It hurts, all this. ~ Sherlock Holmes

All this hurts. ~ Sherlock Holmes, Elementary

On the TV series, Elementary, Sherlock Holmes explains to Agatha why he cannot donate his sperm so she can have a baby with his DNA and, hopefully, his gifts. Sherlock: You’re right. I am… remarkable. That’s precisely why I can’t help you. Agatha: What does being amazing have to do… […]

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Adama and Roslin ~ Discovering love in the quiet moments.

Adama and Roslin ~ Battlestar Galactica

One of many beautifully rendered scenes from the fourth and final season of Battlestar Galactica. Admiral William Adama has fallen in love with Laura Roslin, President of the Twelve Colonies of Cobol. He hasn’t told her yet. He hasn’t even admitted it to himself, yet. But he is just about […]

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Matches and the eternal sunshine of the spotless soul ~ Lawrence of Arabia

Burning Match

Metaphor. I love metaphor. Matches. I just posted one about matches. Matches and pain. This one isn’t about pain. Not at all. It’s about perfection. This one is about the fire that burns inside each of us. Well, maybe there’s a little pain. It’s the pain you feel in your […]

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The trick … is not minding that it hurts ~ Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia ~ Peter O'Toole Blows Out the Match

I’ve always loved this scene introducing Peter O’Toole in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia. In a film rife with extraordinary storytelling and wisdom, it remains my favourite. In hindsight perhaps it’s the spiritual undertone of Lawrence’s statement that’s always intrigued me most because, of course, Lawrence isn’t only talking about […]

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Jason Bourne and identity — who am I?

The Bourne Identity ~ Matt Damon

Who are you? Are you the sum of your experiences, your actions, your memories? Are you your dreams, your plans, your aspirations, the person you’ll someday become? Are you your past, or your destiny or your present? The best films in any genre are always the ones that touch on […]

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Blade Runner ~ do androids weep electric tears?

Tears in Rain ~ Roy Batty

Blade Runner is among my favourite films. In a veritable symphony of cinematic elements — cinematography, script, production design, soundtrack, direction, acting — it doesn’t miss a note. The film touches on all the major themes of the human condition: love, death, good and evil, redemption, justice, ethics, greed, passion. […]

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To Kill a Mockingbird: the courage of Atticus Finch

To Kill a Mockingbird ~ Courtroom Verdict

It’s the 50th anniversary of the publishing of Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, and I’ve got the film paused, just after the scene in which the verdict is handed down. Guilty. Both the film and the book resonate very deeply with me, in all the themes they touch […]

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