The Weight Of Water (2000) - A Movie Review.

Wednesday, 20 January 2016

The Weight Of Water (2000)

A photographer investigates the brutal murder of two women in 1873

Starring Sean Penn, Sarah Polley, Catherine McCormack, Elizabeth Hurley, 

Ciaran Hinds and Josh Lucas.

Written by Alice Arlen ( Screenplay ) , Christopher Kyle ( Screenplay ) and Anita Shreve (Novel).

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

I have no problem with any of the acting performances and this isn't a bad movie by any length of rope and it just about kept my interest all the way.

The problem lies in the two so called parallel stories. On the one hand you have a fascinating story set in 1837 based around the controversial murders of two young women. And on the other hand you have a rather bland story of a group of family friends on a boat trip. The former could have well done without the latter.


I don't think the latter story was interesting or strong enough to be used in this way. I'm sure this would have been a much better movie if we had just had the story about the murders on it's own. That story was gripping and wonderfully acted by everyone concerned.

I haven't read the actual novel but I'm guessing it's probably better than the movie.

A generous 7/10.

Repo men. ( A Movie Review )

If you can't keep up with the payments, your transplant is removed.

Starring Forest Whitaker, Jude law and Alice Braga.

Written by Eric Garcia and Garret Lerner.

Directed by Miguel Sapochnik.

This really wasn't my cup of tea.

It's a good idea wasted. The whole premise was promising but it just turned into another 'shoot them up' action movie when it could have been much more.

On a positive note the performances by Forest Whitaker and Alice Braga were decent. Jude Law, on the contrary, was pretty wooden. But the whole thing was way too far fetched and unrealistic and repetitive. The plot was monotonous and just kept on going around in circles,

And it was too gory for my liking. It made me feel a little bit sick to be honest and I even felt like that a few hours after it finished. And I'm a nurse and blood doesn't bother me!

I was yawning towards the end and that says a lot. If you've seen one movie where a guy spends one and a half hours taking on ( and killing) two dozen armed men single handed, you've pretty much seen them all. 

A wasted opportunity.

The Crying Game (Movie Review)

An IRA volunteer falls in love with the girlfriend of a dead British soldier.

Starring Stephen Rea and Jaye Davidson.

Written and directed by Neil Jordan.

I really liked this one. It's a great story, full of unexpected twists and surprises and it has two outstanding performances by Stephen Rea and Jaye Davidson. I also love the soundtrack. I'm guessing this was quite a controversial and groundbreaking movie at the time.

My only niggle was the cinematography and the location filming. The first part of the film could have been filmed anywhere, And the street scenes looked like they were stolen from Eastenders! And the scenes set on the building site were similarly uninspiring and very studio looking.

But overall I really enjoyed this. Lots of tension and a few giggles along the way. A good movie.

8/10

First book review of 2016. White Fang.

A story about a birth, a journey and the struggle to survive in the frozen north.





This, my first read of 2016, is like a mirror image of Jack London's The Call of the Wild.


It's a great story and I felt emotionally attached to it. It grabs you and sucks you in. This is one of those books that you don't just read, you feel like you are living it. The story is at times dark and gritty and it isn't always an easy read. There is a lot of prose and not a lot of dialogue and that does slow things down a tad.



I'd encourage anybody to read this but I don't think it quite reaches the heights of The Call of the Wild. It maybe lacks a bit of excitement and suspense and the addition of the escaped convict towards the end felt a bit contrived and unnecessary to an already decent story.





But overall it's a really good read.



4/5

Angela

I carry Angela around with me everywhere I go.





To the untrained eye she's a ten buck lava lamp from Walmart. She's so small I can fit her in my pocket. She never complains.


Angela is the quiet type and is never quick to lose her temper, even on the rare occasion when I've dropped her. She's got a few scratches and I know she worries about that crack that is working it's way slowly up to the top. I blame the shakes. The pills do that to me.

But Angela understands. Sometimes she reminds me if I've forgotten a pill. She uses the blue bubbles for that. Three blue bubbles in quick succession. Pink bubbles mean she wants to be left alone and when she wants a cuddle she releases a red bubble, I don't see many red bubbles and that's how I know she is happy.




The cat got her once. The little furry bastard. Now she panics whenever he comes into the room. Clear bubbles are fear bubbles. And they only come out when the cat's about or when we are in a crowd or an elevator. She hates elevators. They remind her of home. At night we curl up together on the couch and she talks about home and walls and elevators. I calm her. I soothe her. I blow her my own red bubbles.




Five red bubbles in quick succession.







                                                                               (C) Ally Atherton 2016








235 words written for this week's Sunday Photo Fiction

Space Hoppers and Guilty Feelings.

Howden Drive was never the safest place to live, I think that's when I first started to barricade myself in. It wasn't safe on the outside and now all these years later I'm still trying to lock myself away from everybody. The furthest I'd wander was the back yard where I'd play wall tennis for hours on end. Looking back I was probably the wall tennis champion of the world, I don't think Ivan Lendl could have beaten me on my best days. 

I also liked to bury things. I remember once trying to bury my orange space hopper. To be honest I can't remember whether I succeeded. Maybe it's still there underneath the shed that went up years later. I often think about that space hopper and wall tennis and all those years of hiding away. And burying. I still think about burying. That's what I think about sometimes in the middle of the night or after a particularly bad dream. I think of her. And how I never got to bury her completely. She's always there and she won't go away no matter how many times I try to apologize.








192 Words


                                                                         







                                                                                (C) Ally Atherton 2015

Noah Today

A friend sent me this today and it made me chuckle.




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NOAH TODAY

In the year 2015, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in England and said:
"Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save 2 of every living thing, along with a few good humans."

He gave Noah the blueprints, saying: "You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights."


Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard - but no Ark.
"Noah!," He roared, "I'm about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?"

"Forgive me, Lord," begged Noah, "but things have changed.

I needed a Building Permit.

I've been arguing with the Boat Inspector about the need for a sprinkler system.

My neighbours claim that I've violated the Neighbourhood By-Laws by building the Ark in my back garden and exceeding the height limitations.

We had to go to the Local Planning Committee for a decision. Then the Local Council and the Electricity Company demanded a shed load of money for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark's move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it.

Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the Greater Spotted Barn Owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but no go!

When I started gathering the animals the RSPCA took me to court. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodations were too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space.

Then the Environmental Agency ruled that I couldn't build the Ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood.

I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my building crew.

Immigration are checking the visa status of most of the people who want to work.

The trades unions say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only Union workers with Ark-building experience.

To make matters worse, the Inland Revenue seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species.

So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least ten years for me to finish this Ark."

Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky.

Noah looked up in wonder and asked, "You mean you're not going to destroy the world?"

"No," said the Lord, "The Government beat me to it."