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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Pair who escaped North Bend prison includes Jackson County man Train talk turns into historical discovery in Talent Emergency services, April 26 Public Meetings: April 27-May 1 Budding Opportunity Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Pair who escaped North Bend prison includes Jackson County man Emergency services, April 26 Garcia sculpture reported stolen from Medford yard Emergency services Central Point garage fire believed caused by electrical issues Politics and Elections Arthur I. Cyr: Cuba’s enduring challenge to American foreign policy – and American politics Gov. Brown touts need for transportation funding in talk to Medford chamber Kent Bush: Clinton 2.0 is neither new nor improved Arthur I. 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Newhouse proposes ending protection for wolves Judge proposes Oregon bakery pay $135,000 to lesbian couple Nation - World There's a $10 million precious stone hidden in plain sight at Grand Central Tsarnaev convicted on all charges in Boston Marathon bombing Obituaries Maurice "Zeke" Ziegler Phillip Stevens Larry E. Dameron Marie Melvina Besette-Hull James Emmett Boozer Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable Sports Latest Stories Rose seals victory in New Orleans Cavaliers sweep, but Love hurt Conley to miss Game 4 Blazers on the ropes Klitschko outpoints Jennings for titles Varsity 541 College Sports King's single lifts OSU over No. 10 USC Emmert, Silver not on same page with one-and-dones Addison gets back into rhythm with Ducks Oregon wins distance medley relay at Penn Relays SOU's Neal fifth, Reitman seventh in CC multis Pro Sports Rose seals victory in New Orleans Cavaliers sweep, but Love hurt Conley to miss Game 4 Blazers on the ropes Klitschko outpoints Jennings for titles Community Sports Bailey picks up modified win Wilson delivers in return of local boxing Palmer breezes to second straight men’s title Business Latest Stories Fermentation Fest highlights Southern Oregon growth in craft brewing Travel boosting Oregon economy more than ever Blog: Weekend Impossible Business briefs Ride & Drive: 2015 Nissan Frontier Real Estate News New home in an old house Naumes plans custom-crush winery in former packing house GREEN ACRES: Southern Oregon provides escape from the maddening crowd Since You Asked: Metro Medford rebranding proved economical Jackson County median home price hits $215,000 in first quarter People In Business Transportation Erickson finds room to work at Medford airport Lithia Motors nets $40.7 million in first quarter Lithia Motors reports second-best quarter ever Business briefs Medford airport's record run continues Agriculture Naumes plans custom-crush winery in former packing house New bosses take charge at Harry & David Dancin Vineyards covers up Opinion Latest Our View: Sensation and sensibility: a balancing act Letters to the Editor, April 26 George Will: A Graham candidacy's fun factor Dana Milbank: The TPP is an abomination Charles Krauthammer: Obama's Nixon doctrine: anointing Iran Editorials Our View: Sensation and sensibility: a balancing act Other Views: UO president search happened in the dark Our View: Buildings belong with the Jackson County Library District Our View: Public's right to film police should be protected Our View: Raises for Jackson County officials — again Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, April 26 Letters to the Editor, April 25 Letters to the Editor, April 24 Letters to the Editor, April 23 Letters to the Editor, April 22 Columns George Will: A Graham candidacy's fun factor Dana Milbank: The TPP is an abomination Charles Krauthammer: Obama's Nixon doctrine: anointing Iran Guest Opinion: Uniting to restore our sovereignty to we, the people Michael Gerson: 'The Road to Character' starts with humility Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Uniting to restore our sovereignty to we, the people Guest Opinion: This Earth Day, we celebrate the Northwest Forest Plan The Medford School Board was wrong: 'American Pageant' is a political agenda, not history The Medford School Board was right: 'American Pageant' is a fine book, and the board did its homework Guest Opinion: Removing barriers to walking, biking benefits everyone Lifestyle Latest stories My to-do list for the Spring Garden Fair COLUMNIST FOR A DAY: Friendly skies not as friendly as the road Is grumpiness an inevitable symptom of aging? Adopt a Pet: Goliath Community blog: Jackson County Votes to Pay Wildlife Services: the War on Wildlife continues Food Community blog: 'Good' sushi may be more rare than real wasabi Community blog: Oregon Breweries to grow or seriously to grow? The joy of true wasabi Season Stepp: Veggie treat hidden deep inside artichokes Tammy Kelly: The South’s favorite side dish — slaw Home and Garden Costa Living: Basking in flower power Garden Cameos: Spring is time for azaleas in the garden Dear Monty: Seven costly mistakes of new real estate investors Paul Rogers: Enjoy convenience of container gardening Home Help: 3 quick, easy kitchen and bath upgrades Health Health Watch: Tips for protecting your eyes Dr. Jeff Hersh: Could severe cramping mean endometriosis? Dr. Murray Feingold: Is pre-op testing for cataract surgery necessary? Community blog: What about Lucy? Brent St. Germain: One year and counting Hiking Biking Faith Religion Briefs: Friday, April 24 Religion Briefs: Friday, April 17 Religion briefs: Friday, April 10 Religion briefs: Friday, April 3 Milestones and Achievements ENGAGEMENT: Sellers-James Witham's birthday bash draws hundreds for 1950s prices Charlesworth-Murphy Drizzle doesn't dampen Pear Blossom Parade spirit New Arrivals: Sunday, April 12 Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories 5 picks for live entertainment this week A Taste of Ashland pairs food and wine at galleries Rogue Valley Earth Day 2015 Regional brewers, distillers, winemakers at Harry & David Field Moment in Time presents 'Viejo con Nuevo' Theater 'Secret Love' playwright Stan Lai appears in Ashland REVIEW: 'Secret Love' strikes comical, poignant balance Ashland New Plays Festival chooses new artistic director A tale of two plays at OSF Oregon Cabaret Theatre's "The Musical!" delivers five clever Broadway parodies in Ashland Music Maria Muldaur at the Unitarian Fellowship Genticorum at Paschal Winery Southern Oregon Repertory Singers Live Music in Local Clubs The Farr Side: Slow disappearance of physical music Community Events A Taste of Ashland pairs food and wine at galleries Rogue Valley Earth Day 2015 Foreign language film festival set at SOU Regional brewers, distillers, winemakers at Harry & David Field Third Fridays celebrates poetry, student art Movies Reader Review: 'Danny Collins' a sentimental and funny tribute to John Lennon Reader Review: 'Birdman' for the birds Movie review: ‘Ex Machina’ is the droid you’re looking for Movie review: Fairly smooth sailing for ‘The Water Diviner’ Movie review: ‘Age of Adaline’ is sweet but a little sloppy Dining Restaurant inspections: April 26, 2015 Island Grindz serves up Hawaiian specialties Have you wandered down the Bear Creek Wine Trail yet? Restaurant inspections: April 19, 2015 Siam Cafe offers 'mild' to 'very spicy' Thai cuisine Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Pair who escaped North Bend prison includes Jackson County man ... Our View: Sensation and sensibility: a balancing act ... Guest Opinion: Uniting to restore our sovereignty to we, the people ... Pair who escaped North Bend prison includes Jackson County man ... Our View: Sensation and sensibility: a balancing act ... Guest Opinion: Uniting to restore our sovereignty to we, the people ... Movie review: Crowe's historical drama 'The Water Diviner' isn't divine, but it's pretty darn good By Ed Symkus More Content Now MailTribune.com By Ed Symkus More Content Now Posted Apr. 24, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Ed Symkus More Content Now Posted Apr. 24, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Two and a half decades into his feature film acting career, with equal shares of portraying good guys and bad guys to his credit, along with an Oscar for starring in “Gladiator,” Russell Crowe is doing double duty as star and director in “The Water Diviner.” And he proves to be up to the task in calling the creative shots even while keeping his performance at the center of the film. It’s a strong movie, with a riveting story that’s “inspired by” a real one but ventures into all sorts of fictional tangents. The acting is on the mark, from Russell’s typically assured turn to a nice piece of work from barely teenaged Australian actor Dylan Georgiades. And though it’s mostly a quiet, contemplative film, Crowe and his screenwriters have successfully managed to insert brief action sequences that mostly complement rather than break up the mood that’s been set. The only possible problem here is that while the film has proven to be of interest to audiences Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and Turkey, there may be a challenge to drum some of that up in the U.S. where, I’d guess, you’d have a hard time finding many people who have even heard of Gallipoli. Briefly, the WWI Battle of Gallipoli took place on eight square miles of land in Turkey, where British, Russian, Australian and New Zealand troops went up against the Turks. Let’s just say that the fighting was fierce, things went bad for Russia and the Allied forces, and there were so many bodies on the fields, scores of them were buried in mass graves, without being identified. History tells us that a few years later, one Australian man traveled to Turkey, trying to find out the fate of his three sons who went to war and were never heard from again. That one fact led screenwriters Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios to craft a story of an Australian farmer, Joshua Connor – who could find water with a divining rod; hence the title – who made the journey to the Gallipoli battlefields in 1919 to find and bring his sons home, even if that meant finding their bodies and burying them in Australian soil. There are some based-on-fact composite characters in the film’s story, most notably Major Hasan, a proud Turkish soldier who has returned to help British forces – his former enemies – identify bodies on those fields. When Joshua (Crowe) arrives in Istanbul, it’s made clear that Australians aren’t exactly welcome in those parts. A pesky but friendly and English-speaking little kid, Orhan (Dylan Georgiades), convinces him to stay at the hotel run by his mom, Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko), who wants nothing to do with any Australians, though she softens when she finds out why Joshua has come all that way. Yet even when he does finally make it to Gallipoli, he finds that the British military in charge there wants him to go away, just as the local Turks want the British military to go away. Crowe tells his story on a variety of levels, and maintains smooth control of it almost all the way through. The talky stuff – Joshua and Ayshe slowly finding some civility between them; Joshua and Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdogan) doing the same, after a rough start (Joshua: “You killed my sons!” Hasan: “You invaded U.S.”) – will suddenly cut to a flashback of the incredibly intense battle where, shockingly, when soldiers ran out of ammunition, they kept fighting, using knives and fists. There are other action sequences, not involving battles, that move the story forward, but feel a little out of place, and there’s an unnecessary bit about Ayshe knowing that her husband was killed in the war but hasn’t told her son, and having to deal with her dead husband’s brother, who now wants to marry her. But those are minor distractions in a much bigger story that draws you in and makes you root for Crowe’s character, though he’s probably heading toward some grim discoveries. What he does eventually find results in some of the film’s most emotional flashbacks that fill in spots that we don’t till then even realize are blank. Crowe has spent time behind the camera before, directing some music videos and “Texas,” a feature-length documentary about his rock band Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts. But this is an auspicious beginning for him as a dramatic director. It appears that he has the talent and the temperament, and that he’s paid attention to the many directors who have guided him as an actor in the past. Ed Symkus covers movies for More Content Now. THE WATER DIVINER Written by Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios; directed by Russell Crowe With Russell Crowe, Yilmaz Erdogan, Olga Kurylenko, Dylan Georgiades Rated R By Ed Symkus More Content Now MailTribune.com By Ed Symkus More Content Now Posted Apr. 24, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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