Brian Kirschner

My wife and I watched a nice documentary about Bob Marley last week on Netflix called Remastered: Who Shot the Sheriff which gave us an excellent historical and biographical background for the movie. In the One Love movie, the actor who portrays Bob Marley truly and almost, mystically captured Bob Marley as we all remember him to such a degree you could almost believe it was Bob Marley on screen. Deeply impressed. The movie itself covers the events from 1976 through 1979 culminating with the iconic moment when Marley brought the leaders of the two warring factions in Jamaican politics, both responsible for the years of widespread street violence that opens the movie, and got them to join together with clasped hands raised in unity in a moment celebrated as a turning point in Jamaican history. The narrative story is more about recreating the feeling of living Marley’s life during these tumultuous critical years rather than directly documenting these years. As a result, it can be a bit difficult to follow the threads of the movie, particularly because the cast speak in a genuine Jamaican Patois Creole version of English that without subtitles, is sometimes difficult to follow. I would recommend watching the documentary first so that you don't lose track of the threads of the movie story. That all being said, I deeply enjoyed the experience and feeling of the movie but found the narrative story of the movie to be lacking in momentum and closure. Even with these imperfections, I recommend the movie but don't expect to have a full biographical understanding of Marley’s life based on the movie. If you want to feel like you spent two hours in the presence of the real human Bob Marley, then this movie will not disappoint. If you want to better understand the full and nuanced biographical story of his life, this movie will dissapoint. Either way, Bob Marley is to Jamaica and world music what Ghandi and MLK were to India and the Civil Rights movement. He is a legendary figure in 20th century history and music and I enjoyed my virtual two hours in the presence in his company.

If you are a fan of classic 20th century Star Trek but struggle to connect with the current generation of Star Trek shows, this is the perfect antidote. It seemlessly and effortlessly blends the best of classic Trek storytelling, character and ambiance with the best of modern television production values and sensibilities in a pitch perfect updating of the formula that made Star Trek TOS the beloved legendary series that started the franchise.