Ruta Gedmintas – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: I know such a gorge at the end of the vampire world.

Vampire Bat: It is the border of the known vampire lands.

Vampire Owl: Where do we reach if we cross that?

Vampire Bat: They call it the whisper to infinity.

Vampire Owl: There is no infinity in this world. Everyone ends.

Vampire Bat: Our immortality is subject to market risks. It is not the same for everyone.

Vampire Owl: You are talking about the vampire elders.

Vampire Bat: There could be creatures lurking under the border gorge.

Vampire Owl: Yet we leave that area unprotected.

Vampire Bat: Well, if any zombie is going to fall into it, let it better be underneath rather than at the surface. The shadow demons have already crossed over to the surface from the shadow world.

[Gets a paneer samosa and three cups of Wayanad tea].

What is the movie about? :: Levi (Miles Teller) is former United States Marine Sniper who is recruited by a mysterious woman for a special mission which requires his special skills as a record-breaking sniper on the enemy lines. He is taken on a flight to a remote location where he gets down on a parachute in the middle of nowhere. There he meets Drake (Sope Dirisu), a former British Royal Marine corporal, who was in charge of guarding a tower on the west side of a gorge. He explains that the location is kept hidden from the outside world by powerful cloaking antennas and he is not supposed to talk to the outside world about it. He adds that both the west and east towers are armed to contain some strange, monstrous creatures within the gorge, which they have nicknamed “The Hollow Men”. There is also the warning about “Straydog”, an unknown emergency protocol. He talks about the towers’ history which had that battalions of soldiers sent into the gorge in the late 1940s and none of them had ever returned. Drake who leaves the gorge is picked up by helicopter, but is not taken home as he is shot dead.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Drasa (Anya Taylor-Joy), a Lithuanian sniper who is involved in covert operations assigned by the Russian forces gets a special offer for a year. Her father Erikas (William Houston) who was once associated with KGB, is now dying due to cancer asks her to go on despite Drasa not feeling that good about so many sniping killings from a distance. The offer that she gets is the same as what Levi had received from the mysterious person whose name is revealed to be Bartholomew (Sigourney Weaver). She is given charge of the eastern tower opposite Levi’s tower, fully armed and meant to stop the creatures coming out of the gorge, a position which has been held by so many people throughout the last few years. Levi who suffers from nightmares coming right out of his trauma tries to live by the rules including the ban on having any contact with the person on the other side. But Drasa contacts Levi with a writing which tells him that she does not care and that it is her birthday. With a birthday wish and following contact, they keep fighting the creatures coming up from underneath along with a lot of continuous talks getting them close to each other. But the secrets of the gorge might be the end of them, or will they survive this?

The defence of The Gorge :: The movie’s world is the first thing that catches our attention, as it is really well-created. The feeling that the two towers with horror in between keeps us excited from the beginning itself. A certain romantic side and the feeling of danger keep making an impact from two sides, while there are many heart-warming sweet moments as well as the surprising terror, making the two sides of the coin work so well in balance. The first point of contact between the two snipers is one of the most charming moments that one would ever see, and the quick twist see the danger, and then we see some more of those lovely situations which stay in our minds. The on-screen chemistry between the two is something that lasts since the first point of meeting itself, through the dangers, between all the shooting and explosions and more. As this one blend sci-fi, horror, action, thriller and romance in an unusual way, there is so much of freshness added here and we keep feeling the same throughout its run. The mysterious gorge setting, visual effects and creature and underworld designs are nothing less than classic in nature. What lies beneath gets the best of design as much as the view of the top.

Positives and negatives :: The movie could have had more moments of romance, and the cuteness factor often leaves too early. But we see that the action scenes are so engaging with romantic possibilities never leaving either. The final moments seem to get to that end too early and the climax gets a little bit predictable with a quick finish. Even though the background tale is nicely revealed and remains strong, it is not something new or that innovative – yet, they have made the whole thing look so good and made in a way in which it will remain strong and interesting. The birthday and dance moments are the cutest moments of the movie, and there is also that satisfying lovely ending which would make you hope for a sequel with these two. The battle underneath definitely makes the whole world gain in strength, and such a world could not be made with such quality and style in another movie. The setting itself is the one thing which made this happen. If these protagonists of the movie are not the most likable ones around as they set new meanings for long distance relationships, one can only wonder what else can be.

The performers of the soul :: The movie thrives on its performances as the leading cast make the whole thing so lovely and believable. We have known Miles Teller from Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant making a trilogy, and that version of Fantastic Four which is not remembered in compared to two other more famous ones. Here, he comes up with a performance to remember for very long. Meanwhile, Anya Taylor-Joy is so lovely in such a way that she stays in our minds like a beautiful memory of a lost world. She was someone who started so well with her first flicks, The Witch and Morgan, followed by being a part of Split and Glass, and she made Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga a movie known as much as for her performance as it was for the action and world building. We know that she is also part of the Dune series, and we are sure to have more of her around. She could be the perfect Resident Evil protagonist, but Umbrella Corporation’s people seem to have other ideas even with reboots. She could also be in an Underworld reboot with the action skills. These two protagonists share such an onscreen chemistry that it is the viewer who falls in love. The two are just remarkable also in the action sequences as they were with those cute moments of romance together.

How it finishes :: The Gorge is the one movie which comes out of nowhere to make a huge impact while blending its genres as it hesitates to be limited to one thing or even two. While the film’s mystery leads to some genuine suspense in the first half, the later revelations and action-filled climax keep the movie at the same level, while never losing the romantic side in the process. The blend of romance, horror, action, thrills and impressive visuals make it a worthwhile watch with some genre-bending science fiction. The combination of Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy is something that we will remember for a long time, as the movie keeps itself emotionally strong, with no dull moment at all. I would consider this movie as one of those rare flicks which appealed to us as part of all genres which it represented. The same is not an easy job, but it has been achieved with such ease, thanks to the performances. I would recommend this for fans of different genres and almost everyone, and I would have loved to watch this one on the big screen.

Release date: 14th February 2025
Running time: 127 minutes
Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Starring: Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sigourney Weaver, Sope Dirisu, William Houston, Ruta Gedmintas

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl: This one looks like the Vampire Cat in disguise.

Vampire Bat: How can you talk like that about such a cute ginger cat?

Vampire Owl: Even the Vampire Cat is cute.

Vampire Bat: No, he is not. That makes no sense.

Vampire Owl: You just have to look at the right angles.

Vampire Bat: Dude, the long fangs say that it is not “cute” territory.

Vampire Owl: But how can that one be a cat and not cute?

Vampire Bat: That is a good question. But a cat is normally not cute with all his nine lives left even after death.

Vampire Owl: I am just glad that he is not a Zombie Cat.

Vampire Bat: Well, not part of your zombie minion squad, that is for sure!

[Gets three cups of masala tea with special masala dosa].

What is the movie about? :: James Bowen (Luke Treadaway) is a recovering drug addict who has nothing going in his way. With his father Nigel Bowen (Anthony Head) married again with a woman with two kids, it is his support worker, Val (Joanne Froggatt), who tries so hard, and helps him to get his own flat to live in. He has been trying to earn some money by singing on the streets, but it is not of much use. One day, a ginger cat enters his apartment to find some food. It is a friendly cat, and James tries to find its owner, but it seems that there is none. One day, it gets injured while fighting with some other stray animals. After taking it to the vetenary doctor, and with the advice of his neighbour, he names it Bob. It stays with him in the flat, and so he decides to let it be there.

So, what happens next? :: Everything begins to change as people notice him with the cat which stays on his shoulders as he walks through the streets and sings – at the same time, James also develops a relationship with his neighbor Betty (Ruta Gedmintas). These things make him more responsible, and he manages to become a better person. He finds himself responsible for the life of Bob as well as himself, and manages to stay away from drugs for enough time to get clean. Everyone in the streets admire the team of two, and even James’ father appreciate his efforts to get better. With the question remaining about helped whom more than the other, the James and Bob seems to have managed well enough to be a lot helpful to each other. But their times don’t end here, as it continues to make a bigger impact on them as well as the people around them.

The defence of A Street Cat Named Bob :: The movie has its heart and soul at the right place which makes this one a movie not just for the cat lovers – that specific category is certain to love this movie more for sure though. There is no difficulty in falling in love with a movie as feel-good and cute as this one, with its dark sides nicely controlled and gotten rid of. There is a lot of focus on its message, on what it means to be loved, and what it is about having someone to love – how it changes a person completely. There is also the message against doing drugs, as we see the protagonist go through the different phases of his life. Dealing with a subject like this, and still managing to be realistic as well as inspirational, takes some effort, and thanks to a fantastic performance from Luke Treadaway, and the work from Bob the Cat himself, there is not much that goes apart in this one – the emotional side works really well.

The claws of flaw :: There is a certain slowness that can be felt, and this is certainly no special tale as all things go simple with this one. There was also the potential to make something bigger out of this tale, with the real life tale made into book, and the cat and the owner being pretty much famous. The potential for usual pet stories is nothing less either. You know what cats are capable of – I had one myself named Simona, and she was never lacking in skills. She could always provide the needed entertainment – there were no shortage of admirers for her in the neighbourhood. The movie could have easily added some moments which could look really good on the screen. There are always more interesting incidents that could have happened around here. We could have also had more interesting characters added to support the whole thing.

Soul exploration :: You see the tagline of this movie, “Sometimes it takes nine lives to save one” – it is one perfect thing to have. As the movie is based on real-life incidents, this happens to be a proven thing – I have often believed that my own cat called Simona has affected my life in a positive way too. With her daily activities, she had inspired me to write more and also see some happiness with her activities of fun. I have been depressed on a lot of occasions, and her presence was good enough to lift me up every time. Therefore, I can connect with this movie better than most of the people out there. It was just last year that she died, falling victim to a motor accident while crossing the road, and that came as quite a shock to us. During the times of sadness these days, I continue to miss her, and it was during one of those days that this movie came to me.

How it finishes :: The world needs more movies with cats. And more people also need to watch this movie at a time when the idea of an ideal pet has been more about having a dog. We can also be sure about having more movies in this series, with more books being present among the original collection of works by the same author with the same cat at the centre. The others include The World According to Bob, and more for children including Bob: No Ordinary Cat, Where In The World Is Bob?, My Name Is Bob, For the Love of Bob, Bob to the Rescue and a short story titled A Gift from Bob. A Street Cat Named Bob as the book was nominated for the UK’s National Book Awards and it was listed at No. 7 on a list of the most inspiring teenage books as part of a poll for World Book Day. Let’s see what the movie brings as more people gets to watch it.

Release date: 4th November 2016
Running time: 103 minutes
Directed by: Roger Spottiswoode
Starring: Luke Treadaway, Bob the Cat, Ruta Gedmintas, Joanne Froggatt, Anthony Head, Caroline Goodall, Darren Evans, Tony Jayawardena, Adam Riches, Beth Goddard, Ivana Basic, Jessica Woodland, John Henshaw, Akbar Kurtha, Lorraine Ashbourne, Llewella Gideon