MONUMENTS MEN (2014) movie review

Learn your  A B C’s:the-monuments-men-uk-quad-posterA lways trust George Clooney.

B elieve in Bill Murray.

C ast Matt Damon in anything.

D on’t forget Cate Blanchett.

E njoy Bob Balaban as much in this as in Guffman or Moonrise Kingdom.

F eel the weight of loss when you realize that Hitler stole everything from people when he took their lives.

G reet Goodman, as ever, a force and a friend, like a grandfather you fear but can’t wait to see.

H ugh Bonneville, Downton’s Lord Grantham, stayed true to form in his stately address and attire.

I nnocuous as art may seem, when paired with the destruction of so much of Europe, its loss must have felt like insult to the injuries caused by war.

J oin ever sweet Jean Dujardin and the team in rescuing stolen art with their suave personalities and winning smiles.the-monuments-men_wide-5c74020332c43e14e25bfc06079da41ee6d50dc5-s6-c30

K eep
L ooking though you
M ay
N ever clear the
O bstacles
P ervading your
Q uest.
R emember that your
S oul is
T he art of the
U niverse’s Creator who
V alues you, knowing you are
W orth treasuring, as
eX tingushable as
Y ou may feel.

NaZ i soldiers obeyed orders, feeling they were right, but Clooney’s troop of Monuments Men sought to remind all why we fight.2013-mostanticipated-monumentsmen-full

TRANSCENDENCE (2014) movie review

transcendence_ver4_xlgThe autopsy reports for the slow death of this movie Transcendence are inconclusive.transcendence-movie-paul-bettany-and-rebecca-hall-with-johnny-depp-transcendence-interview-wally-pfisterIf I watch films that haven’t done well in the box office, I find I approach it less like a scientist hypothesizing accuracy and success and more as a coroner or homicide detective would. What caused this tragedy? I often agree with the Tomato rating, but this time I found a film with excellent actors, decent writing, great directing & effects, a thoughtful story and meaningful relationships. It wasn’t the haphazard train wreck that I guess I was expecting. It certainly wasn’t the schizophrenic Secret Window. And it wasn’t The Tourist.

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The puzzle could be solved in timing. As with all things, timing is everything. Perhaps it was released too soon after the hype of Jonze’s Her since it may have a few similar themes but a vastly different story and outcomes. Ads also made it look like an action thriller. Not true. It’s a sci-fi drama – a thinker. transcendence-whysoblu-7

Blake Snyder, film expert, renowned teacher, and author of the book “Save the Cat” would perhaps call a film that seeks the co-dependence of the brain and technology a “double mumbo jumbo.” It’s like the movie Signs asking people to believe in both God and aliens. For some, that’s a stretch.TRANSCENDENCEMy brilliant sister Annie Mae believes that people might have had a hard time accepting an intelligent film without sex or a ton of senseless violence. The marriage relationship in the film remains one of deep love and faithfulness. The best friend character is not out to sabotage the marriage or woo the girl. The plot makes you think.still-of-paul-bettany-and-rebecca-hall-in-transcendence-(2014)To seek the beyond… A higher power …to become …to achieve the enlightenment of soul…

…through technology?

This film poses the thoughtful and future plausible attempts at true AI: artificial intelligence via the symbiotic and simultaneous merging of tech with humanity. It’s bionic. The birth of AI is ever the prequel to The Matrix or Terminator, or RoboCop or IRobot. It’s the moral dilemma ever stemming from artificial creation, from plastic limbs and pacemakers to cloning technology: are we playing God? Can tech register or muster a soul? Will the corruption of pure motives always end in tragedy?

Don’t forget Shawshank tanked in the theater but blossomed into its cult classic status. There is still hope for these lesser loved post- release weekend.

TRANSFORMERS 4 Age of Extinction (2014) movie review

a sonnet in 14 lines

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The world may cry for Michael Bay to pay
For this atrocity Transformers 4
Explosive robot action sets the stage
For Autobots, Decepticons at war.

Mark Wahlberg plays the poor inventor dad
Who fights to rescue Optimus, the Prime.
Resenting daughter’s favorite Irish lad,
She cries, explaining all with “Dad, he drives.”

Your expectations low, you may survive.
No story. Endless end-of-world type threats.
The power swords bring dinobots to life
And oddly that’s when Stanley  Tucci sweats.

Three hours of my life I can’t get back,
The age of MY extinction come to pass.

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