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Sunday, December 15, 2024
You Can't Take It With You - Saturdazzle Adjacent Post
Sunday, April 30, 2023
A Month at the Movies End Credits
Last Month I participated in the A to Z Challenge. My theme was A Month at the Movies.
The Films I examined were ...
Empire Strikes Back, The -1980
When A Man Loves A Woman -1994
You Can't Take It With You -1938
A Closer Look
- 5 of the movies are from before 1964 (before I was born)
- 13 of the films were made between 1964 and 1997 (before marriage)
- 8 of the films were made since 1998 (since I've been married)
Each post contained my thoughts on the film, a positive and a negative Rotten Tomatoes review, a comment referencing what the film had to say about resilience, which was the theme of the A to Z challenge this year, a comment regarding whether this film might be in my top 100 films of all time (a list I'm in the process of revising), and any connections the film might have with other films in the challenge.
Previous Years Challenges
2012: No Theme
2015: Nouns
2015 White Sox Home Run Hitters (Crazy Uncle Dave's Sports Blog)
2016 Y is for You Tube - Dave Out Loud
2016 Cubs Home Run Hitters - Crazy Uncle Dave's Sports Blog
2016 A to Z Superheroes (Sadly I no longer have access to these posts)
2019 Songs of the Sherman Brothers Random Acts of Roller
2020 State and World Capitals Random Acts of Roller
2021 Living in 1921
2022 Wordles, Limericks, and Home Runs (Oh my)
Reflections on 2023
At times I wondered when quoting negative and positive reviews of each film whether people might be confused about how I felt about the film. Other times I felt a little bit of guilt in posting a negative review of a film I adored. However, my intention was to show the reader the spectrum of opinions that a movie no matter how well done can engender. In the end, I was gratified that I could find well-reasoned arguments on both sides regarding the quality or lack thereof for each of my selections.
For the most part, this was another good year at the challenge. I did not interact with as many other blogs as I would have liked to. I don't think I looked at any blogs other than my own for the last week of the challenge. Each year I tell my wife that I should have all the posts written before the challenge starts. I never get anywhere near that goal. This year I had a few fully prepared in advance, but I had set up each post in advance and had added good chunks of information ahead of time. For example, I had the graphics copied to the individual posts about 2 weeks ahead of time and the Rotten Tomato reviews were linked usually the Sunday before the week they appeared. I also in retrospect was wise because I finished Z and Y completely before the challenge, so when Friday hit and challenge fatigue was at its highest, I was essentially finished with the challenge.
FAQ
Did each film represent your favorite film with that letter?
No, some films were, and many films were not. Adventures of Robin Hood is one of several A movies that are in my top 100, whereas Arsenic and Old Lace will probably not make my top 100. Arsenic and Old Lace was the one I chose to feature.
Did you have certain criteria for choosing each film?
I wanted each movie to have had a theatrical release, and I wanted it to be a movie I had previously seen and enjoyed, Other than that I did not have specific criteria.
Did you rewatch each movie in anticipation of the challenge?
No, but I did rewatch some prior to writing my post and watched others on or near the day the post dropped. I watched You Can't Take It With You this afternoon with my wife as a post-challenge treat.
Closing Remarks
I think that there should be a week or so between the end of the challenge and the beginning of the reflection period. Reflection shouldn't be rushed and rest and reflection walk happily together. Of course, I want my reflection to be near the top so more people can read it, so I eschewed the rest and am finishing my reflection on the challenge before the challenge has officially finished.
In that vein, I would not start the A to Z Road Trip until Memorial Day. On the positive side, I think it's grand that there will be at least one post a month on the challenge blog for the rest of the year. I did one of those posts in February 2022 and would be honored to step in again if asked.
Next Year: I plan on an A to Z look at characters from The Chronicles of Narnia. Each year since 1983, I have been reading all the books at least once and this year when I do I'll begin making a list of which characters will appear here in 2024.
Z Is For Zootopia
A to Z Challenge 2023
A Month At The Movies
Film: Zootopia (2016)
Directors: Byron Howard & Rich Moore
2016 was a big year at the movies for Walt Disney Studios. According to Box Office Mojo, they had 5 of the top 7 grossing films released in that year. It was also a big year for animated children's movies with 3 of the aforementioned top 7. Zootopia was 7th on the list grossing 341.3 million in the U.S. alone.
Next Time: A to Z Reflection
Saturday, April 29, 2023
Y is for You Cant Take It ...
A TO Z Challenge 2023
A Month At The Movies
This year I am copying from a myriad of other A to Z challengers by reprinting the same synopsis about my theme with every letter. You can skip over this part if you want to.
Film: You Can't Take It With You (1938)
Director: Frank Capra
You Can't Take It With You is your standard issue 1930's screwball comedy with the Frank Capra touch. The below video does a great job in 9 minutes of recapping and reviewing the film.
The son of a Wall Street banker falls in love with the granddaughter of the person blocking the banker's money-making scheme. Stars Edward Arnold, Lionel Barrymore, Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur.
Positive Tomato: It's one of the most amusing and satisfying pictures to be seen in months, and certain to be an enormous hit with audiences. Edwin Schallert - Los Angeles Times
Negative Tomato: It may be disappointment that any Frank Capra comedy should be heavy and overdone which makes You Can't Take It with You seem such a dud. Otis Ferguson - The New Republic
Resiliency: You Can't Take it with you is the oldest movie on this list. It is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year. That its themes would still resonate with audiences today shows how resilient film can be.
Top 100: This is one of those movies that I would tell you I think it would be my the top 100 and then wind up with 125+ films on my list. It is definitely worthy of consideration and may end up making my actual list.
A to Z Connection: This is the third film featuring my favorite director Frank Capra in the challenge along with Arsenic and Old Lace and It's A Wonderful Life. It is also the 3rd film featuring my favorite actor Jimmy Stewart (It's A Wonderful Life and Vertigo). Speaking of 3s, it is the third film along with the aforementioned Arsenic and Old Lace and A Man For All Seasons to be adapted from a broadway play. This is the 5th and final Academy Award winner for Best Picture on my list. The other 4 are A Man For All Seasons, Chariots of Fire, Ordinary People, and The Kings Speech. The Kings Speech has also been produced on Broadway, but in this case, the play was adapted from the film, not vice-versa.
Next Time: Zoo-Dun-It?
Thursday, April 27, 2023
W is for When
A to Z Challenge
A Month At The Movies
This year I am copying from a myriad of other A to Z challengers by reprinting the same synopsis about my theme with every letter. You can skip over this part if you want to.
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
U is for UHF
Hello and welcome back to A Month at the Movies, my contribution to the A to Z challenge for 2023.
This year I am copying from a myriad of other A to Z challengers by reprinting the same synopsis about my theme with every letter. You can skip over this part if you want to.
Weird Al's Apartment in UHF By Mountain Mike Johans…, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47260199 |
Positive Tomato - The individual parts may be greater than the sum of the whole, but man, are those parts funny. Austin Trunick - Under The Radar
Negative Tomato - This is the dreariest comedy in many a month, a depressing slog through recycled comic formulas. Roger Ebert - Chicago Sun-Times
If I were to give UHF a 6 or less-word film review it would be: Walter Mitty meets SCTV. The film is essentially a bunch of parodies with a plot sandwiched in between them. The movie begins with a pretty good Raiders parody.
Tuesday, April 18, 2023
O is For Ordinary People
A to Z Challenge
A Month At The Movies
Hello and welcome back to A Month at the Movies, my contribution to the A to Z challenge for 2023.
This year I am copying from a myriad of other A to Z challengers by reprinting the same synopsis about my theme with every letter. You can skip over this part if you want to.
Monday, April 17, 2023
N is For North By Northwest
A to Z Challenge
A Month At The Movies
Hello and welcome back to A Month at the Movies, my contribution to the A to Z challenge for 2023.
This year I am copying from a myriad of other A to Z challengers by reprinting the same synopsis about my theme with every letter. You can skip over this part if you want to.
By Ante Brkan - Dr. Macro, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14857139 |
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cary_Grant_North_by_Northwest_still.jpg#/media/File:Cary_Grant_North_by_Northwest_still.jpg |
- The above painting depicting the aforementioned scene is part of a mural in the Leytonstone (The section of London where Hitchcock was born.) Tube station.
- Alfred Hitchcock featured the motif of the "wrong man" in several of his films.
- Hitchcock and Grant collaborated on 4 films from 1941- 1959. North by Northwest was the last of these films.
- North by Northwest was Hitchcock's 2nd highest-grossing film 2nd only to Psycho. It was Cary Grant's highest-grossing film.
- Leo G. Carrol (who was in 6 Hitchcock films) plays the head of a secret international counterespionage and law-enforcement agency in the film and essentially plays the same type of role in the 1960s television phenomenon The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Saturday, April 15, 2023
M is for A Man for All Seasons
A to Z Challenge
A Month At The Movies
Hello and welcome back to A Month at the Movies, my contribution to the A to Z challenge for 2023.
This year I am copying from a myriad of other A to Z challengers by reprinting the same synopsis about my theme with every letter. You can skip over this part if you want to.
By w:Robert Bolt - Scanned by uploader, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54061906 A Man For All Seasons is based on the play of the same name. It is the story of British Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More. According to Wikipedia More in addition to having served as Lord Chancellor was also an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. More is one of my heroes, which is odd because He was a Roman Catholic opposed to the Protestant Reformation and I am a former Catholic who is a big fan of the Protestant Reformation. The reason why I am such a fan or More and A Man For All Seasons is that More was an exemplar of standing up for your faith with dignity, grace, and intellectual integrity.
This clip is proof that you can make a great movie and a bad trailer for it. |
Positive Tomato: Such a film as A Man For All Seasons makes the silly efforts of avant-garde and "new" picture directors look raw and hideous. This film combines so many qualities of excellence that it stands alone as an example of what a motion picture can be. Marjory Adams - Boston Globe
Negative Tomato: Despite the awards which have been extravagantly heaped upon it and the cool brilliance of Paul Scofield's performance, it remains a costume drama which adds nothing to our understanding of the times, or indeed of men. Craig McGregor - Sydney Morning Herald
This film was nominated for 8 Academy Awards and won 6 including Best Actor, (Paul Scofield), Best Picture, and Best Director (Fred Zinnemann). While I agree with all of those selections, I think the award that highlights the greatest strength of this film is the Oscar for Best Cinematography going to Ted Moore. Moore gives us a gorgeously filmed picture from beginning to end.
Resiliency: Paul Scofield won a Tony award and an Oscar for his portrayal of More.
Top 100: I sometimes am questioned about whether my list of top 100 films is for technical excellence or for how much I enjoyed the film. I have yet to land what I would call a satisfactory answer to that question. I will say this, the excellence of the Zinnemann direction, Moore cinematography, and the Scofield portrayal of More are 3 reasons why this film resonates so much with me and why it is certainly in my top 100 favorite films.
Next Time: Not the spy you're looking for.
Friday, April 7, 2023
F is For 42
A to Z Challenge
A Month At The Movies
Hello and welcome back to A Month at the Movies, my contribution to the A to Z challenge for 2023.
This year I am copying from a myriad of other A to Z challengers by reprinting the same synopsis about my theme with every letter. You can skip over this part if you want to.
Harrison Ford transforms himself into Branch Rickey.
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
D is For Dave
A to Z Challenge
A Month At The Movies
Hello and welcome back to A Month at the Movies, my contribution to the A to Z challenge for 2023.
This year I am copying from a myriad of other a to z challengers by reprinting the same synopsis about my theme with every letter. You can skip over this part if you want to.
Monday, April 3, 2023
B is for Breaking Away
A to Z Challenge
A Month At The Movies
Hello and welcome back to A Month at the Movies, my contribution to the A to Z challenge for 2023.
This year I am copying from a myriad of other a to z challengers by reprinting the same synopsis about my theme with every letter. You can skip over this part if you want to.
I love movies and have decided to share with you a movie each day that I have enjoyed to one degree or another. With each entry, I'll give a brief synopsis of the film, share a positive and negative review from Rotten Tomatoes ( a website, I didn't use much at all until preparing for the challenge), discuss its resiliency (the theme of the A to Z challenge this year), and other tidbits like whether the film may appear in my top 100 film list, which I have been revamping this year. I think that's enough in the way of introduction, considering you'll be reading it (hopefully) 24 more times this month.
Film: Breaking Away (1979)
Director: Peter Yates
By www.impawards.com, Fair use, Link
Breaking Away is a coming-of-age sports movie about four friends from Bloomington, Indiana. The movie features Dennis Christopher, Daniel Stern, Dennis Quaid, and Jackie Earle Hailey. Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern are probably the most famous of the 4 now, but at the time I only recognized Jackie Earle Hailey from the Bad News Bears films.
The movie takes place in the late '70s in Bloomington, Indiana, a college town in the midwest. Christopher plays the main character Dave Stoller. The movie takes place in the year after Stoller and his 3 friends graduate from high school and are spending their gap year hanging around together when Stoller isn't cycling around Indiana or tormenting his father by cosplaying an Italian cyclist.
The movie does a great job of confronting the divides between social classes and generations. It has humor, introspection, romance, and intrigue while being true to its David vs. Goliath roots. The American Film Institute (AFI) has placed on two of its lists of top 100 films. In 2006 it was named #8 on the list of most inspirational movies. In 2008 The AFI named it 8th on their list of sports moves.
( Left To Right ) Christopher, Hailey, Stern, Quaid
(Photo by John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Positive Tomato: I seriously can't imagine anyone not liking it. Gene Siskel - Chicago Tribune
Negative Tomato: This timeworn material probably should work, but it doesn't really since, most of the film's angst and conflict seem calculated. Jeremy Heilman - MovieMartyr.com
The movie was filmed entirely in Bloomington, Indiana. If you are interested this video goes back and shows some of the main places where it was filmed.
Resiliency: Resiliency is sometimes pre-meditated as near the end of the movie when Dave and his friends tape Dave's feet to the bike pedals so as the commentators observe they can no longer switch riders for the duration of the race. That scene is a visual reminder to me of the end of Hebrews 12:1 , "And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
Top 100: When I last made my top 100 list, I wasn't really sure what to do with Breaking Away. I loved it when it first came out but when I saw it last 20 years ago or so I remember thinking it hadn't aged well. I watched it again earlier this year and it really resonated with me again. It would definitely make my top 100 this time out and wouldn't be surprised at all if it broke into the top 50.
For more A to Z challenge click here
Next Time: C is for Champion
Saturday, April 1, 2023
A is for Arsenic
A to Z Challenge 2023
A Month At The Movies
Hello and welcome to A Month at the Movies, my contribution to the A to Z challenge for 2023.
This year I am copying from a myriad of other a to z challengers by reprinting the same synopsis about my theme with every letter. You can skip over this part if you want to. I love movies and have decided to share with you a movie each day that I have enjoyed to one degree or another. With each entry, I'll give a brief synopsis of the film, share a positive and negative review from Rotten Tomatoes ( a website, I didn't use much at all until preparing for the challenge), discuss its resiliency (the theme of the A to Z challenge this year), and other tidbits like whether the film may appear in my top 100 film list, which I have been revamping this year. I think that's enough in the way of introduction, considering you'll be reading it (hopefully) 25 more times this month.
Film: Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Director: Frank Capra
Cary Grant stars in this dark comedy/ screwball comedy that was the first Frank Capra film I ever watched. The basic gist of the film is that Mortimer Brewster (played by Grant) is a theatre critic and avowed bachelor who at the beginning of the film marries the girl next door to his boyhood home in Brooklyn.
"The Fun" begins when Grant discovers his beloved salt of the earth aunts are actually serial murderers and is then also reunited with a few other of his sanity-challenged relatives.
Positive Tomato: It's not mere hyperbole to state that Frank Capra's Arsenic and Old Lace ranks as one of the funniest films ever made. Matt Brunson - Film Frenzy
Negative Tomato: Not one of Capra's best. Grant is too hammy and out of control, and without Boris Karloff as Jonathan Brewster, the joke is lost. Bob Bloom - Journal and Courier (Lafayette, Indiana)
I really enjoyed this movie watching it on T.V. as a kid. In recent viewing, I found it a little long and a little uneven but still enjoyed it and would probably watch it again, especially with folks who have not seen it before.
Resiliency: Mortimer Brewster shows a lot of resiliency throughout the film trying to figure out how to best deal with his family situation since he literally knows where the bodies are buried.
Top 100: I don't think this will make my top 100 list. I'm a Big Frank Capra fan and while it's not one of my favorite Capra films, I do think that maybe it would make its way onto the bottom 100 of my top 200 film list.
For more A to Z Challenge click here.
Next Time: B is for Bike Movie
Saturday, March 4, 2023
A to Z Challenge 2023 Theme Reveal: A Month At The Movies
I have some good news. I just saved 15% by switching my insurance to Geico. No, my news is better than that. The A to Z Challenge is coming to a blog near you and I am very excited. The event begins in earnest on April 1st, but on March 12th you can participate in the theme reveal at A to Z challenge.com.
I love the A to Z challenge. I don't think it's any great stretch to say that I am still blogging in no small part due to the A to Z challenge. From 2012 to 2021 I participated nine times in the challenge. Over that time I have entered 5 of my blogs in the challenge sometimes as many as 3 in the same year.
I love almost everything about the challenge. I love reading other people's blogs and commenting on them. I love how so many of the blogs I currently have on my blogroll have participated at one time or another in the challenge. I love creating a theme and disciplining myself to post 26 times on that theme. I especially love putting things in alphabetical order. I think I'll put that last sentence in alphabetical order: "alphabetical, especially I in love order. putting things" (Yes, I put the punctuation marks in alphabetical order as well. Who Wouldn't?)
Every year until they make the big announcement I get a little concerned that maybe they won't be doing the challenge this year. I'm a weird dude, 49% optimist, 49% pessimist, and 2% milk in a glass half full. But I have been blogging for a long time and I've seen lots of blogs and blogging events be lost and gone forever, dreadful sorry Clementine over the years. So when I heard the A to Z challenge was coming back and better than ever I was stoked.
Since I am so jacked that the Challenge is on, I decided to announce my theme a little early this year. My 2023 Theme is A Month at the Movies.
2692117 © Laura Domenica Cantisani | Dreamstime.com
I have been posting a lot lately about films. I am spending this year revamping my 100 favorite film list. I am trying to watch 12 new movies to me this year and post about them here. I have been thinking about a simple movie theme for the challenge for the past few years. I say a simple theme because in the past, I have participated in the challenge at more than one blog at a time, and last year I had 3 themes in one challenge: home runs, limericks, and wordle starting guesses. Compared to those 26 movie reviews will be a walk in the park, but not A Walk to Remember, as my A film will be Arsenic and Old Lace.
The A to Z Theme for 2023 is resiliency. With each film I choose, I will incorporate how that film demonstrates resiliency in one way or another.
I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but I am super excited about this year's A to Z challenge. I'm so excited that I've already thought of my theme for the 2024 challenge. Since I'm already in full reveal mode, and since my ADHD will probably interfere with remembering it for next year I'll just reveal my 2024 A to Z challenge theme now. The 2024 theme will be Narnian characters and creatures from A to Z. My working title is Narnia: From Aslan to Zardeenah.
Before I get too far ahead of myself here are the important dates for this year's challenge.
March 12th - March 18th: Theme Reveal
April 1st: The Letter A
April3rd -April 8th: Letters B-G
April 10th -15th: Letters H-M
April 17th -22nd: Letters N-S
April 24th-April30th: Letters Letters T-Z
May 1st - May 6th: A to Z Reflections
May 15th: A to Z Road Trip Begins
Check out A to Z challenge.com for more information I may have missed. Click here for more on the Theme Reveal. Click here to see who has signed up so far.
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Growing Up1 year ago