Archive for February, 2023
A review of the Indian blockbuster “RRR”
February 24th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
This Indian-made Telegu-language movie is one of the craziest that I’ve ever seen but it is immensely entertaining. Let’s start with that enigmatic title which doesn’t appear on screen until 40 minutes into the story. The initials stand for different things in different languages used in India. In English, they mean Rise, Roar, Revolt. But […]
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A review of the classic 1959 French film “The 400 Blows”
February 22nd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
This French-language, black and white film was the first made by François Truffaut who both directed it and wrote the screenplay. It is partly autobiographical and tells the story of 13 year old Antoine Doinel played by the only slightly older Jean-Pierre Léaud. Truffaut went on to make a further four films with Léaud, but […]
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Revisiting my review of “All Quiet On The Western Front”
February 21st, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Now that the film remake of “All Quiet On The Western Front” has this week won seven BAFTA Awards, I think it’s a good time to revisit my review of the work to which I’ve now add a footnote. I’ve not read the novel by Erich Maria Remarque (1929) but I have seen the Academy […]
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A review of “The Joy Of Science” by Jim Al-Khalili
February 13th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Jameel “Jim” Al-Khalili is an Iraqi-British scientist who is professor of theoretical physics and chair in the public engagement in science at the University of Surrey. He is well-known for his writing and broadcasting in which he explains difficult concepts in an accessible manner. This short and simple book contains little new to anyone who […]
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A review of the important new film “Women Talking”
February 12th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
I really enjoyed the 2012 film “Take This Waltz” written and directed by the Canadian Sarah Polley, but we’ve had to wait a decade for her next fiction film “Women Talking”. This is based on a fiction work which in turn was inspired by real events. The fiction work was the best-selling 2018 novel by […]
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An interesting scientific question for you
February 8th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
If you were able to fly at the speed of light while holding a mirror in front of your face, would you see your own reflection? The answer is: yes – because the speed of light in a vacuum is a fundamental constant of nature. This question and answer comes from “The Joy Of Science” […]
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A review of the cult movie “Manhunter”
February 5th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
In 1991, “The Silence Of The Lambs” was a massive hit and seemingly introduced the cinematic world to Dr Hannibal Lecter (played by Anthony Hopkins). There was a sequel “Hannibal” (2001) and two prequels “Red Dragon” (2002) and “Hannibal Rising” (2007). However, actually it all started in cinematic terms – the series of four novels […]
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The man in charge of how the United States is spending $400 billion to shift away from fossil fuels
February 3rd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
This is the kind of news that gives me hope that we can combat the climate emergency. “Deep in the confines of the hulking, brutalist headquarters of the US Department of Energy, down one of its long, starkly lit corridors, sits a small, unheralded office that is poised to play a pivotal role in America’s […]
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A review of the new Indian film “Gangubai Kathiawdi”
February 2nd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Non-Indian viewers will initially be mystified by the title of this Hindi-language film, but it refers to a real person on whose life the work is loosely based. She is Ganga Jagjivandas Kathiawadi whose story was documented in the book “Mafia Queens Of Mumbai” written by S. Hussain Zaidi. In spite of this true life […]
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