Books
American Sherlock
A case defined history of Oscar Heinrich. Dawson writes very well. This is a great introduction into the early years of forensic science as well as the repercussions of shotty science that still affect cases today.
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Movies
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
This movie tried so hard to pull in every recall from previous movies, with the exception of Crystal Skull, that they could. People, lines, and story are all the same. I am immensely surprised that Harrison Ford agreed to do this movie. It isn't anything different.
Books
Iron Flame
Yarrow once against tells a compelling story that is in need of some depth. The constant repetition from the previous book and ideas/lines from commercially successful movies makes this a parrot call to what it could have been.
Movies
Bullet Train
This is a non-marvel Deadpool without the crude language of Ryan Reynolds. The story is the character that you are working through and the characters are the scene. I know that sounds super pretentious, but the characters have no development and that isn't a bad thing.
Books
The Spy and the Traitor
Ben Macintyre's story of a Russian Spy is the a great culmination of different sources to tell a concise and interesting story. Providing pivotal perspectives from different source to tell a complete story with no fluff and no overt bias.
Movies
12 Strong
This move is part of the household's Memorial Month movie list. It is an important part of American history that hasn't been told until recently. After more than 2000 civilians died from an unprovoked attack, we needed to provide a show of force that we will not sit quietly.
Books
Fourth Wing
An interesting book that I enjoyed reading and was a nice change to the magic of dragons and how humans interact with them. The layers of character building and expectation does have a bit of "Girls rule the world" and the protagonist has a large case of Deus Ex Machina.
Movies
Oppenheimer
This is a biopic. What that means is that it is longer and is more story driven rather than action packed. However, like Interstellar, Christopher Nolan does a fantastic job of providing stress and interest that keeps you in your seat.
Books
A Spy Named Orphan
This book drags you through weeds of information to present the dumbest that the UK has to offer from the establishment and from their turncoats. This is the type of book that makes you question why you decided to start reading it because a lot of the information feels completely superfluous.
Movies
The Creator
I have talked about John David Washington being an amazing actor in both Tenet and BlacKkKlansman and this movie is far better than those. Also I had no idea he was Denzel Washington's son and damn does it show. He is a power house.
Movies
The Last Samurai
Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe are so good in this movie. They have a wonderful chemistry and I think really play off of each other. Let alone for a guy who has so few lines, Hiroyuki Sanada is a presence to be dealt with.
Books
Extreme Ownership
Jacko Willink and Leif Babin do a fantastic job of presenting leadership qualification and skills, as something we should all recognize. Through the lens of failure and near misses, they provide real world recommendations to how to be an effective leader on and off the battlefield.