Overlooked (or Forgotten) Film Tuesday: TIMELINE (2003) starring Billy Connolly, Gerard Butler and Paul Walker

Today is Overlooked (or Forgotten) Film day, a weekly meme hosted by Todd Mason at SWEET FREEDOM. Don't forget to check in and see what other Overlooked (or Forgotten) movies other bloggers are talking about today. Link.

TIMELINE (2003), directed by Richard Donner, is one of those movies that should have been much better than it is but somehow manages to be good enough to recommend. I'd read the book by Michael Crichton a few years ago and therefore, watched the movie with my fingers crossed.

I really had enjoyed the book, probably because I am inclined to like time travel stories. Screenwriters Jeff Maguire and George Nolfi do their best and come up with a pretty good adaptation of what was originally a huge complex novel.

Of course, if it's a Crichton story, you know there's going to be lots of technological mumbo-jumbo and the movie is no exception. (Nor, for that matter, was the book.) Just roll your eyes and push on - that's what I do. There are just some things I am not meant to understand. I accept it.

Billy Connolly and Paul Walker

But still I am a huge fan of time travel plots and TIMELINE is one of my favorites (really there aren't that many others) though the cast of actors aren't all that memorable and really, are just good enough. Well, except for Billy Connolly (why doesn't this man work more - he is such an arresting screen presence) and Gerard Butler who steals the show as hunky Andre Marek, though he gets third billing on the official poster.

Gerard Butler

The story's premise is actually quite good: A sinister corporation known as ITC is developing a time travel gizmo which, I believe, starts out to be something else. At the same time the company has sponsored a group of college students headed by Archaeology professor Edward Johnston (Billy Connolly) to excavate an area in France known as Castlegard, the site of a bloody 14th century battle during the 100 Years War. The group has made some interesting finds.

But suspicious of some of the data fed them from ITC, Professor Johnston flies back to company headquarters to see what's what.

Before you can say back to the future, Johnston travels back in time to 14th century France but fails to return. The special effects of time travel, by the way, are dandy - entirely credible. Well, if you are inclined to favor this sort of wizardry, that is. In time travel, suspension of disbelief is key.

The students - one of whom, Chris Johnston (Paul Walker) is the Professor's son - are unaware of what has occurred. That is, until they make a rather startling discovery back at the site in France: a pair of bifocals and a letter written by the Professor which dates back to the 14th century.

They then travel to ITC headquarters to find out what's what. Once there, they are shown the time travel gizmo and told of Chris's father's trip back in time. The students - Andre Marek, Chris Johnston and a couple of others, decide they must go back as well to rescue the Professor.

Obviously, in a lengthy Michael Crichton story, there's lots left out, but lots left in. Some of it makes sense, some doesn't. But somehow it all works pretty well if only you pay attention and not worry too much.

Once the modern day group arrives (properly attired) in Medieval France - not the safest place on the planet at that particular point in time - they are in constant danger. Local knights and their minions are waging pitched battles, a castle is under siege and chopping off people's heads appears to be an enthusiastic past time. They also stumble across an ITC employee who has been left behind after the time travel gizmo played havoc with his DNA and internal organs. (A little side-effect the ITC corporation would rather no one know about.)

The costumes, the art direction and general Medieval atmosphere are believable - they didn't call them 'the dark ages' for nothing and it's all lots of improbable movie fun. I just shut my eyes if I feel a beheading or cross-bow or sword hacking incident coming on. There's also a love story between Gerard Butler's character and a local Medieval lass, which affects the outcome of the story. And near the end, the main ITC bad guy, the very unappetizing David Thewlis, gets his in a very satisfyingly ironic, time-related way.

I say, if you have the patience, read the book. If not, watch the movie. I liked both, with the book having the slight edge. (Though of course the book doesn't have Gerard Butler.)

And no real reason to show this pix of Gerard Butler in costume but, really - do I need one?

Book Review: Two for the price of one - POST CAPTAIN and H.M.S. SURPRISE by Patrick O'Brian

Remember how I raved and ranted (in a good way) about Patrick O'Brian's first book in the Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin series set in, around and during the Napoleonic wars? Link.

I was merely preparing you (and myself) for what I suspected would be a total Aubrey/Matruin immersion.

Sure enough, I read the second book, POST CAPTAIN in one great late night gulp, then picked up the third book, H.M.S. SURPRISE and read that straight through. Of course then I had no choice but to turn around and order copies of the next three books.

Reading O'Brian's stories has turned into a very exciting trip back in time for me. In fact I raved so much I've even got my brother reading O'Brian. What a beautifully written series this is. I don't think I've ever read anything like it. (Except for, perhaps, the Temeraire books by Naomi Novik set during the same time but with an element of fantasy. Now I see why Novik has been compared to O'Brian.)

What I know about the 18th and 19th century British navy I learned at the movies. And as many of you know, I tend to romanticize things - no apologies for that, just merely stating a fact. What I like most about O'Brian's books - besides the extraordinarily good writing, is that he doesn't spare us the grim reality, but doesn't mind coloring it a bit with a touch of the sea-faring romantic.

So far we've learned that Jack Aubrey is the type of battle-commander every man (or woman) would wish for. In the heat of battle, he's right there, shouting orders (some of them in incomprehensible ships jargon which I love reading aloud) slashing away with sword in one hand and gun in the other. He is totally fearless, careless of his carcass, and always ready to do his honorable duty for king and country. He is a brilliant tactician, a passable violinist,  has yellow hair and tends to put on weight.

On the negative side, he has been a bit of a womanizer in the past though lately he has been courting a certain Miss Sophia Williams whose mother is dead set against the match. The harridan is horrified to learn that Aubrey is currently penniless (his land agent ran away with his ship's winnings and left Aubrey in the lurch). To that end Aubrey is in the ignominious position of having to hide out from creditors - going so far as to disguise himself as a bear while his friend Maturin plays the gypsy leading him about the countryside on a chain. Unbelievable, but true. (Well, in the book anyway.)

If Aubrey is picked up and sent to debtor's prison, how would he then be able to take up his captain's duties when a ship becomes available? It's a quandary.

O'Brian has the gift of making you laugh even while dreadful things are going on.

POST CAPTAIN is the most Jane Austen-like (but with blood and guts) of the three books I've read so far. Probably because of the necessary social niceties in dealing with women characters of that era. Aubrey is in a marrying mood so we wait to see what happens next.

As for Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and British spy - we've learned that despite his thin, weathered, leathery physique, he is extraordinarily hale and hearty. He studies all aspects of biology and collects bug and small animal specimens, speaks several languages and owns a run-down castle in Spain. He has also, sad to say, given his heart to a totally undeserving woman who, last time we looked, had run off with a rich American. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Loving the social interaction as much as I do, it's still the sea-going adventures that especially fascinate me. Though there is lots of jargon that is at times, incomprehensible,  I seem (to my surprise) to understand most of what goes on, ship-wise. I've always loved sea-faring adventures at the movies but these books surpass anything I've seen on the big screen. (Though the movie MASTER AND COMMANDER with Russell Crowe was excellent. Crowe made for a very believable Jack Aubrey and Paul Bettany is the perfect Stephen Maturin. I do so wish there would be a sequel.)

In POST CAPTAIN, Aubrey is captain of a clunker of a ship that he simply 'cannot love'. But even so, he still manages to do the impossible - wading into the middle of a huge sea battle and coming out ahead. Action, suspense, daring-do, swash and buckle AND two love stories. What more could you want?

Well, in H.M.S. SURPRISE, Aubrey is master - finally, of a frigate. A ship he loves. (Turns out that the relationship between a captain and his ship is rather a romantic one.) He must guide the H.M.S. Surprise through relatively calm waters (much to his chagrin, since Aubrey is itching for the spoils of war) to the Indian sub-continent acting as escort to ships of the East India Company.

When the inevitable fight finally comes, they meet up with an old enemy (from the first book, MASTER AND COMMANDER) engage in a spectacular sea battle in which we learn as never before (at least for me) how it is that ships must maneuver in and around each other to gain fighting advantage - how they avoid the phalanx of cannons or not, depending on their position. How ships' captains pit their wits and courage, occasionally saluting each other in face to face defeat or during bouts of extraordinary gallantry.

The maneuvering tactics had just never occurred to me. I really do enjoy learning all this minutia.

I have the next three books lined up and ready to go. I am loving this series. Enthusiastically.

If you haven't seen the movie, don't wait. It is truly quite wonderful. I'm not a big fan of Russell Crowe, but I admit I loved him as Captain Jack Aubrey.

Saturday Salon: A Favorite Painting or Two.....or Three!

Portrait of Marguerite van Mons 1886

Vase of Flowers 1907

Woman at a Mirror 1907

The Violinist 1903

Elisabeth van Rysselberghe in a Straw Hat 1901

Big Clouds 1893

Portrait of Mathilde Vereeken  1891

Elisabeth van Rysselberghe 1926

Madame van Rysselberghe in a Checkered Bow-Tie 1918

Cherries

Theo van Rysselberghe (1862 - 1926) was a prolific Flemish Neo-Impressionist painter born in Ghent, Belgium. Influenced early on by the Orientalist paintings of Jean-Francois Portaels, he exhibited two portraits at  the Salon of Ghent when he was only 18. In 1881, he exhibited in the Salon at Brussels.

Blessed with a curious mind and an indefatigable zeal for travel, his trips (Spain and Morocco accompanied by fellow painters Frantz Charlet and Dario de Regoyos) heavily influenced Van Rysselberghe's early work which was an almost instant success upon his return home to Belgium.

He painted in the Neo-Impressionist style and introduced the Pointillist technique (a style of painting he was to adapt beautifully) used by Georges Seurat, to the Belgian art world. Van Rysselberghe was also a leader in the group of avant-garde Brussels painters known at Les XX.

He would travel again to Morocco and also to Athens, Constantinople, Hungary, Romania and St. Petersburg where he worked on posters for the 'Compagnie des Wagons-lits'. In 1897, he moved to Paris at a time when many of the most influential painters were producing remarkable work. Van Rysselberghe added his own vibrant style to the mix.

Unfortunately, much of his work remains in private hands and is only infrequently seen.

self-portrait

To learn much more about Theo van Rysselberghe and his work, please use this link.

I found this link to be informative as well. Artnet also has a great deal of information about Van Rysselberghe as well as a good overview of his work.

To see some of Van Rysselberghe's work chronologically, please use this link.

P.S. I apologize for the wonky spacing of this post, but google blogger is still misbehaving.

Foreign Movie Poster Friday

The Spanish poster for SUNSET BOULEVARD starring Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Nancy Olson and Erich Von Stroheim.

Playing With Dolls

Hold on to your...shower curtain. Can you believe your eyes?

Yes. At one time, Madame Alexander actually created this doll to commemorate one of the most horrific scenes ever shown in film: the shower murder scene in Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO, considered by many to be a classic. Considered by me to be - not so much. But that's neither here nor there. I haven't seen it in years and it's possible I might have changed my mind.

At any rate, it's the doll I'm focused on today. (And notice she is very chastely covered with a towel.)

Sometimes you just have to shake your head.

Friday's Forgotten Books: THE DEATH OF COLONEL MANN by Cynthia Peale

Today is Forgotten Book Friday, a weekly meme usually hosted by Patti Abbott at her blog, but today's hosting duties are being done by Todd Mason at SWEET FREEDOM. Don't forget to check in and see what other forgotten books other bloggers are talking about today.

My entry for this week is THE DEATH OF COLONEL MANN by Cynthia Peale, the first in the Beacon Hill Mysteries which debuted in 2000. (Is it just me or does the year 2000 seem like yesterday?) The series is only three books along, the last book, THE WHITE CROW being published in 2002. (The second book is titled, MURDER AT BERTRAM'S BOWER.)

The lure of this book and, in fact, the series, is the colorful atmosphere, the details - social and otherwise - of 'Victorian' Boston - very similar to Victorian London, except, I suppose, for the accents. 

I also like Cynthia Peale's characters, all of whom seem to me well suited to the ritualized world they live in. Especially Addington Ames, who is both a gentleman and a sleuth and quite familiar with the strictures of  Boston society. His keen mind as well as his physical description  reminded me a bit of Sherlock Holmes. 

Ames stood with his eye pressed to the glass. His tall, thin-legged figure looked as storklike as the tall, thin-legged tripod. In rapt silence he gazed up at the stars.  

In this debut, Ames - to save his young about-to-be married cousin Val from disgrace,  must ferret out the killer of Colonel William d'Arcy Mann, a reviled publisher of Boston's most scandalous gossip sheet - a blackmailer whom no one is crying any tears of grief over. (The character is based on a real Colonel Mann (with a different middle name) who had plied his vile trade in Manhattan.) In Peale's story, Mann had gotten hold of some indiscreet letters which, if they came to light, would put an end to Val's marriage into a very proper Boston Brahmin family.

To avoid disgrace, Addington  Ames, with the help of his spinster sister Caroline and their boarder Dr. John MacKenzie must search for a murderer well-hidden among Boston's elite society - a fierce world...Harsh and unforgiving, as much a battlefield as in any war.

Though the book could have benefited from a more jaded p.o.v. and a soupcon of humor, I still liked what Peale made of it.

As you can probably tell, THE DEATH OF COLONEL MANN is basically a period cozy but perhaps with a bit more elegance. The sort of book that would make a chilly winter night more enjoyable, perhaps with a nice cup of tea in your best bone china at your side. So why am I writing about it today? Well, because if I put it off until the appropriate weather settles in, I'd probably forget about it. You know how old lady memory works - or doesn't.

What's better than a package filled with books?

Not much. On the front doorstep just minutes ago: A package from Better World Books containing five used books I was keenly waiting for. I know, I know, coals to Newcastle. But I simply can't help myself. Besides, I console my guilty conscience by telling it that my local library doesn't have a good collection of Patrick O'Brian's books.

The next three Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin books (I'm ordering them in groups of threes as I go along.) are thus:

THE MAURITIUS COMMAND by Patrick O'Brian

DESOLATION ISLAND by Patrick O'Brian

THE FORTUNE OF WAR by Patrick O'Brian

I owe you a review of POST CAPTAIN and H.M.S. SURPRISE which I will do in combo for Monday.

The other two books in the doorstep package are:

DEATH BY DARJEELING by Laura Childs 

The first book in a cozy tea-themed series which was recommended by a friend. Not sure if it's going to work for me, but I'm giving it a try.

THE SWIMMING POOL by Mary Roberts Rinehart

I'm a big Rinehart fan as some of you may know and when Ryan so enthusiastically recommended this one on his blog (WORDSMITHONIA) the other day, I realized I hadn't read it yet - a condition that will soon be corrected.

Those of you not familiar with Better World Books, they have a great selection of new and used and it's always FREE shipping! No minimum. Just sayin'.

Overlooked (or Forgotten) Movie Tuesday: GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933

Hi everyone! I'm back to what passes for normal around here. I've been resting and relaxing, taking it easy, playing on Pinterest, reading (though not as much as I wanted to) and dealing with 'stuff'. All is well and once again I'll be posting regularly beginning today. Thanks for being so patient.

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Well, if it's Tuesday, it's Overlooked (or Forgotten) Movie Day, so I'm jumping right back into the swim of things with my favorite weekly meme. Don't forget, as usual, to check in at host Todd Mason's blog, SWEET FREEDOM to see what other movies and/or TV shows other bloggers are talking about today.
Link.

GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 starring Joan Blondell, Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler and Warren William is a very early pre-code movie musical - a favorite of mine. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy with super splashy, over-the-top singing and dancing numbers staged by the great mesmerizer Busby Berkeley.

Chorus girls apparently about to be mowed down by giant nightmare dimes.

From the absurdity of the 'We're In the Money' opening sequence (a bit of Hollywood irony since the movie was made while an actual Depression was going on in the country) with poor Ginger Rogers in tacky costume (a large dime hanging front and center) singing lyrics in pig Latin we know we're in for some extreme silliness.

Ginger Rogers probably thinking: I'm going to kill my agent.

Sure enough we are soon treated to scantily clad young women stripping in silhouette, dancing neon violins, cops on roller skates, a snow storm (on stage) with giant snow balls photographed from above and rain showers in the 'Petting in the Park' scene (surely one of the more obnoxious songs ever written) and Dick Powell making googly eyes (literally) at Ruby Keeler whose singing voice I can only compare to fingernails scratching on blackboard.

Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell petting in the park. 

Her dancing is kind of odd too - she was one of those who tended to dance hunched over.

The chorus stripping behind shades. Remember, this was pre-code Hollywood.

And I admit that Aline MacMahon is an acquired taste that I just never acquired - she comes across as crass and unlikable even when she's only supposed to be making believe she's crass and unlikable if that makes any sense.

How do I look? It'll take more than a corsage to cheer up Aline MacMahon's prune face.

But enough about that. Now let me list the reasons why I love this movie: Warren William, Warren William, Warren William and...oh yes, Warren William. Not to mention Joan Blondell at her adorable best, Ned Sparks at his grouchiest and snarliest and just for a few minutes on screen, the one and only Charles Lane who outlived everyone he ever worked with. (He died in 2007 at the ripe old age of 102)

There's just something so endearing (and sexy) about Warren William playing a snobby Boston high society type who gets his comeuppance when he falls head over heels for showgirl Joan Blondell. He and she get to share a very special love scene when he tells her: "Every time you say 'cheap and vulgar' I'm going to kiss you." Of course, she can't resist saying it. Now that's a love scene.

I'm also very fond of the preposterous 'Remember My Forgotten Man' razzle dazzle sequence which ends the movie. Some of the images are rather haunting considering this is basically a fluffy movie musical.

The good old days of the Great Depression.

But as Ned Sparks' character says earlier on, "This show is all about the depression!" Well, it really isn't, except for the last number, but the girls in the movie are feeling the pinch (in more ways than one) as they try to wangle show biz jobs and catch-up on the rent.

That's Ginger Rogers with the hat on. She's dropped by to visit.

Carol (Joan Blondell), Trixie (Aline MacMahon) and Polly (Ruby Keeler) live together in a cramped apartment hardly able to make ends meet. But this is Hollywood, so being poor is made to look like a romp. (The girls do have some pretty dishy undergarments.) Polly even goes so far as to pilfer a milk bottle from a neighbor's fire escape. After all, a girl's got to have her milk.

Dick Powell as Brad the singing and slumming millionaire.

The basic plot is this:

Goofy Brad (Dick Powell) is living incognito (he's really a Boston millionaire) just across the way from Carol, Polly and Trixie. Already he and Polly are making goo-goo eyes at each other having met previously and fallen instantly in love. He's a song writer hoping to make it big on the great white way and in fact, once Barney (Ned Sparks), the impresario, hears his songs, he wants Brad to write all the music for his latest show.

Dick Powell and Ned Sparks at his growliest.

But when the latest backer...uh, backs out, Brad steps in and offers to advance Barney the fifteen thousand bucks necessary to open the show and make Polly a star. The girls think he's kidding them about the money but he turns up in the morning with a wad of cash. (Trixie thinks he might be a bank robber currently on the lam.)

Aline MacMahon, Ned Sparks, Ruby Keeler and Joan Blondell - plotting to put on the big show.

Brad's family (including his older brother Lawrence - Warren William) threatens to disown him if he marries a 'cheap and vulgar show girl'. So big brother and Peabody (Guy Kibbee) the family lawyer arrive on the scene the moment they discover what Brad is up to.

Joan Blondell and Warren William

But Lawrence mistakes Carol (Joan Blondell) for Polly and the girls then decide to teach him a lesson by pretending to be gold diggers. Lawrence, in the meantime tries to lure 'Polly' (Carol) away from Brad who thinks the whole charade is a 'swell' idea. Well, of course, Lawrence gets hoisted on his own petard when he falls for Polly/Carol.

Guy Kibbee and Aline MacMahon - she's dressed like a cop for a dance number or else she's just arrested her future husband.

Peabody the portly lawyer, in turn, falls for Trixie and Brad and Polly run off and get married. There are scowling confrontations between big brother and Brad and threats of annulment  - though how one brother can annul another brother's marriage is beyond me.

But everything turns out 'swell' in the end and Joan Blondell gets to do the big Forgotten Man number which, in parts, is actually quite moving. Can you remember any other musical which show-cased a bread line in its stark reality, not to mention soldiers coming back from the battlefield wounded, bleeding and dazed with terror? Berkeley shows 'em all and more. All set to a very stirring marching song. "Remember my forgotten man, you put a rifle in his hand. You shouted hip hooray but where is he today?"

In reality, Joan Blondell and Dick Powell would later marry proving the old adage that for every man there's a woman somewhere willing to overlook his inherent goofiness. But that's a story for another day.

P.S. And isn't 'Ned Sparks' just about the best name for an actor ever?