Writing & Movie comments

Writing Update: I've been working on my next book for the last couple of weeks. At the moment, I'm not sure whether it will be a novella or novel (probably a novel). But then the beginning is always the hardest part of writing for me, putting that first set of words on blank paper. Now paper to me is my Scrivener writing program. Once I get the first draft done, it gets easier. Now I didn't say easy, just easier relatively speaking.

Movie Update: Over the last couple of weeks, I've watched two movies. Here are my comments on them. The first one was also posted under the European movies folder.

Yesterday, I watched the French movie "Since Otar Left (2005)."

When I picked up this film, I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew from the description that the movie dealt with the convoluted familial relations among three women sharing a household in Tblisi, Georgia (formerly part of the USSR). As for the three women, there's the grandmother, her daughter and her granddaughter (an adult woman).

I anticipated it would be a slow paced movie and I wasn't disappointed in that regard—but the storyline was strong enough to keep my interest piqued throughout the movie. I was pleasantly surprised. This turned out to be a charming movie.

Which woman was the principal actress? I would have to say that all three women shared that role equally. But the grandmother, played by 90-year-old Esther Gorintin, was fantastic.

The storyline was very credible. I could relate to it (not directly) in that I've observed similar relationships in other families. The ending was beautiful, poignant. Between three quarters and four fifths of the movie takes place in Tblisi. The balance of the story finishes up in Paris.

Plot

The dynamics between women in a family struggling to make ends meet. The grandmother dotes on her son who has moved to Paris to make a new life for himself. This makes the grandmother's daughter somewhat jealous, as she's the one taking care of her mother with the assistance of her own daughter.

I give the movie 4 stars out of 5.


Bourne Legacy (2012).

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie as I'd heard some negative reviews, but since I'd watched the three previous Bourne films, I gave it a shot.

Right off the bat, though, I found the opening scenes somewhat hokey, which made me leery. But then the movie settled down. As expected, it was action-packed and fast-paced, but there was still enough character development for me to be drawn into the story. I liked the chemistry between Rachel Weisz and Jeremy Renner.

If you've watched the other Bourne movies, it's similar in its action scenes: roof, car and motorcycle chases, as wells as lots of killings and fight scenes. Again, the premise is a man mentally and physically one notch above other men, but whereas in previous movies it was through conditioning, now its drugs.

Plot

Survival

I enjoyed the movie and give it 4 stars out of 5.