June 15

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there today.

In Theaters:

Million Dollar Arm -   Although I am not a viewer of "Mad Men," I found Jon Hamm to be a most personable actor.  This film made me smile.  Based on a true story, sports agent JB Bernstein (Hamm)  is at the end of his rope as he has gone out on a limb to start his own agency and  when his one last prospect signs with another, he has to come up with an idea for getting new talent.  Enter the Million Dollar Arm reality show contest held in India.The interaction with Bernstein and his two prospects, Rinku Singh (Suraj Sharma of Life of Pi) and Dinesh Patel (Madhur Mitai of Slumdog Millionaire), is touching and Amit Rohan, the gentleman who comes along as translator and just guy Friday, is a a great comic relief. Alan Arkin plays a grouchy sports scout and Lake Bell is the love interest. The two prospects are eventually drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2009 and played in their minor league teams.  Patel was eventually cut and went back to India to go back to school while Sing recently underwent surgery and hopes to play again.  It was a most enjoyable film.  My one pet peeve is that the trailers give too much away.  I knew what to expect.  Perhaps I should come to the theater after the previews! 

 Belle -  This film is based on the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle a biracial girl born in 1761 to a British admiral and African mother.  She is raised by her great uncle and aunt who treat as one of their own, but do put her in her place at times.  The uncle is the chief lawyer of England and is in the difficult position of making a decision about slaves.  Not sure I was going to like this, but it was wonderful.  The characters were intriguing, story thoughtful and acting well done.  Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Dido and is just breathtaking.  Tom Wilkenson plays her uncle and he is always good in everything he does.  Emily Watson and Miranda Richardson round out a wonderful cast.

On Netflix:

Austenland - I knew this film would not be anything that would interest Sy so I put it on my list as a guilty pleasure. Even with this in mind, it was not a very good movie.  Keri Russell stars as Jane Hayes who is so in love with all Jane Austen that she decides to go to an English resort that caters to Austen fans.  The movie is silly with a slight twist at the end, but not worth the time invested.  Jennifer Coolidge, from "Two Broke Girls", is ridiculous in the movie.  Her slapstick portrayal was annoying and not funny. Surprised to see Jane Seymour in this film, but I guess roles are not coming her way.  For a better use of your time, read a Jane Austen novel

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The Herndon Towne Square Singers - We were in Shirlington and could not get Rush tickets.  I remembered that Becky Morgan, who is a member of this group, wrote on Facebook that they were singing this weekend.  We were in for a treat. The group sang songs of the movies.  It was hard not to sing along!  I believe it is important to support local talent and am glad we had the opportunity to see this group sing.  They have another performance today, Father's Day, at 2.

Wonderful Novel

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri - This novel begins in the 60's during the Naxalite movement in India.  It tells of two very different brothers and how their lives intertwine.  Givng you more than that would give away too much of the story. Suffice to say, it is a wonderful read and one that makes you think.  Lahiri is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and many have read her former book The Namesake.   Do yourself a favor and read this one, you won't be sorry.

New on TNT  TV:

Murder in the First - Thought this would be another crime show with two partners - one an Africian American male, Taye Diggs and another white female, Kathleen Robertson but  as the story unfolded, I realized it could not be completed in the first episode and thought it was a two parter  I found out that the series will follow one case throughout the season.  It is created by Steven Bochco and Eric Lodal so I had high hopes for it and was not disappointed.  It is good and I will continue to watch. The prime suspect right now is Eric Blount played by Tom Felton who played Draco Malfoy  in the Harry Potter series.  Steven Webber made a cameo in the first episode, but I believe will have a greater part in the series as his name appeared in the credits. Find it on demand to catch up.

Roberta