November 2018

Free Solo

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Free Solo
  • IMDb: link

Free Solo movie reviewThe documentary from Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi follows climber Alex Honnold and his preparations to become the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite’s 3,000-foot El Capitan. While diving into the Honnold’s closest relationships and his makeup, the film focuses primarily on the dangers of the climber’s quest and the ambition and drive which he cannot ignore. Featuring interviews with fellow climbers and Honnold’s mother and girlfriend, we learn a bit of what makes the climber tick as he attempts to accomplish the improbable feat of climbing the sheer granite face of a 3,000-foot mountain without any climbing gear or any kind of safety net.

Because Chin and his cameramen are friends of Honnold, the documentary also adds an unexpected undercurrent to the story of Honnold not wanting to let his friends down while they are equally fearful of the very real possibility they might be enabling the climber to film his death during an outrageously dangerous feat. The result is an engaging documentary ending in Honnold’s historic attempt.

…

Free SoloRead More »

Free Solo Read More »

James Bond 007 #1

/ / Comics

James Bond 007 #1The first issue of Dynamite Entertainment’s new series James Bond 007 sends the the British secret agent to Singapore to snatch an important package headed for the terrorist organization ORU. The issue starts out with an extended action sequence involving trouble with the exchange, none of which involves Bond, before finding our hero at the casino ready to jump on the survivor of the altercation.

Unfortunately for Bond, he isn’t the only one after the case. Rivals include a group of armed mercenaries and a mysterious new adversary with a familiar bowler hat who holds his own against 007 in the comic’s other extended fight sequence (but not at the tables). Bond is forced to report back failure to Moneypenny, but the situation remains fluid with plenty of unanswered questions.

…

James Bond 007 #1Read More »

James Bond 007 #1 Read More »

Legacies – Hope is Not the Goal

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Legacies – Hope is Not the Goal
  • wiki: link

Legacies - Hope is Not the Goal television review

When two students from the rival high school go missing, Alaric (Matthew Davis) sends a team of students to investigate. Paired together on their undercover investigation, distrust continues to be an issue between Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) and Landon (Aria Shahghasemi). When initial evidence points to a vampire, MG (Quincy Fouse) is forced to make a difficult choice and comes clean about Kaleb‘s (Chris De’Sean Lee) nocturnal habits, however the real threat is revealed to be a giant arachnid feeding on the students of the school while searching for the mystical dagger. The arachnid turns out to be a formidable threat, but nothing a trio of witches can’t deal with, but another mystical disturbance and the revelation of Kaleb feeding on local girls raises tensions between the school and local law enforcement.

…

Legacies – Hope is Not the GoalRead More »

Legacies – Hope is Not the Goal Read More »

The Old Man and the Gun

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Old Man and the Gun
  • IMDb: link

The Old Man and the Gun movie reviewBased on the life of career criminal Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford), who in his 60s (after escaping from prison yet again) put together dozens of bank heists across the country until finally being captured by the FBI, writer/director David Lowery‘s film offers a look at the criminal’s “last hurrah” (although he would commit one more crime spree at the ripe old age of 79) and the Dallas Police Detective (Casey Affleck) instrumental in capturing him.

Redford is put to good use here as the gentlemen robber who never fires a shot (in fact, in every bank robbery sequence he alludes to, but never draws, a gun). The actor easily captures the charm of the man who robbed more for the thrill than the money, always with a smile on his face. Over the course of the film we watch Tucker rob several banks, sometimes by himself and sometimes with the help of two other elderly gentlemen (Danny Glover and Tom Waits) who gain notoriety for the four-year bank robbing spree. The movie also includes a subplot involving Tucker’s interest in a widow (Sissy Spacek) who, like the previous loves of Tucker’s life, never knew or believed what Tucker did for a living.

…

The Old Man and the GunRead More »

The Old Man and the Gun Read More »