Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Civil War

A Reel Leadership Article

My latest book, Reel Leadership, is now available on Amazon. If you love movies and leadership, you will love this book.

The previews for Civil War were exciting. The United States had been engulfed in a civil war that shook the foundation of the country to its core. The various factions were fighting hard against one another.

What would it spell out for the country?

Cailee Spaeny in Civil War. Young, dark haired woman holding a camera.

I went into Civil War expecting a film about the conflict caused by the breaking up of the country. Rather than that, A24 gave us a chilling look at the world of military-embedded photojournalists on a journey to reach the White House. They needed to do this quickly as rebels were also headed to the White House. Their mission? Something much more sinister: taking out the President of the United States of America (Nick Offerman).

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Monkey Man

A Reel Leadership Article

My latest book, Reel Leadership, is now available on Amazon. If you love movies and leadership, you will love this book.

Watching the previews for Monkey Man, I had flashbacks to the John Wick movies. It looked like the typical revenge thriller with an Indian twist. The action and adventure had a similar feel to those classic action movies. One of the characters even quips about John Wick in the film.

In Monkey Man, an anonymous man named Kid (Dev Patel) fights in underground battles wearing a monkey mask. This gets him the name Monkey Man. He’s always on the losing end as Tiger (Sharlto Copley) has rigged the fights so Kid will always lose.

Ripped man standing in a ring. He's wearing a monkey mask. Scene from Monkey Man

Kid eventually tires of the endless fights and meager pay. He decides he wants something better. This is when he is introduced to Queenie (Ashwini Kalsekar), a brothel owner. He befriends her and begins to work for her in the kitchen. 

What A Swan Taught Me About Leadership

On a warmer February afternoon, Pamela and I walked through our neighborhood. We walked over a creek, which is a hotbed of activity during the summer. In the winter months, there’s not much going on.

However, on this day, we saw two ducks and two swans. The two ducks and one swan were swimming along fine. They were having a great time in the water.

But then there was the second swan…

A swan on water. There is ice surrounding the swan.

He’s in the middle of an ice patch. All around him is a crunchy layer of ice. What we saw happen next surprised me.

The swan didn’t take flight. He pushed himself forward, again and again, into the ice. He was breaking through the ice so he could get to the portion of the creek that was free of ice.

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

A Reel Leadership Article

My latest book, Reel Leadership, is now available on Amazon. If you love movies and leadership, you will love this book.

In the latest edition of Reel Leadership, we return to the MonsterVerse, a world where giant titans live and thrive. These titans include creatures such as Godzilla, Kong, King Ghidorah, Rodan, Mothra, and other gigantic monsters.

It’s a great throwback to films of old where Godzilla had to battle various threats. Now, we get to see them fighting each other and together.

Godzilla and Kong (two gigantic creatures) charging forward with a pinkish background

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire (first off, did you know the X is silent? It really is.) picks up after the 2014 Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Godzilla vs. Kong. The story of Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), her adopted daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle), and Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry), along with the addition of Trapper (Dan Stevens), a former love interest of Ilene. Many of the monsters have been relocated, the most important being that Godzilla has claimed his throne above ground, and Kong has gone underground to Hollow Earth and reigns there. 

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Tetris

A Reel Leadership Article

My latest book, Reel Leadership, is now available on Amazon. If you love movies and leadership, you will love this book.

Set during the 1980s, Tetris tells the real-life story of the race to license and patent the addictive video game. Tetris was created by Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov). The movie is based on true events and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

When video game designer and founder of Bullet-Proof software Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) was at CES (Consumer Electronic Expo) trying to sell his game, no one was paying attention. Even his salesperson left his booth to marvel over a new video game being displayed by Robert Stein (Toby Jones).

That game? TETRIS.

Man in a brown suit. Dark hair. Sitting in a chair with Tetris pieces falling around him.

Taron Egerton in Tetris

Henk walks over to the booth to discover his salesperson playing the game. He’s frustrated until he begins to play. Then it became the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.