Oct 2, 2014

Kevin Finnerty Talks 'The November Man' and My Favorite Spy Pierce Brosnan

Kevin Finnerty

Professional film critic since 2003 and a member of the San Diego Film Critics Society. Host of “The Movie Guys” radio film review show from 2007 through 2013. Film and television critic for Showbizjunkies.com and a movie buff since 1973.

Movie Review: ‘The November Man’ Starring Pierce Brosnan

“He’s probably the best friend I’ve ever had,” says Devereaux (Pierce Brosnan). “All your friends try to kill you?” asks Alice (Olga Kurylenko). “Eventually,” replies Devereaux who’s being hunted by a CIA assassin he trained before retiring from the spy game in the dramatic action film, The November Man.

Ex-CIA operative Peter Devereaux has been enjoying a quiet, peaceful life in Switzerland when an old colleague, Hanley (Bill Smitrovich), reaches out for his help on one last mission. A mutual friend of theirs, Natalia (Mediha Musliovic), needs to come in from the field and has become so paranoid she’ll only trust Devereaux to bring her in. Still having a soft spot for Natalia who he had more than just a “working” relationship with, Peter agrees to help.

Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned and Natalia’s cover is blown during her attempted extraction. She gives Devereaux the name of an important witness who needs protection: Alice Fournier (Olga Kurylenko). Not long after finding Alice, Devereaux discovers that they’ve both been marked for death by the CIA due to information Alice has involving the CIA and the Chechen War. If that wasn’t bad enough, to make matters worse Devereaux’s old protégé, David Mason (Luke Bracey), is leading the hunt.

With both CIA and Chechen assassins hunting them and growing suspicions that there is a mole in the agency, Devereaux finds himself on the run with no one to trust and a slim chance of survival.

Gritty and suspenseful, The November Man brings ex-007 Pierce Brosnan back to the big screen in a darker, more serious spy thriller. Brosnan is perfect as Devereaux, the retired master spy who reluctantly gets pulled back into the world of espionage and soon realizes that even he is in way over his head.

Devereaux is a colder, older, and highly experienced spy who knows how to survive in the Cold War. Finally, Brosnan is given the opportunity in November Man that he didn’t have in the Bond series: to portray a seasoned, refined, and extremely lethal secret agent straight, without the tongue-in-cheek dialogue. And he does it wonderfully.

Also a Bond franchise veteran (although from a different era than Brosnan), Olga Kurylenko is extremely effective in the role of Alice. Kurylenko portrays her as both an overwhelmed, terrified and mistrusting target and at times a sexy, willful and determined woman. Kurylenko and Pierce have solid chemistry which comes across strong in the few quiet moments they have together on screen in between the fighting and chasing scenes.

The action scenes are thrilling, with car chases, multiple shoot-outs and a few cat and mouse on foot chases. The scene where Bracey as Mason is hunting Devereaux through the streets of Belgrade while talking to him on a cell phone is sure to be a crowd-pleaser, with Devereaux taunting Mason with lines such as, “So kid, tell me about your target.”

The November Man‘s realistic dialogue and strong cloak-and-dagger tone is due to the terrific direction by Roger Donaldson working from a script by Michael Finch and Karl Gajdusekvc. The cinematography and production of the film looks stunning, and benefits from being shot on location in Belgrade and Montenegro. Perhaps the only drawback to the film is the slowing of the pace at the midpoint in The November Man, but that picks back up as it heads toward a suspenseful finale.

Gripping and action-packed, The November Man is a first-rate spy thriller that’s sure to entertain Pierce Brosnan and espionage movie fans.

GRADE: B

The November Man is rated R for strong violence including a sexual assault, language, sexuality/nudity and brief drug use.

– Reviewed by Kevin Finnerty

Thanks, Kevin, for your very insightful movie review...here is a link to Kevin's webpage and more movie reviews:

http://www.showbizjunkies.com/movies/the-november-man-review/

Oct 1, 2014

from N'DIGO: Hermene Hartman and Company-Sylvester Cosby and Aquantee Hendricks-Give Us Their Take On Black-ish

Thanks to Hermene, Sylvester and Aquantee for giving us their take on Black-ish

Like Tweet

Preferences Forward

by Hermene Hartman, Sylvester Cosby and Aquantee Hendricks

WE were at the office having a discussion on the new sitcom, “Black-ish” and I realized we were of different generations and had different viewpoints. So we all wrote our interpretations of the program. Based on our “water cooler” conversations, this is a collaborative review.

A new word has been added to the Americano vocabulary - Black-ish. Is it a noun or an adjective? It is yet a new word to be added to the description of Blackness or African “Americanese.” It is, perhaps a contemporary view on race relations. It will explain, defend, and possibly offend depending on who you are and where you are in your status/station of life. The show is certain to be controversial. The new ABC sitcom (Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.) premiere had a viewing audience of more than 11 million in its debut. That’s a hit in TV language.

Black-ish is about a Black suburban family whose patriarch fears his kids are losing touch with their heritage, starring Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Laurence Fishburne and introducing four young actors/actresses. This is not an extension or update on The Cosby Show, who was just an American family that was Black but quite average in its middle class happenings. This is different. Black-ish is a cross generational view of a well to do Black family living in America with a Black consciousness. (Ellis Ross), the mother is of mixed race and is a doctor. She is liberal. The family consists of four children and a live-in granddad.

This is a family you might know. The father (Anthony Anderson) is an advertising executive at a white agency. He is up for a promotion in the company; his niche is carved out as the Senior Vice President of the Urban Division, rather than Senior Vice President of the Company. He thought he was to be Senior Vice President of the Company, but not so. How many times have we seen this situation? No matter how hard your efforts, your education, your profitability, your experience, your skill set - you are still marginalized to the “black” spot. His wife gives him the other side, a reality check that says you are Senior Vice President of something and what’s wrong with “Urban Division?” He gets it. But does this mean he can’t aspire to being Senior Vice President of the white company? Does he have to wait and be the VP of Urban first or has he reached his height as “Urban VP?”

Laurence Fishburne is a boomer, an old school gent who probably recalls the civil rights struggle. He’s probably experiencing with his grandchildren situations that he never absorbed or are just simply beyond his grasp. He observes his son’s raising “new school” children.” His grandson attends school with Jewish students. He comes home with friend announcing he wants a bar mitzvah. His white friend calls him “Andy” instead of Andre. Oh well. The father sees this as his son losing his very own culture heritage and calls for an emergency family meeting on cultural values and identity. The son wants to play field hockey as a sport rather than the traditional black male game of basketball. The father agrees to a “bro mitzvah.” Something new.

Blackish raises fundamental questions about social class as black folk achieve upward social mobility. How do you raise kids who never wanted for anything to not forget “our struggle” or where they came from?” And what is black culture? Is it the affluent lifestyles of reality stars? Is it images of the basketball player’s cars and their houses? What happens when rappers go Hollywood? The world has borrowed or taken “Black” culture characteristics. “Sista’s” aren’t the only ones with a big butt and a smile. But everybody borrows from each other. How does Kyane West really fit behind the closed doors in the Kardisian world? The world is a mixture of “ish.”

Black-ish presents an honest discussion on race and culture across generational lines. Change is clear and social progress has been made, but to what degree you might ask. This is a show of melting pot integration and how diversity looks today in our lives. How Blackness looks to the hip hopper is different than how it looks to the millennium or the boomer, is the essence of the first episode. Times have changed. Society has changed. There are a large percentage of 20 something’s who don’t have a clue or appreciate the struggle of some of our black icons. Hopefully “black-ish” will provide nuggets here and there. Blackish will provide history lessons infused with life lessons on who we are, who we have become and how other races perceive us. It also will be interesting to see how we make ourselves adapt into new worlds. Do we allow name changes? Do you allow others to make comments about black images seen on television, in the media and in reality?

Black-ish examines a lot of issues that plague the middle/upper class African-Americans, issues that whites are probably not even aware of. How do you make life better for your children and their children without losing a sense of who you are? How do they not feel “the struggle” and still understand what it is to struggle? So many parents never want their children to feel the pain of racism. So much of Black culture has come out of hurt or triumphs from injustices never for their children to experience “racial pain.” So we leave the “ghetto” and move to the suburbs. We put our children in the best schools, that are usually predominately white, and they never know about the troubled environments you left behind. In doing so, you leave one troubled environment for another.

You become “a different kind of Black person” or “ not really Black,” like being Black is terrible and because you are not a stereotype you are an anomaly. You go from Andre to Andy, and instead of being a Senior Vice President of the company you only get the “Urban” Division. The mother’s character’s name is “Rainbow” presents an interesting view, regarding her husband’s promotion. If they didn’t give the position to a Black person you would be upset, and you have the position you are still upset. It’s difficult to be happy and insulted at the same time.

As a young woman contemplating a family, I struggle with how I want to raise my children. I will probably move to the suburbs and have the big back yard for the kids to run around in without the constant sounds of sirens. It is our jobs to preserve our culture. We have to teach our children that they are not anomalies, and to teach people who have only encountered black people on television that we are a great race of people. Where ever we go and what ever we do, it’s always a “struggle” we have to learn how to adapt to this one.

Blackish is comedic with serious overtones and will open a lot of eyes. Already I have heard some say they don’t like it because it establishes new stereotypes or it presents an unrealistic view on Black America. Black-ish is new and it’s forthcoming episodes will probably be controversial. It WILL make us look at ourselves regardless if you’re ages 5 to 80 or white or black.

I look forward to the new episodes this fall season.

American Sewing Guild Wichita Featuring Jacket a la King and Shirt Tail Expert Linda Lee

Thank you to the Wichita Branch of the America Sewing Guild for your very friendly hospitality yesterday on your 5th Tuesday all day sew-a-thon. I really wanted to find a group to sew with as I always love the inspirations and tips. Gosh--there were so many expert sewers there at that meeting and they were so willing to chat and share their sewing expertise......not to mention the delicious oatmeal cookies.

Can't wait for Jacket a la King at your regular monthly meeting and your field trip to see Linda Lee in Topeka--Linda Lee--my favorite shirt tail hem girl.

See you soon...........Sherry/chloe louise/the ronnie republic: What's Up Wichita and The Sewing Herald Tribune--Bringing the world together with food and fabric.

here is a link to their facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/ASGWichita

Seriously, if you want to know the best way to make a shirt tail hem--it's do-able and easy to understand and it comes out looking great.......Linda Lee shows us how as she was a guest on Sewing With Nancy........Nancy Zieman and her vids are easy to find with a quick google search.

Sep 19, 2014

Huntsman and Hillary: A Brilliant Combination

English: Savile Row, a shopping street in London Français : Savile Row, une rue commerçante de London Camera: Casio EX-S100. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: View from the street of the front of 3 Savile Row (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Gieves & Hawkes on Savile Row 1 in London. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Seriously, I love Hillary Clinton.....always have and always will.

Can't wait for her to be President.

Love Jon Huntsman--one of the few sane members of the Republican Party.

Love Huntsman--Brilliant and stunning tailors of Savile Row.

Why not give some of your stunning jackets to Hillary Clinton to wear on her political campaign.

I can see Hillary Clinton campaigning now in a stunning and brilliantly tailored Huntsman suit--it's an awfully chic picture.

Hillary deserves the best--that's the best suit--Hillary's the best president.

It's a win-win situation......

Stunning, beautiful and brilliant: Huntsman and Hillary