For the past 10 years, John Clayton has been living in England with his wife, Jane. He has left his beloved Congo and his more well-known identity, Tarzan, far behind. When rumors of a burgeoning slave trade are brought to his attention, John Clayton decides to accept the invitation of King Leopold to return to the place he once called home. Unbeknownst to him, John and his wife are being drawn into a well-orchestrated trap, motivated by the vengeful desires of an old enemy.

In order to preserve all that he holds dear, John Clayton, Lord Greystoke must once more become Tarzan.

Continue reading The Legend of Tarzan →

In searching the internet for recently released films to enjoy on a Friday night, I was pleased to come across the gem that is Brooklyn, a film based on a novel by author Colm Toibin, with screenplay by author Nick Hornby. Brooklyn was nominated for numerous awards, including numerous Academy Awards, BAFTA awards, a Screen Actor’s Guild award, a Golden Globe and more. Minutes into the film, it is easy to see why.

Brooklyn is a beautiful film with charming performances that enchants from beginning to end.

It was not its numerous accolades which brought the film to my attention, as I must admit to being wholly ignorant of its acclaim (including a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes) until after our viewing. It was this comment that led me to believe this was a film that my wife and I would enjoy:

“That’s what makes Brooklyn feel like such an anomaly: a well-crafted throwback to a different movie house age. It’s a cinematic construct that relishes taking long, easy moments to just study actress Saoirse Ronan’s serene face, watching her pale blue eyes say far more than a wordy, noisy script ever could.”

That passage, from a review by Bob Hoose, succinctly sums up what makes this story of a young immigrant women finding love and independence in America so notable: the skillful acting of Saoirse (pronounced Ser-Sha) Ronan.

Continue reading Brooklyn: A Film Review →

For those of you who have yet to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens, fear not.

Spoilers in the intro, find you will not.

After the jump, however, I will be freely expressing my delights and disappointments with The Force Awakens(TFA). I watched the first two trailers a handful of times when they were first released, and after made a conscious effort to stay away from anything related to this film. My goal was to manage my anticipation, as much as was humanly possible, and to be able to go into the film armed with as little knowledge as possible regarding the events that were to unfold.

I succeeded to a partial degree. I was very aware of how my anticipation had been subconsciously building as it was something I felt myself struggling against during parts of the film.

In the event that you did not read the subtext of my previous non-spoiler post, I am very fond of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I have issues with it, that may or may not pass with subsequent viewings, but it is important for me to establish the fact that I’m pleased with the film. Please keep that in mind when ascribing weight to any criticisms I may level at writers J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan.

I do not promise a fully articulated, coherent review, hence my parenthetical reference to this being a “conversation”. I do hope that those of you who have seen it will converse freely. You may agree, or disagree, with anything I have to say and will have a free space in which to do so. I will not find your lack of agreeing with me disturbing.

And readers, please assume that EVERY comment in the comments section contains spoilers. Read at your own peril.

With that preamble out of the way, here is my side of the conversation.

Continue reading Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Spoiler Conversation) →

Rey!!!!

For those of you familiar with the Expanse series by authors Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham (writing under the name James S.A. Corey), the long-awaited television adaptation is about to get underway in earnest on the SyFy Network. To whet the appetites of potential viewers, and to build buzz among those of us who have read at least the first novel, Leviathan Wakes, the initial episode has been released online. You can watch it via Youtube, with the link/video posted below.

My non-spoiler thoughts:

I thought they did a great job staying faithful to open chapters of the novel. I liked the special effects well enough and feel that the set and ship design we’ve seen thus far fit well with my mental images conjured while reading the novel. I’m reserving judgment on the casting choices simply because we don’t really get a great deal of time with the cast in just this one episode. I did picture Holden older, though.

I’ve read other non-spoiler reviews which follow a similar theme in that a person familiar with the book watched it with someone unfamiliar and the person who hadn’t read the book felt it was a bit confusing getting up to speed. I did the same thing, watching it with Mary, and while she certainly sees that to some degree, she wasn’t overly confused.

I don’t have cable/dish, so I’m not sure that I’ll be able to keep up with the show as it airs, but I’m tempted at this point to either subscribe to streaming or to pay for each individual episode if they end up available on Amazon Prime. We’ll see how it goes. Thus far, I’m in.

If you’ve seen the episode, or watch it soon, feel free to engage in a more spoiler-filled discussion in the comments. Please head each of those comments with the SPOILER tag.