Back In Time Movie Review - Beaches

A chance meeting on a beach leads to a lifelong friendship.

Starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey.

Written by Iris Rainer ( Novel ) and Mary Agnes Donoghue ( Screenplay ).

Directed by Garry Marshall.

This is one of those movies that is both funny and sad. A great combination when it's done well and this is.

It's a great story that sucks you in from the very beginning and the acting performances by two leads are top class. It pulls at your heartstrings and gives you plenty of giggles along the way. The two children meeting on the beach at the beginning sets up the story well and is a perfect back story that sticks in your memory throughout.

I can't fault this film but if anything I think it could have been a little longer so that the final storyline could have developed at a slower pace but that is just nit-picking.

It's a great movie and I dare you not to shed a tear.

10/10

Back In Time Movie Review - Tootsie

A struggling Actor dresses up as a woman in a desperate attempt to get a part.

Starring Dustin Hoffman, Bill Murray and Jessica Lange.

Written by Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal and Don Mcguire.

Directed by Sydney Pollack.

This is a really funny movie!

There's not a lot to not like at all. The acting is excellent and it's quirky and genuinely funny in all the right places. It's easy to understand why it has earned a reputation as one of the all time classic comedies. Dustin Hoffman plays the main role perfectly and Bill Murray is a suitably witty co star. I never knew he was in this movie and didn't realise he was acting in movies as early as 1982.

On a slightly negative note it does take a bit to get going and the cinematography isn't brilliant. Most of the film is obviously filmed in a studio and it did seem a bit low budget at times.

 But overall this is a belter of a movie!

9/10

Dreams With Jagged Edges - Flash Fiction

                        I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.



                                                                                 Thomas Jefferson
  







The hardest part about being a dream catcher is in the breaking and entering.



          

           I can't walk through walls. I don't have a magic key. I don't have a teleportation device. My amazing power is restricted to pulling out one dream after another without snapping the bastard and if they wake up I'm screwed. I can't tip toe to save my life. There's always a disagreeable floorboard, a squeaky toy or an unholy cat to deal with. And sometimes, no matter how careful I am, they wake up.

           And then I run. I'm terrible at breaking and entering but pretty good at getting the hell out of again if I need to. You've probably seen me out of the corner of your eye at some point and if you haven't I'll probably get around to you at some point. It's not theft. Not in the strictest sense of the word. I'm taking something you can't deal with. Something that needs to come out before it gets stuck, like a gumball or a small piece of ham. And once it's stuck there's no telling what it will get up to or when it will return. Some dreams never come out. Recurring dreams they call them. But they're not. They are stuck. Lots of people are walking around all the time with dreams stuck in their heads. You can usually tell them a mile off. There's that far away look that they get in their eyes for a kick off. Or the way they grind their teeth. Or sometimes there's nothing to really grab hold exactly but you can tell there's something not quite right about them, inside them.



           But most of the time I get in there and out again with the dream fully intact before they can wake up completely and realise that they had a dream in the first place. Some dreams are long and sticky and some are short and stubby. Short and stubby dreams are the one's that don't make any sense. Like you're driving to work and then find yourself being attacked by a plate of spaghetti. The long and sticky dreams are future dreams. Things you want to do but can't or things you don't want to do but are worried you may have to.

          


           But dreams with jagged edges are the ones I have the most difficulty with. They don't want to come out for the love of money. They kick and scratch and sometimes I have to leave them in. Dreams with jagged edges are the ones that hold our deepest secrets. Things we can never tell to another living person. I've known some dreams with jagged edges that would rather kill me than come out.

They don't want to be carried away by me or anybody else because they are enjoying themselves too much and don't want to come out because it's raining inside and they love the rain and they are the only ones that know how to turn it off.








                                                                              


                                                                       (C) Ally Atherton 2016












500 words written for this week's Light & Shade Challenge. Take a peek and join in if you are feeling creative.

Finding Home by Jason Patrick. My latest book review,

                A woman starts a new life with her son.

This is a pretty decent quick read if you want to fill in a bit of spare time with something that's easy reading.

It's not going to win any awards and it's not the most exciting plot you'll come across but it's a nice gentle read that I enjoyed for what it is. It's a little bit of escapism. A little bit of romance to add a sparkle to your day.

3/5

Back In Time Movie Review - Revolution

             A New York trapper and his son get caught up

                                                  in the American battle of independence.

Starring Al Pacino and Nastassja Kinski.

Written by Robert Dillon.

Directed by Hugh Hudson.

This movie could have been great but instead it was a let down.

On a positive note the cinematography, period costumes and attention to detail was wonderful. And I found it quite educational and interesting from a historical point of view. Although I'm sure many experts would be able to find a few historical errors.

What let this movie down was the quality of acting and the plot which didn't really go anywhere. Al Pacino and the two actors who played his son had bizarre accents which didn't help. I think he was supposed to be Scottish but it came out as rather a weird combination of Irish and some other made up mumble language. In fact I couldn't hear half of what he was saying which kind of ruined the big movie moments! And there were more bizarre accents amongst the many actors in this ensemble. Maybe Al Pacino was a victim of bad casting or bad directing or perhaps his heart wasn't in the movie.

I didn't mind Nastassja Kinski's performance. It was probably the best of a dodgy bunch. And she was pretty good to look at too. But on the whole Revolution was a bit of a borefest. There is a big scene towards the end where the main character and another guy are chased by a pack of dogs. That's exactly how I'd describe the plot of this. Like a pack of dogs chasing something but never quite catching it.

6/10

Hiding. Flash Fiction.

                      'Okay has anybody got any ideas?'






I could see in their eyes there wasn't one idea between them.




Above our heads things were being smashed. 






                        'C'mon think! We need to think!'








The cellar door burst open and they came down the steps.




It was me and the girls against the rest of the world. 




A gun was pointing at my head. We'd have to fight our way out.






                       'C'mon!'






I was grabbed and my hands tied behind my back.







                       'Oh my God he's killed them all.'










What was he talking about? One of the girls giggled, I'm sure she did. 














100 words written for the 100 word challenge over at Thin Spiral Notebook. Hosted by Tara Roberts.



Take a look and join in if you feel creative.

Back in Time Movie Review - Sunflower (1970)

An Italian woman is convinced her husband survived World War 2

Starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.

Written by Tonino Guerra, Cesare Zavattini  and Giorgi Mdivani.



Directed by Vittorio De Sica.

This is my first foreign subtitled film of the year and it's pretty average.

There are no stand out performances and the story just about kept my interest but didn't have me on the edge of my seat. Sophia Loren is one of those actresses that was spoken about a lot in the seventies and eighties but as far as  know this is the first time I have seen her in anything.

We don't really get the chance to know any of the two main characters and the whole thing is very slow and never really gets going. On a more positive note the soundtrack by Henry Mancini ( another famous name from the seventies and eighties) is superb and the cinematography, considering this was made in 1970 was really good. I loved the location filming.

Overall a bit too slow for me.

7/10 mainly for the soundtrack.