"Golda" Review

 

by John Zenoni

The newly-released film ‘Golda’, starring Helen Mirren, is about the late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, the only woman in that country’s history to hold that leadership position, and it definitely gives a chance for Mirren to shine in this role. The film takes place during the Yom Kippur War of 1973, when Israel was attacked by Egypt and Arab forces, during the holiest time of the year for the country. This put a tremendous amount of stress and frustration on Meir, and we get to see how she struggles with and makes key decisions that will impact her country. She even takes on the United States Secretary of State at that time, Henry Kissinger, in some pivotal scenes that are key to the outcome of the war.

Mirren does look very similar to Meir in the layers of heavy prosthetics, including the swollen legs and shoes Meir was known for, as well as the constant cigarette smoke, as Meir was a known chain smoker. Her performance is one to be recognized, although at times it does seem a little ‘forced’ and over-the-top. While I liked the other actors, this film focuses primarily on Mirren, and while her performance itself is something I enjoyed, the film itself was lacking overall in the excitement/suspense categories. While an interesting film on someone famous in history, not a great one, although I will say the mixing of true film footage in with the film was well done.

"Remarkably Bright Creatures" Book Review

 

by John Zenoni

‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ is a clever, heartwarming novel by Shelby Van Pelt, one which has garnered a lot of attention lately and I can understand why. It's the story of a unique relationship between a cleaning woman at a local aquarium and an octopus that has the ability to understand humans, identify their fingerprints left on the glass, and steals or sneaks items left behind by the humans and hides them in its den. What also works about this novel is how the various characters end up being connected in ways you would not expect. Perhaps not very realistic but it works nonetheless and makes for a good read. Very enjoyable!

"The Last Voyage of the Demeter" Review

 

by John Zenoni

By no means is ‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’ a classic horror/Dracula film, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that it was better than I expected. The story - as should be obvious from the trailer - takes place on a ship sailing to England with mysterious cargo on board, more dangerous than anyone would expect. The Captain and crew were warned by villagers from the beginning, when they saw symbols on the crates being loaded, that evil was going to be on board. But of course no one listened.

What makes this film work are the creepy setting/scenes of the ship and ocean at night, the makeup and special effects, including a very nasty-looking Dracula, and the acting of the main characters. Everyone does a really good job holding their own, particularly Corey Hawkins (of ‘Straight Outta Compton’, ‘The Walking Dead’ fame), who's the leading actor/hero of the story. The only aggravating thing is there are moments where you want to scream at the characters for some obvious things they should do (like, quit trying to chase this thing down at night when it kills, how about go down and open every cargo/coffin lid during the day!) but part of that is the fun too.

While this film is miles away from Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’, it's still worth a watch for a few scares and jumps.

"Hijack" Review

 

by John Zenoni

‘Hijack’ is an intense, nail-biting drama on Apple TV+ and is one of the best series I have seen on that fairly new platform, in comparison to how long the other streaming sites have been around. Once again, Idris Elba is excellent, as always, and he delivers a knockout performance!

Elba plays a corporate negotiator who gets on Flight KA29, which is on a seven-hour journey from Dubai to London. When the plane is hijacked, he tries to use his professional skills to save everyone on board. While you might go into this series thinking it's a plane hijacked for ransom or a political or religious cause, hang in there, as the latter part reveals a completely unexpected twist. Needless to say, the intensity and suspense only grows, as things begin to be revealed and the passengers become increasingly alarmed, scared and ready to do anything to stay alive. In addition to Elba, all of the other cast members do a great job as well. This is one worth watching!

"Only Murders in the Building" Season 3 Review

 

by John Zenoni

I'm so glad I decided to stick with this series - it took me about 5-6 episodes to really begin to enjoy it - and now I'm hooked. Martin Short and Steve Martin are hilarious together. And Selena Gomez adds that perfect go-between to bounce off the chemistry between the other stars. Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep are great so far! But I was actually most excited to see Noma Dumezweni in the cast! Absolutely love this woman and great actor who has stolen the show in everything I've seen her in. I hope to see her more around in this season (third) of the show!