Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”!

I’ve got passes for the latest Denzel Washington film, Roman J. Israel, Esq., and I’m dying to share ’em!  Check out the trailer.  Me, I’m in it just for the soundtrack (and what is looking like an incredible performance by Washington, natch.) Want more?  Of course… Synopsis!

Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a dramatic thriller set in the underbelly of the overburdened Los Angeles criminal court system. Denzel Washington stars as a driven, idealistic defense attorney whose life is upended when a turbulent series of events challenge the activism that has defined his career. Colin Farrell costars as the ambitious, monied lawyer who recruits Roman to his firm.

Ready?  Let’s go!

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TrailerWatch: “The Greatest Showman”

“Everybody’s got an act.”

Planning your holiday movie watching?  Well, I’ve got a trailer for the Hugh Jackman musical The Greatest Showman, and it looks like it’ll be a lot of fun. It’s a look at how P.T. Barnum started his famous “Greatest Show On Earth”!

While I’m not a fan of La La Land, I dug several of the songs.  The same lyricists wrote the songs here, and their Busby Berkley-esque musical numbers totally work with the fantasy elements of Barnum (& Bailey).  Maybe it just took a different director with a better vision…?

The Greatest Showman hits theaters everywhere on December 20, 2017!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr9QtXwC9vc

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: “Last Flag Flying”!

Welcome to a new week!  I’ve got passes for Last Flag Flying, a bittersweet comedy starring Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne. The trailer looks great, and who can ignore such an incredible cast?  Synopsis!

In 2003, three decades after a tour of duty in Vietnam, soft-spoken New Hampshire family man Larry “Doc” Shepherd (Steve Carell) surprises alcoholic Former Marine Sal Nealon (Bryan Cranston) when he shows up at his bar in Norfolk, Virginia. Together they visit their formerly wild comrade-in-arms Richard Mueller (Laurence Fishburne) at the church where he now serves as pastor. Soon after, Doc reveals that his son, a Marine, has been killed in Iraq. He asks his two friends to accompany him on a road trip to attend the young man’s burial at Arlington Cemetery.

Ready for a touching but fun road trip?  Let’s go! Continue reading

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Elsewhere Review: Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary’s Beowulf: The Script Book

Originally published in 2007 at Green Man Review; read the repost HERE at The Green Man Review! Though I’m itching to edit the hell out of this 10 year old review, I’ll leave it sit as it is…was.  Whatever.

Unlike most people, I have fond memories of reading Beowulf in high school. Maybe that’s why I’m writing for GMR rather than some other site. But the tale of a hero riding in to save the day — and rip the arm off of a monster with his bare hands — was fantastic to my highschool D&D playin’ eyes. I like barbarians, what can I say? So I figured the script book would be just as interesting. The fact that Neil Gaiman is one of the scriptwriters added to my initial interest. I resisted the urge to grab a turkey leg (it’d set the mood, y’know?) and dug right in. Continue reading

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Elsewhere Review: Alter Eco Dark Blackout 85% Cocoa Chocolate Bar

Read the original piece HERE at The Green Man Review!

“I’m sending you some chocolate.” – has there ever been a more wonderful message? “It’s 85% cocoa.” – maybe not so much?  I don’t like dark chocolate over 75%. That’s what I’d tell people. All of the chocolate I’d had over my arbitrary percentage line was gritty, bitter, and left a weird taste in my mouth.
Til now.

Alter Eco has mastered the art of making crazy-high cocoa content chocolate tasty as hell.  Dark Blackout is smooth, but with just enough of a dark chocolate kick to drive home the fact that this ain’t your kid’s Trick-or-Treat nibble.  No way.  This is high-toned chocolate excellence that adults will hoard, telling their little ones that it’s not something kids would like.  These adults would be lying through their teeth, but hey.  More for us, right?  Correct. Continue reading

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Elsewhere Review: Charlaine Harris’ The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories

Head here for the original piece at The Green Man Review!

Alrighty, Sookie fans that think they’ve got every single thing The Mighty Harris has written about our girl.  I can almost hear you thinking “Wait, what’s new here?”  Seriously, y’all think way too loud.  Try to tone it down, will you?  And listen up, because Complete is definitely a book you’ll want to add to your library.
Why? What’s the difference between this book versus The Sookie Stackhouse Companion and the last Sookie compilation A Touch of Dead? Think of Complete as the book that gathers the stories from both these books, and includes four more from other multiple-author anthologies.  It’s also got new introductions to each story with bits about how and why she wrote each one, and where each story fits within the whole Southern Vampire chronology.  I’ve got A Touch of Dead on my bookshelf, and I’m happy to put this new book right next to it.  And I’ve gotta get on picking up a copy of Companion.  But enough about me. Continue reading

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“Murder on the Orient Express”(2017) – a gorgeous but slightly bumpy ride

Nutshell: Gorgeous visuals, a stellar cast, and a killer mystery adds up to a promising film. Though things tend to sputter midway through, and the plot focuses a bit too heavily on Poirot, it all gets wrapped up nicely.  Plus, that scenery! Grade: B

“The killer is mocking me.  Good.  His first mistake.”

Story: Hercule Poirot, the self- and widely proclaimed Greatest Detective In The World, is long overdue for a bit of R&R.  Unfortunately his restful train ride from Aleppo to Istanbul becomes work when a passenger is murdered.  Should be easy work; every single person on the train seems to have disliked the recently deceased… Continue reading

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TrailerWatch: “The Post” trailer and poster!

Streep! Hanks! Speilberg! Seriously, what more do you need to know about The Post? Okay…synopsis!

Steven Spielberg directs Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in The Post, a thrilling drama about the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post’s Katharine Graham (Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks), as they race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades and four U.S. Presidents. The two must overcome their differences as they risk their careers – and their very freedom – to help bring long-buried truths to light.

I love me some journalistic intrigue!  You too?  Peep the trailer below.  The Post hits theaters December 22nd, 2017 in Awards Season limited release, and January 12th, 2018 wide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrXlY6gzTTM

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”!

Happy Wednesday!  Ready for passes for a dark comedy indie flick?  Well I can totally help you out on that, because I’ve got passes for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri!

The trailer looks amazing…but that’s to be expected when you’ve got someone like Frances McDormand in the lead. Synopsis!

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI is a darkly comedic drama from Academy Award® winner Martin McDonagh (IN BRUGES). After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes (Academy Award® winner Frances McDormand) makes a bold move, commissioning three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby (Academy Award® nominee Woody Harrelson), the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell), an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated.

Ready to get your indie on?  Let’s go!

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: “The Room”!

Ever hear about the film The Room?  It’s known as “the worst movie ever made”, but it’s loved by many, and a midnight movie favorite.  Wanna know what all the fuss is about?  Well, I’ve got passes for a Baltimore showing of The Room, so you can check it out…and be prepared for when this film’s biopic The Disaster Artist hits theaters next month!

Synopsis?  Sure, such as it is…

THE ROOM is about Johnny, who is a successful banker (possibly a vampire, too) that lives happily in a San Francisco townhouse with his fiancée, Lisa. One day, inexplicably, she gets bored with him and decides to seduce his best friend, Mark. From there, nothing is ever the same again.

Ready?  Let’s go!

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