March 26

In Theaters:

The Grand Budapest Hotel - This Wes Anderson directed movie is in one word quirky.  When it first started, I said to myself I am going to hate it, but as it went on it grew on me.  Ralph Fiennes playing the concierge Gustave H and his lobby boy Zero played by Mathieu Amalric were wonderful in their roles. The story almost plays out as an English farce with someone dying, a stolen painting and running from the law.  Anderson has a tradition of including cameos of his favorite actors.  In this one F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Willian Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum. Jude law, Harey Keitel, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Tilda Swinton are a few that have brief, but important roles in the film.  We went with three other couples and there was no consesus on the film as one person laughed out loud and one fell asleep.  I am somewhere in the middle.

On Netflix:

Girl Most Likely - This indie dramady stars Kristen Wiig, Annette Benning, Matt Dillon, Darren Criss (Blake from Glee) and Cristopher Fitzgereld.  Not sure how I even found it and why it was on my queue, but glad it was.  It tells the story of a struggling playwright (Wiig) who tries to fit into the New York scene.  When her boyfriend leaves her, she stages an unsuccessful suicide to get him back..  She goes home to her mother (Annette Benning)  in Atlantic City and the story evolves from there.  It is touching and fun.  

Excellent Read:

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks - Although I am sure many of you have read this wonderful book, I am just getting around to reading it as many classes I have taken at OLLI as well as at my temple have referred to it.  Although this is a work of fiction, it is inspired by the true story of the Sarajevo Haggadah.  Some of the facts are true, but most of the plot and all the characters are imaginary.  The book goes back and forth from present day to the past as it traces the journey of this marvelous book.  The main character, Hanna Heath, uncovers clues to its history as she analyses and works to conserve it.  Brooks then retells these peoples' stories as they saved the book and how they came to work on it  A page turning historical novel is the best way to describe it.  If you haven't read it, do so,  you won't be disappointed.

BBC Production

The Six Wives of Henry VIII - I am watching this series though an OLLI class.  It is the 1970 BBC series starring Emmy Award winning Keith Mitchell as this colorful king.  This past week was Catherine of Aragon and it was very well done.  It is on Netflix both in discs and streaming.  It is worth your time.

DWTS:

I have to say this is the worse season of the show.  I don't care for the "stars" and except for the ice dancers, they aren't very good.  Will I still watch it, perhaps.  Although I am able to watch the two hour show in 30 minutes as I DVR it and only watch the dancing.  I think the show is ready to "jump the shark."

March 16

The pickings in the theaters are slim but here are some interesting other things to do.

On Netflix:

Don Jon - This indie movie starring Joseph Gordon-Leavitt , Scarlette Johansson and Julianne Moore tells the story of Jon Martello and his obsession with online porn.  This obsession prevents him from realizing a meaningful relationship..  He meets the girl of his dreams and things evolve from there.  It grew on me once Julianne Moore comes into the picture and makes the film a bit more poignant, but you might want to wait until it comes out on an indie channel on TV before putting it on your list.

 

A Nice Way to Spend the Afternoon:

United States Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra  - Last weekend we were treated to a concert  in the chamber music series.  The program included Mozart's Trio in E-flat, Shostakovich's Quartet No. 12 in D-flat and Copland's Suite from Appalachian Spring.  Our friend's son, Robbie Singer, is a member of the Marine Band and conducted the Copland piece.  Needless to say, that was my favorite with the Mozart piece a close second.  The Shostakovich piece was disconcerting to my ear, but all the musicians were first rate.  If you live in the DC area, this is a great way to spend an afternoon.  The concerts are free and are performed all over town.  For a complete listing, go to their website  www.marineband.marines.mil

At Reston Community Center:

Xanadu - What can I say about this musical based on the film starring Olivia Newton John other than it is very silly!  It is intended to be a spoof, but it was 90 minutes of my life I will never get back.  The performers were energetic and some of them had lovely voices, but I could not get past the piece itself.  Some of the music brought back the 80's especially "Have You Ever Been Mellow," but it was not enough to recommend this production.  At times it was hard to understand the leads as they both put on accents; the girl Australian and the boy surfer dude.  His voice was weak as was the older gentleman.  It is always nice to see theater and I like to support the local arts, but this was can be missed.

Fascinating Read:

The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan - Not the usual book I would pick up, but glad I did.  This book tells the incredible story of the young women of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, who unwittingly played a crucial role in one of the most significant moments in US history.  It is amazing that the people of Oak Ridge Tennessee which was home to 75,000 at its peak were kept in the dark as to what they were doing.  The book gives the reader an insight into the lives of these people, mostly women as they went along their everyday lives.  There were times that I actually gasped out loud at some of the things the scientists did to further the cause. The book was written in an interesting way.  One chapter would focus on the women and their everyday lives and then the font would change and it dealt with the science that was being done.  For an interesting look into this time of discovery, read this one.

DWTS

The new season starts Monday.  I am not familiar with most of the people.  I didn't even watch the Olympic ice dancers who recently competed in the Olympics in Soshi who will be competing and probably have an advantage with their dancing training.  Will I watch it, perhaps.

Roberta

March 2

On Netflix:

A.C.O.D. (Adult Children of Divorce) - This indie dramady tells the story of Carter, a young man who has managed to make a life for himself while avoiding conflicts with his divorced parents who have ruined almost every event in his childhood.  The cast includes Indie favorites: Richard Jenkins and Catherine O'Hara as Carter's parents. Carter is played by Adam Scott who looked very familiar and when I looked him up found that he is in the TV series " Parks and Recreation."  Although I have never seen the show, I guess I've seen him in promos.  Amy Poehler, another P and R regular, has a co starring role in the film as well.  At the end of the film, I asked myself if I liked it and could not answer directly.  I think I am ambivalent about it because I really didn't care about the characters and when that happens you have no investment in the film and don't care.  For that reason, I would tell you to wait until it is on an Indie channel on television to see it.

Nebraska - I was fortunate to get this DVD as soon as it was released by Netflix and could see it before the Oscars tonight.  Not quite sure what I thought of it.  It was poignant and I loved the evolving relationship with Woody and his son Davy.  The music really enhanced the story and the mother who is also up for an award tonight was a hoot.  An Academy Award movie, not sure; good performances yes.  For those of you who do not know the story it is about an aging father who thinks he's won a million dollars and his son agrees to take him to Lincoln Nebraska to claim his prize.

On Netflix and HBO:

Gangster Squad - I thought I would not like this, but to my surprise it was quite good.  It does have quite a bit of violence, but it is based on true events that led to the capture of Mickey Cohen, a gangster from the east coast, who want to set up his operations in Los Angeles.  Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn and Emma Stone star in this film. The make up of the entire gangster squad made for an enjoyable film.

At Ford's Theater:

Violet - We attended the final performance of Violet at Ford's Theater. The play has been on Broadway (perhaps off Broadway) before and is now in preproduction as a one act play that will star Sutton Foster in the spring. The DC version starred our favorite local actress Erin Driscoll who did a wonderful job with the role.  The actor playing Flick had a marvelous voice and Erin's husband James Gardiner did a good job with his role as Monte.  Did you ever see a play where the actors were better than the material?  I believe this was the case in this production.  The first act dragged a bit, while the second act was very good.  It will be interesting to see what the New York critics say about the new reworked one act production.

The Oscars are on tonight and here are my predictions and ones I think should win, but probably won't:

Best Picture - 12 Years a Slave (I did not see the film, but it is the one with more meat than the others)  If Gravity wins I will be disappointed as I thought it was very well done, but  the story left me flat.  The director of Gravity should win to give the film the honor.

Best Actor:  Matthew McConaughey (I did not see this one either, but all the hoopla says he will win it)  I personally thought Christian Bale was terrific in American Hustle as well as Leonardo DiCaprio in Wolf of Wall Street.

Best Actress:  Cate Blanchett simply stated she was marvelous!  That being said Judy Dench in Philomena was wonderful and Amy Adams was terrific in American Hustle.  Although not even nominated Emma Thompson was wonderful in Saving Mr. Banks

Best Supporting Actress:  Lupita Nyong'o once again all the hoopla surrounding her.  June Quibb was a hoot in Nebraska  I will be upset if Jennifer Lawrence wins as I did not think her performance was that outstanding.

Best Supporting Actor - Jared Leto - Again for all the hoopla, but I loved Barkhad Abdi in Captain Phillips..