Free Short Stories + Fantasy Book Sale, Oct 16 to 20

 Visit amazon.com/author/moffat to get free short stories and huge discounts on fantasy books by Charles Moffat. Sale ends on October 20th.

Ranking Television Manufacturers

By Chaz G. T. Patto

Saying decisively that a certain product is "the best" can really vary year by year as styles change and models get updated, become obsolete or are discontinued. But major companies also have reputations to consider.

Ranking the reputations of manufacturers is subjective and can vary based on individual preferences, specific categories, and customer experiences. The reputation of manufacturers can be influenced by factors such as quality, craftsmanship, design, durability, customer service, and value for money. While it is a difficult process to provide an all-encompassing ranking, here are several well-regarded manufacturers with a stellar reputation:

1. Samsung: Samsung is a prominent player in the television market and is recognized for its wide range of offerings. They offer both LED and QLED models, focusing on vibrant colors, high brightness, and innovative features. Samsung TVs often receive positive reviews for their picture quality, HDR performance, intuitive user interface, and integration with other Samsung devices.

2. LG: LG is a well-established brand that has gained a strong reputation for its television offerings. They are known for their OLED display technology, which offers superior contrast, wide viewing angles, and precise color accuracy. LG TVs often receive positive feedback for their image quality, smart features powered by webOS, and sleek designs.

3. Sony: Sony is widely regarded as one of the most reputable television manufacturers. They are known for their commitment to image quality, innovative display technologies, and premium features. Sony TVs often receive positive reviews for their vibrant colors, deep black levels, accurate picture reproduction, and excellent motion handling.

4. Panasonic: Panasonic is known for producing high-quality televisions with a focus on accurate color reproduction and natural image processing. They offer both LED and OLED models, catering to different consumer preferences. Panasonic TVs often receive positive feedback for their cinematic picture quality, impressive motion handling, and solid build quality.

5. TCL: TCL has made a significant impact in the television market, particularly with their affordable yet feature-rich offerings. They offer a range of LED and QLED models, often equipped with Roku smart TV functionality. TCL TVs often receive positive reviews for their value for money, good picture quality, and user-friendly interface.

6. Hisense: Hisense is a Chinese manufacturer that has gained recognition for its budget-friendly televisions. They offer a variety of LED and QLED models with features such as HDR support and smart TV capabilities. Hisense TVs often receive positive feedback for their affordability, decent picture quality, and reliable performance.

7. Vizio: Vizio is known for its value-oriented televisions, offering competitive prices without compromising on essential features. They offer LED and OLED models with smart TV functionality. Vizio TVs often receive positive reviews for their affordability, solid performance, and user-friendly interface.

8. Philips: Philips produces a range of televisions with a focus on image quality, offering both LED and OLED models. Philips TVs often receive positive feedback for their accurate colors, good motion handling, and Ambilight technology that creates an immersive viewing experience.

 

Indiana Jones 5: A Tearjerker?

Went to see Indiana Jones 5 (Dial of Destiny) yesterday.

Surprisingly an amazingly good film and it even made me cry tears of happiness because it was so good.

I highly recommend it.

Not saying much more due to the fear of giving away spoilers. Suffice to say I consider Indy 5 to be one of the best Indiana Jones films ever.

It is my opinion that films 1, 3 and 5 are "perfect" films, while 2 and 4 have a few problems.

Moving Product Reviews to LilithPress.ca/Shopping.html

Hello Frequent Shopper!

If you are reading this it is because we have decided to move (copy) many of our most popular posts to the following website:

http://www.lilithpress.ca/Shopping.html

Going forward, all new Product Reviews will be posted on the Shopping section of Lilith Press Magazine. Or possibly both PRC and Lilith Press Shopping.

Also to avoid understanding that doesn't mean we are deleting this website. By moving, we really mean we are "focusing" on the new website and "copying" our most popular posts over to the new site.

 

We may also continue to do short snippet reviews on PRC and possibly some longer ones too.

 

So if you want to see more Canadian product reviews, written for Canadians, go visit Lilith Press and bookmark the website for future use.

Plus Lilith Press has separate sections for the following topics:

http://www.lilithpress.ca/Art.html

http://www.lilithpress.ca/Books.html

http://www.lilithpress.ca/Entertainment.html (Games, Movies, Television)

http://www.lilithpress.ca/Fashion.html

http://www.lilithpress.ca/Food.html

http://www.lilithpress.ca/Music.html

http://www.lilithpress.ca/Sports.html

http://www.lilithpress.ca/Tech.html (Cellphones, Computers, Tablets, etc)

http://www.lilithpress.ca/Transportation.html (Cars, Bikes, Trains and More)

http://www.lilithpress.ca/Travel.html

So technically not everything will be in the Shopping section. Quite a bit will be spread around in the Books, Food, and other sections. But we will cross-list anything that fits in multiple topics.

Now please note, we do have over 440 product reviews on here... so it will take some time to copy the old reviews to the new website. We have decided to prioritize the most popular reviews.

Also, if you could be a doll, please tweet, facebook and link about our new website. We could use the extra advertising.

Thanks for visiting and supporting Product Reviews Canada!

Proud Mary, movie review

By C.M.

Saw "Proud Mary" this evening.

Two thumbs up from the wife and myself.

Reasons why we liked it?

It felt very similar to the John Wick films, both chapters I and II.

Also had the feeling of various films in blaxploitation genre from the 1970s such as Cleopatra Jones (starring the very tall Tamara Dobson) or any of the Pam Grier films like Coffy, Foxy Brown, or Sheba Baby, and more famous films like Shaft (the original, not the remake).

So the director definitely captured the feel of a 1970s style blaxploitation film, but at the same mixed it with the style of action you see in films like John Wick I and II.

So much so that Mary is frequently double tapping the people she shoots in the same manner John Wick does.

Within the plot, and without spoiling anything, we can also say that the film touched on topics surrounding child abuse, guilt, responsibility, sexual harassment, the role of motherhood, and how people and organizations can effectively use slavery to control people against their wills. Topics worth talking about that reinforce a good well-written plot. The motivation and plot works, and you feel yourself agreeing with the actions of the heroine and thinking you would do the same thing in similar circumstances.

Like John Wick likes his cars, so does Mary. At times it felt like the film was a commercial for Maserati sports cars.

I cannot complain too much. Maserati just happens to be my favourite Italian sports car. Ferrari and Lamborghini are both nice, but Maserati takes it to another level by making cars that are more luxurious, handle better and are super fast. (If you are looking for insane power, check out Koenigsegg and Bugati.)

And apparently the car is ridiculously bullet proof, but we will just ignore that part right? Maybe Mary had body armour added to the car to make it more like the Batmobile. No complaints. We will just assume the car had body armour added to it.

How to Get Your Kids Interested in Learning a Musical Instrument

How to Get Your Kids Interested in Learning a Musical Instrument

Kids are naturally drawn to music, mostly for the beat, but sometimes for the message. If you want to encourage your kiddos to take their music appreciation a step further, follow these guidelines to inspire your youngsters to learn a musical instrument.

Introduce Music Early

Scientific studies point out how great music is for babies in their mothers’ wombs. So, start early with a bit of premature music appreciation. Play tunes, sing your favorite songs, and interact with touches and melodies. Babies remember the sound of your voice, so make it a harmonious one.

Encourage Kids to Develop Their Own Love for Music

Love for music starts from a personal space of emotion and need. Music can get you through anything with meaningful lyrics and a rhythmic, heartfelt beat. So, encourage your kids to find music that they love. It might be Justin Bieber or one of the numerous boy bands that grace the magazine covers. Or, it might be Beethoven and Motley Crue. You never know. But music is music, and an appreciation for it has to start somewhere.

Learn to Play a Music Instrument Yourself

Monkey see, monkey do—as the saying goes. To get your kids interested in learning a musical instrument, perhaps pick one up and learn for yourself. It can be anything that strikes your fancy, from drums and guitars, to violins and tubas. Educate yourself with beginner music theory books, then move onto creating big-time melodies with your own two hands. Have fun with it. Once your kids see you taking an interest and having fun, they might be inclined to join you.

Have Fun Quizzes on Music Trivia, such as Name That Tune

Name That Tune is a music-loving family favorite. Download a few instrumental mp3s and keep score to see who knows the most about music from today and yesteryear. Or, have the kids quiz the adults with song midis.

Bring Home Different Instruments

Some kids simply need to have access to a musical instrument to take an interest in it. So, rent a few instruments from your local music shop. Bring them home and let your kids play around with tunes and quirky melodies. If there is passion for instrument and music, it will shine through when your kiddo picks up a violin, piano, drum, or whatever else you bring home.

Music can be full of so many emotions, from passion, to anger, to happiness, and more. Encourage your youngsters to learn a musical instrument so they can better express themselves through harmonies.

Montreal Combat Archery / Montreal Combats à l’Arc

Montreal has a variety of locations that provide "Archery Tag", combat archery, battle archery or whatever you want to call it. It is nothing new.

However after the success of Battle Sports in Toronto, should it be any surprise if the new Sports de Combat opening in Montreal destroys their competition within the first year or two? Battle Sports has been dominating the archery tag scene in Toronto for the last two years - quickly becoming the most popular of all the archery tag locations because of their better equipment, better value for dollar, and their willingness to also also teach archery lessons / use the space as an indoor archery range during non-peak time periods. (Many archery tag locations don't even bother to offer archery lessons or to use the space for anything other than archery tag.)

When a business expands to a new city it allows the company to do many new things that they didn't do the first time around.

#1. Lease a larger space.

Sports de Combat now has Montreal's Largest Indoor Archery Range. Bigger than any other indoor range in the city, including those spaces being used by the various archery clubs in Montreal.

#2. Take what they learned in Toronto, and make it better in Montreal right from the beginning.

They already knew from their experience in Toronto that better quality equipment was the best way to get an edge on the competition, so they did more of that - investing in archery equipment that even amateurs will realize is better than anything the competition is offering.

Better equipment, more stuff to do, more options. In addition to archery, Sports de Combat also offers Axe Throwing, Knife Throwing, Nerf Guns, a Riddle Room, and an European style "Rage Cage" for smashing things.

Battle Sports has adapted to the marketplace already, expanding, learning, improving upon what they learned. But that was a process during the last two years since they opened in 2015. They have made all those changes in Toronto already, so the second time around they can simply do those things right away.

#3. Analyze the existing market in Montreal and then improve upon whatever the competition is doing.

It isn't corporate spies or anything ridiculous like that, simply researching what the competition is doing and then providing a better service and a competitive price.

Having made themselves a huge financial success in Toronto, they can afford to offer a competitive rate knowing they have the money to expand.

#4. Price.

$24.99 for 90 minutes. Which includes 30 minutes of introductory archery instruction plus 60 minutes of archery combat.

Now to understand why that price matters you need to see what the other locations offering similar services are charging.

#1. Combat d'Archers offers $22 for combat archery, but it is 80 minutes total - with 20 minutes of introduction and 60 minutes of archery combat. So they are cheaper, but at the expense of 10 minutes of introductory archery lesson time. And they use shoddy and cheap equipment.

#2. DodgeBow offers $24.95 for combat archery, but it is for 60 minutes total - with 15 minutes of introduction and only 45 minutes of archery combat. So in terms of value, they are the most expensive with the least value.

Price alone tells you that Battle Sports / Sports de Combat did their research. They knew people would be willing to pay the extra 4 cents to get 15 more minutes of combat archery compared to rival DodgeBow.

And that an extra $2.99 is better to get that extra 10 minutes of archery instruction plus the added bonus of using better quality archery equipment than the junk Combat d'Archers is using.

Special Note about Franchise Contracts

To be fair Combat d'Archers doesn't have much choice. They signed an agreement with the franchise "Archery Tag®" and they have to use shoddy cheap official "Archery Tag®" equipment. They don't have a choice. Even if they later left "Archery Tag®" and got better equipment, they signed a non compete clause with Archery Tag which prevents them from offering the same or similar service.

And because of that franchise agreement it also means that Combat d'Archers cannot offer other things to do like knife throwing, axe throwing, etc. They are limited to offering archery tag and ping pong in the lobby waiting area. Ping pong. Seriously. Because it doesn't violate any clauses in the franchise contract.

This was the same problem Archery District in Toronto had. Shoddy equipment that breaks easily and they were locked into a franchise deal with "Archery Tag®". When people realized that Battle Sports was offering better value, better equipment, better prices and more things to do, they quickly switched to Battle Sports. It was a no brainer.

Which is why it is also a no brainer that Sports de Combat will attract large numbers in Montreal too. They are not locked into any franchise agreement, and they can simultaneously compete with axe throwing leagues, knife throwing and other fun things to do.

The Future?

What else could Battle Sports / Sports de Combat do in the future?

Paintball?
Axe Throwing Competitions?
Knife Throwing Competitions?
Nerf Swordfighting / Fencing?
Sumo Wrestling Bodysuits?
Hosting SCA (Society Creative Anachronism) Events?
Hosting Zombie Survivalist Events?
Toronto Vs Montreal Team Competitions? Maybe even televise the events on YouTube live?

Suicide Squad Fun, but Disappointing

Suicide Squad Movie Review
3 stars out of 5

The much hyped Suicide Squad film, the latest film in the DC Comic Book movie universe, was actually disappointing.

Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Jaret Leto and Viola Davis all do their jobs very well, but the pacing and plot of the film just feels...

Meh.

It was a fun film. Worth watching.

But we are happy we didn't bother seeing it in 3D and only saw the standard version.

It was an enjoyable film, and one of the better offerings currently available at movie theatres, but it was still disappointingly unable to keep up with the hype.

Other action films available currently:

Jason Bourne - 4.5 stars.
Star Trek Beyond - 5 stars. (We like this one so much we went to see it twice.)
Ghostbusters - 5 stars. (Again, saw it twice. Worth seeing in 3D.)
Central Intelligence - 2 stars. (That film was basically just a paycheque for the actors.)

Have not seen "The Legend of Tarzan" yet, it is on our To Do List.

Also curious to see "Train to Busan", a South Korean film about a zombie outbreak that sweeps the nation and a family traveling to the city of Busan, the only city unaffected by the virus.

Pokemon Go: The Fastest Growing Sport in the World

sport, spôrt
noun: sport; plural noun: sports

an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

Yup, that describes the breakout sensation that is "Pokemon Go", a smartphone game app that encourages people to go outside and exercise, traveling from Pokestop to Pokestop to Pokegym in an effort to collect and train lots of Pokemon.

It is both an individual sport and a team sport. I am thus listing "Pokemon Go" as 'entertainment', 'games' and 'exercise equipment'.

Speaking for myself, I have already lost 8 lbs of fat in the last 3 weeks. I ended up getting a sore ankle the one day because I walked about 7 or 8 km while wearing sandals. (Word to the wise, wear comfortable shoes when walking long distances.)

The game uses augmented reality, by turning your camera on and allowing you to see what is behind it and then adding a Pokemon critter to the screen. You then toss digital Pokeballs at the critter in order to capture them.

Your goals essentially are to:

1. Capture lots of Pokemon.
2. Walk from location to location to get more Pokeballs and other useful items.
3. Visit Pokegyms to battle other Pokemon / train your Pokemon against members of your own team.

The more you walk (or rollerblade or bicycle) the more Pokemon you can catch, the more Pokeballs you get, the more Pokegyms you can visit and train at. Driving (cheating) in a car might earn you some Pokemon and Pokeballs along the way, but most of the time you will be driving too fast and miss them.

The game is basically perfect for people who are into jogging, which ultimately makes it a "walking / jogging / running / cycling / rollerblading sport". You could even do it while riding on horseback.

What methods people use while playing the sport doesn't really matter, but what is clear is that the game designers are deliberately making it difficult for people to cheat at the game.

If you try to cheat by driving around you will often find that Pokemon go "poof" and disappear because they got out of range before you could catch them.

They also recently updated the software to make it more difficult to locate Pokemon. Random Pokemon can be seen nearby, but there used to be a gamer-made app named "Pokevision" which allowed users of the app to better be able to see where Pokemon are and then be able to simply walk over to that spot in an attempt to capture those Pokemon. The game designers however felt that Pokevision was cheating (and it was using Pokemon Go's servers without their permission) and thus sent cease and desist letters before eventually pulling the plug and blocking Pokevision from working.

Also certain aspects of the game, like hatching eggs can only be done by walking 2 or 5 kilometers. Speaking for myself, I have made a goal of walking 3.5 kilometers per day each day that I am playing the game. If I play every day during a month I will have walked 105 kilometers. (A 200 lb person walking 105 kilometers will burn approx. 8000 calories, + extra calories due to the Afterburn Effect if your heart rate goes up during that time.)

It is possible to buy Pokeballs and other useful items for playing the game, but if you are doing that then you are missing the whole point of the game, which is to get more people outside and exercising. Buying a Pokeball costs between 4 to 5 cents each, which makes purchasing them really impractical as you go through them very quickly. Also if you can just walk down the street and get free Pokeballs by exercising, why would you ever pay for them?

Recommendations:

Wear comfortable shoes.
Check the weather forecast before leaving.
Dress for the weather. Bring an umbrella if there might be rain.
For added speed ride your bicycle, rollerblades, skateboard, etc.
Invite friends and family who also play the game.
Attend meetups and join Facebook groups to meet other players.
Take a drink with you. Water is best.
Take a healthy snack with you. Apples are good. Granola bars are good too.
Take a backup battery power for your smartphone. Having the game open regularly drains the battery faster.
Keep track of how much bandwidth data you are using on your smartphone. (Last month I had just received my new cell phone and I downloaded a lot of programs on the first day of having the phone, so I had to be careful how much bandwidth I was using afterwards.)

Also you do not need to wear the silly hats. That is for the dorks who get really into it.

Already there has been 10s of millions of people who have downloaded Pokemon Go and started playing it, making it the fastest growing sport in the world.

Also the game is free. All you need is a smartphone and a data plan. No purchase necessary.

See also:

Pokemon Go as a Workout Plan

Star Trek Beyond = Excellent

We saw Star Trek Beyond today. In AVX 3D.

Excellent. Arguably better than the previous two films.

We especially liked the back and forth dialogue between Spock and McCoy. Everything about it was good. The plot, action rhythm, character motivations, more attention to the entire crew of characters, excellent graphics. Honestly we cannot think of anything wrong with this film. Not yet at least. (Give the idiot fanboys a chance however and they will probably start whining about some reason why they hate the film.)

Ghostbusters in 3D, Amazing!

With executive producer Dan Aykroyd at the helm, many people were worried that this reboot (complete with cameos from original Ghostbusters) would be horrible.

Oh how wrong they were.

The new Ghostbusters film isn't just amazing, it is arguably better than the first film in the franchise. This film is the "Batman Begins" / "Iron Man" of Ghostbusters films. It shows how they became the Ghostbusters.

Dan Aykroyd co-created the Ghostbusters franchise with Harold Ramis (Egon Spengler in the first two films) and for many years Dan and Harold sat on the franchise rights, wanting to make a 3rd film but never getting around to it.

Harold Ramis died in February 2014, his goal of a 3rd Ghostbusters film left unfulfilled. He stated back in 2009 he was hoping to get the film out in 2011, but when a serious illness knocked him off his feet in 2010 and robbed him of his mobility. He had to relearn how to walk again, but the illness relapsed and he again lost his ability to walk. He later died of complications.

A third Ghostbusters film was basically Harold Ramis' dying wish.

And so Dan Aykroyd made it happen, but with the realization that the original cast was too old to be pulling off the action stunts. Instead they recast everything, added cameos of the original cast members, placed a statue bust of Harold Ramis inside the old firehall, and did an amazing job writing a new film which depicts The Rise of the Ghostbusters. In all their humour and glory.

Naysayers of this film have lots to say about it, but sadly that is all they are: Naysayers. They haven't even SEEN the film. They don't know how amazing it is. If they had seen it they would know this is an incredible movie, that they did everything right in it, and that it should be winning awards for Comedy of the Year.

Also when you go see this film, definitely see it in IMAX 3D. It is totally worth it.

Mockingjay Part 2

Review by Charles Moffat, November 2015.

As an archery instructor I am probably both the best and the worst person to be reviewing a film wherein archery is a theme.

Nevertheless, lets get the worst part over. I give Mockingjay Part 2 a meagre 3.5 out of 5 stars. Lets explain why...

#1. I am glad the film "trilogy" is over. Maybe next time someone makes a film or film trilogy with archery in it they will teach the actor or actress how to shoot properly. As an afficionado of all things warfare (from mangonels to trebuchets and from scimitars to khopeshes) I can tell you it really annoys me when a film or franchise doesn't even get the weaponry names or how they are properly used correct. In case you don't know, "Katniss" has been anchoring her fingers near her jawline, something only amateur archers would ever do when using a longbow or a traditional recurve. The proper place to anchor when using such a bow is on the mouth as it is a more consistent anchor point - there you go, you just learned something. Only archers using gadgetry use a jawline anchor.

#2. Having also read the books I must tell you that Mockingjay Part 2 has no surprises. No major changes from the third book. It is basically a somewhat dismal ending to a series, as if the author wasn't sure how to end it and decided on a somewhat lame plot twist.

#3. People die. Which is normal, people always die in the Hunger Games franchise. Still you do kind of wish they would have changed that bit, like watching Romeo and Juliet and wishing they would give it a happy ending for once - giving the audience what they want.

#4. There is really only ONE major archery scene in the film. I won't count a scene near the end because she really only shoots 1 arrow. (It could have been more interesting had she done a "double tap", but alas, no.)

#5. The acting was okay. To be expected. But the overall feel of the film is that it was a "Meh, that was okay." Not bad, not fantastic. So three stars makes sense.

The extra half star is there because the epilogue was good.

African-American Culture and News

Appreciating African-American Culture And Entertainment

African-American culture isn't entirely different from some mainstream cultures, but it's different enough that African-Americans feel an emptiness when they look at mainstream media. They don't see people who look, think, and talk like them, and they detect a noticeable absence of African-American figures in the arenas of politics and business. For those people who want their children to grow up appreciating their culture, and for those African-Americans who want to hold onto their own culture, there are channels that broadcast African American news and issues that hit home with its audience.

News and issues

News and issues focus on central figures in the African-American community that are up and coming on the political scene or that are doing noteworthy things in the community. There are also stories of community news that deal with noteworthy legal issues that might be pressing for the African-American community.

Sports and entertainment

It's not all serious on African-American channels. There are entertainment and sports features that bring home those genres to the masses and give the entertainment an African-American voice to appreciate. This might include musicians, actors, sports figures, and stand-up artists who bring joy to the world through those gifts.

You don't have to be African-American to appreciate the culture. Anyone can tune in, just like African-Americans also watch mainstream networks and news shows that focus on a more causation audience. Diversity in our entertainment broadens horizons across the board for people across cultures.

James Bond Vs Spectre

So it was announced recently that the new James Bond film, starring Daniel Craig, will be called "Spectre".

And if you are like many Canadians, you can name most of the James Bond films, you have a favourite actor who played James Bond (mine is Roger Moore, but Daniel Craig is pretty awesome too), and you probably can't wait to see the new 007 film, which is due to be released on November 6th 2015.

So the good news is that Spectre is back - a villainous organization dating back to a time when that hack Sean Connery was playing James Bond (seriously, Connery just says his lines and looks good, he doesn't have any acting skill).

You know what I would really love however?

Jaws.

Bring back Jaws, the villain-turned-hero who appeared in two different James Bond films and becomes a hero by the end of the 2nd film. I know who would be a good actor to play Jaws as well - the guy who played Ser Gregor Clegane or “The Mountain That Rides" in Game of Thrones, also known as Hafthor Bjornsson. The guy is so big he makes Arnold look small, which makes him a great option to play Jaws.

At 6'9" tall, 386 lbs Hafthor Bjornsson can not only play Jaws, but as one of the top 5 strongest men currently alive - and the only one of those who is an actor, he can play the role well. The guy dresses up as the Incredible Hulk just for fun.

But in the meantime, just for fun, lets have a look at the introductory music videos found at the start of the last 3 James Bond films made by Daniel Craig.


CASINO ROYALE



QUANTUM OF SOLACE



SKYFALL

Free Trial of Mega Flix

Watching movies online for free is just one of those things many people do these days. Especially if you are into downloading your films for free.

However having the convenience of watching movies sooner - and not having to wait for the film to download - is rather nice to have. This is why I have a subscription to Netflix.

But there are other companies which offer movie downloading - including free trials.

For example:

Mega Flix has a 5 Day Free Trial

Recently I have also been thinking of getting CraveTV ( see http://www.cravetv.ca/ ) just for the convenience of being able to watch as much TV shows as I want for only $4 per month. That is just ridiculously cheap and good value.

CraveTV has Game of Thrones, Dallas, Sopranos, Seinfeld, Big Bang Theory, Corner Gas, Monty Python (the TV show and all the films) and a whole lot more. It is very tempting. However there is just one flaw:

Most of the shows on there that I would want, I already own on DVD. Or have access to on Netflix.

So at this point I am undecided. That doesn't mean however that CraveTV might not be right for you. Maybe you don't have Netflix like I do. Or maybe you prefer to download everything for free (in which case, check out that free trial - it is basically 5 days worth of free movies).

THE INTERVIEW - 5 STARS

Review by Charles Moffat - December 2014.

"The best comedy of the year."

Note - "The Interview" starring Seth Rogen and James Franco was Made in Canada - which means, arguably, that North Korea should be threatening Canada, not the USA for its production.

I have been wanting to see this film for months, ever since I heard about it. Partially because I used to live in South Korea, but also because I want to see an end to the war between the USA and North Korea - which has been in a state of cold war for 61 years now. The Korean War may have ended in 1953, but the war never officially ended because they never signed an armistice. This means that for 61 years North Korea has been in a state of war with the USA and South Korea, and there has been numerous skirmishes between north and south, but it hasn't been a case of active war.

In recent years North Korea has been ramping up its long range missile development and its focus on nuclear weapons. The country currently has the capability of launching ICBM nuclear missiles across the Pacific Ocean and striking targets in the western USA, Hawaii and Alaska.

And to make matters worse, the leadership of North Korea has been handing from father to son, so the current leader of North Korea is a 31 year old man. A man which has been tasked with defeating the USA, staying in power while his people starve, and smashing any hopes of rebellion against him.

Thus making a comedy about two American reporters sent to kill him is just hilarious with the premise alone, but I want to make clear here that having watched the film myself that this film is extremely well scripted, well written, and well acted. The best comedy of the year, in my opinion.

Thus I am giving it FIVE STARS out of five.

And I am not just saying this just because I have an interest in North Korea's eventual defeat and reunification with South Korea, I sincerely believe this film is the best comedy film I have seen this year.



When North Korea heard about the comedy they became worried about what it might contain that would embarrass their country and their "supreme leader", and you know what, the film does not disappoint. The film brilliantly shows off Kim Jong-un as a maniacal dictator who pretends to be a god.

Sony, which funded the film ended up pulling the movie out of movie theatres due to terrorist death threats made against audiences that watched it, but later released it on YouTube anyway (for a fee) and also released it to privately owned art theatres.

Thus the film won't make as much money as originally predicted, but it is my opinion that this film should be seen by millions of people anyway - simply because it is that good.

Case in point - My girlfriend doesn't like the actor Seth Rogen, but she ended up liking the film anyway. Kind of like how I like Romeo and Juliet, even though I cannot stand Leonardo DiCaprio.

*

*

*

SPOILER ALERT

There are many parts of the film I really enjoyed, but my favourite part is when Kim Jong-un cries so hard that he s**** himself.

My Search for Old Archery Movies

Lately for fun I have been researching and browsing old movies that have archery in them. Sometimes even just brief archery clips in the films.

For example the photo on the right is a movie still from the Elvis movie "Tickle Me", during which Elvis briefly teaches an archery lesson.

But much better examples of old archery movies are films like:

The Flame and the Arrow - starring Burt Lancaster (who is frankly awesome in everything he does).

Or

A Man Called Horse - starring Irish actor Richard Harris, whom you may recognize from his many other movies - including playing Dumbledore in the first 2 Harry Potter movies.

Or

Deliverance - starring Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight (I don't care for Voight, but Burt Reynolds is again very awesome. What is it with actors named Burt being so awesome???)

Below is the movie trailer for Deliverance.



And of course there is also films like Rambo II, Rambo III and all the various Robin Hood films...

Robin Hood - 1938, starring Errol Flynn (with archery stunts by Howard Hill).

Robin Hood Prince of Thieves - 1991, starring Kevin Costner.

Robin Hood - 1973, Disney animated film.

Those are three of the more famous ones.

But there is actually many more Robin Hood films...

Robin Hood - 2010 with Russell Crowe

Robin Hood - 1991 with Patrick Bergin and Uma Thurman

Robin and Marian - 1976

Robin Hood Men in Tights - 1993

The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men - 1952, Disney live action

The Men of Sherwood Forest - 1954

Rabbit Hood - 1949 with Bugs Bunny

Beyond Sherwood Forest - 2009

And a slew of other Robin Hood films...

During my research I have determined there hasn't been a lot of William Tell movies made (a planned one for 2012 starring Brendan Fraser was scrapped when the producers ran into financial difficulties getting funding for their film).

There is an old Austrian William Tell movie from 1960, in German of course. Good luck finding an English dubbed version.

And an older William Tell film from 1949 - and a 1998 TV series called "The Legend of William Tell" with 15 episodes (which looks gawd awful, like a cheap rip off of Xena Warrior Princess).

During my research I have determined there was a lot of archery films (especially Robin Hood or Robin Hood esque films) made during the 1940s and 1950s. It was part of an archery fad that started with enormous financial success of the Errol Flynn / Howard Hill film in 1938, and the fad continued until the early 1970s and included the 1972 film Deliverance starring Burt Reynolds.

There was a brief renewed interest in archery in the 1980s when 2nd and 3rd Rambo movies came out, and again in 1991 with Robin Hood Prince of Thieves - but it was nothing like the fad from 1940s to 1970s.

With the introduction of the Lord of the Rings trilogy in 2001 archery saw a bit of interest, but the fast shooting abilities of Legolas made archery look beyond the skill of the common man.

A couple years later however something interesting happened.

Alabama, at that point the fattest state in the USA, was trying to come to grips with an obesity epidemic and high schools were looking for ways to get teenagers outside and exercising. So someone came up with the idea of starting an archery club in one of the schools. The club took off in popularity, the model was spread to other schools in Alabama, and eventually the program was expanded to other states.

By the time films like the Hunger Games, Brave, The Avengers, Killing Season, Hanna and other archery films came out archery was already a growing phenomenon in the USA.

And when those films became popular it was partially because archery was growing as a fad. It was the fad fueling the films, not the other way around. (Although at this point it is more cyclical, archery fanatics are fueling the films and the films are creating new archery fanatics.)

Below is the movie trailer for Killing Season, starring Robert De Niro and John Travolta.

Expendables 3 - Movie Review

So if you enjoyed Expendables 1 and Expendables 2, then you will probably enjoy Expendables 3.

I give it 3.5 stars out of 5. A friend of mine gives it 3 stars.

Why? Because it was good, it was entertaining, but it wasn't spectacular.

The highlight of the movie was Antonio Banderas stealing the show.

Ragnarok Movie Trailer

Okay, this movie is officially on my list of things to watch.

"Ragnarok" is the Norse version of the Apocalypse, during which a giant immortal serpent grows so large that it eventually devours the earth.

Into The Storm, movie review + "Night of the Twisters"

So the remake of "Night of the Twisters" came out recently, with a name change and some plot changes - but it is essentially the same movie.

Don't believe me? Watch "Into The Storm" at the movie theatre and then watch "Night of the Twisters" on YouTube further below.

The biggest difference between the two movies is that "Into The Storm" has infinitely better graphics. Behind the tornadoes, the drama in both movies is an emphasis on the importance of family and perseverance/survival.

I give the graphics for Into The Storm 5 stars - but I only give the drama / plot 3 stars. Honestly, I would watch tornado movies just for the graphics if the movie was nothing but tornadoes and just skip the plot entirely. Just 2 hours of mind-blowing graphics and tornado carnage would be something I would love to watch.


INTO THE STORM, TRAILER



NIGHT OF THE TWISTERS, FULL MOVIE