The Light Between Oceans is a 2016 period drama based on the novel of the same name. An international co-production between the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand, the film stars Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz, Bryan Brown, and Jack Thompson. The film tells the story of a lighthouse keeper and his wife who rescue and adopt an infant girl adrift at sea. Years later, the couple discovers the child’s true parentage and are faced with the moral dilemma of their actions.
Tom Sherbourne has been traumatized by WWI. He feels a terrible guilt because he survived the war when so many others didn’t. He takes a solitary job as a lighthouse keeper and falls in love with Isabel…something he never expected. He is willing to do anything for Isabel’s happiness. Even sacrifice his principles. But when he realizes he can’t continue, he’s willing to go to prison for her.
It’s a poignant, touching movie with brilliant scenery and beautiful music. Get your hankies ready. FYI: Michael Fassbinder and Alicia Vikander fell in love during the filming of this movie.
Hokey Pokey
The recipe I chose is a candy made in New Zealand. Hence the Chelsea white sugar and Golden Syrup. I’m assuming you can substitute. I’m going to try this one soon!
Grease the base and sides of a 9X9 tin with butter.
Place Chelsea White Sugar and Chelsea Golden Syrup into a heavy-based saucepan. Heat gently, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves.
Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Boil for two minutes. Stir occasionally, if necessary, to prevent burning. Remove from heat. Add the baking soda and stir very quickly – the mixture will froth up rapidly.
Pour into prepared tin immediately. Leave until cold and set then break into pieces.
Coat hokey pokey pieces in melted chocolate for an extra special treat!
Awakenings is a 1990 film based on British neurologist Oliver Sack’s 1973 memoir, directed by Penny Marshall. In 1969 the doctor discovered the beneficial effects of the drug L-Dopa when administered to catatonic patients who survived the 1916-28 encephalitis lethargica epidemic. Leonard Lowe and the rest of the patients were awakened after decades of catatonia and have to deal with a new life in a new time.
Passengers is a move starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. If you went to see it, expecting something like Firefly or Star Wars, you were probably disappointed. It isn’t an on the edge of your seat action movie that takes place on some starship in outer space. It’s about relationships and what loneliness will do to you.
Lobster
Last Sunday my sister and I went to see Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, and it’s been on my mind ever since. Stark and gripping, the film allows viewers to experience the events set into motion the end of May and the first of June in 1940.
the beaches of Dunkirk. It was written, co-produced and directed by Christopher Nolan and told from three perspectives—the land, the sea and the air.At first, it was difficult to follow the non-linear narrative, especially since the time frame varies from one week to one day to one hour and switches from one to another throughout the movie. On land, we see a week’s events through the eyes of Tommy, a young British private and Commander Bolton caught in the middle of a seemingly hopeless situation. By sea, we join Mr. Dawson and his son who volunteer to head to Dunkirk the day before. In the air, we see what happens in an hour when three Spitfires take on the German Luftwaffe.
It contains little dialogue, projecting the suspense through the visuals and music. Written to accommodate the intensity of Hans Zimmer’s music, we heard the sound of a ticking clock throughout the movie. Thousands of extras were employed, and boats that had participated in the real Dunkirk evacuation were used, as well as using genuine era-appropriate planes for aerial sequences. Nolan was also adamant that the entire cast be British.
The reaction of the soldiers on the beach, hoping to be rescued and wondering if they would ever see home again, the frustration of British officers trying to achieve the impossible, the resolve of the pilots, and the selfless courage of those men who piloted the little ships of Dunkirk.
My sister and I stumbled across this movie years ago and it’s become one of our go-to films, because it’s such a simple little story of how two damaged people open up and learn to love.
(Reviewed this movie a couple of years ago. Watched it again last week. Enjoyed it as much as the first time, maybe even more.)
Last weekend my sister and I took the chance on another movie we hadn’t seen advertised and didn’t know anything about. It turned out to be a very good choice.
When my sisters and I were little, sometimes my parents let us stay up late to watch an old black and white classic. Other times they took us to the drive-in. There we piled into the back seat in our pajamas with pillows and blankets, watching a double feature.
Prepare time: 30 min
Every once in a while a good western comes along. And it’s even more surprising when it’s a remake. I don’t know how many of you have seen the 1960 version of The Magnificent Seven with Yul Brenner, but it’s a re-imagination of the 1954 Japanese film call Seven Samurai. That makes the 2016 version the third time around.
