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.

100 - Flash Fiction

People are clumsy in the morning.




I stumble and fall over everything. The bed sheets, my shoes, invisible cats. Everything. I noticed the writing on the back of my hand.





One Hundred Days






That's all I have left.






There is nothing peculiar about this morning. My wife is doing the dishes. She has three thousand and four days on the back of her hand.




I walk down the stairs. We have thirteen steps. That's seven point six days for every step.






I am becoming a mathematical genius in the short time I have left. My wife has broken a cup.















100 Words written for the 100 Word Challenge hosted by Tara Roberts over at Thin Spiral Notebook. Check it out and maybe join in the fun.


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Awakenings. Back in Time Movie Review.

                   A doctor discovers a drug to wake up catatonic patients.

Starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro.

Written by Oliver Sacks ( Novel) and Steven Zaillian ( Screenplay )

Directed by Penny Marshall.

This is superb!

It ticks all of the boxes as to what a movie should be. To be honest I've had it on my Sky box for a few weeks and never really fancied watching it for some reason. But it really is worthy of as many accolades as it's been given.

The story sucks you in right from the beginning and two two main actors are brilliant. I've seen a few De Niro films now and this is the best I've seen him by far. His portrayal of the first catatonic patient to wake up is worthy of an Oscar. I knew he was a great actor but this performance is top drawer. Robin Williams is brilliantly understated and together they are perfect castings.

Awakenings is tearjerker and the plot won't have you on the edge of your seat, it will have you reaching for the tissues. It's an incredibly moving film. Well acted, well directed and with a great soundtrack. Brilliant!

This could be an early favourite to be my favourite movie watched this year.

10/10

Eyes Of Laura Mars - A Movie Review

   A renowned photographer can suddenly see through the eyes of a serial killer

Starring Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones.

Written by John Carpenter (Screenplay) and David Zelag (Screenplay).

Directed by Irvine Kershner.

Everything about this movie is average. From the acting performances to the story itself.

It just about kept my interest and it does build up to a good climatic ending. On a historical note it was interesting to see all the old cars and landmarks and it captures well the feel and atmosphere of the disco scene in the late seventies,

However Faye Dunaway's performance throughout was about as hammy as a tin of spam. This movie really needed a better leading actress or at least a better performance. I wasn't too keen on all the photography and modelling stuff either but maybe that's just personal preference. I'm not interested in that world whatsoever.

An average but easily forgettable film.

6/10

St Elmo's Fire - My Latest Movie Review.

A group of friends leave college and walk head first into adulthood.

Starring Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez,  Demi Moore, Andrew McCarthy, Mare Winningham, Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy.

Written by Joel Schumacher and Carl Kurlander.

Directed by Joel Schumacher.

If any film epitomizes the fluffy soundtrack movies of the eighties this is it. Grab a handful of gorgeous looking actors and pin a great soundtrack to it and you've got a brilliant marketing plan! The movie will sell the record and the record will sell the movie.




I missed it the first time around, even though I grew up as a teen of the eighties; I don't know how I missed it but at least I can watch it now with fresh eyes. This features a cast of young actors who were part of the rat pack of the time. Good looking actors and actresses who would be on bedroom walls for most of the decade and beyond.

I like it. It's a feel good teen flick that made me nostalgic about my own teenage years and the teenage years of my son. It has a few laughs along the way and it's pretty mindless entertainment.

It's not an Oscar winning movie by any length of the imagination. For a start off there are way to many main characters and you spend most of the movie trying to work out who is who and who is going out with who. There isn't really a plot to grab hold of and there isn't really a significant ending. It just kind of stops. It's full of young (at the time), up an coming actors but none of them really deliver a stand out performance.

But this fluffy movie made me feel a little bit fluffy, even if it's not the best film ever made.

7/10

The Cat Who Came In From The Cold - My latest book review.

A white kitten sits on an upturned bucket and waits for the right human.

A few months ago I received a couple of boxes of books for free and I've only read a couple of them so far.  Most of them are obviously not my cup of tea and some of them look plain awful. But as I was struggling to find some inspiration I gingerly plucked this one out of one box.

I wasn't expecting it to be very good, let alone entertaining. But guess what? It's brilliant!

It tells the story of how Author and broadcaster Deric Longden's life gets turned upside down by the arrival of a little white kitten. His house is never the same again with hilarious consequences around every corner. It's wonderfully written with a gentle wit that I haven't come across very often as a reader.

This was so easy to read, the pages literally turned themselves. It's so sad that this talented Author isn't with us any more but I am looking forwards to devouring the rest of his books. If you like to have a laugh and you love cats, you have to read this one.

5/5