June 24

Florrie and Carol Frank (on second try) correctly identified "Will you love me for the rest of my life?  No I'll love you for the rest of mine."  coming from Phenomenon.

Try this one:

"And all the while I feel like I'm standing in the middle of a crowded room, screaming at the top of my lungs, and no one even looks up."

On Netflix and Instant Streaming:

Brooklyn Castle - This inspiring documentary tells the story of Intermediate School 318 in the Bedford Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn and their award winning chess club.  They have taken the championship for many years and have a number of masters among their players.  Last year they won the high school championship beating out elite and private schools including TJ here in Northern VA.  What is unique about this school for those of you who are not familiar with Brooklyn is that this school is Title One which means more than 70% of their students are on free or reduced lunch.  Chess has changed the lives of these students.  If you want to feel good about students and know why we need to support public education, see this film.  As a side note the principal, who was made a superintendent after the documentary was filmed, died suddenly of an attack (didn't say what kind, I assume heart since he was in his 50:s)

On Netflix:

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - My book group just read this classic and we thought it would be good to see the 1968 film.  Both a very young Alan Arkin and Sondra Locke were nominated for best actor and supporting actress that year.  Arkin lost out to Cliff Robertson  for Charly and Locke to Rosemary Harris for Rosemary's Baby.  The film was true to the novel for the most part, but even though it ran more than two hours, left out some significant stories that were contained in the book.  The story in a nutshell is how a deaf mute effects the lives of those around him and how they all were lonely in their own ways.  Some of the women who saw it with me and didn't read the novel said they now wanted to read it now.  For a thought provoking, well acted and directed movie, see this one.  

Truman -   This HBO made for TV film was shown at one of my OLLI classes this week.  Although I could not stay until the very end, I did see enough  to know that it was a well done movie.  Gary Sinise stars as Truman and does a fine job with the role.  The story tells how Truman "accidentally" came to power, but shows the man he really was.  He was not the simple minded person one thought as he had a good political mind and did not bend to pressure. He did what he felt was right for the people.  Tony Goldwyn, who plays the President in the series "Scandal", is a featured player in this film.  My only complaint was the make-up job on the actress playing Bess Truman.  I plan on getting the film from Netflix so that I can see it in its entirety.  I would recommend it as a film that honestly portrays the man who was president when I was born!  

At Signature Theater in Shirlington, VA:

Company - I am not a fan of Stephen Sonheim, but since Erin Driscoll, Betsy's daughter and Sarah's voice teacher, was in this production , Sy and I decided to go and we were not sorry.  The production was first rate and the story not as dark as some of Sonheim's plays.  Of course I knew some of the songs i.e. "I'm Not Getting Married Today" "Here's to the Ladies Who Lunch" and the actors did a wonderful job in their interpretation of them.  Staging was quite good.  We sat on the side and had no trouble seeing all.  A little tip about Signature - if you go an hour before the production and there are still tickets, they sell "rush" tickets for $30 a piece.  That's what we did.  We called in advance to make sure there were tickets available before heading down to the theater.  The show will be at Signature for another week closing next weekend.  If you want to get some relief from the hot weather, you won't find a better way to spend two and a half hours.

Restaurants in Shirlington:

As many of you know Shirlington is a great place not only to catch a first rate show or movie, but they have a great selection of restaurants to choose from.  One of our favorite is the Carlyle Grand, but this time we chose Ping a Chinese restaurant we had eaten in and enjoyed with the Lummers a few months ago.  Ping has a special on Sundays and Thursdays.  For $40 a couple you get an appetizer and two entrees plus a good bottle of either white or red wine.  We could not believe the value and the quality of the food.  

This would be a good week to catch up on movies as it is going to be a scorcher.

Roberta

June 16

Carol Frank, Emily, Juli, Sheila V., Joyce G, Chris, Betsy, Martha H., Lucy, Betty and Linda. K all correctly identified, "I don’t understand. All my life I’ve been waiting for someone and when I find her, she’s … she’s a fish" coming . from Splash  Try this one:

"Will you love me for the rest of my life?  No, I'll love you for the rest of mine."

In Theaters:

Now You See Me -  I was sure I would like this film, but not as much as I did; it was lots of fun!.  The movie just sailed along and it was non-stop action.  Not the bang em shoot em up action, but magic.  Sy and I love magic so this was a movie that fit us to a tee.  Not only is it fun, but the story is interesting and has a twist ending.  Won't give anything away. This a movie that can be enjoyed by the entire family - adults, teens and younger children.   It has a star studded cast with Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine.  You won't be disappointed.  

The Impossible - I would rename this film The Improbable, but at the end of the film the credits indicated that this film was loosely based on actual events of a similar family.  Naomi Watts was nominated for best actress for her role as the mother.  Ewan McGregor plays the father, but the young boy playing their oldest son really steals the movie from them both.  It retells one family's experiences during the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Aisa.  It is not for the faint hearted as  some of the scenes are a bit gory.  In fact, towards the beginning of the film, I was tempted to shut it off without seeing the end, but am glad I did not.  For an improbable story that turns out to be true, see this one.  

Good Read:

Winter of the World by Ken Follett - This is the second novel in his latest trilogy.  The book begins where the last on Fall of Giants left off.  Germany is ripe for a new leader and although there are many Germans who think a leader like Hitler is a joke, we all know what happens.  This book deals with the second generation of the families we met in the last book.  Many of my friends did not like this one as well as the first, but once I got past some of the initially brutality at the book's beginning, the storylines were good.  Once again the horrors of war are unimaginable to me. Follett's books are always page turners and this one is no exception.  It is about 1000 pages so if you have a kindle, tablet or notebook, you might consider using it for this one.  

A number the shows I like have returned to TV on cable, but "The Newsroom" our favorite will return in July.  If you have HBO or Netflix see this, you won't be disappointed.

Roberta