Book Review: Peter Pan

I just finished Peter Pan,  the centennial edition (2003), reprint of the 1987 version of the book by J.M. Barrie and illustrated by Michael Hague.  This is the classic story, with pencil, pen, ink and water color illustrations.  This is the most popular work of J.M. Barry, which was originally produced as a play, and later written as a book, although Barrie had mentioned this character in several earlier books.  It tells the story of Peter Pan, and the Darling children, who almost forget their mother after being in Never Land, but eventually do come home, and grow up, while Peter remains a boy.  This version is much more bloody than I had supposed, as in the book are people actually dying, while in the Disney version people don’t seem to really die much.  The pirates are intent on killing Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, and do get the better of the native Americans.  They take the Lost Boys and Wendy prisoner with the intent of their walking the plank.  However Peter Pan intervenes before this can happen, dispatching several of the pirates, in fact all of the pirates, except the two that swim to shore. 

Peter hopes to spoil Wendy’s return home by shutting the window, but then takes pitty on Mrs. Darling and reopens the window.  Wendy is to come every year for Spring cleaning, but most years Peter forgets to get and get her.  Wendy grows up, but Jane her daughter goes every Spring, and then Jane’s daughter and so on through the years.  Very enjoyable read and to illustrations are very nice.

TV Review: Doctor Who: Dreamland

This is an (2005) animated Doctor Who with David Tennant portraying the Doctor.  This movie is intriguing because it deals with Area 51, Dreamland.  When the Doctor hears of Dreamland his response is, "I've always wanted to go there."  This movie portrays the Western Shoshoni and is close to where Sheri and I use to live.  In the script they also mention the Bear River Massacre.  I don't know if this was a mistake, as this involved the Northern Shoshoni.  I digress.  Back to the story.  The Doctor visits a restaurant where they have an old space junk, and men-in-black come for it.  They run, but discover robot men after them, and finally a colonel takes them to Area 51 where he intends to erase their memories. They discover a cockroach type people working with the Colonel in a misguided attempt to save the world from some crashed aliens.  Turns out the device is a genetic bomb--to entirely erase a species.  It was designed to destroy the Viperox, the large cockroaches, who destroyed the world of the crashed aliens.  They are a husband and wife.  The bomb can only be armed by the husband who designed it.  The Doctor and his cohorts escape the Colonel, discover a large invading force of cockroaches, and are rescued by tribal elders.  Again recaptured the Doctor convinces the Colonel he is deceived, which brings on the war.  The Doctor does not use the genetic bomb, but chases the cockroaches away with the noise of his sonic screwdriver, amplified by the TARDIS.  This is a cool exciting ride and yes, I lone the British accents

Movie Review: ****^ Treasure Island (1950): Disney

  This is a movie classic, of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel and it is where we get much of the idea of what a pirate is like, black spot and all.  It is the classic tale of people with a treasure map after pirates gold, while most of the crew are actually pirates themselves.  This leads to serious problems.  Robert Newton, with his pirate accent as Long John Silver is incredible.  He and Bobby Driscoll as Master Jim Hawkins create an interesting friendship; Long John as mentor, pirate, thief and man of honor.  On the, other hand Master Jim Hawkins as a naive young man, honest, trusting.  When those that find the treasure are saved from the pirates, and things don't work out to Long John Silver's advantage, Master Hawkins honors his friend and helps him escape. I love this movie.

TV Review: ***^Rosemary and Thyme Season 1

I have found a wonderful British detective series on Netflix Instant.  It ran from 2003-2006 and starred Felicity Kendal as Rosemary Boxer and Pam Ferris as Laura Thyme.  This is a couple elderly women, in the case of Laura Thyme, recently separated, and Rosemary is recently laid off from her job for a university.  Rosemary is a doctor of plant science, and they set up as private gardeners and expert gardening problem solvers.

They are good at their job, however their only problem is death seems to follow them.  The first couple episodes, people were uncovered.  One episode even a horse was unburied, and then later a woman.  Lucky they are very curious.  Laura is an ex cop and her son is a current cop who sometimes helps them secure information.

My favorite episode was "The language of Love."  A man had planted flowers with specific meanings, which his wife finds out to discover that he had an illegitimate daughter, whose mother then committed suicide because of the way she was treated.  His wife only discovered this after he had died, and a book was published about the language of flowers.  It is the daughter who went about killing the family members.

Book Review: The Wayward Bus

The Wayward Bus
This is another John Steinbeck.  This book is a study of characters from different economic circumstances, and from different cultures who are thrown together for a bus ride through the rain, and taking an old road because the bridges are out. 
The characters are interesting in their own right.  Juan Chicoy is half Mexican, and owner of the Rebel Corner Diner and also runs a bus line from there to the coast.  He keeps the Virgin dangling from the mirror of his bus, Sweetheart.  Pimples, who wants to be called Kit, is his assistant mechanic at the Corners.  Juan's wife is Alice.  She has a bad temper which gets her into trouble.  She is also snoopy and wants to find out things to hold over people.  The helper in the diner is Norma.  Norma is somewhat lost in life.  She is saving her money to go to Hollywood. 
The bus passengers include the Pritchards, Mr. and Mrs. and their daughter Mildred.  Mildred has an attraction to Juan.  Ernest Horton is a traveling salesman.  He has plans to get ahead through an invention.  An old man, who is always quoting regulations and destroying everyone's fun.  He has a stroke before they reach their destination.  Camille is a character who changes the dynamics.  She is the last to arrive.  She is a real beauty and the men all want to be close to her.   She is in fact a striptease artist. When the bus gets stuck, Chicoy plays with the idea of just running away.  He comes to his senses, and resigns himself to his current life.  This book has interesting characters, not a lot of plot, but lots of interaction between different people thrown together.

Book Review: The Wrath of Mulgarath: Spiderwick Chronicles (5)

This is the concluding episode.  The Grace children return home after their adventure with the dwarves, only to find their home torn apart and their mother gone; even the Arthur Spiderwick library has been destroyed.  Mulgarath has been there.  Thimbletack the house brownie laments that he has failed.  Not only was he unable to protect the home, but Mulgarath has gotten the field guide.  The fly the Griffin to the junk yard, where Mulgarath has his castle.  First Jared visits the elves, and asks if he can see Andrew Spiderwick.  He hopes to learn something to help him battle Mulgarath.  The main piece of knowledge he gains is that ogres like to brag about themselves.  As they approach the cump they see pixies in honey, dad and dying.  Mulgarath has learned how to kill pixies.  The goblins attack them, but between Mallory with a sword and the griffin, they chase them all away.  The other thing Mulgarath has learned from the field guide is that dragons mature quickly when fed cows milk.  He has several cows and baby dragons feeding on them.  The griffin and dragon battle.  Dragons are poisonous, and Simon is burned in touching the mother.  The griffin and the mother dragon have a terrible fight, and the dragon is winning.  Although not poisonous to the griffin, the mother is still deadly.  Some distracts the mother by stepping on, and squishing baby dragons.  While the mother is distracted, the griffin is able to kill it.  The griffin is wounded, but begins to feed on all the baby dragons, not leaving any.  The then enter Mulgarath's castle to rescue their mother, and discover their father is also there needing rescue.  Jared perceives something is wrong, and although Mallory and Simon run to their father, he holds back.  Their father is actually Mulgarath, a shape shifting ogre.  With Mallory and Simon in his grasp, he changes to an ogre and confronts Jared.  Jared gets the ogre talking, while Thimbletack quietly wraps chains around Simon and Mallory, as well as Mulgarath.  Mulgarath gets angry and throws them out the two he has out the window.  The chains hold and they don't fall.  Jared uses Mallory's sword to stab Mulgarath in the foot, and then pushes him out the window, the chain tripping him.  He changes his form to an animal, but Jared has the sword, so he changes into a bird.  Luckily Hogsquel, the hobgoblin  is with them.  He loves to eat birds, and he is very fast.
Our series of books ends with Arthur Spiderwick meeting his daughter, who has missed him since the elves took him hostage many years ago.  He has not aged, but his daughter Lucinda is an old woman. Arthur understands, if he does not want to stay with the elves, he can just dismount from the horse he is on, and he will change to dust.  He chooses this end.
This book had plenty of action, but also a sentimental ending.  I enjoyed it.

Movie Review: ****^Wild Hearts Can't be Broken (1991)

This is a Disney movie, and tells the true story of Sonora Webster Carver (Gabrielle ANwar).  It is a depression era movie, and Sonora was determined to make it to Atlantic City to make her future.  She manages to gain employment with Doc Carver (Cliff Robertson), first as a stable hand, and later as a diving girl.  Doc Carver,  a famous sharpshooter, and contemporary of Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill, had put together an act using diving horses with a young woman rider.  Unfortunately Doc passes away before they take the act to Atlantic City.  His son, and Sonora's future husband, takes over the show.  In this movie you have a young woman determined to be a  (Michael Schoeffling) success, and she learns how to mount a moving horse to be a diving girl.  What is even more dramatic is that after losing her eye sight to an accident where she went into the water face first with her eyes open, causing the detachment of her retinas, she continued to perform as a diving girl.  I discovered in real life she performed for eleven more years blind, and a total of 20 years.  In real life passed away only ten years ago at the age of 99.
The actress that portrays Sonora is Fionna on "Burn Notice."