The Art Of War... "American Gods"

American Gods (2017)

TV-MA

Starring Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Ian McShane, Crispin Glover, Pablo Schreiber, Bruce Langley, Orlando Jones,

Created by Bryan Fuller & Michael Green

The Story:

Shadow Moon (Whittle) is released from prison early after his wife, Laura (Browning) dies in an accident. Traveling to the funeral, he encounters a mysterious drifter, Mr. Wednesday (McShane) who employs Shadow as his right hand man. However, there is much that Shadow doesn't know about Wednesday, but all will slowly be revealed as the two travel across America together.

Man oh man, that was something else.

With Season One being only 8 episodes long, I decided to wait until the season was over to review it.

That is some crazy stuff right there!

From the opening of the first episode that literally made me jump with fright when the Vikings came ashore, I'd have to say I was hooked from the start.

Based on a novel by Neil Gaiman, it's the story of the gods of old that were brought to America by immigrants confronting the gods of 21st century America.

There's a war brewing and Wednesday needs recruits if the old gods stand a chance of surviving.

The cast is superb, and though Ricky Whittle is the lead, I tuned in for McShane, and he doesn't disappoint, as per the usual with him in any role. The supporting players are great, and by the end of the season, the duo of Mad Sweeney (Schreiber) and Dead Wife (Browning) would steal the show. Another great addition was Mr. Nancy (Jones) who electrifies the 2nd episode with his coming to America tale, and comes back strong narrating the season finale story about the purpose of needing a queen in the war.

You'll need Starz to see this one, or you'll have to wait until the discs become available for rent/purchase later.

Not sure where it goes from here, but as one who has always enjoyed mythology, I can't wait to see where these gods take us.

Final Grade: B+

Above And Beyond..."13 Hours"

13 Hours (2016)

Rated R

Starring John Krasinski, James Badge Dale, Pablo Schreiber, David Denman, Dominic Fumusa, Max Martini, David Costabile, Matt Letscher,

Directed by Michael Bay

The Story:

Benghazi, Libya. In 2012, it was declared one of the most dangerous places on Earth, and pretty much all foreign governments pulled out of the area. The United States left a sorta secret CIA base in the area, and they were defended by former military special ops personnel. On September 11th, Ambassador Stevens (Letscher) has come to Benghazi to spread the message of peace through the land, and that's when terrorists decide to storm the Ambassador's compound. The security team at the CIA base want to go protect the Ambassador, but are told to stand down by the Chief (Costabile). They finally defy his orders and go to try and save the Ambassador before it's too late.

And we all know how it ends.

Ambassador Stevens and 3 of the security team members would die as a result of the attacks on the 2 compounds.

I won't name the names here, you can find them on a million news reports, and it then spoils which actors wind up getting killed.

It's more stressing not knowing which characters are going to end up not making the trip home alive, and you feel the tension and stress that the movie tries to convey.

Speaking of which, Michael Bay, give him credit, tells a really powerful war story here.

He's aided by a wonderful cast of mostly actors that you haven't seen before, minus Krasinski, who pulls off the role as a former Special Ops who is now wanting to provide for his family by taking this dangerous assignment.

By the 45 minute mark or so, you're so invested in these characters, you almost don't want to keep watching the movie because you know bad things are going to happen.

Plus, you know my usual complaint about how movies are too long or feel longer than they are?

That doesn't apply here.

The 2 1/2 hours are riveting and you remain engaged throughout.

As for the political finger-pointing that comes with this movie, Bay sidesteps pointing any direct fingers at the White House or those in positions of power that could have done something, but the implication is there that something could have been done in a much timelier manner.

It was a tragedy that shouldn't have happened and also shouldn't be ignored.

Final Grade: Solid B  /  B+