Straight talk on scaling teams, shipping AI, and running technology
like a business, not a science project


  • Tomorrowland (2015)

    Oh Disney, where did this go so wrong?   You have such talent available at your finger tips, such vision, huge resources, and this is the best you can do?  A disjointed, mess of a movie, with a story line that only “clicks” about 10 minutes from the end, and I say click barely. I actually don’t know how to describe the storyline, because I am still unsure myself what it was…

  • Up in the Air (2009)

    Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a business man that spends the vast amount of his time in the air, flying some 360,000 miles a year and 322 days away from home for a company that specializes in helping companies to downsize, or in other words, he’s sent out to fire the staff. He is at his happiest when he is in his natural habitat “All the things you probably hate…

  • Black Sea (2014)

    Jude Law heads up this rag tag crew of submariners, that lease an old Russian sub, to go and find some lost World War 2 gold in the Black Sea.  A sort of Kelley’s Heroes but underwater. Robinson (Law) is an Aberdonian (Aberdeen, Scotland) is a veteran of the merchant seas recently sacked from his firm that he, and his crew, have devoted a significant amount of their careers to.  Without…

  • National Treasure (2004)

    What is that old saying, even a stopped clock is right twice a day?  Well, you can apply the same logic to Nicolas Cage movies.  The sheer volume of dross that the man puts out, you can easily relegate him to B movies, but every so often a vehicle comes along that makes you think, wow that wasn’t half bad.  National Treasure, from Disney, is one such vehicle. Bringing together all the…

  • The Train Robbers (1973)

    There are times when you have to separate the real man from the man on the silver screen.  A number of actors who have such a persona and strong pedigree that you simply have to forgive them (or forget) that there is even a real person behind it.  Tom Cruise and John Wayne are two legends that fall into this category.   Both of these guys get right under my skin when I…

  • Road to Pedition (2002)

    Before Sam Mendes became one of the hottest directors to take on James Bond, he cut his teeth on gritty dramas, with a sprinkling of action.  Road to Pedition is set in the early 20th century at the time crime bosses ran the cities.  The story (loosely based on the real life mobster) evolves around the inner circle of mob boss John Rooney (Paul Newman) whose solid right hand hit man,…

  • Spy (2015)

    Before I begin this one, let me give you a little background.  I am a huge Jason Statham fan.  His movies are not the most high brow, but they are a good kick-ass testosterone fueled escape.  So when I seen this movie pop up, and Statham was cast in a comedic role of himself, I was scared.  I was afraid this was going to be a complete disaster and break the excellent…

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  • Django Unchained (2012)

    From the moment the trailer first arrived in the summer of 2012, I knew there was something special about to hit the screens.   Quentin Tarantino was back on form with his recent German World War 2 inspired Inglourious Basterds so it was fascinating to see what he was going to do with the western era as it bumped up against slavery. The opening shot, of a line of slaves chained together…

  • The Rum Diary (2011)

    This is the movie version of the Hunter S. Thompson novel of the same name, once again with Johnny Depp playing the lead role as he did in the 1998 classic  Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. In full disclosure I have not read the original novel, but based on the previous outing with Fear and Loathing, a book I had read, I did go into this one knowing this was probably going to…

the legend that is, Alan Williamson

For over 24 years, I’ve shared my thoughts here on this blog whenever the muse strikes.

It’s unpredictable, honest, unedited, and occasionally witty. I’m living the best years of my life, working harder than ever, learning each day and enjoying every second.