“The
Nightingale” is one of the most violent films I can ever recall seeing
in 75 years of movie going, filled with rapes, murders by guns, knives, spears and
hangings. It is not ‘fun’ violence like you would see in “Angel Has
Fallen” but realistic violence as certainly took place in Australia and
its southern state Tasmania in the 1800s. It is an epic film taking a
little over 2 hours and 15 minutes and intriguing but it doesn’t grab
you emotionally though the basis of the story is certainly emotional.This
is a shocking film about man’s inhumanity towards women and towards
each other, particularly between aboriginal Australians and the British
colonists with the latter wiping out complete tribes of the former.
There is a particularly harrowing scene between an aboriginal mother who
is with her child and accosted by a couple of British soldiers.The
focus of the movie is the performance of a wronged Irish woman convict,
Clare, played by Aisling Franciosi, a young aboriginal tracker, Billy,
played by Baykali Ganambarr, and one of the most horrendous, despicable
villains to ever appear in a movie, Lieutenant Hawkins, played by Sam
Caflin. All 3 give powerful performances but the director/screenwriter
Jennifer Kent goes astray with the story in the middle part while her
directing and, the director of photography, Radek Ladczuk takes us into
the Tasmanian wilderness locations adding a large dimension to the film.
Damon
Herriman as a crude, rude corporal, a young soldier played by Harry
Greenwood, who is horrified at what he is seeing other people doing is,
in many cases, filling in for the audience seeing the film, along with
Magnolia Maymuru as the aforementioned aboriginal mother and Michael
Sheasby as Clare’s husband are all standouts along with the supporting
players in the smaller roles. Many
of the scenes between Franciosi and Ganambarr offer some laughs as two
people who are so different but have one thing, a very important thing,
that binds them. It is here that the Kent, as the screen writer, goes
astray regarding these two characters in the middle of the film.“The
Nightingale” is an epic, intriguing movie but I do not suggest it if
you are unable to handle a lot of relentless, graphic violence which
cuts into the emotional feelings so needed in a film like this. Synopsis
Set in 1825, Clare, a
young Irish convict woman, chases a British officer through the rugged
Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he
committed against her family. On the way she enlists the services of an
Aboriginal tracker named Billy, who is also marked by trauma from his own
violence-filled past.
Whether Hurricane Dorian hits or not I am ready. I spent yesterday doing my 4th favorite thing–cooking!! #1 and 3 are two different chicken dishes I made in the crockpot with the first being made in a fruity glaze with fig and balsamic vinegar with the other in a peanut butter marinade. #2 are jars of peanut butter and cans of tuna and chicken plus a can of black beans while #4 I cooked up 3 boxes of pasta: shells, rotini and a jambalaya base with rice .#5 I have the frozen fruit and vegetables all ready to eat and just be defrosted whether we have electricity or not and the former is likely even if we just have a ‘tropical storm’. Then again if all is well I have enough meals for 2 weeks while I can keep the canned goods for the next storm that comes our way!
Right now, whether we will get hit with a #2 or #3 hurricane or it will veer off to the north, is still up in the air!
The
synopsis of “The Peanut Butter Falcon” (see below) tells you the basic
story but isn’t able to add what Zack Gottsagen (as Zak) and Shia
LaBeouf (as Tyler) bring to the movie that makes it so moving.Gottsagen
is an actor with Down Syndrome and though you won’t forget that the
whole time watching the movie you will also learn that he is a man with
wants and needs and, given a chance, will get them. When the film opens
Zak is in an old folks nursing home because there is no other place for
him as he has no living family and the State doesn’t have any other
facilities for him. Pushed on by his roommate, played by Bruce Dern, Zak
runs away one night, wearing only his white briefs, and hides under a
tarp in a boat owned by Tyler, who is on the run from the law and some
locals who after him to get revenge for his burning their equipment.Zak
and Tyler join forces, the latter at first reluctantly, and soon
Eleanor, (Dakota Johnson) who in charge of Zak in the home and is now
looking for him, become part of a family initially made up of
strangers. Shia
LaBeouf gives a strong performance as a man who lost his older brother
and, unknowingly, has a chance to redeem himself. He brings many layers
into his role regarding both Zak and Eleanor and a man who is lost while
Zack Gottsagen has a remarkable physical and emotional strength who
want let anything stop him, including starring in a motion picture.
Dakota Johnson does what she can with her role though it is very
underwritten by the screenwriters Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, who
did much better as the directors of the film.Bruce
Dern does a fun turn with few minutes while Thomas Haden Church as the
wrestler trainer, Salt Water Redneck, who Zak, after constantly watching
a video the man made, wants to meet and go to his classes, portrays
that backwood world, along with real life wrestlers Jake “The Snake”
Roberts MIck Foley. Wayne DeHart, as a blind preacher, helps the 3 with
their journey while preaching about leaving the wolves of their past
behind.The
journey that takes place mostly along the North Carolina coast affords
the ‘family’ opportunities, both funny and emotional, to become just
that and will hit home with many in the audience who have done the same
thing, making strangers into a living family.“The Peanut Butter Falcon” is a sweet, moving film that makes heroes of the two male leads.
synopsis
A modern Mark Twain style adventure story, THE PEANUT BUTTER
FALCON tells the story of Zak (Gottsagen), a young man with Down syndrome, who
runs away from a residential nursing home to follow his dream of attending the professional
wrestling school of his idol, The Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church). A
strange turn of events pairs him on the road with Tyler (LaBeouf), a small time
outlaw on the run, who becomes Zak’s unlikely coach and ally. Together they
wind through deltas, elude capture, drink whisky, find God, catch fish, and
convince Eleanor (Johnson), a kind nursing home employee charged with Zak’s
return, to join them on their journey.
I don’t exactly remember when I faced the fact that I was old but it was probably around the New Year’s weekend 1999-2000 when I woke up in the hospital after having a congestive heart failure attack. Oh I fought it a bit by saying that I was old(er) but, eventually, I had to drop the (er)!It was at that time that I was introduced to Warfarin, a blood thinner, which lead to my arms (see the first 2 pictures) turning all kinds of colors if I even brushed against something, being lucky if it didn’t bleed and take weeks to heal! I bought arm guards and wore them for awhile but for some reason I stopped wearing them and all of a sudden last week walking on the walkway from the elevator to my apartment, not paying attention, my swinging right arm hit the corner of the railing and got a gash that was a mess.
I decided to go back to wearing arm guards. I got the white ones first and decided to cut off the finger/palm/hand part–see the left and right corner bottom pictures–which was a mistake as they started to unravel. Now I have the black arm guards and I am wearing them as is!Only problem with the guards are they exert so much pressure on the arms they are now a solid red!! At least they match my legs which because of the peripheral artery disease and the lack of the veins having too much plaque doesn’t allow the blood in my legs to flow regularly as they should. These are the extra large guards whereas the white were large. I think my next step is to put bubble wrap around the arms!
One of the, many, great things about old age is that you aren’t to blame for anything–it is all the age!! I have lost 2 pairs of glasses this year–well, not actually me but that old man in me–so I decided to go the way of old people I remember from my childhood–you know, those who always had glasses hanging down the front of them like I do in the bottom left picture and the middle pictures. Now I go crazy looking for my glasses before I remember they are hanging around my neck!
Now I am practicing for either a walker and/or a motorized wheelchair–the latter is the ‘in’ thing with senior citizens here at Gateway!Oh, also, have to learn to quickly ditch the hanging glasses and arm guards–have you ever seen an old person celebrating their 100th birthday or any birthday over 90 years wearing those things?? Except on the news have you seen pictures of old people using walkers?? Heck we may be old but we are still smart and know how to hide things!!
Usually
on Fridays we will go to The Classic Gateway Theatre as it is near me,
has their first showings between 12:30 and 1 PM which is convenient as
far as Allen having to come pick me up and getting out early enough for
him to have an early dinner and me to have a late lunch. Plus The
Gateway is just an old-fashioned comfortable, neighborhood theatre.I
gave Allen a choice of 5 movies to see and he picked “Angel Has Fallen”
playing at the AMC and Regal chain theatres and we went to the latter.
Though it means a lot of driving for Allen–driving to my place takes
about 30-45 minutes, the ride to the Regal another 30 minutes, taking me
home another 30 plus another 45 for him to get home– he prefers the
Regal so off we went. When we go there we either eat at Cabo Blanco or
Sweet Tomatoes, the latter in the same shopping center and the latter
about 10 minutes away.In
2003 Gerard Butler starred in “Timeline” and the next year “The Phantom
of the Opera” and was on his way to being a top star. It seemed after
the mixed reviews for Phantom something went wrong though he has made a
good living overall making a total of 42 movies of which the last dozen
have mainly been in the action genre which “Angel Has Fallen” definitely
fits. All in all it probably has one of the highest body counts,
countless violent scenes and surprise, surprise a few, very few, quiet
scenes first with his wife and baby and then with his father, the latter
played by Nick Nolte, who I have been a fan of since 1974 on television
in “Rich Man, Poor Man”. There
is nothing different or special about “Angel Has Fallen” and it fits in
with my see one action loads of special effects movie a year! You know
what to expect when you walk in and you get just that so if that is your
type of film go for it but, as usual, check logic at the door.The
Regal Theatre is a big box of a building with about 14-15 screens and
not really any kind of ‘personality’ to differentiate from any other
chain of theatres. It has recently offered a deal of for $21 a month,
paid a year in advance, for as many movies a day as you would want to
see, no exceptions. If I lived closer and/or had a car I might take the
offer because I love the movies, even the bad ones!I
am a big fan of Sweet Tomatoes, enough that I had my 18th Leap Year
birthday party there. I’m a sucker for their soups, all 8 of them, not
to forget their soft ice cream, pastas, salads, breads, muffins,
rolls—oh heck everything they serve! Though people may think otherwise
it is NOT a place to go if you are on a diet though, like in any
restaurant, you could stick to any diet you might be on.Okay, an action movie and a good late lunch–nothing to complain about here!
My
inclination is to write 2 different reviews regarding “Blinded by the
Light” with the first being about Bruce Springsteen and his music while
the second would be about the movie and how the music is used. I will
try to be brief, for me, with the Springsteen review first.It
has only been in the past few days that I have become familiar with
Bruce Springsteen’s music and life. Oh, I had heard of a couple of his
hits but wouldn’t seek him out to listen to him sing and/or perform. I
knew about his record breaking concert “Springsteen On Broadway” and
recently heard that the filmed version was being shown on Netflix. I,
also, read he has directed a documentary and his latest album “Western
Stars”. I wasn’t very much into the popular music of the 1970s when he
made a name for himself as I was ‘stuck’ on music of the 1930s-1960s and
music from Broadway and Hollywood but I do remember his Oscar winning
“Streets of Philadelphia”. Thinking
of going to see “Blinded by the Light” I decided to watch his concert
and was moved, not so much by his singing voice and/or music but by his
life story and I still feel the same today after seeing the movie which I
feel I got into better than I would have otherwise.“Blinded
by the Light” is full of cliches, the kind I like in movies. The
beginning of the movie didn’t thrill me as I have enough problems
hearing dialogue especially when spoken with an English accent and then
adding a Pakistani accent to it! I don’t know the exact point the first
‘Hollywood’ musical number was done but starting with that cliche I was
hooked! Yes, there are a few of these elaborate musical numbers where
students, parents and whoever is around burst into song though the first
number “The Promised Land” is a solo that for whatever reason reminded
me of Gene Kelley’s “Singing in the Rain”.The
story is based on the true story of a teenager who gets into a world of
music and writing and if you as a teenager ever felt a connection that
affected how you thought and acted you will understand what this movie
is about and if you haven’t experienced it this movie will show you how
they do.Yes,
the cliches are here from the prejudice, not only the British against
the Pakistani but the latter against Jews, the anger against immigrants,
fathers coming to a new country to make a new life but not wanting his
children to forget where the parents came from and getting upset if the
children discover their own path, there is the first love, making and
losing friends, sacrifices during a recession here taking place during
Thatcher’s era, children hiding things from their parents plus not to
forget jokes about New Jersey! Our teenager meets a teacher who believes
in him and, yes, it is corny, but it works just as the father and son
scenes do.Let’s
not have any doubt about the importance of a teenager discovering
something to believe in as in this case the music will have him stand up
to bullies, kiss a girl, spend much needed money to see Springsteen in a
concert and even help him make a major decision.Viveik
Kalra, as the teenager Javed, Dean-Charles Chapman as his best friend
Matt, (who I must admit I thought was a girl and put a crazy spin on the
first 10-15 minutes of the movie!), Aaron Phagura as Roops as his new
friend who introduces Javed to Bruce Springsteen, Nell Williams is
Eliza, his soon to be girlfriend, maybe, Nikita Mehta as his sister
Shazia who has a secret of her own that really surprises the audience
while David Hayman, as his neighbor Mr. Evans and Haylay Atwell as the
supportive teacher all perform admirably with Viveik Kalra a standout. As
Javed parent’s Kulvinder Chir as the father and Meera Ganatra as the
mother take two roles that have been done thousands of times in movies
add poignancy, laughter and drama with the greatest of ease and have a
lot to do with the tears the audience sheds.“Blinded
by the Light”, as I said, is based on a true story and the screenplay
was based on the book “Greetings from Bury Park” by Sarfraz Manzoor, who
co-wrote the screenplay, and who the character Javed is based on, with
Paul Mayeda and the director Gurinder Chadha. The latter keeps the film
moving, the cliches and the unbelievable song and dance sequences
believable.I
certainly have to give Bruce Springsteen credit for making “Blinded by
the Light” a much more interesting picture than it would have been
without his music or my not knowing about his background.
Summary
In 1987, during the austere days of Margaret Thatcher‘s Britain, a teenager
learns to live life, understand his family, and find his own voice through the
music of Bruce Springsteen.
One
morning you wake up and everywhere you look there are scooters. They
are on the corner, laying down on neighbor’s lawns, blocking sidewalks,
etc. And to think just ‘yesterday’ they were used as toys for kids!With
the scooters came laws which no one seems to be observing such as only 1
person on a scooter at a time, have to be over 18 to use one, not to be
used in the streets, etc.Now these are different than the ones we had to propel with one foot pushing us along and go a bit faster.They aren’t really inexpensive but it does cut down on car traffic–or does it?As with anything ‘new’ there are groups for and against it–looking forward to seeing who ‘wins’.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – In early November, hundreds of dockless
electric scooters popped up all over Fort Lauderdale. City commissioners unanimously passed an
ordinance to use the “dock-less .
Summer Beach
Season Scooter Prohibition: From June 8 through August
18, electric or motorized scooters,
and any other forms of dockless mobility, will be prohibited on the entirety of
the barrier island, per City of Fort Lauderdale Ordinance C-19-03, Sec. 8-55.5. No scooter operations may occur at any time within the following
boundaries: the …
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A 14-year-old boy remains hospitalized Wednesday in
critical condition after he was hit while riding an electric scooter in Fort Lauderdale.
Jul 31, 2019 · Woman Injured In Fort
Lauderdale Scooter Accident Wants Better
RegulationsRiding scooters has
become a popular activity in several parts of …
There were 129
accidents involving electric scooters in
Miami and Fort Lauderdale from December to early July. …
but emergency room doctors say injuries involving e-scooters are on the rise .
