RUSSELL CROWE DIRECTS AND STARS IN THE WATER DIVINER

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyBJrYsLiaZhVNSUIbluK9CEiOC6Uc2TjvnxOOG1oNz_v68IyuxuAps9hZwP9wmwYqhiE8sTHz1MRRmrsTcUUo41qdX4c0nuhR-PkL71YJaw5YYTQRGjR1BNw0IuFfQ4tahZQyRD_Q0M/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyBJrYsLiaZhVNSUIbluK9CEiOC6Uc2TjvnxOOG1oNz_v68IyuxuAps9hZwP9wmwYqhiE8sTHz1MRRmrsTcUUo41qdX4c0nuhR-PkL71YJaw5YYTQRGjR1BNw0IuFfQ4tahZQyRD_Q0M/s320/Picture+1.png" width="233" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> Some of us who are more well viewed than well read only know history through cinema, and anyone who has experienced the Australian anti war epic GALLIPOLI, directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee has, as viewers, been through the ringer, in droves. And now actor and first time feature-length director Russell Crowe turns the tables while providing a brand new setting as THE WATER DIVINER serves up tea and sympathy back in Turkey, four years after the bloody battle. <br /> <br /> While centering on Crowe’s Connor, a hopeless widower on a journey to locate and bury his three dead soldier sons, it’s more of an overall chance to make amends – to the Turks. For example, a cold Catholic priest, where Connor owns a sparse Australian farm and has the ability to seek out water beneath dead soil, refuses to bury his wife on sacred ground – far contrasting from the Turkish Muslim locals who provide help later on, but not without obstacles including sporadic bouts of racism towards Connor, who, upon arrival, winds up at a quaint hotel owned by a much too beautiful widow; although Olga Kurylenko is a good actress and makes the role work despite seeming a bit too... Hollywoodish. Yet the real connections are between Connor and her resilient son, and especially a wise Turkish major played by Yilmaz Erdogan, a sort of Omar Sharif to Crowe’s quiet yet strong-willed "Lawrence". <br /> <br /> While not a perfect film, often brooding too long in arthouse sentiment whenever the potential for suspense or adventure arises, there is a quaint, gentle aura to the historic location and the characters absorbing it.

2015, jai courtney, russell crowe, war

RUSSELL CROWE DIRECTS AND STARS IN THE WATER DIVINER

year: 2015 rating: *** Some of us who are more well viewed than well read only know history through cinema, and anyone who has experienc...

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitna5fMciZ2le4f_0ljRBGKhY3AX_Mk_4Rx8EuGm15shRtjGFCmPh96uw185tCRnN4_5OdqXcwt-Hx5mLISlVuSEz9T6MPmiERpfpHvUTGnOh7a9LbVRF5JEz46P8AadcRAoaki9EjfSI/s1600/gooddaytodiehard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitna5fMciZ2le4f_0ljRBGKhY3AX_Mk_4Rx8EuGm15shRtjGFCmPh96uw185tCRnN4_5OdqXcwt-Hx5mLISlVuSEz9T6MPmiERpfpHvUTGnOh7a9LbVRF5JEz46P8AadcRAoaki9EjfSI/s640/gooddaytodiehard.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year:</b> 2013 <b>cast:</b> Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Cole Hauser <b>rating:</b> ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> “I’m on vacation,” John McClane replies (minus a particular “adjective”) after a long busy day firing machine guns, crashing a truck through a crowded freeway and surviving other dangerous situations to aid his wayward son Jack, a secret agent in Moscow hired to protect an important witness from being killed by a big bad crime syndicate. <br /> <br /> The witness, along with a "secret file" everyone wants to get their hands on, is the plot in a nutshell, which matters little in this action-packed fifth outing of the DIE HARD franchise. Even Jack's sporadic gripes about John not being a good father are lost in the bombastic glory. <br /> <br /> Bruce Willis has aged perfectly for the kind of character he’s become. A grizzled, experienced cop who, at first, merely tags along as his son takes charge, has more than a few tricks up his sleeve to make the risk-taking not only riskier, but he gets results. <br /> <br /> There are a few twists – twists upon twists, actually – but these should be kept secret. Not that they add or subtract from what’s gonna happen anyway: a lot of bloody gunfights and one… or actually… two maverick Americans turning Moscow, and eventually Chernobyl, into their own bullet-ridden playground. <br /> <br /> The nice thing is the movie isn’t very long, and though there’s not much to follow but a very basic “stay alive so you don’t get killed” template, the father/son teamup, especially Willis’s snarky tomcat with more than nine lives to spare, are fun to watch as they bond throughout the constant pandemonium.

2013, action, bruce willis, franchise, jai courtney

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD

year: 2013 cast: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Cole Hauser rating: *** “I’m on vacation,” John McClane replies (minus a...