The Writer's Life 11/1 - Time Travel

Time travel is a theme that has been done to death in literature and film. I’m a sucker for it, even though I don’t believe it’s possible. Last night I watched a Canadian production, I’ll Follow You Down (2013), courtesy of Netflix. It is more cerebral than the usual fare on the subject, and almost completely free of special effects. It is talky, and a lot of the dialogue is the quiet, standard patter of every day life. Despite this, I enjoyed it. Wisely, the creators kept it to only 93 minutes. It stars Haley Joel Osment, face now fuller and sporting a scruffy beard but still recognizable as the boy who charmed the planet in the wildly popular The Sixth Sense (1999). His character wants his family to be happy and believes it will be if he goes back in time and changes a single event. A story like this always reminds me of the episode of The Twilight Zone where a man goes back to try to assassinate Hitler, thinking it will prevent the carnage of WWII. This is a lot less ambitious and, therefore, more feasible. Still, I am skeptical. The commentary section at IMDb was not kind to the flick, directed by Richie Mehta, who also wrote the screenplay. I was unfamiliar with his previous work, mostly shorts and documentaries. Overall, 2300+ users rate the film six on a scale of ten. I say 3.2 of 5. Anyone who prefers slam-bang sci-fi should pass. Screen veterans Gillian Anderson, Rufus Sewell and Victor Garber bring their considerable talents to the production.

There was a lot of fun programming in honor of Halloween on the three nostalgia channels that run on Cablevision. AntennaTV, channel 114, ran an Alfred Hitchcock Presents marathon. Jack Carson, Wayne Rogers and Pat Hingle starred in the three episodes I caught. I really enjoyed the one with Rogers, which aired a decade before he began his stint in 1972 as Trapper John on MASH. Many of the shows end with someone getting away with murder, and Hitchcock, in his closing commentary, always makes a crack about the perp being brought to justice. If memory serves, I believe CBS made him do this to show that crime doesn't pay... ThisTV, 111, ran the 1990 color version of Night of the Living Dead, which isn’t as creepy as the 1968 black and white classic. CoziTV, 109, dug into the archives for Dracula (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). These were all great options while Hitch was in commercial. 

The floating book shop was rained out today.

Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/rP7o9

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

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