David M. Brown's Blog, page 22

Dave’s Odyssey #29

In May 2008, I went travelling on my own for the first time and was out of England for a month. Along the way I took in Singapore, New Zealand, Australia and Thailand before coming home. I kept a journal of my time on the road, so here’s a day by day account of my trials and tribulations that has the undeserved title of Dave’s Odyssey. 

Day 29 – Sydney – Thailand

It was one of those days!

I woke before 4.00 a.m. having managed very little sleep. It didn’t take long to pack my backpack so I had time for a quick cup of tea before heading for the airport. It was raining in Sydney as we set off but at that time the roads were pretty quiet. On reaching the airport and checking in alongside a rugby team we were delighted to hear our 7.00 a.m. flight had been delayed till 9.00. Cursing our luck, we said farewell to Alex before heading for a free breakfast, courtesy of Quantas, at a nearby café.

While waiting for the flight I started yet another book which I would finish long before the day was over. The delays kept on coming. Our flight was pushed back to 10.00 before we finally got on board. The pilot then proceeded to drive along the runways for half an hour before we were finally airborne just after 11.00.

Due to the errors and delays Quantas served us a second breakfast for our lunch! They did make up for it with a light meal later on and even an ice cream to top it all off. Nice. Every time they served me something I worried it was going to taste awful but thus far the food had been nice and as far as I could recall no two meals had ever been the same.

The day became a little too much for some people!

I wasn’t far into my second book of the day when we closed on Bangkok. It had taken us just short of 9 hours but didn’t feel that bad to be fair. When I wasn’t reading I was chatting with a couple from New Zealand, heading for Thailand to visit their son. They were looking forward immensely, of course, so I didn’t share my reservations about the country.

On landing I was one of the first in our group to tackle Thailand. You felt the humidity even in the airport and, to make matters worse, it was a hell of a long walk to Immigration. Once there you felt like you were being heavily scrutinised and indeed you were. Not content with two footprints telling you exactly where to stand, each desk had a small camera that shifted here and there to presumably check your face against the passport. Why the staff couldn’t just use their eyes I really wasn’t sure.

So far everything was going swimmingly. I was fortunate to get my backpack pretty sharpish then found our Go Touring representative named Charlie. He was supposed to be an Aussie but was far from it. After the brief introduction everything went wrong.

I’ve mentioned Alison a lot in this journal, well, on this day she annoyed a lot of people. On collecting her suitcase she found the wheels had come off and so she was immediately fuming. I didn’t see the incident but from what I heard she laid into the airport staff and had to be moved along by two couples from our group as the staff were beginning to lose patience. In our group Alan, alias “Admiral,” had had a suitcase damaged back in Alice Springs and sorted it out with no problem. Did Alison think of consulting him for advice? No. She went in all guns blazing. On meeting our tour guide he tried to assuage the problem by assuring Alison it would be dealt with the following day on our return to the airport. That wasn’t good enough for her and as a result we were stuck at the airport for an hour longer than we expected. Coupled with the flight delays throughout the day everyone was pretty fed up at this point and understandably tired.

In the end we made it safely to Thailand and the end of our month long tour.

Driving to our hotel my foreboding about Thailand became much worse. Bangkok looked great but below the high buildings were what looked like slums, certainly not the sort of place I wanted to wander around on my own. Charlie didn’t help the situation by warning us of pickpockets and con artists all looking to make some easy money out of us hapless tourists. Add to that the insistence of most retailers to haggle when selling anything and my unease about the place was accentuated.

We reached the hotel around 7.00 and were greeted by staff that bow whilst simultaneously clasping their hands together as if in prayer. That level of politeness is very comforting, not the sort of thing you’d get back in the UK. Most people in my group chose not to stop and bow but yours truly acknowledged this lovely gesture and received a second bow for my troubles. While waiting for our keys we received a free drink and am unsure what it was but it was nice all the same. I can tell you it was green so that should narrow it down to a few hundred possibilities. My check-in details had renamed me as Mr. Brow as well. At least it wasn’t preceded by “High.”

Some members of the group were hopeful of getting two nights in Thailand but Charlie informed us it would be just be the one night. Tomorrow he would take us on a city tour that included two of Bangkok’s finest temples. We were due to leave the hotel tomorrow night at 9.00 for that flight to London just after midnight. I wasn’t sure what I would do in the afternoon. Having heard Charlie’s accounts of the eager pickpockets I was possibly resigned to hanging around the hotel unless I could see the city along with a group – safety in numbers and all that. I was certainly not planning on wandering around alone. Having seen so many wonderful things on this tour it was annoying that we should have had a frustrating day like this one. Hopefully plane delays wouldn’t plague the journey home. 

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Dave’s Odyssey #28

In May 2008, I went travelling on my own for the first time and was out of England for a month. Along the way I took in Singapore, New Zealand, Australia and Thailand before coming home. I kept a journal of my time on the road, so here’s a day by day account of my trials and tribulations that has the undeserved title of Dave’s Odyssey. 

Day 28 – Sydney  

Sydney

I took the chance of a lie in this morning but was still having breakfast at 8.00. A chat with my two ‘grandmothers’ divulged a bit of gossip about the merry band from last night that went out for further drinking at the Lord Nelson. It turned out they continued to be so rowdy that the staff refused to serve them any more alcohol and they were asked to leave. Worse followed with Jackie and her husband – Giancarlo – escorted back to the hotel in a police car! Giancarlo informed us it was because Jackie was feeling unwell and they couldn’t get a taxi. When the police enquired out of curiosity they offered to escort the inebriated couple home. I was glad I opted to head back to the hotel early last night.

Our coach to the airport was due at 2.00 but we had to check out at 11.00. Afterwards I had decided on a wander around Sydney. I ended up in Hyde Park and found myself a quiet spot for a read. It turned out to be the worst place to sit. First, a beggar approached me. He expressed how cool I looked which had me worried then asked if I had change to spare. He was very polite even when I insisted I had nothing, which was true.

Next up was a couple from our tour group that stopped by for a quick chat. Then another group of tourists approached me to take a group photo of them. With that, I decided to move on before someone else spoke to me. Before going back to the hotel, I had another wander round the shops and found the route back to the Travelodge was straightforward, compared to my experience of previous cities.

Anzac War Memorial

The majority of the group was already waiting in the lobby when I showed up. I was very surprised when Alex handed me my card to access my hotel room. He’d told us to leave our luggage in the rooms even though we were checking out, so my first thought was I must have misheard him or something. Instead he informed us that we would be spending a fourth night in Sydney. Engineers had gone on strike leaving Quantas no choice but to cancel the flight to Bangkok.

Now, there were a few repercussions from the cancellation. First of all, some members of the group had flights/trains/coaches from Heathrow booked for Wednesday. Alex took details of all these people and assured us he would get answers a.s.a.p. I was looking to sort out my train tickets on my return so there was no inconvenience for me but I was concerned for other people though.

The only consolation was that Quantas had agreed to pay for our dinner at the hotel in the evening and contribute to breakfast the following morning. The new flight was arranged for 7.00 a.m., which meant a 4.00 a.m. wake-up call!! Alex would have a better idea of the situation by the evening. Either we’d have a day less in Thailand and still return on Wednesday or have an extension and come back Thursday.

Sydney

Our dinner was at 7.00 that evening and for a free meal it was pretty good. In fairness to the hotel they’d been informed at the last minute of the situation so did well to accommodate us. Alex informed us that our time in Thailand would be reduced to one night, meaning our original plan of returning on Wednesday was still going ahead. It would have meant serious disruption to a lot of people to have it any other way, but this was all still provisional so everything could change before then.

I did confirm the time situation again for tomorrow. Our bags were to be outside the rooms at 4.00 a.m., we’d meet in the lobby at 4.45 and leave at 5.00. We would reach Thailand early afternoon and have one night to recover before that 12-hour flight back to London. It was going to be tiring over the next few days.

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Masterpieces #22: The Thief of Always

About The Thief of Always (1992) Mr. Hood’s Holiday House has stood for a thousand years, welcoming countless children into its embrace. It is a place of miracles, a blissful rounds of treats and seasons, where every childhood whim may be satisfied…

There is a price to be paid, of course, but young Harvey Swick, bored with his life and beguiled by Mr. Hood’s wonders, does not stop to consider the consequences. It is only when the House shows it’s darker face — when Harvey discovers the pitiful creatures that dwell in its shadows — that he comes to doubt Mr. Hood’s philanthropy.

The House and its mysterious architect are not about to release their captive without a battle, however. Mr. Hood has ambitious for his new guest, for Harvey’s soul burns brighter than any soul he has encountered in a thousand years…

 

 

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The Thief of Always (1992)

Clive Barker is most famously known for his works of adult fantasy and horror such as The Hellbound Heart (1986), Cabal (1988), Galilee (1998) and The Abarat Quintet (2002 – present).Films such as Hellraiser (1987) and Candyman (1992) are also from the author, but his outstanding novel for me is surprisingly a children’s fable, though one that is just as accessible to adults. The Thief of Always blends all the wonders and desires of childhood into a perfect day but beneath the surface is darkness typical of Barker that is waiting to disrupt the serenity.

The novel follows 10 year old Harvey Swick who is bored with everyday life, particularly school, and longs for the holidays and having fun. The chapter title, “Harvey Half Devoured,” offers some semblance of Harry’s state of mind at this point. Longing for escape he is visited by the mysterious Rictus who informs him of a paradise for children known as the Holiday House. Having to pass through a cloak of thick mist, Harvey soon reaches the Holiday House where he becomes friends with two other children, Wendell and Lulu. Harvey finds that the Holiday House is indeed a paradise for children, squeezing all the seasons of the year into one day. Spring takes place in the morning, Summer in the afternoon, Halloween every evening and at night it is Christmas! Everything that children enjoy throughout the year is part of a daily cycle at the Holiday House and it is the kind of escapism that Harvey has longed for. However, Harvey soon realises that something isn’t quite right particularly when his friend, Lulu, disappears.

The Holiday House makes one nostalgic for many elements of their own childhood. Being out of school where summer seems like a lifetime, trick or treating in some very scary costumes and the excitement of the run up to Christmas and the mountains of presents you have to open. Barker taps into all the ideals of being children that many of us will be familiar with and creates an absorbing paradise. Being a fable we know that there are lessons to be learned and the book is reminiscent in particular of Pinocchio where the boys sent to Pleasure Island are punished for their destructive nature by being turned into donkeys. The punishment in the Holiday House is not being able to leave which, considering the paradise offered to the children, doesn’t seem too bad but the owner, Mr Hood, has other plans in mind for the children that are enjoying the hospitality of his home.

The Thief of Always can be read as an exciting adventure from a child’s point of view but adults will be drawn to the many lessons. Harvey begins as a bored child, wishing time away and wanting the next holiday to be upon him so he can have fun. At the Holiday House he has everything he wants but in the end Harvey learns you can have too much of a good thing and there is always a price to pay for our desires. The novel won’t take long to read, particularly as it is accompanied by some excellent illustrations by Barker, but that makes the development of Harvey all the more remarkable.

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This Week’s Films (15/06/14)

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002)

The chronically suicidal Wilbur and his good-hearted big brother Harbour are in their thirties, when their father dies, leaving them with nothing but a worn down second-hand bookshop in Glasgow. Wilbur survives yet another suicide attempt and goes to the hospital, where he meets Horst a cynical psychologist and his empathic head nurse, Moira. Like Harbour, they believe that Wilbur needs a girlfriend. But even though women fall for Wilbur all the time, they can’t get close to him. In fact, it is Harbour who falls in love when a shy and intense woman, Alice, enters the lives of the brothers. Alice lives a life in isolation with her little daughter, Mary. She supplements her job as a cleaning lady at the hospital’s surgical ward, selling books that the patients have left behind. Little by little, Wilbur, Harbour and Alice become inseparable. Wilbur starts regaining his lust for life, Alice starts to come out of her shell, and Mary starts reading the thousands of books in the second-hand bookshop. Harbour has never been happier, but he carries a deep secret that threatens to surface.

Verdict: 6/10

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Overlord (1975)

Seamlessly interweaving archival war footage and a fictional narrative, this immersive account by Stuart Cooper of one twenty-year-old’s journey from basic training to the front lines of D-day brings to life all the terrors and isolation of war with jolting authenticity. Overlord, impressionistically shot by Stanley Kubrick’s longtime cinematographer John Alcott, is both a document of World War II and a dreamlike meditation on human smallness in a large, incomprehensible machine.

Verdict: 7/10

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Outside Satan (2011)

Bruno Dumont’s latest film Hors Satan is beautifully shot in a protected area on the coast of Northern France, where the director has been living most of his life. Hors Satan engages in a unique way with the landscape to emphasize the inner life of the film’s characters, a world of sand dunes, woods and marshes. By the Channel, along the Côte d’Opale, near a hamlet with a river and a marshland, lives a unusual guy who struggles along, poaches, prays and builds fires. A girl from a local farm takes care of him and feeds him. They spend time together in the wide scenery of dunes and woods, mysteriously engaging in private prayer at the edge of the ponds, where the devil is prowling…

Verdict: 6/10

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The Tin Drum (1979)

Oskar is born in Germany in 1924 with an advanced intellect. Repulsed by the hypocrisy of adults and the irresponsibility of society, he refuses to grow older after his third birthday. While the chaotic world around him careers toward the madness and folly of World War II, Oskar pounds incessantly on his beloved tin drum and perfects his uncannily piercing shrieks. The Tin Drum, which earned the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for best foreign-language film, is a visionary adaptation from Volker Schlöndorff (Young Törless) of Nobel laureate Günter Grass’s acclaimed novel, characterized by surreal imagery, arresting eroticism, and clear-eyed satire.

Verdict: 9/10

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Mortified Nation (2013)

Adults share their most embarrassing teenage writings and art in front of total strangers at Mortified stage shows across the country, as the filmmakers explore what the show’s popularity says about all of us.

Verdict: 7/10

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The Thing Called Love (1993)

In Nashville, there are 10,000 singer-songwriters chasing success… with one chance in a million of getting it. For Miranda “no relation to Elvis” Presley (Samantha Mathis), that’s one chance worth taking. Fresh from New York City, Miranda befriends three fellow hopefuls: shy Connecticut cowboy Kyle Davidson (Dermot Mulroney); Southern belle Linda Lue Linden (Sandra Bullock); and James Wright (River Phoenix), a cocky Texan with brooding good looks and a honeyed voice. Together they begin a rocky ride down Music City’s well-worn highway, finding hope, heartbreak, happiness… and The Thing Called Love. Featuring songs and appearances by country music’s hottest stars, The Thing Called Love will grab you like a great melody.

Verdict: 6/10

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The Best Intentions (1992)

Bille August (Goodbye Bafana, The House of the Spirits) directs legendary filmmaker Ingmar Bergman’s The Best Intentions. A turbulent love story based on the lives of his own parents, which features long-time Bergman collaborator, Max Von Sydow (The Seventh Seal, Flash Gordon, Victory). 

Winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992, The Best Intentions tells the story of a family and a bygone era played out against a background of a Sweden stifled by a rigid class system and in the throes of a General Strike. Poverty stricken young Henrik meets a beautiful and vivacious upper-class girl, Anna, who is adored by all, especially her father, the affectionate but ailing Johan Akerblom (Von Sydow). The two fall in love and eventually wed despite Anna’s mother’s attempts to discourage the relationship. 

With love and not a little pain, Ingmar Bergman depicts his parents and their complex love story over a decade of upheaval – from 1909 when they first meet to the summer of 1918 when Bergman was in his mother’s womb, about to embark on his own journey through life. As the author writes, it is all a game but a game that nevertheless requires considerable effort.

Verdict: 10/10

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Hungry for Change (2012)

From the creators of the best-selling documentary Food Matters comes another hard-hitting film certain to rock your world. HUNGRY FOR CHANGE exposes shocking secrets the diet, weight loss and food industry don’t want you to know about: deceptive strategies designed to keep you coming back for more. Find out what’s keeping you from having the body and health you deserve and how to escape the diet trap forever. Featuring interviews with bestselling health authors and leading medical experts plus real-life transformational stories with people who know what it’s like to be sick and overweight.

Verdict: 8/10

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Under the Sun of Satan (1987)

Positioned somewhere between Bresson’s immortal Journal d’un curé de campagne and Dieterle’s The Devil and Daniel Webster, Maurice Pialat’s staggering Sous le soleil de Satan [Under the Sun of Satan] addresses the torrent of spiritual and intellectual turmoil unloosed among the denizens of a little country parish. It is a film by turns calm and violent, buoyant upon the tears of mercy and gurgling with the blood of the Lamb. Gérard Depardieu (Loulou, Le Garçu) is the self-abasing curate tortured by questions about his role in God’s plan – before an encounter with a material Satan touches off a powerful revelation. At the crux of his vision is Sandrine Bonnaire (A nos amours., Police), the madly profligate brewer’s daughter whose fate ruptures in a blast of gunpowder and the slash of a razor. As events unfurl, Maurice Pialat himself provides witness as the seasoned cleric who pronounces the words: ‘God wears us down.’ One of the great films of faith made by a non-believer, Sous le soleil de Satan left an indelible mark on spectators from the very moment of its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987 – where it won the Palme d’Or for Best Film.

Verdict: 4/10

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The Thin Red Line (1998)

Terrence Malick’s adaptation of James Jones’ autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.

Verdict: 8/10

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Padre Padrone (1977)

The true story of the life of Gavino Ledda, the son of a Sardinian shepherd, and how he managed to escape his harsh, almost barbaric existence by slowly educating himself.

Verdict: 6/10

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The Cement Garden (1993)

When a family of four fatherless children hide their mother’s death to avoid going to an orphanage, the eldest two think they are capable of assuming the mature roles forced upon them. Parenthood and maturity, however, brings with it stronger urges–urges which brother Jack and sister Julie find hard to resist.

Verdict: 7/10

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100 Years of Adolf Hitler (1989)

100 JAHRE ADOLF HITLER (1989), shot inside 16 hours at minimal cost in a nuclear bunker near Mülheim, is a wild take on the demise of Hitler and his followers. It is a story of incest and intrigue, drugs, suicide and blasphemy. The only remaining insight, i.e. that Hitler is but one man among the rest of us, whose possession of power sees him mutate from a human catastrophe to a catastrophe for humanity, leaves critics and audiences baffled. While some observers see a ‘first-rate political and aesthetic goof’, or ‘absolutely appalling, juvenile slapstick’, others at least give it reasonable ratings. ‘Lectures, analysis, enlightenment – the film provides none of these. It nevertheless manages to work, in a strange sort of way. Christoph Schlingensief, a man of the new generation, a naïve man, a wild man, stages a dance of death of such a garish, tasteless, brutal nature that it soon wipes the smiles off our faces; the banality of evil becomes an event.

Verdict: 4/10

 

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Charlie’s Bleaklisted Books: Bridget Jones’ Diary

Bridget Jones’ Diary – Helen Fielding

What happens?

A woman writes a diary about a year in her single life.

Reason for bleaklisting?

Where’s the thrills? Where’s the excitement? Where’s the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral?

What should have happened?

Jane owns a dairy farm and she’s a bit frigid because of a disastrous date with Farmer Pogo who tends his crops on a pogo stick and even sleeps on it and goes to the toilet on it, which causes all kinds of complications. Across a year, Jane meets numerous suitors including Three-legged Jenkins, Boomerang Bumpy Buttocks, Sexy Mitch, Eric the Woozy Boozy Floozy and Dimple Dumple Pumple Crappy Domple. After numerous awful dates, a close shave with a demonic tractor and a regrettable incident with a frying pan and a cow, Jane marries a businessman named Sandra and lives happily ever after.

Special instruction

Sell in the countryside and rename, Frigid Janes’ Dairy Farm.

Mr B compares the stories

Oh my! Helen Fielding’s classic novel is simply beyond recognition in Charlie’s alternative take. Bridget Jones does get up to all kinds of adventures, all faithfully recorded in her diary and there is romance along the way but certainly not on a dairy farm or involving people known as Sexy Mitch.

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Dave’s Odyssey #27

In May 2008, I went travelling on my own for the first time and was out of England for a month. Along the way I took in Singapore, New Zealand, Australia and Thailand before coming home. I kept a journal of my time on the road, so here’s a day by day account of my trials and tribulations that has the undeserved title of Dave’s Odyssey. 

Day 27 – Sydney  

Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge

After two nights in Sydney it was finally time to get a tour of the city. We began at 9.00 and were whisked through the streets taking in numerous buildings of interest along the way, far too many to list here.

Our first stop was at Mrs Macquaries’ point, which offered an excellent but distant view of both Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Alex explained that the Opera House project could have been destined for another city but in the end Sydney was chosen and the legend was born of this world famous sight. Seeing the Opera House from a distance just didn’t seem real. Everyone has seen an image of it, of course, but to have my own photos is something else.

We wandered nearby to Mrs Macquaries’ Chair, which is actually a series of stone steps. The story goes that Mrs Macquarie had the chair specially built so she could watch the harbour and sea in peace. Alex had all the women in the group seat themselves on the steps while their husbands took pictures. By the time we’d all moved on the Japanese tourists had gathered and were patiently waiting for their turn so I couldn’t get a picture of the steps on their own. Instead, I snapped a submarine pulling into the harbour close to four giant ships, the pride of the Aussie Navy.

Submarine, Sydney Harbour

Amongst the sights of Sydney we drove past were Russel Crowe’s apartment and also a residence of Nicole Kidman that was just up for sale at a very modest $20 million. We also saw the church where Elton John and Michael Jackson both had their highly publicised weddings, but obviously not to each other! It wasn’t a big church but the view of the Opera House and Sydney Harbour did add to the appeal.

Our last stop was at the world famous Bondi Beach with white beaches and surfers galore. It wasn’t a long stop so I got a couple of shots before savouring an ice cream and taking in the view. After that we began the drive back to the hotel where the afternoon was free until 4.30.

I headed for the city for an hour or so and made the mistake of wandering into a bookshop. I’d read my allocation of five books and did need some more but prices in Australia are ridiculous. A typical paperback costs £7-£8. In Australia it’s $25 which translates to roughly £12 in the UK. Lucky for me, I found a special offer of 3 for 2 so bought a trio of books at a more reasonable price.

Bondi Beach

Alex met us at 4.30 to begin our harbour cruise past the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. We enjoyed an excellent meal while we passed the city lit up gloriously against the night sky. Our waiter was named Tony and insisted we didn’t forget the title. It was an easy one for me to remember as he shares the same name with my father.

During our meal some members of the group got very drunk on the free wine and champagne Tony kept fetching in droves. All you could drink basically. I stuck to water as I prefer spirits to wine. The merrier members of my group began praising me for travelling alone and coping with an older group of people. Some even wanted invitations to my wedding when I finally tie the knot. I always know when people are drunk because they take me to one side and tell me how wonderful I am, never when they’re sober.

Alison, who’d been in a bad mood at the start of the evening, perked up after a few wines. Indeed, as we headed back to shore our group burst into song and did some drunken dances as well. At one point myself and the other members of the sobriety club were obligated to stand, hold hands with the drunks, and sing “Auld Lang Syne.” The Japanese tourists found the whole spectacle very funny but other tables merely frowned on the celebrations. It’s nice to see people of all ages enjoying themselves. The power of booze, there’s nothing like it!

Yep, it was one of those nights!

Alex arranged an extended outing for the drunks on our way back into the city. They headed for one of Alex’s favoured pubs, The Lord Nelson, which was packed with locals watching an important rugby game between Christchurch Crusaders and another team I can’t recall. Despite some members of the group – in this case Sandra and Jackie – begging me to go, I resisted. I didn’t fancy a packed pub and I hadn’t had a drop of alcohol on my travels because I simply didn’t desire any.

This was the last night in Sydney and it had been the best of all the cities I’d seen on the tour. Tomorrow we had a bit of time in the morning to look around some more but then it was time to say farewell to Australia. I couldn’t believe how quickly it had gone. The flight to Bangkok was around 5.00 and we landed there just after 11.00 at night. I wasn’t keen on going to Thailand. I felt a foreboding about the country so was glad it was only a brief stop. I’d hopefully be doing a day trip to the River Kwai to satisfy my love of history, so there was still something to look forward to. The best of the tour, however, was over. It had been a great privilege to see New Zealand and Australia. Back on New Zealand’s south island our then tour guide – Dave – told us not to compare New Zealand’s two islands or Australia with one another because they are all completely different. He was right.

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Masterpieces #21: City of God

[box title="About City of God (2002)" color="#887eff"] Celebrated with worldwide acclaim, this powerful true story of crime and redemption has won numerous prestigious awards around the globe! The streets of the world’s most notorious slum, Rio de Janeiro’s City of God, are a place where combat photographers fear to tread, police rarely go and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20. In the midst of the oppressive crime and violence, a frail and scared young boy will grow up to discover that he can view the harsh realities of his surroundings with a different eye: the eye of an artist. In the face of impossible odds, his brave ambition to become a professional photographer becomes a window into his world and ultimately his way out!

 

 

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City of God (2002)

Based on a true story, Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund’s City of God depicts the brutal world of drug dealing and gun battles in the midst of a city where dying young is not uncommon. A hard-hitting but equally brilliant film, City of God is uncompromising in its portrayal of two boys – Rocket and Lil Dice – that grow up in the City of God during the Sixties and by the Seventies have taken completely different paths. Lil Dice has immersed himself in the violent world of drug warfare while Rocket wishes to be free of the city and to pursue his dream of photography.

The film begins with the story of the Tender Trio that commits small robberies in the city but are generous in sharing their ill-gotten gains so no harm comes to them when the authorities arrive asking questions of the locals. Lil Dice, though only a boy, inspires the gang to rob a nearby hotel but when they reach their target, the Tender Trio leave a frustrated Lil Dice as lookout while they proceed with the robbery. After Lil Dice breaks a window to signal the retreat, the Tender Trio makes their escape while Lil Dice enters the hotel and murders everyone inside before seemingly disappearing.

In the Seventies City of God sees Lil Dice, now known as Lil Ze (Leandro Firmino), join with best friend Benny (Phelippe Haagensen) in taking over the businesses of every drug dealer in the city, save one, Carrot (Matheus Nachtergaele). He is spared by Benny who is the only one capable of holding Lil Ze back from complete carnage. While Lil Ze becomes more powerful as the head of a wide network of drug dealing, Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) is focused on being a photographer and losing his virginity. A temporary peace in the City of God is soon broken and all out war fills the streets as the rival drug empires compete for control.

City of God will be a hard film for some to watch. The image of young children wandering the streets wielding guns is difficult to comprehend and some of the atrocities committed by the brutal Lil Ze are hard to stomach, leaving nothing to the imagination. Though a gritty film it is impossible not to be enthralled. Rocket’s fight for survival and how he brought the events of the City of God to the rest of the world is an amazing story. It’s a brilliant reflection of the fiercely competitive world of drug dealing and, with anyone potentially being ousted every day, the film will keep you guessing right up until the gripping conclusion when Lil Ze and Carrot’s frequent gun fights and skirmishes throughout the city finally erupt into one final, decisive battle.

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This Week’s Films (08/06/14)

The Bridge (2006)

The Golden Gate Bridge is an iconic structure; a symbol of San Francisco, the West, freedom – and something more, something spiritual, something words cannot describe. 

The director and crew spent an entire year focusing on the Bridge. Running cameras for almost every daylight minute, they documented nearly two dozen suicides and a great many unrealized attempts. In addition, the director captured nearly 100 hours of incredibly frank, deeply personal, often heart-wrenching interviews with the families and friends of the departed, as well as with several of the attempters themselves. 

THE BRIDGE is a visual and visceral journey into one of life’s gravest taboos, offering glimpses into the darkest, and possibly most impenetrable corners of the human mind.

Verdict: 8/10

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The Hunger Games (2012)

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her younger sister’s place and must rely upon her sharp instincts when she’s pitted against highly trained Tributes who have prepared their entire lives. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Verdict: 7/10

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Best Worst Movie (2009)

In 1989, a group of unknown Utah actors starred in what would be crowned the worst movie of all time: Troll 2. Now, after two decades of running from this cinematic disaster, the cast can no longer hide from the legion of followers who celebrate them for their ineptitude.

BEST WORST MOVIE, directed by Troll 2′s once-disgraced child star, Michael Paul Stephenson, unravels the stories of these unforgettable real-life characters and the colorful army of devotees who continue to revel in the film’s perfectly flawed brilliance. At the center of this celebrated documentary is the improbable story of a small-town Alabama dentist-turned-cult-movie-icon, and an Italian filmmaker who comes to terms (or doesn’t) with his internationally revered cinematic failure. 

BEST WORST MOVIE is an affectionate and intoxicatingly fun tribute to the single greatest bad movie ever made and the people responsible for unleashing it on the world. The result is a hilarious and tender offbeat journey that pays homage to lovers of bad movies and the people who make them, while investigating a deeper story about the strange nature of celebrity, the catharsis of redemption and the humanity that exists in making even the worst movie ever made.

Verdict: 7/10

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Deep Water (2006)

A documentary about the disastrous 1968 round-the-world yacht race.

Verdict: 9/10

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Paris, Texas (1984)

German New Wave pioneer Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire) brings his keen eye for landscape to the American Southwest in Paris, Texas a profoundly moving character study written by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Sam Shepard. Paris, Texas follows the efforts of the mysterious, nearly mute drifter Travis (a magnificent Harry Dean Stanton, whose face is a landscape of its own) to reconnect with his young son, living with his brother (Dean Stockwell) in Los Angeles, and his missing wife (Nastassja Kinski). From this simple setup, Wenders and Shepard produce a powerful statement on codes of masculinity and the myth of the American family, as well as an exquisite visual exploration of a vast, crumbling world of canyons and neon. 

Verdict: 9/10

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For the Bible Tells Me So (2007)

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival, Dan Karslake’s provocative, entertaining documentary brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible. As the film notes, most Christians live their lives today without feeling obliged to kil anyone who works on the Sabbath or eats shrimp. 

Through the experience of five very normal, very Christian , very American families – including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson – we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. With commentary by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard’s Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, For The Bible Tells Me So offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity.

Verdict: 8/10

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La Collectionneuse (1967)
 
A womanizing art dealer and a painter find the serenity of their Riviera vacation disturbed by a third guest, a vivacious bohemian woman known for her long list of male conquests.
 
Verdict: 7/10
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Bukowski: Born into This (2003)

Documentary on Charles Bukowski, author of ‘Notes of a Dirty Old Man’, ‘Love Is a Dog from Hell’, and the autobiographical novels, ‘Women’, ‘Hollywood’, and ‘Post Office’.

Verdict: 8/10

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How I Spent My Summer Vacation / Get the Gringo (2012)

ACADEMY AWARD Winner Mel Gibson* steals the show – and anything else he can get his hands on – in this explosive, nonstop thrill ride packed with equal parts action and attitude! A career criminal (Gibson) pulls off the heist of a lifetime, but his getaway plans go south of the border when a high-speed car chase lands him in a hard-core Mexican prison community known as “El Pueblito.” Now, in order to survive, he’ll have to fend off corrupt cops, take down ruthless druglords…and team up with a streetwise ten-year-old who has a few secrets of his own!

Verdict: 6/10

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This is What Love in Action Looks Like (2011)

A stirring documentary about a Christian fundamentalist conversion camp and the young people who fought against it. When 16-year-old Zach told his parents that he was gay, they sent him to Love In Action, a religious organization that promises to cure homosexuality. Originally for adults, Love in Action had recently begun a program for teens, many of whom were sent there involuntarily. The camp’s draconian methods for ‘sexual redemption’; prompted filmmaker Jon Morgan Fox to document the ensuing protest against the group. Including interviews with several youths who had been in the program, the then current director of Love in Action (himself a former gay) and many young protesters who were compelled to mobilize against the organization, this documentary is an important look at gay youth, intolerance and skewed religious beliefs. 

Verdict: 6/10

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Funny Face (1957)

An impromptu fashion shoot at a book store brings about a new fashion model discovery in the shop clerk.

Verdict: 6/10

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The Death of Mr Lazarescu (2005)

Romanian film that won the Un Certain Regard in Cannes, is a true-to-life drama/dark comedy of an elderly man, alone in the world and in search of medical care. Mr. Lazarescu gets shuttled from doctor to doctor, from hospital to hospital, encountering all the good and bad the medical system has to offer. Though it doesn’t sound like a winner, this film rates a very high 8.4 score on the IMDb based on nearly 1,500 votes, with nearly every entry urging readers to see this film. If you have a customer base attuned to foreign films, you might want to give this title a chance.

Verdict: 9/10

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Breaking News (2004)

When a live TV news crew broadcasts an embarrassing defeat of Hong Kong’s police dept. by just five bank robbers, public opinion of the force plummets and the dept. vows to capture the robbers at any cost. So when Detective Cheung accidentally stumbles upon the five bank robbers hiding out in an abandoned building, Yuen (Richie Jen), the ultra-cool leader of the gang, suddenly finds himself and his partners under siege by thousands of police officers. Sensing an opportunity to restore the public’s faith in the police dept., Inspector Rebecca (Kelly Chen) turns the stakeout into a breaking news show, with live updates beamed out to a transfixed Hong Kong. But she soon discovers how difficult it can be to manage the press when hostages are involved, true identities are unknown, and the building contains not one gang but two…

Verdict: 8/10

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The post This Week’s Films (08/06/14) appeared first on B-Lines and Felines.

Dave’s Odyssey #26

In May 2008, I went travelling on my own for the first time and was out of England for a month. Along the way I took in Singapore, New Zealand, Australia and Thailand before coming home. I kept a journal of my time on the road, so here’s a day by day account of my trials and tribulations that has the undeserved title of Dave’s Odyssey. 

Day 26 – Sydney – Blue Mountains 

View from Echo Point

Alex didn’t give any of us a wake-up call despite another early start to the day. Our coach left just after 8.00 and made the long journey out of Sydney and on to the Blue Mountains. Along the way we witnessed this marvellous city in daylight for the first time. As with Melbourne, it was on a grand scale.

It was quite a long drive into the Blue Mountains and out first stop was in the village of Leura. It didn’t take long to walk around but there was one memorable thing – a candy shop. Alex had mentioned it the other day and I couldn’t resist a look. I felt like a child again as I saw hundreds of jars filled with sweets I hadn’t seen in years. It would have been easy to go nuts spending a fortune on sweets but I curbed my finances to limit myself to just two bags of sweets and a chocolate bar. Seldom has there been a better display of willpower.

Before leaving Leura I got chatting with Valerie, not one of my adopted grandmothers but another Valerie, who had, unbeknownst to her, built up a reputation as a serial complainer. Every hotel she had been in thus far had had something she wasn’t happy with. Yesterday her room at the Travelodge wasn’t good enough because it was on the 19th floor. She was moved to another on the 5th floor with a great view of the city and that appeased her somewhat.

View from Echo Point

When I spoke to Valerie in Leura the first thing she said was, “Well, it’s not been very inspirational so far, has it?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Surely common sense would tell her that a name like the Blue Mountains suggests a longish drive if we began in the centre of a city. She seemed to be a Jekyll and Hyde sort because all of a sudden she praised the tour and said what great value it had been. That’s at least one thing we agreed on.

After Leura, the beauty of the Blue Mountains hit home when we stopped off at a lookout spot – Echo Point. From here we saw the mountains with large coverings of forest and in the gaps beneath the peaks and below our eye-line hung a thick layer of mist that made the view simply spectacular. Over to the left was a famous rock formation – the Three Sisters. Two stories explain the origin of this curious formation. The Aussie version/explanation is erosion! The Aborigines’ story is much better.

According to the Aborigines three brothers were out walking one day when they spotted three beautiful women who just happened to be sisters. These things happen! Desiring the sisters as their wives, the three brothers followed them to their village and found they were from a rival tribe. Marriage between opposing tribes was forbidden but the brothers were willing to break the rules. A war broke out between the tribes. To protect the three sisters, the elder of their tribe cast a spell sealing them in rock for their own safety. After the war he intended to release them with his magic but was unfortunately killed in the conflict. The three sisters have therefore remained in their rock prison to this day. Far-fetched the story may be but it had more appeal than the Aussie version.

Three Sisters

Next up was our main stop – Scenic World. This was a series of rides you could partake of throughout the Blue Mountains, including a railway and cable car. I ended up going on none of the rides as I chose to use this opportunity and my money to buy my Australian souvenirs. I’d been putting this off because it seemed pointless carrying the extra weight in my backpack on the many flights throughout Australia. The prices were good in the gift shop so I completed my shopping spree in one swoop. That was one less thing to worry about.

After Scenic World we headed back towards Sydney. We stopped off at another lookout point on the way. The mist was now gone but the view it left behind was still worth a few photos. The best of the tour, however, was still to come.

Before reaching Sydney we stopped off at the Featherdale Wildlife Park. Two men greeted us – one gave us our tickets, the other was cradling a baby wallaby that seemed a bit timid, but to be fair everyone was poking their cameras in his face so it was understandable. After that they turned us loose in the park.

A very tired Koala

Featherdale is easily the best of the wildlife sanctuaries I’ve seen. A lot of the animals were endangered so it made sense to have them in enclosures. Each one offered plenty of room and had recreated their natural habitat so you didn’t feel they were at a disadvantage here compared to in the wild. Indeed, a verse had been written from the perspective of a kangaroo reminding us there were no dangers for them in the park, whereas in the wild they were vulnerable to many threats.

Featherdale allowed us to get close to an assortment of animals. Kangaroos, wallabies, peacocks and other birds wandered amongst you, so much so you were almost tripping over them. Koalas were in abundance and gave us ample opportunities to get great photos. The highlight was a sleeping koala you were allowed to stroke. I took the chance and would have stolen the koala had one of the staff not been keeping a close eye.

Kangaroos

Featherdale had snakes, owls, scorpions, lizards and even a giant crocodile on show. The most comical animal had to be the Tasmanian devil. When I approached its enclosure it started running. At first I thought it was dashing out of sight but then it came back and proceeded to run in circles. It still hadn’t stopped running when I finally moved on and my efforts to get a decent photo were understandably a failure.

I don’t think any of our group wanted to leave Featherdale but leave we did. We got back to Sydney around 6.00 and saw the Harbour Bridge lit up from a distance. We’d get a better view tomorrow on the harbour cruise. Tomorrow was also a half-day tour, including the Opera House. I’d have the afternoon to wander the city as well. The day after we were off to Thailand. The tour was drawing ever closer to an end!

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This Week’s Films (01/06/14)

Jedi Junkies (2010)

Star Wars isn’t just a series of films. It’s an indelible part of the last thirty years of American culture, going far beyond mere entertainment. For some, its become a way of life. Join us as we profile a unique group of individuals whose love of Star Wars goes well beyond mere movie fan. The Jedi Junkies is a fun, affectionate and funny look at a series of people whose personal and professional lives were changed forever by this incredible franchise.

Verdict: 6/10

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Primer (2004)

Two small time engineers trip upon an invention that far surpasses their aspirations.

Verdict: 6/10

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The Brood (1979)

From famed writer-director David Cronenberg (The Dead Zone, The Fly, Scanners)comes a chillingly twisted masterpiece of psychological horror. Oliver Reed (Gladiator) and Samantha Eggar (The Astronaut’s Wife) star in this shocking, intense thriller about how misdirected rage can literally take on a life of its own. Behind the walls of his secluded Somafree Institute, Dr. Hal Raglan (Reed) experiments with “Psychoplasmics,” a controversial therapy designed to help release pent-up emotions in his patients. He keeps his star patient Nola (Eggar) in isolation, but as she vents her fury during their sessions, brutal murders befall the people she’s angry with outside the institute. What is the connection between Raglan’s methods and these monstrous killings? The answer will unleash a whole new breed of terror!

Verdict: 7/10

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After Tiller (2013)

A moving exploration of one of today’s most incendiary topics, the film thoughtfully & compassionately documents the only 4 remaining doctors in the US who risk their lives daily to provide women with the late abortion services they need.

Verdict: 8/10

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Quiet City (2007)

Jamie is 21. She’s from Atlanta. She’s come to Brooklyn to visit her friend Samantha, but she can’t find her. Jamie meets a stranger named Charlie on the subway and spends 24 hours hanging out with him.

Verdict: 7/10

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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

Enter a dazzling world of fantasy in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus,Director Terry Gilliam’s magical adventure tale starring Heath Ledger in his last film role along with Christopher Plummer, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law. In exchange for extraordinary powers, Dr. Parnassus (Plummer)makes a deal with the Devil to turn over any child of his when they turn sixteen. But as his daughter Valentina’s (Lily Cole) birthday approaches, a mysterious stranger (Ledger) arrives with the power to change everything. In this captivating, explosive and wonderfully imaginative race against time, Dr. Parnassus must fight to save his daughter in a never-ending landscape of surreal obstacles – and undo the mistakes of his past once and for all!

Verdict: 7/10

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Foolish Wives (1922)

As artistically brilliant as it is gleefully perverse, Foolish Wives is Erich von Stroheim’s epic-scale account of an American diplomat’s wife (Miss Dupont) who falls under the spell of a phony Russian Count (von Stroheim). With his trademark eye for visual metaphor and gritty detail, von Stroheim infuses the artistocratic splendor of Monte Carlo (rebuilt in all its majesty on the Universal backlot) with an air of moral depravity. The result is a Grimm’s fairy tale romance that is no less fascinating today than it was 80 years ago.

Verdict: 8/10

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Resident Evil (2002)

A special military unit fights a powerful, out-of-control supercomputer and hundreds of scientists who have mutated into flesh-eating creatures after a laboratory accident.

Verdict: 4/10

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Don’t Drink the Water (1994)

Ever-popular Michael J. Fox (MARS ATTACKS!, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT) and Woody Allen (SMALL TIME CROOKS, DECONSTRUCTING HARRY) star in this hilarious comedy where an outrageous mix-up labels an unsuspecting family of American tourists as a notorious ring of spies! The Hollanders are enjoying their trip behind the Iron Curtain until Walter (Allen) innocently snaps a picture of the sunset … over a politically sensitive area! Before he knows it, his family is the focus of a major international espionage incident! Forced to seek refuge at the American Embassy — it’s up to the Ambassador’s diplomatically inept son (Fox) to keep the Hollanders from landing behind bars! With Mayim Bialik (BEACHES, TV’s BLOSSOM), Dom DeLuise (ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS) and Julie Kavner (DECONSTRUCTING HARRY, TV’s THE SIMPSONS) in a great cast of familiar faces — you’ll laugh along with the hapless Hollanders as they find out just how hard it is to get around the Iron Curtain!

Verdict: 6/10

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Taxidermia (2006)

Three generations of men, including a pervert that constantly seeks for new kinds of satisfaction, an obese speed eater and a passionate embalmer.

Verdict: 7/10

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Dinner Rush (2000)

Danny Aiello and John Corbett bring the behind-the-scenes drama of a NYC Italian restaurant to life through an exciting tale of gangsters and gourmet food.

Verdict: 8/10

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8½ Women (1999)

Following the death of a mother, a father and son open up a brothel in their Genevan estate after watching 8½  (1963).

Verdict: 6/10

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The Crimson Rivers (2000)

When Commissaire Pierre Niemans (Jean Reno), France’s leading serial killer investigator, is called to investigate a grisly murder, he enters a world of secrets, lies and unthinkable horrors. The dead, whose hands and eyes have been removed, are clues to a terrible tradition the killer can no longer bear. Each murder means something more; each victim, a guilty conspirator in a grand immoral experiment. Filled with blood-chilling suspense, twisted turns and breathtaking locations, this tense thriller has the style, action and intelligence to keep you wondering what’s really happening right up until the shocking conclusion.

Verdict: 7/10

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(A) Sexual (2011)

Facing a sex obsessed culture, a mountain of stereotypes and misconceptions, and a lack of social or scientific research, asexuals – people who experience no sexual attraction – struggle to claim their identity.

Verdict: 6/10

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The Ninth Gate (1999)

Johnny Depp is hired by a satanic worshipper posing as a demonology scholar to locate two rare volumes of a satanic invocation.

Verdict: 5/10

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A Room in Town (1982)

A film musical in which every line is sung. The frame is about workers during a strike. They also prepare and perform a demonstration. Two personal relations develop against this background…

Verdict: 7/10

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Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (2010)

Overweight, loaded up on steroids and suffering from a debilitating autoimmune disease, Joe was at the end of his rope and the end of his hope. With doctors and conventional medicine unable to help, Joe traded in junk food and hit the road with a juicer and generator in tow, vowing only to drink fresh fruit and vegetable juice for 60 days. Across 3,000 miles Joe had one goal in mind: To get off his pills and achieve a balanced lifestyle.

Verdict: 8/10

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The Green Hornet (2011)

Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is a slacker by day, party animal by night… until he finds a serious career that?s seriously cool: crime-fighting action hero. As the Green Hornet, he teams up with gadget wiz and martial arts master Kato (Jay Chou) to take down LA’s underworld. Also starring Cameron Diaz and Christoph Waltz.

Verdict: 5/10

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Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)

A fantastic tale of war, love, family and ambition set in the midst of the Japanese Civil Wars of the sixteenth century.

Verdict: 9/10

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The post This Week’s Films (01/06/14) appeared first on News of the Worlds.