Ian Fleming's second Bond novel. You may recognize the title from that less than favorite 1973 film featuring Roger Moore for the first time, but believe me when I tell you this is something else entirely. If Casino Royale was status porn for the gentleman wannabe, Live and Let Die is a rude awakening with real stakes, dire consequences and gritty frustrations all circling an ever more hopeless mission for Bond and his poor, poor pal Leiter who gets off lucky once, but not twice.
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Black Panther is a wild and energetic African-inspired fantasy film with a hot cast of tomorrow's biggest stars and a social message that'll give you plenty to chew on for days after. I liked it, and it looks like so did everyone else. It's one of Marvel's most successful movies and it isn't even done running in theaters yet. But... In spite of all this, could it somehow be the worst superhero film ever made?
After another World War, industrialization through automation brings peace and prosperity to the world. Just about everyone loses their jobs to go on surviving on the benevolence of an essential welfare state while the elite managers of the machines hold out the last meaningful careers as paternalistic overseers. One promising Doctor Proteus, on the verge of a career breakthrough, begins to second guess the system that leaves so many millions floating uselessly through a perfectly benign yet blah existence. This is Kurt Vonnegut's first novel. Star Trek Discovery completes it's epic yet controversial first season with no shortage of last minute twists and thoughtful character developments that tie up the series' themes and plot lines quite nicely. But is it enough to satisfy the Trekkie fanboys? Let's take a look...
(14) "The War Without, The War Within" and (15) "Will You Take My Hand?" The last two episodes see our titular crew returned to their normal universe just as the Klingons close in on the Federation and Earth. They call it "nine months in the future" but they were in the Mirror Universe so long, this little so-called time displacement only serves as a distraction. Are they planning more timey-wimey stuff? No. Are they going to try to reverse the nine months they missed in order to save countless lives in an already lost war? Good idea, but nope, not that either. They're just gonna shrug and go with it, so again, I say, why bother with the time shift at all? Yes this! More this!
Welcome to the original Mirror Universe. Directed by none other than Commander Riker himself, Jonathan Frakes. Easily the best episode of the season and a great way to kick off the new year. I fell behind on The Orville when Star Trek Discovery won over my attention. Then a bunch of new movies hit like this under-the-radar flick called Star Wars? Maybe you heard of it? Anyway... I suddenly felt in the mood for some sassy Seth MacFarlane and decided to catch up and see what I missed...
This is the original James Bond, the cold, calculating, gentleman playboy of the 1950s. He's not rich but his tastes are expensive. He's not a super spy, but he's determined to complete his mission. Ian Fleming debuts his famous Double-O agent with perfect, pulpy unpredictability and it's nothing like you remember from the movies. This is not Sean Connery. This is not Roger Moore. This is not Pierce Brosnan. Okay, maybe it's a little bit Daniel Craig, but that's on purpose. Join me as I begin a year-long tour of the original Bond series, beginning with Casino Royale. LAPD buddy-cop meets Urban Fantasy in this District-9 style supernatural thriller that’s way better than it sounds. Unless it sounds cool, to you, in which case, you better check it out. Urban Fantasy (think Lord of the Rings but in contemporary settings) is still kinda making it’s way to the mainstream and I think a few critics out there just aren’t quite getting it yet. But for those in the know, or just not so genre-judgmental, Bright has all the makings of a sleeper hit. It’s got grit, banter, suspense and action layered beneath a compellingly creative social metaphor. But really it’s just a fun, incredibly well-executed Will Smith police procedural. With magic.
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