I am NOT a critic. I'm merely an observer. (Books, movies, plays, musicals etc.)

November 13 BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK ( source ) 19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks the film shows what really happened to his squad - contrasting the realities of war with America's perceptions.-imdb Director:   Ang Lee Writers:   Ben Fountain  (based on the novel by),  Jean-Christophe Castelli  (screenplay) Stars:   Joe Alwyn ,  Garrett Hedlund ,  Arturo Castro ,  Vin Diesel ,  Steve Martin ,   C hris Tucker ,   Kristen Stewart  and  Makenzie Leigh November 23 ALLIED ( source ) During World War II, intelligence officer Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) is stationed in North Africa where he encounters French Resistance fighter Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Reunited in London, their relationship is threatened by the extreme pressures of t he war. -WWW I...

Director: Adam McKay Running time: 2h 10m Box office: 54 million USD Screenplay: Adam McKay, Charles Randolph Cast and Crew We've been duped!  We've been duped perhaps even before we were born.  I've been invited to be a financial adviser by several companies, but I know that this is not my line of expertise plus taxation(and everything connected to it) has always been my Waterloo.  This movie sort of  made me appreciate that world  and I love the way everything was presented.  Yes, they fictionalized some parts, but most of the movie was based on facts.  They added humor to everything and they used celebrities to make those facts easier to understand.   Christian Bale even got the mannerisms of Dr. Mike Burry (who is actually more handsome in real life--- when smiling and not compared to the picture in the article --- compared to how the "makeup artists" made Christian Bale look like). I love the way Marisa Tomei played Cy...

Set in France during the mid-1970s, Vanessa, a former dancer, and her husband Roland, an American writer, travel the country together. They seem to be growing apart, but when they linger in one quiet, seaside town they begin to draw close to some of its more vibrant inhabitants, such as a local bar/café-keeper and a hotel owner. - Written by Production There were many reasons why I chose not to blog about this, but here I am writing this entry anyway. The story was so-so.  I have seen a lot of these types of films while growing up and when I didn't know better, I wrote a lot of these types of films before and I burned the most unedifying ones. Watching this movie made me miss my typewriter.  I wrote better stories using my handy-dandy typewriter, except the ones I showed to that ______ awardee.  Which one?  I won't say because I purposely showed him the worst things I have written.   Back to the story written by Mrs. Pitt herself... Da...

12 YEARS A SLAVE deserves all the accolades and awards it received.  It opened my eyes to a lot of things.  Some of the things I knew about slavery and human trafficking have been sanitized.  Human trafficking is real and until now, there are people who are being taken out of their comfort zones being sold.  Some become prostitutes and some are forced into labor.  Like this movie, some even do both, even more. Solomon Northup was born free in New York City.  He was more than comfortable.  In fact, he was affluent.  He was also very smart and had a very loving family and when he was kidnapped by those demented beings who pretended to be his fans, the things he thought he did not have to experience crushed all his hopes and dreams. Chiwetel Ejiofor , for me, even if I have so much respect and admiration for Matthew McConaughey, IS the best actor among all contenders.   He made me see how people who were misquoting the Holy Bible, ...

Dr. Andrew Fassbach: Mother Nature is a serial killer. She wants to get caught, she leaves bread crumbs, she leaves clues... Mother nature knows how to disguise her weakness as strength. -Max Brooks' World War Z Sometimes it takes a second look for one to appreciate something better.  Last week, I watched this flick with my folks and when my niece, Sunshine, asked me how it was, my answer was, " Hi Sunshine...Ma says kiss Bree and hug Sonny for her. My opinion? If there's a sequel, I won't watch it, but in toto, it was good. Not great, but good. I like the fact that it's also a thinking movie. There's a lot of gore, but I must say that I admire Gerry's (Brad) love for his family...people still prayed...etc. "  Mom and I are farsighted so when the only seats available last Sunday were on the second row, so only dad was ecstatic.  It felt like we were watching the movie in 3D even if we were only watching it in 2D.  We were dizzy and most of the...