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Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, a review by DJ Doena

May, 3rd


Russell Crowe    ...    Capt. Jack Aubrey
Paul Bettany   ...    Dr. Stephen Maturin, Surgeon
James D'Arcy   ...    1st Lt. Tom Pullings
Edward Woodall   ...    2nd Lt. William Mowett
Chris Larkin   ...    Capt. Howard, Royal Marines
Max Pirkis   ...    Blakeney, Midshipman
Billy Boyd    ...    Barrett Bonden, Coxswain

Synopsis:My Opinion:

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2009 on May 3rd, 2009)

Ocean of an Old Man, a review by Danae Cassandra

Ocean of an Old Man
Year of Release: 2008
Directed By: Rajesh Shera
Starring: Tom Alter
Genre: Drama

Overview:
In the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and amid the stunning natural beauty of India's Andaman and Nicobar islands, an elderly British teacher struggles to run a small primary school despite the loss of many of the islands' children to the recent tragedy. Ignoring the overwhelming grief that washes over the islands, he continues to teach his few remaining students until a government official delivers a relocation order to all residents, causing him to embark on a heartbreaking search for his missing students, convinced they must still be alive.

Blending exquisite vistas with the ubiquitous sound of the ocean to convey the precarious balance between human life and the inexorable forces of nature, Rajesh Shera's debut feature quietly unfolds as a delicate meditation on grief and loss.

My Thoughts:
This is a nearly wordless meditation on grief and loss. How does one cope in the aftermath of unimaginable tragedy? How do you go on, seeing the empty spaces once inhabited?

This is the first movie filmed in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, and it's a good thing that the setting is beautiful, because this is a slow, slow film. It held my attention, but I enjoy a story that plays out slowly. Not that there's much of a story here. It's really more of a study of this teacher trying to deal with the loss of his family, his young pupils, his home, as well as the future and an entire way of life.

This is a very low budget film, but it really doesn't need more money. Tom Alter does an excellent job conveying the depth of the teacher's grief and his increasing desperation to find any of his missing pupils. In many ways what The Old Man and the Sea should have been, in that here you see everything instead of it being told by a narrator. Recommended only if you have a background in slow film however.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 3/5

(From March Around the World 2016 on March 11th, 2016)

Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews, a review by Tom

VOY 3.22 Real Life
Writer: Jeri Taylor (Screenwriter), Harry Doc. Kloor (Original Material By)
Director: Anson Williams
Cast: Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway), Robert Beltran (Commander Chakotay), Roxann Dawson (Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres), Jennifer Lien (Kes), Robert Duncan McNeill (Lieutenant Tom Paris), Ethan Phillips (Neelix), Robert Picardo (The Doctor), Tim Russ (Lieutenant Tuvok), Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim), Wendy Schaal (Charlene), Glenn Harris (Jeffrey), Lindsey Haun (Belle), Stephen Ralston (Larg), Chad Haywood (K'Kath)

Another great doctor episode. He wants to learn what it is to have a family and creates himself the perfect Brady Bunch as his family. After B'Elanna sees this, she convinces him to make the family more realistic which leads for him having to cope with a difficult family life with real tragedy thrown in.
The B-Plot on the other hand is really boring. The anamoly of the week is endangering Voyager yet again.

P/T moment:
Tom catches B'Elanna reading a trashy Klingon romance novel.



Rating:

(From Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews on September 28th, 2009)