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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Dig (2021) in Movies

Jan 31, 2021

The Dig (2021)

2021 | Drama, History

7.7

(3 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Acting from Fiennes and Mulligan - top notch (1 more)

Cinematography is gorgeous

Why make it so "man heavy" when history was otherwise? (1 more)

Found the asynchronous editing irritating

Archaeology with no fedora required

It’s 1939, and as World War 2 approaches, widower Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) hires rough and ready excavator Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) to dig into one of the ancient earth mounds on her property at the site that will become famous as Sutton Hoo in Suffolk. Requesting the help of her cousin Rory Lomax (Johnny Flynn) to photograph the effort, the site slowly gives up its Anglo-Saxon treasures attracting the attention of first the Ipswich museum and then the pompous Charles Phillips (Ken Stott) of the British Museum. A battle is on for both the control of the site and the resting place for the treasures found.

Against this backdrop there is a critical illness emerging, a son (Archie Barnes) and his attachment to the father figure of Brown and a potential romance between Rory and archaeologist Peggy Piggott, trapped in a loveless marriage.

Talent:
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Johnny Flynn, Lily James, Archie Barnes, Ken Stott, Monica Donlan.

Directed by: Simon Stone.

Written by: Moira Buffini (from the novel by John Preston).

Bullet points of my thoughts:

+ Superb acting by Mulligan and Fiennes – Oscar noms for both?
+ Young Archie Barnes impresses as the son Robert
+ Cinematography by Mike Eley shows the open Suffolk skies at their best
+ Based on fact, a fascinating historical record of the real excitement of uncovering the past
o The script deftly melds the archeology with the love story subplot: but was the latter really necessary?
– Curious “man heavy” script, replacing some of the historical female characters with men and making Peggy Piggott (Lily James) a bit of a klutz
– Asynchronous editing decision I found to be distracting and unnecessary.

For my full review, please see the video at https://youtu.be/m8Ad8B8dkSY .

Kudos

Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated The Sun in Her Eyes in Books

Sep 6, 2019

This is my fourth or fifth book by the author and I have to admit my least favourite. I even liked [b:Thirteen Weddings|18280725|Thirteen Weddings|Paige Toon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394992094s/18280725.jpg|25752669] better and that didn't even have the ending I wanted but the story and characters got to me more.

I can't say I felt anything for Amber, maybe the fact that she was already married from the start and in a somewhat good marriage with Ned made me a little uncomfortable with what was going on with Ethan. If Ned hadn't been in the picture I would have been all over the Ethan and Amber storyline. Revisiting first-loves is fine by me, but not necessarily when you're quite happily married. If she'd been unhappy, sure.

As for the letter that Doris sent her asking to meet so she could hear the message her mum wanted to give her, I was a <s>little</s>, make that a lot disappointed by that. I was expecting some big secret or something...

Despite not enjoying this as much as the others it has made me want to go on a Paige Toon book binge so I've hunted out all the ones I have but not read yet and will be reading [b:Pictures of Lily|7134057|Pictures of Lily|Paige Toon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1269790608s/7134057.jpg|7396938] first before moving onto [b:Lucy in the Sky|1032295|Lucy in the Sky|Paige Toon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328707137s/1032295.jpg|1018573],[b:One Perfect Summer|12064651|One Perfect Summer (One Perfect #1)|Paige Toon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1330897612s/12064651.jpg|17032024],[b:The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson|18114638|The Accidental Life of Jessie Jefferson (Jessie Jefferson #1)|Paige Toon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1383081247s/18114638.jpg|25441913] and [b:The Longest Holiday|16000770|The Longest Holiday|Paige Toon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1363007994s/16000770.jpg|21762175]

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2204 KP) rated Murder in Chinatown in Books

Aug 18, 2019

Missing Girl Leads to Murder

After a recent close call, midwife Sarah Brandt has vowed to stay away from solving crimes and getting involved in anything dangerous. However, she is in Chinatown with the Lee family since Cora Lee is about to give birth and gets a front row to the family drama unfolding. Cora’s niece, Angel, is upset that her father has arranged a marriage for her to an older man and runs away. The family is frantic to find her because the city is no place for a fifteen-year-old to be alone. While the family does find her, she turns up dead a few days later. Sarah manages to get NYPD Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy involved in the case because she fears other police won’t care to fully investigate given who the victim was. But can Malloy figure it out? Will Sarah get involved despite her promise to stay away from murder?

Once again, we are expertly transported back to 1890’s New York City. Along with our normal glimpses of life during the time period, we get to see a bit of how the Chinese were treated during the time; unfortunately, it isn’t pretty. However, the book never stops to preach at us, instead working this in during the mystery. The case itself is strong with plenty of twists to keep us entertained until the end. I thought I had a few things figured out, but I discovered I was wrong when I reached the logical ending. Sarah, in her efforts to stay out of the case, isn’t quite as involved as Frank, but she still has plenty to contribute. Both are great lead characters, and I enjoyed spending time with the regular supporting players as well as meeting the new characters introduced here. We get some advancement on a couple of on-going storylines, and it looks like one of them will be the main focus of the next in the series. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where that leads.