Review of "Second Coming," a film by Debbie Tucker Green

Review of

Second Coming, a film by Debbie Tucker Green

Four out of five stars

 The topic of this film is one that will always create one of the greatest crises that humans can face. Although they are otherwise a loving couple with a good relationship, Mark and Jackie have not been intimate for some time. They have a boy and both are exceptional, loving parents. When Jackie discovers that she is pregnant and the earliest possible impregnation time is well after their last incident of intimacy, the stability of everything in their world is now a thing of the past.

 Mark reacts with understandable anger and Jackie’s female intimates press her for details. Jackie insists that there has been no one else and she experiences dreams/nightmares that strongly suggest some form of religious activity. Coupled with the title, the indication is that there is going to be some equivalent to a virgin birth.

 The movie moves very slow at times, roughly ten minutes could have been cut with no loss of plot continuity. It ends with a glimmer of hope for the future, but if you are someone that prefers completely resolved endings to movies, this one will disappoint. One powerful positive is the role of Mark and Jackie’s son. He is a sensitive boy that loves nature and the effect of the situation on him is very well played and gives Mark a strong reason not to let things get completely out of hand.

Review of "Live Large: The Achiever’s Guide to What’s Next," by Elizabeth B. Crook

Review of

Live Large: The Achiever’s Guide to What’s Next, by Elizabeth B. Crook ISBN 9781626344150

Three out of five stars

 I found this book underwhelming, so similar to other self-help books that I identified few differentiating characteristics. Most of the points and exercises seem to come from the book of bullet points in a self-help book for the creation of a self-help book.

 There are fill in the spaces worksheets where the reader is encouraged to write down goals, from core to “nice to have.” There is the “Yippee Index” where the reader is encouraged to identify what goals are important enough to cause you to yell “Yippee!” if you achieve them.

 Another figure is the “Bull’s-eye,” a chart of concentric circles where the reader is expected to label each area with different roles that they want to fill. The feature that amused me most, but in a dark sense, is the “Triple-J.” It is described as a self-defeating voice in your head, “Your Jury, Judge and Jailer.” Making up an original acronym seems to be a necessary component of any book designed to steer you onto a more productive path.

 It took me some time to read this book, for in the words of the late, great Yogi Berra, “It was deja vu all over again.” In chapter after chapter, I experienced the feeling that I had read this many times before. The only things different were the labels and the acronym.

Review of "Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None," three episodes of the story on DVD

Review of

Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None, three episodes of the story on DVD

Five out of five stars

 This is a superb film adaptation of a story by Agatha Christie. It is the late 1930’s and it is clear that the world is on the brink of another great war. For reasons that are unclear to all of them, eight total strangers receive invitations to attend some form of celebration on the very isolated Soldier Island. The only structure on the island is a two-story mansion. When all eight of the invited people arrive they are greeted a very proper English maid and butler that are husband and wife.

 On each wall there is a poem describing the deaths of ten people, the structure is a set of short segments where each lists the number of living, the manner of death of one of them and then the number of the living reduced by one. When the young male playboy dies from what is apparently a cyanide-laced drink, the puzzlement and uncertainty moves to a course of fear and the re-emergence of old memories of the deaths of others.

 Revealed in snippets, the viewer learns that each of the people has a dark secret in their past and the people continue to die one at a time. Since there is no way off the island and all the deaths are carried out with anonymous efficiency, the suspicion and paranoia grows, sometimes directed at the potential for at least one additional person on the island and at other times at each other.

 No matter what the members of the group do, the killer remains unrevealed, with no real clue as to their identity ever appearing. As the story moves along, more and more of the dark secrets are exposed, the victims suffer from the torture of having intense flashbacks to their deeds reappear in their minds. It is easy for the viewer to reach the conclusion that a particular person is the killer, right up to the point where they are killed. None of the people are likable in any way, so it is hard to root for any of them to survive.

 When it is revealed, the identity and motive of the killer was unexpected. Both are darkly logical, this is a great suspense movie and it is fortunate that the decision was made to use three one-hour episodes. It takes that much time to establish the context and build the suspense. Once both were set, I simply could not stop watching until it was over.