Ghosts of Machu Picchu 2010

     Nova examines the ruins of Machu Picchu and tries to unravel what happened there.  Construction appears to date to the period of the two great Inca rulers, Pachacutec Inca Yupanqui (1438-71 and Tupac Inca Yupanqui (1472-93.  It seems to be a royal estate but not one passed down to successive rulers?  It was used for approximately 80 years and then abandoned?  The destruction of other parts of the Inca Empire also occurred about this time.  It’s possible that an epidemic of smallpox introduced by travelers before arrival of the Spanish caused the people to leave?

     There are many unanswered questions about Machu Picchu.  There is little information about human sacrifices?  Many were not given a proper burial and their skeletons succumbed to the elements.  Evidence remains that retainers were sacrificed to accompany a deceased noble in the afterlife such as done by the Egyptians.  Gifts of animals, liquids and dirt were left for the gods at the Altar of the Condor.  It’s not known why Machu Picchu was built on this high and difficult to access location.  Very skilled stone cutting was needed to make this kind of structure.  The one complaint I have about some documentaries like this one is that they show the same scenes multiple times and there is a lot of speculation.  3* (This movie is OK)

53 min, Doc aired on PBS with Valerie Andrushko, Fernando Astete, Stella Nair, Elva Torres Pino, Johan Reinhard, Craig Sechler, John Verano, Kenneth Wright.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 22 reviews, PBS 4 ½* out of 5* with 20 reviews.

Arthur & George 2015

     This series is based on a novel by Julian Barnes.  The setting is 1906 in Great Wyrley, Staffordshire.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has just lost his wife after a long illness.  He is overcome with grief but he receives a call about an interesting case.  A young Parsee solicitor has served 3 years in prison for a crime that Doyle doesn’t believe he has committed.  Doyle and his secretary Woodie travel to the home of Rev Shapurji Edalji to investigate the case.  Edalji’s son George seems to be innocent but there are many twists and turns involved in the case.

     I didn’t have a clue how this was going to end?  I didn’t know if George Edalji was innocent or was he guilty?  I hated the nature of the crime!!  Some of the events in the series are based on several real events in the life of Doyle.  In the case, there is a background of prejudice due to a feeling of superiority, the rigid rules of a class society, manner, dress, questionable behavior of law enforcement and the English school system.  Doyle doesn’t let anyone get in his way or deter him from his investigation.  There are several times he is spied on to keep track of what he’s doing?  This case resulted in a major change in British law.  4* (I really liked this series)   

  

60 min, 3 episodes, Bio with Martin Clunes, Arsher Ali, Charles Edwards, Art Malik, Hattie Horahan, Emma Fielding, Alan McKenna, Conleth Hill, Pearl Chanda, Hilary Maclean, Matthew Marsh, Timothy Watson.

Note:  Imdb 7.1 out of 10, 79% critic 100% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon Video 4.4* out of 5* with 905 reviews, Metacritic 73 of 100 with 10 critics 5.8 out of 10 with 4 reviews, Telegraph 2* of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in London and Staffordshire, England, UK.   Charles Edwards plays assistant Alfred Wood and he once played Conan Doyle in Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes of 2001.  Doyle jokes with Woodie and asks him to respond to Doyle's fan mail.  He believes Woodie does a better job at forging his name on the letters than Doyle’s actual signature!!

The Mountain Between Us 2017

     This film is based on a novel by Charles Martin.  Ben Bass and Alex Martin are both trying to get flights out of Boise Airport.  All the flights are cancelled due to an incoming storm.  Ben is scheduled the next morning for emergency surgery on a young boy.  Alex is getting married the next day.  They meet Walter, he’s a local private pilot and he will get them out for $800 each.  Shortly after takeoff, Walter suffers a stroke and the plane crashes.  Ben and Alex are stranded amid snowy mountains.  Walter died, Ben has facial contusions and Alex has a broken leg.  Walter’s dog, a yellow lab also survived.  A plane goes by overhead and they shoot a flare but it isn’t seen.  What is their best chance for survival, walk out or stay with the plane?  

     There is really nothing new about this film?  It seems more like an expensive Hallmark movie?  If you have big stars in the lead roles, you need to bulk up the screenplay!!  The scenery is very rugged and beautiful and I can imagine how cold it must have been in this area.  Winslet and Elba do have chemistry together and you don’t know throughout the film if they will survive.  Raleigh and Austin played the yellow lab called Walter’s Dog.  3* (This movie is OK)

112 min, Action directed by Hany Abu-Assad with Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, Beau Bridges, Dermont Mulroney, Linda Sorensen, Vincent Gale, Marci T. House, Dania Nassar, Lee Majdoub, Andres Joseph, Nacny Sivak.

Note:  Imdb 6.4 out of 10, 40% critic 48% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon Video 3.8* out of 5* with 723 reviews, Metacritic 48 out of 100 with 37 critics 5 out of 10 with 71 reviews,

Special Note:  Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and London, England, UK for re-shoots.  Most of the filming was on the border of Alberta and British Columbia.  There were very cold temperatures with tough and harsh filming conditions.  There was a 40- minute drive to reach the base camp for the film.  If conditions permitted a helicopter was used.   The budget for this film was $35 million and the gross worldwide was $62.3 million.  There was a delay in production to allow Kate Winslet to attend a memorial service for Alan Rickman.  Originally Michael Fassbender and Margot Robbie were set to play Ben and Alex.  Charlie Hunnam and Rosamund Pike replaced them but they both dropped out.  The book has 4.7* out of 5* with 1625 reviews on Amazon.

The Secret Scripture 2016

      This film is based on a novel by Sebastian Barry and it's one of the McNulty Family series of books.  Roseanne McNulty has been in a mental institution since 1942 and it’s been over 60 years.  The hospital is located in Roscommon, Ireland.  Dr. William Grene is the hospital’s psychiatrist and he’s called in by the local Catholic Church to assess her condition.  Rosanne can be transferred to another institution or she can be released.  Roseanne’s present story is told and her past is told in flashbacks.  She became an orphan in 1940 and she left Northern Ireland to live with her aunt in the Irish Republic.  Because she is very beautiful, several of the local men are interested in seeing her.  One of the men is Michael McNulty but he soon leaves to join the RAF.  The local Catholic priest Father Gaunt offers her inappropriate attention.  This attention causes her aunt to send her away from her job in her aunt’s pub.  She goes to live in a deserted farmhouse outside the village.

     While I was watching this film, I wondered if it was based on a true story or if it fiction?  Sebastian Barry has written three earlier books set in County Sligo, Ireland.  I don’t want to give too many details about this story but it is possible for it to be true.  I thought her aunt, the townspeople, the nurses and the doctors treated Roseanne unfairly.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)            

108 min, Drama directed by Jim Sheridan with Rooney Mara, Eric Bana, Aidan Turner, Theo James, Vanessa Redgrave, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Jack Reynor, Susan Lynch, Adrian Dunbar, Pauline McLynn, Elva Trill, John Connors.

Note:  Imdb 6.7 out of 10, 32% critic 62% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 467 reviews, Metacritic 37 out of 100 with 10 critics, The Irish Times 2* out of 5*, Guardian Wendy Ide 2* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in County Sligo, Kilkenny, Wicklow and Dublin, Ireland.  Originally Jonathan Rhys Meyers was cast as Father Gaunt but he dropped out when the project was delayed.  Jessica Chastain was to star as young Roseanne but she also dropped out.  The novel has 4.3* out of 58 with 246 reviews.  Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist, Winner of the Costa Book of the Year Award, Winner of the Irish Novel of the Year.

American Assassin 2017

     This film is based on a 2010 novel by Vince Flynn.  He has written fifteen novels set in the world of counter terrorism featuring Mitch Rapp as an American operative.   Mitch Rapp proposed to his girlfriend on a sunny beach.  Soon after, terrorists with machine guns kill her and many others on the beach.  Mitch was wounded in the leg and the shoulder but he physically survives.  His mental survival is another matter.  He starts training, lifting weights, going to the gun range, wrestling, doing anything to toughen his body and make his mind forget.  He wants revenge but he’s not sure how to go about getting it?  He lost his parents in a car accident when he was fourteen and now he’s twenty-three.  CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy is a black ops recruiter and enlists him.  He’s assigned to Stan Hurley for more training.  His first mission is as a team investigating a wave of random attacks on military and civilian targets.  This investigation leads to a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent.  Their goal is to stop a mysterious operative determined to fire a nuclear weapon from the Middle East to Israel.  The intention is to start another war. 

     This film has a LOT of action but it has more brains than some other assassin films!!  Plans have been ongoing for years to translate one of the Mitch Rapp books into a film.  Rapp is supposed to follow the book and follow Hurley's plan but he takes a lot of initiative on his own to push further.  Sometimes he's called out for his actions, other times he obtains valuable intelligence information or eliminates a known target.    3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

112 min, Action direction by Michael Cuesta with Dylan O’Brien, Michael Keaton, Sanaa Lathan, Charlotte Vega, Christopher Bomford, Chris Webster, Shahid Ahmed, Buster Reeves, Nick Cavaliere, Simon Connolly, Yousef ‘Joe’ Sweid, Joost Jannssen, Adam Collins, Revor White, Jeff Davis.

Note:  Imdb 6.2 out of 10, 34% critic 62% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 2 ½*, Metacritic 45 out of 100 with 30 critics 5.7 out of 10 with 96 reviews, Amazon 3.8* out of 5* with 578 reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed in Rome, Lazio, Italy; Croydon, West Kensington, Birmingham, London, England, UK; Valletta, Malta; Phuket, Thailand; Istanbul, Turkey.  The budget was $33 million with a gross of $66.6 million. The lead role of Mitch Rapp was offered to Chris Hemsworth but he had scheduling issues.  Gustavo Goulart was also invited according to rumors but not confirmed.  Other actors considered for were Gerard Butler, Colin Farrell and Matthew Fox.  Michael Keaton originally didn’t like his character but after reading the novel, he was on board for production.  Nominated for Taurus World Stunt Award for best fight with results pending.  There is another film with the same title from 2007.

Room on the Broom 2912

   This film is based on a children’s book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.  A witch and her cat ride along in the sky on her broomstick.  Later she allows a dog, bird and frog to also ride on the boom.  These animals have helped her so she offers them a ride.  Her cat is jealous and he doesn’t think she should have any other animals on the broom.  The weight makes the broom heavy and they have to land.  A fire-breathing dragon comes out of the bushes and he burns up the broom.  He threatens to eat the witch.  The cat, dog, bird and frog impersonate a monster to try and save her. 

     I thought this was a cute film but some young children might be frightened when the dragon comes on the scene.  I liked the changes in the expressions of the witch and the animals.  It’s colorful and filled with a lot of happiness.  4* (I liked this movie) 

25 min, Animation directed by Jan Lachauer and Max Lang with the voices of Simon Pegg, Gillian Anderson, Rob Brydon, Timothy Spall, Martin Clunes, Sally Hawkins, David Walliams.

Note:  Imdb 7.5 out of 10, 81% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, 4.9* out of 5* with 2518 reviews, Amazon 4.9* out of 5* with 2518 reviews, Common Sense Media recommends age 3 and older, 4* out of 5*, #* out of 5* for positive messages, 2* out of 5* for positive role models, 1* out of 5* for violence and scariness.

Special Note:  This film was nominated for Best Animated Short Film as a British submission.  Nominated for Annie Award for Best Animated Special Production.  Nominated for Best Animation Shanghai International TV Festival.  Won the award for Best TV Production from Annecy International Animated Film Festival.  Nominated for Best Foreign Animated Short Production Sichuan TV Festival.  Won the award for Best Animated Short Film TIFF Kids International Film Festival.

Ruby Sparks 2012

     Calvin has written a best selling novel, he still does interviews and book signings but he has writer’s block.  He’s seeing a therapist who gives him an assignment.  Write one page about a woman liking your dog just like he is.  It doesn’t have to be good, it just has to be something written.  He has a major breakthrough and words begin to pour out on the page.  Then unusual things begin to happen, he dreams about the girl he’s writing about.  A woman’s shoe appears in his home and then underwear is found in a drawer.  He must be seeing things but his brother saw the underwear too.  It’s back to the therapist!!  He shows his work to his therapist and this breakthrough is very encouraging except for the actual clothing in the drawer.

     This is good and different.  Calvin has swings of mood and angst.  For a while you are forced to wonder what is going on and for another while you still wonder what is real.  It sneaks up with different questions and insights as the scenes go by.  His mother and her boyfriend are a surprise.  How they live and behave.  There is a syndrome called Difficult Second Album and Calvin is suffering from this malady.  Once you become famous, how can you live up to expectations for the next novel?  How can you keep from disappointing your fans and making a fool of yourself?  You become paralyzed with fear and writer’s block!!  It’s easier to lay on the couch and talk to your therapist!!  3 ½* (I liked this movie)  

104 min, Comedy directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris with Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Chris Messina, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas, Steve Coogan, Toni Trucks, Deborah Ann Woll, Elliott Gould, Alia Shawkat, Jane Anne Thomas.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 79% critic 79% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Metacritic 67 out of 100 with 40 critics 8.1 out of 10 with 108 review, Empireonline 4* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Big Sur and Los Angeles, California.  Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan met while performing in a play Things We Want directed by Ethan Hawke in 2007.  They have been a couple since that date.