October 30 revised

It has been a while since I posted. As some of you know I was in California and to my surprise Virgin America does not have free movies. In fact they charge $7 or $8 for a movie I could get on Netflix or HBO so I spent the flight going out watching four episodes of "Law and Order SVU" and coming back my set didn't work properly so I just read my magazines therefore there were no movies for me to review.

Carol Frank, Florrie and Lucy correctly identified "When a man says "no" to Champagne, he says "no" to life coming from The Deer Hunter."

Try this one (I think it is very hard!):

"Twenty dwarves took turns doing handstands on the carpet."

In Theaters:

Hereafter - As many of you know, Sy is very interested in psychics and I knew we would be seeing this film when it came out. It is directed by Clint Eastwood so I was game to go. Matt Damon stars as a psychic who has given up the trade. Of course, situations arise that change that. There are two additional stories that come together at the end with the Damon character. The set up is way too long. Eastwood needs a much better editor! The story is engrossing, but lagged. All the actors are good. A few of the major players were unknowns to me. Interesting, yes - must see, no.

Community Theater:

Reston Players' Production of "Wonderful Town" - This is the musical version of "My Sister Eileen." Although the story is quite dated, the actors are marvelous especially the lead female. I would like to remind you to not overlook the talent in your backyard.

DWTS Update:

I cant believe Bristol Palin is still on and they booted off Audrina. I need to remember it is first and foremost a popularity contest. Apparently all the conservatives are working overtime with their voting. I do have to admit Palin has improved over the weeks. The two athletes are so stiff; they need to go. The final three should be: Brandi, Corey and Jennifer. We will just have to wait and see.

In the meantime, enjoy the movies.

Roberta

October 30

It has been a while since I posted. As some of you know I was in California and to my surprise Virgin America does not have free movies. In fact they charge $7 or $8 for a movie I could get on Netflix or HBO so I spent the flight going out watching four episodes of "Law and Order SVU" and coming back my set didn't work properly so I just read my magazines therefore there were no movies for me to review.

Carol Frank, Florrie and Lucy correctly identified "When a man says "no" to Champagne, he says "no" to life coming from The Deer Hunter."

Try this one (I think it is very hard!):

"Twenty dwarves took turns doing handstands on the carpet."

In Theaters:

Hereafter - As many of you know, Sy is very interested in psychics and I knew we would be seeing this film when it came out. It is directed by Clint Eastwood so I was game to go. Matt Damon stars as a psychic who has given up the trade. Of course, situations arise that change that. There are two additional stories that come together at the end with the Damon character. The set up is way too long. Eastwood needs a much better editor! The story is engrossing, but lagged. All the actors are good. A few of the major players were unknowns to me. Interesting, yes - must see, no.

Community Theater:

Reston Players' Production of "Wonderful Town" - This is the musical version of "My Sister Eileen." Although the story is quite dated, the actors are marvelous especially the lead female. I would like to remind you to not overlook the talent in your backyard.

DWTS Update:

I cant believe Bristol Palin is still on and they booted off Audrina. I need to remember it is first and foremost a popularity contest. Apparently all the conservatives are working overtime with their voting. I do have to admit Palin has improved over the weeks. The two athletes are so stiff; they need to go. The final three should be: Brandi, Corey and Jennifer. We will just have to wait and see.

In the meantime, enjoy the movies.

Roberta

October 11

Carol Frank, Betty, Yolanda, and Wendy correctly identified "Might as well call it white jack!" coming from Ocean's Eleven.

Try this one:

"When a man say"no" to Champagne, he say "no" to his life."

In Movie Theaters:

Secretariat - This is this year's Seabiscuit. It is heartwarming, exciting and a feel good movie. You know how the story ends, but how it all began was news to me. Diane Lane does a fine job as Penny Tweedy Chenery and John Malkovich is wonderful as the trainer. The buzz is that he will be nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor. I really enjoyed Margo Martindale playing Miss Ham, the secretary. Do yourself a favor and see this film.

On TCM and Netflix:

The Man Who Knew Too Much - This 1956 Alfred Hitchcock thriller starring Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day was our third movie in our Doris Day retrospect. I watched it this weekend to review it before showing it to the class. Although it is a bit dated, it does hold up. The story is good and Stewart and Day make a good pair. This is the movie where Day sings "Que Sera, Sera" in its entirety. It is interesting to see how far technology has come in making movies. As the actors are driving through French Morocco,
it is obvious that they have been planted in front of a moving picture of the country. Although the film had some upsetting themes of assignation and kidnapping, it was done in the gentlest way. At the class, we had a discussion about how women were portrayed in not only this film, but the previous one Please Don't Eat the Daisies. It is worth a rental.

Interesting Read:

Tulipomania by Mike Dash - Although this is not a page turner, it is an interesting read. It tells of the history of the tulip and the eventual mania it caused in the Northern Province in the early 1600's. History does repeat itself as you can make many comparisons to the stock market's rise and fall in the 1920's to this tulip mania.

Sy and I have seen the three big movies these last three weeks and if we had to prioritize which we liked best this is it: Go to The Social Network first and depending upon your mood and audience see either Wall Street or Secretariat. You can't go wrong with any of the three. I am happy to be able to say this as the movies have had a dry spell for adult entertainment for some time and it is so nice to have choices.

Roberta

October 4

Carol Frank, Betty and Florrie identified "Don't kid yourself Francessca. You are anything but a simple woman." coming from Bridges of Madison County.

Try this one:

"Might as well call it white jack!"

At Your Local Theater:

The Social Network - As most of you know, this is the story of the founders of Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin and Sean Parker. The film flashes back and forth from how the idea and company was formed to the present day legal battles. Aaron Sorkin of "The West Wing" wrote the screenplay and even at two hours, it is very engrossing. Since so many people are on Facebook, it is sure to capture the attention of many. Jesse Eisenberg plays Zuckerberg and is wonderful as is Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker who also was the founder of Napster. For those of you who live in Northern Virginia you might be interested to know that Sean Parker graduated from Oakton High School, my son's alma mater. This film is going to win lots of awards come Academy Award time.


On Netflix:

When In Rome - The best thing I can say about this film is that it was only 91 minutes long. It was dreadful. The story was ridiculous even for a light romantic comedy. The two stars, Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel although nice looking people did not have any chemistry. Danny Devito has a small role in this film. One wonders if he needs money to have made such a poor choice in roles. Do yourself a favor and don't see this movie.

On Second Thought:

Please Don't Eat The Daisies - As I mentioned in my review of this film, I was going to show it to a group of people and then discuss it. It surprised me that after watching it a second time, I actually enjoyed it much better. It will never win any awards, but it was a nice way to spend two hours. The moral of the story - sometimes films deserve a second viewing.

With Wall Street, The Social Network, The Town and some good ones not even out yet, there are a bumper crop of films to see so enjoy the movies!!!

Roberta