Tag Archives: opinion

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The Banshees of Inisherin – A Movie Review

(Beware: I present no blatant spoilers, but it’s impossible to discuss the plot and theme of the movie without hinting at certain developments.)

I fell in love with The Banshees Of Inisherin within the first thirty minutes of the film. The beautiful scenery, the clothing, the pacing, the seemingly simple story, the utter relatability–I instantly adored it.

Those first thirty minutes were simply brilliant. Colin Farrell plays Pádraic Súilleabháin, a plain man who enjoys spending time with his best friend, Colm Doherty, played by Brendan Gleeson. Their friendship is uncomplicated. They walk to the pub. They drink at the pub. They chat at the pub.

The year is 1923, and Inisherin is an island off the coast of Ireland. At the start of the film, Pádraic calls upon Colm to go to the pub. But Colm no longer wants to be friends. Pádraic, a man of practical thoughts, is bewildered by both the sudden development as well as the blatant rudeness. After all, Pádraic is a nice man, a good lad, and glad of it.

Colm eventually explains to Pádraic that he’s wasted away enough of his days. He needs to do something substantive. He’s tired of Pádraic’s boring conversation and lifestyle. Colm is devoting himself entirely to music from that moment forth.

At that point of the movie, I got it. I totally understood Colm’s point of view. However, Colm got downright nasty about it, and managed to hurt Pádraic’s feelings time after time. Pádraic’s sister, played magnificently by Kerry Condon, tries to smooth things over but ultimately tells Pádraic to simply let it go.

Eventually, Pádraic let’s Colm know how he feels, and that he’s okay with being nice, and polite. and maybe even boring. He takes pride in it. His parents were nice. His sister is nice. It’s okay to be nice. Oh, boy. At that point, Pádraic won me over. I too suffer from being perhaps overly nice and I could totally relate to his words.

Again, to that point, the simplicity of the story truly spoke to me. I understood both characters’ motivations. I could relate to both of them. I liked them both, though I must admit I liked Pádraic a little more.

And then the movie took quite a turn–a disturbing turn, honestly. It was still funny, to be sure, but Colm became unreasonably belligerent, Pádraic gave in to a darkness unknown, and things ended rather bleakly. I still liked the movie, most definitely, but it lost that charm I enjoyed during those first thirty minutes.

Which, I believe, was entirely the point. I’m sure this has already been thoroughly explored by others, but I can’t help wondering if Colm and Pádraic’s relationship mirrored that of Ireland itself. I think it cannot be an accident that the Irish Civil War raged on the mainland as their friendship fell apart. Colm became absurdly cruel as he sought only to serve his ideology and eventually drew Pádraic into a shared depravity–Pádraic, a man who previously concerned himself with only being nice, who wanted no trouble, and whose patience seemed unending. Shockingly violent acts seemed to be ignored by Inisherin residents at best and enjoyed by them at worst.

And what is this movie saying about kindness? Is it destined to be tainted? Will the world devour the nice if they don’t eventually join in the brutality? Must one be mean to survive?

As you can see, The Banshees Of Inisherin made quite an impression upon me. I highly recommend it, as you probably guessed.

By the way, I’d like to praise Barry Keoghan. I’ve seen this actor in a few things now and he impresses me with every outing. I think he is destined for great things. In this film, he plays Dominic, a fairly unintelligent fellow with few redeeming qualities. However, Keoghan somehow makes him very likable, especially because he’s always displaying a changing facial expression to let you know exactly what Keoghan is thinking, or, more accurately in many cases, not thinking. It’s marvelous, honestly.

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Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy – A Book Review

Stella Maris is a companion piece to The Passenger, both by Cormac McCarthy. The latter took great pains to position Alicia Western as an enigmatic, brilliant, and potentially insane character who happened to be the sister of Robert Western, The Passenger’s protagonist. In The Passenger, the reader experienced short vignettes of Alicia, often while being visited by “The Kid,” a supposed figment of her imagination. As The Passenger occurred in the early 1980s, Alicia was said to already be dead.

Stella Maris takes place in 1972, and Alicia is still very much alive. She has checked herself into Stella Maris, a mental health facility. The book itself is written in script format while using a back and forth conversation between Alicia and her doctor. As you probably know, McCarthy does not use quotation marks or apostrophes, and so this particular style could become confusing at times. However, overall, it proved fairly clear in regard to who was speaking.

First of all, I found the premise of the book very interesting. Taking a secondary character from a novel, albeit one who drove the plot in many ways, and making her the main character in a script could not be described as a conventional decision. Furthermore, seeing her lucid and speaking to another human being instead of the mysterious “Kid” provided insight to her actual character. In The Passenger, we could never quite be sure we were getting the real Alicia. In Stella Maris, we can’t quite be sure anything in The Passenger was entirely accurate, either.

Which brings me to the second thing I enjoyed most about Stella Maris. This book acts almost as a counterbalance to The Passenger. Some things are confirmed, some things are elaborated upon, yet some things are flatly contradicted. I had theories that The Passenger may not be what it seemed, and Stella Maris did much to reinforce such beliefs. Should Stella Maris take precedence over The Passenger in acting as our true guide to the overall story? It could all be in the title, right?

Finally, Alicia is a mathematical genius, and McCarthy sold me on that trait. Writers tend to utilize characters who are either English majors or writers themselves, because, of course, write what you know. When a writer tries to deliver a “genius” character with other aptitudes, it can come off as shallow at best and unbelievable at worst. McCarthy made me believe Alicia not only understood mathematics in a way almost no one else could, but that she truly lived it as a routine part of her life. Of course, I don’t know much about math, so he could have made it all up, which might actually have been even more impressive, but McCarthy seemed well-versed on what he discussed via Alicia.

In the end, I don’t know exactly what to think about both The Passenger or Stella Maris, other than I applaud the books for doing just that–making me think. While the books weren’t hard to read, they were, by design, hard to understand, which meant the reader had to read actively throughout. It’s been days since I finished The Passenger and I’m still thinking about it. I finished Stella Maris this morning and I’m sure it will also occupy space in my head for weeks to come.

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The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy – A Book Review

For those of you seeking a book full of adventure and a streamlined plot, I suggest you look elsewhere. However, if you’re fascinated by the unknowns of life and the external factors that can dictate the direction of our existence, The Passenger may be for you.

Written by Cormac McCarthy, who also brought us The Road, No Country For Old Men, and The Border Trilogy, The Passenger begins with an interesting premise. Set in the early 1980s, Robert Western is a salvage diver who must investigate a plane still full of people submerged in a lake. However, there’s a passenger missing with no explanation as to how. Because Robert witnessed this, entities begin to question him, pursue him, and even threaten him.

As Robert flees from something he doesn’t fully understand, we learn more about his complex relationship with his sister, his father’s role in modern warfare, his numerous and eccentric friendships, and his own eclectic past.

And for me, that’s the genius of the book. We often don’t know what is coming next in life. Many times, there are events occurring at both a national and global scale that can have incredible ramifications upon our own lives without us knowing it until after the fact. Though brilliant, Robert doesn’t fully understand what’s happening to him in the present or what his future holds, but he does regularly analyze his past and how it led to the present.

I mentioned Robert’s sister. Portions of The Passenger are dedicated to her as well. We get to experience her brilliance, her empathy, her kindness, and her supposed madness. My understanding is that Stella Maris, a book released in conjunction with The Passenger, focuses more so on Alicia Western, Robert’s sister. Of course, I’ll read that next.

At 89 years of age, Cormac McCarthy may be thinking about what comes next. He might also be looking back at his long life and reflecting on things. Those ideas can’t help but influence my interpretation of The Passenger. I initially thought The Passenger referred to the missing person from the downed plane, but now I believe The Passenger refers to Robert Western himself, and all of us, really, as we are simply along for the ride during our allotted years upon this planet.

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Immortals Fenyx Rising – A Few Thoughts

As you remember, I was crazy for The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of the Wild. In fact, once that game ended, I immediately began researching games of similar play and feel.

Immortals Fenyx Rising kept coming up as a possibility on several lists. It wasn’t rated the highest, nor was it rated the lowest.

I discovered some pretty good sales on Immortals Fenyx Rising for the Nintendo Switch. Honestly, at such a low price, I figured it was worth the risk. I placed my order.

Even through the first several hours of the game frustrated me to no end, I ended up absolutely adoring Immortals Fenyx Rising. It satisfied me just as much as Breath Of the Wild, and in many ways–even more. Let me tell you why.

Story: I’m a sucker for Greek mythology. Fenyx Rising centers on Greek myth, and though I don’t believe it’s based on any one particular myth, it references dozens of them throughout. Best of all? It creates a few myths of its own. The general premise focuses on Typhon, a mad monster out to destroy the gods and man. A lone soldier, Fenyx, must aid the gods and rally them in his final battle against the evil creature if he is to save humanity as he knows it. Speaking of “he” …

Customization: Fenyx doesn’t have to be a “he.” Fenyx can also be a “she.” You can choose Fenyx’s gender, skin color, hair color, eye color, hair style, face paint–and more. I loved that Fenyx is many different things to different players. Furthermore, as the game progresses, you can capture all kinds of armor, weaponry, wings, and helmets that are also customizable. It’s really, really fun to change the main character’s “look” any time you feel like it.

Battles: I struggled for a long time in the beginning of this game when it came to battles. It took me forever to defeat even the simplest of enemies. As the game continued, however, I began to realize how to capture more powerful weaponry, how to increase weapons’ ability to inflict damage, how to bolster my own health, and how to increase my armor’s defenses. I’ll admit there’s a steep learning curve with the controls, but once you’ve got them down, they’ll be like second nature to you. By the time I beat the game, I had my character, his weapons, health, stamina, armor, and helmets so overpowered that I could blow through enemies easily.

Myth Challenges: Again, it took me awhile to catch on, but eventually I realized solving the myth challenges enabled Fenyx to power up. It’s not a one-to-one situation, everything is a process in this game, but you definitely want to engage in the myth challenges as quickly as possible.

Far Sight: I didn’t start using far sight until over half way through the game, and that was a huge mistake. Far sight enables you to locate and mark treasure chests and vaults. Vaults allow you to collect Zeus’ lightning, which allows you to increase your stamina. Chests help you collect jewels that allow you to increase your power. Some chests provide new weapons and helmets. It’s a cool tool that will ultimately help you achieve success.

The Golden Isle: The Golden Isle is the complete world of Fenyx Rising. It’s divided into different realms, and each of those realms is special to certain gods. It is a huge landscape of every terrain and environment imaginable. If you enjoyed the huge, open world format of Breath Of the Wild, you’ll love The Golden Isle.

The Design: I think the design of the gods, the clothing, the monsters, the landscapes, the weapons, the animals, the architecture–to me, it’s all gorgeous. It’s just a beautiful looking game.

Frankly, I’m amazed this game isn’t more popular than it is. There are so many different things to do in Fenyx Rising–it’s constantly challenging and rewarding the player. I honestly loved it. If you like big open world games like Breath Of the Wild, I unabashedly recommend Immortals Fenyx Rising.

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Business Made Simple by Donald Miller – A Book Review

A good friend recommended Business Made Simple in order to bolster my business acumen as I continue navigating the corporate waters. There are several elements I appreciated about the book.

First of all, it’s very well organized. Miller broke the book down day-by-day, and even provided supplemental material if you’d like to take it a step further. The sections are short, clearly stated, and easy to comprehend.

Furthermore, Business Made Simple is quickly paced. Miller wasted no time, which is consistent with his theme throughout the book. Miller recognized that busy people often struggle finding the time to read, so he made Business Made Simple as appealing as possible–he made it easy to pick it up when there’s a few extra minutes to spare. And once started, it’s hard to stop.

The first half of the book contained solid information and potent reminders, but Business Made Simple truly shined in the latter half. I particularly found the chapters dealing with negotiations, management, and execution incredibly insightful.

Though new to the corporate world, I believe Business Made Simple will prove beneficial to even the most savvy of business people. I highly recommend you give it a read.

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Netflix’s The Sandman – A Few Thoughts

I had my doubts when news broke that Netflix would release a series featuring The Sandman. This particular piece of literary greatness has been the focus of many, many would-be screen adaptations over the years, and none quite reached fruition. Furthermore, of late, Netflix has not bolstered my confidence in its overall quality.

Honestly, even the trailers did not stir any excitement in me. I loved this comic book series, I love Neil Gaiman, and I really, really didn’t want The Sandman to flop. If the show proved terrible, I didn’t want people to assume the books are also terrible, and the creator is also terrible, and all of the people who have been devoted to Dream and his siblings are also terrible. I didn’t want Netflix to taint something so special to so many people.

Fortunately for everyone, The Sandman is absolutely fantastic.

I found myself hooked within the first fifteen minutes. And once that initial episode ended, I couldn’t wait for the next. I haven’t felt that enthusiastic for a show in quite awhile.

When I describe the show to people, I say it has a “mood,” which is one of the things I love most about it. Morpheus, the main character, also know as Dream, is not necessarily nice, but he is good. He is honorable. He is even royal. But he’s also stubborn, and sometimes off-putting, and very often passive aggressive. (Though he can certainly be active aggressive when necessary.) In other words, despite Morpheus’ stoicism, he’s always in a mood, and so the show is as well. (The exquisite soundtrack definitely assists with this.)

Netflix’s The Sandman encapsulates everything I loved most about the comic book series while modernizing elements both appropriately and to the show’s benefit. It truly found a way to stay loyal to the source material while also feeling fresh and in the “now.” The world is no longer the same as it was when the comic book came out, and I’m personally glad the show adapted accordingly. Of course, if you know anything at all about The Sandman’s creator, Neil Gaiman, this should come as no surprise.

I’ll admit that the last half of the season didn’t exhilarate me as much as the first, but know that the latter half laid the groundwork for numerous stories to come. Everything is important–everything is connected.

If you enjoy epic storylines full of mythology, literary references, high-brow concepts, good old fashioned horror, and a huge touch of magic, I highly recommend The Sandman.

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Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness – A Movie Review

No pun intended, but it’s very strange to me that Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen have, in many ways, become the heart and soul of the MCU. I happen to really like both of them as actors, but I never dreamed Cumberbatch would play such a significant role across many MCU films after his initial Dr. Strange movie, nor did I expect Olsen’s character, Wanda, to undergo so much growth after first appearing in Age of Ultron.

Furthermore, Multiverse Of Madness seemed to be the crux of several previous MCU storylines. WandaVision, Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home and more all seemingly led to this film, which, obviously, created high expectations.

Finally, adding Sam Raimi to the mix elevated the excitement even more. In many ways, Raimi is the unofficial grandfather of the MCU thanks to his Spider-Man movies, and, if you check out his IMDB page, is no stranger to making weird horror films. He felt like the perfect fit for Dr. Strange.

So what did I think of Multiverse Of Madness?

No spoilers, I promise.

In the end, I liked it.

In the beginning, I didn’t.

I felt that Dr. Strange In the Multiverse Of Madness started off maddingly slow. Additionally, the special effects were … not good. Almost laughably bad, in fact. But, the good news is that the movie soon picked up speed and maintained a quicker pace, and the special effects got much, much better. I’d also like to say that some of those slow beats in the beginning paid off in the end. I was surprised that, for a film spanning multiple realities, a coherent, connected storyline eventually emerged.

Dr. Strange is a ridiculous looking character. Benedict Cumberbatch, at first glance, looks ridiculous as Dr. Strange. Yet, somehow, someway, Cumberbatch infuses a strange mixture of arrogance, charm, regality, intelligence, and even heroism into his performance in such a way that the audience quickly accepts all of the visual silliness and commits to the story. There were moments in this movie when I felt that Cumberbatch appeared as though he stepped right out of a comic book panel–and I mean that as a compliment. Cumberbatch plays very similar characters–he’s been typecast to a degree–yet there’s something different about him as Dr. Strange. Even apart from the hair and goatee, his entire appearance and demeanor just seems … different from his real life persona. A transformation occurs.

Of course, who knew Elizabeth Olsen would take an initially paper-thin character like Wanda from Age of Ultron and eventually turn her into perhaps the most sympathetic, relatable, and horrifying character in the MCU’s entirety? Again, no spoilers, but Multiverse Of Madness zigged when I definitely thought it was going to zag. I appreciate the fact that it proved unpredictable, and much of the film’s originality hinged on Olsen’s performance. No matter what, I’m Team Wanda, and I think most people are. That’s absolutely due to Olsen’s portrayal.

As stated earlier, Sam Raimi fit this movie perfectly. On the one hand, there were some obvious Sam Raimi choices. Overlays, fade-outs, audible cues–you’ll easily identify his fingerprints. On the other hand, his experience with horror and super heroes truly paid off. Dr. Strange In the Multiverse Of Madness had some genuinely scary moments. This is not the typical MCU kid gloves. Characters look scary, frightening things happen, and the gore, given it’s the MCU, shocked me on some occasions. I’m not sure we got full Raimi, but we got way more Raimi than I expected! I’m not convinced Dr. Strange In the Multiverse Of Madness was perfect for him, but he was certainly perfect for it.

Let’s quickly touch on some other performances. I loved Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez. Her character’s arc drove the film’s plot, which meant Gomez had to do a lot of work. She had to win over the audience, be both vulnerable and capable, and strike the right chemistry with her co-stars. No easy feat for a first appearance! Chavez pulled it off and I look forward to seeing America again.

Of course, Benedict Wong always steals the scenes. I love that his Wong has somehow become an MCU touchstone.

I’m also so glad that they finally gave Rachel McAdams something to do as Dr. Christine Palmer. The MCU was not especially gracious to its female “love interests” in the beginning, but they seem to be course correcting now. McAdams is an exceptional actor who is finally getting to show her skill to the MCU audience.

I guess we should address the anticipated cameos, right? Wrong. I’m telling you nothing. I’ll just say they made me so, so happy. Yet, like everything else about this movie, things did not go as expected. I’ll just leave it at that.

Credit scenes? Yep. The mid-credit scene is vital and has me SO excited for future possibilities. The post-credit scene is not must-see, but I loved it. It’s the perfect Raimi send-off.

Dr. Strange In the Multiverse Of Madness will prove polarizing among fans and critics alike. It dared to go against the grain, which will surely create some controversy. Another pain point for audiences could be that it does not have any interest in catching people up. It assumes you’ve seen all the Marvel shows and movies, and if you haven’t? Try to keep up. It’s not the best Marvel movie, but Raimi’s direction, the performances, the utter weirdness of it all, and the titillating cameos made for an entertaining experience.

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News Of the World by Paulette Jiles – A Book Review

I’ll be honest, I grabbed this book from my local library’s shelf because I recognized the cover from HBO Max and it looked like a fast read. I have not seen the movie adaptation starring Tom Hanks, nor did I particularly want to. You see, from the trailers I watched, the story did not seem all that appealing. A man riding from town to town reading newspapers? No thanks.

Little did I know, however, that News Of the World is actually about so much more.

The novel begins around 1870 as Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a man in his early seventies and veteran of multiple wars, is hired to return a ten-year-old girl to her relatives near San Antonio. This isn’t just any girl, however. This is a girl who has lived with the Kiowa for four years after they killed her family and took her captive. She has fully immersed herself in the Kiowa ways–she seems to have no recollection at all of her previous life. Kidd is headed towards San Antonio anyway, and so he agrees to take her with him.

Though Kidd does indeed read the news of the world to those isolated in Texas, the story is really about the bond he forms with the girl–Johanna–as they must evade danger at every turn and even, at times, face it head on. A patient–though very tough–man with children and grandchildren of his own, Johanna is more than just a passenger to Captain Kidd–she’s perhaps his last chance to do something meaningful in this world.

Paulette Jiles has written a story that is genius in its apparent simplicity. I could easily recount to you the major beats of the entire book. Make no mistake, though, Jiles sprinkles in such nuanced detail that you feel as though you are riding right along with Captain Kidd and Johanna in that covered wagon of theirs. The landscape, the clothing, the politics–Jiles deftly describes all of it with brief, potent, easy to envision passages.

Best of all? The book ended exactly how I wanted it to. I’m not going to spoil anything for you, but Jiles’ writing style reminds me quite a bit of Proulx and McCarthy, and so I naturally had great concern for Kidd and Johanna. In this case, at least, Jiles decided both had already been through enough trauma, which I greatly appreciated. I am definitely excited to read more by Jiles. Plus, you know what? I think I will indeed watch the film adaptation now.

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Night Of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones – A Book Review

While visiting the Normal Public Library, this cover and title jumped out at me as it resided in the “new” section. I read the back cover copy, became intrigued, and promptly checked it out. Plus, I had this feeling that I knew the author from somewhere.

Once I got the book home and started reading it, I realized that I enjoyed another work by Stephen Graham Jones called Mapping the Interior.

Night Of the Mannequins proved … interesting. The back cover led me to believe it would be a literal monster story–a story about mannequins coming to life. Instead the book presents a young man seemingly suffering from a psychosis of some sort who wants us to believe that he believes a killer mannequin is on the loose. His strategy for delaying the murder of many innocent people? Kill the mannequin’s primary targets instead so that the mannequin won’t commit any collateral damage. Those primary targets happen be the narrator’s closest friends.

It’s a strange story, to be sure. Part of me wanted to read it as a simple serial killer tale. Another part of me wanted to interpret it as a satire poking fun at modern day film. Yet another part of me felt it could be a story sympathizing with those who completely break from reality. Maybe it’s all of the above? Maybe it’s none of the above?

At just 130 pages, I didn’t mind going along for the ride. I personally didn’t particularly enjoy the book nor would I recommend it, but I’m sure there’s an audience out there for it. That’s the beautiful thing about books–there’s a reader for each and every one of them.