Move over Texas hold ‘em, here comes chess! Great to see this grand game finally get a mass audience in this highly compelling, engrossing and exceptional mini-series. Anya Taylor-Joy is perfectly cast and a true grandmaster.
Elf
Late to the party on this, but I get the hype now. This is an extremely funny, feel good movie. A holiday and comedy classic. Will Ferrell delivers a flawless performance. Francisco!
The Crown Season 4
The brilliantly executed continuing saga of the monarchy unravelling, raveling, unravelling and unravelling some more as it attempts to stay relevant and avoid being crushed under its own weight. Production value is beyond stunning in this series. All hail the Queen!
Guinea Pigs
My family recently inherited a pair of guinea pigs. I went from not having or really wanting pets to now looking to transform our entire home into a free range guinea pig habitat. Great pets!
The Haunting of Bly Manor
Excellent follow-up to the fabulous and often terrifying The Haunting of Hill House. Bly Manor is plenty creepy, but to me, the horror angle gave it more of a compelling edge vs Hill House which caused me to fear for for my life when it got dark out and I was home alone and saw a shadow or heard a noise or breathed. Visually engrossing, lyrical and poetic with a really skillfully told circuitous storyline that probably gets even better with repeat viewings.
The Mandalorian
Whether a Star Wars scholar or more of a casual fan, this series works at all levels. Really captures the essence, sky high production value and just…fun.
Enola Holmes
Great addition to the Sherlock Holmes universe. This is a very fun and fast paced ride carried by a fabulous performance from the outstanding Millie Bobby Brown.
...and winter is here.
You do you, Minnesota
Winter is coming...
The first snowfall of the year is always exciting. Mid-October is a little early, but hey, why not?
ZOOM! A lot of ZOOM
I certainly miss being on-location for video shoots, however I am grateful for Zoom allowing business to continue. The audio and video quality definitely is not stellar, but it is an aesthetic that is acceptable for the times. And in the last week or so, I was able to visit England, India, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Austria, Germany, Abu Dhabi, Italy, South Africa and Rhode Island. Too bad Delta miles are not included.
Cobra Kai
The nostalgia goggles were firmly in place for my screening of season 1 of Cobra Kai. This is a super fun, clever and engaging extension of The Karate Kid universe. Something I never knew I wanted, but found out I really needed. Hey, I have no issues with living in the past, but Daniel-san and Johnny Lawrence’s obsessions top even Uncle Rico.
Jim Henson: The Biography
I stumbled upon this book and found it not only extremely informative, but a thoroughly enjoyable read about an extremely successful life of relentless creative pursuit. Really inspiring to learn about Henson and his team’s never ending energy, enthusiasm and joy in making the world a better place through their unique skills.
Classic Signs
Here’s my 2 favorite classic video-related signs. Long live these local Minnesota businesses!!
Muppets!
Need a mental break from all the tension, angst, rhetoric, division and incivility we’re inundated by today? One word: Muppets. Who doesn’t like Muppets? I hadn’t seen The Muppet Movie in forever. What just pure original fun, joy, lunacy, humor and creativity. The Steve Martin cameo may be his finest work. On the Muppet side, can’t say enough about how something as simple as Kermit achieves such significant levels of depth and expression. And yes, Sam, this film does have “socially redeeming value.”
Tom Cruise Stunts
The last couple Mission Impossibles, American Made, Edge of Tomorrow, Oblivion…Tom Cruise is really turning out some excellent movies and he’s not messing around. He’s going all out on his own stunts and it really does amp up the final product. I certainly applaud the dedication.
Practical Effects
An American Werewolf in London is a favorite movie I’ve screened many times. After several years, I decided to see how it holds up. This movie blew me away in my youth with how scary and funny it was. What really stands out now, after being barraged by SO much CG is the (spoiler alert) werewolf transformation done entirely with practical effects. It took 6 months to prepare for, a week to film and resulted in the first Academy Award for best Makeup. CG is great, but the more it can supplement the practical, the better the effect.
The Minneapolis Chain of Lakes
One of my favorite Minneapolis features is the stunning chain of lakes. Walking, swimming, sailing, fishing…whatever the waterfront activity, hard to believe you are in the shadow of downtown.
Uncut Gems
Relentlessly paced, relentlessly gritty, relentlessly manic story of relentless self destruction. It relentlessly immerses you in this world and will forever alter your opinion of the acting range of Adam Sandler and Kevin Garnett. Stunning performances across the board.
This...whatever this is
Fauda
This show is intense. Really, REALLY intense. Stunning camera work and action scene editing.
