Friday, October 30, 2020

Ex Machina (2014): Movie Review

                                                                                                    


                                                                       Jim's Review

                                                             Caleb Smith ( Domhnall Gleason) is brought in to evaluate an A.I. (Alicia Vikander) for seven days. Her creator Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac) is watching every step he takes.

                                                         Very quickly weird things are happening and nothing is what it seems as a game of cat and mouse starts with lots of twist and turns begain.

                                                             Until the climatic end only 1 will survive who will that be?

                                                                                    7 out of 10 stars


                                                                        Movie plot:

                   Caleb Smith, a young programmer, gets a chance to become a part of a strange scientific experiment where he is expected to assess artificial intelligence by interacting with a female robot.

                                                                                                


Thursday, October 29, 2020

No Escape (2015): Movie Review

                                                                                                     


Jim's Review

Jack Dwyer (Owen Wilson) moves his family to Southeast Asia his wife Annie Dwyer ( Lake Bell) and their two kids are trying to get used to life in this new country until chaos hits and they are on the run! 
They have some help from Hammond (Pierce Brosnan) to help them escape and get to Vietnam border

Thrill ride with lots of twist and turns and amazing actions sequences!

9 out of 10 stars


Movie plot:
Jack Dwyer moves to Southeast Asia with his family only to be caught between a political uprising and riots aimed at foreign companies. He must do what it takes to get his family to safety



Wednesday, October 28, 2020

A Simple Favor (2018):Movie Review

                                                                                                           

                                                                              Jim's review

                                           Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) is a single mother and vlogger who meets Emily ( Blake Lively) they start a interesting friendship until Emily disappears and Stephanie get concerned about her. This starts an investigation that has twist, turns and deception all wrapped into a tied ball of intrigue.

                    It soon begins to unravel and then has more deep holes of deception until the climatic end where everything gets revealed.

                                                                        9 out of 10 stars

                                                                         Movie plot:

                Stephanie is a widowed, single mother who works as a vlogger in Connecticut. Her best friend, Emily, seems to have it all -- a successful career, a loving family and a glamorous lifestyle. When Emily mysteriously disappears one day, Stephanie launches her own investigation by digging into her friend's past -- and finding a few surprises along the way.            

                                                                                         


        

  

Monday, October 26, 2020

The Promise of Artificial Intelligence- Reckoning and Judgement: Book Review

                                                                                                           


                                                                     Jim's Review

                                       Thin book with a powerful message on Artificial Intelligence 

                                                                            8 out of 10 stars

                                                                  About book:

       An argument that—despite dramatic advances in the field—artificial intelligence is nowhere near developing systems that are genuinely intelligent.

In this provocative book, Brian Cantwell Smith argues that artificial intelligence is nowhere near developing systems that are genuinely intelligent. Second wave AI, machine learning, even visions of third-wave AI: none will lead to human-level intelligence and judgment, which have been honed over millennia. Recent advances in AI may be of epochal significance, but human intelligence is of a different order than even the most powerful calculative ability enabled by new computational capacities. Smith calls this AI ability “reckoning,” and argues that it does not lead to full human judgment—dispassionate, deliberative thought grounded in ethical commitment and responsible action.

Taking judgment as the ultimate goal of intelligence, Smith examines the history of AI from its first-wave origins (“good old-fashioned AI,” or GOFAI) to such celebrated second-wave approaches as machine learning, paying particular attention to recent advances that have led to excitement, anxiety, and debate. He considers each AI technology's underlying assumptions, the conceptions of intelligence targeted at each stage, and the successes achieved so far. Smith unpacks the notion of intelligence itself—what sort humans have, and what sort AI aims at.

Smith worries that, impressed by AI's reckoning prowess, we will shift our expectations of human intelligence. What we should do, he argues, is learn to use AI for the reckoning tasks at which it excels while we strengthen our commitment to judgment, ethics, and the world.Learn more and buy book

All Eyez on Me (2017):Movie Review

                                                                                                      


Jim's Review

Tupac Shakur (Demetrius Ship Jr.) had a journey that twist and turns and he survived for a short while to become an amazing  rap star, movie star. Until his untimely death at the age 25 he was top of the charts and living a life he so deserved.
 
9 out of 10 stars

Movie Plot:
The true and untold story of prolific rapper, actor, poet and activist Tupac Shakur (Demetrius Shipp Jr.), from his early days in New York to his status as one of the world's most recognized and influential voices. Against all odds, Shakur's raw talent, powerful lyrics and revolutionary mindset establish him as a cultural icon whose legacy continues to grow long after his death.




Pawn Sacrifice (2014):Movie Review

                                                                                                              



 Jim's Review

Bobby Fischer (Tobey McGuire) an American Grandmaster is on personal journey to become the best chess player ever. He fights his own personal issues and affects everyone around him as he ends up facing Borris Spassky (Liv Schrieber) and epic battle of mind and wits 

10 out of 10 stars

Movie Plot:
Bobby Fischer, an American grandmaster, challenges the best player in the Soviet Union in a chess championship, causing the two nations to use this to fuel their respective agendas.



Once upon a time in Hollywood (2019): Movie Review

                                                                                                   


                                                                           Jim's Review

                         Rick (Leonardo DiCaprio) is washed out actor and Cliff (Brad Pitt) is stunt double. Rick next door neighbor is Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and her husband Roman Polanski

                       Rick and Cliff go on interesting journey of reflection of who they are in the movie industry and where they end up is left up to them.

                                                                                             5 out of 10 stars

                                                                             Movie plot:

                    Rick, a washed-out actor, and Cliff, his stunt double, struggle to recapture fame and success in 1960s Los Angeles. Meanwhile, living next door to Rick is Sharon Tate and her husband Roman Polanski. 

                                                                             


 

Game of Thrones Season 5 (2015): Movie Review

                                                                                                      



 Jim Pagiamtzis Review:

The plot thickens and there is full death, deception and decapitations in the continued battle for the throne.

10 out of 10 stars


Movie plot:
Nine noble families wage war against each other in order to gain control over the mythical land of Westeros. Meanwhile, a force is rising after millenniums and threatens the existence of living men



Friday, October 23, 2020

Enter the Babylon System: Book Review

                                                                                         


                                                                Jim Pagiamtzis Review:

                        Tremendous book that goes into the history of guns and the impact they have made in society.  Rodrigo Bascunan and Christian Pearce share history and stories of gun in the movies. gangs and the impact on how society looks a guns.

 They interview all types of people in the industry and the more you read the intrigue will build chapter by chapter you will learn thing that may make you angry on how this industry operates worldwide.

          Even in our own backyard of Ontario we are part of the problem as we have a major gun manufacturer that makes and sells guns all over the world!

                    Truly a remarkable book that will give more information and knowledge as the responsibility falls with many individuals that has brought the rise of guns in our society and the problems it has caused and not easity solved

                                                                           10 out of 10 stars

 

                                                                     About book

   A docu-style investigation of our fascination with the gun, from the perspective of the hip-hop generation.

The 2003 shooting death of Toronto community-centre worker Kempton Howard put the spotlight on hip hop’s fixation with guns. Media and police soon blamed rap music and its tales of gang life on bullet-ridden US streets for the rising use of firearms in Canadian crime. Were these songs artful accounts of a terrible truth, or a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Rodrigo Bascunan and Christian Pearce have interviewed many of the major players in the hip-hop world. As publishers of an award-winning magazine of urban culture, they’d watched rap music become a scapegoat for society’s much older and widely spread fascination with guns. What follows is their international adventure to deconstruct modern gun culture in all its manifestations. Bascunan and Pearce seek out hip-hop artists, illegal gun runners, firearms aficionados and manufacturers, museum curators, academics, politicians, video-game creators, activists, victims of gun violence and the family and friends left behind.

Somewhere between Fast Food NationNo Logo and a Michael Moore documentary, featuring sly sidebar material and original artwork, Enter the Babylon System is part outrageous journalistic pursuit and part passionate cri de coeur for sanity in the face of a society’s obsession. Learn more buy book

Bascunan/Pearce-Enter the Babylon System-author interview  Interview with the both Authors

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Self Less (2015): Movie Review

                                                                                        


Jim Pagiamtzis review

 Damian (Ben Kingsley) transfer his mind to a younger person Damian (Ryan Reynolds) in the beginning things go well than later his mind starts to remember and the chase begins to seek out the truth

6 out of 10 stars

Movie Plot:
A scientist transfers the mind of a terminally ill billionaire into an artificially-grown body, but the result is not quite what he expected.



Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Godzilla- King of Monsters (2019): Movie Review

                                                                                                 

                                                               

                                                                Jim Pagiamtzis review

  Godzilla is King of Monster but apparently his has to prove it again for everyone to know! 

 Monsters are unleashed all over the world and a wreaking havoc. Monarch is trying to Godzilla and new monster Mothra to help save the day yet a evil organization is given them trouble along the way.

     Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) and her daughter Madison Russell (Mille Brobby Brown) have a device that can communicate and control the monsters.  Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) is on quest to save the relationship with his daughter. His wife seems to have other plans that hinder everything that is going on in the world

      Godzilla does make his spectacular return in the 3rd and final proves that he is the King of Monsters!

         This sets up the next film where he takes on King Kong at Skull Island because there are more bigger monster lurking there that need to meet Godzilla

                                                                                  9 out of 10 stars

                                                                         Movie Plot:

         The members of Monarch, an crypto-zoological organisation, must rely on the Godzilla and Mothra to defeat King Ghidorah and Rodan, after the former awakens other dormant Titans to destroy the world.

                                                      


6 Underground (2019): Movie Review (Neflix)

                                                                                                            


                                                                          Jim Pagiamtzis review

  One ( Ryan Reynolds) and 5 other talent team member go on epic adventure to take down one big kingpin.

         The dialogue is useless but the action throughout the film more than makes up for it. Amazing stunt sequences on the ground, in the air and everything in between.

                                                                       7 out of 10 stars

                                                                                  Movie Plot:

                   Six individuals from all around the globe, each the very best at what they do, have been chosen not only for their skill, but for a unique desire to delete their pasts to change the future.

                                                                             


Tuesday, October 20, 2020

3:10 to Yuma (2007): Movie Review

                                                                                                     


Jim Pagiamtzis review

Dan Evans (Christian Bale) decides to escort Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) in cat and mouse game with various groups chasing to the train station

9 out of 10 stars

Movie plot:
Civil War veteran and small-time rancher Dan Evans decides to escort Ben Wade, an outlaw, for a paltry sum of 200 dollars to regain his lost honour and retrieve his barn from Glen Hollander.
 



Monday, October 19, 2020

21 Lessons for the 21st Century: Book Review

                                                                                               

                                                                         Jim Pagiamtzis Review

                          This my first time reading one of Yuval Naoh Harrari books and I am instant fan of his. Truly a gift writer and the ability to explain his 21 Lesson in very effective ways. In some way I was little irritated by the clear authenticity of his points yet as I finished the book they truly made sense to me.  

            He covered interesting topics from how employment  will look in 2050 to terrorism, religion and God.

                                                                10 out of 10 stars

                                                                      About Book:

                        In Sapiens, he explored our past; in Homo Deus he looked to our future. Now, one of the most innovative thinkers on the planet turns to the present to make sense of today's most pressing issues.


How do computers and robots change the meaning of being human? How do we deal with the epidemic of fake news? Are nations and religions still relevant? What should we teach our children? 21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a probing and visionary investigation into today's most urgent issues as we move into the unchartered territory of the future. As technology advances faster than our understanding of it, as hacking becomes a tactic of war, and as the world feels more polarized than ever, Yuval Noah Harari addresses the challenge of navigating life in the face of constant and disorienting change and raises the important questions we need to ask ourselves in order to survive.

In twenty-one accessible chapters that are both provocative and profound, Harari builds on the ideas explored in his previous books, untangling political, technological, social, and existential issues and offering advice on how to prepare for a very different future from the world we live in. How can we retain freedom of choice when Big Data is watching us? What will the future workforce look like and how should we ready ourselves for it? How should we deal with the threat of terrorism? Why is liberal democracy in crisis?

Harari's unique ability to make sense of where we have come from and where we are going has captured the imaginations of millions of readers around the world. Here he invites readers to consider values, meaning, and personal engagement in a world full of noise and uncertainty. In such a world deluged with irrelevant information, clarity is power. The ability of 21 Lessons for the 21st Century to present complex contemporary challenges clearly and accessibly makes it essential reading. Learn more and buy book

                                                                          

Birds of Prey and the Fabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn (2020): Movie Review

                                                                               


                                                                    Jim Pagiamtzis Review:

                            Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) has moved on from her putting Joker and formed a new crew and soon finds she is in the middle of all the trouble!

                 Cool all female cast with director Cathy Yan showcases a thin storyline but the action sequences are truly superb!   

                                                        7 out of 10 stars

                                                                                Movie plot:

                              It's open season on Harley Quinn when her explosive breakup with the Joker puts a big fat target on her back. Unprotected and on the run, Quinn faces the wrath of narcissistic crime boss Black Mask, his right-hand man, Victor Zsasz, and every other thug in the city. But things soon even out for Harley when she becomes unexpected allies with three deadly women -- Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya.                                                              

                                                                                    


Friday, October 16, 2020

How The Mind Works: Book Review

                                                                                             

                                     

                                                                       Jim Pagiamtzis Review

                                       Steven Pinker has written a very detailed and insightful book on how the mind works. It is a thick read that I recommend to read slowly to grasp all the examples, stories and information he shares.  

                                       By the time you finish this book you will be awe about the power of the brain and we can take advantage of our power that we have.

                                                                               9 out of 10 stars

                                                                                  about book:

                   “A model of scientific writing: erudite, witty, and clear.” ―New York Review of Books

In this Pulitzer Prize finalist and national bestseller, one of the world's leading cognitive scientists tackles the workings of the human mind. What makes us rational―and why are we so often irrational? How do we see in three dimensions? What makes us happy, afraid, angry, disgusted, or sexually aroused? Why do we fall in love? And how do we grapple with the imponderables of morality, religion, and consciousness? ?How the Mind Works? synthesizes the most satisfying explanations of our mental life from cognitive science, evolutionary biology, and other fields to explain what the mind is, how it evolved, and how it allows us to see, think, feel, laugh, interact, enjoy the arts, and contemplate the mysteries of life. This new edition of Pinker's bold and buoyant classic is updated with a new foreword by the author. Learn more and buy book

Hellboy (2019): Movie Review

                                                                                                         


                                                                         Jim Pagiamtzis Review:

       Hellboy ( David Harbour Stranger Things, Black Widow ) is back in this reboot with Nimue Blood Queen (Mila Jonovich) the nemesis in the terrible film. Professor Broom (Ian Mcshane) is trying to help Hellboy is the only bright spot in the film.

                                                                         5 out of 10 stars

                                                                            Movie Plot:

                   While battling a trio of rampaging giants, the legendary half-demon Hellboy encounters Nimue the Blood Queen, an ancient resurrected sorceress who's out to avenge a past betrayal. Suddenly caught in a clash between the supernatural and the human, Hellboy soon becomes hell-bent on stopping Nimue without triggering the end of the world.          


Awake (2007): Movie Review

                                                                             


                                                                 Jim Pagiamtzis Review

                      Clay ( Hayden Christian) goes in for a heart transplant and suffer a phenomenon anesthetic awareness where Dr. Jack Harper (Terence Howard) and Clay new wife Sam Lockwood (Jessica Alba) have different plans. 

                         Clay has out of body experience that is very real for him and on the race for his life to stop the cryptic plans, his mom Lilith Beresford (Lena Olin) has her concerns with her son personal and professional life decisions and has her suspicions about Clay's new wife Sam.

                              As you get to the climatic 3rd act there will be lots of twist and turns that will have you wondering will Clay make it or face an ultimate demise that he is witnessing

 The dvd has a great special feature on Director Jaby Harold who came up with the script during film school and through a few treatments Awake came to life with a input from real doctors and insights into the true phenomenon that will have you on the edge of your seat until the climatic end

                                                     10 out of 10 stars

                                                                      Movie plot:

       As the scion of a wealthy banking family undergoes a heart transplant he's fully conscious, yet unable to move. That's when he discovers the operation is slated to fail in order to claim his fortune.

                                                                                   Watch trailer        

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Put your dreams first hand your (entertainment) Business HY (E)B

                                                                                                 

                                                                              Jim Pagiamtzis review

               Thembisa S Mshaka insight journey and interview with successful professional in the entertainment business

                                                                 6 out of 10 stars

                                                                      about book:

                There is a great mystique about the entertainment industry and a fervent desire in many to be part of it. But what many women don't realize is that most entertainment career guides are written from the point of view of the male executive, or are filled with industry and legal jargon-making them difficult to read and understand.


Now, in Put Your Dreams First, Thembisa Mshaka uses her 15 years of experience in the music industry to expose the hidden truths that women need to know as they aspire toward entertainment careers, such as how to avoid compromising one's self-respect and the little-known fact that women run a large part of the business. This highly informative guide is for every woman wanting to know how to navigate the entertainment superhighway and find that job of a lifetime.  learn and buy book

Room (2015): Movie Review

                                                                                               


Jim Pagiamtzis Review

Ma (Brie Larson) is held captive with her son (Jacob Tremblay) and with some ingenuity they escape and try to join the real world they have missed.

9 out of 10 stars


Movie Plot:
After years of being held captive in an isolated shed by a kidnapper, Joy and her little son, Jack, manage to escape the confinement and gain their freedom

Shaft (2019): Movie Review

                                                                                        


Jim Pagiamtzis Review;

John Shaft (Samuel L Jackson) is a journey of his own when his son (Jessie Usher) come back to him for help to solve a crime. The bullets fly and the drama starts and never stops!

7 out of 10 stars


Movie Plot:
John Shaft Jr may be an FBI cyber security expert, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend's untimely death, he needs an education that only his dad can provide. Absent throughout his childhood, the legendary John Shaft agrees to help his son navigate the heroin-infested underbelly of Harlem, New York. Besides, the locked and loaded Shaft has his own scores to settle, both professional and personal.

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Mad Men (2007)Season 1: Movie Review

                                                                                    


                                                                       Jim Pagiamtzis Review

                                    Don Draper has one interesting life at work and home yet both get very blurred in this stellar how with a amazing over the top supporting cast!

                                                                              10 out of 10 stars

                                                                           Movie plot:

                         Donald Draper, the creative director at Sterling Cooper in New York, tries to maintain a balance between his exceptional professional life and wavering personal life in the 1960s.

                                                                                       

Giant Little Ones (2018): Movie Review

                                                                                               



Jim Pagiamtzis Review:

Two childhood friends Franky Winters and Ballas Kohl have a great friendship until one night changes everything for both of them.
Terrific performances by all

10 out of 10 stars

Movie Plot:
Franky Winter and Ballas Kohl have been best friends since childhood. They are high school royalty: handsome, stars of the swim team, and popular with girls. They live a perfect teenage life - until the night of Franky's epic 17th birthday party when Franky and Ballas are involved in an unexpected incident that changes their lives forever.
                                                                                

 

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

The Social Dilemma (2020):Movie Review (Netflix)

                                                                                                     


                                                        Jim Pagiamtzis review

                           An insightful film that shares the perils of social media and what has done now and the future may not be as bright as we think it may be.

                                                                     10 out of 10 stars

                                                             Movie plot:

               Tech experts sound the alarm on the dangerous human impact of social networking.

                                                                       


Monday, October 5, 2020

Freaks (2019): Movie Review

                                                                                          


Jim Pagiamtzis review

 Little girl (Lexy Kolker) is kept hidden by her dad (Emile Hirsh) for mysterious reasons. She ventures outside and meets outside cream vendor (Bruce Dern) and slowly begins the journey of unraveling her life.  This is scifi ride with lots of twist and turns until the climatic and very dramatic end

9 out of 10 stars

Movie plot:
 A bold girl discovers a bizarre, threatening, and mysterious new world beyond her front door after she escapes her father's protective and paranoid control. 



Atomic Habits: Book Review

                                                                                                


                                                                              Jim Pagiamtzis Review


                                                                     About Book| 

                                                                            No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.


If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights.

Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field.

Learn how to:
    make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy);
    overcome a lack of motivation and willpower;
    design your environment to make success easier;
    get back on track when you fall off course;
...and much more.

Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.learn more and buy book