We hadn’t been to the DCA for a while so it was pleasant to return and see this excellent film – Robert Redford’s last. He is a fine actor and none more so than in this tale of an elderly bankrobber, Forrest Tucker. For me he was outshone by Sissy Spacek who brought a life and depth to her character (as his wife) which was … Continue reading The Old Man and the Gun
Last week Annabel and I went to see 2001 – A Space Odyssey at the extraordinary Hayden Orpheum – the cinema itself is an experience – but I was delighted just to be able to see this film which is invariably described as one of the most important and influential ever made. I was so keen to see it and was thankful that Annabel … Continue reading 2001: A Space Oddity, a Human Masterpiece and a Spiritual Revelation
Billy Graham This week has been a significant week because of the death of Billy Graham – much has been written about him – most of it positive (although a few religious people and militant atheists have done their best to stick the boot in!) perhaps this from the New York Times is the best from a secular perspective. I also thought this article … Continue reading LED 25 – Billy Graham; Is the Netherlands a Narco State?; Dundee- the Death Drugs Capital; The Thought Police and Center Parcs; Apple Removes Easter; The Post; Google and the end of Science.
Welcome to LED no. 24….as always we try to bring you a mixture of articles and comments, which illustrate and illuminate the world we live in. The Oxfam Scandal – The stories about Oxfam (and other large charities) are appalling. It’s not just that Oxfam workers engaged in sexual abuse but that Oxfam knew and attempted to cover up. What intrigues me about this is … Continue reading LED 24 – The Oxfam Scandal; The Tom Daley Baby; Sexual Morality; Christian Leader Expelled from the Scouts; Voices of the Silenced: Celebrating a new South African President; Hi Magazine; Quote of the Week.
Everyone seems to love ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri’. It’s the reviewers’ favourite for several Oscars and it would not be too much of a surprise if it won best picture (it already won the Golden Globes for best drama). You can understand why. The screenplay from the Irish writer Martin McDonagh is razor sharp; the performances from the actors stunning (especially Frances McDormand as … Continue reading Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri – A Brilliant Film. I Hated It!
I went to see The Darkest Hour on a grey January Dundee afternoon and it had a profound impact. In fact it did the impossible – got me to change my mind about a couple of things on which I had had very strong opinions! But first the film itself. The star of course is Gary Oldman as Churchill it is impossible to describe … Continue reading The Darkest Hour – A Film that Changed my Mind
The Saturday Review – 2nd December 2017 Each Saturday I hope to publish a ‘review’ page – looking at films, books and TV shows that I’ve read or seen. Anything that needs a more in depth analysis will get individual reviews. The purpose of these is to provide recommendations or as I always do, look at what these windows to our culture, tell us about … Continue reading The Saturday Review 1 – Murder on the Orient Express; BBC Vietnam War; From Reform to Renewal
The Glass Castle – Jeanette Walls I came to this book after seeing the film of the same name. The film was unspeakably sad but nonetheless managed to gloss over much of the situation described in this book. Whereas the film gave an impression of a kind of quirky family who were a bit eccentric but not really harmful – the book gives a … Continue reading The Glass Castle – A Review
My biggest problem with this weeks Light Engaging Darkness is what to leave out….there is so much going on…..but I hope the following selection is helpful to you…. Lets begin with the biggest story of the week (at least on the BBC where five days in a row it was the headline story. 1) Harvey Weinstein The fall of the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is … Continue reading LED 13 – Harvey Weinstein – Juncker in a bar – Bertrand Cantat – Freedom to Steal in London – Flu and Sexual Orientation – The 50th Anniversary of the Abortion Act – Thomas the Tank Engine – The Threat to Freedom of Speech – Juan Mata
Victoria and Abdul is at one level a harmless, nice, Dame Judi Dench historical romance. In fact it was with that in mind that I went with Mrs R on our usual Friday night jaunt to the DCA to watch it. If I was writing this as a mere film review then I honestly couldn’t say much. I wasn’t as impressed as I … Continue reading Victoria and Abdul – Re-Writing History to indoctrinate Todays Society
