In the summer of 1966, I was 18 years old, a recent high school graduate, and had just been hired by the U.S Forest Service to work as a fire fighter for the summer. I knew next to nothing about
Movie Review: The Circle (Netflix)
Let me describe a little movie I found in a hidden niche the other day on the Netflix menu. The name of the film was The Circle and everything about it was just a bit different from your average movie.
Movie Review: Tracks (Netflix)
Although there are 1000s of films listed with the various movie subscription services, it is still no easy chore to find something worth watching. Even if you maintain an unbelievably low standard that your choices must only be better than
Movie Review: Kong: Skull Island
The new movie Kong: Skull Island is another in a long series of movies based on the original movie King Kong (the one where he scales the Empire State Building) made in 1933. I’m not going to worry about giving
Movie Review: Revenant
In the film Revenant, when mountain man Huge Glass (the real-life man–1783-1833—portrayed in the movie) gets between a sow grizzly and her cubs (biggest no-no in the wildlife world) literally, all hell breaks loose. The ferocious attack was one of the
Movie Review: Southpaw
When I saw the promos for Southpaw, I immediately thought Rocky, but not as good. In reality, I don’t think any boxing movie will ever be as good as the first Rocky movie (although almost anything could be better than the rest
Movie Review: Spy
Since the release of the first James Bond movie Dr. No in 1962, every spy movie has had pretty much the same plot. You fill in the blanks. The debonair, heroic ____________ infiltrates high society in order to stop the
Movie Review: Mad Max: Fury Road
I going to try to do something I’ve never done before and that is to review a movie before I have actually seen it. The movie I’m talking about is Mad Max: Fury Road. This series of movies (Mad Max-1979
Movie Review: Homesman (Netflix)
When I write a movie (or TV) review, I do everything I can to avoid spoiling the movie by telling too much about it. I simply try to tell you enough that you can decide if the movie is something
Movie Review: The Imagination Game
The Imagination Game, a true story starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing and Keira Knightly as Joan Clarke, Turing’s co-worker, friend, short-term fiancé, and confidant, is really three stories in one. The first is about Turing the young boy at
Movie Review: Wild
My wife and I had two different reasons for wanting to go to the movie Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon (playing the real life Cheryl Strayed), the day after Christmas. She just wanted to see a good “chick flick” (I hate
Book and Movie Review: Lonesome Dove (Netflix, DVD, Etc.)
If you have never read the book or seen the movie Lonesome Dove you are a very lucky person. Because now, if you read Larry McMurtry’s book (900+ pages) or watch the movie (TV mini-series), you’re in for one of
Movie Review: Birdman
I don’t usually start my movie reviews by talking about the end of the movie, but with Birdman that’s exactly what I’m going to do. The audience’s reaction when the closing credits started to roll was to sit there absolutely
Movie Review: St Vincent
In doing movie reviews, I don’t feel the need to provide the reader with a detailed analysis of the plot or various filmmaking techniques. I leave that to the experts at Rotten Tomato, Fandango, or any of a dozen similar
Movie Review: Rampage: Capital Punishment (Netflix)
This is a movie where you expect one thing, but end up with something totally different. As a result, Rampage: Capital Punishment was a much better movie than I expected. The movie begins with your run-of-the-mill psychopath (actor Brendon Fletcher)