Saturday, December 14, 2013

Movie Review ... Lone Survivor

 
lone-survivor-posterMovies based on true-life events can sometimes be anti-climactic.  This is especially true for ‘against the odds’-type stories.  Simple research would reveal the outcome of such occurrences with a conclusion never in doubt.  Making these films engaging is how it reaches its known ending.  ‘Lone Survivor’ is one such work. An arresting ‘survival of the fittest’ tale, the heroism involved against harsh adversity makes this factual piece consistently compelling.
 
Sent on a mission to eradicate a high-ranking al Qaeda operative, four Navy SEALs have their work cut-out.  Led by Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg), with determination to find their prey quickly they become endangered.  Caught in an ambush, they attempt to evade capture within Afghanistan’s rugged terrain.  Banding together to face a common enemy the SEALs struggle to find the strength to escape their captors and complete the mission.
 
‘Lone Survivor’ maintains its often unbearable tension until the end.  It’s a credit to Peter Berg’s direction that it does given the story is one seen dozens of times.  Making it stand-out are the cast and the avoidance of dry academic story-telling bogging down similar works.  This is a muscular, fast-paced production full of grit and unafraid in showing bloody consequences of battle.
 
Another important part of ‘Lone Survivor’ is objectivity.  Refusing to be a simple ‘us vs. them’ tale, it reveals how supposed enemies can also be unwitting allies.  This aspect provides an interesting layer amongst the gripping cat and mouse chase through the unforgiving Afghan mountains.  The performers are put through the ringer in these sequences, with Wahlberg providing the right degree of conviction for his role.
 
Far from glorifying war, ‘Lone Survivor’ unflinchingly uncovers some of war’s harshest and cruellest elements.  The bond the soldiers share is easily seen with the ravages of combat failing to obliterate their connection.
 
Lone Survivor

Movie Review Rating out of 10:  8
Movie Review by Patrick Moore
Agree with Patrick's Movie Review? Then please use the comment box.
Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia. 
 
 
 


Movie Review ... American Hustle

 
american-hustle-posterOne of the best films featuring con-artists was ‘The Sting’.  A multiple award winner, it cleverly spun a tale of deception and double-cross.  Others have tried to capture its essence with varying results.  ‘American Hustle’ is the latest.  Based on true events makes for fascinating viewing. It also proves the art of the con refuses to subside with rampant complicity never going out of style.
 
FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) is a man on a mission.  Determined to bring down a cabal of corrupt politicians, he enlists some unlikely partners.  Included are Irving (Christian Bale) and Sydney (Amy Adams), con-artists of the highest calibre.  Forced to help Richie, they soon run into obstacles. Two of them are Irving’s brash wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) and shady political operator Carmine (Jeremy Renner).  Using their skills to the best of their abilities, the web they weave soon becomes tangled with many victims ensnared in a trap.
 
Set in the late 1970’s ‘American Hustle’ isn’t just a ‘kitsch fashion and music’-fest.  Director David O. Russell ensures an engaging character study.  Main protagonists wear different types of masks in order to hide their true natures.  Loss of identity is fuelled by rampant egos with increasing danger.  Whilst Irving and Sydney initially proud of their nefarious craftsmanship, they soon become out of their depth and question their actions.  
 
These character traits are perfectly embodied by a strong cast.  They effectively convey their desperation in achieving their often mis-begotten dreams.  The performer’s abilities in switching between comedy and drama are well utilised adding much to ‘American Hustle’s unpredictability.  Although occasionally slow paced it builds to a conclusion as smart and swift as any well-executed con.
 
‘American Hustle’ is a shifty customer worthy of a cinematic outing.  Its guessing game in resolving its many entanglements provide most of the fun as it uncovers the art of dubious brinkmanship.
 
935381 - AMERICAN HUSTLE

Movie Review Rating out of 10:  8
Movie Review by Patrick Moore
Agree with Patrick's Movie Review? Then please use the comment box.
Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.   

 
TRAILER

SOUNDTRACK

A Tony Curtis Moment

 

tumblr_lwuhfrEWbC1qzm4v7o1_500

tumblr_lyvzqxkVMP1r3iq5no1_400

tumblr_l9lmtkL5yB1qchs1zo1_500

tumblr_l9lkp2kMde1qchs1zo1_500

tony curtis

Audra McDonald: Go Back Home (2013)


go back home

Nonesuch releases Audra McDonald's first solo album in seven years Go Back Home. After four seasons spent in Los Angeles playing Dr. Naomi Bennett on ABC's hit medical drama Private Practice, the acclaimed singer and actress returned to New York and Broadway last year, winning her record-tying fifth Tony Award for her role in The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. 
 
With Go Back Home, the Grammy Award-winning soprano, whose voice Stephen Sondheim has hailed as "one of the glories of the American theater," makes her highly anticipated return to recording, presenting her most personal album to date.
Many of the selections on Go Back Home are by composers with whom McDonald has long been associated (Guettel, LaChiusa, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Sondheim, among others), while some songs, including the Kander and Ebb title track, are by names that are relatively new to her repertoire. In addition, McDonald continues her tradition of championing works by an emerging generation of composers, represented on this recording by Adam Gwon, Heisler and Goldrich, and Will Reynolds. 
 
The album was produced by Doug Petty, who also produced McDonald's 2006 release Build a Bridge; musical director Andy Einhorn conducted the ensemble.


Track Listing:

1. Go Back Home

2. The Glamorous Life

3. Baltimore

4. First You Dream

5. Tavern

6. Migratory V

7. Virtue

8. Married Love

9. I'll Be Here

10. Some Days

11. Edelweiss

12. Make Someone Happy


Trivia Bits 14 December

 

  • The boogie-woogie sisters Patty, Maxine and Laverne were better known as The Andrew Sisters.
  • The geometrical shape that forms the hole that fits an Allen wrench is a hexagon.
  • The purpose of the Ugandan practice of fattening huts is the fattening of the bride-to-be for marriage.
  • Taphephobia is the abnormal fear of being buried alive.
  • A mutch would be worn on the head - a close-fitting linen cap formerly worn by women and children in Scotland.
  • The glasshouse in the Adelaide Botanic Park, South Australia is known as the Palm, or tropical, house and is a Victorian glasshouse imported from Bremen, Germany in 1875, opened in 1877 and restored in 1995. As of 2007 it held a collection of Malagasy arid flora.
  • Due to a powerful earthquake in 1811, the powerful Mississippi River appeared to flow backwards.
  • The Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Florida is actually under the water.
  • The nickname of the London 2012 Olympics Velodrome stadium is The Pringle.
  • Malacology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of Molluscs.
  • Rob and Laura Petrie are a happily married couple in the 1960’s classic TV series The Dick van Dyke Show.
  • Pariah is a word for a low caste Hindu of southern India and is used in English to refer to a social outcast.
  • A person is referred to as the Plaintiff when initiating a lawsuit.
  • The three interstate trains that service Adelaide, South Australia are : The Ghan, The Indian Pacific and The Overland.
  • Foxtrot and Tango are the two dances represented in the NATO phonetic alphabet.

Quotables 14 December

 

alber_-einstein_quote_001

Friday, December 13, 2013

A Tippi Hendren Moment

 

tumblr_mgxc10Z6zp1rql0oto1_500

tumblr_mjhp41kw3b1rql0oto1_500

tumblr_kwftzwKrvF1qz5njko1_500

tumblr_mkqdo5xfna1rql0oto1_500

tumblr_mk7s2lfWgo1rql0oto1_500

Trivia Bits 13 December

 

  • A popular North African condiment or hot sauce consisting of piri piri chillis, garlic, olive oil and various spices is called Harissa.
  • Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, it includes a diverse range of habitats from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests, and is recognised as a megadiverse country.
  • Dian Fossey spent her life protecting Mountain Gorillas with her life story being portrayed in Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey, starring Sigourney Weaver and released in 1988.
  • Hats off to Larry was a hit in 1961 for Del Shannon.
  • The British call it Stock Car racing, Australians call it Demolition Derbies.
  • In Physics the capital letter E is the symbol for energy – made famous by Einsteins E=mc2.
  • Synovial fluid in the body serves to lubricate the joints.
  • The Australian platypus is a mammal that lays eggs.
  • The song Food Glorious Food was featured in the Oliver! - a 1960 British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
  • Belgian born actress, Audrey Hepburn, adopted the name Edda van Heemstra because she was in fear of having an English sounding name during World War II.
  • On October 6, 1932, Vera Cruz in Mexico deprived Catholic priests of their citizenship.
  • Photographer and clothing designer Anne Geddes is known for her depictions of babies and motherhood.
  • Horses are measured by the unit of hands in some English-speaking countries, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. With origins in ancient Egypt, it was originally based on the breadth of a human hand but today equal to approximately four inches or 10.16 cms.
  • Englishman John Spilsbury is credited with inventing the jigsaw puzzle. His occupation was a mapmaker and engraver.
  • Dream a Little Dream of Me was sung by Cass Elliot a singing sensation who died in 1974 aged 32 years.

Quotables 13 December

 

AUDREY HEPBURN  QUOTE 001

Thursday, December 12, 2013

A Tina Louise Moment

 

tumblr_m61ll96mWA1qf6jy9o1_r1_500

tumblr_lvp942uNjm1qa70eyo1_500

tina louise

tumblr_lqaq5mk1LP1qiflw2o1_500

TinaTree

Trivia Bits 12 December

 

  • The month of the year that derives its name from the Latin to open is April.
  • Singer Robin Gibb passed away from cancer in 2012 but he had previously survived a train crash in 1967.
  • Winston Church was referring to champagne when he said “In victory you deserve it. In defeat you need it.”
  • Popular dinner party item Fondue originated in Switzerland.
  • The three movies that are part of Baz Luhrman’s Red Curtain Trilogy are Strictly Ballroom, Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge.
  • There are five events that make up the modern pentathlon - pistol shooting, fencing, 200 m freestyle swimming, show jumping, and a 3 km cross-country run.
  • The Greek Goddess Nike, Goddess of Victory appeared on the front of the 2012 Olympic winner’s medals.
  • The Sea of Tranquillity is to be found on the moon.
  • The name of the main lion in the novel Born Free was Elsa.
  • Adobe is the company that markets the Photoshop software.
  • A female ferret is called a Jill.
  • Caesura describes a deliberate pause that breaks up a long line of verse.
  • The word Tiananmen means Gate of Heavenly Peace.
  • Peter Hollingworth, a former Governor General of Australia was previously the Archbishop of Brisbane.
  • The meaning of Anno Domini is Year of the Lord.

Quotables 12 December

 

habit_of_reading

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

A Bay City Rollers Moment

 

The Bay City Rollers 003

Bay-City-Rollers-kilts-IAU7T54

The Bay City Rollers 001

The Bay City Rollers 002

46147_bay_city_rollers_today_les_mckeown_centre

Trivia Bits 11 December

 

  • Apera is the new name for what was originally known in Australia as sherry.
  • Samphire is commonly used to describe plants from the Australian genus of succulent coastal plants.
  • The train that travels from Capetown to Durban is known as The Blue Train, a dedicated five star luxury passenger train travelling in Southern Africa.
  • The Yellowstone Supervolcano is the largest volcano in the world.
  • Nuuk is the capital of Greenland.
  • Jazzman Glen Miller’s exact time and place of death is unknown as he went missing in World War II.
  • English poet, Robert Graves,was severely wounded on the Somne in World War I and wrote a frank autobiography Goodbye To All in 1929.
  • The longest serving presenter of the Australian children’s TV Show Playschool is Benita.
  • All the following are Australian innovations – Chiko Roll, plastic bank notes, dual flush toilet and wine casks.
  • The Lewis Carroll book Alice in Wonderland was banned in China because the animals speaking put them on the same level as humans.
  • If you have the affliction Aeroacrophobia you fear open high spaces.
  • Man made place Las Vegas, Nevada appears brightest from space.
  • Soviet ballet sensation, Rudolf Nureyev, sought political asylum in 1961 to defect to the West.
  • According to folklore, one nap equals 40 winks.
  • Because of their levels of radioactivity, the 1890’s papers and cookbook of Polish born physicist Marie Curie are still kept in lead-lined boxes.

Quotables 11 December

 

formula_for_happiness

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

A Tallulah Bankhead Moment

 

tumblr_ly2oq3TFGP1qabj53o1_500

tumblr_lqvsupSenY1qjp4z6o1_500

circa 1925: Promotional studio portrait of American actor Tallulah Bankhead (1903-1968) wearing a large feather headdress and beaded necklaces, with a dark backdrop.

tumblr_ld7dgz15MF1qazanuo1_500

tumblr_mhhxgsszQo1rt0loto1_500

Trivia Bits 10 December

 

  • The Swiss Guard are charged with the protection of the Pope and have served as bodyguards, ceremonial guards, and palace guards at foreign European courts since the late 15th century.
  • Irish born Hollywood actor, Maureen O’Sullivan is best remembered for her role as Jane Parker in the Tarzan movies.
  • Whitehorse is the capital of the Canadian territory of Yukon.
  • Tom Cruise’s character was involved in Risky Business in the 1983 Paul Brackman teenage movie of the same name.
  • Geomorphology is the branch of geology which deals with the origins of land forms.
  • If not Columbus then the Scandinavian navigator Leif Ericson is credited with discovering America.
  • Prestissimo is a musical term meaning to play in the most rapid tempo.
  • Paul Getty, who had always been vastly, immeasurably wealthy, and yet went around looking like a man who cannot quite remember to turn off the gas before leaving home was written by Bernard Levin in The Pendulum Years
  • Nicknamed Fiery Fred, Fred Stolle played with the Australian Davis Cup Team in 1964, 1965 and 1966.
  • UNESCO is the acronym that refers to the UN body set up in 1946 that is concerned with the provision of education for all and the preservation of culture.
  • Kilkenny is an Irish county that gives its name to a beer and it called Cill Chainnigh in Gaelic.
  • Salisbury is a city in Wiltshire that has a cathedral with the highest spire in England.
  • Buller was a British General in the Boer War and is also the name of a ski resort in Victoria, Australia with a mountain that is 1804 metres above sea level.
  • The Queen Alexandra Bird Wing Butterfly is the largest butterfly in the world. The first European to discover the species was Albert Stewart Meek in 1906, a collector employed by Lord Walter Rothschild to collect natural history specimens from Papua New Guinea. The first specimen was taken with the aid of a small shotgun.
  • Four versions of The Scream were created by Edvard Munch.

Pocketful Of Money

 

money

The only time you will witness this phenomenon in your life. 

 

                                                            August 2014
 

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

 

 

 

 

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next year, the month of August will count 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. This phenomenon occurs only once every 823 years. Chinese people call it: Pocketful of money! 

So... according to the email I received, if you send this to all your friends - in 4 days you will have a pleasant monetary surprise... 

Supposedly based on Chinese Feng Shui. 

Quotables 10 December

 

real_happiness

Monday, December 9, 2013

A Tab Hunter Moment

 

tumblr_kxaxjxg2Ff1qazanuo1_500

tumblr_lry9xsxh6X1qlvjibo1_500

tumblr_mkmcug7gxY1s58j52o1_400

tumblr_lukzp6fdxf1qaqcoao1_500

tumblr_lj1uql85dd1qzi0evo1_500

Trivia Bits 09 December

 

  • The oldest organised religion still practised today is Hinduism.
  • The first Japanese martial art was Judo.
  • The Po is the longest river in Italy that flows approximately 652 km (405 mi) from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re to a delta projecting into the Adriatic Sea near Venice.
  • Rome is often called the Eternal City.
  • On maps of the London Underground, the Bakerloo Line is shown in brown.
  • The Bridget Jones novel series by English novelist and screenwriter Helen Fielding began as a column in The Independent about her single life in London.
  • A siskin is a bird with siskin first recorded in written English in 1562, referring to the Eurasian Siskin, Carduelis spinus.
  • Google began operating in January 1996.
  • The German dog name Dachshund translates as Badger Dog.
  • US President Richard Nixon said There can be no whitewash in the Whitehouse.
  • The Manchurian Candidate was written in 1959 by Richard Condon.
  • Paul Newman and Robert Redford played the main characters in the 1969 movie Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid.
  • Australian jazz group, Galapagos Duck, was formed in 1968 and was named after the Galapagos Islands in the pacific Ocean.
  • Oliver Stone directed both Platoon (1986) and Natural Born Killers (1994).
  • In Greek mythology, Orestes killed his mother and incited the wrath of the Enriyes.
  • British philosopher, Oxford academic and medical researcher, John Locke, is considered to be the founder of British Empiricism.
  • The Plimsoll Line is the line on the hull of British merchant ships that indicates the depth they may be submerged during loading.

Quotables 09 December

 

i_wil_rise_today

Sunday, December 8, 2013

A Susan Hayward Moment

 

Hayward

tumblr_ld8qvgyHdb1qzwdjso1_500

susanhaywardoscar

tumblr_md7yxb2vOG1qgpddwo1_1280

Susan--Hayward-_1958_

Trivia Bits 08 December

 

  • Barcelona is Spain’s second largest city.
  • Aleppo University is in Syria and opened its doors in 1960 consisting of two faculties in Civil Engineering and Agriculture.
  • Rock band U2 comes from Ireland.
  • The capital of Laos is Vientiane.
  • The elephant is the symbol of the US Republican Party.
  • Running Scared was a hit in 1961 recorded by Roy Orbison.
  • The Waldorf Salad is traditionally made of fresh apples, celery and walnuts.
  • The oesophagus connects the mouth and the stomach.
  • Posts on Twitter are restricted to 140 characters.
  • The Adelaide Zoo in South Australia opened in 1883.
  • On the Beaufort Scale, number 12 relates to hurricane force.
  • Mercury is that planet that orbits the sun in the shortest period of time.
  • The title in the TV series Kojak was played by Telly Savalas.
  • On 30th September 1966, landlocked South African country The Republic of Botswana gained independence from the United Kingdom.
  • There are 14 pounds in one stone in Imperial measurement.
  • The Polish capital of Warsaw is on the banks of the River Vistula.
  • The story of poor Cockney girl, Eliza Doolittle, who is transformed into an elegant lady by Professor Higgins is told in the musical My Fair Lady.
  • The middle name of the English author Jerome K Jerome is Klapka.
  • There are six stars on the Australian flag.
  • In a standard open six-string guitar tuning, the two pen E strings are two octaves apart.

Quotables 08 December

 

my mission