"SENSE AND SENSIBILITY" (1981) Photo Gallery

Below are images of "SENSE AND SENSIBILITY", the 1981 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's 1811 novel. Directed by Rodney Bennett and adapted by Alexander Baron, the miniseries starred Irene Richards and Tracey Childs:

 


"SENSE AND SENSIBILITY" (1981) Screencaps Gallery

"SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN" (2012) Review

"SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN" (2012) Review

The past ten months has been a busy period for the Brothers Grimm. During that period, there have been two television shows and two movies that featured their work. At least one television series and the two movies retold the literary pair's story about Snow White, including the recent film, "SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN".

Directed by Rupert Sanders; and written by Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock and Hossein Amini, "SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN" is a twist on the Snow White tale in which the Huntsman not only becomes the princess' savior, but also her protector and mentor. In this tale, Snow White is a princess of Tabor and the daughter of King Magnus and Queen Eleanor. After the Queen's death, King Magnus marries a beautiful woman named Ravenna after rescuing her from an invading force of glass soldiers. As it turns out, Ravenna is a powerful sorceress that controls the glass soldiers. She kills Magnus on their wedding night and seizes control of Tabor. Duke Hammond and his son William (Snow White's childhood friend) manages to escape the castle. But Snow White is captured by Ravenna's brother Finn and imprisoned in one of the castle's towers.

As a decade passes, Ravenna drains the youth from the kingdom's young women in order to maintain her youth and beauty. When Snow White comes of age, Ravenna learns from her Magic Mirror that the former is destined to destroy her, unless she consumes the young woman's heart. When Finn is ordered to bring Snow White before Ravenna, the princess manages to escape into the Dark Forest. Eric the Huntsman is a widower who has survived the Dark Forest, and is brought before Ravenna. She orders him to lead Finn in pursuit of Snow White, in exchange for her promise to revive his dead wife. But when Eric learns from Finn that Ravenna will not be able to resurrect his wife, he helps Snow White escape through the Forest. Snow White later promises him gold if he would escort her to Duke Hammond's Castle. Meanwhile, the Duke's son William manages to infiltrate Finn's band in order to find Snow White on his own.

What can I say about "SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN"? It is not perfect. Well . . . I had at least two minor and one major problems with the movie. The two minor problems centered around the performances of Chris Hemsworth (Eric the Huntsman) and Charlize Theron (Ravenna). Basically, both gave first-rate performances. I cannot deny that. But . . . there were moments during the movie's first half hour in which I found it difficult to comprehend Hemsworth's accent? Was he trying to use a working-class Scots or English accent? Or was he using his own Australian accent? I could not tell. As for Theron . . . she had a few moments of some truly hammy acting. But only a few moments. But the major problem centered around the character of Snow White.

The movie's final showpiece featured a battle between Snow White and Ravenna's forces at Tabor's Castle. The battle also featured the princess fighting along with both Eric and William. When on earth did Snow White learn combat fighting? When? She spent most of the movie's first thirty minutes either as a young girl or imprisoned in the Castle. I figured that Eric, William or both would teach her how to fight in combat before their forces marched back to Tabor. The movie featured a scene in which Eric taught Snow White on how to stab someone up close . . . but nothing else.

The only reasons I wanted to see "SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN" were the visual effects and the fact that I was a fan of ABC's "ONCE UPON A TIME". That is it. Otherwise, I would not have bothered to pay a ticket to see this film. But I am glad that I did. Because I enjoyed it very much, despite its flaws. Thanks to Daugherty, Hancock and Amini's script, "SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN" is part epic, part road movie, part fantasy horror tale and part romance. For me, all of these aspects made this tale about Snow White fascinating to me. And Snow White has never been one of my favorite fairy tales. Director Rupert Sanders not only meshed these attributes into an exciting movie. More importantly, his direction gave the movie a steady pace. I find it amazing that "SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN" is Sanders' first feature film.

The most interesting aspect about the film was its love triangle between Snow White, Eric and William. Although Eric was originally supposed to be nothing more than a savior and mentor for Snow White, someone made the decision to add a little spice to their relationship. I suspect that this had something to do with Hemsworth's age and his chemistry with star Kristin Stewart. The movie did not end with Snow White romantically clenched with one man or the other. Although some people were either disturbed or annoyed at this deliberately vague ending, I was not. I suspect that if Snow White had chosen either Eric or William, she would not have found her choice an easy one - either politically or romantically.

There are other aspects of "SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN" that I found admirable. One, I was impressed by Dominic Watkins' production designs, which ranged from horror to light fantasy. I was afraid that the movie would visually turn out to be another fantasy production with another second-rate "LORD OF THE RINGS" look about it. Watkins' designs were ably enhanced by the special effects team led by Vince Abbott and Greig Fraser's beautiful photography. And I loved Colleen Atwood's costume designs. She did a great job for most of the cast. But her designs for Charlize Theron's evil queen were outstanding. Take a look:

 

The performances featured in "SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN" struck me as pretty damn good. The revelations of the actors portraying the Seven Dwarfs took me by surprised. Toby Jones was the first to catch my eye. Then I realized that a who's who of well known British character actors were portraying the dwarves - Bob Hoskins, Ian McShane, Nick Frost, Ray Winstone, and Eddie Marsan. They were all entertaining, especially Hoskins, McShane and Marsan. More importantly, I was very impressed by their roles in the movie's final battle. Sam Spruell's performance as Ravenna's sleazy brother Finn sruck me as almost as frightening as Charlize Theron's Queen Ravenna. But only almost. Despite her moments of hammy acting, Theron nearly scared the pants off me, making her Evil Queen just as frightening as the one featured in the 1937 Disney animated film.

I must admit that I was not that impressed by Sam Claflin's performance as the missionary in last year's "PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES". But I suspect that was due to the role he was stuck with. "SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN" provided him with a much better role as the aristocratic William, who felt guilty over his and his father's failure to prevent Snow White's imprisonment following the King's death. Not only was Claflin was able to strut his stuff in a more interesting role and prove that he could be a first-rate action hero; he also had surprisingly great chemistry with both Stewart and Hemsworth. As for the Australian actor, he was superb as the grieving huntsman, Eric. Okay, I had a few problems with his questionable accent during the movie's first half hour. However, he overcame that flaw and gave a great and emotionally satisfying performance as a man whose destructive grieving was overcome by his relationship with Snow White. And he also proved that he was more than an action star in a scene in which he gave a beautiful soliloquy regarding Eric's feelings for the princess. The belle of the ball - at least for me - was actress Kristen Stewart. I must be honest. I am not a fan of the "TWILIGHT" movies or Stewart's role of Bella Swann. But I certainly enjoyed her performance as Snow White in this film. For the first time, Stewart seemed to be portraying a character that seemed animated, interesting and pro-active. She has great chemistry with both Hemsworth and Claflin. And she did surprisingly well in the action sequences . . . especially in Snow White's confrontation with Ravenna. I hope to see Stewart in more roles like this.

I heard rumors that due to the movie's surprising success, Universal Pictures hopes to release a sequel to "SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN". I do not know if this is a good idea. Do not get me wrong. I enjoyed the movie very much, despite its flaws. The script proved to be an interesting mixture of fantasy, horror, comedy, romance and a road trip. And the cast, led by Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron, was first-rate. But considering how the movie ended, I simply do not see the need or possibility for a sequel. Besides, I felt more than satisfied with this particular film.

"JERICHO" RETROSPECT: (1.07) "Long Live the Mayor"

"JERICHO" RETROSPECT: (1.07) "Long Live the Mayor"

For the past two to three years, I have always believed that the Season One episode, (1.08) "Rogue River" was the one in which "JERICHO" really came into its own. But after watching (1.07) "Long Live the Mayor", the episode that aired a week before "Rogue River", I think I may have made a mistake..

In this episode, Gray Anderson’s return to Jericho brought about a great deal of emotions from some of the townspeople. Especially from two people in particular. This all started when Gray had volunteered to become one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse who had left town in (1.03) "Four Horsemen" . They left to search for outside news following the nuclear attacks. Jake had immediately returned with news of a plane crash that involved Emily Sullivan's missing fiance, Roger Hammond. Another "Horseman", Shep, disappeared for good, due to guilt over the death of citizen during the fallout in the second episode. I do not recall who the third Horseman was, but Gray remained missing for three episodes before his return in this one.

Gray's news turned out to be a mixed blessing. He revealed a disturbing tale of the fatal beating of a FEMA driver by drifters outside of Topeka - a fate that he managed to avoid. Gray also revealed that the New York Police Department found a nuclear bomb in a van minutes before it was set to destroy the metropolis. However, both Lawrence, Kansas and Washington D.C. were destroyed. Gray's experiences on the road eventually led him to suggest to Eric Green that all of Jericho's recent newcomers - including the Hawkins family - be interrogated, in case they turned out to be threats to the town. Of course Gray’s interrogation of the Hawkins family took place in ”Rogue River”. But as I stated earlier, his news affected certain characters.

The news about New York City being spared from destruction, thanks to the NYPD brought a great deal of relief for the sixteen year-old Skylar Stevens, whose parents had been in the Big Apple when the bombs fell. And since Dale Turner – another one of Jericho’s adolescents without any parents – was the one who delivered the good news, the two became closer friends. However, the destruction of Washington D.C. proved to be another matter. IRS agent Mimi Clark originally came from the nation’s capital. When Stanley Richmond, at whose farm she was staying, gave her the news, she realized that she had lost all of her family and close friends. Both Robert and Darcy Hawkins were present when Gray disclosed Washington’s fate and the two eventually told their oldest – Allison. Naturally, Allison discussed the loss of her friends with Robert. She also revealed that Darcy had a boyfriend who also perished.

”Long Live the Mayor” also featured the second appearance of James Remar as Emily’s estranged criminal father, Jonah Prowse. His appearance provided an opportunity for some excellent performances by Remar and actress Ashley Scott It also included Jake’s only kiss with local schoolteacher Heather Linsinki. I wish I could say that I found their screen kiss impressive. But I would be lying. It seemed apparent to me why producers Jon Turteltaub, Stephen Chbosky, and Carol Barbee did not bother to develop any further romance between the two. However, I am certain there are Jack/Heather shippers who feel otherwise. Also in this episode, Mayor Johnston Greene’s illness finally sends him into septic shock after two episodes. With no drugs available to cure him, April tells the Greene family in a rather tense scene that he needs the antibiotic Cipro within the next 12 hours or he would die. Jake and Eric decide to head for a town of Rogue River, the location of the nearest major hospital, in order to procure the drug for their father.

A great deal of interesting moments and excellent performances filled this episode. But three scenes, featuring three performances really stood out for me. The first performance came from actor Michael Gaston as the opportunist Gray Anderson. In the scene that featured Gray’s revelations about the news outside of Jericho, Gaston portrayed Gray as a man frightened by the horrors he had witnessed and learned during his journey around Kansas. The second performance came from Alicia Coppola, who portrayed Mimi Clark. She gave a superb performance as a Mimi first pretending that she was not shaken by the bad news regarding Washington D.C. and later, releasing her despair in a marvelous rant that should have earned her some kind of acting nomination. Finally, there was April D. Parker, whose Darcy Hawkins faced the triple task of dealing with the destruction of Washington D.C., the death of Doug, her former lover, and Robert’s discovery of said lover. One would think that Darcy would crumble over a series of crisis. Being a strong willed woman, Darcy holds her own. But in a quiet, yet marvelous performance given by Parker, Darcy finally reveals her true feelings about moving to Jericho, Doug and howRobert’s profession had endangered their marriage and family life. Her outburst culminated in a phrase that perfectly described the Hawkins marriage before their arrival in Jericho - ”House of Secrets”. Parker’s performance was another that should have earned an acting nomination.

The episode ended with Heather admitting to Emily that she might be falling Jake, Dale and Skylar becoming closer than ever after she invites him to stay at her house, Stanley trying to help Mimi deal with her grief, Gray determined to investigate the Hawkins family and other newcomers, Emily managing to procure Jake’s old car from Jonah and the Hawkins marriage still in a precarious state. The episode also ended with Jake and Eric on the road to Rogue River to find medication for an ailing Johnston. And their journey to Rogue River would end in consequences that will resonate throughout the rest of the series’ run.

"The Uninvited" [PG-13] - Prologue

This story is a continuation of a series of Alternate Universe stories centered on half-daemon Cole Turner and his relationship with Olivia McNeill, his neighbor who is also a witch. The last story, "The Engagement News" ended with Cole announcing his engagement to Olivia. In this new story, the newly engaged Cole and Olivia celebrate their news at a party: 


"THE UNINVITED"

RATING: PG-13 Adult language.
SUMMARY: Mayhem strikes an engagement party held in honor of Cole and Olivia. Set ten days following "The Engagement News". AU Season 6.
FEEDBACK: - Be my guest. But please, be kind.
DISCLAIMER: The Charmed Ones and Cole Turner belong to Constance Burge, Brad Kern and Spelling Productions. The McNeills, Cecile Dubois, and other characters are, thankfully, my creations.

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Prologue

A knock on the library door distracted Artemus from the map laid across his desk. The powerful daemon heaved a frustrated sigh and glanced up. "Yes?" he barked. "Who is it?"

"Prax, sir," a voice from behind the door answered. "Mr. Lloyd is here to see you."

Artemus immediately recognized the name of the Magan Corporation's senior attorney. The daemon hoped that the mortal had some positive news regarding Mark Giovanni's property in Oakville. "Let him in."

Seconds later, Artemus' assistant ushered in a thirty-something human of medium height. His bland, good-looking features contrasted sharply with a pair of intelligent, gray eyes. "Good afternoon, Mr. Winslow," Cedric Lloyd greeted cheerfully. "I have some promising news."

The daemon leaned back against his chair and stared at the attorney. "Promising?"

"About that plan I had for Magan Corporation to . . . acquire Mark Giovanni's Oakville property?" Lloyd sat in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk. "I think I may have found a judge who can help you." The attorney removed a brown, thick folder filled with documents and photographs from his briefcase. He placed it on Artemus' desk. "His name is William Bourgh, and he is a Federal judge for the U.S. District Court, here in California. The . . . uh, information we had found on him is very interesting."

The demonic CEO opened the file. "Oh?" Then he began to read.

According to the material inside the brown folder, William Archer Bourgh had been born in San Francisco, on February 23, 1943. The folder also revealed that the judge had obtained a Master's Degree in Law from Stanford University in the late 1960s, and became employed by the prestigious law firm - Jackman and Carter (later, Jackman, Carter and Kline). Bourgh's involvement in local politics eventually led to an appointment as a Federal prosecutor for the Justice Department in the early 1980s. Ten years later, Bourgh became a Federal judge.

"Sounds like an upstanding citizen," Artemus commented. "Which leads me to wonder why you believe that he would be willing to help a corporation like Magan, with a history of lawsuits?"

Lloyd pointed at the file. "Check out the photographs. And Bourgh's credit report."

Artemus examined the file, once more. An amused smile quirked his lips. Apparently, William Bourgh had sunk into considerable debt, after years of spending his family fortune. And judging by some of the file's photographs, Bourgh had not only been unfaithful to his wife of 28 years, he also possessed an interesting predilection for what humans would consider kinky sex. "Now, this is interesting!" Artemus exclaimed. He glanced up at his attorney. "Have you approached Mr. Bourgh with this information, yet?"

"Not yet. I wanted to show this to you, first," Lloyd replied. "I plan to offer him a way out of his credit debt, when he returns from his trip overseas in January. But if he proves to be difficult . . ."

"I'm sure that these photos will convince him to assist us," Artemus said, his smile still fixed on his face. "Excellent work, Mr. Lloyd."

The attorney preened, much to Artemus' amusement. "Thank you, sir."

Artemus continued, "By the time we're finished with Mr. Bourgh, the Giovanni property should be in my hands. And both Mr. Giovanni and his . . . attorney won't know what hit them."

"Speaking of Cole Turner," Lloyd commented, "I've just heard some interesting news."

His eyes fixed upon a photograph of William Bourgh and a young woman locked in a sexual position straight out of the "KAMA SUTRA". "Oh? What news?" How on earth did Bourgh and his companion managed to assume this posi . . .?

"He's getting married. Cole Turner."

Lloyd's revelation jolted Artemus' attention from the pornographic photograph. The daemon stared at his attorney. "Say that again?"

Obviously taken aback by his employer's intensity, Cedric Lloyd repeated his words. "Cole Turner. He's getting married."

"You don't say."

"Uh . . . yes," Lloyd continued nervously. "To . . . um, an old classmate of mine. Olivia McNeill. We . . . we went to law school, together."

His heart racing with unexpected anxiety, Artemus said, "So, Bel . . . Mr. Turner is getting married. Well, I hope that he has better luck with his second wife than he did with his first." Lloyd continued to stare at him. "Yes, I know all about his marriage to Ms. Halliwell."

The attorney nodded. "Yes sir. Uh, I guess I'll be contacting Mr. Bourgh in the near future. At the moment, he's on vacation in the Fiji Islands. According to his secretary, he should return right after the New Year."

A thin smile stretched Artemus' lips. "I suppose I can wait another month for you to put your plans into action." He returned the file to the attorney. "Please make a copy of this file for my assistant. And unless there is something else, you can go."

"Yes sir." Lloyd stuffed the file into his briefcase. Then he stood up. "Good afternoon, sir." He then turned on his heels and left the library.

Once the attorney had shut the library door behind, Artemus allowed his anxiety to overwhelm him.Belthazor to marry the Aingeal Staff Bearer? In Cabariel's name! Tiresias had been right, after all!

During his twenty-year incarceration in the Stygian Abyss, Artemus had come across a fellow prisoner, who turned out to be a legend in the magical world. The legend in question happened to be the famous blind seer, Tiresias, who had angered the Greek goddess Hera with his claim that women enjoyed sex nine times more than men. Apparently offended by the Tiresias' comment, Hera blinded him. Legend continued that Zeus had tempered his wife's angry act by bestowing the gift of prophecy.

Somehow, Tiresias had ended up in the Stygian Abyss, where he occupied a cell next to Artemus'. One night, the daemon overheard the seer babble in his sleep about how a Power of Three would destroy the old leader of the daemons, leaving the supernatural world in a state of unbalance. Tiresias also prophesized a union between a powerful human/daemon hybrid and a fire priestess - one that would save the angels' realm, help coronate a new demonic leader and restore the balance between good and evil.

When Artemus had first overheard Tiresias' prophecies, he immediately dismissed them as ravings of a delusional old man. Seven years after the seer's disappearance, a powerful warlock incarcerated in the Abyss, had told the daemon of a prophecy that foretold the death of the old Source at the hands of three witches - the Power of Three. At that moment, Artemus realized that Tiresias had been right and made the decision to escape from the trans-dimensional prison. With the help of a Stygian guard, the daemon discovered a portal to freedom. Once freed, he contacted his former assistant, Prax, and set about re-establishing his power within the weakened Khorne Order.

During the five-and-a-half years following his escape, Artemus had quietly regained control of the Khorne Order and created the Magan Corporation for the order's business dealings. He also hired a sorceress and antiquity dealer named Lin Bryant to find the legendary Erebor medallions. Then news came of the old Source's death at the hands of the Charmed Ones. Before he could make a claim to the Source's throne, he had learned about Belthazor's acension to the Source's throne. Soon, more news followed. Three months later, the Charmed Ones had killed Belthazor, the old Seer and Belthazor's unborn child. Even worse, the Halliwells' whitelighter had ditched the Grimoire into a volcano. Without the book, no one could be crowned as the Source.

After he had learned the news about the Grimoire, Artemus was just about to give up hope on ever becoming the Realm's new leader. Then an old wizard told him of an object located somewhere north of San Francisco. The exact area turned out to be on Mark Giovanni's Oakville vineyard in Santa Rosa County. From that moment on, Artemus dedicated his time toward two objectives - consolidating support and power to become the new Source and getting his hands on the Giovanni property. Although he seemed to be slowly reaching his first objective, the second has proven to be more elusive. Hopefully Mr. Lloyd's plan will finally enable him to get his hands on the vineyard - and the object in question.

One major problem stood in Artemus' way - namely the powerful Belthazor. Even before the half-daemon's return from the Wasteland, he had become a barrier to the older daemon's plans. At first, Artemus had feared that Belthazor would resume control of the Source's Realm with his new powers. When that scenario failed to materialize, Aretemus continued his own plans to become the new Source. Especially since the half-daemon seemed more preoccupied with one of the Charmed Ones. But when Belthazor became involved with both Olivia McNeill and Mark Giovanni, Aretemus' anxiety returned.

Thanks to Cedric Lloyd, he had finally stumbled across a solution to the Giovanni problem. But this latest development between Belthazor and his new witch made Artemus realize that Tiresias' prophecy about a human/daemon hybrid and a fire priestess might come true. Sooner or later, he would have to do something about the couple. And as his old mentor, Krug once told him - there was no time like the present.

Artemus reached for the cordless telephone and dialed a number. His assistant answered. "Prax," the demon barked into the phone. "I need to see you, at once. I need you to find someone." Then he disconnected the telephone and leaned back into his chair, as he waited for his assistant's arrival.


END OF PROLOGUE

"THE BOURNE LEGACY" (2012) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "THE BOURNE LEGACY", the fourth installment of the BOURNE film series. Co-written and directed by Tony Gilroy, the movie stars Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz: 


"THE BOURNE LEGACY" (2012) Photo Gallery

"ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER" (2012) Review

"ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER" (2012) Review

If someone had told me about two to three years ago about a fictional story featuring a historical leader and his encounters with the supernatural . . . I would have laughed in that person's face. Hell, I would that about a year ago. Then two years ago, Seth Grahame-Smith wrote a novel about Abraham Lincoln battling vampires. And you know what? I did not laugh. But I sure as hell did not take it seriously.

Last spring, I saw the trailer for the movie adaptation of Grahame-Smith's novel and found myself surprisingly intrigued by it. Well . . . I was intrigued by the movie's visual style. And the fact that movie featured actors that I have become a fan of did not hurt. But the idea of Abraham Lincoln being a vampire hunter remained a block in my mind. In fact, I struggled over whether or not to see "ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER", until the day before the movie's wide release. And to my surprise, I am glad that I finally saw it.

"ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE SLAYER" begins on April 14, 1865; with President Abraham Lincoln recounting his experiences with vampires in a journal. The movie flashbacks to the year 1818 in Southern Indiana, where the young Abraham and his parents - Thomas and Nancy - work out the family's debt to a local landowner and slave owner named Jack Barts. Abraham befriends an African-American young slave named William Johnson. When the latter is attacked by one of Barts' employees with a whip, Abraham intervenes before his father comes to his rescue. Barts demands that the Lincoln family compensate for the interaction over William in cash. Thomas cannot afford to pay back the landowner and refuses to work out his debt even further. Barts later attacks Nancy at the Lincolns' cabin and poisons her. She later dies the following morning.

Nine years later in 1827, an eighteen year-old Abraham seeks revenge against Barts by attacking him. But the latter, who proves to be a vampire, overpowers Abraham. Abraham is rescued by a mysterious man named Henry Sturgess, who informs the young man of Barts' true state. Henry offers to teach Abraham to be a vampire hunter. During training, Sturgess informs Abraham that Jack Barts and other vampires in America are descended from a vampire named Adam, who owns and lives on a plantation outside of New Orleans, with his sister Vadoma. Sturgess also tells Abraham of the vampires' weakness - namely silver - and presents the latter with a silver pocket watch. After several years of training, Abraham travels to Springfield, Illinois. There, he makes plans to read for the law, befriends a shopkeeper named Joshua Speed, renews his friendship with William; and falls in love with Mary Todd, a socialite from a wealthy Kentucky family. Abraham also begins his activities as a vampire hunter.

"ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER" is not perfect. It is a flawed movie. There were one or two aspects of the plot that I found questionable. After Abraham's reunion with William, the pair was arrested for fighting off slave catchers that were after the latter. Following their arrest, there was a scene that featured the incarcerated pair being visited by Mary Todd. The next scene featured a freed William being kidnapped by Adam's thugs off the streets of Springfield, in order to lure Abraham into a trap set in Louisiana. How on earth did William avoid being sent back down South as an escaped slave? When he first reunited with Abraham inside Joshua's store, he told the latter that he was an escaped slave. So, how did William end up freely walking the streets of Springfield . . . without being sent back South as a fugitive slave?

My second problem with "ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER" deals with a brief scene during the Civil War. This scene features Confederate president Jefferson Davis convincing Adam to deploy his vampires on the front lines. Look . . . I am the last person who could be accused of being a neo-Confederate. Trust me . . . I am. But I found this scene between Davis and Adam to be very unbelievable, even for fiction. I simply cannot see Jefferson Davis allying himself with a vampire in order to win the Civil War. One, like Abraham, Davis would have been leery of the idea of associating with a vampire. And two, chances are he probably would have been on to Adam's plan of transforming the United States in a land of the undead. The only way this scene would have worked is if Davis had been unaware of Adam's state as a vampire.

My last problem with "ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER" turned out to be a costume worn by actor Benjamin Walker, who portrayed Abraham Lincoln. I am, of course, referring to the outfit he wore in the Abraham/Mary wedding scene. Take a look:



Dear God! What were Varvara Avdyushko and Carlo Poggioli thinking? Abe's wedding outfit looks like a nineteenth-century version of a high school prom suit, circa 1975. In other words, two periods in time clash in the creation of this God awful suit. It is a good thing that I found their other costumes very impressive.

Despite the above flaws, I still managed to enjoy "ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER" very much. After watching the movie, I now regret my reluctance over its premise. The idea of historical figure being utilized as an action character in a supernatural story turned out to be very . . . very original. More conservative minds would probably find such an idea sacrilegious. I recall a co-worker expressing disgust at the idea of someone using Abraham Lincoln as an action figure in a movie. But think about it. In some ways, he was a good choice on Seth Grahame-Smith's part. Lincoln was a physically impressive man, being tall and strong as a bull. He knew how to wield an ax with the same level as a Musketeer with a sword. More importantly, he was an intelligent man who could be ruthless when the occasion called for it.

I found Grahame-Smith's use of Nancy Hanks Lincoln's death and the issue of slavery to create his story of Lincoln and vampires very effective. The screenwriter used the death of Lincoln's mother to jump start the future president's alternate profession as a vampire hunter. And I was very impressed by his use of the slavery issue to intensify Lincoln's interest in the destruction of vampires. In "ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER", the institution of slavery and especially the slave trade is used to provide vampires with easily available humans (namely slaves) to feed upon. The Jack Barts character apparently gathered slaves around the Ohio River (which bordered the upper South) and shipped them to the vampire-owned plantations in the Deep South. This strikes me as a fictional reflection of the large-scale shipments of many upper South slaves to the cotton plantations of the Deep South during the first half of the 19th century in real life. According to Abraham's mentor, Henry Sturgess, the U.S. slave trade not only gave vampires easy access to "food", but kept their penchant of seeking victims all over the country under control. This use of slaves as easy victims for vampires led to their support of the Confederate cause during the Civil War.

The transportation of slaves from the Upper South to the Deep South proved to be one of the movie's historically accurate contributions to the plot. I have to be frank. "ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER" is not exactly historically accurate. In reality, William Johnson was a free-born African-American who became Lincoln's personal valet. The movie overlooked the fact that Lincoln had a much beloved stepmother, and four sons - not one. Also, Harriet Tubman never operated in the Deep South, let alone Louisiana. And African slave traders did not sell "their own kind" to Europeans, as the vampire Adam claimed in the movie. They sold people they considered to be strangers and especially, foreigners. But . . . this is a movie about a former U.S. president that became a vampire hunter. Would anyone really expect a tale of this sort to be historically accurate? I certainly would not.

But one of the major highlights of "ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER" proved to be the mind-boggling visuals created by the special effects team led by Matt Kutcher. These visuals were especially effective in exciting actions sequences that featured Abraham's final confrontation with Jack Barts on the Illinois prairie, the rescue of William Johnson in Louisiana, the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg and especially the fiery confrontation aboard the train heading for Gettysburg. William Hoy's editing, Caleb Deschanel's photography and especially Timur Bekmambetov's direction really made it happened. Aside from the stomach churning wedding suit, I must admit that I really enjoyed Varvara Avdyushko and Carlo Poggioli's costume designs - especially for the costumes worn by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Their costumes, along with François Audouy's production designs, Beat Frutiger's art direction and Cheryl Carasik's set decorations really contributed to the film's overall look of early to mid-19th century America.

And what about the cast? Benjamin Walker, in my opinion, was a find. A genuine find. I do not know how to put this. The man was perfectly cast as Abraham Lincoln. He possessed the height, the looks (thanks to the make-up department). He had great screen chemistry with his co-stars - especially Dominic Cooper, Anthony Mackie, Jimmi Simpson and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Walker did not simply walk or stand around, looking like Lincoln. Thanks to a superb performance, he made Lincoln a human being, instead of a walking historical figure. Dominic Cooper added another fascinating performance to his résumé as the enigmatic Henry Sturgess, the individual that taught Abraham Lincoln to be a first-rate vampire hunter. His performance reeked with mystery, wit and wisdom. Cooper's Sturgess was also a curious mixture ambiguity and moral fortitude that I found very fascinating.

From what I can gathered, the William Johnson character was not featured in Grahame-Smith's novel. I could be wrong. I never read the book. But I am glad that the author included the character in the movie, giving me a chance to see Anthony Mackie on the screen again. But this is the first time I truly saw him as a character in an action figure and he was superb. I could also say the same for Jimmi Simpson, whom I have grown used to seeing in comedies. He was great as Abraham's Springfield crony, Joshua Speed, whose interest in Abraham and William's old friendship led him to become involved in their vampire hunting activities. Mary Elizabeth Winstead was given the opportunity she was given to portray a different Mary Todd Lincoln from the usual portrayals marred by either insanity or cold-blooded ambition. And in the end, she gave a great performance that conveyed the famous First Lady's intelligence, vivacity and wit. And Rufus Sewell was first-rate as the movie's main villain, a long-living vampire named Adam, who harbored plans to make the United States a country fit to be dominated by vampires. Sewell used a Southern accent that I found surprisingly impressive.

As I had stated earlier, "ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER" was not a perfect movie. It had a plot hole or two that screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith had failed to address. The movie's story also featured an implausible scene featuring a historical figure. But the movie boasted some excellent performances from a cast led by Benjamin Walker and some superb visuals that not only transported moviegoers back to the world of early and mid 19th century America, but also to the supernatural world of vampires. And thanks to Grahame-Smith's story and Timur Bekmambetov's stylish direction, the movie began with what many would consider an implausible plot - a historical icon battling supernatural beings - and transformed into a fascinating tale filled with both fantasy and history. To my surprise, I ended up enjoying "ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER" very much.

"ELEGANCE AND DECADENCE - The Age of the Regency"

Below are links to a BBC documentary called "ELEGANCE AND DECADENCE - The Age of the Regency". The documentary is hosted by historian Dr. Lucy Worsley, author of the 2011 book, "If Walls Could Talk, An Intimate History of the Home".


"ELEGANCE AND DECADENCE - The Age of the Regency"

Here are the links to the documentary hosted by Dr. Worsley:

Part 1 - "Warts and All - Portrait of a Prince"

Part 2 - "Developing the Regency Brand"

Part 3 - "The Many and the Few - A Divided Decade"