Mark Anderson Writes

        Ben Affleck’s The Town is a slick Boston heist thriller, but it shares surprising similarities with the 1996 classic Set It Off . From the criminal falling for a bank worker to the deadly escape — did Hollywood borrow more than it admits?     When I watch crime movies, I’m always looking for fresh twists on old formulas. But sometimes you spot something that makes you pause the screen and say, “Wait… I’ve seen this before.” That happened to me recently when I rewatched Ben Affleck’s The Town (2010) back-to-back with F. Gary Gray’s Set It Off (1996). On the surface, they feel very different — one is a gritty white working-class Boston story starring Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner, the other is a powerful Black female-led heist film with Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise. Yet the core emotional beats are remarkably similar. Here are the biggest overlaps that stood out to me: 1. The Criminal Falls in Love with the B...

 I watched three films about the Russian monk Rasputin and I want to rank them from worst to best.               Rasputin and the Empress 1932. Firstly, what did I like about the movie? Even though it was in black and white the visuals and costumes were impressive and no rouble was spared to make the film look authentic. The film tried to depict historical facts so I appreciated that. What didn't I like?  The character of Rasputin was a cardboard villain who had no redeeming qualities. The plot meandered and the film felt like it was 10 hours long. I lost concentration a bit and was bored at times. The dialogue was not very entertaining or funny. I would give it a 5/10. Rasputin the Mad Monk 1965. I really wanted to make this film number 1 but I will put it on number 2. It was very entertaining from the first scene until the last. The plot is well structured and the dialogue is captivating. The Rasputin in the 1965 movie is a lovable vil...

  1964 1979 Zulu and Zulu Dawn were great movies. Compelling, exciting, emotionally thrilling. Zulu was released in 1964. It is about the battle of Rorke's Drift. Zulu Dawn is about the battle of Isandlwana and was released in 1979. They dont make movies like this anymore. But the one thing I never understood are the titles of the movies. Why did they give them those names when the film is about the battle between the English and the Zulu?  Zulu should have been called Rorke's Drift and Zulu Dawn should have been named Isandlwana. Just my two cents. Another great movie about battles between precolonial Africans and Europeans is Shangani Patrol about Alan Wilson's last stand against King Lobengula's Ndebele warriors. It is free on Youtube. If you are interested in war stories also check out The Fighting Men of Rhodesia on Youtube. The moral of the story The first lesson is that never underestimate an enemy. In the film Zulu Dawn the mighty British empire went up ...

 Memes that made me laugh and memes that made me think.