"ONCE UPON A TIME" Season Two (2012-2013) Photo Gallery

Below are images from Season Two of ABC's "ONCE UPON A TIME". The series stars Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas and Robert Carlyle:



"ONCE UPON A TIME" Season Two (2012-2013) Photo Gallery

"JERICHO" RETROSPECT: (1.03) "Four Horsemen"

"JERICHO" RETROSPECT: (1.03) "Four Horsemen"

The last episode of "JERICHO", (1.02) "Fallout" ended with Jake Green and the citizens of Jericho, Kansas seeking shelter from a rain storm that might possibly be radioactive. This next episode, (1.03) "Four Horsemen", picks up several minutes later.

A great deal happened in this third episode of "JERICHO". And much of it proved to have consequences in later episodes. The episode began with farmer Stanley Richmond arriving at his farm during the rainstorm, only to find his sister Bonnie, Jake Green, Emily Sullivan, Sheriff Deputy Jimmy Taylor and Sheriff Deputy Bill Kohler seeking shelter inside his basement from the rain. Jake contacts his sister-in-law Dr. April Green via walkie talkie on what to do about Stanley, who may have been exposed to radiation. Meanwhile, Jericho's latest newcomer, Robert Hawkins, dons a Hazmat suit and goes outside to move a large metal container from his truck to a storage locker on his property. In one scene that went no further than this episode, some of Jericho's citizens briefly witnessed a Chinese media broadcast inside Mary Bailey's bar, before the broadcast went dead.

Once the rain stops, Jake contacts his brother Eric, who is at the town's only fallout shelter, to see about releasing those citizens who are stuck inside the town's only salt mine. Later, Jake convinces his father to send a group of volunteers to search for news throughout the Kansas countryside. Those volunteers include local businessman Gray Anderson, who has ambitions to become Jericho's next mayor. Jake becomes another volunteer. He manages to stumble across a plane filled with dead passengers that was forced to make an emergency landing and its flight recorder. Jake returns to Jericho with the flight recorder and finds evidence that the plane carrying Emily's missing fiancé had landed with all passengers alive.

As I had earlier stated, a great deal happened in "Four Horsemen". One important scene featured Robert moving the mysterious container to his property. This container, which nearly played a part in the apocalyptic disaster that struck the nation at the beginning of the series, would have an important impact upon Robert's family before the end of the first season and an even bigger impact upon the series' narrative by the end of Season Two. Jake's discovery that Emily's missing fiancé may have survived the bombings ended up being played out before Season One ended. Gray Anderson made another attempt to broadcast his intentions to become Jericho's next mayor will end up having consequences down the road. After his boss, storekeeper Gracie Leigh, donated a good deal of her supplies for a town square picnic; Dale Turner stumbled across a stalled freight train with a large supply of undelivered goods that will provide conflict among Jericho's citizens and other characters. And the road trip that led Jake to the downed plane also sent Gray across the Kansas countryside. The results of Gray's trip would alert Jericho's citizens on just how catastrophic the bombings proved to be for the country. But despite all of the action that filled the episode, I found it disappointing after the last scene faded from my television screen.

I certainly had no complaints regarding the performances in this episode. Both Skeet Ulrich and Ashley Scott continued the skillfully acted tension between the Jake Green and Emily Sullivan characters in one scene in which the former tried to convince the latter to join him on the road. Another pair of performances that caught my attention came from Lennie James and April D. Parker, who did an excellent job in conveying the emotional tension between Robert and Darcy Hawkins. Tension between characters seemed to be the hallmark in this episode. Gerald McRaney and Michael Gaston had a fascinating scene together in which the latter's Gray Anderson openly chastised McRaney's Mayor Johnston Green for the lack of more than one fallout shelter in Jericho. On the other hand, Brad Beyer definitely provided a great deal of sharp humor in his portrayal of local farmer, Stanley Richmond.

But the despite the action that pervaded this episode, along with the tension between several characters and the continuation of various story arcs; "Four Horsemen" failed to completely satisfy me in the end. What was the problem? Despite the many story lines that filled the episode, it had no main narrative. "Four Horsemen" started out focusing on Jericho's citizens waiting out the rain (which may or may not have been radioactive) and ended with the so-called "four horsemen" hitting the roads of Kansas. In other words, the narrative or narratives in "Four Horsemen" simply sprawled all over the episode. The rain story line, in my opinion, should have began and ended in the previous episode, (1.02) "Fallout". And I also believe that screenwriters Dan O'Shannon and Dan Shotz should have focused this episode on the citizens' need to learn more news about the bombings - leading to the departure of the "Four Horsemen" near the end.

I suppose there is nothing else I can say about "Four Horsemen". It featured a good number of story arcs that proved to be relevant for the main narrative of "JERICHO". And it also featured fine performances from a cast led by Skeet Ulrich. But the lack of a strong or centered story line in this episode led to a good deal of disappointment for me.

"EDGE OF TOMORROW" (2014) Review

"EDGE OF TOMORROW" (2014) Review

I have seen my share of alien invasion and/or post-apocalypse movie and television productions. And yet . . . there seemed to be deluge of these productions in the past two years or so. One of these productions happened to be the recent science-fiction movie, "EDGE OF TOMORROW".

Based upon Hiroshi Sakurazaka's 2004 novel called "All You Need Is Kill", "EDGE OF TOMORROW" tells the story of an American-born military officer who finds himself caught in a time loop during a war with invading aliens who have taken over regions of the world, including continental Europe. The movie begins in the near future in which Major William Cage, an American military Public Relations officer is summoned in London to meet General Brigham, commander of the NATO-led United Defense Forces (UDF). Brigham reveals UDF's intention to launch Operation Downfall against the aliens, who are called the Mimics. When Brigham orders Cage, who lacks combat experience, to cover the UDF's landing on the beaches of Normandy in France, the latter objects to the dangerous assignment and threatens to portray the General in an unfavorable light. Brigham retaliates by having Cage arrested and knocked out. The latter regains consciousness at a forward operating base at Heathrow Airport for the UDF forces, with a note from Brigham stating that he is actually a private and a deserter falsely claiming to be an officer. Master Sergeant Farell assigns Cage to a squad of rejects known as J Squad. A frightened Cage is forced to land on one of the Normandy beaches with J Squad. Despite being disoriented and frightened, he manages to kill a Mimic - a large "Alpha" Mimic - before being killed.

Much to Cage's surprise, he awakens at the Heathrow Airport base on the previous morning. Over and over again, he participates in the Normandy landing and is killed. And over again, he finds himself back at the airport base on the previous day. During one loop, Cage saves war heroineaka "Full Metal Bitch" and "Angel of Verdun". When she realizes that he has been experiencing time loops, she orders him to seek her out. Cage eventually learns from Vrataski that she had also been caught in a time loop after killing an "Alpha" Mimic. She not only points out that he needs to build his fighting skills, go after the Mimics' leader and finally kill it in order to end the latter's invasion.

I am usually a major fan of time travel stories in movies and television - including those that deal with time loops. But my last encounter with time travel fiction - "X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST" - nearly left me feeling slightly leery of the genre. Despite this brief disappointment, I went ahead and watched "EDGE OF TOMORROW". I cannot say that I felt the same disappointment that I did for the X-MEN film. But I do believe that "EDGE OF TOMORROW" had its shares of flaws. After all, just about every movie I have seen do. In the case of "EDGE OF TOMORROW", I had . . . perhaps two problems with this film. One, I had a problem with how Cage, a major in the military, ended up being railroaded as a private with an infantry squad. The entire situation smacked of realism that no science-fiction or fantasy genre could explain. The main protagonist in Sakurazaka's novel was a young recruit. Which meant there was no need for the Keiji Kiriya character to be railroaded into an infantry squad as a private in such an unrealistic manner. My other problem with "EDGE OF TOMORROW" happened to be the movie's finale. I was not truly disappointed with the finale. But I found it rather confusing. I wish I could spell it out in details, but for me to do so would spoil the story.

Despite these disappointments, I must admit that I enjoyed "EDGE OF TOMORROW" very much. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that it has become not only one of my top favorite movies of the summer, but also of this year. I certainly had no problems with the technical aspects of "EDGE OF TOMORROW". Doug Liman had worked in the science-fiction genre before and I could easily see that he had no problems with the crew to create a dazzling science-fiction background for the film. But he is not the only one who deserves credit. Oliver Scholl's production designs did an excellent job in creating the movie's setting of Western Europe in a half-state of destruction in the wake of an alien invasion. Scholl's work was ably supported by the art direction team, Elli Griff's set decorations and Kate Hawley's costume designs. Speaking of the latter, I noticed that the officer's uniform that Tom Cruise wore in the movie's early scenes resembled that worn by those in the U.S. Marine Corps. And yet . . . I saw no signs of any Marine symbols on his jacket. This reminded me of a prediction that my father had once made about how all of the U.S. military branches would eventually morph into one service. Also, looking at the field . . . uh, uniforms that Cruise, Emily Blunt and other cast members wore struck me as very uncomfortable. I found myself wondering if future military units will end up wearing it. But I was really impressed by the special effects team that created the visual style of the Mimics. Although the aliens reminded me octopi, I found them rather scary. Words could not describe how my reaction to Dion Beebe's cinematography. Perhaps the following images can:





The use of time loops as a fictional device may not be that original. However, for "EDGE OF TOMORROW", I have to give credit to Sakurazaka and the movie's screenwriters Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth for avoiding the usual literary premise of allowing a protagonist to be caught in a time loop without any real explanation - like 1993's "GROUNDHOG DAY". Both Sakurazaka's novel and the movie's screenplay made it clear to audiences how the protagonists got caught in a time loop, thank goodness. It is also rare to come across an alien invasion film that begins with the invasion already happening. Not only do I commend Sakurazaka for beginning his story in this fashion, but also the screenwriters and filmmakers for adhering to it and not taking the trouble to patch on a scene depicting the beginning of the Mimics' invasion.

"EDGE OF TOMORROW" did an excellent job in developing its major characters - especially three of them. The character of William Cage begins as a smarmy public relations man who tries to resort to desperate measures - namely threating to portray the UDF's commander in an unfavorable light in the press - in order to avoid combat. As circumstances forces Gage to take his combat skills seriously, the screenwriters effectively developed his character into a hardened combat fighter who becomes resigned to his situation. By the end of the movie, his smarminess has disappeared. I was also impressed by the development of the Rita Vrataski character, who begins her story as a combat hardened veteran, who has emotionally distanced herself from her fellow soldiers. As the story progresses and Gage becomes more familiar with her, audiences are allowed more peeks into her real emotions and the reason behind her hard and stoic façade. I was especially surprised by the writers' handling of the Master Sergeant Farell character. I had expected his character to remain consistent throughout the film - the tough and battle hardened sergeant who maintains a firm grip on his squad. In a way, the Farell character remained in this state throughout the film. But . . . I was pleasantly surprised at how he seemed to react with increasing confusion and surprise in his encounters with the developing Cage.

I certainly had no complaints regarding the performances in "EDGE OF TOMORROW". I did find the portrayals of the J Squad soldiers somewhat one-dimensional, with the exception of two characters - Ford and Griff. Franz Drameh injected a bit of an edge to Ford's character in a scene that revealed his financial assistance to the family of a dead colleague. And Kick Gurry, whom I last saw in the 2008 movie "SPEED RACER", did an excellent job of developing the Griff character from a mindless grunt to a determined defender in the movie's last action sequence. Although the General Brigham character remained consistent throughout, I have to compliment Brendan Gleeson for giving a masterful and more importantly, subtle portrayal of a rather ruthless and vindictive character. Bill Paxton, who seemed to been very busy these past two years, did an excellent job of conveying the screenplay's different aspects of the Master Sergeant Farell character. I have now seen Emily Blunt in three science-fiction movies in the past three years. Sooner or later, someone in the media might end up dubbing her "Queen of Sci-Fi". However, I feel that of the three roles I have seen her portray, my favorite just might be her excellent take on the Rita Vrataski role. Honestly, she was superb. I have to say the same about Tom Cruise, who portrayed the leading character, William Cage. He had the difficult task of developing Cage from a smarmy and somewhat cowardly Public Relations man to an experienced warrior, wearied by the combat violence and constant time loops. And being the exceptional actor that he is, Cruise managed to do his job with flying aces.

Yes, "EDGE OF TOMORROW" has its flaws. As I have stated many times in previous review, I have yet to see a movie that does not have any. But the writing, production values, the excellent performances by a cast led by Tom Cruise and outstanding direction by Doug Liman made "EDGE OF TOMORROW" one of the best movies I have seen this summer. Even if the summer of 2014 had not been so dismal, I still would have viewed this film as one of the best I have seen.

"MOONRAKER" (1979) 35th Anniversary Photo Gallery

June 29 marked the 35th anniversary of the release of the 1979 James Bond movie, "MOONRAKER". Based on Ian Fleming's 1955 novel and directed by Lewis Gilbert, the movie starred Roger Moore as James Bond 007.


"MOONRAKER" (1979) 35th ANNIVERSARY PHOTO GALLERY

TIME MACHINE: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (1875-1914)

TIME MACHINE: ASSASSINATION OF ARCHDUKE FRANZ FERDINAND OF AUSTRIA (1875-1914)

June 28 marked the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary (present day Bosnia-Herzegovina). Also killed was his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. Franz Ferdinand was not only an Archduke of Austria-Hungary, but also a Royal Prince of Hungary and Bohemia; and from 1889 until his death, the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne.

The assassination had been planned by a group of assassins (five Serbs and one Bosnian) coordinated by a Bosnian-Serb named Danilo Ilić. The political objective of the assassination was to break off Austria-Hungary's south-Slav provinces so they could be combined into a Yugoslavia. The assassins' motives were consistent with a movement that will later became known as Young Bosnia. Also involved in the plot were Dragutin Dimitrijević, Chief of Serbian Military Intelligence; his assistant Major Vojislav Tankosić, and a spy named Rade Malobabić.

During a meeting held in January 1914, the group discussed possible Austro-Hungarian targets for assassination that include Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The participants eventually decided to send Mehmed Mehmedbašić to Sarajevo, to kill the Governor of Bosnia, Oskar Potiorek. However, Mehmedbašić ditched his weapons, while traveling from France to Bosnia-Herzegovina via the train, when the police was searching for a thief. Upon his arrival in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mehmedbašićhe tried to search for new weapons. When his searched delayed the attempt on Potiorek, Ilić summoned Mehmedbašić and on March 26, 1914; informed the latter that the mission to kill Potiorek had been cancelled. The group decided to assassinate Franz Ferdinand, instead. Ilić recruited two Serbian youths, Vaso Čubrilović and Cvjetko Popović on April 19, 1914; to kill Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Unbeknownst to them, three Serbian youths living in Belgrade – Gavrilo Princip, Trifko Grabež and Nedeljko Čabrinović – expressed an eagerness to carry out an assassination. They approached a fellow Bosnian Serb and former guerrilla fighter to transport arms to Sarajevo and participate in the assassination.

Franz Ferdinand, the Duchess of Hohenberg and their party traveled by train from Ilidža Spa to Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Governor Oskar Potiorek met the party at Sarajevo station. Six automobiles were waiting. Three local police officers got into the first car with the chief officer of special security. Franz Ferdinand, the Duchess, Governor Potiorek, and Lieutenant Colonel Count Franz von Harrach rode in the third car. The motorcade passed the first assassin, Mehmedbašić, who had failed to act. Vaso Čubrilović armed with a pistol and a bomb, also failed to act. Further along the route Nedeljko Čabrinović, who possessed a bomb, tossed the latter at Franz Ferdinand's car at 10:10 am. However, the bomb bounced off the folded back convertible cover and into the street. The timed detonator caused it to explode under the next car, wounding 16 to 20 people. Čabrinović swallowed his cyanide pill and jumped into the Miljacka River, but his suicide attempt failed. The police dragged Čabrinović out of the river and he was severely beaten by the crowd before being taken into custody. Franz Ferdinand's procession sped away towards the Town Hall.


Franz Ferdinand and the Duchess returned to the motorcade at 10:45 am. and entered the third card. In order to avoid the city center, General Oskar Potiorek decided that the royal car should travel straight along the Appel Quay to the Sarajevo Hospital. The driver, Leopold Lojka, turned right into Franz Josef Street. After learning about the failed assassination attempt, Princip decided to make another attempt on the Archduke's life on the latter's return trip. He moved to a position in front of a delicatessen off Appel Quay. The Archduke's motorcade made the mistake of following the original route. Governor Potiorek, who shared the Imperial couple's vehicle, ordered the driver to reverse and take the Quay to the hospital. Lojka stopped the car close to where Princip was standing. The latter stepped forward and fired two shots from a Belgian-made 9×17mm Fabrique Nationale model 1910 semi-automatic pistol. The first bullet wounded the Archduke in the jugular vein. The second bullet hit the Duchess in her abdomen. Princip was immediately arrested. At his sentencing, Princip stated that his intention had been to kill Governor Potiorek, rather than the Duchess. Both victims remained seated upright, but died on the way to the Governor's residence for medical treatment. As reported by Count Harrach, Franz Ferdinand's last words were "Sophie, Sophie! Don't die! Live for our children!", followed by six or seven utterances of "It is nothing." These mutterings were followed by a long death rattle. Sophie was dead upon arrival at the Governor's residence. Franz Ferdinand died 10 minutes later.

Alfred, 2nd Prince of Montenuovo, Franz Joseph's Chamberlain, hated Franz Ferdinand and Sophie with a passion and with the emperor's connivance, decided to turn the funeral into a massive and vicious snub. He disinvited foreign royalty, the dead couple's three children were excluded from the few public ceremonies and only the immediate Imperial family attended. Even the Austro-Hungarian officer corps was forbidden to salute the funeral train. However, this was nothing in compare to the political aftermath of the assassinations.

Not only was Princip captured, but also his fellow conspirators. They were all tried and convicted by early 1915. Ironically, Princip, who had actually pulled the trigger, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, where he died from malnutrition and disease in 1918. Only three of the conspirators were executed on February 3, 1915 - Danilo Ilić and Veljko Čubrilović. Anti-Serb rioting broke out in Sarajevo and various other places within the Austria-Hungary Empire, hours after the assassination. Country-wide anti-Serb pogroms and demonstrations were also organized throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire by Oskar Potiorek, the Austro-Hungarian governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The assassinations produced widespread shock across Europe. There was a great deal of initial sympathy toward Austria. Within two days, Austria-Hungary and its ally, Germany, advised Serbia that it should open an investigation on the assassination, but the Serbian government responded that the incident did not concern them. After conducting its own criminal investigation, Austro-Hungary issued what became known as the July Ultimatum, which listed demands made to Serbia regarding the assassinations within 48 hours. After receiving support from Russia, Serbia agreed to at least two out of ten demands. The government mobilized its troops and transported them by tramp steamers across the Danube River to the Austro-Hungarian at Temes-Kubin. Austro-Hungarian soldiers fired into the air to warn them off. On July 28, 1914; Austria-Hungary and its ally, Germany, declared war on Serbia. Under the Secret Treaty of 1892, Russia and France were obliged to mobilize their armies if any of the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austo-Hungary and Italy) mobilized. Russia's mobilization completed full Austro-Hungarian and German mobilizations. Soon all the Great Powers, except Italy, had chosen sides. World War I had begun.

"LEAP YEAR" (2009-10) Review

"LEAP YEAR" (2009-10) Review
Every four years, the date February 29 appears, leading the West's Georgian calendar to name the year it occurs as Leap Year. Although Leap Year occurred this year, Hollywood had decided to release a romantic comedy on the subject, some two years ago.

Directed by Anand Tucker, "LEAP YEAR" is a romantic comedy about a woman who learns from her father that Irish tradition holds that men cannot refuse a woman's proposal for marriage on Leap Year. Upon learning this little Celtic tradition, an Irish-American woman named Anna Brady decides to head for Ireland, where her boyfriend is attending a medical conference, in order to force her boyfriend to accept her wedding proposal. Unfortunately, difficulties nearly disrupt Anna's plans when a storm forces her plane to land in Wales. Determined to reach her boyfriend in Dublin by Leap Year, she risks a ferry over to Ireland and ends up at a small village on the Dingle Peninsula. There, she hires a surly Irish innkeeper, Declan O'Callaghan, to drive her across the country to Dublin in order to pull off the proposal in time. However, Anna begins to question her feelings about Jeremy, when she finds herself becoming attracted to Declan.

While watching "LEAP YEAR", it occurred to me that it reminded me of a good number of other romantic road trip movies like the 1934 Oscar winning movie, "IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT" and 1985's "THE SURE THING". Unfortunately for "LEAP YEAR", it was not as original . . . or fresh. Even worse, it is not funniest or fascinating romantic comedy I have ever seen. Hmmm. I see that I have to be brutally honest. I might as well state that thanks to Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan's script, "LEAP YEAR" struck me as a trite and barely funny movie. Perhaps I had exaggerated a bit. There was a good deal about Elfont and Kaplan's script - along with Tucker's direction - that prevented "LEAP YEAR" from being funny as it could have been. Fortunately, it possessed certain elements that prevented the movie from becoming a complete waste.

One aspect of "LEAP YEAR" that I truly enjoyed was the movie's Ireland locations. Newton Thomas Sigel's photography took advantage of the Emerald Isle's magic. Even in a torrential rainstorm. Another aspect of the movie that made it more than bearable for me, were the interesting array of eccentric Irish characters that Anna and Declan encounter during their journey to Dublin. My favorite sequences featured the couple's encounter with a group of luggage thieves; an overnight stay at a bed-and-breakfast, while waiting for a Dublin-bound train; and a wild wedding party, where Anna eventually makes a fool of herself.

But the main aspect of "LEAP YEAR" that made it more than bearable for me were the two leads - Amy Adams and Matthew Goode. The screenwriters created two characters that struck me as a little extreme. Anna Brady is such a straitlaced and humorless character that she almost seemed out of place in a romantic comedy. By some magic of the cinema, Amy Adams managed to transcend the heavy-handed character, giving her a vulnerability and touch of humor that made her likable. While watching this movie, it occurred to me that in the hands of a lesser actor, the Declan O'Callaghan character could have ended up as a bitter man, with a heavy-handed sense of humor. But Matthew Goode's performance did something to the role. I believe the actor may have injected the character with some whimsical humor and romance that made it easier for me to accept the idea of Anna's view of Declan changing from dislike to love.

Although "LEAP YEAR" managed to earn as twice as its budget, it really did not earn very much at the box office. In some ways, I could see why. Anand Tucker's direction, along with a script written by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan failed to do this movie any real justice. There is no way I would spend money to see this film at my local movie theater. However, I cannot complete dismiss "LEAP YEAR". Thanks to Newton Thomas Sigel's photography, an entertaining array of Irish supporting characters and especially the performances of Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, I ended up enjoying the movie . . . despite itself.