My reviews of EVERY “Star Wars” film including “The Force Awakens”
December 20th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
For the 17th time in my life, this weekend I went to the cinema to see a “Star Wars” movie. As you will know – unless you’ve been in an alternate universe for the last couple of years – the seventh film in the franchise opened this weekend and I was there with other expectant and hopeful fans.
If you want to read my reviews of all seven “Star Wars” films, click here. If you just wish to view my review of “The Force Awakens”, click here.
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A Christmas performance of Handlel’s “Messiah”
December 19th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This weekend, Vee and I went along to the Royal Albert hall in London for a splendid performance of “Messiah” composed by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). Amazingly Handel wrote this oratorio over the course of just 24 days in the summer of 1741. The work consists of 53 pieces which take over two hours to perform.
We had terrific seats – on the arena floor, just five rows from the front. We had one full orchestra with organ, three large choirs, four distinguished solo singers, all overlooked by two huge Christmas trees. The conductor Brian Wright invited the audience to stand for the mighty “Hallelujah”.
You can see and hear a rendition of the “Hallelujah” from “Messiah” – another version sung at the Royal Albert Hall – here (be sure to turn up the volume):
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How to use time well
December 18th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
People often ask me how I manage to do so much – and I answer simply that “I plan”.
This Friday’s visit to the Life Skills section of my web site is a highlight of my advice on “How to use time well” which you can read here.
Even I will be taking it easy over Christmas and the New Year though!
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A review of the new film “Carol”
December 18th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I’ve had a really good week for moviegoing – first “Brooklyn” and now “Carol”. Both are set in New York in the 1950s and could be regarded as women’s films but I loved them. See my review of “Carol” here.
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A review of the new film “Brooklyn”
December 17th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
It is most certainly not a blockbuster; it’s galaxies apart from the new “Star Wars” movie (which I am dying to see); but “Brooklyn” is a gem of a movie which I heartily recommend. You can read my review here.
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Why is the American middle class so anxious and why is Donald Trump doing so well?
December 16th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
One of the most astute commentators on the American political and economic scene is Robert Reich and he has just written this short article explaining why so many Americans are so anxious and seeking solace from “a strongman who’d promise to protect them from all the chaos”.
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The danger in the South China Sea
December 15th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Five years ago, I did a posting which pointed out:
“We think of the Middle East as the most likely location for global conflict, but the South China Sea is the scene of many worrying developments. China has declared that it views the South China Sea as a “core” interest and is beginning to deploy more military muscle in the area, while the United States continues to insist that it has a “national interest” in freedom of navigation in the Sea.”
Meanwhile the situation has become much more tense, largely as a result of the more interventionist approach being adopted by China which is building a range of artificial islands and deploying a sizeable naval force in the region.
China is bound by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which it has ratified. The law states that sub-sea structures, such as reefs, cannot be claimed as sovereign coastline and that building artificial structures on top of them does not turn them in to sovereign territory either.
Yet China has reclaimed or built upon no less than seven reefs and laid claim to almost all of the South China Sea. It takes an aggressive stance towards anyone trying to sail or fly near those reefs as you can see from this new BBC report. It is only a matter of time before there is an international incident in these disputed waters.
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The Darlington Christmas letter 2015
December 14th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Each year, Vee and I send out a Christmas letter with our Christmas card to those with whom we have been in too little touch in the course of the previous 12 months. It’s a way of keeping friends up-to-date with our lives and activities and seems to be popular. You can now read this year’s Christmas letter here.
In fact, since I became an Internet user, I’ve been putting our Christmas letters on my web site with some photographs and hyperlinks. The latest letter is the 20th. So, if you have the time and inclination, you could look at the text of earlier letters – or just glance at the photos – here.
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Ever heard of Louie Zamperini?
December 14th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Like most non-Americans I guess, I’d never heard of Louis “Louie” Zamperini before Angelina Jolie made a film about him.
It is a truly remarkable story: someone who represented the United States in the 5,000 metres at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and then, during his war service as a bombardier with the USAAF, somehow survived drifting in the Pacific for an amazing 47 days, only to find himself a prisoner of war who was brutalised by his Japanese captors.
You can read my review of “Unbroken” here.
Posted in Cultural issues, History | Comments (0)
The rise and rise of Alicia Vikander
December 13th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Nine months ago, I did a blog posting which began: “You may not have heard of her but, believe me, you will.” This was a reference to the Swedish actress Alicia Vikander.
Well, to confirm that 2015 has been her break-out year, today the “Observer” newspaper devotes three pages to an interview with her.
I have now seen her in four of her films and I believe that she is a special talent.
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