Information You Can Use

From time to time receive information that I feel is of value. The following might save a life. Blood Clots/Stroke - They Now Have a Fourth Indicator, the Tongue STROKE: Remember the 1st Four Letters of the word....S.T.R.O. Please read: STROKE IDENTIFICATION: During a BBQ, my friend Ingrid stumbled and took a little fall.. She assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics). She said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital, but at 6:00 pm, Ingrid passed away. She had in fact suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. It only takes a minute to read this... A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours, he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough. RECOGNIZING A STROKE Thank God for the sense to remember the "4" steps, STRO . Read and Learn! Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking four simple questions: S *Ask the person to SMILE. T *Ask the person to TALK and speak a simple sentence (e.g. It is sunny out today.). R *Ask the person to RAISE both arms. O *Ask the person to "stick OUT your tongue". If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call the emergency number 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. New Sign of a Stroke -------- Stick out Your Tongue NOTE: Another "sign" of a stroke is this: Ask the person to "stick out your tongue". If the tongue is "crooked", if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke. A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved.� I have done my part. Have you? _____________________________

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January 26

Well two awards shows have aired since my last postings and I am still sticking with my picks even though some of my choices have been left behind. To recap: The Golden Globes went to: Slumdog Millionare for best picture; Kate Winslet for best supporting and main actress for The Reader and Revolutionary Road; Heath Ledger for best supporting actor and Mickey Rourke for best actor. Recently the SAG awards went to Slumdog Millionare for best picture; Kate Winslet for best supporting actress; Heath Ledger for best supporting actor; Meryl Streep for best actress and Sean Penn for best actor.

There has been some controvery in the nominees for the Oscar. If you missed it here they are: Best Picture nominees are: Slumdog Millionare; MILK, Frost/Nixon, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Doubt; Best Actress: Meryl Streep (Doubt), Kate Winslet (The Reader), Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married), Angelina Jolie (Changeling) and Melissa Leo (Frozen River - note did anyone see this movie???) Best Actor: Richard Jenkins (The Visitor - on my Netflix list), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon); Sean Penn (MILK); Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adama (Doubt); Penolope Cruz, (Vicky Cristina Barcelona - on my Netflix list) Viola Davis (Doubt), Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ); Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler). And finally Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin (MILK); Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder); Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt); Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight); Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road).

These are still my predictions: Best picture Slumdog Millionare; Best Actress Meryl Streep (but really like Kate Winslet as well as you remember I thought she would be in the best supporting actress and was my pick!) Best supporting actor Philip Seymour Hoffman (although it appears Heath Ledger will take this one) and I need to choose a new best supporting actress and I choose Amy Adams. Although I think the votes will be divided between her and Viola Davis and they might cancel each other out. You never know. This award is also know to me as the kiss of death award. When was the last time you heard a supporting actress make it big???

Just had time to watch one Netflix movie this week (too many basketball games to attend!) After reading my review, you probably think I should have attended more games)

Married Life - This movie did not stay in the theaters for long and after viewing it, I know why. It is VERY slow. It has a marvelous cast of Chris Cooper (better known for Breach), Pierce Bronsan, Patricia Clarkson and Rachael McAdams. It is a story about a very mixed up married man who doesn't realize how fortunate he is and looks for love elsewhere. Without giving the plot away, it is watchable as a period piece. It takes place in the 40's and it is fun to see them using a rotary phone. You'd be better off watching American Idol auditions than this movie.

One of the many Roberta's Reviews recipients has sent along the following review. Thanks Carol.

I just watched The Sea Inside. If you liked The Butterfly and the Diving Bell, you should like this one, too.

Javier Bardem plays a quadriplegic, who, for 30 years has been trying to die with dignity (by euthanasia).

The movie focuses on his last 2 years with his lawyer and a young woman who both beome emotionally involved

with him. Their lives change dramatically and the ending is quite fascinating. There are a few very poignant scenes, especially when he dreams.

I rate it 4.5/ 5.

TV Alert:

Tonight on TNT old and new dramas are airing. One of my favorite shows "The Closer" returns for a new season tonight at 9:00 and a new show staring Eric McCormack and Tom Cananagh called "Trust Me" will air right after "The Closer" at 10. Tom Shales of the Post panned this series today, but I say check it out for yourself and see. I plan to watch it and will review it next week.

In the meantime, those of us on the east coast might have lots of time to watch movies as the forcast for our first snowstorm is being predicted for Tuesday evening through Wednesday so stock up on those DVDs.

Until next time, enjoy,

Roberta

January 18

For those cold days and nights check out the following:

In Your Local Theaters:

Gran Torino - Clint Eastwood once again hits a home run with this his supposed to be last movie. It will make you laugh. cry and wanting more of Clint. Sy thought it was a bit violent, but I felt the violence was part of the story and was not gratuitous. The supporting cast is marvelous and the relationship between Walt, Clint, and his young neighbors is heartwarming. I love him and I think he is definately in the running for best actor.

On Netflix and an Instant viewing as well:

Arranged - This is a charming movie about two Brooklyn first year teachers; one an Orthodox Jew and the other Muslim. It follows their journey as their parents try to marry them off through arranged marriages hence the title. The characters are so likable and the movie makes you feel good about how the world should be. If you are a teacher (the principal is a piece of work!), from New York or just want to see a most enjoyable movie, see this flick.


A Must Read

As some of you know, I am in a book group through my former school, Forest Edge ES. Over the past few months we've read some good books, but we just finished a great one. It is entitled The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. It is nonfiction about Ms. Walls amazing life. Without giving too much away, it can be compared to Angela's Ashes, but it takes place in modern United States. The journey she takes with her family and what she and her siblings endure is nothing short of amazing. It has already been picked up by Brad Pitt's production company to be made into a movie in the future. Before that happens, put this on your books to read. It is a quick read.

Interesting Series

For the next two weeks PBS is showing a documentary called Make Em Laugh. This series documents comedy and the comics of our time. It is on Wednesdays from 8-10. This past week was the first two installments, but I am sure you can catch up with it as they repeat their shows often. The first one was about comics in general highlighting people like Cheech and Chong, Steve Martin and Harold Lloyd. The second installment dealt with comedy series from "The Goldbergs" to "Seinfeld". An enjoyable two hours.

Enjoy.

Roberta

January 12

A few comments before reviewing some reviews:

The Critics Choice Awards verified my recent picks for the Oscars. They chose Slumdog Millionaire as best picture; Sean Penn as best actor and Meryl Streep as best actress. Last night the Golden Globes didn't quite agree with me. Slumdog Millionaire did indeed capture best picture, but Mickey Rourke and Kate Winslet won for best actor and actress. I didn't see either of their performances, but I do think Kate Winslet who won for supporting actress in The Reader deserves that award. Heath Ledger won and will continue to win due to the sympathy vote. That is another movie I did not see. I welcome your comments and predictions.

Damages did not disappoint with their season opener. They laid the groundwork for the upcoming season that was intriguing. I believe the William Hurt storyline will be the interesting one. I am over the revenge issue that Ellen has with Patty Hewes. In fact I found the Patty Hewes character a bit more sympathic, but I know time will change that opinion. Stay tuned for some excellent TV drama.

On Netflix:

The Other Boleyn Sister - I would call this movie history lite. For those of you, like me, who have limited history knowledge, it was good information given in an entertaining fashion. That being said, I think the entire cast was miscast. Eric Bana as King Henry was too young, but nice to look at. Scarlett Johansen was out of worldly looking as the other saintly sister,. Mary and Natalie Portman was simply a shrew. These actors have proved their worth in other movies so we know they can act, but this vehicle was not the best career decision for any of them. It's a good movie to see when you want to fill in some of your English history gaps.

Roberta

January 5

Since so many of you have either seen the following film or want to see it, I guess I better put my two cents in as well.

At your local theaters:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - I was not too keen on seeing this film as I thought it was simply a gimmick type movie and much too long at almost three hours, but I was wrong. First of all looking at Brad Pitt for that length of time, even as an old man captures my attention and for the gentlemen Cate Blanchett is no slouch. You all probably know the story based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is no Great Gatsby, but an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. The chemistry between the two stars is good and the story heartwarming. If it weren't for the sex, I'd even recommend it for children, but don't take the little ones, it's fine for teens. In the Oscar race it will probably be nominated for best picture, best actor and perhaps best actress or supporting actress. I don't think they should win in any of those catagories as MILK and Slumdog Millionare are the better movies and Sean Penn is amazing, but I haven't seen Frank Langella yet in Frost Nixon. Kate Winslow would be the better choice for supporting actress and Meryl Streep for best actress. They should win for make-up. The transformation of Brad Pitt is amazing. If you liked Forrest Gump, you'll like this movie. (Forrest Gump was a bit better!)

TV Alert!!

Those of you who followed Damages last year know what a wonderful series this is. The new season starts this week on Wednesday at 10:00 p.m. on FX. All I can say is I couldn't wait to see the next episode each week. It was television at its best. Glenn Close is amazing and the supporting cast very good. Hopefully the new season won't disappoint.

Food for thought

One of my friends sent me this letter with the following note:
A good friend of mine has been a member of Rabbi Gellman's congregation for decades.

I saw both her children bar/ bat mitvahed by him; I think he is wonderful and so eloquent, even in anger.

I know that my blog deals basically with entertainment, but I wanted to share this with you as I believe the types of entertainment we see shapes our views and unfortunately the actions of just one can shape our view about an entire people.

Roberta

>> Dear Bernie Madoff:
>>
>>
>>
>> I don't think you know what you have done.
>>
>>
>>
>> Life inevitably inflicts upon us different kinds of wounds.
>> Very few people
>> can live connected lives and not occasionally fail those
>> who depend upon
>> them and trust them. However, these are failures not
>> betrayals. They come
>> from trying to do the right thing and not being able to do
>> it. A betrayal is
>> different than a failure. A betrayal is an intentional
>> wounding. It is born
>> of cruelty, not ignorance. Most of us know of failures and
>> betrayals. What
>> you have done, however, is to radically expand the scope
>> and viciousness of
>> betrayal. You betrayed not just your friends, but your
>> closest friends. You
>> betrayed the trust of those who entrusted you with
>> everything they had
>> saved. You betrayed charities whose good works you have
>> extinguished in an
>> afternoon. These betrayals are epic in their scope and
>> dazzling in their
>> utter lack of remorse or responsibility. There must be some
>> new word
>> invented to describe the way you have redefined betrayal.
>> The Bible calls
>> such things a toevah, "an abomination". It means
>> an act so alien to our
>> values and our natures that it cannot be understood or
>> explained. You have
>> committed an abomination. This is what you have done.
>>
>>
>>
>> Another thing you did was make life incredibly more
>> difficult for people who
>> sell real and honorable and legitimate money products. Now
>> every stock
>> broker and money manager and hedge-fund operator and
>> insurance rep who has
>> already had a tough time convincing prospective clients
>> that what they are
>> selling is good and honest must now also convince them that
>> they are not
>> like you. An entire world economy we now know is based to
>> an immense degree
>> on simple trust, and you have done more than any single
>> person to destroy
>> that trust. You are a financial terrorist. Your attack has
>> toppled the
>> foundations of trust in our financial markets. Although you
>> are not by any
>> means the only financial terrorist, you are its most
>> reviled attacker. What
>> have brought us down are not worthless financial
>> instruments, but worthless
>> people. Many business people have always known and have
>> never forgotten that
>> trust is all the collateral they have ever placed against a
>> loan. Your name
>> is on people's lips now, but the ones out there selling
>> honest products at a
>> fair price ought to push your name into the gutter where it
>> belongs. This is
>> what you have done.
>>
>>
>>
>> One of the very worst things you did has to do with the
>> Jews. You are
>> responsible for reviving the "Jew game." I heard
>> of the Jew game from a boy
>> who became a man last Saturday. I asked him once if he had
>> ever experienced
>> anti-Semitism in school. That is when he looked at the
>> floor and told me
>> about the Jew game. The game, played by anti-Semitic kids
>> in school, was one
>> in which they would hide around a corner, throw a quarter
>> down the hall, and
>> then when somebody picked up the quarter, they'd run at
>> the person,
>> shouting, "You're the Jew!"
>>
>>
>>
>> You did not cause the anti-Semitic insults about Jews and
>> money, but you
>> caused them to be revived. Not since Julius Rosenberg spied
>> for the Soviet
>> Union has one person so damaged the image and the
>> self-respect of American
>> Jews. I am not comfortable with the fact that so many of
>> the articles about
>> you specifically identify your prominent place in the
>> Jewish community. Ken
>> Lay of Enron shame was never identified as a
>> "prominent Protestant energy
>> broker." The most aggressive accusers of the governor
>> of Illinois seldom
>> describe him as "the prominent Serbian-American
>> governor of Illinois." Yes,
>> it is unfair that your Jewishness has become part of the
>> storyline. But you
>> just reminded the bigots who grew up playing The Jew Game
>> that it still
>> strikes a familiar chord. You wiped out Joe Lieberman's
>> accomplishments. You
>> revived ancient bigotry against our people. You gave
>> credence to the horrid
>> accusations about Jews being untrustworthy and greedy. One
>> offensive paper
>> has a column called "Jews in the News," which
>> focuses on some Jewish
>> criminal or other to remind their sickening readers of the
>> legitimacy of
>> anti-Semitism. You are not just one of the "Jews in
>> the news" they seek. You
>> are the apotheosis of their hate-filled world. You have
>> given the Jew-haters
>> material for a decade of hate gardening. You
>> single-handedly revived the Jew
>> game. This is what you have done.
>>
>>
>>
>> Most of those you've deceived will learn to live and
>> give in new and perhaps
>> more modest ways. Unlike your evil, which has been stopped,
>> nothing will
>> stop their courage and compassion. Some of your victims
>> will no doubt be
>> more severely wounded in circumstance and in spirit, but
>> none of them, I
>> pray, will surrender to your assault. Their friends will
>> not leave them.
>> Their children and grandchildren will not refuse to hug
>> them and kiss them.
>> After their initial trauma subsides, they will, I believe,
>> move on to cling
>> to the blessings that cannot ever be stolen.
>>
>>
>>
>> You, on the other hand, will lose everything-everything!
>> From this day to
>> the end of your life, there will be none who will trust
>> you. To be
>> mistrusted by everyone is an enormous curse and you have
>> brought this all
>> upon yourself, and for what purpose? You were supposed to
>> be the master of
>> risk and reward and you risked everything from everyone for
>> what reward? You
>> have not just made a bad calculation about how money works,
>> you have made a
>> bad calculation about how life works. You gave no value to
>> what matters and
>> all value to what does not matter at all. This is what you
>> have done.
>>
>>
>>
>> Shame on you Bernie Madoff. Shame on you.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> By Rabbi Marc Gellman
>>
>> Tuesday, December 23, 2008
>
>

January 2

This week I have a number of movies and entertainment to review so let's go on without further ado:

Local Theater/Off Broadway

The Altar Boyz - This off Broadway production is just about finishing its run at the Bethesda Theater. It is a musical about five friends who are saving the souls of the audience members through the church. The music is peppy and the actors are energetic. The story is so so. I would like the take on this show by people of the Christian faith as they do make fun through their songs of the church. As a nice Jewish girl some of the stuff went over my head, but it was an enjoyable afternoon. It's 90 minutes with no intermission.
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Note about our tickets: We purchased our tickets through Goldstar which is a service that sells local theater tickets at about half price with a $6.00 service charge per ticket. It does not cost anything to join so do yourself a favor and sign up. The website is Goldstar.com We have used it twice without any trouble. They have show tickets all over the United States.

Available through Netflix:

The Counterfeiters - This foreign film was nominated for an Oscar I believe in 2007. It is a true story based on a group of concentration camp prisoners who are forced to help the Nazis to save their skin. A moving story, but difficult to watch. It has subtitles as it is in German and French. Although I recommend it, you need to be in the right frame of mind and want to watch this type of film. These types of films about WWII and films like the atrocities of today need to be filmed so we don't forget, but they are a hard viewing.
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Out of Time - My friend Pat gave me this 2003 Denzel Washington film to see. If you are a Denzel Washington fan and like beautiful women like Eva Mendes, you'll like this movie. Washington plays a small town police chief who gets involved in over his head, but somehow manages to avoid the authorities The plot is a bit implausible, but an enjoyable movie. Good especially now when there is nothing on TV to watch.

Now Playing at your Local Theater:

The Reader - This is a wonderful movie that has Oscar buzz around it especially for Kate Winslet. It is not your typical WWII movie and does not try to portray the characters in a sympathetic manner, but tells an absorbing story about two people and how they changed each other's lives. There is a bit of nudity so don't take your children. I really liked the young man who played the younger Ralph Fiennes and hope he is recognized for this role. It is a somber movie so go in knowing that. I over head an usher telling a patron that someone asked for their money back thinking it was a romance. Although it is a romantic movie to some degree, it is not your Doris Day/Rock Hudson variety. (Boy does that date me!) A movie to see before getting to DVD.

Just a reminder, if you'd like to catch up on previous reviews, most of them are on my blog at robertasreviews.blogspot.com

Enjoy the movies.

Roberta