April 17

Florrie, Bill, Carol Frank, Lucy and Betty correctly identified, "Get busy living, or get busy dying." from the wonderful movie The Shawshank Redemption.

Try this one:

"They laughed at me, Mama."

On Netflix:

Anything Goes - This was the last film we showed in our movie musical class. It was based on the broadway show that starred Ethel Merman. Two movies were made and this one was the 1954 edition. The story was rewritten to accommodate two main male leads: Bing Crosby and Donald O'Connor. The two leading ladies were Mitzi Gaynor and Jeanmarie. Although the plot was lame, the songs were glorious. The music and lyrics were done by Cole Porter and in addition to "Anything Goes" songs like "I Get a Kick out of you," "You're the Top" and "It's Delovely" were performed in the film. Porter's lyrics are first rate. For an enjoyable almost two hours, see this film.

Love Ranch - This Helen Mirren/Joe Pesci film did not get good reviews when it came out, but I still thought that anything Mirren did was worth seeing. In this case, just maybe. It is a story inspired by true facts. Mirren and Pesci are the married couple who owned the Love Ranch brothel in Nevada. This was one of the first legalized brothels in Nevada and is sometimes known as the Mustang Ranch. Things get interesting when a prize fighter is brought into the mix. Although it held my interest, it was too long at just under two hours, and I think Mirren was miscast. It seems that Pesci has made a career of playing sleazy characters who have a foul mouth. Word of caution, every other word is the f word if that is something that would offend you.

On Netflix and Instant Streaming

Chole - This film has an all star cast including Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried. It is an involved tale that has the Moore character thinking her husband Neeson is having an affair and she hires Seyfried to tempt him. The story takes twists and turns from there and although captivating, in the end I felt empty. It has a lot of nudity so don't watch it in front of your children. It is on instant streaming so I didn't have to waste a selection on it.

DWTS Update:

This season is an unusual one. In my opinion, it can be anyone's game. The males are the stronger dancers with Hines, Romeo, the wrestler and the Karate Kid leading the pack. The only female that can be put into that category is Chelsea. This week I think the Playboy bunny will be booted off. Lucy reminded me that she has a lot of followers from her reality show, but the judges don't like her and have given her low scores each week. Also Kirsty Alley has to go, but they keep on giving her scores that are undeserved. Ratings apparently effect their scores. We will have to wait until Tuesday to see who gets the boot.

I will probably post another entry before I leave for vacation next week. But in case I get busy this week, look for me to post again in the middle of May.

Roberta

April 10

Carol Frank and Betty correctly identified "Divine decadence darling" coming from Cabaret

Try this one:

"Get busy living, or get busy dying."

On Netflix and Instant Streaming:

Freakonomics - This documentary is uncanny as it is exactly like the book. If you read the book, don't bother watching the film, but if you didn't, it is a fascinating documentary. Using data these two individuals, one an economists and the other a journalist, explain some phenomenon like cheating, how names effect people and what caused a decrease in the crime rate. Some of their theories are a bit hard to swallow, but always interesting and jumping points for great discussions.

Toy Story 3 - This latest episode of the franchise was nominated for both best picture and best animated picture. It won for best animated picture. All the regular characters are back and this time Ken and Barbie are added. The theme is still the same: friendship, growing up and love. As with the two others, it brought a tear to my eye. It can be appreciated on many levels and that's what makes these films so successful. So....if you need a film that will delight the youngster in your life and give you a chuckle as well, see this film.

In Washington:

Hexagon Show - Each year this group gets together and puts on a show that makes fun of Washington in general. This year's productions, "21 Pun Salute," did not disappoint. The songs were catchy, the jokes topical and corny and the dancing, well let's say I give all these gals credit for getting up there and dance. All proceeds go to a different cause and this year it is the wounded veterans. Although the production ended this weekend, they return year after year; so look for its return next spring.

On TV

"Mildred Pierce"- I have been watching this series and the last two episodes are scheduled for Sunday night. Although it is not riveting, it is good television. As usual Kate Winslet is very good in the title role and the depiction of the time is spot on. It can drag at times, but I do fine it interesting. Believe it or not, I never saw the original, so don't know the story. You can probably catch up by watching in "On Demand" or Netflix will probably have it in a few months.