Chaos. From the opening scenes as masses of people in the dark night are hurried into a building and a room to disrobe, a man with a hat, averting his eyes from anyone in charge, a large red X painted across his back, helps to lead those masses into the building, helps them leave their…
Wow. This film was gripping. And it was bleak. Another that I caught up with while on a recent flight, Everest entertains. The film covers the true story (as a dramatization, not as a verified actual account) of the fatal expeditions on Mount Everest in 1996. Yes, fatal. Going in, I knew people would not survive. But…
Ex Machina called to me as a film to see in the theater, but life got busy, and I didn’t make it. But I finally caught up with it let month on DVD. I’m glad I did not miss it entirely. And to be fair, I’ll admit that it’s been a few weeks since I…
Don’t worry, I will include no spoilers. I promise. I will say that I very much enjoyed this movie. And I will admit that I had not seen a Star Wars movie since, I’m sure, the early 80s. I was the sort of person who probably watched each one once or twice when it came…
Bridge of Spies hits every mark. It’s a great movie—plot, pacing, performances, punch. The movie slowly pulls you into the characters (spies, FBI, CIA, attorneys) and time period (Cold War), exposing unexpected twists such that just as you think you know the story arc, another layer is added. It brings a needed bittersweet element toward…
I saw this film well over a week ago (Two weeks ago?), and since then, when asked if I’d seen any movies, more often than not, I haven’t been able to recall this film or its name. So I suppose I can say that Sicario is forgettable. That said, it did entertain me. Now, my…
The Nightingale is a wonderful read, an eloquently written and gently told story. Unlike the last couple of WWII novels I read, this book is more of what you would expect from fiction set in a war-torn France, a book that appeals for its stories of relationships using the war and devastation to France as…
I think I visibly jumped (and grabbed my movie companion) at least three times while watching The Gift, so I’m comfortable in saying that as a suspenseful movie, it did its job. And it entertained. For a couple of hours on a rainy Sunday summer afternoon, I immersed myself in the story of this midlife…
What a fantastic, fun read The Stranger is. I’d never read Harlan Coben until now, so his style of fast-paced suspense was new to me, and its different nature from so many other books I’ve read lately was welcome and refreshing. As a mystery, this truly was a page-turner. The general premise brings a stranger…
Horror. For the most part, this isn’t my typical genre I prefer when seeing movies. As much as I loved the original Halloween, Friday the 13th, and I’m sure others (although I *still* have never visited Elm Street or played with Chucky), at some point, everything became too formulaic and predictable. The fright was less.…
My reading material the past few months has been varied. In the Heart of the Sea added to the blend, bringing a true tale of a fascinating but challenging time in America’s history: whale hunting, life on the open ocean, and the struggle and catastrophe of being lost at sea. More so, this book reveals…
A Most Violent Year was a welcome movie that was just what you want sometimes at this stage of the Oscar-watching madness when I saw this in early February: simply a good movie. Good acting. Good story. Good entertainment. And an absence of heavy controversy. (Don’t get me wrong, you all know that I love…
*Warning: Spoiler Alert in this first paragraph for the movie Titanic* To begin, let me request that no one sum up this movie (Foxcatcher) by giving away what happens. I could hardly believe that someone, in discussing movies, said in one line about Foxcatcher the equivalent of saying about Titanic, “Oh, that’s that movie about…
Dark and gritty, Nightcrawler takes viewers on a ride with Jake Gyllenhaal at the wheel. Buckle up: it’s a wild one. I was tired the night I saw this film, having not slept well the previous night. And alas, the theater we planned to visit changed its schedule, so we had to change plans from…
I rarely see a movie on opening day, so to see one three days *before* opening day was quite a treat. We had yummy Corner Taco before hand. We had a pitcher of local pale ale poured and cold. We had a large bowl of the best popcorn in Duval County. And we had two…