"Victor Frankenstein" (movie critique)

VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN
movie poster

The Travelling Toe and a friend decided to see the new film about Frankenstein and his monster a the local Movie Tavern.  The Frankenstein story has been told many times over and over throughout the years, but this movie takes a different tactic and is told from Igor's perspective.

As the movie started we find that Igor is a circus freak due to large hump on his back that causes other deformities.  Victor sees him and immediately knows what his true health issue really is - a huge cyst that just needs to be drained.  Victor takes Igor back to his house and treats his medical conditions and gives him a new life of luxury and friendship that Igor had never known.

Igor has total loyalty to Victor and assists him with his many primitive experiments of human replication.  Victor tells Igor that his ultimate goal is to make life out of death. However, as the story has always told, their experiments get them in trouble with many people. They each take it on a lam but eventually meet up at a desolate castle in order to bring the latest incarnation of a piece-part human to life.  The scene where lighting is used to jump start the monster was nicely done.  But alas, some medical experiments are ahead of their time and are not to be....well, ever!!!

James McAvoy
Victor Frankenstein

Daniel Radcliffe
Igor

Andrew Scott
Roderick Turpin

Just one more quick note, Andrew Scott, plays Detective Roderick Turpin who is after Frankenstein.  He is tenuous in his pursuit of the 2 men.  Andrew seems to be popping up in various movies lately and always brings his A-game to the project, as he did here. 

This is a good movie in that the stage setting was spot on for later 1800's London and the costumes reflected that time period.  It seemed to filmed in a almost hazy overtone that just added more intrigue to the story.

Daniel Radcliffe played Igor and he did a very good job of contorting his body for the hump back (without the use of a wizard's wand too!).  James McAvoy stared as Victor and was good as the manic scientist.

The Travelling Toe gives this movie a left middle toe up with lighting rod so that the 2nd left toe will not be regenerated as it was lost to hazardous waste 2 years ago.



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

"Spectre" (movie critique)

SPECTRE
movie poster

The name is Bond....James Bond.   What we Friday Movie Mavens care about is Craig....Daniel Craig.  That man looks so fine in a suit, a tux, a swim suit or under a sheet...oh sigh!!!

Daniel Craig
James Bond
007

Christoph Waltz
Oberhauser
bad guy

The newest James Bond film starts a bit after the last one "Skyfall".  Bond, travels to Mexico City to finish the job left undone.  He takes out Marco Sciarra (the bad guy from Skyfall) and snatches his ring.  It has a symbol emblazoned on it, an octopus.  When James returns to London, his boss M (Ralph Fiennes) suspends him. There is intrigue afoot at MI 5 as M is struggling with C to prevent the merger of MI 5 and MI 6 along with a global surveillance company made up of 9 member entities, which will be called Nine Eyes.  Further C decides that the 00 program is obsolete and closes it. (will 007 apply for unemployment benefits?)

Ralph Fiennes
M

Meanwhile 007 goes to Rome to attend the funeral of Sciarra and finds out from his widow, that he was a member of a secret organization called Spectre.  Bond infiltrates a meeting of Spectre but the leader, Franz Oberhauser, calls him out by name.  Bond makes a run for it and is pursued by one of Spectre's henchmen.  From Rome, 007 travels to Austria to try to find an informant from Quantum.  When Bond finds White, he is dying of thallium poisoning and tells 007 that Quantum is a part of Spectre.  Additionally the previous 3 bad dudes who pursued Bond were part of the Spectre organization.  White requests that 007 protect his daughter Dr. Madeline Swann.  After White dies, Swann and Bond travel to Morocco and there find information about Oberhauser's facility in the desert.  The two of them take a train to the nearest coordinates they found in White's hidey-hole.  They are captured and taken to Oberhauser.  He then tells them the real truth about Spectre and the Nine Eyes program.  By creating terrorist attacks all around the world, he has made his program indispensable to countries for protection and then from that type of control he will be able to spy on anyone and everyone.  A sinister plot indeed.  Come to found out that Oberhauser, goes by the name Ernst Blofeld because as a young man he killed his father and pretended to kill himself.  There is a sorted reason why that includes James. Eventually Swann and Bond escape and on their way out of town destroy the facility. Kaboom!

Lea Seydoux
Madeleine Swann

The pair made it back to London.  Bonds finds M, Q and Moneypenny and explains the big picture.  They decide to arrest C and prevent Nine Eyes from going online.

Ben Whishaw
Q

Naomie Harris
Moneypenny

Andrew Scott
C
bad dude

Well, Dear Readers, do the merry band of spies save the world and take down Spectre?. Sorry to say The Travelling Toe will not reveal all.  But after all this is a James Bond movie!

Christoph Waltz made a wonderful bad guy - as he has done before.  The Travelling Toe is of the opinion that the "designated" bad guy of the Bond movie is what makes this franchise so entertaining.  The bad guy does not always win but they provide a lot of moxie for the picture!



Side Note:  Just be aware this movie is 148 minutes long so once again plan your liquid consumption accordingly


The Travelling Toe gives this movie 1 big toe up and 1 middle toe up with a Walther PPK for protection.

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

"The Last Witch Hunter" (movie critique)

THE LAST WITCH HUNTER
movie poster

Yes, The Travelling Toe must admit that she and a Dear Friend did go see "The Last Witch Hunt" at the local Movie Tavern.  Well, honestly this movie will not win any major awards...am sure it will not even be incontinence, but we both thought it was well  worth the price of the ticket.

A very brief overview of the movie plot follows.

Kaulder, played by Vin Diesel, in a fight with the Queen Witch, is made immortal and becomes a witch hunter.  This event takes place around the Middle Ages. So then here we are about 800 years later and he is still hunting witches.  Personally, we were somewhat surprised there were still so many evil witches around in modern times, but apparently  there are!  Kaulder works for an organization called "The Axe and Cross" and is accompanied by a priest, who records his witch killing adventures and is called a Dolan.  Michael Caine, plays the current Dolan, the 36th and has decided retire. The new Dolan, number 37, who is chosen to follow Kaulder is, played Elijah Woods. 

Side Note:  No Hobbits were harmed in the making of this movie.  

As the story progresses, the evil Queen Witch is actually not dead and plans to unleash a deadly plague that will wipe out humanity.  Kaulder, with the help of Chole (Rose Leslie) who runs a witch bar, helps him to begin the hunt for the Queen.  Along the way there are many twists and turns to the story, so The Travelling Toe will just skip to the end.  Dolan 37 is not a good priest. The Queen is found and destroyed but it costs Kaulder his immortality. At the end, 
Dolan 36  and  Chole decide to join with  Kaulder to continue the fight as witch hunters. One last bread trail, as long as the Queen's heart is beating, Kaulder has immortality and as the movie ends, a faint heart beat is heard!  So...does he or does he not?????  Inquiring minds want to know!!!

Vin Diesel
Kaulder
Witch Hunter

Elijah Wood
Dolan #37

Michael Caine
Dolan #36

Rose Leslie
Chole

Julie Engelbrecht
Queen Witch

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 2 middle toes up with a fire retardant jumpsuit just in case the Queen Witch resurfaces and starts looking for her heart!



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

"Bridge of Spies" (movie critique)

BRIDGE OF SPIES
movie poster

Dear Readers, The Travelling Toe must apologize that she is far behind on movie updates because she was ill during most of November.  Therefore, this movie overview will be brief.

"Bridge of Spies' stars Tom Hanks and was directed by Steven Spielberg and is based on actual facts.

Steven Spielberg

Tom Hanks
James B Donovan

The story begins in 1957.  It concerns the actions of James Donovan, (Tom Hanks) an insurance settlement attorney, who is asked to represent a Soviet spy, Rudolph Abel, played by Mark Rylance.  He was captured by the CIA.  As the story unfolds, what is actually at the heart of the case is for Donovan to work out a "deal" with the Soviets for the American U-2 pilot shot down and captured, Gary Francis Powers. Additionally, as the East Berlin wall was being constructed a young American student, Frederic Pryor,  was detained by the Stasi as a spy. When Donovan found out about the young student he decided that both men would have to be exchanged for Abel.  There were many hurdles to the exchange process as the East Germans held Pryor and the Russians had Powers.  After many negotiation meetings and even some red herrings along the way, the parties ultimately finalized the exchange.  The Russians and Americans met on the Glienicke Bridge that separates East Germany from West Berlin.  Powers and Able each walked across the bridge passing each as they went to their respective fates. Additionally, the East Germans finally released  Pryor at Checkpoint Charlie, only because Donovan insisted that he would only make the deal for Abel when both men were released.

Mark Rylance
Rudolph Abel

Austin Stowell
Gary Francis Powers

Amy Ryan
Mary Donovan

There is so much more to this story than this brief narrative.  Such as the story of Pryor and his German girlfriend, Donovan's struggle with representing Able and their budding friendship, Powers being a prisoner of the Soviets and all the while with the CIA pulling the strings in the background.

Whether you like Spielberg or not, one thing he always does right is the details in his movies. The "vintage" cars of the 50's, the duck-and-cover drills in schools, the costumes and hairstyles were so 50's.  With the Cold War at it's height, it set the somber tone of the story.The one tiny negative comment is that it began to drag a tad towards the end of the film. Also this movie is 141 minutes long so plan your liquid consumption accordingly.

Tom Hanks did an excellent job in his role, as did several of the supporting cast.  Could Tom receive an Oscar nod for this role....one will find out next year!

The Travelling Toe gives this movie 1 big toe and 1 2nd toe up with a Swanson's TV dinner on the side.  (if you see the movie then you will understand that reference).

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

"Home for the Holidays" with the FWSO Pops

Bass Hall
program

The Travelling Toe and a Dear Friend attended the Sunday matinee performance of the Pops Concert presented by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.  In this annual event, the weekend following Thanksgiving,  starts the holiday season with a program titled "Home For The Holidays".  

The orchestra was lead by Andres Franco, Assistant Conduct of FWSO.

Andres Franco

The symphony was joined by the Southwestern Seminary Master Chorale and the Lone Star Youth Chorus of Fort Worth.

The program was full of holiday favorites sacred and secular.  The theme from the movie "Home Alone" written John Williams is always enjoyed.  Also fun to hear were the 3 brass players on "Bugler's Holiday".  And who does not enjoy Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride".

As the program was ending.it began to snow in Bass Hall and a very famous person dressed in red made his jolly appearance.

What a fun and enjoyable way to begin the Christmas season!

Fairy Gardens with the Westmont Garden Club

Fairy Garden

The Travelling Toe attended the monthly meeting of the Westmont Garden Club which was held on Saturday, November 14, 2015.   The meeting was held at the Agri Life Extension Office located on Main Street in Weatherford.  Carol Welch, Master Gardener, gave a presentation on how to construction a fairy garden.

Carol Welch
Master Gardner

Carol began the program with an overview of what makes up a fairy garden.  There are 7 factors to take into consideration when designing a fairy garden:

       Simplicity – focal point
            choose 1, 2 or 3 items in the garden as focal points
        

      Texture
            texture in the fairy garden should be varied, such as heavy to light or thin
            to dense
     Color
            use a color in the fairy garden that speaks to you; use the color wheel
            by offsetting warm shade plants with plants from the cool spectrum
     Line
           line is used to connect or define a space by using a fence, or rocks or pebbles
           this design feature allows the eyes to follow lines drawn within the space

     Balance
            formal versus informal
            formal – repeats the same on the left to the right
            informal – right and left differ which gives different movement and feeling

     Unity
            repetition – too much can be monotonous
            consistency – using ground cover such as moss which pulls the scene together
 
     Scale
            compare the plants and element of the scene and ensure that all are close
            to the same size or scale

After learning about the elements that are used in constructing fairy gardens, it was time for the gardeners to get their hands in the dirt.

With assistance and encouragement from Carol, the member’s fairy gardens began to take shape.  Each one was different in style, landscape and elements used.  But each one was beautiful. 

Above are examples some of our completed projects.  The Travelling Toe's efforts did not produce anything as close to the beautiful ones shown.  

This was another interesting and fun meeting for the gardeners of the Westmont Garden Club

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, November 15, 2015 Performance

The Travelling Toe and  two friends attended the Sunday afternoon performance of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra at Bass Hall.  The concert consisted of selections from 3 different composers.

The guest conductor for the performance was Ignat Solzhenitsyn.  According to the program notes, Mr. Solzhenitsyn is a gifted artist  with an active career as both a conductor and pianist. He was an excellent conductor and lead the orchestra through some difficult music.  Here is hoping he will be engaged to return for another appearance with orchestra soon.

Ignat Solzhenitsyn
guest conductor

 The first piece played was "Ma mere l'oye" which is French for Mother Goose and was subtitled "Five Pieces for Children". Maurice Ravel. was the composer.  The first part is for Sleeping Beauty, the second about the little boy who left a bread crumb trail to find his way but instead all the crumbs was eaten by the birds.  The third is the Empress of the Pagodas, the fourth is for Beauty and the Beast and the 5th was titled The Fairy Garden.  

Each of the interludes were lovely.  But The Travelling Toe must admit that Ravel is a favorite composer.  And this music did not disappoint.

Maurice Ravel
1875-1937

After a short intermission for the orchestra to be re-set, the program continued.  William Clay, Principle Double Bassist for the orchestra, was the featured soloist.  He performed the Concerto for Double Bass and Orchestra in F-sharp minor composed by Serge Koussevitzky.  It is not often that the double bass is the solo instrument.  Mr. Clay was amazing and we thought the piece, maybe not one of our favorites was still interesting to hear.  It was fascinating to watch Mr.Clay work so hard and made such beautiful music on that huge instrument.

William Clay
soloist
Principle Double Bass
(photo courtesy of Dallas Morning News) 

Serge Koussevitzky
1874 - 1951

The program continued after a 20 minute intermission.  The orchestra played Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphony No.1 in D Minor.  He composed it in 1895 and was only 22 at the time.

Sergei Rachmaninoff
1873 - 1943

Due to ill health The Travelling Toe was unable to remain for this part of the program so alas, no words on wisdom to share on it.  But after all Rachmaninoff rocks, so it had to be good!



Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra


Bass Hall

Bass Hall