Joni Parker's Blog - Posts Tagged "benedict-cumberbatch"
Movie Review: The Current War
No, this movie is not about the ongoing wars in the Mideast. It refers to the war in the late 1800’s between Thomas Edison’s conviction that DC power was best and George Westinghouse’s view that AC power had to be used in order to power the cities of the U.S. The conflict was heated and the culmination of this war was the Chicago World’s Fair in 1892. Both men submitted proposals and whoever won the contract would win the war.
Lost in the conflict was Nikola Tesla, a brilliant man who found a way to use electricity to power machines. He also believed in AC power. Although he first worked for Edison, he quit and he sold his design for an electric motor to Westinghouse.
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Thomas Edison. Edison was the big star of the conflict and his starpower overshadowed Westinghouse, who was played by Mike Shannon, even though Westinghouse’s use of AC power prevailed. All our homes are powered by it. Yet, Edison’s name always comes up. And up until recently, no one even mentioned Nikola Tesla, played by Nicholas Hoult. A brilliant man, Tesla’s ideas are only now being researched and examined. He died broke, by the way.
Overall, the movie depicted the conflict well, but I didn’t quite get into the movie at first. Maybe that was due to the lunch I was trying to eat at the time. I found this movie to be interesting because I didn’t know about it. Like most people, I thought Edison was the clever one, but he was only one of the three geniuses of that time period, working on this issue.
Lost in the conflict was Nikola Tesla, a brilliant man who found a way to use electricity to power machines. He also believed in AC power. Although he first worked for Edison, he quit and he sold his design for an electric motor to Westinghouse.
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Thomas Edison. Edison was the big star of the conflict and his starpower overshadowed Westinghouse, who was played by Mike Shannon, even though Westinghouse’s use of AC power prevailed. All our homes are powered by it. Yet, Edison’s name always comes up. And up until recently, no one even mentioned Nikola Tesla, played by Nicholas Hoult. A brilliant man, Tesla’s ideas are only now being researched and examined. He died broke, by the way.
Overall, the movie depicted the conflict well, but I didn’t quite get into the movie at first. Maybe that was due to the lunch I was trying to eat at the time. I found this movie to be interesting because I didn’t know about it. Like most people, I thought Edison was the clever one, but he was only one of the three geniuses of that time period, working on this issue.
Movie Review: 1917
A superb movie that shows not only the plight of soldiers during war but their desire to succeed. Two lance corporals, Blake and Schofield, are tasked to take a message to Colonel MacKenzie, who’s preparing to launch an attack the next morning. The attack must be stopped or 1600 men will die including Blake’s older brother. It’s a race against time and against the odds. The Germans have pulled their forces back as a feint, trying to draw the British in but those at the front don’t know it. The two young men set out on their mission, hoping for the best.
This film won movie of the year by the Golden Globes and I can see why. I pulled for these two all the way. It reminded me of the journey Frodo and Sam embarked upon in “Lord of the Rings” and some of the scenery was even reminiscent of Mordor. For much of the movie, the landscape was barren, having been ravaged by war; bodies lay where they fell; buildings were bombed out shells. It’s hard to believe that we didn’t learn from World War I and had to go through the second World War as well. And it still goes on.
Lance Corporal Blake is played by Dean Charles Chapman and George MacKay plays his good friend, Lance Corporal Schofield. Exceptional performances by both as well as the other members of the cast, which included such notables as Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch.
If you want to see a great war movie, this is the one. Nothing’s sugarcoated; it looks and feels very real.
This film won movie of the year by the Golden Globes and I can see why. I pulled for these two all the way. It reminded me of the journey Frodo and Sam embarked upon in “Lord of the Rings” and some of the scenery was even reminiscent of Mordor. For much of the movie, the landscape was barren, having been ravaged by war; bodies lay where they fell; buildings were bombed out shells. It’s hard to believe that we didn’t learn from World War I and had to go through the second World War as well. And it still goes on.
Lance Corporal Blake is played by Dean Charles Chapman and George MacKay plays his good friend, Lance Corporal Schofield. Exceptional performances by both as well as the other members of the cast, which included such notables as Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch.
If you want to see a great war movie, this is the one. Nothing’s sugarcoated; it looks and feels very real.
Movie Review: Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The storyline was simple, but that was all. Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) meets a young woman name America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) who has the power to go through the multiverse but she doesn’t know how she does it. He recognizes the need to protect her as the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) wants her power. So, Dr. Strange and America travel through the multiverse to hide from the Scarlet Witch until she finds them. Then the fight begins.
What drives this story isn’t the plot but the CGI. It’s amazing. The people and story are but props in this cinematic world full of strange stuff. Eventually, the story does come to an end, but I wasn't really sure what was the initial motivation to start all this to begin with. Why did the Scarlet Witch want the power to travel into the multiverse when she could already travel in it? Maybe I missed something. It was easy to do because there was so much going on.
While the ratings and the box office results were good, I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. I didn’t feel emotionally connected to the characters or invested in the story. It was interesting, but not satisfying.
What drives this story isn’t the plot but the CGI. It’s amazing. The people and story are but props in this cinematic world full of strange stuff. Eventually, the story does come to an end, but I wasn't really sure what was the initial motivation to start all this to begin with. Why did the Scarlet Witch want the power to travel into the multiverse when she could already travel in it? Maybe I missed something. It was easy to do because there was so much going on.
While the ratings and the box office results were good, I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. I didn’t feel emotionally connected to the characters or invested in the story. It was interesting, but not satisfying.
