And I think it’s gonna be a long long time
‘Till touch down brings me round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I’m a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone.
Taken from the song Rocket Man by Elton John from his studio album Honky Château (1972), which is the title to the upcoming biopic of the phenomenally talented English musician. I’ve also posted Can you Feel the Love Tonight, which is my favourite. Feel free to share yours.
Let’s dance in style, let’s dance for a while
Heaven can wait we’re only watching the skies
Taken from the song Forever Young from the 1984 debut album of the same name by the German band Alphaville. Though not a success in either the UK or US, the song has been covered numerous times and was memorably used in the film Napoleon Dynamite.
Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with that there is.
As said by the elderly fisherman Santiago in the maritime novella The Old Man and the Sea (1952) by American literary giant Ernest Hemingway. Widely considered to be one of the all-time great works, it won Hemingway a Pulitzer Prize and was instrumental in gaining him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.
I quoted Charlie Brown recently, with a photo from the very fun exhibition at Somerset House, Good Grief,Charlie Brown! But i just had to add some more to give you a sense of how great it was to see the Charles M. Schulz’s characters brought to life again.
And a bonus message
Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly — they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.
As said by Helmholtz Watson, an Alpha-Plus lecturer at the College of Emotional Engineering, in the dystopian novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Published in 1932, the literary masterpiece tells of a future where genetically modified citizens have their future careers programmed, war and violence has been removed and the government assisted drug Soma is encouraged to remove any thoughts of unhappiness.
Out on a walk, I saw this gorgeous combination of colour, shape and outline and just had to share it with you all.
I’ve always liked ferris wheels, especially after watching the pivotal scene in The Third Man. So if you like what you see above, why not check out this shot from the same event last year, this photo from Leicester Square or the famous Prater Wheel in Vienna.
“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it”
So said the supremely gifted writer Roald Dahl, and it could easily be used for all the naysayer critics who have panned Now You See Me. The latest effort by French director Louis Leterrier thrusts magic into the spotlight, giving it top bill and centre stage with all manner of tricks, illusions and slights of hand. And what a delight it is, skating along at a glorious pace, with spectacular sets and surprises aplenty.
It all begins shrouded in mystery when four highly-talented magicians are each brought together by specifically designed tarot cards. Arrogant showman J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), his glamorous former assistant Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) who has since made it as an escapologist, cocky mind-reader and hypnotist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) and pickpocket extraordinaire Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), discover a set of highly developed plans. Working together, it’s clear they will be part of something very secretive and very special. For once, they are in the dark.
Now established as “The Four Horsemen” and on the cusp of super stardom; they announce on stage their grand finale. Something never done before. To rob a bank.. You don’t get that from X-factor. Before a flabbergasted audience, a bank is robbed before their very eyes!
Grumpy agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) is on the case and struggles to take magic seriously; something that is making it harder for him to solve the case. Throw in the insightful former magician Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) with his own agenda, and you have all kinds of cat and mouse games. And a finale full of elaborate shocks. This is one magic show that will leave you all chasing shadows.
With a strong cast, confident direction and an imaginative screenplay, Now You See Me is full of flamboyant panache. With sets in Vegas, New York and Paris, and with high speed chases, amusing interrogation scenes and distinctive action scenes, it’s certainly not dull. The maverick four are an unusual but inspired line up, with the wisecracking dynamic and differing skills neatly playing out.
Those that aren’t into magic should still get a kick from the reveals, but the big message of the film is that magic is so much fun even when on the outside looking in. It’s easy to say that there are suspensions of belief, that the characters should be better rounded and that the ending should have a more mysterious note, but magic is never a mathematical science. Sometimes, it’s all just about entertaining the audience.
If he loved you with all the power of his soul for a whole lifetime, he couldn’t love you as much as I do in a single day.
Heathcliffe (Laurence Olivier) in Wuthering Heights (1939)
Alex Raphael 