Natural Disasters

It seems like an age since I've written on here, but in reality it's only been two weeks. So much has happened since the last post that it feels a lot longer. The day after my last post it seemed that the apocalypse was coming, well for Queensland anyway. Here's the scenario: I rock up to work after taking the day off sick (refer to last post for full details haha). I briefly catch up with a few colleagues about the bizarre and devastating inland tidal wave that had rushed through Toowomba the day before. Many of my colleagues are from the area and whilst their family and loved ones were all okay, I think a lot of them felt quite displaced. The idea that a wave of that magnitude could go through the high set inland town was previously inconceivable particularly for those who had lived there, but was now very much a reality. Whilst we all commented and discussed the tragedy of this event, we all went about our day. A mere two hours later the emergency alarm rang. Next thing I know my manager is talking about evacuation plans and king tides. From there it was a rush to lift valuables up off the ground and contact clients to alert them that the office was shutting indefinitely. Brisbane was going to flood and the prediction was that the water levels would reach higher than those of 1974, which saw much of Brisbane's CBD infiltrated with water. The idea that Brisbane could go under seemed like a foreign concept to me, but I witnessed it. From the safety of my lounge room, thanks to the amazing media coverage, I saw my university UQ go under, I saw one of my favourite restaurant precincts Rosalie destroyed, I saw Riverwalk a place that I had taken visitors from interstate many times literally float away and I saw Suncorp where I'd watch my beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs get thrashed by the Brisbane Broncos literally turn into a giant swamp. From my own neighbourhood, I watched plontoons with lights and park benches on top of them float down the river, I watched Sydney Street ferry terminal be overpowered by the unrelenting tide, I saw a car with water up to its roof top and I watched a poisonous LPG gas tank make its way towards Moreton Bay. This event was unbelievable and left almost no one unaffected. Whilst my home and my workplace were safe, I spent the day leading up to the first king tide helping Tim sandbag his business, I waited with anticipation and hoped with all my strength as one my very best friends was trapped in one of the flood affected suburbs and I watched so many places that I frequent go under water. I have never experienced anything like that in my life and I hope to never again.

E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial MOVIE OF THE WEEK
Director: Steven Spielburg
Starring: Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore and Peter Cyote

Well I think you have to have been sleeping under a rock, under water, in the deepest, darkest swamp in Botswana to have not seen this movie. It was massive both at the box office and amongst the mainstream and like other science fiction movies before it, still to this day has a massive cult following. I think it’s a little hard to really understand why it was and continues to be soo big, but you have to put yourself in the context of when it was made to really get it. Special effects wise, it had been matched by no other (apart from maybe the Star Wars films). It was a unique story and according to my post viewing reading, was inspired by Spielburg’s own childhood (E.T. himself was an imaginary friend Spielburg had as a child). The alien himself was a costume warn at different times throughout the film by two small people and a twelve year old boy who was born without legs. His arms were played by a mime artist and his voice was that of an elderly woman, who chain smoked, hence the husky tone. Pretty interesting hey!

The movie is about an alien by the name of E.T., who is accidentally left behind by his people during a trip to Earth. He is discovered by a young boy Elliot (Henry Thomas), who lures him into his house using lollies. Elliot decides to keep him and only tells his older brother Michael (Robert MacNaughton) about him. Their little sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore) accidentally finds out about him and they swear her to secrecy. The film starts out as being focused on E.T. learning about Earth and its people from his new friends, however he soon starts to become ill and so too does Elliot due to their psychic connection. The children eventually have to confess to their mother Mary (Dee Wallace) about E.T.s existence, as Elliot becomes sicker, but by this stage the government is well aware of E.T. and bust into their home and take it over. In the final scenes Elliot and E.T. both become increasingly sicker and are both dying. In E.T.’s final moments, he breaks his psychic connection with Elliot and the young boy starts to recover, whilst we assume that E.T. has died. Later, as Elliot asks to be alone with the alien’s corpse to say goodbye, a flower in a pot, which died when E.T. did, suddenly comes back to life, symbolising E.T. also coming back. E.T. has been contacted by his people and they are coming for him, which resuscitates him. Elliot and Michael steal one of the government’s vans and with the help of Michael’s friends, as well as E.T.s ability to levitate them off the ground, abduct E.T. and fly on their bicycles over the town, back to the spot where the ship first left E.T. behind so they can return him to his people (who can forget that famous scene with the silhouettes of the boys on their flying bicycles go across the sunset). Mary and Gertie, as well as a sympathetic and dedicated scientist “Keys” (Peter Cyote) meet the boys and E.T. there. They all say goodbye to E.T. and watch his ship return to space.

For me this film is a childhood classic. To be honest with you, I wasn’t looking forward to watching it, just because I had seen it sooooooo many times. But because I was watching it with a purpose I did enjoy it. And here’s an interesting bit of trivia that I found out during my post viewing reading, Robert MacNaughton (Michael) now works as a mail sorter in the American post. Just goes to show that saying of “fifteen minutes of fame” is sometimes closer to the truth then what we think.

8/10

The Dresser
Director: Peter Yates
Starring: Albert Finney, Thomas Courtenay, Zena Walker and Eileen Atkins

Hmmm, I’m still not sure about this film. It was definitely different, but I just don’t think I liked it. The film is about a Shakespearean theatre company in England during World War II. The film stars Albert Finney as “Sir” the head actor and creator of the company, who appears to be suffering with a form of dementia. The film is about the company’s struggle to perform King Lear, a play that they have performed many times before, but this particular performance is being jeopardised by Sir’s progressive condition. He not only struggles to remember his lines, but has frequent outbursts, which are non-sensical and stop him from being able to perform. The film tracks the lead up to this performance and focuses on the relationship between Sir and his dresser Norman (Thomas Courtenay). Norman appears to be the only one who can get through to Sir, is the only one who can calm him down, but at the same time is often the victim of Sir’s abuse and ego. The performances on screen mirror that of the theatre and particularly the dramatic nature of Shakespearean plays. Sir is the “fallen hero”, the veteran and legendary actor, who is well past his prime and is doomed for a tragic end, like many of Shakespeare’s leading men. The other characters in the film are merely parts of Sir’s world and do not have lives in their own right. Norman’s life is about pandering to Sir’s every need, although he does show an inner strength that one would assume he would not have given his chosen line of work. At various points he stands up for himself against Sir’s abuse and he is steadfast in defending Sir against those in the company who doubt he can perform. There’s Her Ladyship (Zena Walker), who is Sir’s wife, who appears to be so passive and so far removed from her husband, that one could argue Norman is almost playing the part of dresser, servant, friend and wife in her place. Then there’s the stage manager Madge (Eileen Atkins), who has dedicated her life to Sir’s company and has sacrificed her own happiness because of her love for him, even knowing that he would never love her back. In the end, Sir is able to live up to his legendary reputation and perform King Lear for his audience, even with the sirens going off the in background signifying that there may be about to be an air raid. In the final scene, Sir shows Norman the first draft of his biography. The only part he has written is the dedication. In this dedication he makes note of all those who work in the theatre from actors to electricians. Norman is very hurt by this, as he has made no mention of him personally or acknowledge the role of the dresser in his dedication to the theatre. Sir then dies, leaving Norman feeling ungratified and although he has wasted his life, as Sir even in his dying minutes could not tell him how much he appreciated him. The film ends shortly after.

I appreciate that this film was different and in its own way almost seemed like a dedication to the theatre. However, I did not enjoy it very much and found it quite peculiar and a bit boring.

I give it a 3/10!

Until next time “I’ll be right here” (ET, ET: The Extra Terrestrial)