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 Ghostbusters: Frozen 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.

Walking out of the theater after seeing Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, all I can say is WOW. That movie took me back to the feelings I had when I saw the original Ghostbusters movie. It was a nostalgic romp.

Taking place after Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Ghostbusters Frozen Empire continues the story of Phoebe Spengler (Mckenna Grace), Trevor Spengler (Finn Wolfhard), Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd, and Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon). They’ve now moved to New York and into the old firehouse the original Ghostbusters used.

Ghostbusters in jumpsuits with their proton pack blasters ready to shoot

There’s teenage angst as Phoebe is told she’s too young to be a Ghostbuster. There are laughs and cheap thrills, and there are even returning Ghostbusters that will make you cheer.

But what’s happening in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire? 

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From One Life

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.

Take a step back in time with the new movie One Life. One Life tells the story of Nicholas “Nicky” Winton (old – Anthony Hopkins, young – Johnny Flynn). Nicky was a young London broker who saw the horrors of the coming war. Nicky became a savior to hundreds of Jewish children. He helped shuttle them by train from Prague, Czechoslovakia to the United Kingdom where foster families were waiting for them and avoid the coming Jewish Holocaust.

It is a harrowing story brought to the public’s knowledge when the BBC show That’s Life had Nicky attend an airing. During the airing, he discovered the woman sitting next to him was one of the women he helped save. They brought him back for another show. This time… every audience member was a child he’d helped rescue.