Point, Young Woman and the Sea) as Detective Mulligan; this science fiction sequel had a built in appeal due to Tom and his alien friend. I enjoyed their performances and humor; however, the script had a weak storyline along with a general blandness that turned me off from enjoying myself. The special effects were not perfect, and the mix of humor, sarcasm and danger never fully committed to themselves. The production just seemed tired to me. I do not imagine this character will be gone from future productions, but it does need a rest and reboot, which might have been the reason for the two extra scenes during the ending credits.

2 1/4 stars