Welcome!

Thanks for visiting this blog, This is where I try to give accurate reviews on movies and books that I have read or watched.

Movies can be a lot fun to watch with family and friends. However I believe that we should not just watch a movie for entertainment sake, but that as Christians we should try to focus any film through a biblical world-view.

So as I review movies I'll consider; Is it worth "The Second Take?"

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Person of Interest. CBS

The new hit show now airing Thursdays on CBS (who needs it) will remind you of previous shows like 24 on FOX.     Person Of Interest  takes shape as two men team up to stop crimes that the government thinks are to small to deal with.  Reese (former and presumed dead CIA agent) and Finch and eccentric and mysterious billionaire. 

How?   Finch is a software/engineer genius who has created a pattern recognition "Machine"  that can predict peoples violent tendency 's and/or if they are targets of someone else.   Using state-of-the-art surveillance technology they work together to stop crimes before they happen.            
 If someone, somewhere, is planning something, Finch and Reese can find you.  And stop you.   Just remember you are being watched.


For those of you that like intense, fast paced and action packed TV shows, this one is for you.    Now of course you are probably thinking that we have enough Crime Dramas out there,  CSI, 24, Criminal Minds, just to name a few.      But this show was different in a few interesting ways.  Intertwining sleuth work, hacking electronic information, and on the ground action into one.  And a few old  questions that you might remember from 24 are:  Is it ok to break the law to save lives?      And breaking the law is a daily procedure for these two, a action that quite often puts them at odds with NYPD.
 Another question raised about this show is how much of it is imaginary, and how much is fact?   Could our Government ever be able to track all of our every day lives?  Or are they already doing it?     

One other thing I liked about POI so far was how relatively clean it is compared almost all other crime dramas out there.   Sure there are a few swear words scattered through the episodes and all are filled with gun blazing and hand to hand combat.  But nothing like the what is normal on these kinds of shows.   

So yes I enjoy watching this show and I hope they continue airing them.  And I will be coming back for a Second take. 


Episode 13:  Root Cause

Reese and Finch are following their new POI  Scott Powell who is out of work and may have reached his breaking point.  A local Congressmen pushed for state cuts that lost Powell his job,  is he planning on assassinating the Congressman?  Or is he being framed by those who want him dead.     4 1/2 stars

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Book Review: 'Through My Eyes'- Tim Tebow

Written by Tim Tebow and Nathan Whitaker, this book goes over the life story of man who has become a star on the NFL, and National stage.    Filled with his life experiences from his mother deciding not to abort him at pregnancy, to playing all kinds of sports while being home-schooled, and ultimately winning the BCS championship twice with the Florida Gators and being drafted into the NFL.  

The book is a wonderful read for a guy or anyone interested in sports and a Christian young man's life, filled with struggles and victories.    A motivational book too, as you read about his amazing drive to win and lead.  


So I enjoyed this book immensely, and will be reading this again in the future.   So I give  'Through My Eyes'  by Tim Tebow 4 1/2 stars and definitely worth The Second Take.   


Monday, January 30, 2012

The Kings Speech

These are dark days for England.  Germany is threatening war.  The Monarch has just died and the new king cares more for his pleasures than for his country.   The government is contemplating asking the king to resign and having The Duke of York(Colin Firth) his brother,  take the throne.   But there is a problem.  The Duke of York has a stammer that so restricts his speech that it makes public speaking all but impossible.   Will he conquer his defect to lead the people of England through "The darkest of times"?

The Kings Speech won four Oscars and with good reason.  The plot is great, it is pretty historically accurate and the acting is superb.    As you watch you will feel for the Duke and soon to be King, as he struggles against his stutter and trying to forget his painful past.

Now there is one serious downside to this film.     On the language scale its probably about a 9 of 10.   Including f--- and sh--.       Now most of these words come in two separate scenes as it helps the king to speak when he swears.      There is some swearing through the rest of the film but it's not as bad.    There is also some innuendo through the film especially when it concerns the the Duke of York's brother.    

So as long as you have something to mute the offensive language its a great movie and I enjoyed it.   So 4 stars (and as longs as you have the mute button ready), worth The Second Take. 



Friday, January 20, 2012

Sense and Sensibility [2008]

-Watch Trailer  
The family of a recently widowed lady loses their fortune and has to leave their family home.  And the two eldest girls find themselves hard pressed to marry the men they love due to their lose of fortune.   Besides are the men really what they seem?

Screen writer Andrew Davies [Who has to be my favorite] did this movie excellently.  The actors and actress' play their characters convincingly and the scenery is beautiful.

I liked the older version of this movie before, but the acting and screen play in this movie was the deciding factor in this version.
The first scene is one that you will probably want to skip and was unnecessary which is the downer to this movie. The guys [who might watch] will love the sword fight/dual between two of the main characters. 

So over all I give 'Sense and Sensibility' 3 1/2 stars.    Worth The Second Take.



Rock Symphonies-David Garret

David Garret fuses two popular genres into one in his newest album.  Taking Classical music from Vivaldi and putting twist of rock onto it.  Or on the other side taking a alternate rock song- [Smells Like Teen Spirit] and putting some classical down-spin on it.    So David Garret's -Rock Symphonies- is interesting as well as unique.

You can listen to his work on Spotify or on iTunes.