A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Donald John Trump, the 45th President of the United States, has been in office for only six days, and everyone - except his hard-core supporters - is extremely worried about America's future. I know that many people who come across this post probably think that I'm either a "liberal sore loser" who dislikes President Trump because he beat the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, back in November. Or that I'm an anti-American, unpatriotic, bleeding heart idiot who can't admit that Mr. Trump will make America great again. It is true that I don't like the current occupant of the Oval Office, but not for merely partisan reasons. I have never been a member of either the Democratic or Republican Parties; when I registered to vote back in 1984, I told the Department of Elections person who handled my paperwork that I wanted to register as an Independent. I hate extremism, whether it is from the Right or the Left. I am leery of any movement that calls for ...

Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) aka Die Hard 3 Directed by John McTiernan Written by Jonathan Hensleigh Based on certain original characters created by Roderick Thorp Starring: Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Graham Greene, Colleen Camp, Larry Bryggman John McClane: I'll tell you what your problem is, you don't like me 'cause you're a racist! Zeus Carver: What? John McClane: You're a racist! You don't like me 'cause I'm white! Zeus Carver: I don't like you because you're gonna get me killed! In the spring of 1995, 20th Century Fox released director John McTiernan’s Die Hard with a Vengeance, the third film in a series featuring Bruce Willis as hard-to-kill cop hero John McClane. As in Die Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2 (1990), Willis’ character is once again “in the wrong place at the wrong time.” This time around, the reluctant hero is in New York City, where he faces off against  a mad bomber (Jeremy Irons) who has a p...

(C) 2015 Warner Bros./Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy Nine years after director Peter Jackson concluded his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy with the Academy Award-winning epic The Return of the King, Warner Bros. released The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Starring Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, and Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, this 2012 fantasy film is the first installment of an ambitious trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 novel, The Hobbit. An Unexpected Journey was followed by The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in 2013. A year later, Warner Bros. closed the story arc with The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. The Hobbit Motion Picture Trilogy is the prequel to Jackson’s adaptation of Tolkien’s three-volume novel The Lord of the Rings. Thematically, The Hobbit is faithful to the spirit of Tolkien’s book, the script by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens...

(C) 2012 New Line Cinema/Warner Bros. Pictures The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) Directed by Peter Jackson Written by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee Gandalf : Well, why does it matter? He's back! Thorin Oakenshield : It matters. I want to know - why did you come back? Bilbo Baggins : Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right... I often think of Bag End. I miss my books, and my armchair, and my garden. See, that's where I belong, that's home. That's why I came back... 'cause you don't have one, a home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can. Considering the success of director Peter Jackson’s epic fantasy film series The Lord of the Rings ($2.92 billion worldwide box office gross, plus 17 Academy Awards won out of 30 nominations)...