The Lionheart (2023) is a documentary that will be more appealing to motorsports fan only as it tries to explores the legacy of Dan Wheldon, bout anyone who is not into Indy or Formula 1 would consider it a good watch but may be can turn them into a fan, a two time Indianapolis 500 champion who tragically died on the track, the documentary is dedicated to expand the impact of his death on the world of motorsports and the challenges faced by his two sons Sebastian and Oliver in following their father’s same steps and practices on the sport they learn to love since very little. The title “The Lionheart” is a reference to Dan Wheldon’s determination, courage, and passion for motorsports, this documentary also looks to highlight the safety concerns in racing and the importance of remembering the sacrifices made by drivers like Dan Wheldon.
– IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27543996/
– Platform: Max
– Release: March 12, 2024
The documentary not only describe Dan Wheldon’s carrer, determination, passion and dedication for the sport, it describe the rise of this young pilot from England and his key moments on the sport like wining Indianapolis 500 in 2011, all the numerous challenges to win that race including a last lap pass that is probably still remembered as one of the most exciting ones of his career also lets not forget his previous win at Indianapolis 500 in 2005, this was a very significant victory since he was the first British driver to win the race since 1966.
If we look into motorsports safety now days its probably a puzzle that we have not figure out at 100% yet considering that every three of five years happen certain that no one though it would be possible, very recent the fire on Formula E, Valencia 2023 or the Formula 1 Romain Grosjean accident in 2020 where his fire caught on fire after he crash. I would only think that there were similar safety concerns during the times of Dan Wheldon from track design, protective gear for the drivers, the cars structure and this for sure is a part that the documentary will be touching on, I have only seen Indianapolis 500 a few times since I mostly follow Formula 1 but I have to say the risk is the same, doesn’t matter if you are going at 200 kmph or 300 kmph the result will be the same, very close to death if not, all drivers know this and they still put on their gear and get into their cars.
The director in charge for this documentary is the well known sports broadcaster and filmmaker Hannah Storm, Hannah has previous work with ESPN, NBC Sports and ABC Sports just to mention a few, she has also directed other documentaries including Unmatched, Rowdy and Swoopes so there is plenty of experience going into the recollection of critical data and putting it all together, so far this documentary has been shown on two Film Festivals, Tribeca Film Festival and Heartland International Film Festival with great feedback and results from what I have found online.
During the documentary features interviews with several people who knew Dan Wheldon, including his family, wife, friends and drivers who share the track with him several times, featured in the documentary include Dan Wheldon’s wife, Susie Wheldon, his sons, Sebastian and Oliver Wheldon, and his fellow drivers, including Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, and Scott Dixon.. From the trailer we can see that it also covers footage of several of the races he was part of, probably from his early beginnings and some of his interviews too.
As mention I’m not into Indy but do love all kind of motorsport so once I saw the trailer I had too look first for the accident one that you only think happen on Lightning McQueen movies where cars where literally flying over 100 meters involving almost half, 14 cars; during the crash with more than three on fire from what I was able to catch during the accident footage, dissecting this scene will be very interesting as I’m sure there will be commentary about the flaws on the cars. There is also the part of how his two sons are now into motorsports starting on Karting and moving forward probably to other divisions of racing trying to achieve what their father did during his career on racing. Documentaries in my opinion are one of the hardest type of film to nail, first you need a great story and then gather all the data to build up the documentary and trying not to make it sound boring, need all this people who are not shy or feel weird about been in front of the camera and keep the viewers interested.
Ever since I made that post about the upcoming Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023) TV Series I got interested on finding out the start of MONARCH and the chronology of the movies, there are other stories made up from multiple movies but they are just too big for me to learn everything from the start, it is just too much time so this seems smaller and about to kick off with its first TV Series based on a series of movies. The first movie that started things was Kong: Skull Island (2017) where Bill Randa finally find all this monsters he has been talking about for years, but he was not the first man from a modern society to discover the island after Hank Marlow a USA pilot from World War II crash there and had his first encounter with the guardian of the island, Kong.
At first I really thought I was going to be disappointed by this movie since the score on sites like IMDB was very low with only a 6.7/10 but when I start to go through the reviews most of them were positive, lots of 7+ reviews but it was only a few bastards that gave the movie a 2 or 3 complaining about the story that they probably didn’t that much attention to, others complaining about how the concept about Kong was completely change from this giant ape who normally terrorize cities to now been the guardian of the island. I think MONARCH made a favor to Kong bringing it into the MONSTER VERSE, no body cares about movies based on the same concept over and over, what they were trying to do is build up the foundation to something bigger that now days will turn into a TV Series potentially extending the story of all this monsters into something different and bigger.
The Vietnam war is about to be over and all troops send back home, Bill Randal currently in charge of MONARCH knows that the program can be shut down at any moment because so far they have found nothing and when the war ends things are going to rapidly change politically, he feels its now or never go make a discovery and prove the monsters he and his assistant Houston Brooks have been speculating about do exist so they talk to Senator Willis, ask him for one last chance to send them on an expedition to Skull Island, a place that has not been explore yet with many stories about boats disappearing, mysterious bombing like they were trying to kill something but its all speculation, luckily there is already an expedition to Skull Island and Bill and Houston knew about, LANDSAT a program to discover and explore the Earth is sending a team to Skull Island so MONARCH was able to piggy back after Senator Willis approval. A common question that came up was WHY THE FUCK ITS NOT BEEN EXPLORE? the reason is because its surrounded by a perpetual storm system like God doesn’t want anyone else inside the island.
Bill ask for a military escort, he knows if they find something on that island only military power can help them to get out alive, that’s when one of my favorite characters comes in by the hand of Samuel Jackson, Colonel Preston Packard who doesn’t want to leave the war, he is that soldier who feels there is nothing else at home that matters and he just want to keep pushing not to mention that they are “abandoning” the war but that’s a total different topic. Colonel Packard is in charge to take LANDSAT and MONARCH to Skull Island and provide protection so they can explore it and come back home.
As secondarily characters there are soldiers under Packard wing, most pilots, there is Cole, Slivko, Reles and Chapman all this pilots will follow Packard orders at all times, that was at first, until Packard obsession gets them close enough to death.
Chapman a pilot who was flying the helicopter with the most gun power is played by Toby Kebbell who is on For All Man Kind new season, he did very well on this movie although his part was very small, this is Packard’s first obsession to find Chapman when his helicopter goes down after an attack but not necesarly because he wants to safe Chapman, Packard was really after all the armament on Chapman’s helicopter.
#photo fotographer and james
Last duet of the story are James Conrad and Mason Weaver, Conrad the man in charge to guide them through the island he is famous for exploring inhabitable places and getting out alive so Bill and Houston look for him, they knew it would be expensive and they running low on money but if they want the best chances to get out alive Conrad is the guy to go with, as a bonus we get Mason Weaver who is going to play the pretty lady on the movie, photographer who actually goes to cover the LANDSAT expedition but she knows there is something else cooking besides the LANDSAT expedition but none of them have a clue of what they going to find on Skull Island.
There is one detail that I didn’t like and that was the amount of Choppers on the first shots when they get to the Island, there was only one ship that look like it can hold at best five to seven of them but when they start flying towards the Island looks like they were ten of them, also when already in the island they started to drop some small bombs to map out the surface because of the seismic waves.
After they start dropping bombs this obviously disturb nature, you got the noise, the impact on earth, animals going wild running scared and this is when big dawg Kong shows up for the first time on the movie, I really like how they gave it this classic Vietnam war scenery with the sun going down and the sky orange but in some cases it was hard to see although I still think it look great, Kong itself was very well design in my opinion but it look small, latter on during the movie it is mention that he is still small, he is probably on his teens, point is that he got mad as fuck for all the bombing and shuts down all the choppers one by one this made him enemy number one to Colonel Packard, on this movie Kong is the protector of the Island, he is not a predator he protect humans and animals mainly for the real predators, GIANT LIZARDS!!
After Kong shuts them down Packard had a little chat with Bill who then told him why they were there, what is MONARCH, he is not there to explore the land, he is there to find monsters and bring proof back because he believes there are way more monsters that have not been discover and they need to prepare, bring the cavalry, on the island they had many encounter with huge animals, from what looks like a giant Buffalo, spiders, insects, its like Australia x100.
The survivors of the attack start exploring looking for shelter and how to get out of the island, the group split in two, you got Packard and his soldiers looking for Chapman and all that fire power and then there is Conrad leading the other group (MONARCH and LANDSAT) until they found Hank Marlow, the guy I mention crash the island many years ago during WW II, he has been living there for twenty eight years waiting to be rescue without luck until now when Bill and the rest arrive but this was not necessary a good thing for the island. Hank has been living with natives of the island and gave the guys a tour and had a short Q&A with them so they know whats the deal of the island, who is Kong to them and where not to go.
I don’t like to spoil the cool scenes so I’m just going to mention that there was NO LACK at all of fight scenes between humans and monsters and monster against monsters, you got flying monsters, you got giant baby lizard and then you got big mama lizard against Kong in the final fight, nothing was left to the imagination wondering of why things happen or what if, none of that bullshit, its true that we don’t know yet from where all this monsters are coming but Houston did mention that his planet is not theirs, it belongs to this monsters and it was just a matter of time before they take it back, that’s one of the reasons why MONARCH exist to prevent all this events.
This was for sure the beginning of MONARCH, on this movie we only get that a man called Harry Truman funded MONARCH in 1946 but that’s all we got from this movie, after credits there is a scene where Houston give more details to Conrad and Weaver of who are they facing but that’s it, but he does show them some pictures of cave explorations and images on the walls of this caves that represent many of the different titans like Godzilla.
The reason to watching this movie was to find out more about MONARCH, I know I can go and read the MONARCH Fandom but that is not what I want, I want to have the same perspective of any other viewer once MONARCH: Legacy of the Monsters TV Show starts and that is the reference to the movies themself, my next movie to watch is Godzilla (2014) that is heavy shown on the first trailer for the tv series.
Kong Skull of Island as a Monster or Titans because when you say monster most people think about demons probably but this case its titans or MUTOS as MONARCH describe, this movie did a great job, the CGI was very good nothing to criticize also the amount of monsters that appear on the movie is good enough since it was not only Kong, on the movie appear seven monster animals in total that I can remember so it was not only about Kong, there is even an extra small fight between Kong and a Giant squid that felt like a bonus fight. In terms of the cast it had a good amount of known actors who also did a good job at bringing all this characters alive, I don’t feel anything was fake or over the top neither. The only thing that I would do different is not killing Bill on this movie because I think he was a leader for MONARCH and finally when they get all proof they need to show he was right about all this monsters he gets killed, I don’t him been alive would change the end/meaning of the movie but just a small detail that I would prefer.
Referring to MONARCH itself this is the movie that opens the door to explore what they have discover so far, from here its all about looking for all those other monsters out there, try to understand them, protect from them and even dominate or kill them depending on how dangerous they are, MONARCH already knows there are more out there and its a matter of time before they claim Earth back.
Episode 8, Legacy, puts an end to the mini series A Small Light, I really enjoy it, the cast and production was awesome with stars like Liev Schreiber, Ian McElhinney the ones I recognize but Bel Powley doing Miep was the star of the show, she was awesome been funny and such a good friend to the Frank’s, so loyal always giving the extra mile to the point of constantly putting her life on the line for her friends, now days is very rare to see those qualities on a friend.
I’m not going to pretend I know much about World War II or any other war but I have learn a few things from this series, for the most part is a very moving series and Episode 8 in my opinion is the one that will bring some tears out, I cant imagine Mr. Frank’s suffering after loosing everyone and everything, his friends and family who stayed hiding with him for over two years, from the series perspective they were arrested very close to the end of the war between two to six months, but at the time just getting arrested was a death sentence, the Frank’s and friends were all send to different camps, probably lucky for many didn’t have to suffer as long as others that were caught earlier and end up surviving but still that short time was enough to take everything from Mr. Frank, even though it was probably less than a year he lost his entire family, ironically he was the head of the house and did everything he could to keep safe his wife and daughters but end up loosing them and he survive.
Miep stay in front of the business in Mr. Frank absence, so she was not even a good friend but also a loyal employee, she was once told to sell the business, she didn’t owe anything to Mr. Frank but she didn’t and kept pushing, even though there were times when she loose all hope she keep bring it back and kept saying some day they will return home, this episode is mostly about Miep but also is a combination of many people who ran away from the city hiding in the countryside, many who after the ware recognize Jan as the guy who safe them, safe their children and family, he did felt like a hero but he went through rough times too, close to the end of the war the city was in lock down by the remaining German Officers who were taking all Dutch man to work camps so now Miep was the only one going out, she was in charge of bringing food to the table since Jan couldn’t even go out, the worst part of such situation is not knowing when its going to end.
A Small Light : Legacy – Season 1 – Episode 8 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
Episode 8 of A Small Light starts with Miep at the German’s HQ, she tries to bribe German Officer Karl Silberbauer after he took the Frank’s but even though he wanted since the moment he arrested them he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it since there were other officers present, there was not much to bribe them all, during those times if he get caught trying to let them go most likely he would get killed and probably on the spot, when Miep confront him another officer probably with higher rank ask him to hurry up the paper work, Officer Kurt, Miep tried to go over Karl but it end up worst for her, Kurt took the money and ask officers to throw her out of the building, at that moment Miep understood there was nothing she could do about it, from that moment she start living just with the hope one day the would come back home alive.
A Small Light : Legacy – Season 1 – Episode 8 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
The book is very famous for bringing the memories of Anne Frank, the series brings a more graphic explanation of this, during the entire series Anne kept telling Miep all her dreams and plans she had, goals she wanted to achieve once they war was over and they go out again, for Anne getting caught was never an option, Miep was aware of all this and broke her heart when she went back into the room they were staying and say Anne’s diary all over the floor, she pick up all the remaining sheets and so other books of her, all Anne’s memories, during the war citizens where told to collect letters and safe them as those will be the memories of many who didn’t make it.
A Small Light : Legacy – Season 1 – Episode 8 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
Close to the end of the war things got very very tight, there was no food, no money and mostly women and old men were aloud to go out, Germans who remain in the city were taking all Dutch men to working camps, Germans knew they were about to loose the war so they were doing what ever they could to grasp as much as they could, for some who got arrested close to the end they were lucky enough to survive and not suffer for much time, in the case of Jan and Miep they stay together through all this time, that says a lot from both and Miep was now the head of the house, on the series they were always together, had a few arguments but always together during good and bad times, like on this picture they almost had nothing to eat and no wood for the fire, they had to brake a chair to make fire.
A Small Light : Legacy – Season 1 – Episode 8 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
Not all heroes wear capes, Jan and Miep became war heroes, not everyone knew but Jan work with the resistance at first to help Miep and the Franks but latter on end up saving a lot of people, sneaking kids out of the city to the country side, when the war was over looks like a good amount of people recognize him on the streets, at least if it was two or three he must have felt very proud same for Miep, what they did for others was an act of heroism, putting their life on the lines for those who didn’t have a voice and could not defend themselves.
A Small Light : Legacy – Season 1 – Episode 8 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
The train lines were reactivated and those that were taken as prisoners out of the city start coming back home, some like Mr. Frank lost everything including their houses, at first he still had hope his daughters and wife would come back, visit their apartment now occupied by a young couple, he didn’t ask for his apartment back but only to let his family know he is with Miep in case they come back but one day the answer to his questions arrive, Jan, Miep and the other employees at the office start sending letters and putting up signs looking for the girls and Mrs. Frank until a women who knew them form the working camps arrive and let her know they didn’t make it, this was probably the worst moment of the episode, it was the end of a long wait, not the answer they were looking for but at least their suspense and suffering ended on that moment.
A Small Light : Legacy – Season 1 – Episode 8 – RECAP – www.skiptvads.blog
Miep and Jan had a kid called Paul, Mr. Frank stay close to them, he probably move out to another place but they always stay together until his last day alive, Miep lived until she was a hundred years old, Miep was a women who was blessed, she went through all this experiences and had the strength to live for so long, proud, telling her stories of war, how an ordinary secretary did everything she could to safe his friends and family, for Miep nationality or beliefs didn’t mean anything, it was about the quality of the of the person, even when someone was not of her liking she still was fair to everyone, even with German Officer Karl she felt how he knew it was not right what he was doing when he raid Mr. Frank office and arrest them, trust others during the war was hard but she always had this sense to identify those telling the truth and been fair.
I found the Small Light fantastic, not only me but a lot of people seem to like it, an 8.4/10 on IMDB is no joke, I never read the book so I do not know how much it follows the real story but anyone who watch this mini series should know the ending, its very sad how Mr. Frank ends up alone, his daughters and wife died at the camps but at the same time is comforting how they mention that he stay with Miep and Jan, I think Miep could even see him as a father considering that her relationship with her family was very vague after she had to be send out of Germany because of the war and poverty, this series makes you wonder or at least made me ask myself why are humans not this loyal and good to each other, it all comes down to money, fame and power, during those times that I think barely exist, there was no internet, social network, branding clothe I think was not such hype so people concentrate more on each other for who they were and not what they had, I wish I was born prior the 80’s because every time I watch a series from those eras makes me envy and I would trade all the tech we have now to make those times come back, I was born in the 80’s without internet or cellphones, I saw all that tech emerge and how it has devalue society, it will never be the same.
