Under the Skin “Less Than Skin Deep”
Apr 30th
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
UNDER THE SKIN is a strange movie that has been getting good reviews, but the reviews I have read give away the ending, which explains all the confusing events in the movie.
That is like reading the last few pages of a novel to see how it ends before reading the novel the way the author intended it to be read.
As a matter of fact, this movie is based on the novel by Michael Faber, which I have not read, and so I do not know how it was constructed or if the reader doesn’t get an explanation for what is happening until the very end like the movie.
Scarlett Johannson stars as a woman who is not given a name, even in the credits, where she could have been listed as “The Woman.”
In fact, none of the actors are identified by names, which makes it difficult to talk about them.
The movie begins with someone riding a motorcycle at night on a deserted road. A man stops by the side of the road, gets off the motorcycle, and retrieves a woman’s body and carries it to a white van parked on the road.
Then we see a naked woman against a white background undress another woman who is lying still and put on that woman’s clothes, stopping to examine an ant that she finds on the woman’s body.
The woman then drives away in the van and thus begins a series of similar scenes, in which she stops to ask men for directions, offers them a ride, and then seduces them.
All of these scenes end with Scarlett Johannson, whom we now recognize as the woman, undressed and walking on top of a body of water, while the man, also undressed, walks into the water and submerges.
This all takes place in Scotland, and we see the same scene with variations during the day and night with different men.
One variation is in a nightclub when she lets a man pick her up with the line, “I’m all alone, you’re all alone.”
She continues picking up men and seducing and drowning them, but not always by giving them a ride in the van.
And then there is that scene at the end which explains everything.
UNDER THE SKIN is less than skin deep–much less.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
The Other Woman “The Other Women”
Apr 30th
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
THE OTHER WOMAN is a fantasy come true for all women who have been involved with a man who cheated on them with another woman and even for women who have been that other woman, themselves.
In other words, it is a revenge movie, but presented as a comedy.
Cameron Diaz stars as Carly, and at the beginning of the movie she has been dating Mark for eight weeks, enough time for him to meet her father, Frank, played by Don Johnson.
However, Mark bails out of the meeting, telling Carly that he has to rush home to Connecticut for the weekend to fix a plumbing problem in his house.
So, Carly decides to wear something sexy and surprise Mark at his house, but she is the one who is surprised when she is greeted at the door by Mark’s wife, Kate, played by Leslie Mann.
Carly is a lawyer in New York City, and she tells her secretary, “I don’t do married guys,” and she thinks the unpleasant business is over.
However, Kate shows up to see Carly and wants to know the details about Carly’s involvement with Kate’s husband, eventually they become friends, and when they spy on Mark, they discover that he was even cheating on Carly with a super-hot girl, Amber, played by Kate Upton.
Well, now all three women get together and conspire to get revenge on Mark, who by now has revealed himself to the audience as being a real jerk who deserves to be brought down by these women.
Mark is an entrepreneur, and, sure enough, when the three women follow him to the Bahamas, where Mark keeps his money in order to hide it from Kate, they discover that he might even have another girlfriend, which would mean that he is also cheating on Amber.
The story is preposterous, it takes too long to get started, and it takes too long in the middle to get to where it wants to go, but it does have some laughs, it does have some scenes of slapstick, and it does end with the women getting revenge on a cheating jerk.
THE OTHER WOMAN should more accurately be titled “The Other Women,” I found some problems with it even though I laughed in places, but then it wasn’t made for men, was it?
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Floridas 12th Annual Birding Photo Fest
Apr 30th
Experience northeast Florida’s abundant bird life and photogenic natural beauty at more than 110 exciting birding and outdoor photography events!
In addition to the ever-popular nature tours and excursions, new discoveries for this year’s event include workshops on preparing images and composition, photographing birds in flight, selections and layer masking, flash techniques and many in field photography workshops.
The festival is headquartered at the GTM Research Reserve, located 8 miles north of St. Augustine on A1A North.
Discover the region’s phenomenal bird life and the abundant natural habitats that sustain them with bird walks and boat and kayak trips to undisturbed areas.
This Festival is guaranteed to excite nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages. 505 Guana River Rd., Ponte Vedra Beach 904-209-4422
Source: City of St. Augustine
