December 17

In Theaters:

Philomena -  Does Judi Dench do anything that is not first class and top rated?  This film, based on true events, pulls at your heart strings and makes you angry at the same time.  It is about a woman looking for her son she was forced to give up and how the Sisters not only made it happen, but prevented her from knowing his whereabouts.  Although the topic is heavy, Dench brings a bit of lightness to it with her wit and the wonderful screenplay.  Steve Coogan, playing the reporter who helps her find her son, is a great counterpart to Dench.  This film is a wonderful antidote to the present "epic" films out today.  Do yourself a favor and see this one. 

Special Reporter Sy Sherman's review of -:

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Is certainly a hard "hobbit" to break.  Part two of the series picks up right where part one, the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, leaves off.  Bilbo Baggins, played by Martin Freeman, quietly and convincingly takes center stage along with Ian McKellen, who plays Thorin, the leader of a band of thirteen dwarves, who together with Bilbos, are on a quest to reclaim their home and the treasure of Erebor (the Lonely Mountain) from the fire-breathing Dragon, "Smaug". Although it seemed strange to watch a dragon speak, English no less, the nearly three hour movie uses entertaining slick special effects to maintain it's frenzied pace throughout. Part two of the series is definitely worth seeing even for those not given to fantasy. But if you plan on seeing part two, I strongly suggest seeing part one first. And for those of you who can't get enough of the Hobbit franchise, don't worry, part three will probably be here by the time the holidays roll around next year.

On Netflix:

White House Down -  Sy is nominating this for the worst movie ever made.  I don't quite agree with him although it was quite stupid.  There was more shooting up in the White House and ridiculous situations than I can enumerate.  That being said, I do like Jamie Foxx who played the President and Channing Tatum is really hot.  James Woods and Richard Jenkins play the bad guys with Maggie Gyllenhaal is the female addition.  The young girl, Joey King, who plays Tatum's daughter is good.  In a nutshell, good cast, ridiculous story-line.

 (Sy is protesting this rating, he said )

At Arena:

The Power of Two - Although this cabaret has closed, I wanted to direct your attention to these two performers - Nicholas Rodriguez and Eleasha Gamble.  The two starred in Arena's production of Oklahoma a few seasons back.  They sang for 90 minutes and were just wonderful.  Gamble's voice, in particular, is so versatile.  They sang show tunes, some Joni Mitchell and pop.  Gamble will be in this summer's touring company of Lion King at the Kennedy Center and Rodriguez will be in Arena's Mother Courage.  It was just such a delightful concert.  Take note of these stars!.  In addition, we got the tickets from Goldstar which was an added bonus.  The concert took place at the Kogod Cradle which is Arena's intimate theater. 

My friend Carla sent this information to me and it was confirmed by snoops so it is legit.  Be careful!

If only the people who came up with these schemes would put all that ingenuity and cleverness to some positive purpose we might  really have something! CHECK IT OUT : From a friend: (It originated in  Florida) Just when you thought you'd heard it all. This scam is actually very  clever. Be very careful out there!   This one could easily slip by most  anyone - beware of people bearing gifts. The following is a recounting of the  incident from the victim: Wednesday a week ago, I had a phone call from  someone saying that he was from some outfit called: "Express Couriers,"(The  name could have been anything) he asked if I was going to be home because  there was a package delivery for me that required a signature . The caller  said that the delivery would arrive at my home in roughly an hour, and sure  enough, about an hour later, a uniformed delivery man turned up with a  beautiful basket of flowers and wine. I was very surprised since it did not  involve any special occasion or holiday, and I certainly didn't expect  anything like it. Intrigued about who had sent me such a gift, I inquired as  to who the sender was. The deliveryman's reply was, he was only delivering the  gift package, but allegedly a card was being sent separately... (the card  has never arrived!) There was also a consignment note with the gift.   He  then went on to explain that because the gift contained alcohol, there was a  $3.50 "delivery / verification charge," providing proof that he had actually  delivered the package to an adult of legal drinking age, and not just left it  on the doorstep where it could be stolen or taken by anyone, especially a  minor.   This sounded logical and I offered to pay him cash. He then said  that the delivery company required payment to be by credit or debit card only,  so that everything is properly accounted for, and this would keep help in  keeping a legal record of the transaction. He added couriers not needing to  carry a bunch of cash, would make them less likely targets for  robbery.   My husband, who by this time was standing beside me, pulled  his wallet out of his pocket with the credit/debit card, and 'John,' the  "delivery man," asked my husband to swipe his card on a small mobile card  machine. It had a small screen and keypad where Frank was also asked to enter  the card's PIN and security number. A receipt was printed out and given to us  as our copy of the transaction. He then said everything was in order, and  wished us good day.   To our horrible surprise, between Thursday and the  following Monday, $4,000 had been charged / withdrawn from our credit/debit  account at various ATM machines. It appeared that somehow the "mobile  credit card machine," which the deliveryman carried now had all the info  necessary to create a "dummy" card with all our card details after my husband  swiped our card and entered the requested PIN and security number.   Upon finding out about the illegal transactions on our card, we immediately  notified the bank which issued us a new card, and our credit/debit account was  closed.   We also personally went to the Police, where it was confirmed  that it is definitely a scam because several households had been similarly  hit.   WARNING: Be wary of accepting any "surprise gift or package,"  which you neither expected nor personally ordered, especially if it involves  any kind of payment as a condition of receiving the gift or package. Also,never accept anything if you do not personally know or there is no proper  identification of who the sender is.   Above all, the only time you should give out any personal credit/debit card information is when you  yourself initiated the purchase or transaction!   Pass this on, it may just prevent someone else from being swindled. Once again, I wish you all a very Happy New Year. Roberta