All I See Is You

I liked this film.  It can be best described as a psychodrama but what I liked the most about the film was the way it showed the vision of Gina, the main character, or lack of it, to the viewer.

Overall, I would say that this is an average film, but I have not seen one showing visual impairment so well, both from the perspective of the affected person, but also the helplessness that they can experience.  It had an engaging plot, one that focused on the needs of Gina and the insecurities of Jason.

Coming from a personal family background where abuse did take place, I thought that the issues of control were shown quite well.  I know that many have not liked it, but I think that they overlook the main message of the film, that being the effects of blindness on her person affected and the family along with how recovery can change things. 

Am I glad I watched it?  Yes.  I would have been happy to have paid to watch it in the cinema, and if someone is to watch it, I would recommend it to them if they want to empathise with someone with visual impairment, for when it came to that, it addressed this issue really well.  

The Lie

This is an average film which I will not be watching again. While marketed as a horror film, I would argue that it is a black psychological drama with an engaging plot, but a slow story at times.  While I did find it funny at times, I am not sure it was meant to be so.  Would I have been happy to pay for it? I would not have been unhappy.  But this is a film I doubt I would recommend, as there are so many other films out there which are better. 

Cruel intentions

I liked this film. Not as much as Dangerous Liaisons, but I can see the appeal of this to young adults and teenagers. If you do compare it to its more adult counterpart, only Sarah Michelle Gellar and Reese Witherspoon compare in acting ability. You truly appreciate the skill John Malkovich, Ryan Phillippe not coming close to his skill. Selma Blair again does not match Uma Thurman, but this may be down to the film itself as opposed to the ability of the actresses. 

In its own right, it is great, in places. But if you want to appreciate the story fully as a film, watch Dangerous Liaisons. 

Trump and Article 5 of the NATO rules

Article 5 provides that if a NATO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, each & every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members & will take the actions it deems NECESSARY to assist the Ally attacked.

I have stated before that I have concerns that Trump would support nations of NATO if Russia attacked.  Many think that he would obey Article 5.  I think that he would and would take the actions that he felt was necessary to assist the ally which had been attacked. And I suspect that such actions would in essence, be nothing.

 

We lost

Yesterday I was out to a work do. While there, a Chelski fan told me the score. He was optimistic of his results today saying that his team would be above Arsenal in the league. He will not be laughing now. The loss is a shame, as is the red card for Saliba as he will miss the Liverpool game. I know Match of the Day said it was deserved but I disagree.

Anyway, here is hoping we do well in Europe at least. 

My kids and travelling

My son has a concert to go to this week. My daughter has been in London this weekend. My wife and I have realised that we need to make sure that both are better equipped to travel in London.

We both grew up in or close to the city and were used to travelling by The Tube or by bus.  When we took my daughter down to London, we realised that we had taken things for granted as while we were used to travelling on the system, they were not. My daughter now hopefully is better prepared for it, but I am not sure with my son.

My Mum, who lives in London, has asked about my son travelling down to see her. But I had to remind her that it would take him three hours to get to her and three hours to get back.  The train journey from Colchester to Liverpool Street station is an hour, if there is no engineering work, he would have to use The Tube, and then there is the walk to and from the stations at both sides of the journey. Once I pointed that out, she accepted that would not be happening l hopefully we will see her next weekend, but we have to get there early as otherwise a drive of ninety minutes can take three hours in traffic. 

Rapid prosecutions worked with the Farage Riots, just as they did in 2011

Those on the right are in outrage over the conviction of Lucy Connolly. Connolly posted a call for hotels housing migrants to be set on fire and for "mass deportation now" adding, "If that makes me racist, so be it," which is a view that many on the right appear to agree with. In court, the prosecutor stated "She then goes on to say that if she were to get arrested she would 'play the mental health card'." Sadly, she lost a child before, and there are those on the right referring to the mental health card which she played.  This is despite how the wife of a Conservative councillor admitted stirring up racial hatred. Of course, those journalists and politicians who argue for her case on social media ‘forget’ these issues so that they can encourage outrage. 

Those in favour of the Farage Riots have complained about the speed of prosecutions, this being something that helped (Keir Starmer) to stop the riots in 2011.  There have also been complaints that people have been prosecuted for posts on social media, again, this happening in 2011, people being jailed back then even when no disorder arose. 

Others have complained about human rights, but the UK is part of the European Court of Human Rights and that protects us, including the rioters, from having our human rights abused. 

The bottom line is that the methods used to end the riots in 2011 worked this year. The only people I will listen to about this are those who raised concerns back then. 

A bet with my son about the US election

 

I have had a bet with my son about the US elections.  He is sure that Kamal Harris will win.  I am certain that she will win the popular vote, but I think that Trump will win the Electoral College, again.  

While changes to voting laws have been made, and appealed, too many of those on the right are determined not to let the Democrats win again, by fair or foul means.  But, that may not be needed.  Trump is making progress with voter groups which previously voted for the Democrats.  And this will be crucial in the swing states.  An example of this is with Michigan where there are large numbers of Muslim voters who will vote for neither candidate, which means lost votes for Harris in a state she needs to win.  

BTW, the bet is for £10.  And I already owe him money. 

The Gathering

A great cast, but a bad film. It starts of below average and goes downhill before returning to its previous levels. The basic plot was good but failed as the film progressed, the acting was adequate, but that is as good as it gets. In summary, do not watch this film. Watch the trailer instead. 

Newcastle

My wife and I had a few days in Newcastle last week.  We went up on Tuesday night.  I got into a bit of trouble as I was late from work.  We actually went to Durham first, but the hotel she had booked was locked up!  There was a note on the front telling us to ring a number, but there was no answer.  It was just before midnight when we arrived and we ended up booking another much nicer place to stay (my wife got her money back about the stay).  

Come the morning, we saw some of the sights of Durham as we went to Newcastle for her conference.  I had to do a little bit of work and we checked into the amazing room she had booked.  It was a club room, which meant that we had access to the Club Lounge.  We appreciated that on Thursday morning as breakfast was packed and the lounge served breakfast as well.  Not as good as that in the main restaurant, but a good one and one where there were no queues. I spent Thursday exploring Newcastle and I was going to explore the Keep when my wife called me and I walked back to the hotel to have lunch with her instead.

On Friday, I did get to explore the Keep.  While it was a bit pricey to explore it, it is in essence a historical charity and I thought the experience was worth it, and much better than seeing the Black Gate, which was also included in the ticket price.  I was concerned that I would not understand people there as I have had some bad experiences with the accent, but once people listened to me talking, they dropped out of Geordie.  And they were so nice there.  If it was not so cold and wet, it might be a nice place to live!  I say that as we are spoiled living in Colchester which is much dryer than most of the country.

The kids were glad to see us, as was Leia who has been a lot more clingy as she was left at the dog sitters over this time.  

Never Forget

On this day last year, Hamas launched an attack on Israeli civilians designed to elicit a response from Israel. I was shocked and appalled at the attack, and as more details came out, even more so.

Israel is wrong to steal Palestinian land in The West Bank. Israel was wrong to impose the blockade on Gaza (just as Hamas was wrong to fire missiles into Israel). But the barbarity of the attack, designed to murder civilians was inexcusable. Worse, the way that the murders were live-streamed, or recorded and uploaded on Social Media was designed to rekindle the collective memory of The Holocaust and bring about a response from Israel, and also the world afterwards.

There is no longer any reasonable justification for Israel to continue its war in Gaza, other than a desire to bring about Ethnic Cleansing. While Hamas went out of its way to kill civilians, Israel is not targeting civilians, but cares little for civilian casualties. We saw that when they killed Israeli hostages who had escaped, deaths of civilians which would have never been reported if they were not Israeli, as the excuse of them being terrorists would have been accepted by the west. 

Some will think it is silly for me to post these images, but Jews know what happened to them under the Nazi’s when they were subjected to genocide. Hamas wanted to remind the Jewish people of this when they carried out their appalling atrocities last year.