Walking Out

MOVIE

  • 21 Oct - 27 Oct, 2017
  • Mag The Weekly
  • Time Out

Cal (Matt Bomer) and David (Josh Wiggins) don’t see much of each other, and it’s clear from the boy’s attachment to his cell phone that Cal’s rugged, tough-guy ethos is mostly alien to him. The boy loves his father, and his father loves him back, but it’s hard to see evidence at first that these two are in any way related.

The father-son duo is headed to the beautiful, forbidding Crazy Mountains in search of moose — one in particular, which Cal has been tracking for the past two weeks. Along the way, Cal hopes to teach David lessons about both hunting and life. The film cuts intermittently to lovely grainy footage of young Cal and his own father (Bill Pullman) out hunting, as if to underline the notion that this passing of wisdom is as natural and constant as the unspeakably beautiful fields, streams, and mountains of Montana around them.

But things don’t go as planned. To call the movie a thriller wouldn’t quite do it justice, though it certainly is gripping. It is based on a short story by David Quammen and maintains the sharp-edged minimalism of that abbreviated form even as it becomes a drama of survival, mixed with elements of a coming-of-age tale. It also calls into question those rituals of manly bonding, suggesting that real life lessons, the lessons that actually matter, get passed on not through earnest proclamations but through harrowing, soul-crushing experiences.

It would be hard not to be moved by these performances, particularly Bomer’s as the tender but demanding Cal, whose own demons gradually emerge as the film proceeds. The movie suggests that true knowledge is passed through heartbreak and suffering.


VERDICT

It is an excellent movie about extraordinary things.



MUSIC

As You Were

by Liam Gallagher

This album is Liam’s first-ever full-length solo record and it absolutely delivers the goods. It is a crisply-produced set of 12 songs that span roughly 50 minutes altogether. On the album, Liam’s songs sound as they should and don’t drag on for extended periods of time. Liam vocally sounds like himself with his unique voice highlighting songs like Bold, the rhythmic Greedy Soul and the Beatles-inspired For What It’s Worth to name a few. The songs are smartly paced without feeling hasty, most notably in a track like You Better Run. On the number Greedy Soul, the vocalist shows he can still compete with a heavier rocker.

When one listens to the album, it shows that Liam has really put time and effort into it and is a compliment to the song writing and production on display, not to mention the great instrumentation all through the record. The ex-Oasis frontman makes a statement that he’s just as formidable out of the band as he was when in it, he is eager to give his brother Noel a run for his money as the most successful one outside the band, for the album is currently outselling the rest of the top 20 combined in the UK albums chart.


Book

My (Not So) Perfect Life

by Sophie Kinsella

Life is not perfect, it is not what it always seems to be and a young woman eventually learns it following an attempt to move on from a dramatic firing by working at her family farm. Katie Brenner, a country girl, is living the life she has always dreamt about in London. She has reinvented herself with a nickname Cat and works at a trendy branding agency, and has abandoned her not-so-posh accent. However, behind her perfectly managed Instagram account, life is not exactly as amazing as she portrays it to be.

Financially, Katie isn’t doing well, she is living with horrible roommates and is desperately trying to impress Demeter – her boss. After developing a flirtatious relationship with her cute co-worker, she assumes things will eventually become better. However, after being fired by her boss, she is forced to move back to her home and live with her family, which includes her father and stepmother in Somerset. All this while, she spends her time helping her parents with running an upscale camping, glamping business and applies at every marketing job available.

She is a winning protagonist with a point of view even more likable than that of Kinsella’s other chick-lit characters. It’s easy to root for her as she deals with problems that are much more relatable and less-than-relatable simultaneously. The romance in the story is charming, but its strength is the evolving relationship between Katie and Demeter. The author weaves characters that are well-formed, eccentric, and joyful to read.


First Person

My Word is My Bond: A Memoir

From early television through the golden age of Hollywood and on to international superstardom, Roger Moore has enjoyed an illustrious career spanning seven decades as the ideal charming hero.

Handsome, dashing, and an archetypal English gentleman, he is popular making seven blockbuster films as the most suave 007 of all time and has worked with some of the world’s most legendary stars. The English actor was unforgettable as The Saint, as Lord Brett Sinclair in The Persuaders and, of course, as the charismatic British Secret Service agent James Bond.

In his autobiography, Roger shares his memories of playing some of the world’s most famous characters as well as several stories from his personal life, including events from his childhood in London and his experiences during the Second World War. Packed with anecdotes from his encounters with various celebrities and his memories from the peak Hollywood days, this is an honest, witty, and delightful story of a life lived among the stars.


GAME

A Hat In Time

The game has all the best ingredients of a 3D platformer. It's colourful and cute with crazy characters and offers a variety of collectibles to find on each level, some are easier to get while others aren’t that simple to get hold of; A Hat In Time’s worlds hide secrets and details. While the first of its four chief worlds is deplorably standard, once it opens up, the game offers creative, charming spheres that make it feel true to its beloved predecessors without getting out of date. It begins with the player, a young girl and captain of the spaceship, losing Time Pieces needed for fuel to get back home. 40 of the Time Pieces fall out the spaceship’s window and disperse around a strange planet, meaning you have to venture down there to find them. The game starts slow but it's brimming with the appeal and joy of typical 3D platformers.


PICKS OF THE WEEK

Sourdough
by Robin Sloan

The author takes us on Lois Clary’s journey – a software engineer – who finds herself controlling the sourdough culture. She soon becomes a skilled bread baker and considers achieving success and fame through her talent; all while meeting strange people in underground food markets.

A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares
by Krystal Sutherland

The protagonist Esther always has a semi-definitive list of her worst nightmares with her, which Jonah, a boy in her class, pickpocketed from her. Instead of returning it to Esther, he chooses to help Esther face all of her fears on the list including that of falling in love.

Right Where You Left Me
by Calla Devlin

The book is homage to the courageous journalist who, despite challenges, are brave enough to report the truth. It is the story of an aspiring journalist Charlotte, whose father is kidnapped while on assignment in Ukraine. She leaves no stone unturned to bring her father back with the abilities of a complex female character.

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