The Writer's Life 12/5 - Time Lapse

In 1960 The Twilight Zone aired A Most Unusual Camera, in which the device produced photos of the future. It fell into the hands of crooks, and the results were disastrous. Time Lapse (2014), which I watched last night courtesy of Netflix, is similarly themed, only this time the device is the large invention of a deceased man who lived across the way from three young people sharing an apartment. They exploit it, of course. What I liked about the movie most is that each of the three is motivated by something different. One male is a gambler. The other is a blocked artist. His girlfriend longs to regain his attention. Unfortunately, this great set up doesn’t quite pan out, although I was intrigued by the desperation of the characters trying to right the things that have gone wrong. I was a bit lost, and was comforted that many users at IMDb found the proceedings as confusing as I did. The commentary there is lively, largely negative, especially regarding the acting, which I thought was okay. The only one of the principals I recognized is Danielle Panabaker, a regular on The Flash, who has an endearing, sweet quality about her. The deceased scientist, who is seen only in photographs, is “played” by the ubiquitous John Rhys-Davies, who has massed 243 screen credits -- 11 alone in 2015! The film was directed by Bradley King, his first stint at the helm of a full length feature. He co-wrote the screenplay with BP Cooper, whose only other credits are in production. More than 20,000+ users at IMDb have rated Time Lapse, forging to a consensus of 6.4 of ten, with which I agree. I was never bored during the 1:44 running time. It’s appeal is chiefly to fans of the genre. Anyone squeamish about violence should pass, as should those who prefer every element of a story line to be spelled out and to make sense.

I realize that rising to the highest level of a professional sport is really, really hard, and that compensation should reflect that, but insanity seems to have taken hold of certain MLB owners. On the heels of the $210 million contract David Price, an excellent pitcher, received from the Red Sox, the Giants have given Jeff Samardzija $90 million for five years -- $14 million per. Last season he allowed the most HR's, hits and runs in the AL, his record 11-13, ERA 4,96. He has always showed flashes of brilliance, only to return to mediocrity. His career record is 47-61, ERA 4.09.

My thanks to Bob, who bought Adjustments today on Bay Parkway, and to Ann and Monsey, who bought three works of non-fiction between them, and the Russian woman who wanted something easy in English and chose Debbie Macomber's Christmas Letters. On Thursday Monsey attended a taping of The Rachael Ray Show scheduled to air on Christmas Eve. Each member of the audience received a $200 gift certificate to a online organic goods shop. Enjoy, madam.
Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5

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://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

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

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

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/