Kev's Reviews

At the Helm of this adaptation of Nathaniel Philbrook's novel, Director  Ron Howard uses his cinematic brilliance - not to tell - but to show the peril of the epic true journey of the ship Essex that inspired Herman Melville's fictional tale Moby Dick. In 1820, the New England crewmen aboard the Essex become submerged in a battle of survival when a whale of extraordinary size and power attacks, crippling their vessel and leaving the Essex adrift with ocean on all sides stretching for miles. With limited supplies, and in the midst of storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men must take drastic measures to beat the odds of dying at sea and, ultimately, inspiring Melville. In the beginning, as the writer (played by Ben Whishaw, the new Q in 007) sits down with one of the much-aged crewman, the film has an eerie Titanic-like feel. Much like the old lady in Titanic, you are unsure whether or not he is telling the truth. Tom Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson) is, after all, a was

  Former special-ops agent Frank Martin is back in this gripping, edge-of-your-seat action flick. Now retired, Martin (Ed Skrein) is living a less perilous life and has left his former life as a special-ops mercenary south of France  - that is until he falls in the clutches of a fem-fatal and her posse of three equally gorgeous women plotting revenge on a villainous Russian kingpin.  This film is slightly corny but it's not really about the plot as it is sensation. It's about getting your heart pumping , engaging the sensation of feel rather than a confounding plot that you don't get until the billionth time. It's about speed; fast cars and fast women. It's not a film you'd bring your grandma to. And if you have a problem with that - well....let's just say you might have bigger issues to deal with. *** (three stars.)

  Confusing, confusing, confusing. This very perplexing, and sloppy novel begins as General Custer lays dying on the battlefield at Little Big Horn. As he lets out his last breath, Custer's spirit levitates and finds a new body to invade - a Sioux warrior named Paha Sapa. Dan Simmons weaves the two lives together in a retrograding fashion as the story focuses on both the general's and the Native American's pasts. As a reader, I want to go on an adventure,be entertained and think (not too hard) about the story. Simmons demands the reader to pay close attention to the story as the reader struggles  to follow diverging pasts. The story can be difficult to follow, particularly toward the beginning of the book before the reader is accustomed to the back-and-forth, decade-skipping flow of the narrative. I had to read reviews while reading the book just to keep up with the convoluted story. This book definitely made me work. ** (two stars).