Kev's Reviews

While exploring uncharted wild American frontier in 1823,  Hugh Glass (Leonardo Dicaprio) becomes severely wounded in a bear attack and is left for dead by his own troop of explorers. Glass must utilize his survival skills to find a way back home to his beloved family. Grief-stricken and fue led by vengeance, Glass treks through the wintry terrain to track down John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), the former confidant responsible for abandoning him. Yes, Hugh Glass was a real frontierman who was almost  killed by wilderness in pursuit of vengeance against the men who left him for dead. But how much of the story after that was real? Time calls it, "A fictionalized version of the tale was recently brought to life by Birdman director Alejandro González Iñárritu ... based on the 2002 Michael Punke novel of the same name" . Glass joined a team headed up by Andrew Henry traveling up the Missouri River and the Grand River of modern-day South Dakota. It was on that trip th...

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).

When a present-day journalist (Dougray Scott) investigates Opus Dei founder Josemaria Escriva (Charlie Cox), he discovers a deep, dark secret that links his own father, Manolo (Wes Bentley), to Escriva. Manolo and Escriva were once close friends until the pair took two entirely different paths when war showed its ugly face. Manolo fought alongside the rebels, while Escriva pursued his faith and became a priest for the Roman Catholic church. Based on the incredible true story, this drama reveals the core values that killed a long-lived friendship. *** (three stars). The acting could have been better.

Based on the critically-acclaimed novel written by Best-selling author Stieg Larsson, David Fincher directs this gripping thriller that follows journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) and pugnacious computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) who team up to investigate the mysterious disappearances of wealthy-man Henrik Vanger's (Christopher Plummer) niece. The pair are bound on a a gut-wrenching journey paved by the young girl's snatcher that will lead to an end nobody can foresee! **** (four stars). This is not a film for the weak of stomachs, but the acting was phenomenal! This flick will definitely receive Oscar-nominations.

Former baseball all-star Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) joins the Oakland A's, a baseball organization that simply cannot hold their own in the big leagues. The team faces financial issues  that lead to numerous devastating, but necessary, cut-backs  on players and managers. With controversial methods, Billy Beane leads this revamped Oakland team to the playoffs, but will they make it to the ultimate summer event every baseball player dreams about...The World Series? I give this film full of all-star actors **** (four stars). Co-staring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jonah Hill and Robin Wright.