January 30

Carol Frank, Florrie, Betty, Sandy Esterson and Yolanda correctly identified "Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax... " coming from The Big Lebowski

Try this one: (A bit obscure)

"Today you are the law. You are the law. Not some book. Not the lawyers. Not a marble statue, or the trappings of the court. See, those are just symbols of our desire to be just. They are, in fact, a prayer. A fervent and a frightened prayer."

On Netflix and Instant Play:

I am taking a class called "Not Quite Musicals." The films are not musicals per se, but have music as a dominant theme. The first offerings was:

Brassed Off -This film is a 1996 English production about the threatened closing of a coal mine in the town of Grimley. The one shining light in this town is the miners' band. It follows the typical formula of feel good movie, but is was nice to see a young Ewan McGregor in one of the starring roles. The music is lovely and actually played by this band. You won't be disappointed.

Reston Community Players:

Lend Me A Tenor - Is this play silly? Yes. Is it entertaining? Yes. Are the actors accomplished? Yes. Should you go see it? Sure. For a fun afternoon, I would recommend this play. Although it gets silly, especially in the second act, sometimes you just need to escape from the stresses of the day and just laugh. The one thing that struck me about this production was the quality of the actors. There was not one weak link in the cast. All of them had their timing down pat, which is crucial to this play and executed their lines well. I especially liked the main character Max. He was very talented and reminded me of Matthew Brodderick. It will be playing at Reston Community Center for another weekend. So....if you don't have plans, support this community production.

Student Performances:

As many of you know, my friend Bill produces school productions at his school, Woodlawn High School. This year the students performed Oklahoma. It is always a delight to see students do the things they love. The joy on each of the student's faces, no matter how big or small their role, is worth the price of admission. It is also a wonderful way to instill the love of the Broadway musical not only in the performers, but the other students who attend. This year's performance was great. The production was cleverly staged, the performers were well rehearsed with a shout out to the young men who portrayed Curley, Jud and Ali. Next time you are asked to attend one of these performances, do yourself a favor and support the arts in our schools and attend.

An Excellent Read:

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett - This is book one of the century trilogy. It very long, close to 1000 pages, but a page turner. Since it is historical fiction, the events are true, some characters real, but others are a compilation of many. The intertwining families include those from Wales, English, Germany, Russia and the United States. It is so fascinating how Follett uses the times of his novel to create a wonderful tale that is both educational and interesting. A great read.

Award Shows

Well this is award season and the Golden Globes and the SAG awards have been presented. I have seen most of the movies except The Artist and Iron Lady which I hope to see before the Academy Awards. Golden Globes chose both The Descendents and The Artist for best picture and SAG chose The Help so I guess the Academy Awards is still up in the air. I won't give my predictions until I see these other two movies, but am happy to see a good selection to choose from this year.

January 21

Carol Frank, Betty and Florrie correctly identified "To kill, you must know your enemy, and, in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quite-ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to lie back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote." from Caddyshack.

Here's a quote given to me by David Heymsfeld; thanks David:

"Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax... "

In Theaters:

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy -This film is based on John Le Carré's classic thriller of Cold War espionage. It follows an English spy as he returns to MI-6 to uncover the mole in the operation. I did not read the novel so I found the film most confusing. Sy and I felt that the story was not developed as to why this particular spy turned. We both thought is was slow as well. The acting is excellent particularly Gary Oldman in the starring role. .

On Netflix:

Jump the Broom - This lighthearted African American chick flick was an enjoyable way to spend two hours. Although the plot predictable, the scenery and people were attractive to look at. Plot was rich girl meets falls in love with poor boy who hides his background until families meet the day before the wedding. After that the usual mayhem occurs and all is right with the world by the film's end. I like Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine as actresses, but they played very stereotypical parts. It was not developed, but as I said fun.

Local Comedy:

It is always good to check out local comedy and this past weekend we did. The Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia stages a comedy night with comics usually from New York. These people are not armatures, but have been on the circuit. This year they had two comics; a young man who did a brief opening act and the headlines. Unfortunately, I did not catch the young man's name, but he was very good and funny. The headliner was Steve Hofstetter. He has appeared on various TV programs and is billed as the "Thinking Man's Comic." He was entertaining although some of his stories went on a bit and I certainly could have done with less jokes about being old. That being said, it was an entertaining show.. If you find yourself without plans for an evening, every big city has a comedy club. Take a chance and see a star on the rise.

Roberta

January 11

Carol Frank, Florrie, Yolanda and Betty correctly identified "For God's sake, ***************, here we are, you got me into your house, you gave me a drink, you put on music, now you start opening up your personal life to me and tell me your husband won't be home for hours..." coming from The Graduate

Try this one - I think it is hard!

"To kill, you must know your enemy, and, in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quite-ever. They're like the Viet Cong - Varmint Cong. So you have to lie back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that's all she wrote."

In Theaters:

Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol - For an afternoon of escapism, catch this film. It is follows the Mission Impossible formula - bad guys, good guys, sexy girl, funny partner, saving the world premise, lots of blowing up of things, gun battles and fights, but lots of fun. No matter what you think of Tom Cruise, this is his movie and he does a great job in it. The English fellow playing the computer expert, Simon Pegg, adds just the right amount of fun and the girl, Paula Patton, not too sexy and able to keep up with the boys. An nicely added addition is Jeremy Renner who is an analyst who is a former spy.


On Netflix:

When We Leave: This foreign film looked promising from the trailers, but I could have watched paint dry and be more entertained. Sy didn't even stay past the first ten minutes. It is the story of a Muslin woman living in Turkey who flees to her family in Germany to escape an abusive relationship. When reading the reviews of others on Netflix, most people liked it and apparently it was panned by Muslin groups for being anit-Muslin. The ending left my mouth open, but still not worth sitting through it. The only thought I had was how people still clung to old ways even though they were harsh and brutal. Do yourself a favor and read instead.

At the Kennedy Center:

Billy Elliot - Wow!! What a wonderful production. The dancing is superb! The young actor who we saw (there are five who rotate in the role) was quite amazing! It is truly a dance play. The music is not memorable, but the dancing terrific. If I had one complaint, it was the dialect of the dialogue. At times it was impossible to understand what the actors were saying. If I was watching it on TV, the closed caption would have been running throughout. In spite of this, I highly recommend you see this production if it comes to your town. If you live in DC, you only have a few days before it is gone.

Interesting Museum - Freer Gallery:

This week a group of us took a trip to the Freer Gallery. This is part of the Smithsonian's Museums that houses a lot of Asian Art. We did tour the Asian rooms and were impressed with Freer's collection. An interesting note is that is was given to the museum with the stipulation that no pieces were to be moved out to go on the road. The Peacock Room is quite interesting. This room was designed by Whistler and is fascinating to see. It is one of the smaller museum, but on a dreary day just the right place to be.

On a dreary day like today, the arts are a great way to spend an afternoon!

Roberta

January 1

Carol Frank, Florrie, Estelle, David, Kathy Luke and Betty correctly identified "...Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms-greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge-has marked the upward surge of mankind." coming from Wall Street (the original one)

Try this one (I am leaving out a key name as it will give the quote away):
"For God's sake, ***************, here we are, you got me into your house, you gave me a drink, you put on music, now you start opening up your personal life to me and tell me your husband won't be home for hours..."

In Theaters:

War Horse - This movie has Academy Award written all over it. It is an epic film that families can go to it without winching. It so well done. Do you think I liked it?? It was wonderful. The only human star that I knew from the film was Emily Watson. The young man, Jeremy Irvine, who trains Joey, the horse, is very good and believable as well as all the other characters Joey meets along his adventure. How this was done on stage is beyond me, but Spielberg did an outstanding job transforming it to the screen. There is a particularly touching scene where sides come together in helping Joey. (I am not giving anything away.) I know it will touch your heart as it did mine. For a wonderful two plus hours, see this film.

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - This American version of the novel does a fine job retelling the story. If you read the book, they changed the ending. If you didn't read the book, it can be confusing at times. It is very long - over two and a half hours!! Having said that, it holds your interest throughout. Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig do a fine job in the lead roles. It was also nice to see Christopher Plummer in n important role. Although it has been a while since I saw the Swedish version, I think I would give that one the edge as it stayed truer to the book. If you haven't seen the Swedish one, you can see it on instant streaming on Netflix and decide for yourself. (Sy is watching it as I write this review.)

On Netflix:

Conviction - This is yet another film based on a true story. Hillary Swank stars as Betty Ann Waters the sister of a convicted murderer, Kenny Waters. played by Sam Rockwell I would want a sister like this in my corner. She believed in her brother's innocence and to prove him so, she finishes high school and then goes on to law school to defend him. Minnie Driver, Melissa Leo and Peter Gallagher co-star. If it wasn't a true story, I wouldn't believe it as she had to beat the odds to achieve this task. Whenever I see a film that deals with an innocent being wrongly accused, I rethink my views about capital punishment. A good story with a disturbing message about flaws in our legal system.

At the Kennedy Center in Washington on its way to New York:

Ann - Holland Taylor of "Two and a Half Men" created, wrote and stars in this one woman show based on the life of Texas Governor, Ann Richards. She does an amazing job! Although I don't know much about Richards so cannot verify its contents, Taylor does a wonderful job assuming not only the role, but taking on the persona of Richards. I believe the Post gave it a so so review and faulted it for lack of political drama, but both Sy and I enjoyed the portrayal of a woman who rose to the top in spite of numerous odds. I thought it would be 90 minutes with no intermission, but it goes for about two hours or so with an intermission. It is will in the DC area for a few more weeks and then, I believe, goes on to New York. We were able to get two for one tickets since, as an usher told me, the tickets are not selling as well as they hoped. Look for deals not only on sites like Goldstar, but the Kennedy Center's site as well. It is worth the price.

A friend of mine sent the following quotes to me that I wanted to share them with all my movie friends. Happy and Healthy New Year to you all!

“When in doubt, just take the next step; make peace with your past so it won’t mess up the present; don’t compare your life to others – you have no idea what their journey is all about; take a deep breath – it calms the mind; get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful; burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie – don’t save it for a special occasion – today is special; no one is in charge of your happiness but you; frame every so called disaster with these words – ‘In five years, will it matter?’; Forgive everyone; time heals ; believe in miracles – miracles are everywhere; all that truly matters in the end is that you loved; the best is yet to come; and life isn’t tied with a bow, but it is still a gift.”

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." "Forgiveness is the grace by which you enable the other person to get up; and get up with dignity; and to begin anew." (Desmond Tuto)

Roberta

December 24

arol Frank, Yolanda, Betty, Kathy Luke, Florrie and Martha Hutchinson correctly identified "The fact that you're not answering leads me to believe that A) You're not home. B) You're home but you don't want to talk to me, or C) You're home, desperately want to talk to me, but you're trapped under something heavy. If it's either a or c, please give me a call." coming from When Harry Met Sally.

Try this:

"...Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms-greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge-has marked the upward surge of mankind."



On Netflix:

Incendies - This film was nominated for best foreign film in 2010. It is an intriguing story of twins who are directed by their mother's will, to deliver letters to their father, who they thought was dead, and a brother who they never knew. Much of the film takes place during the Lebanese civil war in the 1970's. The story takes many twists and turns and flashes back and forth from present day to the past. It can be confusing at times. The daughter and mother look a lot alike so you need to be patient until you get to know who is who. A story that grows on you; worth the time.

On Netflix and HBO:

The Adjustment Bureau - Normally this is not my type of movie; a sci-fi thriller with a love story thrown in for good measure is not for me, but Matt Damon and Emily Blunt are such a convincing couple, it was worth the time spent watching. The story is improbable, but the message that love conquers all and can change your fate, is eternal. If you want to escape from reality, it is a fine film to see.

Las Vegas: As many of you know, Sy and I took a short trip to Las Vegas the week of December 19 and had a lot of fun. Just in case any of you are planning a trip there, here are some hints:

Shows: We saw three shows while we were there:
The Magic of Rick Thomas - Before you say how lame, think about seeing a tiger disappear. No matter how many of these shows we go to, we are always amazed. There are a number of magic shows on the strip and downtown. This one is at the Tropicana Hotel and is mid-priced at about $40
The Improv - Whenever we go to Vegas we go to Harrah's Improv Comedy Club. Three comedians usually are on the bill. This time we saw Lachlan Patterson, the headliner, Steve Mittleman and Dava Krouse the emcee. They were all funny with Patterson the funniest. This show was $37, but we laughed the entire hour.
Lastly we were able to get tickets to The Lion King at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. This is a full Broadway scale production. The theater holds about 1000 and all the seats were filled. In fact, Sy and I could not get seats together, but we loved the production, music and dancing. A must especially if you have little ones. We sat pretty far up as I got the tickets the day before for $75 a piece.
I did want to go to see O, but it was sold out. I hate to buy tickets in advance. If something happens and you don't make the trip, you are out of luck. There is a concession called Tickets4Tonite that sells tickets for shows at a discount, but they don't have all the shows. We did get the magic show from them, but I think we could have done better by ourselves.

Food and Exercise:Vegas is a great walking city so even though we overate at many restaurants and buffets, we walked a lot of it off. We stay at Harrah's which is right in the middle of the strip. We averaged at least four miles a day of walking, but with stops in casinos along the way. Note about buffets - if you get there right before they change to their next meal, you pay that price, but reap the benefits and selections of the next meal. A waiter at the Golden Nugget told us this when we were heading in for a late lunch. There are many fine dining restaurants in the hotels along the strip. So whatever your taste, you'll find something to fit you.

Casinos: I did find my $5 blackjack tables in some of the big hotels. I especially liked the casinos at Monte Carlo, Excalibur, Tropicana and Harrahs on the strip and Four Queens downtown. $5 can change to $10, but with some warning and can be $5 one day and $10 the next (that happened at Tropicana) If you play the cheaper tables, the dealers and participants are usually friendlier as not as much money is being bet. You won't break the bank, but you won't lose your shirt either. This time we came out ahead by winning a little more than $200.

Hotels: Every time we go to Vegas the skyline changes with bigger and more elaborate hotels. As I said before, we tend to stay at Harrah's because of its location. The price this time was also unbeatable. I got the hotel for $27 a night. It is older, but still nice, clean and for the most part quiet. There are some new hotels like Aria, Cosmopolitan and Encore which are quite lovely. There is also a very upscale shopping center in front of Aria called City Center for those of you who like to shop.

As you can see, there is something for everyone. The one group I would keep away from Vegas are children. It blows my mind every time we go to see kids walking with parents along the strip. Although there are things for them to do, the atmosphere is not what I think appropriate for children; gambling, drinking and sex!

I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays. Happy New Year.

Roberta

December 12

Yolanda, Carol Frank, Betty, and Florrie correctly identified "God, she's beautiful. She's got the prettiest eyes. She looks so sexy in that sweater. I just want to be alone with her and hold her and kiss her, tell her how much I love her, take care of her. Stop it you idiot, she's your wife's sister." coming from Hannah and Her Sisters.

Try this:

"The fact that you're not answering leads me to believe that A) You're not home. B) You're home but you don't want to take to me, or C) You're home, desperately want to talke to me, but you're trapped under something heavy. If it's either a or c, please give me a call."

At Theaters:

J. Edgar - Although the critics gave this film a less than stellar rating, I enjoyed it very much. Leonardo DiCaprio did a fine job playing the lead character. The supporting actors were very good as well. The make up job on DeCaprio was outstanding, but for his right hand man, it was not very good unless this gentleman really did age so poorly. I learned a great deal, although I probably should check the facts with another source. The one complaint I had was the film jumped back and forth from his early years to the years just before he died. All in all, a good film.

Guest Reviewers - Sy, Amanda and Sarah

Jack and Jill - Since I had to go out and the girls were staying with us, the decision was made to go to the movies. Amanda wanted to see The Muppet Movie, Sarah wanted to see New Year's Eve and Sy didn't care. Since we didn't want Sarah to be alone and Amanda didn't want to see her movie they settled for Jack and Jill. They were the only people in the theater and during the film Sy texted Sarah with the message: "This is the worse film I have every seen." The girls agreed with him. Although they said it was funny at times, they said it was stupid - this coming from a ten and thirteen year old, One wonders why Al Pacino took the role he did! Save your money, your Netflix pick and your time if it ever appears on TV! Don't see it. (would have given no smiles, but Amanda said it was somewhat funny.)


On Netflix:

The Next Three Days - This film starring Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks, although improbable, was quite engaging. Banks is arrested for a murder and Crowe, as her husband, plans a daring escape. The trial is not developed at all. The majority of the film deals with Crowe's plan. Sy thought it stole a lot from The Fugitive, but it kept our interest and kept up at the edge of our seats until the end.

Good Place to Visit:

National Gallery of Art:

For a lovely afternoon, take a ride into DC and visit the National Gallery of Art. Presently they have an Andy Warhol exhibit featuring his headline artwork. My friends and I latched on to a tour that we thought was for the general public. Little did we know that the women had bid on this private tour given my the museum's curator who actually put this show together. Further coincidence was the group was from Great Falls Elementary where I had taught. What a wonderful coincidence! We learned so much on the tour. This exhibit last until the beginning of January. Next we headed to West Wing to see a painting of Samuel Morse entitled "Gallery of the Louvre." Who knew he was a painter before he became inventor of the Morse Code. A very interesting piece. This exhibit is here until July 8. Lastly, we went back to the East Wing to see an exhibit by Mel Bochner. This artist uses synonyms for his paintings. It is something we ask all our students to do when we ask them to elaborate on their writing. For example his Unnameable is a list of words in a vivid colors. The title word is followed by nameless and anonymous and so on. I was fascinated with it. If you go, you won't be disappointed. This exhibit lasts until April 8.

On another note:

Once again I would like to apologize for the email sent out today. AOL said I probably opened something I should not have and the hackers were able to get into my address book. I certainly learned my lesson!

For those of you who will be celebrating Chanukah next week - Happy Chanukah; for those of you celebrating Christmas - Merry Christmas and for those of you who just aren't celebrating - Happy New Year. We will be Las Vegas next week, but hope to see some shows while we are there. Look for my reviews then.

Roberta

December 1

Mark, David, Pat,Gil, Sara, Carol Frank, Paula, Alison, Caroline, Estelle, Florrie, Betty and Lucy were correct in identifying "You know what you look like to me, with your good bag and your cheap shoes? You look like a rube. A well-scrubbed, hustling rube with a little taste...Good nutrition has given you some length of bone, but you're not more than one generation from poor white trash, are you, Officer Starling?" coming from Silence of the Lamb.

Try this one:

"God, she's beautiful. She's got the prettiest eyes. She looks so sexy in that sweater. I just want to be alone with her and hold her and kiss her, tell her how much I love her, take care of her. Stop it you idiot, she's your wife's sister."

In Theaters:

The Descendents - Let me first say that I can watch George Clooney read the telephone book, but I found this film a bit slow. It is VERY depressing. Without giving the story away, if you have problems with seeing movies about death and dying, this is not for you. There are two side stories regarding his wife and extended family and the land they own in Hawaii. The star of this movie, in my opinion, is Hawaii. Having spent some time there, it was lovely to see the scenery and remember places we visited. The young actors playing his daughters and jerky friend are well cast and give solid performances. Is it well acted? yes. Were the characters likable? yes. Is it a downer? yes. Will you like it? perhaps. See it for yourself and decide.


On Netflix:

Win, Win- This heartwarming story stars Paul Giamatti as an attorney and wrestling coach. His practice is in trouble and he takes on the guardianship of an old man, whose grandson appears out of nowhere. The relationships bloom and a lovely story unfolds. I like how Giamatti never type casts himself. We just saw him in Ides of March and who can forget him as John Adams. Once again he shines in this role. The supporting cast is solid including: Jeffrey Tambor, Amy Ryan, Burt Young and Alex Shaffer. Bobby Cannavale is a hoot as Giamatti's best friend. For a feel good movie, see this one.

When we went to the theater this week, the previews for the holidays looked promising. So take some time to see some of the new films out there.

Roberta