Posts tagged World War I
MOVIE REVIEW: The Light Between Oceans

One could say melodramas take preposterous human mistakes and play them for dramatic effect.  They challenge the audience to interpret how you would act defiantly or morally differently in the same situation.  These films do so while still compelling you watch in hope for any semblance of a happy ending.  To understand “The Light Between Oceans” is to understand melodrama.  The themes of melodramatic journeys are meant to be arduous.  In the medium of film, the clinchers that aid in the ability to embrace and appreciate a melodrama are its tone and the acting performances.  “The Light Between Oceans” flourishes to accomplish both benchmarks.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Sunset Song

Beloved in its homeland of Scotland, Lewis Grassic Gibbon's 1932 novel "Sunset Song" is revered for its detailed and poignant tale of peasant life and the place of women during the transitional times of the early 20th century.  The novel has been a long-gestating passion project for highly regarded British filmmaker Terence Davies.  Brought to life with moments of 65mm grandeur, his sumptuously crafted and carefully refined film adaptation is another jewel in the filmmaker's crown, though one not without its source material's difficulties.

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MOVIE REVIEW: The Water Diviner

"The Water Diviner" arrives as the directorial debut of Oscar-winning Australian actor Russell Crowe.  Released last year in his home country, Crowe's film was the highest grossing film in Australia for 2014 and netted three Australian Academy Awards last year including Best Film.  In an industry where everyone is constantly being compared and measured against their peers, most will to prognosticate Crowe already.  Does he have it in him to be the next Robert De Niro behind the director's chair, the next Kevin Costner, or the next Clint Eastwood?  Let's vote for "none of the above" and give him some time.  Fashioned better than most directorial debuts, "The Water Diviner" isn't perfect, but it's a solid start from Russell Crowe climbing into a new chair.

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