Wednesday 24 February 2010

Tequila Sunrise after the 3.10 to Yuma remake and TV 20 20 cricket

Today June16th, 2008 must be catch up day although I cannot remember all the films I have seen and intended to mention.

I did not enjoy the remake of 3.10 to Yuma although it is a good Western about what a man under pressure is prepared to do for his family including giving his life, and the impact such a sacrifice can have on the hardest of villains. My interest in getting the DVD from my internet mail order subscription came from having seen the film when it was first released in the 1950's although I could not remember anything about the plot and only subsequently after checking remembered that it had starred Glenn Ford as the villain and Van Hefflin as the man under pressure or that Frankie Lane had made a hit record out of the title song. The film has been shown on TV since and the reality is that I may have seen the film then rather than in theatre. One should not rely on memory without some corroborative record.

While the structure and characters in the two films are the same the endings are very different. I would need to see the original again to make a comparative judgement. The basic story is that a war veteran and family man is struggling to make end meet and owes a neighbour money for war rights after year's of drought. He and his sons come across a notorious gang of killers and thieves using some of the rancher's cattle to stop and rob the contents of coach, killing its guardians. In the original film the coach is a traditional one whereas in the remake it is special designed for the conveyance of money rather than passengers. There is also a sequence involving the company extending the railway which I suspect was not in the original, similarly the involvement of the eldest son who saves his father's bacon several times, until the ending which again I believe is more true to life than the original production. Russell Crowe plays Russell Crowe failing throughout to convince that he is likely leader of such a terrorist and murderous gang that has no redeeming qualities. I also did not believe that no one else in the town including the Sheriff and his men would be such spineless and pathetic specimens of humanity given the qualities that were required by the original trail and town makers required to combat the hardships of pioneering in the west, and the understandable hostility from the native Americans whose land and lives they were taking, and from the lawlessness of each other, and a military that quickly became a political organ of the state and business. There was little honour and great ruthlessness during the taming of this savage land.

Wow, Not a cry of wonder but of relief as a hectic afternoon comes to an end and I can relax with a pint of larger and watch Middlesex, who play in fetching pink tops and Surrey contest a 20.20. Talking of 20 20 the loss at Notts has put Durham into third position as Lancs has won all three of its games and Notts 2 from 2 with Durham 2 from 3. Durham, play Lancs tomorrow away before the next game at home. The Lancs game is also on Sky tomorrow evening so that is a must to watch. Part of the rush was a visit to supermarket where I needed some noodles and chilli sauce both of which I was without when I made a stir fry this morning. It was an interesting and inventive concoction with half a large onion, half a green pepper, and half a small courgette with half the chicken left over from the previous evening meal, a bolognaise sauce and some lemon rice. I did say it was a concoction but it worked and was enjoyable. There is also large portion of chicken for the stir fry and for Tuesday. I became used to buying two medium whole chicken for an offer price of £5 which did strike me as very reasonable and the cheapest of meals. However when I went to buy the birds, having not done so for a couple of months, maybe longer, having had various other joints, I found that the offer was for larger birds 1.5 kilos in weight at the price of 2 for £7 and three for £10, so in this instance I decided to go for just two and see how they cooked and the portions available as a consequence. For tea this evening I had a salad with prepared tin salmon in thyme which was sufficient to drench the lettuce.

Part of the reason for the rush was finish some 100.75 work before tacking the in-tray to reach some charity draw tickets where I nice lady from the Royal National Institute for the Blind had telephoned to remind that I had not returned any tickets for the Summer draw. I am behind the 100 a month new sets for the project and with a mini trip away later in the month, I needed to do some work with more to do this evening when the match is over, during which I hope to do some photographing of My Space Blog sets (6 completed and registered and 6 or 7 developments sets in one volume(this was completed 20.30). I was able to get to the supermarket and back before the game started on the TV. I needed some non biological washing power as well as the noodles and chilli sauce. I also bought some milk, three small tines of sardines in tomato sauce and prepared pasta bakes. I also bought the remaining ten packs of transparent pockets making about thirty packs acquired since they restocked. I will make another trip possibly in the morning for fruit and remember the coffee this time. I did get two 500 gram packs of spread.

The cricket was OK although pink shirts played by the home team at Lords, whatever next, a pink ball? I thought they were joking till one was produced, apparently it is being experimented with as it is easier to see that the white. The number and lettering on the scoreboard was also pink. I know I had drunk a pint of larger when I returned but pink…and why was that hotel called the Elephant on the bank of the Tyne at Gateshead?

I carefully watered the plants which have come on a treat and must remember to photo this phase of their growth in the morning or the occasion when the light is good. I continued to upload photographs from yesterday making two sets of 101 from the 375 odd taken. It is also a boring process although worthwhile when the task is completed. There sixteen sets of photos uploaded although not all reaching the 101 target.
There was time for a film in the background while I work on the photos breaking off from time to time to try and work out the plot. I went to bed confused, tired and without finding out the conclusion, suspecting that it did not matter and I did not care. The film has one haunting image which justified its title Tequila Sunrise otherwise it is a convoluted mystery adventure movie involving a love triangle between Mel Gibson as the reformed scumbag(drug trading, bad husband and father) whose close friend is an ambitious cop who becomes head of the local drugs squad, now that is happy coincidence. When the Feds come in having been tipped off that the Mel is about to be involved in a great drugs trade with his other friend, the notorious and mysterious without redeeming features Mexican drugs' Baron, Carlos who saved Mel's life when they were in incarcerated in a Mexican prison. Does Mel love the Drugs baron more than the cop?

This kind of love triangle would not have turned a twenty million dollar production into a reportedly one hundred million, so enters Michele Pheiffer as a totally unbelievable beautiful and sophisticated restaurateur who does not cook and there is no explanation how she is who she is supposed to be except that she is a woman of integrity who has been failed by men which is this was so it is preposterous that she would genuinely fall in love with the Mel character or get involved with working under cover for the good guys. There are various complications such as an ex wife to appears to be a money grabbing bitch but then she was married to a drug trading scum bad and surprisingly they have an all American nice kid, I should cocoa. Carlos turns out to be ehad of the Mexican drug police now why did that not surprise me although the had fed turns out to be food guy and that did surprise me. I learn one things though that the film's director planned to end the film with Mel Perishing in a fireball because his central image was that fo a moth attracted to flame and that Mel's character was man who was no interested in making money or in using drugs but in the excitement of drug trading. However ti said the studio people did not want to make a proper film but wanted just to make money and insisted ona different ending. Now that is ironic and sad, nit of course because the studio bosses did what studio boss are paid to do, but because the previously Oscar winning Director, Robert Towne, let em get away with it. It was not a memorable day

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