Recently I saw Aladdin in a movie theatre. If you are a fan of watching movies on the big screen, Marcus Theatres often has older films popping back into limited engagements. Watching Aladdin redux after many years was enjoyable, but a fresh, yet familiar, viewing allowed me to notice some things about the Disney classic for the first time. […]
I recently watched two movies within the span of a week I had never seen before. Taken jointly, they articulate the economic anxiety many currently feel in society. They are the psychological thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and the modern day western Hell or High Water. The movies are critically acclaimed and have strong ensemble casts. I hated Ripley. I loved Hell.
In a three reel comparison, the economic arguments of The Talented Mr. Ripley and Hell or High Water.
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When I joined my last company I was transitioning from healthcare public policy to private healthcare IT. New to IT, I was a little behind the eight ball when it came to the project delivery methodologies discussion raging in my, then, new company. The discussion was over transitioning from a Waterfall approach to delivering solutions to our customer to a more collaborative Agile one. I came in naïve and left a proponent of Agile. Nonetheless, I do not reject or disparage Waterfall; a methodology is simply a way to approach an activity and therefore may or may not be useful depending on personnel or circumstances.
So when Stuart Hamilton’s article – Why Agile Doesn’t Work for Large Projects – appeared in my LinkedIn feed one morning I approached it inquisitively. “Hmm, I wonder in what ways Agile might not work for larger projects?” I clicked. […]
Star Trek is a cultural phenomenon. Attempting to show what humanity could become in the future if we embrace a universal humanity and “boldly go where no one has gone before” (as well as comment on current society via narrative lens), Star Trek has spawned six TV shows (plus a new one for 2017!), 13 feature length movies, books, comics, conventions, and endless geek trivia.
At the backbone of each of these fictional voyages and adventures is a senior staff, the protagonists, who collectively work together to explore or administer their part of the galaxy. Every Trekkie has their favorite crew, but what would be your ideal Star Trek senior staff if time, space, and series were not limiting factors? […]
No Apologies Advocate and I saw “Phantom of the Opera” recently. After the show, amongst discussing the darker tone of Cameron Mackintosh’s national tour, the sumptuous sets, and the crowd-pleasing chandelier, we did a little research on Andrew Lloyd Webber. Amongst the standard biographical information came this revelation: Sir Lloyd-Webber has created a sequel to Phantom entitled “Love Never Dies.” […]
2016 was a year of big-budget spectacle movie watching. I would have liked to see move thoughtful films, but moving cross-country limits your time, apparently. Nonetheless, there were some good movies and some stinkers in 2016. I recommend all on the list except the starred. […]
It was a year of comebacks. The Avengers! Mission: Impossible! Mad Max (concussion inducing level of exclamation marks)!!!! And, of course, the highest grossing domestic film of all-time (sans inflation): Star Wars. What’s great is that almost everything was good. Almost. […]
Books 2016 is the review, roundup and reflection on my reading through the year. This year I tried to make inroads into my reading list, but only succeeded in adding to it. I may have to take the Every Book in the House challenge like Ms. Josephson. Fingers crossed that Winds of Winter is printed in 2017 or 2018 to keep my A Song of Ice and Fire pace on track. Also, have some Batman to read, and I am going to tackle Alexander Hamilton this year. Cheers and happy reading in the coming year! […]
The books I read in 2015 spanned new genres. Drama and Graphic Novels (i.e. Comic Books) came in heavy rotation. The most satisfying moments were the phrases and sentences that encapsulated a simple emotion. Emmaus, Equivocation and Peace Like a River contained many.
Simple Inspiration on how to achieve your reading goals this year. […]
The quality of the Star Wars movies has reflected the struggle of the Light Side and the Dark Side. The Original Trilogy and Episode VII dwell on the Light Side as quality films with minor quibbles. The prequel Episodes I-III inhabit the Dark Side as flawed films with minor moments of logic and excitement.
The family saw Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on Christmas Day and enjoyed ourselves. At dinner we had a discussion where we each stated one “Light Side” thing we loved about the movie and one “Dark Side” thing we wish the movie had done differently. Quickly it became apparent that while the Light Side things caused great smiles they were fleeting. What we discussed most were the Dark Side flaws in the movie. Mutually agreed upon flaws that fed on each other.
Rogue One is a Star Wars movie. But judging the quality of Rogue One necessitates embracing both the Light and Dark sides. Rogue One is an enjoyable, flawed film.
***SPOILERS WARNING*** […]
