September 18

Carol , Julie identified "We can stay up all night swapping manly stories and in the morning, I'm making waffles!" coming from Shrek

Try this one:

"Never hate your enemies, it affects your judgement."

In Theaters (limited distribution):

Therese -  This 2012 film was the closing night selection at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and is presently playing at Cinema Arts in Fairfax.  I assume it is playing nationwide at "art" houses. I had seen the previews last week and was under the impression that the film would be going into an entirely different direction.   It is a period drama that deals with the heroine's troubled struggle to remain autonomous as a member of her oppressive husband's family.  Audrey Tautou  stars as the unhappily married women.  It is very slow, but after the film we all talked about it a lot!  All of us were not sure how we felt about the movie, but if a movie gets you talking, doesn't that say something about the film?  The way Therese deals with her unhappiness is bizarre and the film dangles carrots and then does not act on them.  So....did I like it, not sure.  It is not presently in the Netflix bank, so you can't see it yet at your home or on streaming.  Look for it and if it comes along, see it and let me know what you think.  

At Signature Theater in Arlington:

Miss Saigon - All I can say is WOW!!!  Sy and I tried to get to see this last weekend, but there were no decent "Rush" tickets so we left.  Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Northern VA so we left in late afternoon and were the second group of people waiting on line.  We did secure good seats and enjoyed the performance.  I had never seen Miss Saigon, but it is loosely based on Madame Butterfly set in the Viet Nam War. The leads are amazing.  As a side note, the young man playing Chris, Gannon O'Brien, had to take over last minute as the lead pulled his vocal chords and could not perform due to doctor's orders.  He did a lovely job with the role.  Diana Huey, Kim,  has a lovely voice that is put to the test as the entire play is sung.  Thom Sesma as the Engineer brings a bit of comedy to the role.  Of course our favorite, Erin Driscoll, is wonderful as Ellen Chris' American wife.  A new song was added to this performance that Erin sings.  I was especially impressed with the staging.  If you remember in the Broadway version, a helicopter lands on stage.  Of course, Signature could not do that, but with lighting and sounds effects you feel a helicopter is there.  Kudos to the orchestra as well.  Their playing was flawless.  Another hit for Signature.  If you can, go see it before it leaves.

DWTS Update:

So the first episode was been put to bed and these are my thoughts.  Judges were overly generous to some and too harsh on others.  I know Valerie Harper is battling cancer, but her dancing did not deserve all 7's.  Although Bill Nye did not dance well, neither did Keyshawn Johnson the football player and his scores were higher than Bill's. I am happy that the show will only air one night a week.  The results show was a waste of time.  Here is my evaluation:

Front runners:

Amber Riley

Christina Milean

Elizabeth Berkley Lauren

Corbin Bleu

Middle of the Pack:

Jack Osburne

Brant Daugherty

Leah Remini

Snooki Polizzi

Bottom

Valerie Harper

Bill Nye

Keyshawn Johnson

Bill Engvall

Enjoy this beautiful fall weather.  If you are in the Washington area, this weekend is the annual National Book Festival on the Mall.  It is always fun to go to.

Roberta

September 12

Betty, Julie and Allison "It is not our abilities that show what we truly are... it is our choices." Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.   Carol Frank gets a mention as she guessed Harry Potter without the exact movie.

Try this one:

"We can stay up all night swapping manly stories and in the morning, I'm making waffles!"

In Theaters:

In A World... - This indie film stars and is written by comedian Lake Bell.   It takes you into the world of voice overs specifically trailers.  The characters are quirky and story is sweet.  It received great reviews.  Is it great, not according to me, but good. It got better as the story progressed.   I would save it for my DVD list or streaming.  

On Netflix:

Admissions:  This Tina Fey, Paul Rudd comedy is a nice light weight romantic comedy about an admissions officer at Princeton and the head of an alternative school trying to get his student in.  There are a bit of twists which I will not divulge, but it is a fun movie.  Lily Tomlin playing Fey's mother, is a hoot.  For a feel good, mindless movie, put this on your list.  

Liberal Arts - Did you ever see a movie and after watching it did not know if you liked it or not; well this is one for me.  It tells the story of a thirty something who is called back to his university to give a tribute speech to his former professor and falls in love with the place again.  Relationships are examined with a young coed, an older professor and a troubled student.  It was fine, not great not bad. Although I did not know the lead, Josh Radnor,  Elizabeth Olsen, the younger Olsen sister, starred as well.  She is lovely and a good actress.  Richard Jenkins is the professor and Allison Janney, Zac Efron and Kate Burton have minor roles.  See it and decide for yourself.  

An Uplifting Read:

My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor - What an incredible road this woman has taken to become Supreme Court justice.  Needless to say, she is brilliant and was able to overcome insurmountable odds to reach this position, but the human being comes across in this very readable memoir. After reading this, I wanted to be here friend.   Even if you don't like to read biographies, you won't be disappointed or bored while reading this one.  

DWTS:

It is that time of year when Dancing With The Stars reveals their cast roster.  Here it is.  We are in store for another interesting season.  Am though annoyed that there are some real dancers on the roster; Amber Riley from Glee dancing with Derek Hough (another fix in the making).  I think they put him with excellent dancers so that he remains on the show for a significant amount time since he is a draw.  And Corbin Bleu from High School Musical has dancing ability although hip hop.  Not sure about Elizabeth Berkley and Christina Milian.  Time will tell!

• Valerie Harper and Tristan MacManus
• "Saved By the Bell" and "Showgirls" star Elizabeth Berkley will dance with Valentin Chmerkovskiy
• Amber Riley with Derek Hough
• Footballer Keyshawn Johnson and Sharna Burgess
• "High School Musical" star Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff
• Leah Remini and Tony Dovolani
• "The Voice's" Christina Milian is paired with Mark Ballas
• Bill Nye (yes, "The Science Guy") dancing with Tyne Stecklein
• "Pretty Little Liars" and "Army Wives" actor Brant Daugherty with Peta Murgatroyd
• Jack Osbourne with Cheryl Burke
• "Blue Collar Comedy's" Bill Engvall and Emma Slater
• Jersey Shore" star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi with Sasha Farber

To all my Jewish followers, I wish you all a very Happy New Year and an easy fast.

Roberta