Movie Review – Water for Elephants

Movie: Water for Elephants

Rating: êêêê

The story is told as a series of memories about the life in the Benzini Circus by Jacob Jankowski, a "ninety or ninety-three year-old" man who lives in a nursing home. With a travelling circus in town and his son forgetting it was his turn to visit he is found standing in the rain in the parking lot hoping to watch the spec. Having missed it he is ushered inside and while the manager Charlie figures out who to call and Jacob begins to tell him about circus life. Curious how he knows so much and if he can recall any details about the famous end of the Benzini brothers he begins telling the story about his life in the circus.

We flash back to him in the prime of his life right before his final veterinary exam at Cornell University. Right before the start of the exam Jacob is called from the room and told that his parents were killed in a car accident. Jankowski finds himself suddenly orphaned and financially broke after his father gambled everything on his future. Alone and adrift with his life in turmoil he jumps onto a passing train belonging to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth and enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits.  He immediately finds himself under the wing of Camel one of the old timers aboard.

In the first town he is instantly drawn to the premier act of this traveling side show circus, Marlena who is the wife of the head trainer and guy in charge August. She captures Jacob’s attention with her beauty and prize horse Silver. He sees that the horse is in pain and offers to take a look. Before he can make a diagnosis her act is called to the stage and she is gone.  Told he is out of his league he focuses on getting a job in the curcus and spends the day shoveling animal dung.

That night back on the train he is brought before August to ask for a job. He is told to not mention the Ringling Bros Circus their main competition as it angers August. August suggests he is nothing more than a thief and a stowaway and should be tossed from the train. Jacob tells him he is a veterinarian and that he is sure Ringling Bros. surely has one in their payroll.

This consequently leads Jacob to share quarters with a dwarf named Walter (who is known as Kinko to the circus) and his dog Queenie. August gives Jacob a chance the next day when he is told to diagnose what ails Silver. Marlena suggests it’s nothing more than an abscess and requires hot water and rest but Jacob confides to August that it is more severe and that Silver will not recover and should be put down.

In a moment of weakness for both Silver and Marlena he shoots Silver even after he is told to keep him alive and performing for a few more shows. Angered by Jacob’s disregard for his instructions August nearly fires him.

A few weeks later Jacob is asked to take a look at Camel who, after drinking Jamaican ginger extract for many years, can't move his arms or legs. Fearing Camel will be "red-lighted" (referring to the practice of throwing circus workers off a moving train as either punishment or as severance from the circus to avoid paying wages), he hides him in his room.

In attempt to save the circus with falling revenues August decides to purchase an elephant named Rosie from another circus that didn’t survive the hard times. Jacob is called to August and Marlena’s train car to celebrate and August eventually passes our drunk while Marlena asks Jacob to dance.
The three then enjoy a night on the town in a prohibition bar dancing and drinking. Their night is disrupted by the police and august is separated from the other two in the commotion. While hiding from the police Marlena and Jacob exchange a passionate kiss. They separate and return to the circus to avoid any suspicion.

August can be utterly charming or a brutal man who abuses the animals and the people around him. When Rosie is not cooperative with training and nearly causes Marlena to be hurt he takes his frustrations out on the elephant leaving it hurt. This leaves August and Marlena’s relationship strained.
A few days later after discovering that August has tried to see Marlena, Jacob visits her in her hotel room. Soon after he comforts her however, the couple sleep together and then eventually declare their love for each other. Marlena soon returns to the circus to perform  but refuses to have August near her.

While trying to repair that relationship August grows suspicious of her relationship with Jacob and beats them both up. August would have killed Jacob on the spot if they didn’t have an audience of local patrons passing by.  Jacob now finds himself now unemployed and August’s henchmen Uncle Al looking for him.

Jacob convinces Marlena to leave August and they jump from the train just before being caught by August’s goons and head to a local hotel to decide what to do. They awake in each other’s arms and Marlena pleads that they must run but before they can they are found and Marlena is taken back to the circus and Jacob is left unconscious on the floor.

One night Jacob climbs up and jumps each car, while the train is moving, to August's room, carrying a knife between his teeth intending to kill August. However, Jacob backs out and returns to his car, only to find no one there but Queenie. He then realizes that Walter and Camel were red-lighted and Jacob himself was supposed to be too.

As the story climaxes, several circus workers who were red-lighted off the train come back and release the animals causing a stampede during the performance. Believing that this was all orchestrated by Jacob August sets his sights on him.

In the ensuing panic, Rosie the Elephant takes a stake and drives it into August's head. His body is then trampled. Jacob was the only one who saw what truly happened to August. As a result of this incident, which occurred during a circus performance, the circus is shut down. Soon after, Uncle Al's body is found with a makeshift garrote around his neck. Marlena and Jacob leave, along with several circus animals and begin their life together.

It is revealed that Jacob and Marlena married and had 5 children spending the first seven years at the Ringling Bros. circus before Jacob got a job as a vet for a Chicago zoo. Marlena is revealed to have died a few years before Jacob was put into a nursing home. He begs the manager Charlie to allow him to accompany the circus by selling tickets. Charlie agrees and Jacob believes he has finally come home.

Kayaking: Webster Lake & North Village Bridge

Kayaking: Webster Lake & North Village Bridge

Distance: 3.45 Miles

Time: 1 hour 26 minutes

Dan and I decided to explore the 1442 acre lake in Webster, MA known as Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg whose popular translation is “You Fish on Your Side, I Fish on My Side, Nobody Fish in the Middle". This is the longest name of any lake in the US and was the gathering place for the Nipmuc Indians. I had kayaked on Webster Lake many times but today our exploration was focused particularly on checking out the North Village Bridge near Memorial Beach Park. I thought it would be a perfect time with the high water levels given the location of the bridge is mostly shallow swamp.

Some interesting statistics about the lake are that it is 1,442 acres, comprised of three spring-fed lakes joined by narrow channels, North Pond, Middle Pond and South Pond. There are 17 miles of shore line. The length of the lake is 3.25 miles, and at its widest point in Middle Pond, the distance is 1.125 miles. The shore line of North Pond is 5.78 miles, of Middle Pond, 7.06 miles, and South Pond is 4.17 miles.

Our path took us only 1.72 miles to the bridge and required us to travel from Sandy Cove, around Indian Point, through the narrows from Middle Pond to North Pond, across North Pond, around Second Island at Memorial Beach Park, and finally into Stump Pond. Stump Pond is a lily pad’s dream and we found ourselves paddling through many of them. Some were flowering and others past their prime. We saw all kinds of wildlife from Mallard ducks to Great Blue Herons. It was a peaceful paddle and we took our time and enjoyed the sites. Stump Pond is also where the old bridge found its new home.

The North Village Bridge was originally built in 1871 to span French River. It connected North Main Street in Webster to Old Oxford Road in Dudley. It is 68ft long and 13ft wide. In 1998 the bridge was closed and schedule to be replaced. The original bridge was moved to Memorial Beach Park in 1999. It used to carry cars but today used as a pedestrian walkway. I had travelled over that bridge many times as a child with my parents on our way across town. It was interesting to see how small it was and I was happy to see this 140 year old bridge found a new home and a new purpose.

After taking a few pictures we began our trip back another 1.72 miles. The total trip was 3.45 miles and we completed it in a leisurely 1 hour and 26 minutes. I would have stayed out longer but we had dinner plans and we had gotten a late start after lunch. I also wanted to give the kayak’s a thorough cleaning since they have been barely used this season.

It was a great trip and reminded me why I bought my kayak. I am going to make it my goal to use it more before the end of the season.

  

Task 37 – Warrior's Way Movie Review

(37) Watch 26 Movies (15/26)

Movie: Warrior's Way

Rating: 4-Stars

The Warriors Way, a visually-stunning modern martial arts western starring Korean actor Dong-gun Jang who plays an Asian warrior assassin forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands.

After a lifetime of training in martial arts and swordsmanship, Yang (Jang Dong Gun) has eliminated all but one of his clan's enemies - an infant whose smile instantly melts his heart. Unwilling to kill her and unable to protect her from his own deadly Sad Flutes clan, Yang takes the baby girl and flees, planning to seek refuge with an old friend living in Lode, a frontier town in the American West.

He arrives to find that his friend nicknamed Smiley has died and the once thriving Gold Rush town is in shambles, inhabited only by a few dozen eccentrics including Lynne (Kate Bosworth), a beautiful, spirited knife thrower-in-training and Ron (Geoffrey Rush), a worn-out drunk. In order to make a safe home for the child, far from the reach of his murderous clansman, Yang decides to stay on as the town's new laundryman, sealing his sword for good.

Yang unexpectedly finds a kindred spirit in Lynne. Lynne gives Yang the nickname Skinny and agrees to teach him how to do the laundry. Yang begins to enjoy his life in the town, learning to enjoy pleasures he never knew as a warrior. He becomes friendly with the people, a hard worker, and able gardener, while the baby dubbed April, is adored by all. He even finds an interest in opera, after Lynne shows him on a gramophone. Lynne reveals to Yang that Smiley taught her a little but of the sword, and about the Sad Flute clan. She wants Yang to teach her more, and asks about the Sad Flutes' name. He explains that it describes the sound of blood coming from your victim's slit throat, but he is reluctant to show any of his warrior skill. Back in the East, Yang's former clan is shown to be looking for him. His former master Saddest Flute and his ninja army take a boat to America after finding a clue to where he has gone. The ships crew is shown to be slain as they arrive. Saddest Flute states that to find Yang in such a large country, they would wait and listen.

Orphaned by a horrifying act of brutality, Lynne has spent ten years plotting revenge against her attacker, the Colonel (Danny Huston).Yang one day sees Lynne place flowers on a grave, and asks what happened. He is told by Eightball that years ago, when Lynne was an adolescent girl, the town came under siege by a corrupt Colonel. His preference to rape women with healthy teeth prompts him to choose Lynne as his victim while her father is held to the ground, and mother and baby brother forced to stand by. When Lynne is brought to the Colonel in a kitchen, she manages to evade him by throwing a pan of potatoes frying in grease on his face. She runs outside, and the Colonel shoots her through the chest. Her father struggles free and is shot dead by the Colonel, while her mother holding her brother runs over and both are also killed.

When the townsfolk buried her family, they found Lynne still breathing. Since then, Lynne has made revenge on the Colonel a priority, aching to learn to fight and kill, and practices throwing knives, but that her aim is lacking. Yang surprises Lynne by showing her that her knife throwing was prohibited by her sight, not her arm, and gives her a successful lesson by blindfolding her. Lynne is clearly fond of Yang, and gives him a charm on a necklace that belonged to her mother, as a present.

Yang continues living his life peacefully with April until he experiences his first Christmas. While the townspeople celebrate the holiday dancing, Yang and Lynne go out to the desert to 'dance' in their swordplay, ending in a stalemate where Yang tells Lynne she has not won until her enemy's heart stops. Lynne kisses Yang on the mouth, catching him totally off guard and stopping time. Lynne runs away smiling at him, and Yang sits down shocked, staring at his lips in his swords' reflection.

Back in town the Colonel and his renegade gang return and threaten to destroy the town. Knowing that Lynne will do everything in her power to exact revenge on the Colonel the town tied Lynne up and hides her. She manages to escape however.

The Colonel then inspects a lineup of women for their teeth, and chooses a Hispanic woman whose husband begs for mercy. The Colonel releases the woman to her husband to shoot them simultaneously. The Colonel has the hispanic woman's daughters cleaned to be raped, but Lynne, disguised as a prostitute offers herself instead. She fools the Colonel, thinking she will be able to kill him when he reveals he recognized her after smelling her neck. The Colonel's men rush in to hold Lynne down to the bed.

Yang realizing where Lynne has gone grabs an iron and shatters the seal on his katana to free it. Far away, Saddest Flute jerks up from meditation, sensing the seal break, and is aware of Yang's location.

Yang then leads a fierce and ingenious force of townspeople armed only with improvised weapons and a unique set of skills in an all-out battle. The outlaws are lured to the Ferris wheel, where Yang and the carnies ambush them. Ron slides to safety on a cable, and the Ferris wheel is blown up, killing many of the Colonel's men. Thinking it safe, the carnies come out from cover, only to be attacked by the numerous remaining outlaws. The Colonel's men chase the carnies to the center of town, and as Yang feared, the sound of his sword has brought the ruthless ninjas into the fray, where the Sad Flutes suddenly assemble. Saddest Flute instructs them 'kill.' Yang looks to Lynne holding April and tells her to run. The carnies manage to get away before the bloodshed between the outlaw cowboys and ninja warriors starts.

Lynne hands Eight Ball April while she helps Yang but suddenly hears shots and returns to discover that the Colonel has shot Eightball and kidnapped April. As Eight Ball dies the Colonel is seen carrying April into a building, yelling at his men to make sure no one got in.

The Sad Flutes pursue hotly, and are mostly fended off with a machine gun, but the outlaws are unable to stop Yang, as he brutally slices through them all. He comes in the room to find the Colonel holding a gun to April's head, and leaps up to cut the barrel and bullet in half mid-firing. Catching April from falling, Yang steps aside to let Lynne fight the Colonel. After a tense battle, Lynne manages to finally drive a sword into the Colonel's back exacting her revenge.

Yang and Lynne exit the room to find Saddest Flute sitting across the carnage at the end of the hall. He tells Yang that April is the enemy, and asks if he would ever tell April that Yang killed her parents, her whole clan, and observes that Yang ran away from his old life of killing to kill more. He says Yang does not belong there. Yangs claims he does, or did, and will not kill April. Yang and Saddest flute go to the desert in the sunset, and duel to the death. During the fight, flashbacks show Saddest Flute training Yang as an adult in pouring rain, drilling him through adolescence in the snow, and forcing child Yang to kill the puppy he was given as his pet, declaring Yang's biggest enemy would be his heart, and as an assassin, he must kill what he loves. In the present, Yang wins the duel, cutting Saddest Flute's throat.

Lynne tells Yang she knows she won't be coming with him, and tries to hand him April, but he refuses. He makes the baby laugh once more, and gives Lynne a caring look. Yang turns to the sunset and never stopped walking, to put as much space between him and the little lady he loved as possible. The scene then shifts to a snowy, glacial environment. Opera plays from a small fish shack where a hooded man in a parka sits. Another approaches and asks how much for a fish. The sitting man nimbly kills the other, knives falling out of his hands as he collapses. Yang stands up and goes to his shack, where he takes his pendant from Lynne, his katana disguised as a snowman's broom, and April's pacifier, and sets the hut on fire. Walking out to the snow, a slew of ninja warriors leap out of the snow, and Yang unsheathes his katana as the scene fades.