Search

Search only in certain items:

Finch (2021)
Finch (2021)
2021 | Drama, Sci-Fi
9
7.3 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Very Effective
There are times when there is a “Perfect Storm” of film material, performance, mood, style and execution of said material and the headspace that I am in when I sit down to view the movie that elevates a film viewing experience above the norm.

Such was my experience when I sat down and watched the Tom Hanks Post-Apocalyptic film FINCH on AppleTV+. On paper, it looks like a run-of-the-mill “last few survivors on Earth struggle to remain alive” film, but - in my experience - it was much better than that.

Starring Tom Hanks as loner scientist Finch, who is scraping by in the remains of St. Louis with a dog and 2 robot helpers - robots of his own creation. When conditions in St. Louis worsen, Finch must pack up (with his 3 companions in tow) and head to a place where he thinks that life might be better - San Francisco.

Pretty standard “road movie” stuff, right? But in the hands of an Actor like Hanks, Emmy Winning GAME OF THRONES Director Miguel Sapochnik, a script by Craig Luck and Ivor Powell that digs into the humanity of Finch (and the situation) and some top-notch Computer animation of the Robots (especially “Jeff” voiced by Caleb Landry Jones), this film elevates itself above the norm.

There are not too many actors who could hold the attention of an audience for 2 hours speaking with 2 robots and a dog, but Hanks manages to do this - and do this very well. He brings his basic decency to the fore and makes us root for him from the start.

The surprise for me was the voice work of Caleb Landry Jones (GET OUT) who matches Hanks beat for beat and brings the same level of decency to his character. It is a testament to Jones’ work in a Motion Capture suit - and the “mo-cap” (Supervised by Scott Stokdyk) that makes the audience see and feel emotions on the face of the robot that just aren’t there. It’s that good.

Director Sapochnik really moves the film at the correct pace as he stops for the humanity, but doesn’t dwell on it too long - and, thus, avoids making the film too sentimental and mawkish. It is a delicate balancing act that this film walks very well.

Probably the biggest movie-going surprise of the year for me. A film that, at this point, will end up in my Top 10 of 2021.

Yes, I am as surprised as you are by this.

Letter Grade: A

9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
  
The Six (The Six #1)
The Six (The Six #1)
Mark Alpert | 2015 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
AI theme (4 more)
Quick read
Great character development
Unique plot
Well written
Action-packed and exciting
I hadn't really given the Science Fiction genre a fair chance, so I decided that this would be a "starter" book. I figured since it was Book 1 of a series, I'd either love this book enough to get the next 2 or just abandon all hope for the genre.
I am happy to say that I found this book action-packed and exciting with a unique plot.
Well developed characters bring you into the story and make you actually care what happens to them.
The thought of humans having their minds transferred into AI robots (as well as other objects) is amazing and frightening all at the same time...especially when it is for the purpose of defeating a lab-created AI that has gone rogue with an objective to annihilate the human race!
  
The Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy
2018 | Action, Fantasy
Pretty much everything (0 more)
A distinct lack of rain!! (0 more)
Superheroes, time travel, doughnuts and talking chimps
Contains spoilers, click to show
Another day another superhero tv show - right?? Well this one is really something special. Was hooked from episode 1. The best way I can describe it is a not as dark watchmen tv series. Bunch of kids with powers adopted by man who turns them into a superhero team. Years later they reunite when their 'father' dies. Then happens time travel, drugs, assassins, talking chimps, bird watching, robots, JFK conspiracies, the apocalypse and doughnuts! Like watchmen this has an amazing soundtrack which adds to the quality of the show. This would get 10 out of 10 but I just find Ellen Page terrible and every scene with her just made me cringe so (SPOILER) when she turns out to be the villain (sort of) I was quite pleased!! Watch this show!!!
  
Bumblebee (2018)
Bumblebee (2018)
2018 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
This was a good film (except for the scenes I couldn't see that included a certain wrestler.)
The Transformer movies have steadily slid into convoluted messes of CGI and plot holes. So, heading into this one I didn't know what to expect. This still had the robot fighting action you expect but seemed to take a step back from the other films and focus on a well-written story. Hailee Steinfeld is good in her role. She along with the ET-esque Bumblebee carry the heart of the film and force the audience to care about the "Robots in Disguise," something earlier films in the series seemed to have forgotten about. John Cena is also decent in his role. Overall, it's a cute and fun story of loss and rising from the ashes of that loss to return to life again. In my opinion the best one in the series.