Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005)

There's not a lot I can add about this film that hasn't been commented on already. This first Chronicles of Narnia installment is a wonderful film with touching Christian symbolism and an effective, magical journey about tempation, forgiveness and the fight between good and evil.

The story revolves around four children from 1940's London who, due to Nazi bombing runs, are forced to take residence in an aloof Professor's castle estate to escape the daily bombardment at home. The castle is, at first, unwelcoming and hollow. Yet, during a game of hide and seek, one of the children stumbles across a wardrobe. As she squeezes her way toward the back of the wardrobe she suddenly finds herself in a snow covered forest. From this moment on the four children's lives will never be the same.

They say that a 80% of a successful film comes from casting and the cast of Chronicles is wonderful, especially Georgie Henley as the youngest sibling, Lucy Pevensie. The Christian symbolism is quite obvious, with Aslan, the Lion leader, sacrificing himself for the sins of others, only to be resurrected, overcoming death and leading the battle against evil.

The film is fun and scary and magical and exhilerating and touching... and much more. For children and adults, it's a must see.

Good Friday

From the Catholic News Agency... a little reminder:

On Good Friday, the entire Church fixes her gaze on the Cross at Calvary. Each member of the Church tries to understand at what cost Christ has won our redemption. In the solemn ceremonies of Good Friday, in the Adoration of the Cross, in the chanting of the 'Reproaches', in the reading of the Passion, and in receiving the pre-consecrated Host, we unite ourselves to our Savior, and we contemplate our own death to sin in the Death of our Lord.

The Church - stripped of its ornaments, the altar bare, and with the door of the empty tabernacle standing open - is as if in mourning. In the fourth century the Apostolic Constitutions described this day as a 'day of mourning, not a day of festive joy,' and this day was called the 'Pasch (passage) of the Crucifixion.'

The liturgical observance of this day of Christ's suffering, crucifixion and death evidently has been in existence from the earliest days of the Church. No Mass is celebrated on this day, but the service of Good Friday is called the Mass of the Presanctified because Communion (in the species of bread) which had already been consecrated on Holy Thursday is given to the people .

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 2, The Fourth Wheel

The members of the University of Florida theater department often found themselves socializing in a local dive of a bar called the WinnJammer. It was small and smoky, but they allowed all of the actors to put their headshots on the wall. It was interesting to see actors from years past on the wall, seemingly participating in our conversations in the two large booths that were almost continually inhabited by theater department faculty and students.

Pete at the WinnJammer

It was at this bar that I realized the importance of networking in show business. It was my first lesson in the understanding that who you know will get you in the door and talent will allow you to stay there. When I wasn't getting cast in plays, I decided to up my social quotient and became a frequent off-hours resident at the WinnJammer. I was broke, so I could only afford a Pepsi because of the free refills.

And I'll never forget Diane, one of the cooks at the bar. She was a sweet black woman with a gold front tooth who's maternal instincts were honored upon me, because, knowing my financial status, she would frequently sneak out some chicken fingers for me to eat. Without her generosity I truly do not believe I would have had enough nutrition to make it through my last year in college. She was a doll and I will never forget her.

After I became known at the bar and comfortable with fellow students and staff, I used my humor to ingratiate myself to them and they became more comfortable with me. I found my interactions with my teachers more fruitful in class as a result as their criticism and education of my acting talents were more valid and applicable to me... they knew me as a person and knew when I was relying on "me" instead of acting as someone else.

Doc Shelton and I had a love/hate relationship, in the best sense of the word. Shelton pushed me harder than any other teacher I've ever known. His criticism was brutal and honest and accurate and that hurt more than I would have liked... but he challenged me to be better than I could imagine within myself. I don't know how talented I ever got as an actor... how can one effectively measure oneself in that way, but I know that whatever level of talent I had achieved, it would have been substantially less if it had not been for him.

During one of these nights at the WinnJammer, I was sitting across from two of my friends, David and Sunday. They had been dating for a while and I really enjoyed their company. Dave had a wonderful wit and was always found with the front-half of his shirt untucked. Sunday was what I call early Madonna, minus the voice. And I'm speaking of Madonna the singer, not the Mother of Jesus.

Sunday in a print ad
in a local paper

Sunday had a smoldering femme fatal sexuality about her and wore an intricate mess of clothes, yet the look somehow worked with her. I remember asking her "don't you want to look nice?" She replied "I think I do look nice." I realized at that moment that no one dresses up thinking they look bad and that my tastes are just that, mine.

So, that night at the bar the weight of the impending end to the school year was upon us. We mulled our options and Dave asked what I was planning on doing over the Summer. "Well, I'm helping out with the Summer Stock program first and then I'm taking a road trip to California, check out the U.S.C. and U.C.L.A. film departments," I replied.

Dave and Pete at Graduation

Dave had no interest in going, but Sunday was envious. I half-heartedly replied to her "you want to go?" knowing that the answer would certainly be no... after all, their relationship was relatively new and what boyfriend would be okay with sending his sexually comfortable girlfriend on a road trip with another guy where they would spend almost three weeks together, some of which would require being in close quarters such as sleeping in a tent camping?

Surely the answer had to be no.

Yet, to my surprise, Sunday replied "Sure!" And to my greater surprise Dave didn't object. With a slip of the tongue I suddenly found my fourth wheel for the trip. I really should have objected in some way, but, at the time, I was a slave to my fear of confrontation, so I just said "Okay."

Against all logic, the foursome was set.

I really should have objected in some way.

********

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 2, Audio

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 1, The Seed Planted
Goin' Out To Cally - Part 1, Audio

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 1, The Seed Planted

College has numerous rites of passage between childhood and adulthood. Taking "the road trip" is one of those time honored traditions.

As I neared the end of my senior year of college at the University of Florida in 1988, graduating with a degree in Fine Arts, I dreamed of a long term career in Hollywood. One of my teachers, Doc Shelton, mentioned that a school alum was a producer in California and would probably be open to meeting with me. I said, "Why would he do that?" Shelton mentioned "If I called you and asked you to meet with someone, would you?" I said "of course." "So would he," Shelton replied.

And that was how it started. The seed was planted. I could visit someone working in the biz and check out the world renown film schools. I needed to get to California, somehow, someway.

My options were pretty limited. I was essentially broke, didn't have a working car and did I mention I also had no money? After much thought and deliberation, there was only one viable option. I called my best friend, Tim, and had a very quick conversation that went something like this... "Tim, you want to take a road trip to California?" He replied "Sure."

And that was it. The trip was on.

Pete & Tim- 1986

The trip benefited both Tim and me. It gave Tim a chance to visit his brother, Paul and his wife Anne, both of whom lived in Los Angeles and worked for the mouse and it gave me a chance to try to get my foot into show business.

I also felt a certain kinship to my older brothers, Stephen and John. When they were about my age our family moved from Massachusetts to Florida. Instead of traveling with us, John and Steve decided to ride bikes from the North to the South. I'll let them share their own journey, but the stories I listened to in my youth about their trip seemed so funny and adventurous and unique and I had hoped my trip to California would offer similar memorable moments.

Tim was engaged to Beth, so she would join us on the road trip and he suggested I invite someone so I wouldn't feel like a third wheel. I had met Beth a couple of times and she seemed nice enough, so adding her to the journey didn't seem much of a worry. And I wasn't overly concerned about being a third wheel, but I did mull over my options, just in case.

But who would I ask?

********

For my father, who's eyesight has been hindered due to Parkinsons Disease, I have made an audio file for him to listen to the story. So, if you want to hear the story, either click on the LINK and listen from your browser or Right Click the LINK and save to your computer for listening whenever you'd like.

Goin' Out To Cally - Part 1 Audio

Home Opener

Monday evening my son, Gabe, along with my best friend Tim and his brother Kevin, attended the home opener of the Devil Rays against division rivals Baltimore Orioles. Under new ownership and management the franchise is revitalized and we're gladly basking in the honeymoon phase. The talent is still lacking, but the commitment from ownership, for the first time in team history, is solid.

A simple idea of how things are different under this new ownership can be found in the bathrooms. The previous ownership would go out of their way, it seemed, to be anti-customer friendly. The stadium was always dirty and by the end of the games, the bathrooms were awful. Today, there was a janitor continually cleaning the bathrooms throughout the game and, as you left, would go out of his way to say "Have a great time at the game today!" A janitor pushing customer service. Boy, things are different in DRay land.

The new owners also offer free parking, discounted concession stand prices, the repainted the entire stadium, gave away goodies as you entered the stadium, greeted fans, etc. They did everything they could to show that things were different now. And the fact that it was only the fourth sellout in team history supports that assertion. The fans were ready to have some fun.

The team is full of exciting, young players. We have no allusions of competing with the big market teams every year... MLB still hasn't fixed disparate revenue streams for the teams in the league... but the DRay fans think that we have enough talent that a magical run could happen at some time.

We got to the field early. I had owed my son a hot fudge Sunday for hitting a home run Saturday, so we got that first. We then watched the DRays batting practice, during which, Mark Hendrickson, one of the Rays starting pitchers, threw Gabe a MLB ball. As the crowd started to fill out I was most impressed by how many 20-somethings there were in attendance. That is the fan base the new ownership needs to attract and they were there in force.

During the game time caught a spongy ball and a DRay t-shirt thrown into the stands and gave them to Gabe. During the game a dad in front of us bought one too many Carvel Dippin' Dot ice creams and gave the extra one to Gabe. And, though the DRays ended up losing, Gabe was able to watch Toby Hall hit a two run homer. Hall has a special place in Gabe's heart because at the end of last season, we celebrated Gabe's birthday at the field and, due to a variety of circumstances, Gabe got to stand next to Hall on the field during the national anthem.

Overall the evening was a lot of fun. The crowd was excited. My son had a great time and I got to spend a fun night with my best friend of 25 years. It's the simple things that offer the greatest rewards. Sure, it would have been great if the Rays would have won, but the evening was memorable for so many other reasons.

Flightplan (2005)

There is a saying that all of the original stories have been told and that every story we hear now is merely a retelling of one of those original gems.

That is certainly true in Hollywood.

Take Flightplan, starring Jodi Foster. Flightplan is a direct, updated copy of the Hitchcock classic The Lady Vanishes. In Flightplan, Foster plays the distressed airplan designer, Kyle, who wakes up on a long overseas flight to find that her child is missing. In The Lady Vanishes, made in 1938, Margaret Lockwood wakes up on a train to find her recent acquaintence, Miss Froy, suddenly missing.

Both women go through the riggers of trying to convince the other passengers that someone is missing in a place where no one can hide (plane/train). In both cases they are convinced there never was the missing person and in both cases the women, unable to believe the missing person was imaginery, enlists the help of a male to assist them. In both films, a window seat plays a pivotal point in the storyline and in both films the potential plots teeter on the brink of complete unbelievability.

In The Lady Vanishes, Hitchcock's style hides the potential plot missteps. In Flightplan, the pure energy of Foster's performance along with Sean Bean's compassionate portrayal as the pilot and Peter Sarsgaard as Air Marshal Carson keep us distracted from the pitfalls of the flimsy storyline.

In the end, both films are enjoyable and both films are worth watching. If you have enough time in your day, do what my daughter and I did and watch them back to back. Then you'll really see that what was once original, is original no more.

Parental Gloating

It's a parent's duty to gloat. Ask any of them. In that spirit, give me a few moments...

Gabe's had a tough little league season so far. The team of eight and nine year olds had opened with a win, but have lost every game since... some were one-run games, others were not so close. Gabe is one of the better players on a below average team and he's been very frustrated. His competitive nature gets the best of him and losing multiple games is hard on him.

Saturday, he had a very good game and helped the team win their second game. He pitched a shutout inning, stole home and hit a home run.

I decided to bring my video camera to this game and put together a small little highlight reel to brighten his spirits.


Sure, this entire entry is a parent being overly proud of his child, but if I don't do it, who will? :)

You'll need a free Quicktime Player (located here) to view it. Most computers have it, but if you don't, you can download it here.

Here's the highlights:

The clip shows Gabe pitching and making a diving play

Striking out a player

Making another diving play to end the inning.

He then hits his homerun and
beats the throw to the plate.

Click on the link below and view it for yourself. Click here to watch it in your browser. Or you can Right Click on the Link and Save As to save it on your computer: - http://www.localtalentfilms.com/ltp/GabeHighlights040806-6.mov

If you save it onto your computer and the picture is too small on Quicktime, click on Movies, then click on Double Size.

Enjoy. We did.

Corpse Bride (2005)

What happens if you accidentally marry a woman who was killed just before she was to be married? You end up in the wacky and unique world of Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. Bride is another stop animation work from Burton, with his trademark style and dark humor, the story follows the misadventures of Victor Van Dort, voiced by Johnny Depp as he struggles between his empathy and affection for the corpse bride, acted by Helena Bonham Carter, and his true love, Victoria Everglot, who's voice is provided by Emily Watson.

Amidst a cinematic world of computer animated films such as Shrek 1 and 2 and other computer animated characters in King Kong and Jurrasic Park, it's refreshing to see the art form brought by stop animation has not lost it's magic. Despite this, the overall effect of the film is hit and miss. As a love story or as a film with musical numbers, neither the love story or songs are truly memorable. And the surprise twist of the film in the second act was none too subtle either.

If you are a true Burton fan, you will love the dark imagery, the off-kilter humor and occasionally gross moments. If not, I'd suggest watching some of Burton's more touching fare, such as Big Fish or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where his unique take on the world is at its cinematic peak.