Film Review №3 : The Pelican Brief .

The Pelican Brief

Directed by: Alan J. Pakula

Movie Type: legal crime thriller

Starring: Julia Roberts Denzel Washington Sam Shepard Hume Cronyn, Stanley Tucci, John Heard, John Lithgow, Tony Goldwyn, James Sikking, William Atherton ,Robert Culp

Music by: James Horner

Release date(s): December 17, 1993

Running time: 141 minutes

Budget: $45 million

Country: United States

Language: English

MPAA Rating: PG 13

Summary and Thoughts : 

The plot is set in motion by the assassination of two Supreme Court justices, a curmudgeonly liberal (Hume Cronyn) and a closeted Republican homosexual (Ralph Cosham); all they have in common is a pro-environment inclination. Spirited and beautiful law student Darby Shaw (Julia Roberts) puts together a brief theorizing that the culprit could be a shadowy oil millionaire determined to tap a billion-dollar oil reserve in the fragile Louisiana bayou habitat of the endangered brown pelican. Her lover (Sam Shepard) shows the brief to a friend in the FBI, Verheek (John Heard), and suddenly Darby is the most hunted woman in America. Washington Herald reporter Gray Grantham (Denzel Washington) becomes her ally as she seeks to evade her shadowy pursuers and find out the truth behind a scandal that reaches to the highest levels of government. I like this film, and I should say, that it's my first "legal crime thrillel", so the theme of this story and its setting looks smart enough.  A craving  wish of a young specialist to achieve justice, to get into the game  of "the highest of our world", to sacrifice everything valuable in order of main purpose -  to separate the world of unfair.  All this sets and features are dedicated to our   main character of the story and to a new friend, who was embroiled into the lake  of wicked businessmen game An accurate,action film adaptation of the best-selling novel follows closely the canons of a true detective-story. We are forced to strain our gyruses, to try to find out the truth before the characters did. So, I can say, that this film is very strong image of "a good detective-thriller" with good casting, brilliant plot, based on  "The Pelican Brief" story by
 John Grisham and nice directing work.

Film Review №2 : Rendition (2007).

Rendition (2007)

Director: Gavin Hood

Genre: Thriller

Movie Type: Political Thriller

Themes: Terrorism, Crisis of Conscience

Main Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Alan Arkin, Peter Sarsgaard

Release Year:2007

Country: US

Run Time: 122 minutes

MPAA Rating: R

Proper names:

Douglas Freeman(Jake Gyllenhaal) is CIA analyst who after the death of his colleague has to investigate the case of terrorist attack.

Isabella El-Ibrahimi(Reese Witherspoon) is a wife of El-Ibrahimi. She is pregnant and worries about her husband. She goes to Washington for help of her collage friend.

Senator Hawkins(Alan Arkin)is a very powerful and successful senator and the chief of Alan Smith.

Alan Smith(Peter Sarsgaard) is Senator Hawkins’ assistant and Isabella’s college friend.

Anwar El-Ibrahimi(Omar Metwally) is Egyptian-born chemical engineer who lives in Chicago with his pregnant wife Isabella (Reese Witherspoon) and their young son, is linked to a violent organization by telephone records indicating known terrorist Rashid placed several calls to Anwar's cell phone. While returning to the US from a conference in South Africa, he is detained by American officials and sent to a secret detention facility near the location of the suicide attack depicted earlier.

Abasi Fawal(Yigal Naor) is the head of local police in the place where the terrorist attack was accused. He participates in tortures of Anwar El-Ibrahimi.

Khalid(Moa Khouas) is a young suicide bomber who wants to take vengeance on Abasi Fawal.

Fatima(Zineb Oukach) is the elder daughter of Abasi Fawal who is in love with Khalid.

Corrine Whitman(Meryl Streep) is the head of CIA who is responsible for  the North Africa.

Summaty and Thoughts :

The title of the film alludes to the fact that rendition is ‘handing over prisoners to countries where torture is allowed’. The film gets its title from the phrase "extraordinary rendition", the practice - started during the Clinton years - of transferring suspected terrorists to countries with more lenient feelings about torture. The setting of this film is very complicated as it takes place in Washington and Chicago, the USA, as well as in an unnamed North African nation (filmed in Morocco but clearly meant to be Egypt).  It helps to show all feelings of the main characters and their nearest and dearest.Anwar El-Ibrahimi was detained to help terrorists in the creation of a bomb. He was sent to Africa as it was US policy for rendition, as it was the only way to make people plead guilty in terrorist attacks and so on. Anwar decided to slander himself as he had come to the conclusion that it’s better to tell what they wanted rather than suffered torture.After the death of his colleague Douglas Freeman was assignment to be the investigator in the case of terrorism. To my mind, he didn’t have certain indifference to accused people he tried to reveal human’s emotions. Then he realized that he couldn’t work as a CIA investigator and used torture.Even although being pregnant Isabella tried to find any links connecting with her husband’s disappearance. As Senator Hawkins was worried about his reputation and his political future he decided to refuse to help Isabella.Fatima , Abasi’s daughter, run away from home because of her father tyranny. She preferred to have relationships with Khalid as he was just like a symbol of freedom for her. And only accidentally Fatima came to know that Khalid was a member of a terrorist group. Khalid decided to revenge Fatima’s father for his brother’s death. So the death of Khalid and Fatima was very symbolic as they were very young but terrorism killed them.

The rendition can be  different. But there are people in the world who know how to allocate keenly the mountains of edges , that were on the shelves of misunderstandings - to be able to interpret the words, deeds, actions.This film is a very interesting film as it makes us think that every confession has its prehistory with human’s fates, lives and emotions. It helps us to realize that rendition justly questions whether information gathered though torture is ever reliable, and whether human-rights violations only fan the flames of deadly anti-Americanism and revenge.

Extra Rendering : Christmas in Norway.

Christmas in Norway

This article was published by Lorri Brown  on Dec 22, 2012 on the website "Suite101" and tells us about Christmas traditions in Norway include Advent, Christmas Trees with the Norwegian flag, Christmas gnomes and lutefisk, a national fish dish. The author points out , that many of the Christmas traditions in Norway originate in ancient times, based on festivals of Saturnalia and other pagan holidays. She also adds , that
modern Norwegian Christmas rituals are based on the countries new national independence and national spirit in the face of Nazi occupation during World War II. The author admits, that it is a well-known fact that Julestria – The Christmas Rush , also known as Advent, Justria refers to the weeks leading up to Christmas and Originally not celebrated by most Norwegians – mainly just the clergy- following World War II, Advent (the coming of the Lord) became mainstream. Moreover , analysing the situation in the word it is necessary to emphasize that Just as in many other European countries, Christmas Eve is a time of great feasting and merry-making for Norwegians.  The author tell us, that during Christmas Eve day, people hang a sheaf of grain, sometimes referred to as a “bird tree,” in their front yard, to share Christmas with the local animals.  It would be unfair for Brown , not to mention ,that by four o’clock on Christmas Eve, people are dressed in their finest and the festivities begin. The author also adds,, that people eat from the Julebord, or Christmas Buffet, dining on ribbe (pork ribs), pinnekjøh (steamed mutton ribs) or sylte (headcheese). If we speak about traditions,  the reader should not forget that author clearly gives us a thought, On Christmas Eve, Julesvenn (similar to the Danish Julnisse) brings gifts. This tradition is a holdover from the ancient Jul feast of Viking days. December 23 is known as Lillejulaften, or Little Christmas Eve, and is when most Norwegians put up their Christmas Tree. The author says, that one should, however, not forget that Norway ratified its first constitution in 1814, after 400 years of Danish Rule. It became fully independent in 1905, when it left a union with Sweden. Because the Norwegian independence coincided with the rising popularity of the Christmas tree (via Germany and then Great Britain) the new Norwegian flag became a popular holiday ornament, remaining so to this day. The authors draws a conclusion that, saying that even Norway was occupied by the Nazis for five years during World War I, during this time the Norway flag and constitutional ribbons were outlawed. Lorri says,  ,that Norwegians found ways to declare their opposition to German rule. Christmas cards printed during the Nazi occupation featured Nisse, a Christmas gnome popular since the mid 19th Century, with the Norwegian flags and captions that read God Norsk Jul – Merry Norwegian Christmas. Despite the Nazis' attempt at destroying the cards and forbidding printers to distribute them, many of these World War II Christmas cards still exist today, a testament to a nation’s determination to reclaim its freedom. In conclusion, I'd like to say, that nothing can destroy the emotion of a holiday inside your heart, because we are extremely strong in our faith ( in miracles, in our will ) and only truly strong cain gain the from  gifts and such festive atmosphere, but from his own soul.

Individual Reading . Tom Clancy : Rainbow Six. ( Final Part ) p. 1113 - 1325.

The main body of terrorists group was eliminated during the operation in Sydney, Popov's  second self was assassinated. Their plans were destroyed, and and the rest of  eco-terrorists had to retreat to their refuge deep in the Brazilian rain forest, hoping to negotiate a deal to return to the United States. Clark, knowing that they may never be put on trial, tracked down the Brazilian hideout and deploys Rainbow to the location. With some  proprietary designs of Rainbow's Israeli colleagues , they had succeeded  to ping the route of Popov, who hadn't  noticed the navigational bug on the transport. The area of further attack was hidden in the dense foliage of the fertile forest, with hiding terrorists. There were two camouflaged hangars, a control point and an underground shelter for the criminal  tactical tasks and  discussions of Popov's watch-dogs. Eddie Price with Louis Loiselle and Geoff Bates  with Fred Franklin  ( under the offence patronage of Bing and Clark ) were forced to assault this hideout.  The Team (1 and 2)  destroyed  successfully enemy combat units , with full weapon controll of the situation and leading cross-fire. C4 bomb was defused and the remaining unarmed criminals  were captured.  After Rainbow had defeated the eco-terrorists' militia force and destroyed their facility and supplies, Clark had the survivors stripped naked and left to die, taunting them to "reconnect with nature."  For his critical assistance, Popov hadn't  charged for his role in the attacks. The Horizon Corporation continued as a legitimate pharmaceutical corporation, without their CEO and the other employees involved in the never-revealed plot. The threat of mass destruction of humanity by weapons of chemical hazard had been eliminated, but the fight against terrorism wasn't over. Rainbow Agency became the turning point for future development of anti-terrorism structures, giving US and not only governments and secret agencies its pejorative force and an ability to complete every mission , practically without any losses.

Individual Reading . Tom Clancy : Rainbow Six. p. 817- 1113

Stanley,  Clark , Covington , Chavez , Bellow and Bill Tawney  were quite dismayed by these events and couldn't understand why some of these old  authorities , as Carlos the Jackal  (  criminal kings, master terrorists ) -  were trying to enter the battle again, being identified by main law enforcement agencies, intelligences and assault brigades. Trying to find some information about last events, Rainbow was forced to give it's fighther some days to relax and to come to the tonus and to deal with some search activity (the study of archives, scanning of old secret documents, the use of prohibited by the state LANs and other surfing work). Unknown to the Rainbow, radical eco-terrorists from a biotechnology firm  the Horizon Corporation have orchestrated the previous attacks, having hired ex-KGB officer Dimitriy Popov ( which was already introduced to us ) to foment the incidents. The increase in terror attacks helped their security firm land a contract during the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. From within the Olympic security apparatus, they planned to launch a sophisticated bioweapon attack intended to wipe out the majority of the human race ( the virus, based on the decreasing of   level of intelligence and vital motivation  was suppressed by all other reflexes and immune-alert systems of the man.)  For terrorists, the success of this experience could only mean one thing - the ability to wage war by chemical attacks with a quite high possibility chance. Upon learning about Rainbow, Popov hired some members of the PIRA  to take over a local hospital in Hereford near Rainbow's base, take Clark and Chavez's wives hostage, and ambush one of Rainbow's squads. But fortunately, Rainbow and the SAS support, that was used by Stanley connections  retook the hospital, capturing some of the terrorists. Interrogation revealed Popov's involvement in instigating the attack.   The Rainbow focused on main enemy of their agencie and the whole world , and the target of manhunt was the Dmitriy Popov , that was at Horizon's secret base in Kansas hiding from SAS . Popov contacted Clark and told him about his plan to capture Sydney Stadion in order to start his eco-terrorist act from that place and to lead the whole humanity to the edge of life and death. But rapid actions of Miguel  Chin and Julio Vega with their master Ding Chavez, who were there as a security consultants with all neccessary technical equipment, weapons, communication devices,  and the basis of combat team.  The actions of terrorists without clear guidance of their master were at the low level of fighting and mental capability and were successfully eliminated by the squad.

Individual Reading . Tom Clancy : Rainbow Six. p. 523 - 817 .

After a certain stage in the development of military and tactical operative patterns both of teams, led by John Clark, the  Technical Department of the Rainbow agencie was forced to order a modern tracking system of external radio signals, which have a chance to be as a supportive hand, and  the basis of any possible mission on  rescuing hostages. The relationship in both  Rainbow divisions was really high voltaged. This was due to the passive ,inaction of one of the groups (and we should say, that both of teams were perfectly prepared for any operation, connected with active or stealth military actions), but the  last ( but not the least )chance  was given to Chavez group.The following strength test of a  newfound secret agency, was connected with their third mission .The object of capture was an amusement park in Spain, Madrid. A group of terrorists besieged сompletely one of the most popular attractions in the park without  any specific requirements ( which were about 35 children, at the moment of rapid capture ).Doctor Paul Bellow and Bill Tawney , who was ex- MI6 special agent had a mission to establish a mental connetions of those terrorists, to accomplish this mission without and losses, and maybe to arrest several criminals. After a short term negotiations, it has became clear that the  main demand was the release of terrorist Carlos the Jackal - Ilich Ramírez Sánchez ( a Venezuelan citizen currently serving a life sentence in France for the 1975 murder of two French counter-intelligence agents and an informant for the French government.) While in prison he was further convicted of attacks in France that killed 11 and injured 150 people and sentenced to an additional life term. A committed Marxist-Leninist, Ramírez Sánchez is widely regarded as one of the most famous political terrorists of his era. He was one of the most dangerous criminals in world and his release could cause a very serious damage to the global terrorist security ( and especially, Europe and North America.) This operation was one of the the most difficult for the Rainbow group, and that's why Clark and Alistair Stanley decided  to use both Teams 1 and 2. The chance of  moratal risk of civilian casualties was at an extremely high level. Moreover,   absolutely all of these hostages were children, which complicated the process of preparation for Rainbow's mission. (Children have a clear,  young  minds , but also can make some ill-considered actions, and accoding to  Bellow's degree of rage analysis, the terrorists were coolly confident in their success. The plan was to use squads' stealth skills in order to besiege the area of capture. The terrorists were located the best way for Rainbow. Some of them were  at the entrance to the park, the other part  was near the attraction with children and  the remaining group of criminals patroled the area.The tactic was a sharp and sudden. The two groups quickly rushed to the park, using pistols with silencers removed patrol base and  showered enemy with smoke bombs (the risk was high) .During the stand-off, Rainbow was unable to prevent the terrorists' execution of a terminally ill Dutch girl. The squads manage to eliminate the terrorists without further loss of innocent life.

W. Somerset Maugham - "In a Strange Land" .

Author:  Maugham, William Somerset , 1874–1965, English writer, b. Paris. He was noted as an expert storyteller and a master of fiction technique. An introverted child afflicted with a stammer, Maugham was orphaned at 10 and sent to live with his uncle, a vicar. Although he later studied medicine and completed his internship, he never practiced, having decided at an early age to devote himself to literature. He lived in grand style, spending much of his life on the French Riviera and traveling widely, particularly to East Asia and the South Pacific. Maugham wrote with wit and irony, frequently expressing an aloofly cynical attitude toward life. Famous as a dramatist before he became known for his novels and short stories, he achieved his first success with the sardonically humorous play Lady Frederick (1907). This was followed by a series of commercial successes, the best being The Circle (1921), Our Betters (1923), and The Constant Wife(1927).
 Title :  If we speak about  direct title of this story, it means something unknown, enclosed space for a person , a new territory without it current exploration, and if we speak about the indirect meaning of it, it means a splitting by our  nature , the eternity of wanderings ( the Islands are static, just a surreal event of a planetary scale can rejoin  them to mix into one substance - just as the uniqueness of characters' birthplaces).
Themes:  The first theme it's a different polarities of people from one country - even  we are from one state, our blood rages with different colors, and the history of this novel is largely related to the insurmountable odds of people . And the second theme is connected with the issue of spiritual unity of all humankind. We are all brothers and sisters, no matter what many other people say, andt we have only to understand and accept "the human thought" (globally ) with our mental way of living through the gloom of the world  - in fact, we are not so different and we want to love and be loved, to live happily, to have good health.

Summary:This story tells us about a man-traveler, whose lead aim isn't the wish to see the  cultural saturation of these countries,  but the  desire to explore the human factor, ( simply -  to find new and interesting people. )And during the development of the story, he visited Anadolu, where he found an amazing woman- Signora Niccolini, an English woman. Her story is very sensitive one - she was in the family of rich English man, as a house-keeper, and found her love there , a man , that also worked in that mension. Their love was rapid, they decided to earn some money in order to travel to Turkey and to buy a small hotel there. And so the did it, but after several years her husband had died and she had to stay there within his help and with HIS children, adopted with all her support ( and another special feature of this woman, that the  feeling of home country as the country of Turkey wasn't inside her heart, she was an English-woman with really strong roots ).

Main Idea:    The main idea of this story is that being born in one country, you can't feel the same love for  the other country (even if you was brought up there,  I suppose) because something inextricably linked between your  heart and place of your appearance into the world has always beckons you up to the end of your life.

 Charatcer Sketch  :  Signora Niccolini is an independent woman, a true fighter and devoted wife, a woman who knows the price of a  material prosperity and the struggle for survival in a harsh world (working as a house-keeper helped her in a lot) She lives with her  children in Turkey, the widow of the Italian man, who had accepted husband"s illegitimate children, like her own. Her life is a symbol of resistantnce of a character to the unfair events and patriotic love of the homeland, even miles away fromher home "Pinata".

My own impression:  I liked this story, because it has as main aim to show us woman's gratuitous love and  feeling of compassion and strength of character. The death of her husband - a serious blow for this woman, but she didn't give up his children and took the fuul control over the situation. I give my great sincere respect for such people, the patriots of the soul,  to the support -unit for others.