26 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY October 1 - 15 , 2017
By Alan Samuel
The Mountain Between Us ( PG ) *** Cast Off !
Brought together by fate , united by an instinct to survive The Mountain Between us shows just how far people will go to survive . Intended for a mature audience this 20th Century Fox grand scale drama explores both the pain and suffering two who were left for dead people to endure . Check out this intimate portrait of two people in need currently haunting audiences at select Cineplex theatres across B . C .
Haste makes waste . Remember that age old saying ? Well sometimes it pays to take heed as two travellers learn the hard way when they are snowed in at an airport . Busy people make decisions sometimes in the spur of the moment . Outside pressures and an urge to return home in a hurry see two unlikely unlucky souls decide to brave the elements and head out on their own .
Oscar winner Kate Winslet ( Titanic ) by now is used to wreckage . Substitute an airplane for a boat and handsome Idris Elba ( Luther ) for Leonardo DiCaprio and the dye is cast for a tale of struggle and survival among some very snowy mountainous terrain . Mother Nature can be majestic as well as death defying . Left to their own devices and cut off from the rest of the world The Mountain Between Us paints an intense emotional story of how people cope with tragedy and he darkest secrets they try to keep safe and hidden .
Startling imagery of the rugged British Columbia wilderness perfectly encompasses the sense of longing and hope embodied in these two spirited individuals .
Rebel in the Rye ( PG ) *** Catch 22 !
DEL PILAR`S LAST STAND
Sooner or later we all go to school . And love is gonna get ya - to coin a line from a classic 70s Rock tune . Love and school combine as Mongrel Media delivers the goods with Rebel in the Rye . Yes , countless films with school or literature themes have come at us over the years . Classics like To Sir with Love , The Blackboard Jungle and The Paper Chase come to mind . Now sit back and embrace the warmth of one of the literary world ’ s all-time classics destined for fame and fortune at The International Village Cinemas and select Cineplex Entertainment halls across B . C .
Never judge a book by it ’ s cover . Generations the world over have met the character Holden Caulfield in J . D . Salinger ’ s monumental The Catcher in the Rye . Finally , we get to see how this literary masterpiece published in 1951 came about . Through the dark looking glass , we go as we see one determined New Yorker ’ s desire to become a writer .
Born Jewish to a strong minded dad but more genteel mom is one J . D . Salinger . Talk about being a confused messed up young man whose spirit of awkwardness is flawlessly enunciated by Nicholas Hoult . Given half the chance this inexperienced with the lady ’ s gent wants to write . Able to harness that raw energy and plant the right seed to cultivate a yearning though confused mind is a college prof played with gusto , restraint and relish by the always pleasing Kevin Spacey .
That literary atmosphere combined with family strife and a stint in the war plus those countless rejections from both ladies and publishers help germinate a writer extraordinaire . Full of style and panache Rebel in the Rye is best-selling entertainment enhanced by the presence of such quality thespians as Hope Davis and Victor Garber . Looks like finally we are being gifted with a film that may get people reading as opposed to playing on their computers / smart phones .
General Gregorio del Pilar is best remembered for his heroic stand against American troops in the Battle of Tirad Pass . The long-accepted account of his death , based on an eyewitness report by Richard Henry Little of the Chicago Tribune , says that del Pilar was killed by a sharpshooter`s bullet atop his white mount while rallying his men to fight bravely . But there are two other , albeit lesser-known , versions . One is by del Plilar ’ s aide , Vicente Enriquez , who recounted that the young general was killed while about to mount his horse after having darted from trench to trench , exhorting his men to repulse the enemy . The other version comes from the book A Spaniard in Aguinaldo ’ s Army , whose author , Telesforo Carrasco , was also an eyewitness . He wrote that he was handling del Pilar a carbine and warning him that the Americans were targeting him when the fatal bullet ripped through his neck . Carrasco made no mention of any horse .
For The Record . Considered the youngest soldier in modern history was the Brazilian military hero and statesman , Marshall Duke of Caxias . He is recorded to have entered his infantry regiment in 1808 at the ae of 5 .
Classified Odd . In march 1976 , President Francisco Macias Nguema of Equitorial Guinea ordered compulsory military service for all boys between the ages of seven and 14 . The decree stated that any parent refusing to hand over his son ``will be imprisoned or shot . `` Macias Nguema was deposed in a military coup three years later .
WORD WATCH Infantry ( in`fan tree ) : from the Latin infante , meaning a ‘ child ;’ later used in referring to a knight ’ s page .
WWW . PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY . COM