Deadline film review

Murder. Mystery. True story. All things I love about a movie. Take a look at the trailer. It draws you in, wants to be watched. Unfortunately, about an hour into the movie, I didn't feel the same way at all. The story follows Matt Harper, a reporter for the Nashville Times, as he digs into the facts about the murder of a young African American boy nineteen years earlier. This story has all the raw material to be a great movie, but the writing was just awful. The characters are quite shallow and their behavior is very cliché. The story starts meandering about and has a hard time keeping your interest to the end. The acting was ok, but not great. Bottom line: the trailer made promises the full movie did not deliver.

Knockout Entrepreneur by George Foreman

George Foreman - most people know his name. They may know that he is the two-time Heavyweight Champion of the World. Or that he has an incredibly successful George Foreman Grill. In this book, George brings his faith and his unique perspective to give would-be entrepreneurs advice for their endeavors. He covers topics ranging from risk to perseverance to integrity.

I have read a lot of business books. And while this book doesn’t have any secret to success that you aren’t going to find anywhere else, it does cover all the foundational principles. And it covers them from a very unique perspective. George Foreman brings his experience as a world champion boxer to provide stories and a new angle on those principles in a way that is very entertaining. I really enjoyed reading about how he learned business principles, first by promoting himself as a boxer, and then later by building the George Foreman’s Lean, Mean, Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine into a 100 million dollar business.

This book has one other feature that I really like. Nelson free gives you this book in eBook and audio book formats when you buy the print version. You can read the eBook on an iPad, Kindle, or other eBook reader, or you can listen to the audio book version on any mp3 player. This really makes it easy to read or listen to the book at your convenience, while driving, or working out.

Homeless for the Holidays

"Homeless for the Holidays" is a family friendly movie based on true events.  I was provided a copy of this movie to review with no obligation.

There's really a demand for movies with Christian values that the whole family can watch.  If you look at the reaction to movies like "Passion of the Christ" and "Facing the Giants", you can see that people want movies that reflect their values and tell great stories.  Unfortunately, Hollywood doesn't usually do a good job at making those kind of movies. They are good at the lighting, audio, camera work, and acting but not at writing stories that reflect family values.  Most Christian productions are good at reflecting the values, but not the technical aspects. Unfortunately, this movie is another example of that. "Homeless for the Holidays" is a heartwarming story, but it's very hard to tell past the bad writing, acting, lighting, video, and audio. Even allowing for the low budget, the movie was quite bad.  I really wanted to like it, but I just didn't.

I sincerely hope the makers of this movie take what they've learned from this experience, get better, and try again, because we need more good family movies.

The Seven Minute Difference, by Allyson Lewis

"This book is written for businesspeople who want to believe that change really can happen in an instant." The Seven-Minute Difference by Allyson Lewis is a book filled with simple yet practical "Micro-actions" that help apply the many "Seven Minute Ideas" suggested to improve your relationships, have fun at work or utilize your talents to the best of your ability. By breaking down purposeful goals into easy steps, shifting your lifestyle and becoming a happier person is not nearly as daunting of a task.

Application is effortless, too, thanks to the convenient daily journal. Taking just seven minutes of time each day is easy to accomplish, and the little steps it advocates add up to help accomplish major steps while keeping sight of your life's purpose.

The simple breakdown of common purposes - to be a better spouse, to spend more quality time with your kids, to excel at work, to find a way to love the job you do, and so on - proves that by taking small steps, big goals can be achieved.

I would recommend this book to everyone to help you live a live of purpose and help you take the steps to get there. Learn more at http://www.the7minutelifesystem.com.

Review: Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl, April Henry

A young Senate page home on vacation turns up dead. The resulting investigation reveals a possible relationship with a Senator. Three friends, a reporter, a Federal Prosecutor, and an FBI Special Agent work the case to its conclusion.

The story has a familiar ring to it. I like fiction stories that pull their subject matter from the headlines. Somehow it makes the story seem more real and draws you in. This story also adds the interesting dynamic between three friends working the case from different angles. This dynamic allows the reader to experience the action from every angle.

Face of Betrayal is a fast-paced book with a compelling story and interesting twists and turns. It is an interesting blend of a political and crime thriller that was fun to read.

Review: I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse by Michael Franzese

As a capo in the Colombo crime family, Michael Franzese operated businesses that generated millions of dollars each week. Then he left that life behind. After turning his life around and serving time, he now helps teach others how to run legitimate businesses.

I really didn't know what I was going to think about this book before I read it. I must say that it has a different perspective from any business book I have read. The principles Michael lays out are simple and sound, but the perspective he brings is compelling. I found the personal stories interesting and informative. While none of the ideas are ones I haven't heard before, the new perspective reinforced them in a different light. The book is well thought out and an interesting read. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. And I'm not just saying that because the author used to be a crime boss.

Review: Kiss by Ted Dekker, Erin Healy

I read every Ted Dekker book I can as soon as I can. And as soon as I'm done, I can't wait for the next one. Kiss is no exception. In this book, Ted Dekker partners with Erin Healy to tell a powerful story that has it all - suspense, mystery, twists, emotion, and best of all, it makes you think.

Dekker and Healy use a paranormal device where the main character, Shauna McAllister, finds that she can steal the memories of others, even as she struggles to regain her own recent memories after a traffic accident. What follows is a thrill ride that takes the reader to the very end of the book and leaves them breathless and wanting more.

Some people don't understand or object to the paranormal aspect of this book, but I liked it. It is imaginative and makes you think. I think maybe because so much literature that makes use of the paranormal is dark, people are cautious of it. But if you look at C.S. Lewis' popular Narnia series, the very foundation is built on the paranormal.

If you want an exciting, engaging book, you can never go wrong with Ted Dekker, and if her first book is any indication, I will be reading everything from Erin Healy in the future too.