"A Wedding in Four Acts" [PG-13] - Act 1 (Part 1)

"A WEDDING IN FOUR ACTS

RATING: [PG-13]
SUMMARY: A Wiccan wedding is invaded by a succubus and a witch, bent on revenge. Sequel to "Obssession".
FEEDBACK: deerush76@yahoo.com - Be my guest. But please, be kind.

DISCLAIMER: Cole Turner, Darryl Morris, Leo Wyatt and the Charmed Ones and other characters are related to Charmed to Spelling Productions, Brad Kern and Constance Burge. The McNeills and a few other characters are my own creation.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: To understand certain parts of this story, please read "A Day in the Life of Paige Matthews", "Obssession" and "Whatever You Desire"


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"A WEDDING IN FOUR ACTS"

ACT I - Part 1

A tall, well-dressed man strolled across the terrace that overlooked the blue Mediterranean Sea. He paused beside one of the lounge chairs and kneeled down to speak to a dark-haired woman, sipping a glass of Sangria. "Padronessa," he murmured to her, "I finally have the news that you require."

The glass hovered less than an inch from the woman's lips. "Tell me," she ordered.

"I have discovered the name of the Streghore who had summoned your sister."

Disbelief radiated from the woman's voice. "A Streghore? It was a witch who had summoned Portia?"

The man, who happened to be a low-level daemon named Leonardo, trembled with fear. "Si, Padronessa. A Streghore named Nichola Marcano. I learned this from the seer, Venusia. This Marcano witch had summoned your sister, nearly a month ago. For what reason, I do not know."

"For sex, of course," Claudia Della Scalla retorted. "What else? This Streghore was probably desperate for sex and summoned Portia. After they had sex, he vanquished her before she could kill him. Simple." Her expression hardened. "Only he had vanquished the wrong succubus. Where can I find him?"

Leonardo replied, "San Francisco, California. Only . . ." he hesitated.

Claudia heaved a frustrated sigh. "Only what?"

"After Venusia gave me the name of the Streghore, I discovered a few things about him. For example, he was arrested by the authorities for murder and attempting kidnapping. He is now incarcerated in the local jail."

The news took the beautiful succubus by surprise. "He is in jail for murder? Hmmm, this witch sounds very promising. It is a shame I will have to kill him."

Doubt glimmered in Leonardo's eyes. "Before you do, Padronessa, perhaps you should talk to the witch. Find out what really happened. Something tells me that your sister may have been involved in his crimes."

Claudia nodded. "Good idea. Meanwhile, have Gia pack my belongings. We are off to San Francisco."

"We?" Leonardo hesitated. "Shall I inform the other members of the boschetto?"

The succubus took another sip of her Sangria. "No, I will only need you and Giancarlo to get this Streghore for me. Once I am rid of him, perhaps we can remain in San Francisco for a few days. It has always been one of my favorite cities."

Leonardo rose to his feet, bowed and marched back to the villa. Heaving a satisfied sigh, Claudia returned her attention to her drink and the view, beyond.

* * * *

Cecile Dubois glanced at the grandfather clock standing in one corner of the living room, inside her Garden District house. It read five-eighteen. "Where is he?" she demanded, glancing at her handsome boyfriend. "He's late."

"Only by eighteen minutes," Andre Morell protested. "C'mon, cherie! Be patient. It's not like we have a plane to catch."

The third person inside the room grumbled, "Considering that he hasn't even shown up yet, I'm beginning to think that we should catch a plane." At fifty-five years old, Vivian Reyes Dubois had maintained her good looks and vitality. She and her daughter shared the same bronze-colored skin, high cheekbones, dark eyes reminiscent of ancient Egyptians and diminutive form. "I wonder if there's a plane available for San Francisco, in the next hour or two."

Andre demanded, "Why are you in such a hurry? Once Cole gets here, it should take us at least a second to arrive."

"Because I plan to do a little shopping."

Cecile added, "So do I. Olivia told me about a sale going on at Macy's."

A sigh left Andre's mouth. "Shopping? We're going to San Francisco for a wedding, and all you can think about is shopping? I thought you two had already bought wedding gifts."

Vivian rolled her eyes in disgust. "You don't understand women very much, do you boy?"

Before Andre could reply, a tall figure clad in a dark business suit, materialized in the middle of the living room. Cecile sighed with relief. Andre rushed forward to greet the newcomer with a bear hug. "Cole! Glad you could finally make it, man!" he said cheerfully. "We were beginning to get a little worried."

"We were more than beginning to worry," Cecile added caustically. "Another twenty minutes and we would have ended up going to the airport." She walked toward him and pecked his cheek.

Cole graced the Vodoun priestess with a charming smile. "And it's good to see you too, Ms. Dubois." He returned her kiss with one of his own. Then he turned to Cecile's mother. "Mrs. Dubois. It's good to see you."

"Nice to see you again, Cole," Vivian responded. "Now, what took you so long?"

A heavy sigh left Cole's mouth. "I'm sorry that I'm late, but the Senior Partners' staff meeting took longer than I had expected. Is everyone ready?" He glanced at the pile of luggage near the fireplace. "Oh, I guess so."

The others gathered around the half-daemon. "Is this going to take long?" Cecile's mother asked, uneasily. "I've never teleported, before."

"Don't worry Mama," Cecile reassured the older woman. "Like Andre said, it'll be over within a second." Sure enough, the four people disappeared from the New Orleans house and reappeared in the middle of the McNeill foyer, a second later.

Vivian released a gust of breath. Then she glanced around and frowned. "Is that it?" she demanded. "What happened to our luggage?" No sooner had she spoken, the Dubois and Andre's belongings materialized.

The McNeills' manservant, Davies, appeared in the foyer. "Oh, I see that you've all arrived."

"Afternoon Davies," Cole greeted. "I finally got them here. You can tell both Mrs. McNeill and the others."

Nodding, Davies replied, "Yes sir. Mr. Morell, Mrs. Dubois and Miss Dubois, it's good to see you, again. If you will all follow me, I will take you to the others in the drawing-room. Carmen and Liam will take care of your luggage."

"Leave my baggage in here, Davies," Andre said. "I'll be leaving with Cole."

Cecile added that she will be leaving with Olivia. "That is after she gets here."

"Miss Olivia is in the drawing-room with the others," Davies announced.

Cole frowned. "She's here?" He glanced at his watch. "This early?"

"Yes sir." Davies led the quartet toward the drawing-room. "Miss Olivia is here, along with both Mrs. McNeills and Mr. Bruce."

Vivian murmured to her daughter, "Why is it that every time I'm around that man, I feel as if I'm in the middle of a Merchant-Ivory movie and I'm about to meet Helena Bonham-Carter?"

"You and me both," Cecile shot back.

The manservant opened the drawing-room's double doors and ushered the visitors inside. They found both Elise and Gweneth McNeill observing the other two McNeills engage in a heated conversation. "Why are you asking me, Livy?" Bruce McNeill was saying. "Harry's the one who is planning this party."

Bruce's red-haired sister replied, "Because Harry told me to ask you. After all, it's your bachelor party."

"Okay. Then the answer is no," Bruce answered coolly.

"Bruce!"

Davies interrupted the conversation with a slight cough. "Excuse me, but the Dubois, Mr. Morell and Mr. Turner are all here."

The McNeills' attention became riveted upon the visitors. Gweneth McNeill let out a cry of delight. "Well, look who's here! Vi, darling! How are you?" She rushed forward to envelop Cecile's mother into a bear hug.

Cecile found herself being hugged by Olivia. Soon, everyone - sans Cole and Davies - were exchanging hugs, kisses and handshakes. The younger Mrs. McNeill then turned to Cole and thanked him for giving the visitors from New Orleans a supernatural lift.

"No problem at all," Cole replied genially. He shot a quick glance at Olivia, who immediately looked away. Much to Cecile's surprise. "Unfortunately, I was a little late. The meeting at the firm ended a bit later than I had expected." He turned to face both Olivia and Bruce. "Don't let me stop you, two. What were you talking about?"

Bruce replied, "My bachelor party. It seems Olivia wants me to add a certain someone to the guest list."

"That certain someone is Paul," Olivia retorted, glaring at her older brother.

"And I said . . . no."

Cecile asked, "You mean that attorney, who happens to be a witch? One of Leo's charges?"

Cole rolled his eyes. "Oh. Him. He's going to be at the bachelor party?"

Olivia diverted her glare to Cole "And what exactly, is wrong with . . . him?"

"Well, for one thing, he's a bore," Bruce replied. Both Cole and Andre snickered.

Green eyes now focused upon Cecile's significant other half. "Gee Andre, I didn't realize that you knew Paul."

"Uh, I don't," Andre said. "I just . . . heard . . ." Cecile surreptiously squeezed his arm. "Never mind."

Vivian piped up, "Does anyone know what time the department stores close in this town? I need to do some last minute shopping."

"Macy's should be open until nine, tonight," old Mrs. McNeill replied. "Perhaps Davies can drive you over . . ."

Olivia cut in. "I'll take her. I have some shopping to do, myself."

"And I'm going with you," Cecile added.

"Okay." Olivia paused and glanced at Bruce. "What about Paul?"

Bruce sighed. "What about him?"

Impatience radiated from Olivia's eyes. "The bachelor's party. Is it okay for Harry to invite him?"

Rolling his eyes, the oldest McNeill sibling coolly replied, "Let me think about it."

"Think about it fast, huh Bruce? The bachelor party is in two days." Olivia nodded at both Cecile and Vivian. "Ready ladies?" She started toward the doorway. Daughter and mother followed. As the former glanced behind her, she noticed the pained expression on Cole's face. Interesting.

* * * *

Piper picked up a stainless steel saucepan and held it up in front of her husband's eyes. "What about this?" she asked. "Would this do?"

The oldest Charmed One and her whitelighter husband stood in the middle of the Appliance Department, inside Macy's department store. Leo shook his head in dismay. "A saucepan? Piper, we're shopping for a wedding gift, not a housewarming party!"

"What's wrong with a saucepan?" Piper protested. "Maybe Bruce and Barbara will like it. He's a chef, after all."

An exasperated sigh left Leo's mouth. "Don't you think we should get them something with a little more class? Like silver, for instance."

"Too expensive," Piper curtly replied.

Leo shot back, "Piper, you own a nightclub that's . . ."

". . . that has been losing a little business, ever since Wyatt was born."

Undaunted, Leo continued, "But we still have enough money. And I've been earning a few bucks with some carpentry jobs on the side."

"Leo . . ."

"C'mon Piper. I don't want to give Bruce and Barbara a . . . saucepan." Leo paused, as he squirmed with discomfort. "I mean he's a friend and one of my former charges."

Rolling her eyes, Piper replied caustically, "Then why did we receive our wedding invitations at least a week after Paige had received hers? Can you explain that?"

"What is there to explain?" Leo protested. "Our invitations probably got lost in the mail."

Again, Piper rolled her eyes. "If that's what you want to believe, Leo, go ahead. It seems obvious to me that Bruce and Barbara only wanted to invite Paige. So, I see no reason why I should spend my money on something better than a saucepan."

"Look, maybe you're right. Maybe Bruce didn't want us at the wedding. Can you blame him?"

Piper blinked. Had she heard right? "Excuse me?"

"Well, we didn't invite him, Olivia or Harry to our wedding. And aside from you and your sisters, they're the only friends I have here in San Francisco. It even took them a while to forgive me for not inviting them."

With a scoff, Piper replied, "Well, at least you now believe me that we were excluded from the guest list."

"Piper! Please!" Leo pleaded. "Let's just buy something better than a saucepan. Okay?"

Piper opened her mouth for a retort, when three women appeared. She recognized Olivia McNeill and the latter's friend from New Orleans, whom she remembered from last December. The third woman seemed to be an older version of Olivia's friend. "Leo!" Olivia greeted cheerfully. "And Piper. Fancy meeting you two, here. Shopping for wedding gifts?"

"Uh," Leo began, hesitating, "yeah. We, uh . . . didn't have much time for shopping. Until today."

Olivia's smile widened. Piper began to wonder if she was mocking them. "Well, that's nice. By the way, I'm sure that both of you remember Cecile Dubois. She's here for the wedding." Both Piper and Leo nodded at the Vodoun priestess, who returned their nods. "And this," Olivia continued, "is Vivian Dubois, Cecile's mom. She's also a close friend of my mother's."

Piper smiled politely at the older woman. "Nice to meet you. Are you a Voodoo . . ." She saw Leo grimace from the corner of her eye. "I mean, a Vodoun priestess also, Mrs. Dubois?"

"Yes, I am," the older woman replied. "Both Cecile and I hold the title of Mami."

What the hell "Mami?"

Cecile spoke up. "That's the title for all women who are priestesses."

Leo asked, "Do you have a power like Cecile?"

Mrs. Dubois frowned. "Sorry?"

Again, Cecile explained, "He wants to know if you have a psychic ability, Mama. Like my telepathy and visions."

"Oh." Mrs. Dubois nodded. "I suppose I do. I'm a metamorph. What you would call a shapeshifter."

Olivia added, "Like Bruce and Dad, only Mrs. Dubois can morph into anything - other people, animals, plants and any other object."

"Like Cole," Piper added. "Or a chameleon demon." Everyone stared at her. "My sisters and I had an encounter with one, nearly two years ago."

The older woman wore a confused expression. "I share a power with a demon? There's a spirit out there that changes form?"

Now it was Piper and Leo's turn to look confused. "Huh?" the Charmed One asked. "What do you mean by spirit?"

A salesgirl appeared. "Excuse me, miss." All talk of the supernatural and magic ceased between the five people. The salesgirl continued, "Do you need any help with that saucepan?"

"Huh?" Piper glanced at the object in her hand. She also noticed the others staring at it, as well. Especially Olivia. "Oh, um do you know where I can find some candlesticks?" she asked lamely. "Preferably silver ones?"


END OF ACT I - Part 1

Favorite Films Set in Paris

Below is a list of my favorite films either set or partially set in Paris, France:


FAVORITE FILMS SET IN PARIS




1. "The Day of the Jackal" (1973) - Fred Zinnemann directed this superb adaptation of Fredrick Forsyth's novel about an assassin known only as "the Jackal", who was hired by French right-wing extremists to assassinate President Charles de Gaulle. Edward Fox portrayed the mysterious assassin.






2. "Dangerous Liaisons" (1988) - Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfieffer starred in what I believe to be the best cinematic version of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' 18th century novel, "Les Liaisons dangereuses". Stephen Frears directed.






3. "Gigi" (1958) - Considered the last of MGM's musical classics, this movie adaptation of Colette's novella about a young girl trained to become a courtesan in turn-of-the-century Paris starred Leslie Caron, Louis Jordan, Hermione Gingold and Maurice Chevalier. Vincente Minelli directed this sumptious nine-times Academy Awards winner.






4. "The Bourne Identity" (2002) - Doug Liman directed and Matt Damon starred in this second adaptation of Robert Ludlum's novel about an amnesiac attempting to discover his true identity amidst a clandestine conspiracy within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to track him down for inexplicably failing to carry out an officially unsanctioned assassination.






5. "The Three Musketeers" (1973) - Richard Lester directed this seventh or eighth (and my favorite) version of Alexander Dumas' classic adventure novel. It starred Michael York, Oliver Reed, Faye Dunaway, Raquel Welsh, Richard Chamberlain, Frank Finlay, Christopher Lee, Geraldine Chaplin and Charlton Heston.






6. "French Kiss" (1995) - Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline are magic in this funny romantic comedy about a woman who flies to France to confront her straying fiancé, but gets into trouble when the charming crook seated next to her uses her for smuggling. Lawrence Kasdan directed.






7. "Ronin" (1998) - John Frankenheimer directed this exciting thriller about former special forces and intelligence agents who team up to steal a mysterious, heavily guarded suitcase, while navigating a maze of shifting loyalties and alliances. Robert DeNiro and Jean Reno starred.






8. "All This, and Heaven Too" - Bette Davis and Charles Boyer starred in this top-notch adaptation of Rachel Fields' novel about a French governess' impact upon an aristocrat and his family in the 1840s. Directed by Anatole Litvak.





9. "A Shot in the Dark" (1964) - Peter Sellers portrayed Inspector Jacques Clouseau for the second time in this hilarious adaptation of Harry Kurnitz's play about the murder of a wealthy plutocrat's chauffeur. Blake Edwards directed.






10. "The Night of the Generals" (1967) - Anatole Litvak also directed this interesting, yet flawed adaptation of Hans Hellmut Kirst's novel about a German intelligence officer's investigation of three generals who might be a serial killer of prostitutes in Nazi-occupied Warsaw and Paris.

"THE A-TEAM" (2010) Photo Gallery

Below are photos from "THE A-TEAM", the new adaptation of the 1983-1987 television series. Directed by Joe Carnahan, the movie starred Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Jessica Biel and Patrick Wilson:


"THE A-TEAM" (2010) Photo Gallery

"The Best Man" [PG] - 2/2

Here are Parts Three to Five of "THE BEST MAN":


”THE BEST MAN”

PART THREE – DANNY

How long does it take to walk down the aisle? Captain Danny Walker pondered silently.

As he waited for his bride in front of the chapel's altar, an assortment of emotions besieged him. One, Danny felt nervous as hell. After all, he was about to become a married man - and a father in less than two months. A father. He could not believe it! Somehow, he and Evelyn managed to create a new life during that passionate evening inside the hangar at Wheeler Field.

Recalling that particular event brought upon another emotion. Happiness. Danny felt as if he could walk on air. Evelyn Johnson was about to become his wife - Mrs. Daniel Walker. Never did Danny imagine he would find someone special in his life. Especially someone as kind and beautiful as Evelyn. And to think that it took a sad period . . .

Danny's thoughts came to a screeching halt. The happiness he felt gave way to anxiety. Seeing Evelyn's slightly pregnant form, Danny began to wonder how she really felt about him. Did she really love him? Or did she merely agreed to marry him, because of the baby? Danny fervently hoped the former. Yet, a small and dark suspicion niggled in the back of his mind. A suspicion that his bride might still harbor feelings for her former love . . . and his best friend.

The idea induced Danny to give the best man a quick glance. Rafe seemed . . . well he seemed fine. Calm. Danny frowned at the other man's expressionless face. An odd expression for someone to have at a wedding. But this was Rafe. Who was about to witness the marriage between his best friend and former girlfriend.

A wave of guilt washed over Danny. He tried to fight the feeling, but the guilt refused to vanish. Okay, so he had pursued Evelyn. Danny did not believe he had committed a crime. After all, Rafe had been dead. 'Yeah, for only three months.' With a single-minded ruthlessness, Danny squelched the silent retort. This was no time to feel guilty over certain events that he had no reason to feel guilty about.

His eyes focused upon the woman who glided down the aisle with the Naval officer. Despite being over seven months pregnant, Evelyn looked downright beautiful in her cream-colored gown. Considering her present physical condition, it would have been ludicrous for her to wear white. Then Danny quickly dismissed the thought. He only wanted to focus upon the moment. And on the bride. Her flushed skin and glittering dark eyes. Danny felt thrilled that she seemed to be as focused upon as he was upon her. Ever since Rafe's return, he had feared . . .

Danny shot a quick glance at his best man. Like everyone else, Rafe seemed focused upon the bride. Yet, another glance revealed that Rafe was not looking at Evelyn, but past her shoulder. At the pew, beyond. Danny did not know whether to feel relieved at not detecting any embarrassing emotions in Rafe's eyes, or annoyed that the latter was deliberately ignoring Evelyn. And what about Evelyn? Was she straining not to sneak a glance at her former love? If one could regard Rafe as former. But the moment Danny clapped eyes upon Evelyn, he could see that she had eyes for no one but him. His body nearly sagged with relief.

That relief soon became anticipation as the bride finally reached the altar. Commander Hayes handed over Eveyln's arm to Danny. The latter smiled at his future wife. She returned the smile. Evelyn's dark eyes glittered with the same anticipation that he felt. Then Danny shot a second glance at the best man. Rafe's eyes had shifted from the pew to the altar. Again, those eyes avoided Evelyn. Squelching another flash of guilt that threatened to overwhelm him, Danny focused his attention to the minister, who began the ceremony. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the presence of God, and of this company . . ."

The minister droned on about love and marriage during perilous times. Obviously, the man had decided to ignore Evelyn's pregnant state. Finally, the minister came to the first important question. "Daniel Walker, do you take Evelyn Johnson to be your wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love her, to honor and cherish her, in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, and to be to her in all things a good and faithful husband as long as you both shall live?"

Danny stared deeply into his bride's dark eyes. "I do." His voice resonated throughout the small chapel.

Then it became Evelyn's turn to answer the same question. For a second, Danny feared an embarrassing pause that would follow - indicating the bride's doubts and possible true feelings about this wedding. But she did not hesitate. Evelyn quickly and firmly answered, "I do."

Collective sighs filled the chapel. Repeating the minister, Danny added, "I, Daniel Walker, take thee, Evelyn Johnson, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. According to God's holy ordinance, and thereto I pledge thee my faith." Evelyn, following the minister's words, pledged the same vow.

The minister continued with a wedding prayer, as his voice filled the chapel. When he finished, he turned to Rafe. "The ring please?"

Danny watched Rafe dig immediately into his trouser pocket for the wedding ring. The older man's hand trembled as he handed it to the groom. Despite the blank, almost bleak expression on his face.

"Repeat after me," the minister said to Danny. "With this ring, I thee wed. With my body, I thee honor. With this ring I give to you in token and pledge of my constant faith and abiding love." Danny repeated the minister's words. He smoothly placed the ring on Evelyn's finger. Then he watched as she retrieved a ring from Barbara and repeated the same words. Her hands trembling, she inserted the second ring on Danny's finger.

The minister concluded, "What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder. Forasmuch as Daniel Walker and Evelyn Johnson have consented together in holy matrimony, and have witnessed the same before God and this company and have pledged their love and loyalty to each other, and have declared the same by the joining and the giving of rings, I, therefore, by the authority of the state, pronounce that they are husband and wife, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." He gave Danny a flourished smile. "The Groom may now kissed the Bride."

Danny stared deeply into Evelyn's eyes. She smiled. Then he leaned forward and kissed her with as much passion as he could muster. Once their lips parted, everyone inside the chapel rushed forward to congratulate the newly wedded couple. Everyone, except for the best man.

* * * *

PART FOUR – EVELYN


"Congratulations . . . Mrs. Walker," the Army pilot said with a cheerful grin. "Danny is sure one lucky guy."

Evelyn smiled at the latest well-wisher, as she shook his hand. "Thank you, uh . . .?"

The grin became wider. "Adam. Lieutenant Adam Zelinski. I'm with your husband's squadron."

"Oh yeah."

Lieutenant Zelinski shook Evelyn's hand one last time before moving on. She sighed with relief. He was the last one to come up to Evelyn to give his congratulations, thank goodness. With another heartfelt sigh, she glanced around the living room. She had just given the performance of a life time and did not have an award to show for her efforts.

Evelyn now looked forward to some refreshments after a long and difficult day. Actually, the day was not over yet. The clock on the wall only read 12:55, in the afternoon. With all of the wedding preparations and emotional turmoil she had endured, the day seemed to have dragged since the moment the alarm clock woke her.

The phonograph inside the beach house that she now shared with Barbara, Sandra, and Martha, blasted "Blueberry Hill". Evelyn winced. Not exactly one of her favorites, especially in her present mood. But the song happened to be a favorite of Sandra's. Which meant that after today, Evelyn would no longer be forced to hear it whenever the urge hit the red-haired nurse.

Tonight. The implications of that word finally hit Evelyn. Starting tonight, she and Danny will share a bed together for the first time as husband and wife. Dear God! Evelyn closed her eyes for a brief moment. How did she ever get into this predicament? What had she been thinking during that evening inside the hangar at Wheeler Field?

"Evelyn!" Barbara's voice cut into the bride's thoughts. "Honey, why are you standing around like a lamp post? Shouldn't you be mingling around? Having a good time?"

Evelyn took a deep breath. "I am having a good time. After all, I'm a married woman, now. Right?"

Barbara gave the other woman a hard stare. "Yeah," she said in a lackluster tone. "Right. Say, why don't we try . . .?"

The sound of a giggling female caught the attention of the two friends. They glanced at the direction from where the sound originated. Barbara frowned. Evelyn's heart leapt about ten inches. Next to the refreshment table stood one of the Navy nurses who had been invited to the reception - Ensign Lara McColl. And the very attractive nurse seemed to be enjoying the attention of one Captain Rafe McCawley. The best man. Even worse, Rafe seemed to be enjoying Ensign McColl's company, as well. Another fit of giggles left Ensign McColl's mouth. Evelyn struggled to fight the rising anger and despair within her. And the urge to punch the young nurse in the jaw.

"I wonder what they're talking about," Barbara muttered.

Evelyn tried to sound nonchalant. "Who knows? Knowing Lara's IQ, probably the latest edition of 'Doctor Doolittle'." Unfortunately, her words came out more bitter than she had intended.

Barbara gave Evelyn another one of those long looks. "Ev, honey, you're not jealous, are you?"

"Whatever gave you that silly idea? Or have you forgotten that I'm now a married woman?" Evelyn flashed the gold wedding ring on her swollen finger. "Happily married."

More giggles from the refreshment table punctuated Evelyn's words. She saw Rafe lean forward and whisper into Lara McColl's ear. Hot jealousy rose within Evelyn. Then she saw the silver flask in Rafe's hand. Probably filled with alcohol.

Barbara coughed slightly. "I don't mean to rain on your parade, Ev. But isn't 'happily married' a bit premature? Especially since you've only been married for . . . oh, almost two hours?"

An exasperated sigh left Evelyn's mouth. She shot a quick glare at her friend. "Thank you for pointing that out, Barbara." Glancing at the refreshment table, she added, "I think I need a drink." She started toward the table.

Barbara followed closely behind. "Uh, Ev . . . what are you doing?" But Evelyn did not bother to listen.

The two friends reached the table, where they found Rafe regaling the strawberry blond nurse with tales of his exploits in England, last year. Now, why would anyone find that topic, funny? Evelyn did not. "Hi," she greeted the pair. Lara nearly jumped two inches off the floor. Rafe gave Evelyn a polite smile. "What are you two talking about?" As if she did not know.

"England," Rafe answered shortly. "I was telling Ensign McColl here, about the time I served with the Eagle Squadron."

The Eagle Squadron. Every time someone mentioned it or England, Evelyn wanted to rant against fate. Scream at the world for snatching away any chance of real happiness, when Rafe volunteered to fight with the RAF. A polite smile formed on Evelyn's lips. "You must have some very interesting stories to tell."

"Yeah, I do." Rafe's dark brown eyes penetratred Evelyn's. A wave of heat engulfed her body. "There's one about me being shot down over the English Channel. Now, that's a real hoot."

Evelyn felt her lower lip tremble. I will not cry, she told herself. I will not cry. Taking a deep breath, Evelyn calmly continued, "Was that the story you were telling Lara?"

"Actually, Rafe was talking about this little pub in England," Lara answered. "Where he met this real wacky guy."

Rafe interrupted, "Tom Finch."

"And this Tom Finch used to tell him some of the nuttiest stories," Lara finished. Evelyn realized that the young nurse never looked more prettier than she did at that moment. Her green eyes sparkled with delight. And her cheeks flushed deep pink. She made Evelyn feel even more gauche.

"Sounds like a delightful guy," Barbara murmured sarcastically.

Rafe shot her a dark look. "As a matter of fact, Tom was a pretty swell guy," he shot back. "Makes me wish I was back at the Blue Swan." His remark caused further discomfort for Evelyn.

Discomfort became jealousy when Lara patted Rafe's arm. Then she planted a light kiss on his cheek, causing more consternation within Evelyn's breast. "Oh, you don't mean that, Rafe," Lara cooed. "If that had happened, we would have never met. And I would have never heard about the wonderful Blue Swan."

A wry smile twisted Rafe's mouth. Evelyn looked away - and saw Barbara roll her eyes. Which brought a smile on the bride's lips. A figure appeared before the group and Evelyn's smile disappeared. So did Rafe's. "Hey everyone," Danny greeted the four people. "What's going on?" He leaned forward and pecked Evelyn's cheek. Instead of the usual warmth any bride would feel toward the groom, Evelyn only felt acute embarrassment. Especially with everyone, including Rafe, looking on.

Evelyn briefly closed her eyes and heaved an inward sigh. It was time for another performance.


* * * *


PART FIVE – GOOZ

Rafe stood in the middle of the living room and raised his champagne glass. The other occupants did the same. "Here's to Danny and Evelyn," he announced in a too cheerful voice. "May they have many happy years to come! To Danny and Evelyn!"

"To Danny and Evelyn!" the others repeated, and everyone sipped their champagne.

Gooz Shannon watched the best man gulp the contents of the champagne glass in one swallow. It seemed like watching a performance, the laconic pilot thought. The too cheerful voice, the wide smile and the warm words to the bride and groom. And yet, Gooz noticed the pain in Rafe's eyes. He shook his head. Poor bastard.

While he continued to sip his champagne, Gooz saw Rafe reach for the bottle and pour more liquor into his glass. That poor bastard had been drinking steadily for the past two days. Even before the bachelor's party, last night. Gooz feared that Rafe's personal problems would lead him to alcoholism. That would be a crying shame for a talented pilot like Rafe. What the poor bastard needed was another woman. A serious relationship with a woman who could help him forget Evelyn John . . . Walker.

Gooz's eyes strayed toward Ensign Lara McColl. He recalled seeing Rafe flirt with the strawberry-blond Navy nurse. Personally, Lara did not strike Gooz as his first choice as a companion for Rafe. She seemed too vacuous and shallow for the more solid pilot. But she could be that perfect first step for Rafe to recover from Evelyn. If only one could lure the Tennesseean from the nearest bottle.

The bride and attendants started upstairs for the former to change into traveling clothes. It was Red who had discovered a small beach hotel on the other side of Oahu. Both the pilots and the nurses pooled their resources to offer a romantic getaway for the bride and groom to spend their honeymoon. Gooz took this time to approach Rafe. "Hey there, buddy! How you holding up?"

"Holding up?" Rafe gave the other man a hard stare. Then he broke into laughter that left Gooz feeling very uncomfortable. "Am I holding up? Hell, I'm doing just fine and dandy. Can't you tell?"

Gooz could tell. Rafe's voice had begun to slur from too much booze. He cleared his throat, as he contemplated his next words. "Say Rafe, why don't we leave and head back to the barracks. Maybe a little rest would do you some good."

"I'd say a good shot of bourbon or whiskey might do the trick," Rafe slurred back. He wiggled the bottle of champagne in his hand. "This bubbly ain't doing much for me."

Gooz gently removed the bottle from Rafe's hand. "Drinking yourself into oblivion ain't gonna help you forget about Evelyn, Rafe."

The other man shot Gooz a dark look. "What the hell are you get . . .?"

"C'mon Rafe! I'm not blind. None of us are. The Hula-La has been your second home since we got back from China. Let her go. Evelyn made her choice - even if circumstances forced her to make it. You gotta accept that."

A Latin beat followed the swing number that blasted from the gramaphone. "Perfido". Nice tune, Gooz thought But not exactly one of his favorites. "Huh," Rafe grunted. "That's sounds like 'Perfido'. Did you know that it's one of Evelyn's favorite tunes?"

Gooz sighed. Trying to get Rafe to forget about Evelyn seemed like a hopeless task. Then again, he had not been in New York to witness the beginning of the romance. Not until that fight between Rafe and Danny at the Hula-La on the night before the Japanese attack, did Gooz realize how serious Rafe had been about Evelyn.

A strawberry-blond in a Navy uniform loomed before Gooz's eyes. Perhaps it was time to test that theory about a new woman in Rafe's life. He only hoped that Ensign McColl will not have a problem in dealing with a drunken pilot.

"Say," the laconic pilot began, "isn't that the girl you were talking to, earlier?" Gooz pointed at the beautiful nurse.

Rafe weaved slightly. "That's the beau . . . beautiful Lar-r-r-ra McColl," he slurred. "Well, not as beautiful as Evelyn." Gooz suppressed a frustrated sigh. "Then nobody is more beau . . . beautiful that Ev . . . Evelyn."

Gooz decided to go along with this line of conversation. "True. But at least . . . Lara, is it? At least Lara is available. You know?"

Dark brown eyes bored into Gooz's. For what seemed like forever. As Rafe opened his mouth to speak, someone announced the reappearance of the bride and groom. Both Gooz and Rafe turned around and watched the newly married couple descend the staircase. The guests cheered and threw rice at the pair. Gooz glanced at the happy couple. Well, the groom looked happy. Not even the sun has ever looked as bright as Danny's smile. When Gooz stared at Evelyn, he noticed that her happiness did not exactly match her husband's. In fact, her smile seemed . . . strained. Forced. Then Evelyn's dark eyes fell upon Rafe. If Gooz had not kept his focused upon her's, he would have never caught the flash of deep love and regret. At that moment, he realized that Evelyn's feelings for Rafe matched those of the Tennessee-born pilot's.

"Well I'll be damned!" Gooz muttered under his breath.

Rafe turned to Gooz. "Did you just say something?" Gooz shook his head and watched the couple head for the front door.

Some of the guests followed Danny and Evelyn outside, bombarding the pair with more rice. Neither Gooz or Rafe bothered to follow. Instead, the latter faced the former. A sickly smile stretched Rafe's mouth. "You know what, Gooz? You were right! Lara is a . . . avail . . . able, and I reckon I should ask her to join me for a late night drink."

Gooz watched Rafe take a deep breath and stride toward the strawberry-blond nurse. He shook his head and muttered under his breath, "Life can sure be a mess. Just a goddamn mess!"


THE END

"'FLASHFORWARD': A Potential Nipped in the Bud"

”’FLASHFORWARD’: A Potential Nipped in the Bud”

Ever since ABC cancelled one of its freshman series, the science-fiction drama called ”FLASHFORWARD”, many television critics and fans have expressed the belief that the series failed to garner enough viewers due to its less than stellar writing. Now . . . I have stated that many have expressed this belief, but there were a good number of viewers who believe that the network should have given the series a chance to grow over the years. I happen to be one of those who agree with the latter.

Based upon the 1999 novel written by Robert J. Sawyer, ”FLASHFORWARD” revolved around the lives of several people after a mysterious event caused nearly everyone on the planet to simultaneously lose consciousness for two minutes and seventeen seconds on October 6, 2009. During this "blackout” people saw what appeared to be visions of their lives on April 29, 2010 - a global "flashforward”. Created by Brannon Braga and David S. Goyer, the series starred Joseph Fiennes, John Cho, Courtney B. Vance, Christine Woods, Jack Davenport, Sonia Walger and Dominic Monaghan.

When the series first aired in late September, it became an immediate ratings hit and stayed that way during its first ten (10) episodes. Then ABC made the decision to put the series on hiatus for three-and-a-half months. Why? I have no idea. But after the series resumed its run in mid-March 2010, its ratings tanked. In fact, the ratings remained low until it was finally cancelled by ABC some two-and-a-half months later. Does this story sound familiar? Why, yes it does. The very same fate nearly befell the CBS science-fiction/post-apocalypse series, ”JERICHO”. Thanks to a campaign by fans to save the series, ”JERICHO” was given a second season – which amounted to seven episodes that aired in a new time slot. Namely Tuesday nights at 10:00 PM. No amount of fan campaign could convince ABC to give ”FLASHFORWARD” a chance. But there are a good number of fans who are angry at how the network handled the series.

Yet, those critics and fans who did not criticize ABC’s handling of the series have claimed that ”FLASHFORWARD” was a failure that was destined for cancellation. Many of these critics and viewers claimed that the series failed to live up to the same quality as another ABC series, namely the pop culture hit, ”LOST”. Personally, I have a problem with this assessment of “FLASH FORWARD”. One, it was only in its first season. Its story had just begun. To expect it to be perfect right off the bat struck me as ridiculous. Now, I realize that both “LOST” and the NBC series, “HEROES”, managed to immediately dazzle U.S. viewers and critics with highly regarded series premieres and well written first seasons. But a closer look would reveal that after their remarkable first seasons, the storytelling qualities of both ”LOST” and ”HEROES” managed to do nothing but decline following their first seasons. And I believe that this was a major mistake for both shows. Both tried to maintain the momentum of their dazzling debuts . . . and failed. At least as I am concerned. Mind you, ”LOST” managed to occasionally deliver some exceptional episodes and story arcs over the years. But it was never delivered a consistently top-notched season after Season One. As for ”HEROES”, it simply went down the drain following its first season. How it managed to stay on the air for another three seasons simply amazed me.

Ever since the dazzling debuts of “LOST” and “HEROES”; television network executives have expected and demanded that other multi-seasonal series with a science-fiction/fantasy background repeat their initial success. I believe that this was a mistake. Some of the best science-fiction/fantasy television series I have seen have started out with a less than dazzling or even mediocre season debut. Good examples of this are “BABYLON 5″, “JERICHO” and “BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER”. Both ”BABYLON 5” and ”BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER” were given chances to fulfill their potential. Just as ”JERICHO” was developing into a well-written series, CBS permanently pulled its plug . . . aborting its chances of fulfilling any potential.

As I had stated earlier, “FLASH FORWARD” also started with a less than dazzling first season. I might as well be frank. It was not perfect. But I do believe that it had great potential to grow into a well written sagal. If the series had aired in the previous decade, I suspect that might have been given the chance to develop into something remarkable. It certainly had potential. But, we are stuck in the ”LOST” era of television broadcasting. Today’s television network executives do not seem to have the patience or willingness to give a series a chance to grow. They want and demand instant success. And unless they are willing to change their modis operandi, future science-fiction/fantasy television series with levels of qualities similar to “BABYLON 5″ and “BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER” threaten to become a thing of the past, never to be shown on television again. I certainly did not see that level of quality writing in shows like “LOST” or “HEROES”, despite their longevity on the air.

”PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME” (2010) Review

”PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME” (2010) Review

Recently, I had listened to a radio talk show in which a movie reviewer compared Disney’s new movie, ”PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME” to the 1962 Oscar winning film, ”LAWRENCE OF ARABIA”. Much to the detriment of the Disney film. And as I sat there and listened to him bash ”PRINCE OF PERSIA”, it occurred to me that there still were plenty of idiots in this world . . . including radio disc jockeys.

Directed by Mike Newell and based upon the 2003 video game, ”PRINCE OF PERSIA” is about an orphaned street urchin in sixth century Persia named Dastan whose gallant and courageous act at a marketplace attracts the attention of King Sharaman and leads to his adoption into the Royal Family. Fifteen years later, Dastan, his royal-blooded foster brothers, Prince Tus and Prince Garsiv, and his uncle, Prince Nizam are planning an attack on the sacred city of Alamut, which is believed to be selling weapons to their enemies. However, Persia’s successful invasion of Alamut eventually leads to a great deal of trouble for Dastan, when he is framed for the assassination of the king. With the help of Tamina, Princess of Alamut, Dastan eventually discovers that the invasion was nothing more than a means for the real assassin to search for a magical dagger that Dastan has already managed to get his hands on. The dagger enables to bearer to travel back in time. The assassin wants to use the dagger to overthrow the Persian Royal Family and seize the throne.

I had mixed feelings about watching ”PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME”. A part of me was attracted to the idea of viewing another Disney live-action movie with a fantasy setting. Another part of me recalled my disappointment over Tim Burton’s rather flaccid movie, ”ALICE IN WONDERLAND”. Attraction and curiosity won out and I went to see the movie . . . despite my low expectations. Needless to say, I ended up enjoying the movie a lot.

Granted, the movie had its share of flaws. First of all, one had to endure some of the over-the-top dialogue that has plagued movies like ”SPIDER-MAN”, and from the ”STAR WARS”, ”LORD OF THE RINGS” and ”THE MUMMY” franchises. Some of the action sequences that featured actor Jake Gyllenhaal jumping all over the place struck me as a tad too frantic. It almost seemed as if Mike Newell and cinematographer John Seale had channeled Paul Greengrass and photographer Oliver Wood from the ”BOURNE” movies. I love actor Alfred Molina. I have been a fan of his for years. But I must admit that I found his performance as an ostrich racing-organizer named Sheik Ama waaaay over-the-top. Speaking of ostrich racing . . . WHAT THE HELL? I have never seen anything so ludicrous in my life. I mean . . . I could understand camel racing or even horse racing. But ostrich racing?

Yes, I do have some quibbles about the movie. And yes, I realize that it is not an example of artistic Hollywood movie making at its height. It is certainly not the best movie of this summer. But dammit! I liked it a lot. One, screenwriters Jordan Mechner, Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro and Carlo Bernard wrote a very entertaining adaptation of the video game. I am certainly not familiar with it, but I did like the story. Not only was it filled with plenty of action and fantasy, it had a good, solid mystery over the identity of King Sharaman’s assassin. This mystery also served as the background of a well-written family drama involving Dastan and the Persian Royal Family. Most importantly, the movie’s script featured a funny and spirited romance between Dastan and Princess Tamina.

Speaking of the cast, I never thought I would see the day when I actually enjoy a sword-and-sand fantasy that featured Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead. He is not the type of actor I would associate with a costume movie from the Disney Studios. I must admit that for the movie’s first ten to twenty minutes, I found it difficult to accept Gyllenhaal in the role of a street urchin-turned-adopted member of the Persian Royal Family. But he seemed to be doing such a good job and I was becoming engrossed in the movie that I eventually overcame any unnecessary problems I had with him in the role. Most importantly, Gyllenhaal had great chemistry with Gemma Arterton, who portrayed Tamina. The only other movie I had seen Arterton in was the latest James Bond movie, ”QUANTUM OF SOLACE”. Honestly? I had not been that impressed by her performance in that movie. But I was impressed by her performance as Princess Tamina. She gave the character a strength and drive rarely seen in female roles from the past five or six summers. She also seemed to have better chemistry with actors that are from her generation . . . like Gyllenhaal.

Ben Kingsley gave a very subtle performance as Dastan’s adopted uncle, Prince Nizam. He did a great job in portraying the one character that acted as the Persian Royal Family’s backbone. Both Richard Coyle and Toby Kebbell gave solid performances as Dastan’s two royal brothers. However, I must admit that I did not find them particularly memorable. Steve Toussaint did a good job in portraying the dependable, yet intimidating Ngbaka knife thrower Seso. I certainly enjoyed his performance more than I did Alfred Molina’s. It seemed a pity that the latter’s character annoyed me so much. I also have to commend Gísli Örn Garðarsson, who portrayed the leader of the Hassansins, hired to kill Dastan and recover the dagger. For a character that did not say much, I found his performance particularly intimidating.

I have another confession. I was not that particularly enamored of Mike Newell’s direction of the 2005 movie, ”HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE”. And when I heard that he was the director of ”PRINCE OF PERSIA” . . . well, I was not expecting to be impressed by his latest work. ”GOBLET OF FIRE” had convinced me that Newell should avoid the science-fiction/fantasy genre. However, his direction of ”PRINCE OF PERSIA” proved me wrong. Sure, I could have done without some of the frantic action sequences. And I would never consider the movie to be on the same level as the ”PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN” movies. But I thought it was a pretty damn entertaining film.

Which brings me back to the radio disc jockey. Why did I consider him an idiot for comparing ”PRINCE OF PERSIA” to ”LAWRENCE OF ARABIA”? Who, in their right mind, would compare a summer Disney movie based upon a video game, with an Oscar winning film about a World War I hero? Who would be stupid enough to do this? Apparently that radio disc jockey was stupid enough to do so. And why did he do this? Because both movies were set in the Middle East. Go figure.

"The Best Man" [PG] - 1/2

Some time ago, I had come up with this idea for an Alternate Universe story for the Disney movie, "PEARL HARBOR". I began to wonder what would have happened if Josh Harnett's character, Danny Walker, had survived Doolittle's Raid on Tokyo. This is what I had came up with:


"THE BEST MAN"
RATING: PG
E-MAIL: deerush76@yahoo.com
FEEDBACK: Please feel free to send a little feedback. Please, no flames.
SUMMARY: Various reflections on the best man's reaction to a wartime wedding; Alternate Universe, set about six weeks after the Tokyo raid.
DISCLAIMER: Yadda, yadda, yadda! All characters pertaining to the motion picture, "Pearl Harbor", belong to Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Bay, Randall Wallace and the Walt Disney Company . . . unfortunately.

************************************************************************

PART ONE – RED

Another beautiful day in Honolulu, Hawaii. Or so Red Winkle told himself. To be honest, the weather was the last thing on his mind. Instead, he harbored on the upcoming wedding between two close friends. And how that wedding would affect the best man.

Red glanced at the figure on the bunk. A tall man with dark-brown hair groaned out loud, before sliding - very reluctantly - out of bed. Red stretched his lips into a grin and cried out cheerfully, "Hey sleepyhead! I see you finally got up!"

Rafe McCawley stared at Red with bleary eyes. Apparently, he had not recovered from last night's bachelor party at the Hula-La Bar. Not surprising, since he practically drank everyone else under the table. "What time is it?" he mumbled in his Tennessee accent.

"Oh eight forty-five," Red answered crisply. Which pleased him. He had stuttered one word in seven months. Not since he had proposed . . . The red-haired Army pilot immediately squelched all thoughts of a certain blond Navy nurse. Or that disasterous day in early December. After taking a deep breath, Red continued, "Everyone else is up and having chow in the Officers' Mess."

A heavy sigh escaped from Rafe's mouth. "Jesus! Eight forty-five! That means I have . . ."

"You have at least a little over two hours to get showered, dressed, fed and over to the chapel. Don't forget that the ceremony starts at 011:00."

"Yeah, the ceremony." Rafe's voice sounded mournful. Quite a contrast from the happy-go-lucky soul who had been the life of the party, last night. Once more, he sighed. Red suspected that a lot more will be heard before the end of the day.

The older pilot grunted, as he struggled to rise from the bed. "Having trouble there, Rafe?" Red frowned at him. "Need any help?"

"No, I uh . . . Maybe . . . maybe I do need help."

Red grabbed Rafe's hand and pulled the latter off the bed. Then the redhead led the other man to the bathroom for a shower. Seconds later, Red heard running water. Red peeked inside. "Say Rafe," he added, "don't you think you ought to get out of your skivvies, first?"

An olive-drab T-shirt flew out of the bathroom and landed on top of Red's head. A pair of boxer shorts followed. Fortunately, Red was able to duck in time. While Rafe showered, an enlisted man appeared in the barrack's doorway with a bundle of clean clothes and polished shoes. "Private Jancek, reporting as ordered, sir!" the latter barked. "With Captain McCawley's uniform!"

"Thank you, Private," Red responded. "Place the bundle on the table near the door." Private Jancek did as he was ordered. Just as he was about to leave, Red added, "By the way, is that jeep ready?"

Jancek replied in a crisp voice, "Yes sir, Lieutenant! Uh, do you need a driver?"

"No, that will be all, Private."

Private Jancek gave Red a salute and left the barracks. Two minutes later, Rafe emerged from the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel. "What's that?" he asked pointing at the bundle on the table.

"Your clothes. After we got back, last night, I figured you'd need a fresh uniform for today. Especially since you'll be . . ."

Rafe gruffily interrupted, "You don't have to remind me about today. I remember. Thanks for the clothes." He began to remove his towel.

An embarrassed Red quickly glanced away. The last thing he wanted to see was Rafe in his birthday suit. "Um, when you finish dressing, I guess we can join the others in the Officers' Mess. That is, if they're still there. You weren't the only one who got drunk, last night. Poor ole' Gooz must have drunk so much booze . . ."

"Red." Rafe harshly cut into the other man's conversation. "Don't take this wrong, but could you please shut the hell up? You're rambling."

Red's face immediately matched the color of his hair. "S-s-sor-ry ab-b-bout that. I . . ."

"Hey, forget about it, Red. Apology accepted. And I'm sorry for being such a grouch." Several uncomfortable moments followed. Then Rafe added, "Okay, you can turn around."

Which Red did. To his relief, he found Rafe dressed in his formal uniform - khaki, for the summer. Despite the haggard eyes and mussed hair, Rafe still managed to look handsome and tough. Red felt certain that many women will be all over him, now that he was . . .

Let's not dwell on that, Winkle, Red mentally castigated himself.

Ever since Rafe's miraculous appearance in Hawaii nearly six months ago, Red has experienced a lot of guilt. Why? Thanks to his advice, Rafe's best friend had decided to pursue Rafe's girl. And now seven months later, Danny Walker and Evelyn Johnson were about to become man and wife. Even worse, Evelyn was pregnant with Danny's child. And if that did not seem bad enough, Red harbored deep suspicions that Evelyn was still in love with Rafe, and not with Danny.

Thinking of Rafe, Evelyn and Danny also reminded Red of Betty. His fiancée of nearly two months. In another year, he and Betty would have married inside the chapel at Hickam. The same location for Danny and Evelyn's wedding ceremony. Only the Japanese attack on December 7 had ruined Red's matrimonial plans. As much as he mourned Betty, he thanked God that he would never have to watch her marry another man.

"Hey Red. You okay?" Rafe frowned at the other pilot. "You look as if you're in another world."

Red responded with a weak smile. "Just thinking about the past. Ready to go?"

One last sigh left Rafe's mouth. "I reckon so. Let's go." He strode toward the door, with Red close at his heels.


* * * *


PART TWO – BARBARA

Always the bridesmaid and never the bride. It was a situation in life that Lieutenant Barbara Kurtz has always dreaded and found herself in. Yet, for once, she felt more than happy not to be the bride. At least not for today's wedding. Hell, she felt downright relieved.

Poor Evelyn. Poor Rafe. Poor . . . Well, perhaps not poor Danny. After all, not only did he barely managed to survive Doolittle's suicidal mission over Tokyo, he was also about to marry the woman he loved - namely Evelyn. And become a father in two months. Then again, Danny was also about to marry a woman, who was probably not in love with him. Barbara suspected that Evelyn loved Danny, but was not in love with him. Loving someone and being completely, down-in-your-guts in love were two different matters. At least to Barbara. And she thanked God that she was not about to marry the wrong man for the right reason.

"Barbara!" Sandra O'Connell's voice screeched in the blond woman's ears. Geez! "Are they here, yet?"

Here meant the little white Army chapel at Hickam Field. The bride, along with her attendants, stood inside a small room, adjacent to the chapel. Barbara's fellow attendants, Sandra and Martha Cole, fussed over the bride's wedding gown. And it was beautiful. Evelyn wore a cream-colored gown with puffy short sleeves and a square neckline. It looked elegant and hid her pregnant form very well.

"Will you all leave her alone?" Barbara groused. "She looks fine."

Evelyn heaved a deep sigh. "Barbara's right. I feel fine. And I'm ready to start. Is the . . . groom's party here, yet?"

"I'll check." Barbara left the small room. She found the groom standing in the back of the chapel, surrounded by his friends. However, two seemed to be missing - Red and Rafe.

Barbara cried out to them. "Hey! Why are you all standing around like suspects in a line-up? Evelyn's ready."

Danny, who looked downright handsome in his full khaki uniform, replied that they were waiting for Red. And the best man.

"What? You mean they're not here, yet?" Barbara demanded. Of course she did not blame Rafe if he decided not to show up. What man in his right mind would want to witness the wedding between his best friend and the woman he loved? Barbara had noticed something else. Evelyn did not strike her as radiant bride. Granted, the former nurse happened to be at least seven months pregnant. Yet, still . . .

The sound of a jeep screeching to a halt caught Barbara's attention. Gooz poked his head outside the chapel's door and announced, "The best man is here. And Red."

Barbara heaved a relieved sigh. "Great. Now, the only person that's missing is Doc Hayes. Let us know when he arrives." She returned inside the chamber. "Hey! Rafe and Red are here."

Evelyn stiffened momentarily at the mention of her ex-boyfriend's name. Barbara noticed. Then the bride-to-be asked in a placid voice, "What about Commander Hayes? Has he arrived?"

"Not yet. I asked Gooz to let . . ." Barbara bit off her words when a head poked inside the room. It belonged to Rafe.

The pilot's eyes met the bride's. Electricity crackled in the air. Even a blind person, Barbara decided, would have noticed the chemistry between the former lovers. And Barbara was not blind.

"Hello Rafe," Sandra finally greeted, cutting the tension. "Is there something you want?" Anxiety filled the eyes behind her gold-rimmed glasses.

Rafe continued to stare at Evelyn. Whose face turned pink. Martha coughed slightly, snapping the pilot out of his trance. "Uh, I just came to tell you that Commander Hayes has just arrived. So the wed . . ." He took a deep breath. "The ceremony will probably start in five minutes."

Silent tension filled the air. Martha finally responded. "Thanks. We'll be . . ."

A second figure appeared in the chamber. Relief flooded Barbara's body. It was the nurses' commanding officer, dressed in a khaki naval uniform. Commander Hayes glanced at Evelyn and smiled. "Is everyone ready?" he asked.

Barbara smirked. "Now that you're here, sir." She nodded at Rafe. "You can tell the others that we're ready."

Rafe tore his eyes away from the bride and left. A deep flush colored Evelyn's cheeks. Barbara sighed for the second time this morning. This promised to be a long day.


END OF PARTS ONE AND TWO

"LOST": A Retrospective

I wrote this article on the "LOST" series finale, (6.17-6.18) "The End" and the series as a whole:


”LOST”: A Retrospective

Nearly a month has passed since ABC aired the series finale of ”LOST”. I have been reading a great deal of articles and Internet posts praising both (6.17-6.18) “The End” and the series as a whole. And there have been Internet posts that have criticized both. I have to say that my opinion stands somewhere in between.

I will not deny that I have enjoyed ”LOST”, since I first began to watch the series during the fall of 2005. I realize that the series had premiered a year earlier, but I had ignored its first season. While watching Season Two on television, I rented the Season One DVD box set from Netflix and watched it at the same time. I became hooked on the show. I cannot deny it. However, by the time episodes like (2.13) “The Long Con” and (2.14) “One of Them” aired, I began to wonder if ”LOST” was just as good as I had originally assumed.

Then my opinion of the series took a nosedive during early Season Three – the period in which three of the major characters – Jack Shephard, Kate Austen and James “Sawyer” Ford – found themselves prisoners of the island’s inhabitants, the Others. Frankly, I thought it was a poorly perceived story arc. For the next two or three seasons, I found myself flip-flopping on my viewership of the series. After the Season Four finale, (4.13-4.14) “There’s No Place Like Home, Part II” aired, I realized that I would never consider ”LOST” to be a perfect or near perfect series. In fact, I would never consider it to be one of my top ten (10) favorite television series of all time.

As for ”The End”, it was not bad as far as finales go. There seemed to be plenty of action, poignant moments and excellent acting. I even found myself crying during scenes in the Sideways dimension like Sawyer and Juliet Burke’s reunion, along with the reunion between Sayid Jarrah and Shannon Rutherford. And at first, I even found myself about to cry when many of the Oceanic Flight 815 passengers had their afterlife reunion in that church. But when I realized that certain characters were missing in that scene, my tears ceased. Rather fast.

Where was Michael Dawson and his son, Walt Lloyd? According to the episode, (6.12) “Everybody Loves Hugo”, Michael’s soul is stuck on the island, because he thought he was in Purgatory for his actions. Unfortunately, producers Damon Lindehof and Carlton Cuse have made it clear that the island was not Purgatory. According to Wikipedia site, Michael’s soul remained stuck on the island, because he had died there. So had Boone Carlyle, Shannon Rutherford, Juliet Burke, Ana-Lucia Cortez, Libby Smith, Mr. Eko, Charlie Pace and even the series lead, Jack Shephard. Sayid Jarrah, Jin Kwon and Sun Paik had died aboard Charles Widmore’s submarine, not far from the island. Hell, they were a lot closer to the island than Michael was, when he was killed aboard the freighter, the S.S. Kahana. Yet, all of them, aside from Mr. Eko, were seen that church in the afterlife. There was no sign of Michael. Some fans claimed that Michael was being punished for murdering Ana-Lucia Cortez and Libby Smith. But John Locke, Charlie, Sawyer, Kate, Juliet, Sayid, Mr. Eko have all been guilty of murder. Both Shannon and Jack were guilty of attempted murder. Why were they not punished? Sun, Jin, Sayid and Hurley have all forgiven Michael. Why was he still being punished? Some fans claimed that Michael had not moved on. ”There’s No Place Like Home” claimed otherwise. And where was Walt? Some fans claimed that the actor who had portrayed him, Malcolm David Kelley, was too old and too tall to portray him. In the afterlife church? Why not? They were in the fucking afterlife! There was no need for Walt to look like the same 10 year-old that he was during the series’ first season.

And where were Ana-Lucia Cortez and Mr. Eko? Why were they not in that church scene? Both had made connections with the other Losties. They had certainly made connections with Bernard Nadler and Libby, who were in that final scene? What happened to them? Fans of ”LOST” know that Mr. Eko was killed by the Man In Black aka the Smoke Monster in (3.05) “The Cost of Living”. Why? Apparently, Mr. Eko failed to express any remorse for his more questionable actions. This made no sense to me, considering that Eko had expressed remorse and guilt over the death of his brother, Yemi. He had also expressed remorse for killing two of the Others during the castaways’ first night on the island, when the Others tried to kidnapped. I believe that Cuse and Lindehof needed a quick excuse to kill Eko, because the actor portraying him - Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje – had asked to be written off the show in order to deal with his parents’ deaths. Ana-Lucia experienced two epiphanies about herself in Season Two. In (2.16) “The Whole Truth”, she said the following to Sayid Jarrah before apologizing to him for accidentally killing Shannon Rutherford:

”Yeah, I can't sleep. People don't like me. I tried to get them to most of my life. I guess I just gave up a while back. I mean, I am what I am. But you -- you've got a good reason to hate me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did.”

Sayid eventually forgave her. But he never forgave the Others for harassing Ana-Lucia and the surviving Tail Section passengers. And in (2.20) “Two For the Road”, Ben tried to escape by killing Ana-Lucia. Locke came to her rescue. Then Ana set out to retaliate by killing Ben herself. She even went as far as to seduce Sawyer – the Lostaways’ “sheriff” in order to acquire a pistol. In the end, Ana-Lucia realized that she had enough of indulging in her penchant for vindictive behavior:

”” He tried to kill me today, so I wanted him dead. I couldn't do it. I couldn't even kill him. I looked at him and he -- I can't do this anymore.”

This is more than some of the other regular characters have ever achieved as far as development goes – and that includes Charlie, Sawyer, Locke and Shannon. At least Charlie had sacrificed himself to warn his fellow castaways about the threat from the S.S. Kahuna. And Shannon received some kind of reassurance from Sayid that she was not worthless. But Locke was in a state of despair when Ben murdered him in (5.07) "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham". And Sawyer has never acknowledged any of his mistakes, personal flaws or crimes. And yet, viewers were led to believe that these two were ready for the afterlife inside that church. But according to Sideways Desmond in (6.16) “What They Died For”, Ana-Lucia “was not ready”. The two producers gave a reason why:

Lindelof: Well, all we can say is that in "Happily Ever After," when Desmond confronted Eloise Hawking and he wanted to know why she wouldn't reveal to him why Penny's name was on this guest list, she said to him that he should stop asking these questions, because he wasn't ready. So that was the other time we heard that word. Ready for what exactly...?

Cuse: It's meant to be an intriguing clue that you are right to be pondering.

In other words, they really had no clear reason why Ana-Lucia was not ready to get over her baggage. They had ignored her epiphanies in episodes like ”The Whole Truth” and ”Two For the Road” FOR NOTHING. The ironic thing about this whole matter is that Ana-Lucia, Mr. Eko and Michael were all condemned in the afterlife, either because of their crimes or in the case of Ana-Lucia, her unpopularity with the fans. Other ”LOST” characters who were flawed or had committed terrible crimes managed to evade this fate. Apparently, Cuse and Lindehof were never really interested in allowing the major characters to face the consequences of their flaws or crimes – unless said character failed to live up to the image of the ideal female or were black men.

This vague form of storytelling has plagued the series for a long time. One example of this centered on a con job that Sawyer had pulled on Jack, John Locke and the rest of the castaways for control of the guns in Season Two’s (2.13) “The Long Con” with Charlie’s help – an act that led to Charlie physically attacking Sun. Why did he do this? Because Jack had invaded his tent to take a bottle of aspirin that Sawyer had pilfered not long after the plane crash. And where did this storyline go? Both Sun and Jin discovered that Sawyer and Charlie had been behind her attack in Season Three. Charlie apologized and Sun slapped Sawyer in retaliation. In other words, this storyline went no where.

Season Three also featured a storyline that I had briefly mentioned earlier – Jack, Kate and Sawyer’s captivity by the Others. This particular storyline began with three incidents in three different episodes – Walt Lloyd’s kidnapping by the Others in Season One’s (1.24-1.25) “Exodus: Part Two”; the capture of the Others’ leader, Ben Linus in Season Two’s (2.14) “One of Them”; and the Others’ capture of the three castaways and Hugo Reyes in (2.23-2.24) “Live Together, Die Alone”. For thirteen to fourteen episodes of Season Three, viewers had to endure a very convoluted storyline that centered around Ben Linus’ attempts to coerce Jack into operating on his spinal tumor. Both Lindehof and Cuse were asked why they had created this storyline in the first place. People have pointed out that Ben could have easily offered the castaways food and transportation off the island in exchange for Jack performing the surgery within days of Oceanic Flight 815’s crash. Lindehof and Cuse admitted this, but claimed they included the storyline to add one more mystery to the series’ storyline. When I had read this, I found myself both astonished and somewhat disgusted.

And I never understood how the Man in Black became a mortal in "The End". How was that possible? He never took possession of John Locke's body, following the return of the latter to the island. His essence only assumed the dead man's form. The discovery of the real Locke's body in (5.16-5.17) "The Incident" made that perfectly clear. There was no way he should have become mortal in Locke's form, when Jack and Desmond uncorked the island's energy (or whatever the hell it was). I suspect this particular plot arc may have been an example of contrived writing in order to extend the finale's running time.

There were other storylines and characters that went nowhere:

*Libby Smith – one of the Tail Section passengers that survived the crash. She had a brief romance with Hurley in mid-Season Two, before Michael killed her in ”Two For the Road”. Libby was the only regular character in the entire series that never had a centric episode. Never. She did appear in one of Hurley’s centric episodes - (2.18) “Dave” - as a fellow patient at the Santa Rosa Mental Institution. If one thinks about it, Libby mainly served as Hurley’s dream girl/love interest. And the sad thing is that nearly five years after her character was introduced, nothing much is known about her. In fact, the only reason she ended up in that afterlife church was due to her role as Hurley’s girlfriend.

* (5.04) “The Little Prince” outrigger attacks – In this particular episode, castaways Sawyer, Juliet, Locke, Miles, Daniel and Charlotte were traveling by water to the island’s Orchid Station when someone or a group of unknown people began shooting at them. Considering that they had been traveling through time, many fans wondered if the identities of the attackers would be revealed in Season Six. They never were. Cuse and Lindehof made it clear that some of the series’ mysteries would remain unanswered. This turned out to be another example of sloppy writing.

*Claire Littleton’s abandonment of her son Aaron in (4.10) “Something Nice Back Home” - The series never gave a clear answer as to why Claire had abandoned Aaron, following Martin Keamy’s attack upon Otherton in (4.09) “The Shape of Things to Come”. Viewers know that the Man in Black – in the guise of Claire and Jack’s father, Christian Shephard, had lured her into the jungle, and later told her that the Others had taken Aaron. But why did she abandon him? The series never gave a clear answer.

*The Others Test Walt Lloyd – Why the Others kidnap Walt? How did they even know he was special? Jacob could have never told Ben. The latter had not been in contact with Jacob. Others spy Ethan Rom could not have known. None of the other castaways were aware of Walt’s abilities, except for Locke. So, how did Ben find out about Walt? What tests did Walt have to indure as a captive of the Others?

*The Tail Section Passengers Kidnappings - Why did the Others take most of the Tail Section passengers in (2.17) “The Other 48 Days”? Why did they take Oceanic flight attendant Cindy Chandler?

*Cindy Chandler’s Whereabouts – What happened to Cindy and the two Tail Section kids under her care – Zach and Emma? Had they been killed by Charles Widmore’s mortar attack of the main island in (6.13) “The Last Recruit”? Or had they been among the survivors that scattered into the jungle? Did Hurley and Ben ever find them?

I could go on about the numerous mysteries that plagued the series. However, ”LOST” was also plagued by other problems. For a series that is an Emmy winner and highly regarded by television viewers and critics, it possessed a good number of bad writing. Aside from my complaints about the church scene in ”The End”, I can think of a few:

*Daniel Faraday’s Accent - Why did Daniel have an American accent> He had lived in England as a child, attended Oxford University and both of his parents (Eloise Hawking and Charles Widmore) were English.

*Kate Austen – I rather feel sorry for Evangeline Lilly. Her character, fugitive Kate Austen, has been plagued by a great deal of bad writing during the series’ six season. Mediocre and questionable episodes like (1.12) “Whatever the Case May Be”, (3.06) “I Do”, ”The Little Prince”, (3.15) “Left Behind” and especially (4.04) “Eggtown” marred her character development. Her criminal trial featured in ”Eggtown” was probably her worst storyline. In fact, I would call it a travesty in legal fiction. Her lie about being Aaron Littleton’s mother struck me as rather stupid. And the fact that Oceanic Airlines and the authorities actually bought it struck me as even more idiotic, considering there was no way Kate could have been six months pregnant when she boarded Flight 815 in Australia. The Australian law enforcement and airport security cameras could have easily dispute her lie. But Cuse and Lindehof led many viewers to believe that such a stupid lie was actually believed.

*Jack Shephard’s Tattoos – In one of the worst episodes of the series, (3.09) “Stranger in a Strange Land” revealed Jack Shephard’s trip to Thailand following his divorce. In the episode, he acquired a tattoo from his lover, a local Thai woman named Achara. One, I never understood why she wrote the tattoo in Chinese, instead of Thai. And why did Cuse and Lindehof include this horrible episode in the first place?

*Jack’s Appendicitis – What was the purpose of Jack suffering from a sudden case of appendicitis in ”Something Nice Back Home”? Many fans had focused heavily upon Rose Nadler’s hint that Jack was being punished for trying to get off the island. But when one considers Jacob’s comments that the castaways always had a choice to stay or leave the island, the idea of Jack being “punished” did not make any sense. So, what was the purpose behind the case of appendicitis?

*Miles Straume – Do not get me wrong. I have always liked the character of Miles. I have also enjoyed actor Ken Leung’s acting style. But looking back on Miles’ character arc, I realized that Cuse, Lindehof and their staff of writers have never really done anything with him, since his debut in (4.02) “Confirmed Dead”. His ability to sense and communicate with the dead could have allowed the writers to use him as a means for Claire to remember how she had left Aaron behind in ”Something Nice Back Home”. But this potential use for Miles’ character was never utilized. It is a miracle that he had survived long enough to finally leave the island in the finale. Considering that he had managed to form close ties with both Sawyer and Hurley, I never understood why his character did not appear in that final church scene in the afterlife.

*Penny Widmore and Nadia Jazeem in the Afterlife – Why was Penny in that church scene in ”The End”? She had no close ties with any of the Losties, aside from Desmond. Yet, she was there . . . and Nadia Jazeem, who was the love of Sayid Jarrah’s life, was not. Why?

If I must be frank, ”LOST” has too many flaws – bad characterizations and hanging plotlines – for me to write about in detail. Judging from the article so far, one would think that I have nothing but contempt for the series. I assure you, I do not. ”LOST” had its virtues. One of those virtues turned out to be the cast of actors – regular, supporting or otherwise that have appeared on the show. Superb performances by the likes of Matthew Fox (who has portrayed one of the most complex leading men in television history), Terry O’Quinn, Elizabeth Mitchell, Michael Emerson, Harold Perrineau, Yunjin Kim, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Daniel Dae Kim and Dominic Monaghan really made this series worth watching. Actors such as Josh Holloway, Emilie de Ravin, Maggie Grace, Naveen Andrews, Michelle Rodriguez, Jorge Garcia, John Terry and Ken Leung also gave pretty good performances. I must admit that I held a low opinion of Evangeline Lilly’s acting skills for several years. But I feel that she has done an excellent job of improving her skills – especially during the last two or three seasons. But those performances that really stood out for me belonged to Matthew Fox in episodes such as (1.11) “All Cowboys Have Daddy Issues”, ”Through the Looking Glass”, ”Something Nice Back Home”, ”The Last Recruit” and ”The End”; Terry O’Quinn in (1.04) “Walkabout”, (2.17) “Lockdown”, ”The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham” and (6.06) “Sundown”; Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in (2.10) “The 23rd Psalms”; Michelle Rodriguez in ”The Other 48 Days” and "The Whole Truth"; Elizabeth Mitchell in ”(3.07) “Not in Portland”, (3.16) “One of Us” and (5.08) “La Fleur”; Josh Holloway in ”La Fleur”; Harold Perrineau in ”Exodus: Part II” and (4.08) “Meet Kevin Johnson”; and Yunjin Kim in (1.06) “House of the Rising Sun”, (3.18) “D.OC.”, and ”There’s No Place Like Home”.

And there were story arcs that I found very impressive – the introduction of the Tail Section survivors in early Season Two, especially in the ”The Other 48 Days” episode; the last five or six episodes of Season Three that led to Jack’s contact with Naomi’s colleagues aboard the Kahuna; Season One’s first eight episodes – excluding (1.07) “The Moth”; the last six episodes of Season Four; and the adventures of Sawyer, Juliet, Locke and other time traveling survivors on the island in Season Five. I wish I could include ”The End”, but as I had made clear, I have mixed views of that episode. The only finales I really enjoyed were Season One’s ”Exodus” and Season Three’s ”Through the Looking Glass”, which I especially found outstanding.

In the end, I guess I can say that I had enjoyed the six seasons of ”LOST”. Do I consider it to be a cultural phenomenon? Of course. Regardless of my personal opinion of the series, I cannot deny that. Was it a good television series? Yes. It basically an interesting series with an original premise and a cast of talented actors. Would I consider it an outstanding series . . . or view it as one of the best series in television series? No. Not on your life. Despite its virtues, ”LOST” has too many flaws. There is not a single television series I would consider flawless. But as I had previously stated, ”LOST” has too many flaws for me to ever consider it as great. The next time Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindehof decide to create a television series with continuing story lines, I would suggest that they acquire a few lessons from the likes of J. Michael Straczynski, Joss Whedon and Matthew Weiner on how to create and write such a series. They truly need those lessons.

"ROBIN HOOD" (2010) Review

”ROBIN HOOD” (2010) Review

When I had first learned that Ridley Scott planned to direct his own version of the Robin Hood legend, I merely responded with a shake of my head. The last thing I wanted to see was another take on the famous English outlaw. But since I was a fan of the director, I decided to give it a chance.

For years, I had harbored the belief that the 1938 Errol Flynn movie, ”THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD”, was the true story myth about the famous outlaw. Imagine my shook when I discovered I had been wrong. One of the featurettes from the movie’s DVD release revealed that there had been numerous versions of the Robin Hood folklore. With that in mind, I found it easy to prepare myself for any version that might appear in Scott’s new movie.

”ROBIN HOOD” opened in the year 1199. Robin Longstride is a common archer who had fought alongside King Richard the Lionheart of England during the Third Crusade. Following the death of Richard during a battle in which the English Army attempted to ransack a French castle; Robin and three other common soldiers - Alan A'Dale, Will Scarlett, and Little John - attempt to return to their homeland after ten years of fighting abroad. Along the way, they come across an ambush of the Royal guard by Sir Godfrey, an English knight with French lineage and allegiance. The King of France had ordered Sir Godfrey to assassinate Richard. Having discovered that the King was already dead, Sir Godfrey is chased off by the arrival of Robin and his companions. Aiming to return to England safely and richer in pocket than they left it, Robin and his men steal the armor of the slain Knights and head for the English ships on the coast under the guise of noblemen. Before leaving the scene of slaughter, Robin promises a dying Knight, Sir Robert Loxley, to return a sword to the man's father in Nottingham.

Upon arriving in England, Robin (disguised as Loxley) informs the Royal family of the King's death and witnesses the crowning of King John, Richard’s younger brother. Robin and his companions head to Nottingham, where Loxley's father, Sir Walter, asks him to continue impersonating his son in order to prevent the family lands being taken by the Crown. Loxley's widow, Lady Marion, is initially distrustful of Robin, but soon warms to him. But before long, Robin and his friends find themselves swept into England’s political intrigue between the English Northern barons and King John; along with a threat of invasion by the King of France.

I will not deny that ”ROBIN HOOD” has a few problems. If I must be honest, there were three aspects of the film that I either disliked or left me feeling puzzled. One, I did not care for the presence of Lady Marion’s presence on the battlefield between the French invaders and the English defenders. If this was an attempt to make Lady Marion’s character more action-oriented and politically correct, it did not work with me. She did not have any experience as a warrior. Nor did the movie ever made it clear that she had been trained to fight battles or handle weapons of war, like the Éowyn character in the ”LORD OF THE RINGS” Trilogy. I had no problems with the scene of Marion killing the French officer who tried to rape her. But her presence on that battlefield beneath the White Cliffs of Dover struck me as utterly ridiculous.

I also found the sequence that led to Sir Walter’s revelation that Robin’s father, Thomas Longstride, had earlier led some civil rights movement against the Crown before his death rather irrelevant. Before this revelation, Sir Walter kept hinting that he knew something about Robin. I had suspected that he would reveal that Robin was his illegitimate son or something like that. Considering that Robin seemed determined to protect the Loxleys and take up their cause against King John, I found this revelation about Robin’s father somewhat tacked on and unnecessary. My last problem with ”ROBIN HOOD” centered around the movie’s ending. Following the English army’s successful defense against the French, King John reneged on his promise to the English barons that he would sign the Charter of the Forest - a document for constitutional reforms. I had no problems with this turn of events, considering that John resisted signing the document until he added it as a supplement to the Magna Carta, some sixteen to seventeen years later. Unfortunately, in addition to refusing to sign the document, King John also declared Robin Longstride aka Sir Robert Loxley an outlaw. Why? How did the King know about Robin’s true identity in the first place? Who told him? Certainly not the main villain, Sir Godfrey, who died before he could inform John that the real Sir Robert was killed in France. Neither Sir Walter or Lady Marion would have told him. Who did? And why did the King name Robin as an outlaw? Did he decided to make this declaration upon learning that Robin was NOT Sir Robert Loxley? Even if someone could provide answers to my questions, the entire scenario regarding Robin’s status at the end of the film came off as rushed to me.

But despite these misgivings of ”ROBIN HOOD”, I ended up enjoying it very much. Ridley Scott and screenwriter Brian Helgeland did a pretty damn good job in portraying the Robin Hood legend from a new and completely fresh point-of-view. Well, perhaps it was not completely fresh. After all, the movie is obviously an origins tale about how one Robin Longstride became “Robin Hood”. I have seen a similar origins tale in the 1991 Kevin Reynolds film, ”ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES”. However, Robin’s origin tale was merely rushed in that film’s first half hour. Scott and Helgeland decided to create a more in-depth story about the outlaw’s origin in this film. In fact, the movie only featured one scene in which Robin and his friends actually participated in an act of theft. It involved the return of grain confiscated by the Crown. I would not be surprised if many had complained about this, considering that it went against the traditional grain of what to expect in a movie about Robin Hood. However, I was too busy enjoying the movie to really care.

Another aspect of ”ROBIN HOOD” that I found very admirable was its complex portrayal of the English Royal Family. Most versions of the Robin Hood tale tend to have conflicting views of the two Royal brothers – Richard and John. John is usually portrayed as a sniveling and greedy prince who resented the reputation of his older brother. And Richard is usually portrayed as the older and noble brother – something of a “straight arrow” type. Scott and Helgeland somewhat skewered these portraits in the movie. Superficially, Richard is portrayed as noble, popular with his men and pure at heart. Yet, a closer look at the monarch revealed him to be avaricious, thin-skinned and somewhat petty. After all, the movie did start with him leading an attack against a French noble’s castle in an attempt to ransack it for riches to add to the Royal coffers. And when Robin Longstride revealed his true feelings about a vicious battle led by Richard in Jeruseleum upon the monarch’s urging, the archer and his friends found themselves locked in a wooden stock during Richard’s last battle. Prince (later King) John is portrayed as an arrogant and selfish young man only concerned with his desires and ego. Yet, the second half of the movie also portrayed him as a man willing to fight alongside his men in the defense of England and willing to occasionally listen to good advice. Neither Richard nor John are portrayed in a one-dimensional manner. Which I found very satisfying.

In fact, I would go as far to say that ”ROBIN HOOD” is a somewhat complex and tale about the effects of the Third Crusade upon the English Royal Family, its adversarial relationship with France, which ended up lasting for centuries, and the clash between the Crown and the country’s Northern citizens. Mind you, some of these plotlines have popped up in other Robin Hood movies. But Scott and Hegeland managed to weave all of these aspects into the movie’s story with surprising skill. Mind you, they did not achieve this with any perfection, but it turned out to be a lot better than most movies are capable of handling. And all of this culminated in a superbly directed sequence in which King John, Robin and many other Englishmen defended the country’s shores against the invading French. The only aspect that slightly spoiled this scene was the presence of Lady Marion in battle. Some critics have compared this movie unfavorable to the 1938, accusing it of being lifeless and grim. Hmm . . . perhaps they were thinking of another Ridley Scott film. Because ”ROBIN HOOD” struck me as the liveliest film that he has ever directed. It did have its dark moments. But I had no problem with that. Liveliness mixed with some darkness has always appealed to me. I have always had a problem with the lack of darkness in ”THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD”. It prevented that movie from having an edge of darkness that I usually like to see in an adventure film.

The movie’s technical aspects were superb. I especially have to give kudos John Mathieson for his beautiful photography. I had feared that ”ROBIN HOOD” would end up with a slightly dark look, which could be found in the 1991 Robin Hood film and even in part of ”GLADIATOR”. Mind you, the France sequences did come off as slightly dark. But once Robin and his friends reached England . . . oh my God! The photography was just beautiful. I can think of three scenes that literally blew my mind – the journey up the Thames River to London, Lady Marion and the Loxley hands working in the fields with the threat of a thunderstorm brewing in the background, and the English Army’s journey to the South East coast near Dover. I also enjoyed Janty Yates’ costumes, as well. Were her costumes historically accurate? I have not the foggiest idea. That particular period in history has never been familiar to me.

The acting in ”ROBIN HOOD” was superb. I could say ”of course”, but I have come across movies with an exceptional cast that ended up featuring some pretty bad performances. Thankfully, I cannot say the same about this movie. Russell Crowe was superb as Robin Longstride. His performance was not as flashy as the likes of Errol Flynn, Kevin Costner or even Patrick Bergin. But I am thankful that it was not, because such a performance would not suit him. His screen chemistry with Cate Blanchett sizzled. I found this surprising, considering that the two actors from Down Under never worked together. Or have they? Anyway, Blanchett was just as superb as Crowe and gave an interesting take on a Lady Marion who was older and more experienced in life than the previous takes on the character. Mark Strong portrayed the traitorous Sir Godfrey. He gave his usual competent performance, but I have to admit that I found nothing exceptional about his performance. One performance that did caught my attention belonged to Oscar Isaac, who gave a complex and interesting portrayal of the young King John.

I also enjoyed Eileen Atkins’ sardonic portrayal of John and Richard’s mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine. It seemed a pity that her role was not that large. I am glad that Scott Grimes, Alan Doyle and especially Kevin Durand got a chance to strut their stuff. Their performances as Robin’s friends – Will Scarlet, Allan A'Dayle and Little John – really enlivened the film. It helped that Crowe had recruited Doyle for the film, due to the latter’s musical collaboration with the actor. And considering that Crowe, Doyle and Grimes are all musicians as well, I suspect they must have had a merry time with some of the film’s musical interludes. Another performance that enlivened the movie came from Swedish actor Max Von Sydow, who portrayed Lady Marion’s father in-law, Sir Walter Loxley. There seemed to be a constant twinkle in his eyes in most of his scenes that made his presence enjoyable. There was one performance that left me feeling unsatisfied and it belonged to Matthew McFayden’s portrayal of the Sheriff of Nottingham. I am not saying that McFayden gave a poor performance. I am merely saying that his presence was nothing more than a waste of time. McFayden appeared long enough to sneer and make a pass at Lady Marion, attempt to placate the invading French troops in a cowardly manner and express surprise and fear at the first note received from the new “Robin Hood” near the end of the film. Like I said . . . a waste of time.

Considering that ”ROBIN HOOD” did not utilize the usual myth found in other films about the English outlaw, I am not surprised that many would dismiss it as one of Ridley Scott’s lesser films. Well, they are entitled to their opinion. I had a few problems with the movie. But overall, I was more than pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying it very much . . . considering my initial assumptions about it. Once again, director Ridley Scott and actor Russell Crowe failed to disappoint me and delivered a very entertaining film.