The Big Sleep (1978) **

Philip Marlowe in London is an interesting premise but Mitchum turns in a lackluster performance and the supporting cast is uninteresting with the exception of Ms. Clark. The director seems too concerned that all the plot pieces fit and viewers are kept informed as to who killed who and why with the result being a lack of atmosphere.

Brooklyn (2015) **

Old fashioned weepie, completely unbelievable, yet almost moving at the end. The magic of movies!

While the City Sleeps (1956) *

Strange hybrid of psycho killer on the loose and office politics infighting never appears believable or even interesting.

David Lynch: ‘You gotta be selfish. It's a terrible thing’ | Film | The Guardian

I ask Lynch how he manages to inspire such loyalty, despite such strict rationing of human contact – from his collaborators, friends, even his exes. He drops his cigarette on the floor and stubs it out with a boot before answering. “I like to have some people around. If I was totally alone I think I’d get funny, and not in a humorous way.”

As a father and husband he has often been absent, he concedes. “You gotta be selfish. And it’s a terrible thing. I never really wanted to get married, never really wanted to have children. One thing leads to another and there it is.”

That sounds like regret, until he elaborates. “I did what I had to do. There could have been more work done. There are always so many interruptions.”

Macao (1952) **

Pretty nifty little noir, thanks to the stars, despite the fact that the making of the picture was a more interesting story.

Ugetsu (1953) **

Nicely produced morality tale from 16th century Japan. Too simplistic, but some lovely black and white images.

Carol (2015) ***

Two terrific leads overpower so-so production.

The Entertainer (1960) **

Lord Larry is good as usual in an unusual role and that keeps it interesting. That and the kitschy seaside milieu right before The Fab Four changed everything for England.

Nanogirl Michelle Dickinson: Is banning plastic bags bad for the environment? - NZ Herald

Surprisingly, although trees may seem more natural than crude oil, converting hardwood into paper requires a resource-heavy pulping process that uses large amounts of water, energy and chemicals, which can emit toxic and hazardous chemicals into air and water. This was confirmed in a report by the US Department of Energy.

Based on current calculations, the environmental impact of one single-use plastic bag equals five uses of a thicker LDPE plastic bag, four uses of a paper bag, 14 uses of a polypropylene non-woven bag (the reusable ones you can buy at the supermarket today) and 173 uses for a cotton reusable bag.

The global warming impact is not the only factor that determines how environmentally friendly each bag option is. Photos of turtles eating plastic bags are a strong advertisement for how littered our oceans are.

Government research studies in the US and Australia found that single-use plastic bags only account for around 1 per cent of the litter found. Closer to home, a Sustainable Coastlines Queen St drain survey found cigarette packaging, beverage bottles and food containers to be the biggest challenges when it comes to litter.

Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967) **

Distractedly color-corrected with amber (golden reflections, get it?) and featuring some to-the-edge-of-parody performances from the leads, this sort of contrived story can work in a novel but not here. I understand Huston thought a lot of this picture but it's just not believable.

Red-Headed Woman (1932) **

Some witty banter and a welcome pre-Code ending (bad behavior ends up paying) notwithstanding, this is not an enjoyable watch since the guys are so feckless and Harlow so unrelentingly ambitious, fatigue sets in.