According to the author, James Grippando, his story is inspired by actual events that happened in Miami—a heist carried out by amateurs. The heist starts out boldly and goes well. The aftermath is when things start to unravel. The amateur crew comprises Ruban Betancourt, a man disillusioned with the law; his brother-in-law, Jeffrey, an overweight, drug addict leaching off his mother; and his uncle, Pinky, an ex-convict who was nicknamed as such because of how far down his manhood reaches to his pinky. They hire two other people, both former convicts. One of them is the driver whose role is to ditch their getaway vehicles. The other one is the insider who smooths the entry for the big steal. Continue reading
Reviews – book & movie reviews
K. Pinella’s movie & book reviews
The Pyramid (a movie review)
This is a horror movie that takes place deep underground. Although the story line is a little different, this movie falls into the same category as the following movies: As Above, So Below; The Descent; The Descent Part 2. If you’ve seen those movies, do you see the commonalities among them? The horror takes place beneath the surface with a mazelike challenge for those trapped down there to get out. And there are strange creatures in them there parts. Continue reading
Danny Collins (a movie review)
When I saw the trailer to this movie, I thought it would be a slow-moving story about a washed up star. I almost didn’t watch the movie, but I’m glad I did because it turned out to be a gem. Al Pacino is excellent as Danny Collins, an aging rock star who somehow gets stuck doing the same thing. That’s because he got sucked into pleasing a fan base that ironically stifles his creativity, always expecting the same old songs night after night. During the 40 years of going through the motions, he tries to forget his misery by snorting coke and drinking heavily. Continue reading
Finders Keepers by Stephen King (a book review)
I found Finders Keepers as another entertaining read from King, with a somewhat mysterious ending. The story is sectioned into three parts, with the first two parts further broken into chapters that alternate between two different young men’s stories. Continue reading
The Forger (a movie review)
This is a bittersweet father and son heist film. John Travolta plays an art forger who is imprisoned for four years. To get out sooner, he makes a deal with an outside well-connected criminal, who pays off a crooked judge to release Travolta’s character, Ray Cutter, nine months before he finishes his prison term. Not too much later, the viewer is shown that Ray Cutter has a teenage son, played by Tye Sheridan, who has cancer. Ray’s father, played by Christopher Plummer, has been taking care of Ray’s son while Ray has been in prison. Now that Ray is out of prison, he is indebted to the criminal who arranged for his early release. The payment is for Ray to steal a painting by Claude Monet and replace it with a forgery. Then things start getting interesting. Continue reading
Run All Night (a movie review)
The movie’s first scene made me think one of the main characters is dying. Then the story rolls back to several days that precede this dramatic beginning.
As an action movie, Run All Night has the right formula with exciting fight and flight scenes. The body count is high and the car and foot chases are somewhat intense. Liam Neeson and Ed Harris both play a father, each of whom has a son. Both of their sons intersect each other’s paths one night, triggering certain events that result in the two fathers becoming sworn enemies. Singer/actor Common plays an assassin, who joins the group in the movie’s second half. Continue reading
Memory Man by David Baldacci (a book review)
This book has the makings of a new book series. The hero is Amos Decker, a middle-aged, 6’5”, 350-lb., former police detective whose mind is like a DVR. A football accident that happened during his first college football game as a freshman resulted in giving him more than a concussion. His brain somehow got knocked in the right places to give him the ability to recall all his memories at will. His size is metaphorical of the heaviness of life events that will follow later. One of such events is the inexplicable murders of his wife, daughter, and brother-in-law. The murders go unsolved and his life spirals down until many years later he is roused from his lackluster existence. Continue reading
Welcome to Me (a movie review)
If you like reality shows, you will find this as another extension of the concept. This movie is about a woman who decides to get off her medication that treats her borderline personality disorder. She wins an $86 million lottery jackpot and purchases time in a flagging infomercial T.V. station so she can air her own show featuring anything and everything about her life and troubles. This is not really a laugh-out-loud comedy; it is more of a portrayal of a mentally unstable person who makes decisions that produce (un)intentional, comic results. Kristen Wiig plays the troubled woman’s role, supported by Joan Cusack, James Marsden, Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Wes Bentley. Continue reading
Kingsman: The Secret Service (a movie review)
This is a tongue-in-cheek explosive movie starring Colin Firth, Michael Caine, and superbad Samuel L. Jackson, who is always good as a villain because he seems to enjoy playing such roles. His enjoyment makes you intensely dislike him (in character of course), and in this film he is quite the psycho with a civilized façade. His assistant is an amputee with bladed prosthetic feet and furtive martial moves. Continue reading
Solitude Creek by Jeffery Deaver (a book review)
Solitude Creek is the fifth of a series on body language expert, Kathryn Dance, a widowed mother of two, working as an agent for the California Bureau of Investigation. We find her here solving two different cases, with one of them being a sting operation and I will not go on because I wouldn’t want to spoil this good read. I will reveal that one of the culprits is a person that sets up situations leading to crowd panic, resulting in violence and ugly scenes. As always, author Jeffrey Deaver delivers a good plot and engrossing characters. Continue reading
Karina Pinella 
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