One could say melodramas take preposterous human mistakes and play them for dramatic effect. They challenge the audience to interpret how you would act defiantly or morally differently in the same situation. These films do so while still compelling you watch in hope for any semblance of a happy ending. To understand “The Light Between Oceans” is to understand melodrama. The themes of melodramatic journeys are meant to be arduous. In the medium of film, the clinchers that aid in the ability to embrace and appreciate a melodrama are its tone and the acting performances. “The Light Between Oceans” flourishes to accomplish both benchmarks.

ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, 2016, MOVIE REVIEW, 5 STARSDon ShanahanAugust 31, 2016World War I, The Place Beyond the Pines, life lessons from films, Donald Shanahan, Epic, The Lobster, 2016 Fall Movies, Every Movie Has a Lesson, David Lean, movie review, The Danish Girl, Malborough, New Zealand, life lessons, 12 Years a Slave, The Light Between Oceans, Oscar contenders, Adam Arkapaw, Tim Dirks, Alexandre Desplat, Bryan Brown, Cinematography, Oscar hopefuls, Don Shanahan, Youth, Jack Thompson, AMC, Alicia Vikander, Macbeth, Ingrid Bergman, melodramas, life lessons from movies, 2016, Oscar race, life lessons from film, Blue Valentine, Shame, Awards bait, Oscar bait, movie commentary, Michael Fassbender, Filmsite.org, Derek Cianfrance, film commentary, movie melodramas, Rachel Weisz, film review, Cape Campbell Lighthouse, M.L. Steadman, Filmsite, Daniel Day-Lewis, Steve Jobs Comments

MOVIE REVIEW: Sunset Song

Beloved in its homeland of Scotland, Lewis Grassic Gibbon's 1932 novel "Sunset Song" is revered for its detailed and poignant tale of peasant life and the place of women during the transitional times of the early 20th century. The novel has been a long-gestating passion project for highly regarded British filmmaker Terence Davies. Brought to life with moments of 65mm grandeur, his sumptuously crafted and carefully refined film adaptation is another jewel in the filmmaker's crown, though one not without its source material's difficulties.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Water Diviner

"The Water Diviner" arrives as the directorial debut of Oscar-winning Australian actor Russell Crowe. Released last year in his home country, Crowe's film was the highest grossing film in Australia for 2014 and netted three Australian Academy Awards last year including Best Film. In an industry where everyone is constantly being compared and measured against their peers, most will to prognosticate Crowe already. Does he have it in him to be the next Robert De Niro behind the director's chair, the next Kevin Costner, or the next Clint Eastwood? Let's vote for "none of the above" and give him some time. Fashioned better than most directorial debuts, "The Water Diviner" isn't perfect, but it's a solid start from Russell Crowe climbing into a new chair.

EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

by Don Shanahan

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