Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Ant-Man (2015) in Movies
Jul 21, 2017
Normal People
TV Show Watch
Follows Marianne and Connell, from different backgrounds but the same small town in Ireland, as they...
Dean (6927 KP) rated Where the Crawdads Sing (2022) in Movies
Aug 8, 2022 (Updated Dec 6, 2022)
It looks lovely from the setting and cinematography as most of it is filmed out in the Marsh land. Daisy Edgar-Jones stands out the most from the cast. Playing a girl who becomes a loner and recluse almost shunned by the small local town. She becomes accused of Murder of a young man she was once dating but is there anything to it more than town gossip. A entertaining film although the courtroom side of it is only a small back drop to her life story. Almost a Romance story at the heart of it as well, with a Notebook vibe. Maybe not as deep or clever as it might imply but I definitely enjoyed the story.
The Land That Time Forgot (1975)
Movie Watch
In 1916, Bowen Tyler (Doug McClure) is among a small group of survivors who capture a German...
The Blood Card
Book
On the eve of the Queen's coronation, DI Stephens and Max Mephisto uncover an anarchist plot and a...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated J. Edgar (2011) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
J. Edgar is the story of Hoover’s rise to “power”, as told by J. Edgar Hoover. The movie takes place during three different time periods: when Hoover was just a budding employee of the Department of Justice and his involvement in the creation of the Bureau of Investigation; flash forward to Kennedy’s time in the office of the President of the United States of America, and finally during Nixon’s short-lived administration.
Throughout the film we see the influence that Hoover had in the government at the time. Of course, at the beginning of his career, he had very little. But through lies, deceit and manipulation he quickly became very influential. He began building his “personal files” very early on, which he used to blackmail and coerce government officials into many things, but most of all to keep his position as head of the FBI.
Throughout the film we see J. Edgar Hoover’s struggle with his controlling mother, his sexuality and his political opponents. His mother, Annie Hoover, played by Dame Judi Dench, saw Hoover as the savior of their family name. It had been disgraced in her eyes by his mentally ill father. She was his guiding voice in all areas of his life, including appearance, stature and his sexuality.
We see Hoover make advances towards Helen Gandy, played by Naomi Watts, who is a typist who becomes his personal assistant his entire life. Hoover’s demeanor around her is awkward at best, and she makes it very clear that she is focusing on her career. Shortly after the creation of the Bureau of Investigations he meets Clyde Tolson, played by Armie Hammer of The Social Network fame. It quickly becomes obvious that there is chemistry between these two.
The film takes us all the way to Hoover’s death and the many things he has accomplished, or perhaps did not accomplish, in between. Remember that I said that this a story of J. Edgar Hoover as told by the man himself. This plays into the film in a very great way. Overall, this is definitely a must-see film as it is a great drama sprinkled with spots of humor. I can see a trio of Oscar nominations with this film for Clint Eastwood in directing, and for Leonardo Dicaprio and Armie Hammer in acting.
A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts
Book
Salem, Massachusetts, may be the strangest city on the planet. A single event in its 400 years of...
Revival
Book
A dark and electrifying novel about addiction, fanaticism, and what might exist on the other side of...