"DUPLICITY" (2009) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from the 2009 comedy, "DUPLICITY". Written and directed by Tony Gilroy, the movie starred Julia Roberts and Clive Owen:



"DUPLICITY" (2009) Photo Gallery

EPCOT Food & Wine Festival 2019

 

Two years ago, I had enjoyed a vacation at the Walt Disney World Resort. During my stay, I discovered that the resort’s annual Food & Wine Festival was being held at the EPCOT theme park. Below is a sample of the food I had enjoyed at the festival:



EPCOT FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL 2019



Twinings Pumpkin Spice Chai and Chocolate Shake - This was a damn good drink. It was refreshing and delicious.






Roasted Irish Sausage with Colcannon Potatoes and Onion Gravy - This was a pretty decent dish from Ireland's booth at the festival. However, I thought the onion flavor in the gravy overpowered everything.






Crème Brûlée - I do not know what to say about this famous French dessert. I realize that it is highly regarded by many. But if I must be honest, I found it overrated. The hardened caramelized sugar layer on top added much needed flavor to the dish’s bland custard. What else can I say?






Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans and Tomato - I liked this dish from the Brazil booth, but I did not love it. My problem was that the black beans seemed to overwhelm the pork belly. Come to think of it, I thought it nearly overwhelmed the tomato topping.





Kāalua Pork Slider with Sweet-and-Sour DOLE Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise - Oh . . . my . . . God! This was my favorite selection at the festival. It was soooo damn good. The mixture of roast pork, pineapple and spice was . . . what can I say? It was nirvana inside my mouth.





Traditional Sicilian Cannoli - This dessert from the Italy booth was excellent as always. In fact, I later bought a regular size cannoli at one of the coffee booths at the Italy Pavillion.





New England Lobster Roll - This traditional American sandwich was excellent. The lobster meat was fresh. And it wasn’t overwhelmed by the mayonnaise.





Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce - This dessert from the Germany dessert was probably my favorite one at the festival. It was delicious and the vanilla sauce blended well with it. More importantly, I was provided with a nicely sized portion of it. Excellent!





Piri Piri Skewered Shrimp with Citrus-Scented Couscous - I suspect that the seasoning for this dish (piri piri) originated from Mozambique. Nevertheless, this was probably my second favorite dish at the festival. The mixture of the grilled shrimp with the couscous and the tomato-based topping was superb.





Teriyaki Chicken Bun - This dish from the Japan booth was not only delicious, but also surprising since the filling made from chicken, vegetables and Teriyaki sauce was cooked inside a bao - a bread I usually associate with China. Nevertheless, it was damn good.





Nigerian Meat Pie - This was a delicious selection for me, but it did not exactly knock my socks off. I did not realize that curry was popular in Nigeria. Ignorant me.





The Impossible Burger - I am not usually a big fan of the plant-based meat substitute, but this Impossible burger nearly knocked my socks off. It was better than the beef burger served at another booth.





Chicken Dumplings with Chinese Slaw - This was a nice little item that I found tasty, but not exactly mind blowing. I do wish the serving could have been a little bigger.





Spice-Crusted Verlasso Salmon - This excellent smoke salmon was fresh and full of flavor. And I say thank goodness, because the quinoa salad that accompanied it taste like horsefeed to me. But the latter is quite tolerable if you mix this excellent salmon and the avocado topping with it.





Smoked Corned Beef with Crispy Potatoes, Cheese Curds, Pickled Onions, and Beer-Cheese Fondue - I would say that this was my third favorite dish at the festival. It was sooo good and a nice hefty portion was provided. The mixture of the smoked meat, potatoes and fondue nearly blew my mind. However, I wish they had left out the cheese curds. Unnecessary.





Pacifico True Striped Bass Tostada with Slaw and Fire-roasted Tomatillo Sauce - The festival provided another dish featuring fresh seafood - this time, striped bass. I had my doubts about it being served with slaw and on a deep fried tostada, but I ended up enjoying it very much.

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I do have one minor complaint about the festival. I realize it is called the "Food & Wine Festival", but I wish that the festival would provide more unusual drinks that were NOT alcoholic . . . like that shake I had experienced. Have any of you been there lately?

"PERIL AT END HOUSE" (1990) Review

 

"PERIL AT END HOUSE" (1990) Review

I just realized something. I have never read Agatha Christie's 1932 novel, "Peril at End House". I find this ironic, considering that I have seen the 1990 television movie adaptation of this novel at least three or four times. One of these days, I will get around to reading Christie's novel and comparing it to the television adaptation. Right now, I am going to focus on the latter.

Directed by Renny Rye and adapted by Clive Exton, "PERIL AT END HOUSE" is the first full-length television movie aired on "AGATHA CHRISTIE'S POIROT". It is also about Belgian-born detective Hercule Poirot's efforts to prevent the murder of a young socialite, during his vacation in Cornwall. The movie begins with Poirot and his friend Arthur Hastings arriving at a Cornish seaside resort for their vacation. While conversing with socialite Magdala "Nick" Buckley on the resort's grounds, Poirot notices that someone had fired a bullet into the brim of her floppy hat. Poirot exposes the bullet hole to Nick, who finds it difficult to believe that someone wants to kill her. She points out that aside from her house - End House - has no real assets. Poirot decides to investigate her inner circle, who includes the following:

*Charles Vyse - Nick's cousin and an attorney
*Mr. and Mrs. Croft - an Australian couple that has leased the lodge near End House, who had suggested Nick make a will six months earlier
*Freddie Rice - a close friend of Nick's, who is also an abused wife
*Jim Lazarus - an art dealer in love with Nick
*Commander George Challenger - a Royal Navy officer who is also attracted to Nick

Poirot eventually advises Nick to invite a relative to stay with her for a few weeks. Nick invites her distant cousin Maggie Buckley. Unfortunately, someone kills Maggie, after she makes the mistake of wearing Nick's dress shawl during an evening party. Even worse, the killer eventually achieves his/her goal by sending a box of poisoned chocolates to Nick, while she was recuperating at a local hospital.

"PERIL AT END HOUSE" possessed a certain plot device that Christie had used in several of her novels. I would describe this plot device. But to do so would spoil the rest of the story. It took me years to spot this plot device. And I should be surprised that I have not come across anyone else who has spotted it. And yet . . . I am not. The fact that it took me several years to spot this particular plot device only tells me that Christie has utilized it with great effect in some of her more interesting and well-written mysteries. Thankfully, "PERIL AT END HOUSE" proved to be one of those well-written mysteries.

I must admit that Clive Exton did a pretty damn good job in adapting Christie's novel for the television screen. He stuck very closely to the original novel's plot . . . with a few changes that did no harm to the overall movie. Both Exton and Rye presented a well-paced production to the audiences. They set up the story with Poirot and Hastings' arrival to Cornwall and continued on with without any haste or dragging feet. The only time the movie threatened to put me to sleep occurred between the story's second murder and the revelation of the killer . . . . when the story threatened to ground to a halt. I have one last problem - namely the appearance of Chief Inspector Japp. I realize that Japp did appear in the novel. But his appearance merely dealt with Poirot's request that he investigate the Crofts, whom the Belgian detective suspected of being forgers. The cinematic Japp immediately appeared following Maggie Buckley's death as the main police investigator. And Cornwall is not under Scotland Yard's main jurisdiction.

The production values for "PERIL AT END HOUSE" proved to be top-notch. Rye shot the film's exterior scenes in Salcombe, Devon; instead of the county of Cornwall. I found that curious. However, both he and cinematographer Peter Bartlett certainly took advantage of the movie's setting with Bartlett's photography of Salcombe's charming, Old World style. This was especially apparent in the movie's opening sequence that featured Poirot and Hasting's arrival by airplane. Actually, production designer Mike Oxley did an excellent job of recreating an English vacation resort in the early 1930s. The production practically reeked of the Art Deco style of that time period. However, I was especially impressed by Linda Mattock's costume designs. I was especially impressed by those costumes worn by actresses Polly Walker, Pauline Moran and Alison Sterling. My only complaints about the movie's visual styles were the actresses' hairstyles. No one seemed capable of re-creating the early 1930s soft bob. The actresses either wore a chignon or in the case of Sterling, a Dutch Boy bob made famous by actress Louise Brooks in the late 1920s.

"PERIL AT END HOUSE" featured some solid performances by the cast. David Suchet gave his usual excellent portrayal of Hercule Poirot. I was especially impressed by the on-screen chemistry he managed to produce with Polly Walker. The latter gave a standout performance as the killer's main target, Madgala "Nick" Buckley. Walker did an excellent job of transforming Nick from the charming "Bright Young Thing" to a wary and frightened woman, who realizes that someone is trying to kill her. Alison Sterling was also excellent as one of Nick's closest friends, "Freddie" Rice. Next to Walker's Nick, Sterling gave an interesting and skillful portrayal of the very complex Freddie. Hugh Fraser, Pauline Moran and Philip Jackson were also excellent as Arthur Hastings, Miss Lemon and Chief Inspector Japp. All three, along with Suchet, managed to re-create their usual magic. The movie also featured solid performances from Paul Geoffrey (whom I found particularly convincing as an early 30s social animal), John Harding, Christopher Baines and Elizabeth Downes. I found the Australian accents utilized by Jeremy Young and Carol Macready, who portrayed the Crofts, rather wince inducing. But since their accents were supposed to be fake in the first place, I guess I had no problems.

For some reason, "PERIL AT END HOUSE" has never become a big favorite of mine. It is a well done adaptation of Christie's novel. And I found it visually attractive, thanks to the movie's production team. The movie also featured some excellent performances - especially from David Suchet, Polly Walker and Alison Sterling. Naturally, it is not perfect. But that is not the problem. I cannot explain my lack of enthusiasm for "PERIL AT END HOUSE". I can only assume that I found nothing particularly mind blowing or fascinating about its plot. It is simply a good, solid murder mystery that has managed to entertain me on a few occasions. Perhaps . . . that is enough.

Five Favorite Episodes of "STAR TREK VOYAGER" Season Two (1995-1996)

 

Below is a list of my five favorite episodes from Season Two of "STAR TREK VOYAGER". Created by Rick Berman, Michael Piller and Jeri Taylor; the series starred Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway:

FIVE FAVORITE EPISODES OF "STAR TREK VOYAGER" SEASON TWO (1995-1996)



1. (2.11) "Manuevers" - After a team of the Kazon-Nistrim warriors steal some Federation technology during a raid against U.S.S. Voyager, Commander Chakotay goes after them on his own and is captured. Martha Hackett and Anthony De Longis guest-starred.





2. (2.21) "Deadlock" - While attempting to evade the organ-stealing Vidiians, a duplicate Voyager is created after it passes through a spatial scission; leaving one of the duplicate ships under attack and the other impervious to attack. Nancy Hower and Simon Billig guest-starred.





3. (2.20) "Investigations" - Lieutenant Tom Paris leaves Voyager and joins a Talaxian space convoy. But when he is kidnapped by former crew mate Seska and the Kazon-Nistrim, Neelix tries to flush out the traitor on board who has been colluding with them. Raphael Sbarge, Martha Hackett and Simon Billig guest-starred.





4. (2.05) "Non-Sequitur" - While on an Away mission, Ensign Harry Kim mysteriously wakes up and finds himself back in 24th century San Francisco, with no record of him ever joining Voyager's crew. Louis Giambalvo, Jennifer Gatti and Mark Kiely guest-starred.





5. (2.19) "Lifesigns" - Voyager picks up a dying Vidiian woman and the Doctor saves her life by placing her consciousness in a holographic body. As the pair attempts to find a cure for the Phage killing her and her species, he falls in love. Susan Diol, Raphael Sbarge and Martha Hackett guest-starred.





Honorable Mention: (2.08) "Persistence of Vision" - When Voyager enters a new region of space, the crew begins to experience hallucinations from their past and of their desires. Carolyn Seymour, Warren Munson and Marva Hicks guest-starred.

"KING SOLOMON'S MINES" (1950) Photo Gallery

 

Below are images from "KING SOLOMON'S MINES", the 1950 adaptation of H. Rider Haggard's 1885 novel. Directed by Compton Bennett and Andrew Marton, the movie starred Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr and Richard Carlson:



"KING SOLOMON'S MINES" (1950) Image Gallery