I recently watched Divergent on Amazon Prime. It’s a fun movie about a dystopian version of Chicago that divides people into five factions.
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Category Archives: Movie review
If you’re a fan of Hunger Games, you won’t want to miss the new one.
Recently I watched a movie titled Genius. It’s about the friendship between Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law), a man considered one of the greatest American authors and Max Perkins (Colin Firth), a famous editor known for being the editor of Hemmingway and Fitzgerald.
Wolfe’s first book was turned down by every other publisher in New York when he brought it to Charles Scribner’s Sons. The enormous manuscript made it to Perkins’ desk and he recognized Wolfe’s genius.
The manuscript was way too long with many pages of description so Perkins worked closely with Wolfe to edit his book which eventually took the title Look Homeward Angel. It was published in 1929 and received great reviews, validating the author.
Wolfe wrote another book, On Time and the River, and brought it into Perkins’ office in four boxes. (It was 5,000 pages long). The two men worked every night for over two years to edit the book.
The many hours spent on the book put a strain on Perkins’ marriage. He explained to his wife that an editor gets an author like Wolfe once in a lifetime. That’s saying a lot since he was also the editor for Hemmingway and Fitzgerald.
The story asked many questions like what makes a good novel? How important is a good editor to a novel? Does the editor make the book better or just change it? Was some of Wolfe’s genius lost in the edits?
I wonder if modern books suffer because traditional publishing houses can’t afford an editor who would spend as much time as Perkins did editing Wolfe’s book.
Wolfe dedicated the second novel to Perkins. Later he felt that too much credit for the success of the book went to Perkins and he changed publishing houses. Wolfe died young with only two books published at the time of his death. Two more books were published posthumously by another publisher.
Wolfe’s genius has been somewhat forgotten over time, yet his legacy is his books. He has influenced other writers like the well-known sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury.
What drives authors to write? In the movie, Wolfe and Perkins are walking along a road in New York City. It’s the depression and World War 2 is on the horizon. Wolfe sees people in a long food line and wonders about the value of writing.
Perkins replies that early mankind used to sit around the campfire at night and off in the distance they’d heard a wolf howl. Someone in the circle would begin to tell a story to hold back the fear.
All stories aren’t told or written to hold back the fear, but they are an intricate part of our lives and a way to help us understand and cope with an ever-changing world.
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| True Sprit |
| The other day I watched an amazing Netflix movie called True Spirit, based on the true story of a sixteen-year-old Australian girl, Jessica Watson, who circumnavigated the world on a sailboat. When she was a young girl, Jessica heard about an eighteen-year-old man making the world record for a solo trip and decided to break his record. Her determination was impressive. She stuck with her dream for years, found a mentor to teach her sailing, and found sponsors to help pay for the trip. The story starts with a test voyage where she is sideswiped by a large boat. So much damage is done to her sailboat that it looked like she’d have to postpone her trip. Fortunately, other sailors come to her aid and repaired the boat. Her parents, three siblings, and mentor become her support team and cheer her on. While on her sailboat, she recorded her adventure on a video blog telling the world about her experiences. We accompany her on this journey and see what the stars look like on a clear night at sea and a sunrise that stretch as far as the eye can see. We view flying fish, dolphins swimming alongside the boat, and a whale breaching. One of her more difficult times is when there is no wind and her boat is becalmed at sea for days. But her worse challenge comes near the end when storms make her journey perilous and she has to decide whether to keep sailing or head for land. These were the most heart-stopping, scary parts of the movie for me. At one point Jessica told her viewers that we all have the power to follow our dreams. “It can be really hard,” she said, “but it’s so worth it.” She also said that more people have been in space than have sailed around the world, which I found surprising. People watched her videos from many different countries and were inspired by her courage and willingness to make sacrifices for her dream. One of the sacrifices was living alone for 210 days as she traveled 22,000 nautical miles in a thirty-three-foot sailboat. Jessica’s the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world, traversing the most dangerous and isolated oceans. You can watch the movie on Netflix or read her book: True Spirit: The Assie Girl who Took on the World. Following your dreams was one of the themes of my first book, Red Willow’s Quest. Red Willow is a young Native American woman who wants to become a medicine woman. She follows her heart just like Jessica does despite all the obstacles and challenges of her journey. We all need to have dreams. Our lives are richer and more meaningful when we are working toward something we’re passionate about. Here’s the movie trailer. |
Becoming Jane
Becoming Jane is a delightful movie, especially for those who love Jane Austen’s books (Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility). In the movie you see that Jane Austen’s characters and ideas stem from her life experiences. Jane’s life was filled with loving family and some heartache.
The movie covers Jane’s (Ann Hathaway) young adult years. Her father is a minister who encourages her learning and ideas. Her family lives a modest life on a farm with the children sharing the chores. Jane has a close relationship with Cassandra, her sister who is engaged.
Jane is full of life: She’s intelligent, an independent thinker and loves to write stories. She receives an offer of marriage from Mr. Wisley, a wealthy man who could help her family live comfortably. However, Jane doesn’t want to be forced into marriage, even to help her family. She declares she wants “affection” in a marriage.
Jane does a reading of her latest manuscript for her family. Thomas Lefory (Jame McAvoy) attends and makes a poor impression by not taking interest in her story. Gradually they come to know one another and fall in love. Unfortunately, Tom is a young Irish man without money. He and his family are dependent on his rich uncle.
It’s an enjoyable movie made by BBC in Ireland. It’s well-acted and has a great plot drawn from the book Becoming Jane and the letters Jane wrote. Some of the situations, witty dialogue and characters remind the viewer of Austen’s books.
After seeing the movie, I was curious about how close it represented Jane Austen’s life. It turns out the movie is a blend of fact and fiction. Jane was born in 1775 in Hampshire, England. She was the youngest child in seven siblings. In the movie her relationship with her sister Cassandra and her parents is the main focus with regards to her family life. As in the movie, Jane received a marriage proposal from a wealthy man that she accepted, then turned down the next day.
She did know Thomas Lefory when he was on break from his legal studies in England. She enjoyed his company at dances while he was in Hampshire, but there is no evidence that they fell in love and wanted to marry.
Jane’s life was fairly private. Her sister destroyed many of Jane’s letters after she died, so there is much that isn’t known about her.
During her life, Jane wrote many short pieces and six novels. All were published with the author being anonymous. Jane Austen’s name didn’t come out until after she died of Addison’s disease at forty-two years old. At that time, women weren’t supposed to be authors, since they weren’t thought of as independent thinkers, and the idea of novels was a new concept.
Jane Austen is considered a romance writer, yet she never had a serious romance or married. Over the years people have wondered how she could write about experiences she never had. However, she did attended many dances, received a marriage proposal and witnessed the heartache her sister suffered when her fiancé died of a fever in the West Indies. From her writing, it’s apparent that these experiences and her keen insight into human nature were enough for her to become an extraordinary writer.
Though Jane Austen had only modest success during her life, she became popular in the 20th century. Today she’s considered one of the top one hundred English writers.
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Ex Machina
If you’re a Sci-fi fan, you won’t want to miss Ex Machina, a 2015 movie that’s available on Netflix right now. In this story, a computer coder Caleb (Domhnall Glesson) spends a week at his employer’s extraordinary mountain home to evaluate the intelligence and consciousness of a lovely AI robot Ava (Alicia Vikander). It’s a thought-provoking, eerie movie that brings up many questions about AIs (AI stands for Artificial Intelligence).
The story opens with Caleb being congratulated at work after he wins a contest to go to the remote home of his employer, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). He’s flown in by helicopter, dropped off in the middle of nowhere and told which direction to walk. He heads through the woods and finally reaches a house that could pass for a fortress. He knocks on the door, his photo is taken, and then he’s issued an ID tag. The door opens and he walks down the hallway until he comes to the kitchen, where outside the patio window he sees Nathan working out.
This opening scene gives the viewer the uncomfortable feeling that something isn’t quite right and we’re a little on edge, as is Caleb.
Caleb has to sign an agreement never to disclose what he is about to see. He wants to have a lawyer look at the agreement, but Nathan tells him he can either sign it or spend the week just hanging out. Caleb wants to see Nathan’s project, so he signs. The room he’s given is more of a windowless cell than a guest room. When he asks Nathan about it, Nathan explains his home is a research center that has high security.
As the viewer, we feel we’re trapped in this cell with Caleb. He is trying to figure out what’s going on, but Nathan only lets him know what he wants him to know.
Caleb finally gets to meet Ava, the AI robot. Her body reveals she is a robot, but her face is that of a beautiful woman. As Caleb meets with her, he begins to see her as a conscious being and is attracted to her, especially when she puts on clothes so she looks human. After interviewing Ava several times, the difference between a human and a machine begins to break down in Caleb’s mind. He even wonders if he is a machine.
The world inside the house is filmed in muted colors while outside colors are bright with a river, rocks and trees. Ava has never been outside and can only see it through the glass in her room. To Nathan she’s just one machine in a series of machines that keep evolving. But to Caleb, who has formed an emotional attachment to her, she is a being with consciousness. He wants to help her escape from Nathan.
The title Ex Machina is a play on the Greek phrase Deus Ex Machina—“God from a machine.” A machine refers to the machine that held a god over the stage in Greek drama. In the title, Deus (meaning God or deity) is left out. The movie examines the theme of humanity as it relates to God. Ava reminds of us the name Eve, for the first two humans, Adam and Eve.
Writer and director Alex Garland also uses mirrors and reflections as a device. Ava and Caleb only see each other through glass. What is real and what is a reflection?
Caleb begins to see that Nathan is manipulating him. He didn’t win a contest at all. Nathan picked him and created an AI female he would find sexually attractive. Ava also has the ability to be seductive, and she tempts Caleb as Eve tempted Adam.
Other sci-fi movies exist with AIs that are so intelligent they become dangerous to the men who invented them. 2001 One Space Odyssey was probably the first with HAL, the computer that ran the ship, eventually taking it over. Other well-known movies with AIs include the Terminator and Matrix series.
This movie is different in that the AI looks like a beautiful, innocent woman who is trapped in a glass room and serves only as part of Nathan’s research. She will be destroyed when he’s through with her for the development of a new, improved model.
The question the movie asks isn’t only: Can AIs destroy us as they become more and more advanced? (and more intelligent than us), but If AIs have consciousness, should they have rights? Or, should they be kept as slaves for their owner’s use, subject to being destroyed when their owner gets a new model? We think nothing of replacing our computer with a newer, faster, more powerful one, but what if that computer looks like a person, complete with intelligence and consciousness?
In this movie, the line between man and machine is blurred. To Caleb, Ava becomes real and his belief in Nathan (as a God-like figure who created this amazing AI) is shaken.
Ex Machina is a brilliant movie with good acting and excellent photography that will leave you thinking long after the movie is over.
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Holiday Gift Show
If you’re looking for unique gifts, check out the Holiday Gift Show at the Art Center in Victoria, Minnesota. The ACCC Arts Center (recently opened in 2018) features visual art, jewelry, sculpture, pottery, photography, CDs and books by local authors.
I’m featuring books and photo cards at this show. Forty percent of the profits goes to support the Art Center, so when you’re shopping for holiday gifts be sure to stop in. The event runs from November 15 to December 24. The Art Center is open Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 5:00 pm and Saturday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. It’s located at 7924 Victoria Drive (studio level), Victoria, MN.
If you’re looking for a good movie at the theaters this holiday season, check out Instant Family. It’s a fun movie about a couple Pete (Mark Wahlberg) and Ellie (Rose Byrne) who decide to check into the world of foster care adoption.
They take a six-week class with other potential foster parents with the intent of adopting a younger child. Instead they decide to take in a 15-year-old girl (Isabela Moner), but when they find out she has two younger siblings they become an instant “family” with three children.
The movie is full of humor and multiple challenges, including the possibility of losing their fledgling family when the children’s biological mother decides she’s ready to take them back. Underneath all the hilarious situations are Pete and Ellie’s joy when the younger children call them Daddy and Mommy. It’s a great testament to the great need for loving homes for so many children in the world. The movie is rated PG-13.
If you have younger kids or grandkids, try The Grinch based on Dr. Seuss’ beloved holiday classic. The story is about the Grinch, who wants to steal Christmas from the town of Whoville and a little girl, Cindy Lou, who opens his heart. It’s currently playing at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis and at local theaters.
Have a wonderful holiday season.
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The Lost Kingdom
England’s history is of special interest to me since it is my ancestry. My novel, Annoure and the Dragon Ships, opens in 794 A.D. on the east coast of Northumbria, Saxon England, during the second Viking raid on St. Paul’s church and its twin monasteries.
Recently I discovered a BBC, British history, series on Netflix. The story takes place in 871 A.D. In the intervening 77 years between the beginning of the Norsemen’s attacks to 871 A. D., the Saxon swept through Saxon England and conquered all but Wessex in what is now southwest England.
The story is told through the eyes of Uhtred of Bebbanburg, Alexander Dreymon. As a boy his father is killed in a battle of the Saxons against the Danes. Uhtred is taken captive by the Dane Earl Ragnar who later adopts him. When Uhtred is a young man, an angry Dane (who was banished by Ragnar) attacks and kills Uhtred’s surrogate family.
Horrified by the death of his family, Uhtred wants revenge. He also wants to regain his ancestral lands, but doesn’t have the means to accomplish either of his goals. He’s a man caught between two worlds, the Saxons and the Norsemen, and he isn’t accepted by either.
I found myself caught up in the story. It is high budget with attention to historical detail in such things as clothing, hair styles, housing, Viking ships and weapons. The characters are complex, three-dimensional people and the plot is complicated with many twists and turns.
One of the more interesting characters is King Alferd, David Dawson. He was an important Saxon king and held back the Saxons from taking Wessex. He was a remarkable man for his time because he went to Rome twice and could read and write English and Latin at a time when few of his contemporaries could read. He was responsible for raising the level of culture in England. He also had a vision to unite all the regions into one country.
King Alferd is a pious Christian man, whereas Uhtred believes in the Norse Gods. Their difference in beliefs is a source of conflict between the two men because the king needs Uhtred, who is a great warrior, but he can never trust a pagan completely.
The two seasons of the show were released in 2015 and 2017. Netflix joined BBC to make a second series. It’s yet to decided whether there will be a third series. The shows are based on a series of novels by Bernard Cornwell. Cornwell descended from one family line of Uhtred of Bebbanburg, of which there were several. Little is known about Uhtred, so Cornwell created a fictional account of his life.
I highly recommend this series. As in my book, it shows the clash between the Saxons and Vikings in their religious beliefs, customs and the way they view the world.
Please note: The show isn’t for everyone. It has graphic scenes of violence and sex, so much so that I found myself turning away at times.
https://www.netflix.com/title/80074249 (trailer for The Last Kingdom)
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If I Stay
If I Stay is based on a best-selling young adult novel by Gayle Forman. High-school girls are its primary target audience, but both my husband and I enjoyed it.
It’s about a seventeen-year-old girl, Mai Hall (Chloe Grace Moretz) who has a loving family and wonderful boyfriend Adam (Jamie Blackley) who’s in a band. She’s a talented cello player, but is socially inept. She’s looking forward to a life with lots of possibilities when she’s in a serious car accident with her entire family. Mai’s badly injured and finds herself out-of-her-body, looking at the accident. Her body is rushed to the hospital and she goes along and sees herself being operated on. After the operation one of the nurses tells Mai’s unconscious body to fight to live, but Mai doesn’t know how to do that.
After her operation, she is concerned about her parents and little brother and looks for them in the hospital. The viewer discovers as she does which of her family members have died. The viewer also learns about her boyfriend, friends and grandparents as people gather at the hospital.
The story is told through a series of flashbacks while Mai’s body is unconscious. We learn how she and Adam met and fell in love, about her parents, grandparents and friends, and her desire to go to Julliard in New York.
The movie was well done with an interesting plot and great acting. I especially liked the musical element. Mai’s father was in a band and was surprised when she became interested in playing the cello at a young age. Her parents were supportive of her talent even though they didn’t understand where she got her love of classical music. In the movie we hear both her cello playing and Adam’s band. We see how music can uplift and enrich people’s lives.
I liked the premise of the story where a person has to make the decision to stay in this physical world with all its pain and happiness or move on to the next world. The author explores what it might be like to be seriously injured and watch your body operated on. It shows the confusion a person might feel after an accident and the deep sorrow that might make a person decide they wanted to die.
I’ve read many stories about near-death experiences and there are many accounts of people who do see their own body at an accident and/or on the operating table. This story didn’t explore Mai going toward the light, or into a tunnel, or meeting loved ones on the other side. Mai was out-of-her-body but still in the physical world. Its focus was more on her life and whether she should “fight to live” or go on.
The story explores the sacrifices necessary to become really good at something.
Mai spends hours every day playing the cello, though she plays more out of love than self-discipline. Her father enjoyed being in a band and also had talent, but he made the sacrifice of giving up being in the band to become a teacher and support his children. He then discovered he loved teaching and was happy with his choice.
The movie also explores the many options we have in life. In one scene Mai’s not sure what direction to go in as she and her mother stand at the sink doing dishes. Her mother tells her whatever choice she makes is a good one or there could be yet another path she might follow that would be equally good.
Another theme is unconditional love: both the love between Mai and her family and between Mai and Adam. Mai’s father sells his musical instrument to buy a cello for his daughter. Mai and Adam also have to decide what sacrifices they are willing to make for their relationship.
At the end of the movie Mai has to make the final decision to: stay or go.
What choices do you make daily? Do you live life to its fullest? What sacrifices have you had to make to do what you love, or support someone you love?
Do you think people have a choice to live or die when they are in a serious accident or have a serious illness? Have you ever had a near-death experience? I’d love to hear your stories.
Below is the trailer of If I Stay.
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