Oh, yeah.

Here’s our roundup.

“The Fall of the House of Usher”: It’s risky to modernize or repurpose classic literary works and try to create something unique and visionary in the process. Even Oscar-winning filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón failed with a misguided “Great Expectations,” starring Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow.

But upscale horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan could write a textbook on how to do it right with his eight-part ode to legendary horror writer Edgar Allan Poe. This inspired “Usher” infuses Poe’s tales of terror with contemporary relevance and respects the source material.

Flanagan’s macabre update of Poe’s story of familial depravity and madness serves as a table setting for an “And Then There Were None” schematic in which the ones getting picked off are soulless members of a privileged, uber-wealthy family that has built its pillar of wealth by addicting Americans to painkillers.

Lording over this dynasty is a vile twosome with a rotten childhood to say the least: brother Roderick (the underrated Bruce Greenwood) and his conniving sister Madeline (the equally underrated Mary McDonnell).

Ostensibly, Roderick is the patriarch in charge but he has a hard time corralling his narcissistic adult children (inheritors), all of whom have kinky dark sides that lead them down the bloody road to a Poe-inspired fate. Flanagan wrote or co-wrote all but one episode, and the writing is as razor-blade sharp and bloody clever as with his signature works, Netflix’s “The Haunting of Hill House,” “Midnight Mass” and the underrated standalone film “Doctor Sleep.”

The creepy production values are top-notch and the scares are not only frightening but disturbing. (“Usher” is more gory and loads up on more sex than Flanagan’s past series). The cast is consistently strong and features Mark Hamill going gruff as the extra-busy Usher lawyer Arthur Pym, who attempts to mop up the family’s many messes. Another treat is seeing Flanagan regular Carla Gugino as a mysterious presence popping up throughout the lives of Roderick and Madeline. It all makes for ghoulish fun that’s well-suited for the upcoming Halloween season. Make no mistake, though, this isn’t just a bingeworthy streamer; “The Fall of the House of Usher” just so happens to be one of the best series Netflix has ever produced. Details: 4 stars out of 4; all episodes drop Oct. 13.

“Lessons in Chemistry”: Ask any book club member to choose one of their favorite novels from 2022 and chances are Bonnie Garmus’ beguiling novel featuring a quirky brainiac with one of the best names ever — Elizabeth Zott — will pop up on that list. While the misfortune was mine for not reading it beforehand, I will definitely do so after watching showrunner Lee Eisenberg’s moving eight-part adaptation for Apple TV+.

I can see why “Lessons in Chemistry” found a favored spot on bookshelves everywhere. But as fans know, divulging too much about what happens to Elizabeth (played to the eccentric hilt by Oscar winner Brie Larson) would be a recipe for hate mail. Suffice to say she stars as a brilliant chemist whose career is blotted by the patriarchy ruling the science world of the ‘50s. What can be also be said is that there is great chemistry between Larsen and Lewis Pullman as hot-shot chemist Calvin Evans who shares the same passion as she and is just as equally socially awkward. A turn of events upends their careers and leads the resilient Elizabeth on a path to a subversive cooking show. “Lessons in Chemistry” could have been tighter (trimmed to six episodes), and a subplot about Black neighbor Harriet (Aja Naomi King) fighting racial injustice could be more developed. Still, “Chemistry” comes up with a winning formula in the end. And one episode that gets told from the perspective of the family dog Six Thirty (voice of B.J. Novak) tears you up — particularly if you’re a pet owner. Details: 3 stars; two episodes drop Oct. 13, with a new episode dropping every Friday through Nov. 24.

“Foe”: What unfolded well on paper doesn’t fare so well on screen in Garth Davis’ misguided but very good-looking version of Iain Reid’s ambitious sci-fi-tinged psychological drama. Its central premise about a stranger (Aaron Pierre) making an extraordinary offer that calls into the question the relationship of an isolated couple (Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan) in a farmhouse and separates them for an extended period of time is indeed intriguing, but the unpredictable turns in the screenplay — written by Davis and Reid — wind up ringing false and unraveling into a pretentious, impenetrable mess. There are big themes explored here — including AI — but the should-be unsettling material gets way too cluttered and at times becomes laughable, disconnecting us from the plight of these two, who seem to use up a hell of a lot of water during a drought that’s killing off the planet. That is just one of the puzzling aspects of a production that unfortunately squanders the talents of Mescal and Ronan and its gorgeous production values. Just read the book. Details: 1½ stars; opens Oct. 13 in San Francisco theaters and Oct. 20 at the Piedmont Theatre in Oakland.

“Castlevania: Nocturne”: In eight briskly told animated episodes, showrunners Kevin Kolde and Clive Bradley relocate the popular vampire streaming series in the French Revolution with vampire hunter Richter Belmont (voiced by Edward Bluemel) taking on a nasty batch of aristocrats preying on poor people. The action does get bloody and features a batch of new and intriguing characters, including the gay Olrox (voice of Zahn McClarnon of “The Dark Winds” series), an Aztec bloodsucker responsible for the death of Richter’s mom. He too senses that something major and ominous is in the works, and doesn’t like it. My only beef about this intricately plotted season is that its eighth episode lacks a true ending, making us gnash our teeth for another season. Fortunately, we’ll get it since Netflix just announced “Nocturne” has been renewed. Details: 3 stars; available now on Netflix.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

More than 1,000 people from throughout Boston spent the anniversary of 9/11 helping others, and packed 330,000 healthy, non-perishable meals to be donated to The Greater Boston Food Bank for distribution to individuals and families at risk of hunger.

The Boston Meal Pack for 9/11 Day is being co-hosted jointly by AmeriCorps and the 9/11 nonprofit 9/11 Day, which was founded in 2002 by 9/11 leaders who led the efforts to establish September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance under federal law.

More than 53 companies participated in the Boston Meal Pack for 9/11 Day, one of 18 9/11 Day Meal Packs held nationwide in observance of 9/11 Day, the federally recognized September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.

As many as 20,000 volunteers participated in these Meal Packs nationwide, packing more than 6 million meals for 9/11 Day and as part of Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month.

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  Wildlife rehabilitation technician, Jennifer Martines checks on one of the flock of Canada Geese, that mistakenly landed in the sticky goo at La Brea Tar Pits, suffering serious injuries and deaths on July 31st. Of the 7 geese transported to the International Bird Rescue Center in San Pedro, 5 did not survive, one is still not stable and this goose passed the water repellent check up and was able to rejoin other birds in the outdoor water area on Tuesday, August 15, 2023. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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  One of the flock of Canada Geese, that mistakenly landed in the sticky goo at La Brea Tar Pits, suffering serious injuries and deaths on July 31st is now on the mend. Of the 7 geese transported to the International Bird Rescue Center in San Pedro, 5 did not survive, one is still not stable and this goose, on the right, passed the water repellent check up and was able to rejoin other birds in the outdoor water area on Tuesday, August 15, 2023. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

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  L-R Wildlife rehabilitation technicians, Jennifer Martines and Kadi Erickson check on one of the flock of Canada Geese, that mistakenly landed in the sticky goo at La Brea Tar Pits, suffering serious injuries and deaths on July 31st. Of the 7 geese transported to the International Bird Rescue Center in San Pedro, 5 did not survive, one is still not stable and this goose passed the water repellent check up and was able to rejoin other birds in the outdoor water area on Tuesday, August 15, 2023. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

In a birds-eye view, the Lake Pit at La Brea Tar Pits appears to be a refreshing body of water in the middle of the developed Los Angeles cityscape.

But it became a death trap for a flock of 15 Canada geese that landed in the sticky goo on July 31.

From above, “it looks like a pretty lake in the middle of a city,” said veterinarian Rebecca Duerr of the International Bird Rescue’s Los Angeles Wildlife Center, in San Pedro.

Listless, unable to stand and mostly immobilized by the heavy tar covering them, the prognosis was dire. Eight of them died quickly. Seven made it to the bird rescue center, but all but two of those also died in fairly short order.

But two survived and remained under care at the San Pedro facility as of Tuesday, Aug. 15. Caregivers said they hope the geese will recover enough to be released.

One of the birds, Duerr said, in a telephone interview, had an operation on Sunday but was stable.

The other one, she said, was well enough to join other birds at the center on Tuesday, she said.

“I have good hopes,” she said.

When the birds were initially rescued from the tar pit and brought in, she said, “they were stuck to themselves and to the boxes they were in.”

“It’s heartbreaking to see accidents like this occur,” JD Bergeron, CEO of Bird Rescue in Northern California, said in a written statement. “Birds in a changing world face dwindling natural habitat and lack of habitat is a big problem for the wild animals that call Los Angeles home.”

When the initial group of birds was bought in, bird center officials said, they were experiencing severe stress and had developed a condition called capture myopathy, where muscle damage results from extreme exertion and struggling. One bird had a broken leg from the experience.

Canada geese are found in California year-round and are a “natural resident” of the area, Duerr said, and have “learned to live in cities.”

Both of the surviving geese are still recovering from capture myopathy but are slowly regaining the strength to stand on their own. They also are recovering from burn wounds and feather loss. The bird requiring surgery had severe burns “to the bone” on its underside, Duerr said.

La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, 5801 Wilshire Blvd., is an iconic part of L.A. It is the only actively excavated Ice Age fossil site in an urban location, according to its website. For more than 50,000 years, the pits trapped Ice Age animals, plants and insects in its sticky asphalt, inadvertently preserving them for future generations to discover. More than 100 excavations have been made there since the early 1900s and the recovered fossils are housed in the adjacent museum.

The Lake Pit is located in front of the museum.

According to the description on La Brea Tar Pits website, it was “left over from asphalt mining operations in the late 1800s. Rain and groundwater has collected above the bubbling asphalt, creating a small lake. The lake’s bubbles, sheet and distinctive odor come from a deep underground oil field.”

The Lake Pit is fenced off to the public, but, Duerr said, it would be helpful if something could be in place to prevent birds from flying into it.

Amy Hood from La Brea Tar Pits, said in a written response that the incident was “an unfortunate and distressing” event.

“This particular situation is a rare occurrence,” she said, “but animals occasionally getting stuck in the tar is a process that has been happening here for over 60,000 years. Rescuing animals from the Lake Pit is difficult and dangerous and best left to those with specialized training.”

She said the museum contacted Los Angeles Animal Services and the department’s Specialized Mobile Animal Rescue Team responded.

“Bird Rescue consults with wildlife responsibility partners to deter wild birds from these types of hazards,” Bergeron said. “The best-case scenario is to prevent these injuries from happening. Until then, we rely on public support to pay for extensive medial care and costly treatments.”

The public can donate to the nonprofit center by visiting birdrescue.org/donate.

The wildfire that swept across Maui a week ago turned one of the nation’s most celebrated island vistas into an ashen moonscape and killed at least 99 people, a number that officials warn could rise by scores as the search continues.

The deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century devoured homes and businesses, blackened cars and left only ruins where thriving neighborhoods once stood. In some places, the flames advanced as fast as a car at highway speed — a mile a minute.

The most serious blaze swept into Lahaina on Aug. 8 and destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000. When the flames were out and the smoke cleared, all that remained was a grid of gray rubble wedged between the blue ocean and lush green slopes.

Now begins a long recovery as survivors mourn the dead, search teams look for more victims in the charred debris and families try to begin anew.

The cause of the wildfire is under investigation. Fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane, the flames raced through parched brush covering the island.

The fire was Hawaii’s deadliest natural disaster in decades, surpassing a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people. A tsunami in 1946 killed more than 150 on the Big Island.

Here’s our roundup.

“Heartstopper Season 2”: Even the most cynical amongst us probably couldn’t resist the charm of this Netflix series that depicts the romantic tale about two very unlike teen boys falling in love. Now the legions of “Hearstopper” fans can take heart, Season 2 has arrived and it’s just as good as the first season, as worrywart Charlie (Joe Locke) and jock Nick (Kit Connor) prepare to take their relationship to another level — announcing to all, including a handful of homophobes at school, that they are indeed a couple. But feeling comfortable and getting the timing right to do so proves challenging in Season 2. Just as Nick musters up the courage to declare that he is bisexual and in a relationship with Charlie, an obstacle gets put into the couple’s path.

Based on the graphic novel and webcomic by series creator Alice Oseman, this eight-episode series expands upon and creates more challenges for the British teens and their friends, with the bulk of it coming during a class trip – with two chaperones – to Paris where they meet (briefly) with Nick’s preoccupied father.

“Heartstopper” clicks because Locke and Connor click onscreen, and more than ever this time as the actors get a chance to deepen their acting range, as Charlie addresses his issues with anxiety and Nick wrangles with his desire to always be the strong one who does the right thing.

While Charlie and Nick’s story anchors “Heartsopper,” the series is just as engaging and enjoyable when it spends time hanging out with friends, particularly Tao (William Gao) and Elle (Yasmin Finney), the two friends who grow closer and closer.

“Heartstopper” is a gem, and remains perhaps the most uplifting, refreshingly optimistic and utterly charming series currently running on TV or streaming platforms. I’m already eager to see where Season 3 will take these likable characters. Details: 3½ stars out of 4; available Aug. 3 on Netflix.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”: True confession time, I don’t know a Donatello turtle from a Donnatella Versace gown. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this  animated reboot of the ‘80s-’90s phenom — a beloved cultural mainstay that has an ardent fan base to this day.

As directed and co-written by Jeff Rowe — who wrote and co-directed Netflix’s rather brilliant “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” — with co-writing assists from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and others, this funny, fast-paced adventure could have a punchier screenplay at times and even cut down on the vomit jokes. But it’s hard to resist  the endearing teen quartet of New York sewer-dwelling reptiles and their de facto mutant Rat dad. Really. The best elements of this nostalgic plunge arrive in flashback form as we delve into the origin story of the pizza-loving, martial arts team. It is there, as their quest to be — like so many of us — accepted by the “normal” humans who both mock and fear them, that the film wins you over.

The star-studded vocal cast (Jackie Chan, John Cena, Rose Byrne, Rogen and so on) makes it even more appealing. But it’s Ice Cube who saves the day as destructive-prone Big Apple mutant Superfly. His velvety vocal performance, along with the distinctive urban animation style, gives this one its pop, making it a rarity — a reboot that’s actually worth seeing. And stay through the mid-credits since there’s a scene that sets the stage for future mayhem. Details: 3 stars; in theaters now.

“Shortcomings”: Adrian Tomine’s acerbic, deservedly praised 2007 graphic novel gets the movie adaptation treatment more than 15 years after the mostly Berkeley-set story came out. That time gap unfortunately makes some of the material seem, well, rather dated.

Tomine wrote the screenplay with actor Randall Park directing. They’re a good team, but the film turns into a rather unengaging mumblecore-like character study wherein a jealous, unlikable movie theater manager and nascent filmmaker bungles his life and his relationship by secretly dating others, and then ambles over to New York to get his true love back. Comedian and “Joy Ride” scene-stealer Sherry Cola again commands attention as Ben’s (Justin H. Min) lesbian bestie. While it is a treat to see East Bay staples — the Homemade Cafe, Pegasus Books, BART and so on — on the screen, there’s no denying that Ben is a nails-on-the-chalkboard irritating protagonist (no fault of Min’s) who complains that no one else realizes his cinematic brilliance. Good grief! As was the case of another film version of an East Bay-based graphic novel — Daniel Clowes’ “Wilson” (starring Woody Harrelson and Laura Dern) — something essential gets lost in the translation to the screen. Read the book instead. Details: 2 stars; in theaters Aug. 4.

“Afire”: Christian Petzold continues to solidify his reputation as one of his generation’s most exciting and versatile filmmakers. This Eric Rohmer-inspired chamber piece places an insecure and jealous writer (the worst kind) along with his gregarious chum in a summer house near the Baltic sea. Author Leon (Thomas Schubert) is a nervous wreck about meeting up with his editor to discuss how to save his mediocre sophomore novel, the unwittingly titled “Club Sandwich.” Leon expects some R&R and perhaps a chance to some rewriting near the beach with his chum Felix (Langston Uibel), but instead he gets distracted by two other inhabitants in the house where he and Felix are staying – the beguiling and whip-smart Nadja (Paula Beer, a Petzold regular) and her hunky, quite amorous lover David (Enno Trebs). Meanwhile, a forest fire rages nearby. How do all these elements come together? In true Petzold style, they do, but you’ll have no idea how the drama will play it. “Afire” does stick to a Petzold tradition, leaving you with an ending you’ll want to untether and unpack afterwards. Just relax and fall under its sensual spell. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters Aug. 4.

“The Baker”: All the essential ingredients get tossed into the bloody batter of Jonathan Sobol’s formulaic yet quite capable action entry. A laconic Ron Perlman stars as a Florida baker with a nightmare past as well as an estranged “entrepreneur” son  Peter who gets into trouble in an airport parking lot and walks away carrying a bag of drugs. Hardly a candidate for dad of the year himself, Peter (Joel David Moore, in a convincing turn) saddles grumpy pops with his smart but silent 8-year-old daughter, Alfie (Emma Ho) while he tries to outsmart mobsters, including the main man played by Harvey Keitel. Things do get violent — as so happens in genre flicks like this — but the crisp screenplay, good acting and athletic direction let you forgive that none of this story is pippin’ hot fresh out of the oven. Sometimes you just want straightforward comfort food, and that’s what you’ll get along with a game Perlman. Details: 3 stars; in theaters now.

“River Wild”: It takes a whole lot of chutzpah to opt to “reimagine” a guilty-pleasure river-rafting thriller that starred the likes of multiple Oscar-winner Meryl Streep and the underappreciated Kevin Bacon. Undaunted director and co-writer Ben Ketai navigates those treacherous waters with this airtight survival thriller. Yes, the acting can’t approach the caliber of Curtis Hanson’s preposterous 1994 hit, but it’s impressive. Shot in Hungary, Slovakia and Bosnia, Ketai’s tense drama runs as swift as a Class V rapid, building upon and revealing the backgrounds and motivations and bonds of five rafters who embark on an adventure that turns dangerous and murderous. Whereas Hanson’s thriller was glossier and sillier, this “River Wild” churns with more realistic situations as it targets the survival genre. Adam Brody injects more nuance into the role of a rafting guide wanting to escape a mysterious past while the brother-sister relationship between Gray (Taran Killam) — who runs a rafting company — and Joey (Leighton Meester) grows more complicated as the past gets revealed. All of this makes “River Wild” a taut exercise with a few teeth-gnashing rafting sequences. Details: 3 stars; available to rent or buy on Vudu and Amazon Prime.

“Kokomo City”: Four transgender sex workers in New York and Georgia talk with great candor and insight about their profession, dreams and lives in D. Smith’s B&W eye opener of a documentary. Smith’s debut heralds a great career but sadly serves as the painful eulogy for one of its subjects — 35-year-old Koko Da Doll who was shot dead April 18 in Atlanta. Details: 3 stars; in theaters Aug. 4

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

Then along came the “Stephen Curry: Underrated” team of Oakland director/co-producer Peter Nicks and others associated with Proximity Media, including Oakland native and “Black Panther” filmmaker Ryan Coogler. Their proposal arrived at the perfect time and proved to be just what Curry wanted.

The phenomenal Golden State Warriors point guard and sensational golfer (check out his hole-in-one last weekend at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe) particularly liked the fact that Nicks sought to juxtapose his underdog 2006-2009 collegiate basketball career at Davidson College in North Carolina with the Warriors’ comeback chew-your-nails-to-itty-bits 2021-2022 season. Factor in the talent backing the documentary, recently released on Apple TV+, and one of the greatest basketball players of all time was all in.

“This one made the most sense because from a top level it was closing in on 15 years of our Elite Eight (appearance at the regional final round of the NCAA Division) we had at Davidson,” Curry said during a Zoom interview promoting the documentary, which debuted at January’s Sundance Film Festival, where Curry attended with Nicks, Coogler and others.

Other reasons that contributed to clinching the deal included a collaborative desire to impart positive messages in the documentary about achieving one’s goals, and about persevering and triumphing when seemingly everyone expects you to fail.

“It was the through line of me trying to complete my Bachelor’s degree since I had left early in my third year and fulfilling that promise to Coach (Bob) McKillop and my mom,” he adds. “It was also just a moment of reflection on all the things that I learned and the underrated mindset I had developed pre-Davidson, but that exposed itself though those three years. And some of the other themes and lessons that I took away from those formative years at Davidson. All that, you know, I think took the success that I’ve had in the league and gave it a home of why it mattered, why it would be impactful.”

While the 35-year-old father of three, whose family lives in Atherton, hopes “Underrated” inspires young athletes, he dually hopes it appeals to “anybody from any walk of life” who has felt undervalued and is able to “adopt that underrated mindset as a badge of honor.”

Davidson coach McKillop, now retired, was one such person who saw something special in Curry even though skeptics thought the player was too short and didn’t possess the right stuff to be a star. Curry played for three seasons at Davidson from 2006-2009 before leaving for the NBA in his senior year.

The moving bond between McKillop and Curry, and Davidson’s astonishing 2008 NCAA Tournament run, play commanding roles in Nicks’ feature. Both on and off the court, McKillop and Curry have high praise and respect for each other.

“Steph checked every box in the area of character, work ethic, toughness, and coachability,” McKillop said in an email. “His shooting, ball-handling skills, and basketball IQ were easily evident. His capacity to live in the moment because of his tough-minded emotional makeup and his selfless spirit heightened his ability to transcend time. He learned and consistently demonstrated the ability to be in the present moment while seeing one step ahead into the future, and did it all at the same time.”

Curry found McKillop to be a perceptive coach and mentor who saw his potential and challenged him in all the right ways.

“He did it with a perspective that I was good enough … (that) I didn’t need to change. I needed to continue to be myself. … From a leadership perspective, he’s like a master at connecting to the human being and not just the athlete.”

Curry also praises “Underrated” director Nicks — known for the acclaimed Oakland documentary trilogy “The Waiting Room,” “The Force” and “Homeroom” — and says the award-winning filmmaker did an unbelievable job, particularly when tagging along during the Warriors’ crazy 2021-22 season while allowing everyone to “exist in these spaces and still be present and be human in the process.”

But Nicks said he had doubts about making the documentary when the idea was floated his way.

“I almost didn’t do it,” he admits. His reticence was due to the flood of celebrity and music documentaries that were coming out at the time. And unlike his previous films, which take a cinema vérité look at governmental institutions, this one would focus on one person who would be partnering with him to tell the story. But as Nicks got to know Curry and his story he was won over and wanted to shape it partly as a coming-of-age story “that had not been told before.”

The documentary is coming out at a time when people are still talking about two recent remarkable sporting feats – Curry’s win and hole-in-one in the Tahoe tournament and tennis player Carlos Alcaraz’s stunning Wimbledon title victory at the age of 20.

Since Alcaraz is so young and Curry is so familiar with fame, does he have any wisdom to impart to the young Spanish player about dealing with sudden fame and public attention?

“Stay true to who you are and what got you there — first and foremost,” he said, adding it’s crucial to strike a balance between living in the public eye and living your real life, and being aware of “people taking bits and pieces of you away from the main thing.”

He finds that what he has learned “going through these last 14-plus years in the league is the behemoth of the platform as it grows. It can eat away at your joy for what you do and you can tell Alcaraz plays with joy. I was out there on the golf course playing with joy. I play with joy on the basketball court. I have been trying to be intentional, intentional about maintaining that because once that flame goes down then it’s hard to light back up and reclaim.”

There is little doubt, when you play back that video of Curry’s hole-in-one, that there’s a lot of joy going on — along with surprise. He admits he did have a “blackout moment and didn’t know what he was doing” after sinking that one in.

“Somebody asked me like, ‘What’s a better feeling, you hitting a game-winning three pointer or making a hole-in-one? I was like well the hole-in-one for sure because you don’t ever expect to make one. Let alone on TV. Let alone in a tournament like that. If I’m (taking) a game-winning three pointer, as soon as I shoot it, I’m like, that better go in.”

The extreme weather is not isolated to the U.S. Much of Europe has been afflicted by a heat wave named Cerberus, the multi-headed dog that guards the underworld of Greek myth. Spain, Switzerland, Lebanon, and Greece are also battling wildfires. India, Pakistan, and Japan have been hit by devastating floods and landslides, and people are being forced to ration water due to a drought in Costa Rica.

Contributing: Getty Images, Denver Post, Chicago Tribune

As I sat in the corner of the parquet, two cameras in my lap, cross-legged in front of the who’s who of Boston in the front rows, I had an amazing view of the Celtics do-or-die Game 5 juggernaut.

And the fans almost lifted the roof off the place.

Charlie Baker, sitting directly behind me with his wife, fist-bumped me as the three-pointers rained down. To my right was former Celtic great Paul Pierce laughing and enjoying the accolades from the fans around him as he siped a cocktail from a straw.

To my left is David Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports sitting stoically with his model-like girlfriend at his side.

I became well aware of the Heat’s confidence seeing them strut their stuff as they warmed up just before the game — but that bravado soon disintegrated.

Just before tipoff, Jimmy Buttler walked over to my corner in enemy territory to fist-bump a young woman sitting in one of the lavish floor seats. Glaring at the Celtics fans, he took to center court, grabbed the basketball from the referee, tested it by squeezing and bouncing it, then gave it back.

Then it happened. Seconds after tipoff the Celtics exploded! The passes were lightning-fast and bullseye accurate. Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown were diving for balls, ignoring the probable demise of their superhuman athletic bodies.

Jason Tatum was effortlessly hitting threes and Derrick White was not missing a shot. The crowd erupted! The deafening sound coming from the Garden felt as though the building was rocking as the Celtics continued to dominate the Heat by not only their offense, but their cutthroat, do-or-die defense. Baker and his wife were on their feet along with thousands of others screaming with pure joy as the Celtics went ahead 10 points then 20.

Seeing the Heat crumble right before my eyes as the hometeam clung to life is something you witness only once or twice a season.  After the game ended Charlie Baker gave me a big double high five and said, “See you back here (on Monday)!”

The Celtics beat the Heat 110-97 and head back to Miami for Game 6.

– Persian Proverb

Move over cherry, there’s a new berry in town.

Thousands of cherry lovers throughout the Bay Area make their way each spring to one of dozens of U-pick farms in Brentwood for the plump, juicy round fruits, but now – for the first time – there’s another option that is arguably just as sweet: the Himalayan purple mulberry, which looks a bit like an elongated blackberry with tiny clusters of fruit.

Not only is Habitera Farms the only one allowing visitors to partake in the picking of the tasty, dark-colored fleshy fruit — the season lasts about eight weeks — but it appears to be the only business selling mulberries on such a large scale commercially in the United States.

Habitera’s organic Very Mulberry business opened for its first U-pick season on May 13, and by all accounts, it has been a great success, according to Harvest Time spokeswoman Nancy Mai. Mai’s marketing company helped promote the unusual fruit and also promotes the other farms in the nonprofit farming organization.

“Opening weekend was phenomenal,” Mai said. “It was beyond the owners’ expectations.”

Farm founder Anil Godhwani of Fremont counted some 500 visitors the first day and another 700 on Mother’s Day, including a 100-year-old Chinese grandmother who recalled climbing mulberry trees in the 1930s and 1940s in China, where the fruit originated.

RELATED: Pick-your-own cherries season has arrived in the Bay Area; here’s where to go

Godhwani thinks the mulberries were a hit because many people from around the world are familiar with them from childhood.

“People have had mulberries, whether it’s in the United States from a tree in the backyard or a neighbor’s yard,” he said. “Be it Turkey, China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Europe or even South America.”

Godhwani said on the first weekend they met visitors who hailed from some 30 different countries all waxing nostalgic about the glorious mulberry and “how much they had missed it.”

Co-founder Smita Sadana encouraged Godhwani to follow his dream to reintroduce mulberries to the public. A financial investor in the farm, along with Godhwani’s brother, Gautam, who also is a co-founder, she said she understands why the mulberry is so popular.

“Mulberries, the way I look at it, are a very easy-to-love fruit,” she said. “It has a really nice taste, it has a very incredible texture and it has a consistent taste.”

A native of Punjab in Northern India, Sadana grew up eating mulberries or “shahtoot” as they are called in Hindi – the same variety at Habitera – plucked fresh from the tree. Godhwani, who grew up in Delhi, also recalled pilfering the tasty berries from his neighbor’s tree. And while there are many ways to eat them – in baked goods, smoothies, chutneys, jams and more – both of them recall simply enjoying them fresh.

“Every year when these mulberries would come, we would share it with friends … it is the most incredible fruit,” Sadana said. “We would stop eating all the other fruits just to accommodate the mulberries for the eight to 10 weeks they are here.”

Godhwani liked mulberries so much that 15 years ago he planted his first tree in the backyard of his Fremont home. He would later plant six more as well as three Himalayan white mulberry trees along with other fruit-bearing trees.

A lover of fresh fruits and vegetables, Godhwani often traveled to Brentwood farms on spring weekends, mainly for cherry and apricot picking, even sometimes renting 55-passenger buses to transport family and friends – just for fun.

“Brentwood was an area I was familiar with; I had gotten to know the farmers,” said Godhwani, who works as a serial entrepreneur.

The Fremont businessman said he was thinking about starting a farm and began researching options with Sadana and others in 2015. That took them to UC Davis, where they tasted some of the 100 varieties of mulberries that exist.

“We got a chance to taste a lot of mulberries and let me tell you, all mulberries are not alike, from cotton puffs – tastes like you’re eating a puff of cotton – all the way to Himalayan mulberry that tastes incredible,” Sadana said.

“So, we wanted to get a mulberry, which has nutritional benefits, but it also has a taste benefit,” she said.

A few years later, Godhwani learned that 84 acres “with really good soil” was up for sale in Brentwood in 2018. He was hooked but before he could plant anything, he had to choose the variety.

“This is the one we fell in love with,” Godhwani said of sweet purple mulberry. “Because it’s exquisite, its taste and flavor. It’s known as the Himalayan Mulberry.”

Also called the Pakistani mulberry – it appears on both sides of the border between India and Pakistan – the Himalayan proved to have a pleasing sweetness yet a hardier skin so it is easier to transport than some other varieties, the cofounders said.

As for the nutritional value, the mulberry is known for its high levels of iron and Vitamin C, and high concentrations of the antioxidant anthocyanin, thought to combat coronary heart diseases.

“It’s also full of resveratrol (antioxidant), like red grapes, but have way more resveratrol, which is great for anti-aging,” Sadana said.

Godhwani planted the first 10 acres of Himalayan mulberries in 2020, added 60 acres the next year and more in 2022 to fill out his 84-acre ranch, as well as six additional acres he leases nearby. The trees, which are largely drought-resistant, start producing small amounts in the second year but don’t become economically viable until year three, Sadana said.

The bulk of the trees were propagated from cuttings off the original mulberry tree in Godhwani’s backyard, and they “are doing fantastic,” he said.

“It takes about four or five years for the tree to be fully mature,” Sadana said. “When our trees are fully mature, we are probably looking at a million-plus pounds every season.”

With few farmers out there growing mulberries, most doing research and development — and none to the extent of Habitera — the Brentwood entrepreneurs had to get inventive with much of the operation, including deciding how to get the juicy fruits off the trees, which can grow more than 50 feet tall.

Their innovative techniques to harvest the berries include a pushcart they loosely modeled after the Rehri cart Indian street vendors push around. The farm’s carts are pushed close to the trees and one person gives the branches a shake with a pole, causing the ripe fruits to fall down into an attached netting.

“The beauty is that when you shake the tree during the two-month season and give it just the right amount of shaking, 90% of the mulberries that drop on the nets are ripe ones, which is wonderful,” Godhwani said, noting they are shaken manually every other day during harvest.

Last year, the farm also hired Luis De la Garza as general manager, a 10-year veteran of the berry industry. “He brought with him a wealth of knowledge not just about farming, but specifically about berries,” Sadana said.

In addition, they hired 10 high school students to serve as U-pick guides and assist visitors in finding ripe fruits.

“We’ve got lots and lots and lots of mulberries on those 60 acres,” Godhwani said. “So, when people came this past weekend, they absolutely loved it.”

In addition, their mulberries, including both purple and a limited number of white mulberries, are sold at area farmers markets and soon at online direct-to-customer sites, GoodEggs.com and SayWeee.com.

With​ the difficulties ​of ​shipping the delicate fruits long distances, for now Godhwani considers 99% of his market to be the greater San Francisco Bay Area, but he said he might consider going to other areas down the road.

“It’s early days for us right now because we want to learn more about how to grow mulberries commercially​ — successfully and profitably​ — but our longterm goal very much is to really be a catalyst to reintroduce mulberries to America,” he said.

Habitera Farms, at 501 Hoffman Lane, is open for U-pick on weekends, with the mulberry season usually lasting through late June. For more information, go to www.verymulberry.com.

“As priests we must cultivate a shepherd’s heart filled with compassion and empathy,” said Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the archbishop of the Archdiocese of Boston.

“People will be open to receive the message of the Gospel from priests if we can show them that we care about them. If we are priests of empathy and compassion like Jesus and the Good Samaritan, only then can we be effective messengers of the Good News of the Gospel.”

Those ordained on Saturday morning were:

Father Paul Born, 31, born in Boston and raised in Stoneham. He graduated from Boston College in 2013 with a degree in finance, according to the Archdiocese. He worked in New York City as a financial analyst at Barclays before entering St. John Seminary in the class of 2023. He served a diaconal assignment at St. Mary, Waltham.

Father Jose Ignacio Montero Burgos, 30, born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he attended schools, according to the Archdiocese. He is an alumnus of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Brookline. He has been serving his deacon assignment at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish, East Boston.

Father Rodrigo Martinez, 32, born in Metapan in Santa Ana, El Salvador, where he attended elementary school. He moved to Boston to attend Mildred Avenue Middle School in Mattapan, and then East Boston High School. He graduated from Providence College with a degree in philosophy in 2019 and then entered St. John Seminary as a member of the Class of 2023 and served in parishes in Stoughton during his deacon year.

Father Peter Schirripa, 30, born in Mountain View, Calif. He graduated from St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., with a degree in history and secondary education, a degree he put into practice by teaching at his middle school alma mater, Jonas Clarke, Lexington, before entering St. John Seminary as a member of the Class of 2023. His deacon year was at St. Mary of the Annunciation Parish, Cambridge.

Father Alphonsus Hien Quang Vu, 35, born in Ha Noi, Vietnam, where he attended local schools including college at Ha Noi Open University. He is an alumnus of St. John Seminary and has been serving his deacon year at St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Winthrop.

At 76, uncompromising filmmaker Paul Schrader wraps up his trilogy on men confronting their pasts. Meanwhile, the third — and sadly final — season of one of TV’s best contemporary crime series — “Happy Valley” — hopes to save the best for last.

But as great as they are in considerable ways, each has an issue with sticking the landing.

Here’s our roundup.

“Master Gardener”: Is it possible that Paul Schrader, the gifted and cranky screenwriter of the seminal “Taxi Driver” and auteur of other gritty downer films, has gone soft on us? You might come away feeling that’s the case after watching this final installment in his unofficially connected trio of features about men wrestling with past deeds and misdeeds. And OK, this isn’t as dark as “First Reformed,” the best film in that three-pack. But “Gardener” is an at-times thrilling eyebrow-raiser about the troubled, seemingly mild-mannered horticulturist Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton) reckoning with past crimes after getting involved with his employer’s volatile great-niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell), who is of mixed race. Their growing attraction doesn’t sit well with the manipulative, ultra-rich Mrs. Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver, in a deliciously sinister performance), who hides a racist soul and toys around with Roth, whose racist past remains tattooed on his skin. The relationship between Haverhill and Narvel is twisted, to say the least. But it loses something because the relationship between Narvel and Maya seems utterly improbable, and that’s a huge problem — bigger than the film’s strange wrap-up. It’s a bummer given how tremendous Edgerton and Weaver are, and how effective, in a skin-crawling way, the film’s first hour remains. Details: 3 stars out of 4; opens May 18 in theaters.

“Happy Valley Season 3”: One of the best mystery/thriller series going delivers the intensity in its third and final season. Unfortunately, it stumbles near the finale, speeding through and forsaking the resolution of a new murder so it can get to the chewy stuff —  the psychological tyranny that a rapist and murderer exerts on Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire, in a volcanic performance). Given this is the final season, it’s not that big of a deal-breaker — partly because each season has been leading to the moment where the convicted father (James Norton, in his best performances to date) of Cawood’s 16-year-old grandson (Rhys Connah) gets tied to another murder. If you haven’t seen the first two seasons, you’ll no doubt be lost. But this gritty British crime series tops its many American counterparts. I just wish there would have been one more episode to wrap up that other crime. Details: 3 stars; premieres Monday on Acorn TV, AMC+ and BBC America with a new episode each week.

“It Ain’t Over”: So many sports docs seem intent on celebrating their main subject, all but touting them for sainthood. Sean Mullin makes a similar but lower-key pitch here, and the result is a home run in a field often flush with loud fouls. “Over” focuses on the lovable late New York Yankees star catcher Yogi Berra, with the assistance of his granddaughter, Lindsay Berra, who also serves as an executive producer. She helps keep the focus Berra’s brilliant baseball career, both as a player and manager, as it fosters fondness and respect for an Italian-American World War II veteran who came up with so many endearing, if nonsensical, sayings. Nothing about “It Ain’t Over” is rote or superficial. It’s about a legend who defied the odds, as well as the snotty comments from sports journalists, and earned the respect of his peers on his way to earning 10 World Series rings. It’s a must for any arm-chair sports fan. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters May 19.

“Joyland”: Director/writer Saim Sadiq’s debut feature created an uproar in Pakistan, his homeland, where it was banned at first and then was permitted to be shown on its way to being shortlisted for best international film at the Oscars. Sadiq’s fierce family drama is a passionate outcry over a culture that adheres to strict gender stereotypes and won’t allow anyone to color outside of lines. Ali Junejo’s performance ranks as one of the finest you’ll see in any year. He plays Haider, who is in a dispassionate arranged marriage with the restless Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq). He hides from his traditional and ailing father (Salmaan Peerzada) and his more masculine brother (Sohail Sameer) his love to dance, a profession he pursues at a club where he’s hired by transgender choreographer/dancer Biba (Alina Khan, in a breakout performance). As Haider and Biba spend more time together, a connection forms that shakes up Haider’s world. Sadiq depicts the evolution of this vulnerable relationship with care and in the film’s final moments delivers a sequence that’s an emotional game-changing beauty. Details: 3½ stars; opens May 19 in select theaters.

“Clock”: There’s a tremendous horror film gestating in writer/director Alexis Jacknow’s dark take on a single woman’s (Dianna Agron) trouble-plagued, none-too-pleasant journey toward reluctant motherhood. But it gets too cluttered up with a family subplot rather than remain focused on the issue at hand — Ella Patel’s nightmarish time meeting the brilliant Dr. Elizabeth Simmons (Melora Hardin) who is spearheading new experimental treatments. Agron throws herself fully into the role and the first 45 minutes of Jacknow’s disturbing commentary works wonders, but it strays and winds up losing its punch near its end. Details: 2½ stars; available now on Hulu.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.

The hotspot for culture, wine, scenery and all that sinfully delicious food shows off its two very different sides in two very different movies.

First up comes the “traditional” tourist tour of Italy in the form of “Book Club: The Next Chapter.” The second is aimed for the more epic adventurer wowed by the Italian Alps, where “The Eight Mountains” is set.

Which is the better film? Read this week’s roundup to fine out.

“The Eight Mountains”: What a shame it would be to watch Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch’s breathtaking beauty on an itty-bitty screen. It’s a visual feast that all but declares: Go to the movie theater already! The soul-stirring cinematography of Ruben Impens is matched by the epic storytelling about two boyhood chums in Italy and their bond that strengthens and shifts over the years. Both directors take care in replicating the evocative, pared-down crispness of  author Paolo Cognetti’s award-winning 2016 novel, which serves as “Mountains” basis.

The decades-spanning film opens with an uncertain Milan boy named Pietro summering in the nearly deserted and remote Grana village where he soon befriends the gregarious, adventurous Bruno, whose father is a brutish bricklayer. Over the years, the two take different paths —  the wandersome Pietro (Luca Marinelli) all but extricating himself from the family fold while Bruno (Alessandro Borghi) remains in Grana and carries on the family tradition.

They eventually reunite amidst events that shake up their lives and their friendship, as they encounter adversity and love, and have their own perceptions challenged.

At nearly 2½ hours, “The Eight Mountains” is in no rush to tell its story, but the time is well spent, allowing us to soak up the sweeping natural beauty of those mountains. It’s staggering to take it all in; so is the profundity of this story about two flawed individuals who develop a once-in-a-lifetime friendship that shapes both of them. Details: 4 stars out of 4; opens May 12 at the Kabuki in San Francisco and expands into more theaters including the Smith Rafael Film Center on May 15.

“Book Club: The Next Chapter”: The Italian Tourism Bureau should express deep amore to Bill Holderman for directing this congenial but tepid sequel to the surprise 2018 hit with the terrific Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen. It’s too bad that, given the talent and scenery on display, there’s not much else to admire. In “Next Chapter,” the quartet of friends travels to Rome, Venice and Tuscany on a whirlwind bachelorette party (Fonda’s steadfastly single character Vivian is the one walking down the aisle). Minor road bumps occur — stolen luggage, a surprise encounter with an old flame and an ooh-la-la hot cop — and all of it breezes by as if you’re spending a tipsy day under the Tuscan sun. While the four leads are game and the screenplay hints at something more substantial to say by framing it around Paulo Coelho’s classic “The Alchemist,” the dialogue is overstuffed with predictable laugh-track-ready one-liners — some come across as flat as week-old uncorked prosecco. Even the charms of Don Johnson and Andy Garcia as love interests get sidelined in a production that fails to take full advantage of the scenario or the stars. Details: 2 stars; in theaters May 12.

“BlackBerry”: How did the first smartphone, the one everyone expected would rule the world, rise to the top and then crash to the ground like Icarus? Matt Johnson’s pitch-perfect feature jauntily shows us what went right and then wrong with the BlackBerry, from its kooky, nerdy origins to its ascendancy and, ultimately, its demise. It all makes for a massively entertaining ride with two main actors steering the action, and one just stealing the entire movie. Glenn Howerton triumphs as tantrum-prone Canadian businessman James Balsillie, who carves out a huge slice of the company pie and shouts and bellows with the best of them. His confrontational style of business is the very antithesis of founder Mike Lazaridis (played well by Jay Baruchel), an OCD brainiac with techie know-how. Filled with great period details and told in a docudrama-like way, “BlackBerry” is simply irresistible. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters May 12.

“1,000% Me: Growing Up Mixed”: W. Kamau Bell, a media bright light, best-selling author and Bay Area treasure, drops in on local mixed-race families to chat about how they define themselves and how others perceive and try to define them. The responses prove to be thoughtful, heartwarming, incisive and, since kids are often the ones responding, quite funny and on pointe. While it’s just shy of an hour, it raises — as does all of Bell’s work — important points and issues that hopefully will spark even further conversations. Details: 3 stars; available now on HBO Max.

“Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie”: Director Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”) takes a frank, energetic and creative approach that mirrors the standout qualities of its subject — the lovable sitcom and movie star Fox. His scrappy early days in Hollywood and his battles with fame, booze and ego along with his love for his wife, family and living in general come across in Guggenheim’s account, with the actor staring straight into the camera and talking about the realities of having Parkinson’s Disease and how he tried to hide from others that he had it. It’s a revealing documentary about a man who was once one of the busiest actors in Hollywood who has learned in transition to appreciate the loved ones around him even more. Details: 3½ stars; available May 12 on Apple TV+.

“The Restless”: Belgian director Joachim Lafosse debunks the average drama dealing with mental illness, being less touchy-feely about the topic and burrowing into what it is like to be bipolar and be with someone who is bipolar. As Damien, an artist and father of one, Damien Bonnard is painfully authentic, showing an acceleration of emotions and tearing into one family’s fabric. Refusing to take his medication and putting others in risk, Damien’s frenetic actions wear down his wife Leila (Leila Bekhti), who has been down this road probably one too many times. “The Restless” never sanitizes what this family is confronting, and by doing so, rips your heart out and provides no easy solutions. It’s a remarkable work that never rings false. Details: 3½ stars; available exclusively on Film Moment Plus.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.