Nerd in the 'Noke

Doctor Strange (2016), PG-13, 115 minutes - It's been over six months since my last post here on the blog.  At the time I had little notion as to just how much free time a part time job on the side would take up.  I won't bore you with specifics, but I am no longer working two jobs.   Hopefully, this will allow me to get back to somewhat regular blog updates (around catching up on the good old 'honey do' list of course).  Before I get to my thoughts on Doctor Strange, I would like to say that I am very fortunate and thankful to have been put in the position that I have been, allowing me to no longer have to work the second job.  I also have much greater respect and appreciation for those who juggle multiple jobs, whether that be out of necessity or by choice. Last Saturday was my last day on the second job, so Sunday morning I wasted little time in making my way to a theater to see the recently released Doctor Strange, which is a film that I've been pretty ...

The Martian (2015), PG-13, 141 minutes - I had originally hoped to see this film back in October when it first hit theaters, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, I didn't have the opportunity until its recent blu-ray release.  So after having to wait (not so patiently) for that to happen, my wife (who has read the book) and I sat down this past week to see if The Martian was as good as everyone said it was. If you've read Andy Weir's book that was the source material for this film, then you already have a bit of an idea of what to expect (although my wife informs me that there are plenty of differences).  According to her, some plot points are more heavily focused on than others but fear not, the basics of the story remain intact!  If you're like me and were excited by the trailer but were too lazy to read the book first, it goes a little something like this: Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is part of the Ares III crew that comprises the first manned mission to Mars....

12 Years a Slave (2013), R, 134 minutes - I saw this film a week ago and it has taken me a few days to figure out how I felt about it, and I'm still not sure.  Actually, that's a lie.  I know that it sickened me.  It sickened me on a number of levels.  Not because it isn't a well made film - it is, it's one of the best I've seen this year - but because the content it brings to life is just that appalling. 12 Years a Slave is based on the memoirs of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free man in a pre-Civil War United States who was abducted from his home and family in upstate New York and sold into slavery.  Just hearing a story like that is disturbing enough, but then you see the circumstances in which it occurred it is that much more sickening.  Solomon wasn't taken from his home in the middle of the night, he was conned.  An able musician, he thought that he was entering into a business arrangement with two men, Brown (Scoot McNairy) and Ham...