Monday, February 28, 2022

Shutdown How Covid Shook the World's Econony: Book Review

                                                                                  


Jim's Review

Adam Tooze goes through the timeline of Covid starting point and the impact it had on the world in a very detailed account 

7 out of 10 stars

About book
"This book’s great service is that it challenges us to consider the ways in which our institutions and systems, and the assumptions, positions and divisions that undergird them, leave us ill prepared for the next crisis."Robert Rubin, The New York Times Book Review

Deftly weaving finance, politics, business, and the global human experience into one tight narrative, a tour-de-force account of 2020, the year that changed everything--from the acclaimed author of Crashed.


The shocks of 2020 have been great and small, disrupting the world economy, international relations and the daily lives of virtually everyone on the planet. Never before has the entire world economy contracted by 20 percent in a matter of weeks nor in the historic record of modern capitalism has there been a moment in which 95 percent of the world's economies were suffering all at the same time. Across the world hundreds of millions have lost their jobs. And over it all looms the specter of pandemic, and death.

Adam Tooze, whose last book was universally lauded for guiding us coherently through the chaos of the 2008 crash, now brings his bravura analytical and narrative skills to a panoramic and synthetic overview of our current crisis. By focusing on finance and business, he sets the pandemic story in a frame that casts a sobering new light on how unprepared the world was to fight the crisis, and how deep the ruptures in our way of living and doing business are. The virus has attacked the economy with as much ferocity as it has our health, and there is no vaccine arriving to address that.

Tooze's special gift is to show how social organization, political interests, and economic policy interact with devastating human consequences, from your local hospital to the World Bank. He moves fluidly from the impact of currency fluctuations to the decimation of institutions--such as health-care systems, schools, and social services--in the name of efficiency. He starkly analyzes what happened when the pandemic collided with domestic politics (China's party conferences; the American elections), what the unintended consequences of the vaccine race might be, and the role climate change played in the pandemic. Finally, he proves how no unilateral declaration of 'independence" or isolation can extricate any modern country from the global web of travel, goods, services, and finance. learn more and buy book

Kill Command (2016): Movie Review

                                                                                                  


Jim's Review

Group of marines who are on a remote island thinking its a training exercise. In no time they figure out they have to survive robots with an evil agenda

5 out of 10 stars

About film
In the near future, a training exercise leads to a fight for survival when Marines encounter advanced military robots on a remote island.


No Exit (2022): Movie Review

                                                                                   


Jim's Review

No Exit is terrific film with cool story and lots of twist and turns. 

This isn't for the faint of heart as there are some very gruesome scenes and the final act will have you saying "I didn't see that coming!"

10 out of 10 stars

About film:

A college student, on her way home from visiting her mother, gets stuck with a group of people at a mountain rest stop during a blizzard. Things take a turn for the worse when the young woman discovers a kidnapped child in a car belonging to one of the people inside, putting the group in a terrifying life-or-death situation as they struggle to escape while trying to discover who among them is the kidnapper.


Mandalorian Season 2 (2019): Series Review

                                                                                 


                                                                                    Jim's Review

     Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) is on a quest to return The child to the Jedi. Along the way he continues to face adversaries and challenges to get to the goal.

                      The climatic end will bring closure to the this amazing season of characters and cinematic masterpiece


                                                                       10 out of 10 stars


                                                                                About film

             After the fall of the Galactic Empire, a lone gunfighter makes his way through the outer reaches of the lawless galaxy.

 

                                                         

                                                                                         

        

                                  

Peacemaker Season 1 (2022): Movie Review

                                                                                  



Jim's Review

Peacemaker (John Cena) and his weird group go up against another group with a even weirder agenda

5 out of 10 stars



About series
Peacemaker is a man who fights for peace at any cost, no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.



Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Gasoline Alley (2022): Movie Review

                                                                                           


                                                            Jim's Review

                                           Jimmy Jayne (Devon Sawa) gets drawn into a triple murder and soon realizes they are bigger things happening around him. He decides to investigate with the help of two detectives who warn him not to. The cat and mouse game begin until the final dramatic takedown happens and only a few will survive the consequences.

                                                                           6 out of 10 stars

 

                                                      About film

Set in the underbelly of Los Angeles, a man is drawn into a high-profile triple murder. The two police detectives on his tail soon join him in attempting to uncover an explosive conspiracy.

                                                    

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

West Side Story (2021): Movie Review

                                                                                        


Jim's Review

The iconic West Side Story musical brought to the silver screen by Steven Spielberg is cinematic masterpiece that was amazing to watch.

It was cool to see the layer acting, singing and large musical choreography in action!

8 out of 10 stars

Movie plot
Love at first sight strikes when young Tony spots Maria at a high school dance in 1957 New York City. Their burgeoning romance helps to fuel the fire between the warring Jets and Sharks -- two rival gangs vying for control of the streets.



Monday, February 21, 2022

Uncharted Live action Fan film: Movie Review

                                                                              


Jim's Review

Nathan Drake (Nathan Fillion) takes on the Uncharted game and brings it to the silver screen in the mini film made for fans of the game worldwide

10 out of 10 stars


About film
The Uncharted Live Action Fan Film is a 2018 action adventure short film directed by Allan Ungar and co-written by Ungar and Jesse Wheeler. It is based on the best selling PlayStation franchise Uncharted by Naughty Dog


Uncharted Fan Film: Nathan Fillion as Nathan Drake Exclusive Clip





UNCHARTED - Live Action Fan Film (2018) Nathan Fillion




Big Data and AI Toronto Conference 2020: Hacking the human mind: The rise of social engineering security threat

                                                                          


Big Data and AI Toronto 2021 - Leadership conference stage

Speakers: - Hisham Qaddoumi, Founder & CEO @ QWS Technologies - Jim Pagiamtzis, Co-Founder @ Get Connected and HQ Media The year 2020 has witnessed a significant drop in breaches caused by cyber-attacks despite the original expectations in 2019. Many experts explain that this was because of the high alert of companies of all sizes and the gigantic investment in the of cloud security. Yet, the human factor still the most important in both protecting and failing. According to Cybnet, 95% cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error mostly through social engineering. So, is hacking the human brain going to be the biggest next cybersecurity challenge? This is what this session is trying to answer and discuss.

                                                   

Uncharted (2022): Movie Review

                                                                                 


Jim's Review

The uber successful Uncharted video game franchise come to life as Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) teams up with Victor Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg) in search of 5 billion dollars in lost treasure.

The two begin the quest in search of the gold with lots of adversaries along the way!

In took some time for the story to get started as Victor recruits Nathan with the hope of the treasure yet there is more than meets the eyes as Nathan is in search of his brother Sam who had gone missing years before.

The cat and mouse game begins between them and clues begin to show and the journey begins.

There lots of references to the game (see article below) if you have not played it not missing much really

The action sequences are truly epic in every way as director Ruben Fleisher pulls out all the stops and takes advantage of Tom Holland experience as spider-man and Mark Wahlberg charismatic drama and comedic flow make them a dynamic duo 

As you reach the climatic end everything will everyone involved will face a final epic battle.

There a few end credit scenes that will fill in the gaps and wanting more of Uncharted franchise 

8 out of 10 stars 

Uncharted: Movie Review - KJ Proulx  read more

Additional articles you may find of interest
Uncharted: The complete Easter Egg and Video Game References Guide

Uncharted Director Breaks Down How Nathan Drake's Plane Stunt was filmed

About film
Treasure hunter Victor "Sully" Sullivan recruits street-smart Nathan Drake to help him recover a 500-year-old lost fortune amassed by explorer Ferdinand Magellan. 

What starts out as a heist soon becomes a globe-trotting, white-knuckle race to reach the prize before the ruthless Santiago Moncada can get his hands on it. If Sully and Nate can decipher the clues and solve one of the world's oldest mysteries, they stand to find $5 billion in treasure -- but only if they can learn to work together.





Licorice Pizza (2022): Movie Review

                                                             


Jim's Review

Alana Kane (Alana Haim) and Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) are growing up in the 1970's and on the path to falling in love as they grow and learn about life along the way.

10 out of 10 stars


About film
Alana Kane and Gary Valentine grow up, run around, and fall in love in California's San Fernando Valley in the 1970s.


A Quiet Place Part 2 (

                                                                          


Jim's Review

The Abbott family continues the quest for survival from a deadly enemy the quickly realize the are new enemies to deal with

9 out of 10 stars


About film
Following the deadly events at home, the Abbott family must now face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. Forced to venture into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path.


Death on the Nile (2022): Movie Review

                                                                              


Jim's Review

Kenneth Branagh is back as director and star as Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot as he tries to solve a murder with so many suspects he begins his investigation with has lots of twist and turns and misdirection until the final act when the murder is revealed

7 out of 10 stars

About film
Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple's idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short.


Shark memorabilia: Feature article


                                Shark King hat from the recent The Suicide Squad film




                                                                                Shark looking for a new home 

                                                                             

Final Destination 3 (2006): Movie Review

                                                                            


Jim's Review

In this recent version of Final Destination saga a group of high school student who cheat death getting of a roller coaster and the ramifications of that become deadly for all.

7 out of 10 stars



Movie plot
Six years after a group of high-school students first cheated death, another teen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has a premonition that she and her friends will be involved in a horrifying roller-coaster accident. When the vision proves true, the student and her fellow survivors must deal with the repercussions of cheating the Grim Reaper.



The Man who made things out of trees: Book Review

 

                                                               



Jim's Review

Robert Penn had a fascination with trees so he did something so extravagant and beautiful with his vision and passion for it.

10 out of 10 stars

About book
An exuberant tale of craftsmanship for nature lovers and rugged outdoor types everywhere

Robert Penn cut down an ash tree to see how many things could be made from it. After all, ash is the tree we have made the greatest and most varied use of over the course of human history. Journeying from Wales across Europe and Ireland to the USA, Robert finds that the ancient skills and knowledge of the properties of ash, developed over millennia making wheels and arrows, furniture and baseball bats, are far from dead. The book chronicles how the urge to understand and appreciate trees still runs through us all like grain through wood. learn more and buy book






Deep Blue Sea 3 (2020): Movie Review

                                                                                 


Jim's Review

In the latest installment of Deep Blue Sea three bull sharks are in direction of a nursery full of great white sharks.

Dr. Emma Collins (Tanya Raymonde) deals with here exboyfriend coming to here nursery with ulterior motives that she is no happy with.

6 out of 10 stars


About film
Dr. Emma Collins and her team are spending their third summer on the island of Little Happy studying the effect of climate change on the great white sharks who come to the nearby nursery every year to give birth. However, their peaceful life is disrupted when a "scientific" team shows up looking for three bull sharks.


Onward - How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul :Book Review

                                                                       


                                                                           Jim's Review

                          A riveting account of what happened to Starbuck as Howard Schultz decided to take back the reigns and reinvent the company from the inside out. The highs and lows from internal company issue to how the external forces brought pressure toward Starbucks trying to be the company Howard envisioned they should be.

                                                                              9 out of 10 stars

 


                                                                     About book:

In this #1 New York Times bestseller, the CEO of Starbucks recounts the story and leadership
lessons behind the global coffee company's comeback

In 2008, Howard Schultz decided to return as the CEO of Starbucks to help restore its financial health and bring the company back to its core values. In Onward, he shares this remarkable story, revealing how, during one of the most tumultuous economic periods in American history, Starbucks again achieved profitability and sustainability without sacrificing humanity.

     


                  


Friday, February 18, 2022

Final Destination 5 (2011): Movie Review

                                                                                                   


Jim's Review

Final Destination movie genre continues in this latest saga of a bridge collapse and the ramifications to the survivors.

The scenes are getting more gruesome!

8 out of 10 stars


About film
During a bus ride with his colleagues to a corporate retreat, Sam (Nicholas D'Agosto) experiences a horrifying vision: the suspension bridge that they -- and many others -- are crossing starts to crumble around them. When his vision ends and, almost immediately, starts to come true, Sam takes quick action that saves a number of people, including his girlfriend, Molly (Emma Bell), and his best friend, Peter (Miles Fisher). However, the survivors soon find that Death will not be denied.


The King's Man (2022): Movie Review

                                                                                      


Jim's Review

The origin of The King's Man is explained in the prequel 

6 out of 10 stars


About film 
                       One man must race against time to stop history's worst tyrants and criminal masterminds as they get together to plot a war that could wipe out millions of people and destroy humanity.  

                                                                            

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Matrix Resurrections (2021):Movie Review

                                                                                           


Jim's Review

A very convoluted and disappointed movie to watch. 

5 out of 10 stars

movie plot;
To find out if his reality is a physical or mental construct, Mr. Anderson, aka Neo, will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more. If he's learned anything, it's that choice, while an illusion, is still the only way out of -- or into -- the Matrix. Neo already knows what he has to do, but what he doesn't yet know is that the Matrix is stronger, more secure and far more dangerous than ever before.


Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Transformers Bumble Bee: Feature Article

 


  Since the first Transformers film have been fascinated by Bumblebee. 

  Below are some photos of two cars and there transformation

 Highly recommend watching the Bumblebee (2018) trailer below

                                                                                         


                                                                   


         

                                                                                 

 Bumblebee Trailer

                                                                                 

The French Dispatch (2021): Movie Review

                                                                            



Jim's Review

Brilliant story about the The French Dispatch and a group of extraordinary individuals who brought the written word to life.

8 out of 10 stars


Movie plot
A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th-century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in "The French Dispatch."


Monday, February 14, 2022

Canadian Immigrant Magazine: Feature article


Canadian Immigrant Magazine has amazing articles. learn more


                                                               





                                                                                

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: Special Review

 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is creating lots of buzz online as who is going to be in it?  Tom Cruise?  Professor X?  Fantastic Four with new characters

New trailer was shown on Sunday February 13 during the Superbowl LVI and lots of people are talking and analyzing. Below is the trailer and analysis. stay tuned...


                                      



                                                                   


more details.....


                                                       

Fantasy Island (2020): Movie Review (NETFLIX)

                                                                                   


Jim's Review

Mr Roarke (Michale Pena) give lucky guests their fantasies to come true, the quickly realize things are not what they seem.

6 out of 10 stars


Movie plot
The enigmatic Mr Roarke makes the secret dreams of his lucky guests come true at a luxurious but remote tropical resort, but when the fantasies turn into nightmares, the guests have to solve the island's mystery in order to escape with their lives.


Super Bowl LVI L.A Rams vs Cincinnati Bengals: Sports Review

 

Sunday February 13,2022


Superbowl LVI had finally arrived. All 6 playoffs games were full of last minute efforts and this years Super Bowl LVI was no different

The L.A. Rams were back after 4 years facing the cinderella Cinncinati Bengals. 

The Rams were only 4 point favoured to win the game and it turned out they didn't cover!

In the end Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford went to work and orchestrated a tremendous drive late in the 4th quarter to seal the win.

                                                      


                                                                       





                                                                 

  

                                                                    


Calligraphy School: Book Review

 

                                                               

                                           Jim's Review


                                           Two reason enjoyed reading from the book

                                        1st improve my writing skills

                                         2nd learn more about the art of calligraphy

                                        

                                      As you can see below my writing skills have improved tremendously and whenever I have to print or write do my best to use these skills


                    Next is to get a calligraphy tools and work on that. stay tuned....

    

                             10 out of 10 stars!!!                     


       


                                                                 




 

Bob Proctor who impact many with personal development information : Feature article

  Never had the chance to meet him but I have the opportunity to listen and learn from his books, audios and DVD's


  In December 2020 I watched and took notes of  You Were Born Rich. It was an amazing experience to learn from the early personal development guru and the impact he made around the world.

 He will be dearly missed by many.