Review: Buck Danny: Night of the Serpent
Being someone who grew up loving and watching movies, I can honestly say there are few actors, where most of their movies were good. In fact, for the most part, most actors I have watched up to this day, barely make 50% their films to be decent. One of the most iconic performers of our time, Denzel Washington, is around that 50th percentile, and I can count on my hands and toes, how many movies I loved him in. Some actors, even in their short time around, exceeded this threshold, and did so exceedingly well.
One of those actors that I still admire to this day is Raul Julia, an actor, who some might recognize, most would know from the Addams Family movies, but truthfully most of his work exceeded the quality of actors who have lived longer definitely one that was gone too soon. Some actors, just retire from the business such as Sean Connery and Gene Hackman, whose stature, work and portrayals are stoic and endearing. One of the last movies I remember seeing Gene Hackman in, that was decent, not good, but watchable, was Behind Enemy Lines an action movie starring Owen Wilson, as a pilot caught in a hairy situation. So, when I read about Buck Danny: Night Of The Serpent, which is both current and sentimental.
In this book, a pilot doing a routine patrol crosses the demilitarized zone leaving South Korea and entering North Korea, and instantly on the run. This sis where Colonel Buck Danny and his wingmen come into play, thy must quietly find he pilot and get him back into allied territory. They plan a full-on assault mission, combined sea land and air forces to rescue the pilot. By book’s end, with the unexpected help from a total stranger, they rescue the pilot, with unintended damage along the way.
Overall, an exciting book, which is heavily researched, entertaining and action packed. The story by Francis Bergese is fun, dramatic and heart pumping fast at time. The art by Bergese is simply stunning. Altogether, a military thriller that will have the reader wanting to see some of those old WWII films.
Story: Francis Bergese Art: Francis Bergese
Story:10 Art:10 Overall:10 Recommendation: Buy
I am old enough to remember the time when Anime became a cultural obsession, as names like Miyazaki and Tezuka, populated just about every conversation. The very idea that anime were considered mainstream films in other parts of the world, changed how we viewed movies. It also changed how we view stories, as movies like Akira captured the world’s imagination, leaving audiences both flabbergasted and illuminated. The one thing all these filmmakers form Japan, was something quite personal, sometimes hidden in plain view, and sometimes veiled in allegory.
The 1980s were fertile ground for filmmakers, as some of the best films ever made was during this era. Yes, there were a ton of movies, that were just plain cheesy and doesn’t hold up today, no matter how many viewings. To me, that was part of their charm, their innocuous disregard for anything that makes sense, as Honest Trailers would have a field day with any number of movies. This was also one of the very last times, that a movie star’s name was enough to guarantee ticket sales.
Organized crime is one of those subjects that people both fear and love at the same time. Who can watch the Godfather or Goodfellas, ad not fall in love with these characters and their lifestyles. Even in real life, such figures as John Gotti and Al Capone are pretty much immortalized in the public sphere. What most of the media sometimes fails to realize, is just about every culture has organized crime.
The spy is one of those mysterious figures within book, tv shows and movies, which intrigues their audiences because no one knows their true motive, but a select few. You can take the recently returned Game of Thrones, whose Master of Whispers, Varys, started off as another bureaucrat in the King’s Court, but ended up becoming one of the most formidable figures within the series. Then there is Live Schreiber’s John Clark in The Sum of All Fears, a spy who the director relies on heavily, to carry out the tasks no one else will. Then there is Joe Morton’s Rowan Pope in Scandal, a focused spymaster and sometimes operator, who knows when to be pragmatic when others choose to be idealistic.