"Jurassic World" (movie critique)

JURASSIC WORLD
movie poster

Dear Readers, The Travelling Toe must admit before reviewing "Jurassic World" that she has not seen any of the previous Jurassic movies in the franchise.   Additionally, The Travelling Toe must also admit that dinosaurs are not her thing and could not identify a T-Rex from a ...well any other type of dinosaur.  So this will be a rather short review.

The movie starts with 2 brothers being sent to stay with their Aunt, Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), who is Jurassic World's chief operations manager.   The older boy is a typical sullen teenager who is not happy to be separated from his girlfriend and saddled with the younger brother, an overeager lover of all things dinosaurs.   So you know from the get-go that these 2 kids lives will be in peril sometime in the movie and it is all the aunt's fault.

Bryce Dallas Howard

Nick Robinson

Ty Simpkins

                             

Chris Pratt, plays Owen Grady who is an expert in and the training of a smaller type of dinosaur. They are referred to in the movie as Raptors.   He is using dog training techniques such as a clicker and food rewards to get them to obey his commands.  (poor little piggie)

Chris Pratt

Ok, short version, there is an uber dinosaur being secretly genetically engineered. The park needs something bigger and badder for display to draw in more crowds.   But this baby has other ideas.   She thinks and starts laying traps for her handlers and takes out most  of them as she makes a break for it to the visitor's park area where more tasty tidbits await her.  A highly trained security team is sent to track her down but they are goners in a chomp or two.

Vic Hoskins (Vincent D'Onofrio) is head of security and takes over tracking down and containing the beast.   He decides to use Owen's raptors to hunt it down. But eventually he and his team become snacks for the uber beast as well.

Vincent D'Onofrio

If you like seeing large dinosaurs eating people, flying dinosaurs who swoop down and pick up people and eat them on the go, taking out buildings then stepping on people as they head for better shelter, killing and eating other dinosaurs, then this movie is for you.

The Travelling Toe must admit that Chris Pratt does channel Indian Jones in his costume choice.

The special effects and CGI effects are excellent and it is sometimes hard not think that these creatures could really be real.

The movie was directed by Colin Trevorrow.

Colin Trevorrow

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 1 big toe up and 1 pinky toe up with heel blisters from running through the hot humid jungle.


"Disclaimer:   The Travelling Toe is not a professional critic and any opinions expressed are for entertainment purposes only.

"Man and Superman" presented by National Theatre Live at the Magnolia Theater, Modern Museum of Fort Worth

MAN AND SUPERMAN

The Travelling Toe and 2 other friends attended the National Theater Live telecast from London of their production of  "Man and Superman"  at the Magnolia Pictures at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.   These telecasts are sponsored by Amphibian Stage productions.


Amphibian Stage Productions


The play was written by George Bernard Shaw and premiered in London in 1905.

George Bernard Shaw

The first thing the Travelling Toe must reveal is that the superman referred to in the title is not the caped crusader who is faster than a speeding bullet but rather it has to do with the interaction between men and women.

The play is told in 3 acts and was over 3 hours long.

The synopsis of the play is as follows;

  Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes, plays Jack Tanner who is a celebrated radical thinker and rich bachelor.  One would think he would be an unlikely choice as a guardian to the alluring heiress Ann Whitfield.   But she takes the news in her assured stride and despite the love of another man - a poet, she decides to marry and tame this dazzling revolutionary.

  Tanner appalled by the whiff of domesticity, is tipped off by his chauffeur and flees to Spain where he is captured by bandits and meets The Devil as he sleep. In an extraordinary dream

a debate between heaven and hell ensues.  But following in hot pursuit, Ann arrives when Tanner awakes, as fierce in her certainty as he is in his. Despite Tanner's professed dedication to anarchy, he is unable to disarm Ann's charm and she ultimately persuades him to marry her.

This play is very interesting and contains an abundance of rapid fire dialogue.   How all the actors were able the remember each and every line required of their respective part, as well as reacting to the numerous lines thrown back, was amazing.  It almost had a Shakespearean feel to the material.

Having seen several of these productions from The National Theatre, they are always entertaining and eye opening to how great the British theater system is.   Going to the Modern is way cheaper than jetting to London to visit the theater,

Ralph Fiennes
plays
Jack Tanner

"Love Shirley" at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center

LOVE, SHIRLEY TEMPLE
collection brochure

The Travelling Toe and companion went to the travelling exhibit of memorabilia from the childhood star and actress, Shirley Temple.

Shirley's mother collected and kep many artifacts from her daughter's time as a movie star in the 1930's.  Included in the exhibit are costumes, dolls, props, some of Shirley's art work and other unique collectables.  

There were several costumes from the beloved film "Hedi" along with costumes from "Bight Eyes", :The Littlest Rebel", "Wee Willie Winkie" and several others.   Included in the exhibit is the dress she wore when she sang that iconic song, "On The Good Ship Lollipop".  

As you begin your visit stop and watch the video playing showing Shirley in some of the costumes on display - not only as a reminder of these fun films but for the  enjoyment of her and her talent.  

There are some funny stories that Shirley tells on the exhibit plaques and one in particular is good one that involves Eleanor Roosevelt - but The Travelling Toe will not spoil your fun in discovering this funny story yourself.

After Gertrude was unable to care for the items any longer, Shirley took over the care of these treasure.  But with Shirley's passing her children decided to have the items put on tour then auctioned off.  

What a shame that all this carefully  collected priceless memorabilia will be auctioned off in Kansas City next month.  A docent told us that The Smithsonian turned down the collection, citing the expense required of preserving fabric items.  But what will happen to these items in private collector hands...one shutters to ponder the future of them.

The exhibit is on at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, in Fort Worth, till June 27th.   So do take the time to go see it as it will bring back many happy memories for you.

Fort Worth Community Arts Center


Theriault's (auction house)


A collector's book of the items to be auctioned off can be purchased from Theriault's at 
1-800-638-0422 or off their website.  

Shirley Temple
"Hedi"

Some of the costumes from the Shirley Temple collection.
Photos by The Travelling Toe.

"San Andreas" (movie critique)

SAN ANDREAS
movie poster

Obviously from the title of the movie, "San Andrea", is a  movie about the famous fault line that runs down the state of California and sometimes wakes up and causes destruction and mayhem in it's aftermath.

The heart of the story line centers on Ray Gaines (Dwayne Johnson "The Rock") who is a LA Fire Dept helicopter-rescue pilot.  The opening scene shows Ray and his crew making the extra effort required to save a young girl who's car has gone off a cliff.  What he was able to make the helicopter do in this rescue scene is a little far fetched but it certainly made for some dramatic  moments.

Dwayne Johnson

Carla Gugino

Ray and his wife Emma (Carla Gugino) are in the midst of getting a divorce.  She has moved on to a new boyfriend Daniel (Ioan Gruffudd).  Their daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario), is off to San Francisco and she hitches a ride with Daniel on his private plane as he has to attend meetings there concerning his newest building project.  

Alexandra Daddario

Ioan Gruffudd

While this part of story is being set up, we switch to Hoover Dam where Cal -Tech seismologist Lawrence Hayes, (Paul Giamatti) and colleagues determine that a nearby fault line is going to erupt...and so it does at 7.1.  Lawrence barely makes it back to 

Cal - Tech and beings to analyze the data and comes to the conclusion that the big rip feared for so long is going to happen imminently.

Paul Giamatti

Blake and Daniel arrive in San Francisco and go different directions. Daniel goes to a meeting and Blake is having lunch with Daniel's sister.   

Back in LA, the fault line erupts and the building where Emma is begins to collapse as are all the buildings around her.   She is able to make connection with Ray who locates a helicopter and takes off to save his wife.  

After hitting Bakersfield, the quake hits San Francisco  and all those tall buildings start to shake and break apart.   Daniel and Blake make a run to his car but the garage begins to fall apart. When concrete debris falls on the car, Blake is trapped in her seat and Daniel just leaves her there.  But soon to arrive on the scene is a young English man Blake had meet earlier, Ben (Hugo Johnston-Burt) and his younger brother Ollie (Art Parkinson).  They set Blake free from the car and they all take off running before the building totally crumbles.   The three band together and make a plan to get to higher ground so Ray can rescue them.

Hugo Johnstone-Burt

Art Parkinson

From that point on, it is Ray using a helicopter, a truck, small plane, and even a speedboat to rescue everyone. Well, OK Daniel does get his just desserts eventually! 

The Travelling Toe must give credit to the special effects and CGI crews as they were able to make LA and San Francisco just about crumble away.  There were just a few little things that somehow slipped thru the editing process.  One example is as the building around her collapses and Ray saves her, Emma was covered in dust and had a cut on her lower lip....but a few scenes later, no cut lip (magically healed?) and she had not a speck of dust on her anywhere.   Plus no one needed water, food or a potty break during all the mayhem...well, except for The Travelling Toe who just about needed them all!

This was an excellent disaster movie showing the can-do spirit of a man who loves his family and will do whatever it takes to save them.

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 1 big toe up with a cracked toe mail.

Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional critic and any opinions expressed are or entertainment purposes only.

"South Pacific" at the Irvings Art Center

SOUTH PACIFIC
program

The Travelling Toe and 2 other musical theater enthusiasts attended the final performance of "South Pacific" presented by Lyric Stage at the Irvings Arts Center.

 If you are a reader of this bog then The Travelling Toe is sure that you know the entire story of "South Pacific" and will not bore you with an overview of the storyline.

This production was one of the best this theater goer as seen in some time.  One wonderful advantage was that the score was played by 40 very talented musicians lead by Jay Dias, conductor. The opening overture received a very warm reception from the audience members. Just beautiful.

The stage setting was minimal but enough to set the mood for each scene.   The backdrop that showed Bali Ha'i was stunning.   The costumes were spot on for the 40's period. 

The two leads, Janelle Lutz as Nellie and Christopher Sanders as Emil de Becque were great in their respective roles.  In fact Christopher was one of the best Emil's The Travelling Toe has seen in a very long time.  When he crooned "Some Enchanted Evening" all the ladies sitting near by audibly sighed.  His could melt a Hersey bar on a iceberg his voice was so warm.  Any sane woman would choose to stay with him on an island rather than go back to Little Rock!

The sailors did a enjoyable and rousing number on "There is Nothing Like A Dame" . 
Side note: would rather be called a dame anytime than some of the names used for women in current modern day songs!   

The nurses were equally great in their rendition of "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair"....and she did, well at least for a little while.

The music by Rodgers and Hammerstein stands the test of time. When you walk out of an event and still have the music playing in your head or your singing the songs on the way home, then you have experienced musical theater at it's best!

Well Done Lyric Stage!

The Abello Collection: A Modern Taste for European Masters at the Meadows Museum, Dallas

MEADOWS MUSEUM
Dallas, Texas

The Travelling Toe and friend braved the frenzied traffic of the Dallas freeway system and visited the current exhibit at the Meadows Museum.  The Meadows is the exclusive venue in the United States for this exhibit.  It is from a major private collection from Spain, the Abello family. The collection is comprised of works by many of the greatest Spanish artists through the ages, ranging from Gothic to modern to contemporary art spanning over 500 years. There are 105 paintings and drawings and 1 sculpture to view and enjoy.  

The types of art work exhibited are divided into these galleries :

                                                       Gothic and Renaissance Painting

                                                       Early Naturalism and Baroque Painting

                                                       The Age of Enlightenment 

                                                       Romanticism and Realism

                                                      Modern and Contemporary


The Travelling Toe must admit that the modern and contemporary works were not as enjoyable as several other paintings that we viewed.  But each person decides what is speaking to them and how much they enjoy viewing it - which is what makes art so interesting and intriguing. 

In the gallery devoted to The Age of Enlightenment, are several lovely paintings but one in particular was of interest to the Travelling Toe.  It was painted by Antonio Joli De Dipi   (1700-1777), titled:  

                 View of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez from the Northeast with 
                  King Ferdinand VI of Spain and Queen Maria Barbara of Braganca 

Antonio Joli De Dipi
(this copy does not do it justice)

A modern piece that was fascinating is a tableau  made of 11 miniature pictures that are pencil drawings on the back of matchboxes.  Each drawing is about 2 1/4 X 11/2 inches.  The majority of the drawings are by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), but there are two by Renoir, one by Modigliani along with several other noted artists of the period.

Pablo Picasso
11 Miniature Drawings
(this copy does do it justice)

This exhibit is on through August 2nd.  If this would interest you, The Travelling Toe would suggest that you attend during the day or in off hours of that horrible gridlock traffic .   The admission fee is $8.00 for an senior adult.  Also as you tour the exhibit, there are convenient places to sit, rest your weary toes and absorb the beauty around you.   
Go - enjoy! 

The Abello Collection

Meadows Museum

   

"Far From The Madding Crowd" (movie critique)

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD
movie poster

The Travelling Toe and friend drove out to the local cinema multiplex and saw "Far From The Madding Crowd".  The movie is based on the literary classic of the same name written by Thomas Hardy.  It is a story of an independent beautiful woman sent in the Victoria era, and how her life takes many twists and turns.

Thomas Hardy

Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) is an orphan who lives with her aunt in southwest England.  Close by is a young farmer, Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenerts), who takes a shine to her and finally asks her to marry him.  But Bathsheba turns him down as she wants to remain free and independent.   When Gabriel losses all this sheep through an unfortunate accident, he must sell his farm and becomes destitute.   

Carey Mulligan

Matthias Schoenerts
hero

In the meantime, Bathsheba's uncle has died and left her his estate and money.   The estate she inherits is the home she lived in with her parents before they died.  

Gabriel travels from town to town looking for work.   As he is travelling the countryside, he happens upon a dangerous fire on a farm and joins in helping the farmers and workers put it out.  The owner of the farm arrives to thank the stranger for his assistance and he finds out that the owner of the farm is Bathsheba.  She hires Gabriel to be a shepherd for her estate.  

Bathsheba's neighbor is an older single man who also becomes infuriated with her.  In an act of Valentine fun, Bathsheba sends this neighbor, William Boldwood (Michael Sheen), a valentine card which causes him to become even more obsessed with her.   He proposes marriage but she is not sure that he is the man she wants and does not give him a definite answer to his proposal.  Gabriel calls her to task for her thoughtlessness of her treatment of Boldwood and Bathsheba becomes enraged and fires Gabriel.  But Bathsheba immediately finds that she needs Gabriel as her sheep have begun dying from bloat and Gabriel is the best shepherd around and knows how to save the sheep.

Michael Sheen

Also coming on the scene is a young dashing solider, Sergeant Francis Troy (Tom Sturridge) and he immediately become infatuated with Bathsheba and her wealth.   Gabriel tries to warn her about Troy but she disregards his advice and becomes interested in Frank. Boldwood tries to buy his rival off but Frank makes fun of him and his devotion to Bathsheba and reveals that he and Bathsheba are now married.

Tom Sturridge
(boo, hiss, boo
the villain)

Frank soon shows his true colors and intent by running up gambling debts and not helping with the farm.   Bathsheba begins to realize that Frank does not love her but is still in love with a girl named Fanny.  

OK...this is getting long winded and there is still more of the the story to tell.  So quickly,  Fanny dies with her and Frank's baby and he goes off and is thought to have died as well.   But he is not and when he shows back up at Boldwood's Christmas party, Boldwood can take no more and as Troy is dragging Bathsheba away he shoots and kills Troy.

Bathsheba does do the right thing by ensuring that Troy is buried with Fanny and their child. Boldwood is is given a pardon due to the emotional situation.

The story ends with Gabriel and Bathsheba once again being friends and they are quietly wed to hopefully live happily ever after.

Thomas Hardy is not an easy author to read and enjoy as often his plots are dark and full of emotional turmoil.  This one story does have a happy ending for the two main characters which is unusual for Hardy.

The Travelling Toe rates this movie 1 large toe up and 1 middle toe up with a side of figgy pudding.

figgy pudding

*Note:  According to the dictionary, the word madding means frenzied.






Disclaimer:  The Travelling Toe is not a professional critic and any opinions expressed are for entertainment purposes only

"100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared" (movie critique)

100 YEAR OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT 
THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED
movie poster

As a fun time to spent together, The Travelling Toe treats a dear friend to lunch and a movie in celebration of another birthday.  As both of us enjoy unusual movies, The Travelling Toe and friend traveled to the Angelika movie theater in Dallas to see "100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappears".

Robert Gustafsson
plays
Allan Karlson

The Travelling Toe is having a very difficult time describing this Swedish movie.  By the name of the movie title, you can guess it centers on a 100 year old man.  It is about Allan Karlson (Robert Gustafsson) who is living in a retirement community.  On the day of his 100th birthday, Allan decides to slowly climb out the window of his room and makes a break for more adventures.  He walks to the local bus depot  and with just the few coins in his picket, he buys a bus ticket to a small local town.  While waiting for the bus, a young biker thug comes into the depot to use the facilitates. He and his bag don't fit in the small space so he sees Alan standing here and hands his bag to the old man and tells him not to let go of it.   So course, when Allan's bus arrives and is ready to take off,  Allan takes the suitcase with him.  And the crazy adventures begin.

The movie is narrated in English, with some of  the actors speaking in Swedish, English, Spanish, Russian and French with subtitles.

Allan has had a long an interesting life.  As a young lad, Allan learned how to blow up things and loved it.  His first job was working in a Swedish munitions factory.  From there he goes to Spain and blows up things for the revolutionists but inadvertently saves Franco's life. Then during Word War II, he ends up where the biggest bomb is being built , out in New Mexico.  There Allan fixes Robert Oppenheimer's design flaw. He also meets Harry Truman and they enjoy several, several drinks together.

After the war he is kidnapped by the Russians to work on their bomb program.   But Allan makes the mistake of angering Stalin by comparing him to Franco.  So Allan is sent to Siberia to work in a gulag.  There he meets Albert Einstein's brother Henry, who did not inherit any of Albert's smarts....in fact Henry is rather dim-witted.  Through their own dumb luck, somehow they manage to blow up the gulag and make their escape to Paris.  Eventually, Allan is recruited by the CIA to be a double agent between the US and Russia.  But each side knows he is a double agent and they just feed each other worthless information through Allan.  He finally grows old, retires and ends up in the retirement community.

Now that is just part of the story. The rest centers on Allan and his friend finding out that the bag he has is full of money and the thugs are pursuing them.

The Travelling Toe can not even begin to describe all the other adventures these 2 guys have along the way especially the part the elephant plays in it.

So go see this movie at your own risk.  But if you like funny, weird, eccentric, quirky movies then it could be for you.
  
The Travelling Toe and birthday friend must admit that we did share a lot of laughter watching Allan in all his adventures and all the characters he meet along the way.  .

Jonas Jonasson

This Swedish movie was wildly popular in Europe and possibly there will be a US film made of it but how will it translate to the US market is hard to predicate.  It is based on a book of the same name by Jonas Jonasson that was published in 2009.

The Travelling Toe gives this fun movie 1 big toe up and I middle toe up with a side of Swedish meatballs!

"Artistic Director's Choice" program presented by Texas Ballet Theater

TEXAS BALLET THEATER
program

The Travelling Toe and a dear friend attended the last performance of the 2014-2015 season of the Texas Ballet Theater at Bass Hall.

Bass Hall

This program was titled "Artistic Director's Choice" and consisted of 3 separate ballets.  

Jiri Kylian 

The first ballet presented was "Petite Mort" choreographed by Jiri Kylian.  On stage were six men and six women.  The men started the ballet by brandishing foils.  It was quite interesting to see how they could dance and in a sense juggle the foils.  The ballet is set to 2 Mozart piano concertos.  The first was Piano Concerto A major and the second was Piano Concert C major - which you might recognize from a Swedish film called "Elvira Madigan".  The movie may be in the distant past but the music plays on.

Mozart

After a 20 minute intermission, the dancers returned to the stage for the world premier of "Crash".   This ballet was choreographed by Jonathan Watkins who had been in residence in Fort Worth for a month in order to ensure the dancers had the movements correct to achieve his vision.   It was danced to an original score by Ryan Cockerham.  "Crash" could represent a break-up, technology crash or any other type of critical mass.   The dancers were all in nude costumes so all movement could be seen as the dancers break apart and then come back together.

Jonathan Watkins

Ryan Cockerham

After another short intermission,the last ballet of the program was "Rubies" by George Balanchine.  "Rubies" is one part of Balanchine's ballet "Jewels" along with Emeralds and Diamonds.   It is set to music by Igor Stravinsky.  As the curtain rose the dancers were on stage, with the ladies up on pointe and the men holding their hands to steady them.  The bright red costumes and jewels, caused the audience to response with warm applause at the beautiful site center stage.   Then the dance began.  If you have ever seen a Balanchine ballet, then you know how he often repeats patterned moves.   The dancers were all up to the task of this demanding piece of work.  It was a lovely and exciting end to a diverse program.

George Balanchine

Igor Stravinsky

The Travelling Toe must admit that she tends to favor story line ballets but this program was well received.   The only thing that could have made it better would have been live music.  Hopefully that wish will come true for the 2015-2016 season.

Texas Ballet Theater

Container Gardens with the Westmont Garden Club

The monthly meeting of the Westmont Garden Club was on planting container gardens.   The presenter was Master Gardener, Linda Winn.  Even though The Travelling Toe more often than not is a death threat to plants, found this topic to be quite interesting.

Linda began the presentation with a discussion on the reasons to use container gardens. Some mentioned were:
                             
                                        limited space
                                        limited time
                                        so many pots, so many places inside and outside
                                        inside plants are healthy for us
                                        easier to take care of than a larger space

Then the discussion was on the types of containers to use for the mini-garden, such as:
               
                                      clay pots (the old stand-by)
                                      ceramic pots
                                      half barrels - wood and plastic
                                      stone urns
                                      vintage tin cans, coffee pots any other interesting pot

The main issue is to ensure that any pot has a drainage hole in the bottom.  Additionally the use of rocks in the bottom can prevent dirt from leaking out of the pot.  Linda shared with the group that she used a coffee filter in the bottom of the pots she used for plants.  One member mentioned she had success in using a baby diaper in the bottom of a pot and it was great at absorbing water....who knew that baby diapers worked on several different types of bottoms successfully!

potting soil and container

Next was on how to select plants for the container garden.  Most any plant can be grown in a container not just show plants but trees and even vegetables.  When deciding on the plants, be sure to look at the plant tag as it contains all the information needed to ensure you have the right plants for your area - such as light and space.

These are some of the things you will find on the plant tag:

                                     sun - how much is required daily, whether full, partial or no direct sun
                                     space - how much room a plant needs to grow
                                     height - how tall a plant will grow
                                     bloom time - how long it will bloom
                                     watering needs - whether is needs to be semi-moist, damp at all times,
                                           dry between watering, moist - should always feel wet

Linda then showed the group had to put a container garden together.   She said to follow 3 rules:

                                      thriller
                                             something to draw your eye and it should be planted in the middle

thriller

                                     filler
                                            these plants go around the middle plant to fill in

fillers - white and pink

                                     spiller
                                            these plants spill over the pot 
                                            example - potato vine

spiller

Use potting soil not garden soil for the plants.  One can use per-lite in the soil as it absorbs the water then releases it later on.  Linda suggested to place the plants in the pot first so you know how you want to set them as you began to plant.  

As Linda shared with the group, gardening was the original job, that was what Eve and Adam were suppose to do!

Linda Winn
with completed container garden

One book on  container gardening is:

                                                The Book of Container Gardening
                                                                     by
                                                           Malcolm Hiller    

Side note:   some books of Mr. Hiller are available through Amazon.
 Amazon


Also on display was a magazine "Garden Gate" that had several pages of plants that were ideal for container gardens.

                                       
Garden Gate Magazine