AT A JOB, I HAD TO find a way to work with someone I did not trust. It is harder than you think. This person had an ego, which was not a reason to distrust them. One of the things that I had a hard time with was the fact they would never admit to being wrong. In my position at the company, I would get copied on emails with them because it involved one of my companies I covered. Reading the emails they would send in reply to questions from the company was an amazing experience. I could not make out what they were trying to say because they were mentioning things that had nothing to do with the questions. At times, I was embarrassed thinking the customer must wonder how our company can conduct business based on this one person’s remarks. Feeling protective of my company’s reputation, I had to jump in and try to deflect the comments being made and give the customer the answer they were seeking. You would think the employee on the emails would have thanked me privately or send some positive feedback, but no. That was who they were and there was nothing I could do about it. But, when an answer or solution is needed one needs to find a way to work with someone, no matter how you feel about them.      MY PHILOSOPHY IS “WHATEVER IT TAKES.” At that company where I worked with that egotistical individual, it at least taught me the importance of looking at the end results. While visiting with a friend, their two children decided they wanted to play in the same room where we were seated. I normally would not have an issue, but these two kids were notorious for fighting. And soon enough they started up while we were trying to have an adult conversation. My friend’s scolding to stop bickering lasted only for a short time before the two siblings were at it again. I was not in the mood to hear the squabbling. Seeing some toys in a container in the corner of the room, I asked the two if they could build a bridge that was strong enough to hold the weight of one of their toy cars. They took the bait and proceeded to pull items out of that container and sat down to figure out which items went where in the construction of the bridge. My friend and I continued our conversation in peace. I hoped the two siblings would learn and understand the importance of working together in life. It is a great message and one I appreciated in this science fiction, action adventure.      DESPERATE TO GET MONEY FOR HOSPITAL bills, an older brother agrees to steal a car, not knowing this car had a mind of its own. With Anthony Ramos (A Star is Born, Honest Thief) as Noah Diaz, Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah, Project Power) as Elena Wallace, Luna Lauren Valez (The First Purge, Dexter-TV) as Breanna Diaz, Dean Scott Vazquez (In the Heights, 9 Bullets) as Kris Diaz and Sarah Stiles (Unsane, Get Shorty-TV) as Jillian; this latest in the movie franchise was better than some of the previous installments. However, it was not the best either. The action was plentiful and fast paced with decent special effects. I liked the chemistry between Anthony and Dominique. My issue was with the story and script. It did not provide me with much to latch onto and feel connected. There were different angles the writers were writing from that never really gelled for me. Plus, the excitement and thrill levels needed to go closer towards the extremes. It just never felt like there was enough time devoted to the scenes to let them develop into a more meaningful state. Maybe it was a struggle between film studio departments with budgets and such, but this could have been a better movie if everyone had worked better together.                                                            

2 ½ stars