Patriots Redown: October 2010

Game 4 – Monday 4 October 2010 – Patriots won – Away

New England Patriots: 0 6 21 14 - 41
Miami Dolphins: 7 0 7 0 - 14

Total game points equal 55. Patriots 74.55% of the points. Dolphins 25.45% of the points


Game 5 – Sunday 17 October 2010 – Patriots won – Home

New England Patriots 7 0 3 10 3 - 23
Baltimore Ravens 3 7 7 3 0 - 20

Total game points equal 43. Patriots 53.49% of the points. Ravens 46.51% of the points


Game 6 – Sunday 24 October 2010 – Patriots won – Away

New England Patriots 7 6 7 3 - 23
San Diego Chargers 3 0 0 17 - 20

Total game points equal 43. Patriots 53.49% of the points. Chargers 46.51% of the points


Game 7 – Sunday 31 October 2010 – Patriots won - Home

New England Patriots 0 7 14 7 - 28
Minnesota Vikings 0 7 3 8 - 18

Total game points equal 46. Patriots 60.87% of the points. Vikings 39.13% of the points

New England Patriots logo is from the website wikipedia.org

Eve of All Hallows

Eve of All Hallows.
Spirits rise from ancient graves,
Seeking kindred souls.

Seeking kindred souls.
Finds dark-haired temptress crying,
“I am not a Witch!”

“I am not a Witch!”
Belief spell fails Christine this
Eve of All Hallows.

- Adrean Darce Brent
Wednesday 27 October 2010



Images:
Left: Spirit is from the website livestreetcam.com
Center: “No Forwarding Address”. Photo is © An Adrean Darce Brent Image
Right: Cat is from the website mypeopleconnection.com

Reel Rewind: “Fair Game”

Tonight I’m at the Directors Guild of America in Hollywood to watch a free preview screening of “Fair Game” thanks to Film Independent and their Filmmaker Forum. Usually I only see screenings at the DGA in April (ColCoa), but it was no problem coming here this October night (except for the door on the bus that refused to close for at least ten minutes – a source of amusement and annoyance). Although I arrived later than I planned, people were still in line to enter theatre one and I ended up in the general area that I like to sit.

The film, “Fair Game”, is based on events in which lying to deceive was the modus operandi and the truth was repelled and ignored. CIA agent Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) is a NOC (No Official Cover) covert leader with operations in Kuala Lumpur, Cairo, Amman et. al. who becomes responsible for finding the intelligence on Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) program. As part of this investigation, the CIA sent her husband, former diplomat Joseph Wilson (Sean Penn), to Niger to check on reports that Iraq had bought a large quantity of yellowcake (a powder formed from the processing of uranium ore) from Niger for use in its nuclear weapons. Wilson’s trip determined that no such sale had taken place, yet this truth was eventually sidestepped by the White House.

A portion of George Bush’s Tuesday 28 January 2003 State of the Union address is shown in which the “sixteen words” are stated – “The British government had learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” This false statement was the basis for sending Americans into a needless war in Iraq (and perhaps the start of Tony Blair’s fall from grace). Unforgivable. Wilson’s refutation of that statement resulted in a backlash from the US government against him and the outing of his wife as a CIA agent. The consequences of the revelation compromised not only Valerie Plame and her operations, but other agents with the same work cover and their operations. All of this because a decision was made to cover up the truth.

The tragedy of the situation was that the Iraqi scientists who could confirm that Iraq did not have a WMD program were not able to be retrieved from Iraq because Valerie’s departure operation for them was stopped. And besides would the United States actually find it in their interest to rescue people who could have debunked the country’s position regarding the reason for entering the war. I think not. What happened to the scientists in Iraq can only be imagined and despaired. Under this type of reality, Valerie and Joseph fight for the truth, while also fighting with each other. Despite White House efforts, the truth does come out. Unfortunately, Valerie’s (and other CIA agents) career is over and the unnecessary Iraq War continues, with causalities of all kinds. Joseph has vindication and the marriage with Valerie does remain intact.

Naomi Watts portrays Valerie Plame as a woman who is good at lying and deceiving in the name of her job, but who just might have a conscious on the cost those qualities have to others. I am not a Sean Penn fan, however he disappears within Joseph Wilson and displays a man determined to have the truth prevail. A treat to see Sam Shepard for a few minutes. Although the truth about the Iraq War has been known for some time now, it is enlightening to see the effects of deceit on an individual level as opposed to a national scale. Which makes everything that much more tragic.

The Q&A session with director Doug Liman was moderated by John August. During the discussion, Liman revealed that he had talked with some former colleagues of Valerie Plame for a more in depth understanding of the whole debacle. “Fair Game” was shot in forty-five days on a budget of twenty-two million dollars. And most of the film was actually shot on location. Liman also said that the Egyptian government hadn’t wanted the Egyptian actor who played the primary Iraqi scientist to act with the Israeli woman who played his sister. You’d think they were still at war. Where is hope?

Film Facts: Director/Cinematographer/Producer: Doug Liman, Writer/Producer: Jez Butterworth, Writers: John-Henry Butterworth, Joseph Wilson, Valerie Plame, Editor: Christopher Tellefsen, Musician: John Powell, Producers: Mohamed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei, Dave Bartis, Gerry Robert Byrne, Kerry Foster, Sean Gesell, Akiva Goldsman, Anadil Hossain, Bill Pohlad, David Sigal, Mari-Jo Winkler, Kim H. Winther, Janet Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Production Companies: River Road Entertainment, Participant Media, Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ, Zucker Productions, Weed Road Pictures, Hypnotic, Fair Game Productions

Film Type: Action, Biography, Drama, Thriller, Cast: Naomi Watts (Valerie Plame), Sean Penn (Joseph Wilson), Ty Burrell (Fred), Sam Shepard (Sam Plame), Louis Ozawa Changchien (Nervous Analyst #1), Bruce McGill (Jim Pavitt), Brooke Smith (Diana), Noah Emmerich (Bill), Michael Kelly (Jack), David Denman (Dave), David Andrews (Scooter Libby), Iris Bahr (CPD Agent), David Warshofsky (Peter), Satya Bhabha (Jason Neal), Sunil Malhotra (Ali), Length: 104’, Languages: English, Arabic, French, Countries: United States, United Arab Emirates, Year: 2010
Film Trailer
United State release date Friday 5 November 2010


Images:
Left: Naomi Watts as Valerie Plame from the website movieplayer.it
Center: Graphic interpretation of “Fair Game” created by Adrean Darce Brent
Right: “Fair Game” poster from the website cinemablend.com

Reel Rewind: “Nowhere Boy”

My jaunt to Marina Del Rey this afternoon to see “Nowhere Boy” was courtesy of Campus Circle. I was a runner-up winner of their recent sweepstakes contest for the movie and my prize was a run of engagement pass good at any Los Angeles area AMC Theatre. “Nowhere Boy” wasn’t playing at any of the AMC theatres to which I usually go, so a little extra traveling was necessary. Finding the theatre was easy enough, though confusingly it still has the name Odeon Cineplex (wonder how long AMC has actually owned the multiplex – a physical name change would be helpful).

While waiting for the film to begin, I thought I would be the only viewer of “Nowhere Boy” at the screening; but eventually I heard the sound of popcorn munching and the rare opportunity of having a whole theatre to myself was not to be. A different sound soon reached my ears when the film began with the screams of young females and John Lennon running towards them. This sound would be a part of Lennon’s future life, but the sounds of Lennon’s adolescent life in Liverpool are the ones I’m hearing today.

Lennon’s (Aaron Johnson) and his Uncle George’s laughter and his Aunt Mimi’s classical music is our introduction to Lennon’s domestic life in his mid-adolescence. Sadly George’s laughter ends too soon (both in real life and the film), but out of this tragedy Lennon "begins" a long over-due relationship with his mother Julia (Anne-Marie Duff). The sounds of their relationship begin with an outing to a pier in Blackpool and progresses over the next few years from banjo lessons and the song “Maggie May” to words of truth. The child finds the lost mother, learns the truth behind the losing, only to tragically lose her again, forever.

With his Aunt Mimi (Kristen Scott Thomas), Lennon lives in quietness with refrains of “glasses, John”, evolving to clashes about his mother and school, to departure towards his own life. And intertwined with the mother and the aunt is the development of Lennon’s music sensibility from Elvis Presley “Shake, Rattle & Roll” (wants to be him) and Buddy Holly “Peggy Sue” (imitates his look) to his first band, The Quarrymen and to writing his own songs. However "truthful" this whisper of one part of Lennon’s Liverpool life is, the best sounds are coming and will carry across the world.

Although Aaron Johnson may be a little too attractive to play John Lennon, the casting of “Nowhere Boy” is fine, though most of them are unknown to me. When I first saw the cast list, I thought the only person I’d seen before was Kristen Scott Thomas; however, it turns out that I saw Thomas Sangster (Paul) in “Love Actually” (he doesn’t look that much older). The song “Nowhere Man”, from which this film takes part of its title, was first recorded beginning on Thursday 21 October 1965, forty-five years ago today. Finally for Lennon, one can sing “Nowhere Man, the world is at your command!” Now if they can only get the right chord to your story.


Film Facts: Director: Sam Taylor-Wood, Writers: Julia Baird, Matt Greenhalgh, Cinematographer: Seamus McGarvey, Editor: Lisa Gunning, Musicians: Alison Goldfrapp, Will Gregory, Producers: Robert Bernstein, Matt Delargy, Jon Diamond, Tim Haslam, Kevin Loader, Jaynie Miller, Christopher Moll, Douglas Rae, Paul Ritchie, Tessa Ross, James Saynor, Mark Woolley, Production Companies: Ecosse Films, Film4, UK Film Council, Aver Media, North West Vision

Film Type: Biography, Drama, Music, Cast: Aaron Johnson (John), Kristin Scott Thomas (Mimi), David Threlfall (Uncle George), Josh Bolt (Pete), Ophelia Lovibond (Marie), Kerrie Hayes (Marie’s Friend), Angela Walsh (Schoolmistress), Paul Ritter (Pobjoy), Richard Syms (Reverend), Anne-Marie Duff (Julia), James Johnson (Stan), Alex Ambrose (Young John), Angelica Jopling (Julia – Aged 8), Abby Greenhalgh (Jackie – Aged 6), David Morrissey (Bobby), Length: 98’, Language: English, Countries: United Kingdom, Canada, Year: 2009
Film Trailer
United States release date Friday 8 October 2010


Images:
Left: “Nowhere Boy” pass
Center: Graphic interpretation of “Nowhere Boy” created by Adrean Darce Brent
Right: “Nowhere Boy” poster from the website obzarkina.tv

Revenge In Five Quarters: Patriots Pluck Roosting Ravens

The last time the New England Patriots played (if you want to call it that) the Baltimore Ravens was back in January of this year and what happened on the gridiron was indeed ugly. The Patriots utterly lost to the Ravens in their final game of that football season and there was no happiness in Sonny McLean’s that winter Sunday. On this autumn Sunday there are smiles on every face in Sonny’s, as New England, who trailed at halftime, comes back to beat Baltimore in sudden death overtime by a score of twenty-three to twenty. It was a back-and-forth game, with the most excitement happing in the fourth and overtime quarters. Much high-fiving and cheering in Sonny’s after the winning field goal! With five games completed, the Pats have four wins and one loss which places them second in the AFC East. Next week the Patriots head to my part of the world to play the San Diego Chargers. Although I won’t be traveling south to see them play, I’m sure a number of Sonny’s patrons will be making the trip, like Lexie (from Sudbury) who is one of the three people at my table today. The other two people joining me this morning are Lexie’s cousin David (who is from Newton and has a television production company) and Mike (also from Newton, who has one-year old twins – a girl and a boy). In September, both David and Mike had previously sat with me, but during two different Patriots games. Most of the people in the bar I don’t recognize – fewer and fewer of the usual people are coming to Sonny’s. Today’s familiar faces (in addition to the wait staff) are Rich, Lisa, Joe, I think I saw Nick, and at the end of the game, another Mike. Wonder where Tom and his girlfriend are these days – the high table across from me has been occupied by others. Anyway, the bar is full of New England people supporting the Patriots and that is surely something about which to give a Rah! Rah! Rah!

New England Patriots logo is from the website wikipedia.com