Mharlyn Merritt

The Fugitive

1 like

Bruce Willis might as well have been a sock puppet for the authenticity he brought to this role. I felt at certain points the actual business of acting in this film was interrupting something else he was doing at the time. Boring performances from some otherwise top notch actors like Shue and Dinofrio. The daughter of Willis’ character did her best acting when in a persistent vegetative state. In the Bronson original the absolute savagery of the murder and sexual assault of his character’s wife and daughter in a middle class setting brought his need for vigilante tactics home. We could relate if not totally approve. This remake is superficial on every level. Even the score rips off music snippets from other movies. Tackling a complex issue without any complexity is never a satisfying movie experience.

Death Wish

23 likes

This book was written and published by my grandfather during The Depression. It is a rare compilation of African- American history, folklore and cooking Yes, it contains recipes for everything from coffee made from watermelon rinds to peach compost, with many of Dr. Carver's own recipe's for all things peanut, including candy. There are also some wonderful old photographs of Tuskegee Institute and Dr. Carver in his laboratory. In some early editions there is a picture of my cousin Estelle Merritt in the dedication section. She will always be forever ever nineteen, as she was tragically killed when a drunk driver ran into the car where she was a passenger and my grandfather,the driver. I have a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from Fairleigh-Dickinson University, so if I were to look at this biography with a purely critical eye it would come up a little short. However, it is a fascinating read from an eyewitness perspective that is hard to come by given the subject and the period in which this biography was written. And it was written by my grandfather, Raleigh H. Merritt, my best buddy, who deserves a biography of his own. He was a man who endured a great deal, with class and dignity, and went on to pack more into his long life than is even imaginable to most people. Finally, this is a biography of true loving friendship and admiration with the added blessing of its inception by Dr. Carver himself; a humble man who left a wealth of discoveries that to this day benefit us all.

From captivity to fame, or, The life of George Washington Carver

Outer Range

1 like

This sequel self references stand-out moments from the franchise to a detrimental degree. While I loved the reunion of the triumvirate of the Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum characters they really should have had more to do but how could they with so many plots and subplots intertwining. This almost seems like two movies mashed together. The Dinosaurs, Chris Pratt and the Bad Guy, Mad Scientist Campbell Scott, along with a strong supporting cast get lost in the sauce, because there’s just way too much going on. Bryce Dallas Howard has her gratuitous action heroine moments but honestly I kept asking myself, “Why is she in this movie?” Her facial expression remained the same almost through the entire movie with the exception of her screaming descent from an airplane. Mind you I paid $20 to watch this epic. I wanted so much more from Jurassic Park World Dominion, but what I got was too much and not enough.

Jurassic World Dominion