maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 FEBRUARY 2020
11
FILM
ENVIRONMENT
the token comic relief shoes.
While her partner Liam (John
Gallagher Jr.) almost literally
sleepwalks through most of it,
an inspired coalition forms be-
tween panicky biologist Emily
(Jessica Henwick) and Norah,
coinciding with a long-awaited
third act showdown.
Shedding all pretensions to
the loftier heights of Alien and
its ilk, it all goes down in a burst
of sound and fury… and under-
wear.
UNDERWATER
UNDER THE HAMMER
UNDER PRESSURE
UNDERWHELMING
UNDER THE GUN
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
★ ★ ★ ★
★ ★ ★
★ ★
★
For our size we're not too bad as reptiles go. We have nine spe-
cies: four snakes, a lizard, a skink, a chameleon and two geckoes.
But then we live in a hot land, which is always des res for reptiles.
The larger of our geckoes is the Moorish and it occurs most-
ly in rural areas, which accounts for its Maltese name 'Wiżgħa
tal-kampanja'. Although mainly nocturnal, the Moorish gecko
also likes to bask by day on a nice flat sun-warmed surface. It's
usually brown-black in colour but can be a pale mottled brown
or even dull yellowish. The Moorish gecko is a strict carnovore
and feeds mainly on insects, especially moths. So, no matter how
much Nanna may insist, geckoes did NOT eat her precious gal-
letta plant leaves! Like all the other reptiles, the Moorish gecko is
protected in Malta.
Text and Photo: Victor Falzon
700. MOORISH GECKO
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The verdict
Armed with precision-aimed
thrills that will make the trip
to the movies worthwhile but
hampered by a generic script,
Underwater is a competent
little creature-feature that will
likely find a more welcome au-
dience when it eventually – in-
evitably – makes it to Netflix.
UNDERWATER
(12A)
★
★
★
Drop in the ocean: Stewart
