Mountain Views News          Saturday, December 14, 2013

B2

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

 Mountain Views News Saturday. December 14, 2013 

SEAN’S SHAMELESS REVIEWS: 


JASMINE’S CORNER

Book Reviews by Jasmine Kelsey Williams 

By Sean Kayden

ABOUT TIME

“About Time” is the latest feature film from writer/director Richard Curtis 
(“Love Actually”). This romantic/faux sci-fi tale is about one young man’s 
desperate pursuit to find love with his newfound ability to travel back into time. 
Oddly enough, he finds it rather quickly. The movie was advertised as a romantic 
comedy but is only for the first half at that. It switches gears and is more about 
this young man and his ability to go back into a certain time of his life. 

At first glance it was to aid him in finding true love. Then it led to helping others like his sister, who 
dealt with her own relationship woes. It was also a link between Tim and his father to maintain a strong 
connection. The movie wants to be so many things and never really decides on which it will ultimately 
be. It’s a movie where there’s a lot of telling rather than 
showing. It is also very dialogue driven and the dilemmas 
never seem all too serious. At first it’s romantic and that 
sort of fades once love is secured. It has a few lighthearted 
moments, but a comedy it is not. The third act heads into 
more drama, but never does it feel utterly dramatic. “About 
Time” suffers from a gimmicky plot device that becomes 
more tedious than clever. It has sweet moments scattered 
throughout and has a trio of fine performances especially 
from the father character played by Bill Nighy. However, 
“About Time” is far too long for such a thin plot. It had the potential to be something far more superior 
with the time traveling element as a key component to the film’s story. 

Lead actor, Domhnall Gleeson is quite likeable as Tim. He’s endearing in a dorky, oblivious sort of 
way. The problem is how the film puts so much emphasis on how it seems like the end of the year not 
to find love at 21 years old. Not only does he marry the first girl that loves him, but also had another 
chance with his first love he hadn’t seen in a number of years. The movie also feels too long with how 
it’s over the span of many years. Rachel McAdams as the love interest is lovely as usual. However, she 
doesn’t have a whole lot to work with after the initial setup, eventually leading up to marrying the kind 
and perceptive Tim. McAdams’ character strangely takes a backseat as Tim focuses on helping his 
sister with her own complexities and unhealthy relationship (which is never shown only told through 
dialogue). After that small subplot is quickly resolved, the last part of act three is where Tim and his 
father connect. It almost feels as if it is a little too late. I wish the film expanded the father-son dynamics 
more. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still rather sensitive, but the murky plot device makes the film almost 
feel too phony. Luckily, when you have great actors like Bill Nighy, your material is elevated to greater 
heights more so than it should be with such shortcomings found in the screenplay.

In the end, “About Time” is a fine film that’s simply too elongated. There’s quite a bit of filler to make 
it feel a bit overstuffed. Fine performances, a couple of tender moments and a few scattered laughs 
make “About Time” merely a Redbox rental/Netflix stream then a must-see love story in theaters. 
Unfortunately, when it finally ended, the only thing that came to mind was, “about time.”

Grade: 3 out of 5

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTnmvLaCGNko8iRaRD5WOW_Seqp8nh5AhvtQVh3RAhWhfvCPBYo4g
FAT ANGIE By E.E. Charlton-Trujillo

We have now arrived to the start of December and I am 
guessing that many of you, my dear readers, are already 
trying to get into the holiday spirit and festive cheer of the 
month. However, the next selection for the start of December 
continues on a serious note from our previous selections and 
brings us now to “Fat Angie” by E.E Charlton-Trujillo. 

Short on title, strong on impact and theme, “Fat Angie” will 
really speak volumes to pre-teen and teen readers on the 
issues of bullying, high school, troubling family life, and 
newfound courage when one can overcome the adversities 
they face throughout life. Angie is one such individual and 
the protagonist of the story, and readers can instantly connect 
with her struggles, both internal and external. Angie is a 
“plain Jane” of sorts: bullied in high school, trouble-making 
brother and indifferent mother, no father, and her picture-perfect turned war hero older sister. 
Added to her plight is her feeling of isolation from others, and turning to junk food to fill the 
void. The tone of “Fat Angie” is rather dark, somewhat bleak, and overall somber until new 
student KC Romance arrives and takes a shine to Fat Angie, which prompts Angie to make 
small, simple changes for her mindset, and gradually opens up to KC Romance as a friend. KC 
Romance is that one character who immediately makes herself known in the way she sticks 
up for Fat Angie, and readers will be able to connect with her as well; she is that one cool 
friend who always listens, does not judge, and looks good doing it. “Fat Angie” is dark and 
bittersweet, but eventually takes on a more of an uplifting tone towards its conclusion, which 
goes to show readers of any age that we can find a true friend who will always have your back. 

Copyrighted in 2013, and receiving praise from various critics, as well as Booklist and 
Publishers Weekly, “Fat Angie” is another profound work perfect to teach important life 
lessons on individuality and friendships for any reader in this day and age. 

Written and Directed By: 

 Richard Curtis

Rated: R for language and some 
sexual content

Release Date: November 8th, 2013


The World Around Us


CONTROVERSY OVER USE OF ROMAN INGOTS

Two thousand years ago, a Roman vessel with ingots of lead extracted from the Sierra of 
Cartagena sank in the waters off the coast of Sardinia. Since 2011, more than a hundred of 
these ingots have been used to build the Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events 
(CUORE), an advanced detector of neutrinos—almost weightless subatomic particles—at the 
Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy.

In the 18th century, another ship loaded with lead ingots was wrecked on the French coast. 
A company of treasure hunters recently retrieved this material and, despite problems with 
French authorities, managed to sell it to the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) team. 
This team’s detector, located in a mine in Minnesota, looks for signs of the enigmatic “dark 
matter.”

These two examples have served as reference for the discussion that two researchers have 
opened between archaeologists, worried about the destruction of our underwater cultural 
heritage, and particle physicists, pleased to have found a material that is uniquely valuable for 
research on neutrinos and dark matter.

“Roman lead is essential for conducting these experiments because it offers purity and such 
low levels of radioactivity—all the more so the longer it has spent underwater—which current 
methods for producing this metal cannot reach,” explains Elena Perez-Alvaro from the 
University of Birmingham.

“Lead extracted today is naturally contaminated with the isotope Pb-210, which prevents it 
from being used as shielding for particle detectors,” adds physicist Fernando González Zalba 
from the University of Cambridge.

These two researchers have published a study in the journal “Rosetta,” also commented upon 
this month in “Science,” which poses a dilemma: Should we sacrifice part of our cultural 
heritage in order to achieve greater knowledge of the universe and the origin of humankind? 
Should we yield part of our past to discover more about our future?

The underwater archaeologist and the physicists are encouraging dialogue between both 
collectives, as well as the development of legislation that regulates these kinds of activities.

The jury is still out. In the case of the CUORE detector, for example, in principle the lead 
from the least well-preserved Roman ingots is used, although their inscriptions are cut and 
preserved. Some archaeologists also suggests that there are other pieces of valuable metal, 
such as anchor stocks, rings or tackles for fishing that we should assess whether or not to 
sacrifice for science. Further complicating the issue is the fact that these artifacts are protected 
by UNESCO’s 2001 Convention on the protection of underwater cultural heritage if they have 
been under water more than 10 years, as well as by the 2003 Convention for safeguarding 
intangible cultural heritage.

Regarding the use that the Romans made of these ingots, Pérez Álvaro points out that they 
were generally used as a water-resistant material for pipes, water tanks or roofs, and also for 
making arms and ammunition.

A special case is the cargo of large lead bricks recovered from the largest Roman ship of the 
excavation of the Mediterranean, the wreck of the Bou Ferrer, which sank very close to the 
port of La Vila Joiosa (Alicante). A series of engravings on the ingots (IMP. GER. AVG) have 
enabled specialists to determine that their owner was the Emperor of Rome himself, probably 
Caligula, Claudius or Nero.

You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@MtnViewsNews.com.


Bou Ferrer shipwreck with roman lead ingots. / De Juan / D. G. de Cultura - Generalitat 
Valenciana