This morning I decided to venture into the city centre to see a film at The Showroom. Rather than travelling by bus, I decided to walk - for it was a sunny morning and I had given myself plenty of time to reach the 12.15 screening. It's just over two miles from our house to The Showroom. As you can see, I took along my trusty camera.
I wandered into The General Cemetery and spotted this weather-beaten framed picture propped up against the war memorial. It's a nameless soldier of World War I - often referred to as The Great War - though what was great about it - I have no idea. The little wooden cross suggests that the soldier died in 1916 at The Battle of the Somme where both of my grandfathers also fought but thankfully, unlike the man in the picture, they both managed to make it home.
The film I went to see was "Killers of the Flower Moon" directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert di Niro, Lily Gladstone and Leonardo di Caprio as Ernest Burkhart shown below. I snapped that photo in the cinema.
I wanted to be captivated by the film and it certainly had its moments. So much of it was good but it was far too long in my opinion and the thing was that it didn't need to be that long - 3 hours 30 minutes. It told the true story of murders within the Osage First Nation community in Oklahoma. They had become rich on oil but like cunning sharks, white predators stalked them.
On the way to the bus stop I walked past "The Red Lion" on Charles Street. Perhaps you already knew that "The Red Lion" is the most common pub name in England.
I also passed The Site Gallery on Brown Street. It's not the first time I have stopped to take a picture of the illuminated signage - "everything is different today". I only half agree with that sentiment because in my estimation, some things clearly stay the same.
You have some interesting mish mash to write about.
ReplyDeleteAnother mass shooting here in the good old US of A. Nothing seems to change here. I am in despair,
ReplyDeleteWould it be that everything WAS different today - including mankind's apparently inherent talent for making each other suffer. If that were different to the millenia since humans first appeared on the scene, I'd be all for it!
ReplyDeleteYour had good weather for your walk. Sometimes I find an urban walk more attractive than walking across the rather featureless fields, but most of the time, like you I prefer open countryside.
By the way, it's Robert de Niro, not di Niro.
As you say, the film sounds far too long. It is an art to tell a complex story in a relatively short time, an art which the makers of this film clearly did not master (or aspire to).
Bagshot street reminds me of Batilda Bagshot, a character in Harry Potter.
In a pub quiz many years ago, one of the questions was "Which is the most common pub name in England". My late team mate (originally from Liverpool) and I were the only ones who knew the correct answer.
It is nice to see a cheerful film.
ReplyDeleteIt is just as well your grandfathers survived.
I did not know about Red Lion being the most popular hotel. I thought it might be Railway Hotel or Station Hotel.
I am with you on Everything is Different Today. There is much same old.
Poignant WW1 photo. I like how you contrast the ancient Red Lion pub with the modern tower block.
ReplyDeleteI've heard mixed reviews of Killers of the Flower Moon. It does sound much too long and I'm in no hurry to spend an afternoon seeing people making each other suffer. Nothing ever changes in that regard.
ReplyDeleteBy "everything is different today", do they mean that whatever is on display inside is different from yesterday? I assume as it's a gallery (not a name I know) it displays paintings and sundry other objects of interest. Could it be that they have been changed therefore something different on display? However if they mean in life, or the world, then you are right, some things never change.
ReplyDeleteWas the term great war used because it encompassed the globe - or a great part of it, although much was fought on French soil? There certainly wasn't anything great about the wholesale slaughter of a generation of young men.
I like that sign. It's thought-provoking. IS everything different today? And in what ways?
ReplyDeleteI think everything IS different today; maybe not in huge noticeable ways, but it's different.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like lovely weather for a walk. I have no desire to see that movie. I know the story and it makes me sick.
ReplyDeleteKillers of the Flower Moon was written by one of my favorite authors. Whenever a new book of his comes out, it goes right to the front of my reading pile.
ReplyDeleteA nice variety of photos, Neil.
ReplyDeleteA great afternoon out, thank you for taking us along.
ReplyDeleteI thought the book version of Killers of the Flower Moon was excellent, but I'm not sure I could sit through a film that long. My attention span has decreased in my old age.
ReplyDeletePlus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
ReplyDeleteI surprised that you walked *past* The Red Lion and not into it!
ReplyDeleteI could never watch a movie that long and in my opinion too many movies are far too long. I'm not a fan of DiCaprio anyway.
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