Allen’s Film Reviews for Summer 2010 #3: The A-Team
Darn it but I loved The A-Team as a boy! For me, this was the film of the summer. Reviews have been mixed. This reflects my own judgment of the final product. But as a concept it still has class! In a venture like this, casting is everything, more important than plot or even dialogue. They had to look and feel the part, they had to have that chemistry of camaraderie that gave The...
Read MoreAllen’s Film Reviews for Summer 2010 #2: The Karate Kid
OK, first for the film. Jaden Smith, a little too young but believable enough in the part. Jackie Chan, the performance of his life, massive respect for his athleticism and range of achievements, minimal respect for Rush Hour 3 (the only movie I’ve ever vacated midway). The pacing dragged by about 12 minutes. The love interest subplot seemed forced, even mildly disturbing. The...
Read MoreAllen’s Film Reviews for Summer 2010 #1: Inception
Inception is the best film I’ve seen in many a while. By what standard? This – unlike others, it stuck in my mind far beyond the two minute walk from cinema to car on way home. In fact, for the first week after I watched it, images from it frequented my head (although thankfully not my dreams). I pestered people at work with the question, “What is the most resilient...
Read MoreNo More Heroes? #2
In the first post of this series, No More Heroes? #1, I introduced the concept of post-heroic leadership and gave some reasons for its rise. I also suggested that I have a problem with it, and here it is. I don’t like the name.Now this might strike you as rather feeble. Who cares what a thing is named? It’s the meaning that matters! The purpose of a name is to point to the...
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