Eden

2025 Vertical

Rated: R

Length: 2 hr 9min

Adventure ~ Drama ~ Survival ~Thriller ~ True Story

Starring: Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Daniel Brühl, Felix Kammerer, Toby Wallace, and Richard Roxburgh.

Inspired by the accounts of those who survived.

If you go to google maps, wherever you are at, zoom way out until you see the continents. Then locate South America and on the northern left side you’ll see Ecuador and the equator line running through it headed west over the ocean. Slowly zoom in on Ecuador, follow the equator to the left, and they will start to appear, the first name you see will be Puerto Ayora, a city on the Island of Santa Cruz. Followed by the city of Seymour on Santa Cruz, Isla Isabela and then the thirteen main islands of The Galapagos Islands. At the bottom of the Galapagos in the center you will find the small island of Floreana, Isla Floreana. It was here in 1929 that a disillusioned Dr. Friedrich Ritter and his patient turned companion, Dore Strauch came all the way from Germany to escape the rising tide of Fascism, Adolf Hitler and The Nazi Party.

It was here in 2015 that Ron Howard came to vacation with his family and became fascinated with the story of the first eight settlers on Floreana Island and the drama, intrigue and unsolved mystery of what transpired between 1929 and 1934. The Wittmers, Heinz, Margaret and their son Henry arrived in Floreana in August 1932, also from Germany, and Baroness Eloise Wehrborn de Wagner-Bosquet and her two lovers, Rudolf Lorenz & Robert Phillipson arrived in October 1932. At the end of 1934 only Heinz, Margaret and their son Henry remained, Baroness Eloise and Robert Phillipson had vanished without a trace, Rudolf Lorenz’s mummified body was found on the northern island of San Cristobal, Friedrich Ritter had died mysteriously of food poisoning and Dore Strauch had fled back to Germany.

It is a mystery to this day what transpired on the island between the seven adults that ended with two dead and two missing. Dore Strauch wrote a book published in 1936 titled Satan Came to Eden: A Survivor’s Account of the “Galapagos Affair”, and Margaret Wittmer wrote a book published in 1959 titled Floreana: A Woman’s Pilgrimage to The Galapagos. Both books have different accounts as to what actually transpired on the island. There is a 2013 Documentary titled The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden that features photos and film footage of the inhabitants of the island. It also includes a 4 minute Silent short film filmed on the island featuring Baroness Von Wagner and Robert Phillipson, titled The Empress of Floreana.

The title alone is a clue to the drama that transpired on the island after the Baroness’ arrival. Dr. Ritter and Dore had come to the island to escape humanity, and did so living like Robison Crusoe, surviving off the island completely isolated from any other human beings. The Wittmer family changed that but Dr. Ritter, Dore and the Wittmer’s managed to keep their distance and co-inhabit the small island. It was the Baroness’s arrival with her two lovers, along with the intention of building a huge luxury hotel for the millionaires in their yachts who frequently passed by the island, that completely changed the dynamic and tore apart Friedrich and Dore’s quiet, isolated Eden.

It is this mystery and dynamic between seven adults isolated on Floreana that Ron Howard has captured in Eden. Well portrayed by Jude Law (Dr. Friedrich Ritter), Vanessa Kirby (Dore Strauch), Daniel Brühl (Heinz Wittmer), Sydney Sweeney (Margaret Wittmer), Ana de Armas (Baroness Eloise Wehrborn de Wagner-Bosquet), Toby Wallace (Robert Phillipson) and Felix Kammerer (Rudolph Lorenz), it is a fascinating look at what happened when Satan came to Eden. I think that Ron Howard and the crew did an excellent job bringing this mystery to life. It is a tantalizing, mesmerizing study of man’s desire to be alone, and the temptation and evil inherently bred into man that cannot be constrained, even on a remote island with only eight inhabitants.

Well worth a watch, as is the documentary The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden.

King Richard

2021 Warner Bros. Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hr 24min

Biography ~ Drama ~ Sports ~ True Story

Directed by: Reinaldo Marcus Green

Starring: Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Tony Goldwyn, and Jon Bernthal.

Venus, Serena and a plan for greatness.

King Richard tells the inspiring true story of Richard Williams (Will Smith), a determined father living in Compton, California, who dreams of making his daughters Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton) tennis superstars. Richard has a detailed 78-page plan for their success he wrote before they were born. He and his wife Brandy (Aunjanue Ellis), who works as a nurse, coach the girls tirelessly while juggling their full-time jobs. Richard works hard to find a professional coach for them, facing numerous rejections from the tennis community skeptical of the family’s background and financial situation.

Eventually, Richard finds coach Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn), who agrees to train Venus but not Serena due to costs. As Venus begins to compete and succeed in junior tournaments, Serena secretly enters as well and also impresses. The family faces racism and exclusion in the predominantly white, upper-class sport. When offers from agents come in, Richard fears exploitation and pulls the girls out of the junior circuit, leading to tension with the coach and others who see this as risking their chances of turning pro.

Coach Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal) later takes the family under his wing, leading them to move to Florida for better training opportunities. Richard insists the girls focus on school and training, avoiding early exposure to the pressures of junior competition. Venus expresses her desire to turn pro, causing some family conflict, but Richard eventually supports her. Despite initial struggles, Venus achieves wins in pro matches and attracts attention from major sponsors, with Serena following close behind.

Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton) revolutionized women’s tennis and had an enormous impact on the sports world at large. Their achievements include a combined 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, three Olympic golds together, and a legacy as one of tennis’s most dominant sibling duos. Venus reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings in 2002, becoming the first Black player to do so, while Serena has held the No. 1 spot for a record 319 weeks, one of the longest reigns in history.

Serena boasts 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in the Open Era, and Venus has won seven Grand Slam singles crowns, including five Wimbledons. Their fierce rivalry and partnership broke racial and gender barriers, inspiring countless athletes and transforming the visibility and commercial appeal of women’s tennis globally. Their success symbolizes empowerment, resilience, and excellence, forever altering perceptions of Black women in sport and elevating women’s sports to new heights of public attention and respect.

This is truly an amazing story and movie well acted by Will Smith and the rest of the cast. I have to say that I have had the opportunity to watch this in the past but bypassed it because of the infamous Oscar Slap. I was on my own little Will Smith boycott even though this movie came out before the infamous Oscar affair. When I saw it had just come back to Netflix I decided to give it a watch because of the True Story and Underdog aspect. Those are two of my favorites, the True Stories and The Underdogs who, seemingly against all odds, emerge victorious and come out on top.

Richard had a 78 page plan he wrote out for his two daughters before they were born, detailing every aspect of their lives. How they were going to achieve greatness as tennis players, how they were going to conduct themselves as human beings and he never let doubt or their seemingly insurmountable obstacles of environment, race and gender sway their belief for a second. Even when he battled the violence of the local gangs that threatened his life. Even when everybody told him it couldn’t be done.

Richard Williams, through sheer perseverance, unwavering belief and steadfast determination, raised his daughters to be successful sports prodigies that succeeded beyond anybody’s wildest imaginations, (But Richard’s) and changed the course of Women’s Sports and the world of Tennis forever. It is a testament to the Human spirit and a Prime example of believing in your dreams and willing them into fruition. This is a good one and you should watch it even if, like me, you were on your own Will Smith Boycott.

I saw a video where he was promoting this movie and talked about how he doesn’t make movies anymore to make money. His only objective is to make movies that help and inspire other human beings in some way, it was the reason he made this movie. I personally feel like that is such a wonderful and admirable way of giving back after all his success. After watching this movie and learning that about Will Smith, I have decided to put aside my temporary boycott due to the Oscars fiasco. We all have our moments that we are not proud of, where life forced us to be shown at our worst. Time to let go, live and let live.

Do yourself an inspirational favor and watch this movie, and remember the Will Smith who makes movies like these to inspire and lift us all up………..

The Luckiest Man In America

2024 IFC Films

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 31min

Drama ~ True Story

Directed by: Samir Oliveros

Starring: Paul Walter Hauser, Walton Goggins, Shamier Anderson, Brian Geraghty, Patti Harrison, Haley Bennett, Damian Young, Lilli Kay, James Wolk, Shaunette Renée Wilson, David Rysdahl, Ricky Russert, David Strathairn, Johnny Knoxville, and Maisie Williams.

Brains Beat Luck….

The Luckiest Man in America tells the incredible true story of Michael Larson, who stunned the world in 1984 by outsmarting the game show Press Your Luck and winning a record-breaking $110,237. Played by Paul Walter Hauser, Larson was an ordinary ice cream truck driver who spent months studying the game’s unique board patterns and discovered a secret to beating it. What looked like luck was really the result of careful planning, focus, and a clever brain.

Larson realized that the game’s “Big Board,” which determined prizes and “Whammy” losses, wasn’t random. By watching hundreds of hours of past episodes, he uncovered that the board repeated five specific patterns of lights. Knowing this, Larson memorized the order in which the prizes and Whammies appeared. This gave him the power to hit the big cash prizes again and again while avoiding the dreaded Whammies that would wipe out a player’s earnings. This method, known as the five pattern, turned the game, usually driven by chance, into a predictable challenge Larson could master. The movie shows how this secret strategy amazed the host, the crew, and the audience, making Larson’s winnings unbelievable and raising tough questions about fairness.

Hauser’s performance shines as he portrays Larson’s determination and focus, blending his nervousness with confident skill. The film also captures the tension behind the scenes as the show’s producers debate whether to stop Larson or ride the ratings boost his wins create. The movie’s pacing slows a little at times, but the story’s excitement and the ’80s vibe, enhanced by an energetic soundtrack, keep viewers engaged. The film goes beyond just the game, exploring how Larson’s cleverness and guts pay off against the odds and the challenges of playing against systems that don’t want to be beaten.

Life After the Big Win

The real Michael Larson’s life after his famous win was far from lucky. He lost much of his money in a real estate Ponzi scheme. On top of that, he withdrew $100,000 in $1 bills for a radio contest, but about half of it was stolen during a burglary while he was at a party. These events deeply affected Larson, even leading to personal conflicts. Larson drifted through jobs, including working as a Walmart assistant manager. Later, he got involved in a shady multi-level marketing scheme that defrauded thousands of investors. Facing federal investigations, he fled to Florida, where he lived away from the public eye until his death from throat cancer in 1999 at age 49.

The film doesn’t shy away from this darker side, showing that Larson’s life was a mix of brilliance and tragedy, where a historic win didn’t guarantee a happy ending. Even if you already know the ending, The Luckiest Man in America puts you right in the middle of this thrilling and thoughtful true story about luck, skill, courage and the harsh realities that sometimes follow.

Worth a watch if you love True Stories and this one is a Doozy!

The Real Michael Larson on the left and Paul Walter Hauser as Michael Larson On The Right.

Last Breath

2025 Focus Features

Rated: PG-13

Length: 1 hr 33min

Drama ~ Thriller ~ True Story

Directed by: Alex Parkinson

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Finn Cole, and Cliff Curtis.

Make Every Breath Count

Last Breath is based on the True Story of a terrifying accident that happened in 2012 deep beneath the North Sea. The film follows three saturation divers working on an oil rig manifold about 300 feet underwater. Their team includes Duncan Allcock (Woody Harrelson), the experienced diver who stays in the diving bell overseeing the operation; David Yuasa (Simu Liu), and Chris Lemons (Finn Cole), who enter the water to replace a pipe on the structure. Their job seems routine until a violent storm disrupts everything.

The large support ship above them uses a computer-controlled system called dynamic positioning to hold its place above the rig despite the rough seas. But when the storm causes the system to fail, the ship drifts dangerously away, pulling on the divers’ lifelines, the essential umbilicals that supply them with breathing gas, heat, and communication. Chris Lemons becomes trapped when his umbilical catches on the structure and then snaps, leaving him stranded on the seafloor without his lifeline.

Without gas from his suit supply, Lemons has to rely on small bailout tanks that only last about ten minutes, making his survival time critical. As Lemons drifts and struggles for air, Yuasa fights to reach him, pulling himself hand-over-hand along the umbilical back toward the rig as the ship continues drifting. Meanwhile, on the ship, the crew races to get the dynamic positioning system back online amid huge waves and high winds. They send out a remote-operated vehicle (ROV) to find Lemons and finally locate him weak and motionless on the seafloor, nearly 30 minutes after losing breathable gas.

Despite the odds, Yuasa manages to drag Lemons back to the diving bell, where Allcock pulls off a dramatic rescue, administering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and helping Lemons regain consciousness. The amazing thing is Lemons not only survived over half an hour without oxygen but suffered no lasting brain damage, something even scientists cannot fully explain. Remarkably, Lemons returned to work just three weeks later to finish the job.

Captain Andre Jenson (Cliff Curtis) and the vessel crew face a heartbreaking moral choice during the chaos, risking an environmental disaster by staying to rescue Lemons or abandoning the mission to save their own ship. Their decision to keep trying shows the incredible teamwork and human spirit behind this real-life ordeal. Last Breath captures this high-stakes, emotional story with intense realism and respect for the courage of these divers and crew.

In the end, Last Breath is a gripping and inspiring True Story that shows the incredible risks deep-sea divers face and the power of human teamwork and determination. The film’s realistic approach, strong performances, and intense underwater sequences make it both an exciting thriller and a tribute to bravery. While the true story lessens some suspense, the emotional impact and respect for these real heroes more than make up for it. For anyone who loves survival dramas based on real events, Last Breath is definitely worth a watch. It’s a reminder that sometimes the greatest stories come from incredible acts of courage in the face of disaster.

This film is a gripping survival story that’s about more than just a thrilling rescue, it’s about trust, determination, and hope against all odds. It’s highly recommended for anyone interested in real-life drama and amazing true stories.

“Last Breath” (2025) is currently available to rent or purchase digitally on platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, and Google Play Movies. It is also streaming with ads on Amazon Prime Video. Additionally, the film is now streaming exclusively on Peacock for subscribers.

Warfare

2025 A24

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 35min

Action ~ Drama ~ War ~ True Story

Directed by: Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland

Starring: D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton, Noah Centineo, and Michael Gandolfini.

EVERYTHING IS BASED ON MEMORY………

SYNOPSIS FROM THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

Written and directed by Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland (Civil War, 28 Days Later), Warfare embeds audiences with a platoon of American Navy SEALs in the home of an Iraqi family, overseeing the movement of US forces through insurgent territory. A visceral, boots-on-the-ground story of modern warfare, told like never before: in real time and based on the memory of the people who lived it.

THE REVIEW:

I was looking for a movie to watch when I saw this on Prime. I am not big on War Movies but did a quick google search and saw it had pretty good ratings, so I thought I’d give it a go. I have watched Saving Private Ryan and liked it, the first twenty minutes is pure hell to watch. I can’t imagine what our soldiers go through when they fight for our freedoms. I saw Warfare was by A24 as well, I love their movies. And Alex Garland directed this as well as Civil War, another newer War movie which I liked as well. I’ve seen it three times so far.

So anyway I decided to give it a watch. As it starts a Navy Seal platoon is taking sniper positions in support of a US Marines operation. Walking down a main dirt street in Ramadi, Iraq November 19th, 2006 on foot in the quiet of the night. They decide they are going to set up a surveillance outpost inside one of the homes on the street. They quietly break-in and clear all the rooms and put the family that lives there in the main bedroom with an interpreter. They proceed to the upstairs and are greeted with a block wall. The interpreter asks the family why it is there and they tell him that it is another apartment. Another family lives in the upstairs.

The Navy Seals produce a sledge hammer from one of their backpacks and proceed to knock the wall down and escort the upstairs family down to the bedroom with the first family. The Seals set up a surveillance perimeter in the upstairs apartment, busting a hole in the exterior block wall for the sniper scope on a Seal’s Gun. They monitor activity from every direction through all the windows and with the high tech surveillance and satellite monitor they have with them. In constant communication with high command and other platoons on the ground, they become aware that their presence is known and their location has been compromised.

All hell breaks loose as they are fired upon with guns and grenades. And it is pure drama, action and warfare in every direction as they attempt to survive and leave the city of Ramadi. It is a very tense 95 minutes. It is not your typical war movie, it is as if you have been placed right there in the house with the platoon of Navy Seals. It is more like an immersive experience into being a Navy Seal deep in enemy territory on their own turf, fighting for every square inch. It is eye opening, I couldn’t believe the experience of being there with them and what they were going through. I also was very impressed by the brotherhood, camaraderie, and professionalism of the platoon in the face of mortal danger from every direction.

I was also impressed by how much gear these guys carry and I did a quick google search. Navy Seals can carry anywhere from 43 to 100 pounds of gear with them. Unbelievable, these are some tough guys, ready to go. It is a violent, intense, terrifying close up look at what war looks and feels like through the eyes of the Navy Seals Platoon. Ray Mendoza was part of the platoon that day and set out to make this movie for his Navy Seal Brother Elliot who lost a leg in the ordeal. He does not remember much of the mission nor how he lost his leg. Ray thought that he should make a movie based upon all the Platoon’s memories of that day, so that Elliot could see how it all happened.

I liked it but I’m not sure if you will. If you like war movies or have an interest in the Iraq Wars or the Navy Seals…..you should watch it. It is a good one, well done. I felt like I was right there in that room with them. Like I said, it was definitely eye-opening and I have an even greater respect for the Navy Seals and what they do for us now. So it’s worth watching for that.