January 30

Carol Frank, Florrie, Betty, Sandy Esterson and Yolanda correctly identified "Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax... " coming from The Big Lebowski

Try this one: (A bit obscure)

"Today you are the law. You are the law. Not some book. Not the lawyers. Not a marble statue, or the trappings of the court. See, those are just symbols of our desire to be just. They are, in fact, a prayer. A fervent and a frightened prayer."

On Netflix and Instant Play:

I am taking a class called "Not Quite Musicals." The films are not musicals per se, but have music as a dominant theme. The first offerings was:

Brassed Off -This film is a 1996 English production about the threatened closing of a coal mine in the town of Grimley. The one shining light in this town is the miners' band. It follows the typical formula of feel good movie, but is was nice to see a young Ewan McGregor in one of the starring roles. The music is lovely and actually played by this band. You won't be disappointed.

Reston Community Players:

Lend Me A Tenor - Is this play silly? Yes. Is it entertaining? Yes. Are the actors accomplished? Yes. Should you go see it? Sure. For a fun afternoon, I would recommend this play. Although it gets silly, especially in the second act, sometimes you just need to escape from the stresses of the day and just laugh. The one thing that struck me about this production was the quality of the actors. There was not one weak link in the cast. All of them had their timing down pat, which is crucial to this play and executed their lines well. I especially liked the main character Max. He was very talented and reminded me of Matthew Brodderick. It will be playing at Reston Community Center for another weekend. So....if you don't have plans, support this community production.

Student Performances:

As many of you know, my friend Bill produces school productions at his school, Woodlawn High School. This year the students performed Oklahoma. It is always a delight to see students do the things they love. The joy on each of the student's faces, no matter how big or small their role, is worth the price of admission. It is also a wonderful way to instill the love of the Broadway musical not only in the performers, but the other students who attend. This year's performance was great. The production was cleverly staged, the performers were well rehearsed with a shout out to the young men who portrayed Curley, Jud and Ali. Next time you are asked to attend one of these performances, do yourself a favor and support the arts in our schools and attend.

An Excellent Read:

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett - This is book one of the century trilogy. It very long, close to 1000 pages, but a page turner. Since it is historical fiction, the events are true, some characters real, but others are a compilation of many. The intertwining families include those from Wales, English, Germany, Russia and the United States. It is so fascinating how Follett uses the times of his novel to create a wonderful tale that is both educational and interesting. A great read.

Award Shows

Well this is award season and the Golden Globes and the SAG awards have been presented. I have seen most of the movies except The Artist and Iron Lady which I hope to see before the Academy Awards. Golden Globes chose both The Descendents and The Artist for best picture and SAG chose The Help so I guess the Academy Awards is still up in the air. I won't give my predictions until I see these other two movies, but am happy to see a good selection to choose from this year.

January 21

Carol Frank, Betty and Florrie correctly identified "To kill, you must know your enemy, and, in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quite-ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to lie back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote." from Caddyshack.

Here's a quote given to me by David Heymsfeld; thanks David:

"Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax... "

In Theaters:

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy -This film is based on John Le Carré's classic thriller of Cold War espionage. It follows an English spy as he returns to MI-6 to uncover the mole in the operation. I did not read the novel so I found the film most confusing. Sy and I felt that the story was not developed as to why this particular spy turned. We both thought is was slow as well. The acting is excellent particularly Gary Oldman in the starring role. .

On Netflix:

Jump the Broom - This lighthearted African American chick flick was an enjoyable way to spend two hours. Although the plot predictable, the scenery and people were attractive to look at. Plot was rich girl meets falls in love with poor boy who hides his background until families meet the day before the wedding. After that the usual mayhem occurs and all is right with the world by the film's end. I like Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine as actresses, but they played very stereotypical parts. It was not developed, but as I said fun.

Local Comedy:

It is always good to check out local comedy and this past weekend we did. The Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia stages a comedy night with comics usually from New York. These people are not armatures, but have been on the circuit. This year they had two comics; a young man who did a brief opening act and the headlines. Unfortunately, I did not catch the young man's name, but he was very good and funny. The headliner was Steve Hofstetter. He has appeared on various TV programs and is billed as the "Thinking Man's Comic." He was entertaining although some of his stories went on a bit and I certainly could have done with less jokes about being old. That being said, it was an entertaining show.. If you find yourself without plans for an evening, every big city has a comedy club. Take a chance and see a star on the rise.

Roberta

January 11

Carol Frank, Florrie, Yolanda and Betty correctly identified "For God's sake, ***************, here we are, you got me into your house, you gave me a drink, you put on music, now you start opening up your personal life to me and tell me your husband won't be home for hours..." coming from The Graduate

Try this one - I think it is hard!

"To kill, you must know your enemy, and, in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quite-ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to lie back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote."

In Theaters:

Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol - For an afternoon of escapism, catch this film. It is follows the Mission Impossible formula - bad guys, good guys, sexy girl, funny partner, saving the world premise, lots of blowing up of things, gun battles and fights, but lots of fun. No matter what you think of Tom Cruise, this is his movie and he does a great job in it. The English fellow playing the computer expert, Simon Pegg, adds just the right amount of fun and the girl, Paula Patton, not too sexy and able to keep up with the boys. An nicely added addition is Jeremy Renner who is an analyst who is a former spy.


On Netflix:

When We Leave: This foreign film looked promising from the trailers, but I could have watched paint dry and be more entertained. Sy didn't even stay past the first ten minutes. It is the story of a Muslin woman living in Turkey who flees to her family in Germany to escape an abusive relationship. When reading the reviews of others on Netflix, most people liked it and apparently it was panned by Muslin groups for being anit-Muslin. The ending left my mouth open, but still not worth sitting through it. The only thought I had was how people still clung to old ways even though they were harsh and brutal. Do yourself a favor and read instead.

At the Kennedy Center:

Billy Elliot - Wow!! What a wonderful production. The dancing is superb! The young actor who we saw (there are five who rotate in the role) was quite amazing! It is truly a dance play. The music is not memorable, but the dancing terrific. If I had one complaint, it was the dialect of the dialogue. At times it was impossible to understand what the actors were saying. If I was watching it on TV, the closed caption would have been running throughout. In spite of this, I highly recommend you see this production if it comes to your town. If you live in DC, you only have a few days before it is gone.

Interesting Museum - Freer Gallery:

This week a group of us took a trip to the Freer Gallery. This is part of the Smithsonian's Museums that houses a lot of Asian Art. We did tour the Asian rooms and were impressed with Freer's collection. An interesting note is that is was given to the museum with the stipulation that no pieces were to be moved out to go on the road. The Peacock Room is quite interesting. This room was designed by Whistler and is fascinating to see. It is one of the smaller museum, but on a dreary day just the right place to be.

On a dreary day like today, the arts are a great way to spend an afternoon!

Roberta

January 1

Carol Frank, Florrie, Estelle, David, Kathy Luke and Betty correctly identified "...Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms-greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge-has marked the upward surge of mankind." coming from Wall Street (the original one)

Try this one (I am leaving out a key name as it will give the quote away):
"For God's sake, ***************, here we are, you got me into your house, you gave me a drink, you put on music, now you start opening up your personal life to me and tell me your husband won't be home for hours..."

In Theaters:

War Horse - This movie has Academy Award written all over it. It is an epic film that families can go to it without winching. It so well done. Do you think I liked it?? It was wonderful. The only human star that I knew from the film was Emily Watson. The young man, Jeremy Irvine, who trains Joey, the horse, is very good and believable as well as all the other characters Joey meets along his adventure. How this was done on stage is beyond me, but Spielberg did an outstanding job transforming it to the screen. There is a particularly touching scene where sides come together in helping Joey. (I am not giving anything away.) I know it will touch your heart as it did mine. For a wonderful two plus hours, see this film.

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - This American version of the novel does a fine job retelling the story. If you read the book, they changed the ending. If you didn't read the book, it can be confusing at times. It is very long - over two and a half hours!! Having said that, it holds your interest throughout. Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig do a fine job in the lead roles. It was also nice to see Christopher Plummer in n important role. Although it has been a while since I saw the Swedish version, I think I would give that one the edge as it stayed truer to the book. If you haven't seen the Swedish one, you can see it on instant streaming on Netflix and decide for yourself. (Sy is watching it as I write this review.)

On Netflix:

Conviction - This is yet another film based on a true story. Hillary Swank stars as Betty Ann Waters the sister of a convicted murderer, Kenny Waters. played by Sam Rockwell I would want a sister like this in my corner. She believed in her brother's innocence and to prove him so, she finishes high school and then goes on to law school to defend him. Minnie Driver, Melissa Leo and Peter Gallagher co-star. If it wasn't a true story, I wouldn't believe it as she had to beat the odds to achieve this task. Whenever I see a film that deals with an innocent being wrongly accused, I rethink my views about capital punishment. A good story with a disturbing message about flaws in our legal system.

At the Kennedy Center in Washington on its way to New York:

Ann - Holland Taylor of "Two and a Half Men" created, wrote and stars in this one woman show based on the life of Texas Governor, Ann Richards. She does an amazing job! Although I don't know much about Richards so cannot verify its contents, Taylor does a wonderful job assuming not only the role, but taking on the persona of Richards. I believe the Post gave it a so so review and faulted it for lack of political drama, but both Sy and I enjoyed the portrayal of a woman who rose to the top in spite of numerous odds. I thought it would be 90 minutes with no intermission, but it goes for about two hours or so with an intermission. It is will in the DC area for a few more weeks and then, I believe, goes on to New York. We were able to get two for one tickets since, as an usher told me, the tickets are not selling as well as they hoped. Look for deals not only on sites like Goldstar, but the Kennedy Center's site as well. It is worth the price.

A friend of mine sent the following quotes to me that I wanted to share them with all my movie friends. Happy and Healthy New Year to you all!

“When in doubt, just take the next step; make peace with your past so it won’t mess up the present; don’t compare your life to others – you have no idea what their journey is all about; take a deep breath – it calms the mind; get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful; burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie – don’t save it for a special occasion – today is special; no one is in charge of your happiness but you; frame every so called disaster with these words – ‘In five years, will it matter?’; Forgive everyone; time heals ; believe in miracles – miracles are everywhere; all that truly matters in the end is that you loved; the best is yet to come; and life isn’t tied with a bow, but it is still a gift.”

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." "Forgiveness is the grace by which you enable the other person to get up; and get up with dignity; and to begin anew." (Desmond Tuto)

Roberta