This is a story that has followed an unconventional path. It was first brought to light by author Mark Boal, who wrote an article for Playboy magazine (Mark is also up for best screenplay for The Hurt Locker). Mark’s magazine article piqued the interest of director Paul Haggis, who turned the story into the movie In The Valley of Elah, which I saw and thought was very good. Mark Boal wrote the screenplay. There’s even been a 48 Hours segment. Now comes a more complete telling of the story by author Cilla McCain
Another truth is stranger than fiction story: The Informant
February 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
How did this film not get more attention? Matt Damon was great. The script was original. It’s one of those almost too strange to be true kind of stories. The movie reminded me a little of another film about a quirky character based on a real person – Flash of Genius by Marc Abraham about the guy who invented the intermittent windshield wiper.
Never Give Up! The Story of Anvil
February 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment
This is a film about dreams. It’s about hope and hanging on to the one thing that makes life worth living. Some have compared this story to the fictional group Spinal Tap. And while there are plenty of parallels to that film, this film is about real people; their successes, failures, and unrealized aspirations.
Review of More Than a Game
February 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
My goal with this blog has been to help bring attention to books, films, and documentaries that don’t always get a lot of attention. If I get just one person to see this film after reading about it here, then I will have accomplished this goal. This is a superb film from start to finish. Hollywood can spend gazillions of dollars cranking out mind numbing films like the Transformersmovies and the countless superhero flicks, but I’ll take a good documentary like this over those time-wasters anytime.
Review of The Botany of Desire DVD
February 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
This film was a PBS special. They could not have done a better job. Michael Pollan’s book covers the domestication of four plants: the apple tree, the tulip, cannabis, and the potato. This documentary takes the stories told in the book and brings them to life through interviews, images, and animation. Michael Pollan serves as the narrator. I liked Food, Inc. I liked this film even more.
Review of It Might Get Loud
February 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
This film covers three iconic guitar players from their childhoods to present day. The three guitar players are Jimmy Page, former lead guitar player for Led Zeppelin, The Edge, lead guitarist for U2, and Jack White, singer and guitar player for the White Stripes. I am very familiar with Jimmy Page’s work. I wasn’t familiar with the other two. I never was into U2, and the White Stripes I’ve never heard of.
Another sixteen-year-old enters the race
January 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I’ve been following the progress of sixteen-year-old Jessica Watson as she attempts to be the youngest person to sail solo around the world. Now it appears that another contender has entered the race. Her name is Abigail (Abby) Sunderland. Her brother Zac held the record for a whole two months before another teenager, who was two months younger, took the title from him.
Everything Google
January 21, 2010 By 1 Comment
I recently bought three eBooks all dealing in some manner with Google. I read all three at the same time, letting the Kindle keep track of where I was in each book. Since I read all three books simultaneously and all three cover similar ground, I thought I’d comment on them together rather than separately.
Review of Moon Over Broadway
January 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
This is another behind the scenes look at the making of a broadway show. A few weeks ago I reviewed Every Little Step. That film was about the auditioning process for the musical A Chorus Line. While that film touched on the genesis behind A Chorus Line, its focus was on the auditions. This film goes into a lot more detail about the creative process that goes into staging a Broadway play.
Jessica rounds Cape Horn
January 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about Jessica Watson, the sixteen-year old Austrailian girl who is attempting to be the youngest person to sail solo around the world. Today she rounded Cape Horn. This is a major milestone. It’s the first land she’s seen in three months. The picture below was taken by Jessica. Later today her parents will be departing Chile and flying overhead. She’s now making her way into the Atlantic and heading north for warmer temperatures.
My recent interview on BlogTalk radio
January 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Sky Steward Radio Show
January 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I’ll be doing a BlogTalk radio show tomorrow with host Gailen David starting at 1:00 pm EST. We’ll be talking about the upcoming anniversary of the Hudson ditching and how the events that took place in 1970 in the Caribbean had an impact on the outcome of Flight 1549. The radio show will be available as a podcast after the show.
Review of Trouble the Water
January 4, 2010 By 1 Comment
Kimberly and Scott Roberts lived in one of the flooded wards of New Orleans. They were a couple forced to live a life where opportunity didn’t exist. They are black and poorly educated. Their only choice for survival was drugs and crime, which only hampered any attempts to improve their situation. So when the order came to evacuate New Orleans they, like many others, were unable to do so. They didn’t have the resources.
The Best of Everything Nonfiction for 2009
December 31, 2009 By 2 Comments
Here is my list of the very best books, films, and documentaries that I’ve seen or read this past year. Only books or films that got a four star rating or higher made the list. Anything getting a five star rating is indicated with an asterisk. The items in this list do not necessarily have to have been released in 2009.
