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Monday, April 15, 2024
A to Z 2024: M is for Microvolunteering
Thursday, April 11, 2024
A To Z 2024: J is for Just Married (26 Years Ago)
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
A to Z 2024: C is for Cinematic Compositions
Monday, March 18, 2024
12 New Movies 2024: #2 Sing
In many of the Special Ed classes I sub in they have what is called Fun Friday, an enjoyable activity in the last couple of periods of the day. Often this is a kids movie. In February the class I was subbing for watched Sing, an animated film from 2016. Because of my previous job at a local movie theatre, I had seen quite a bit of it's 2023 sequel Sing II. But since I didn't work there until 2019 and did not end up taking my own children to it, I had never seen the original.
Matthew McConaughey at the premiere of Sing. 2016 Toronto Film Festival ,
, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Monday, February 26, 2024
12 New Movies 2024 Film #1 In The Good Old Summer Time
When It comes to placing content on this blog I continually am reminded of the Peanuts comic strip. Lucy would hold the football for Charlie Brown to kick it and then pull it away from him at the last second . He would fly through the air and land on his back. Lucy always seems to be able to convince Charlie Brown that this time it will be different and each time it ends exactly the same.
In my blog I have these ideas for recurring posts and quite often I start them but then never get to finishing them. One of these actually predates my blogs and that is the idea of watching 12 movies I have not seen before in a year. Of course I complicate this simple plan by stating that the films must be from different eras. Each year by April or May I have forgotten which new movies I've seen and I don't meet my goal. I thought blogging about them might help me keep track, but it only ends up documenting my failure . In some ways I am both like Lucy luring me to try again each year and like Charlie Brown convincing myself that this time I'll be different falling flat on my back when the football is metaphorically pulled from my path.
My wife likes to say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and expecting different results. But that same wife once co wrote a song with me entitled I'm insane, you're insane, who's gonna win. So since I already am (I won) sanity challenged, trying again this year isn't that bad of an idea. Maybe this time I'll at least make it to AAUGHust.
As I said I try to split the films up so they are not all from the same era. I try to choose 4 films that are older than me and 8 that have come out in my life time
This year I plan to see 2 new to me films from each of these 6 eras
I. 2009 to 2023
II. 1994 to 2008
III. 1979 to 1993
IV. 1964 to 1978
V. 1949 to 1963
VI. before and including 1934 to 1948
I have already watched 2 new movies this year.
I would give this movie a rating between 2 1/2 and 3 stars out of 5. The film takes place in the early years of 20th century Chicago featuring Judy Garland and Van Johnson as two music music store workers who are also engaging in a mail correspondence not realizing that they know each other in what will be called " IRL" more than a century later. This musical is based on the 1936 Hungarian play Parfumerie by Miklos Laszlo which has spawned 2 other movies and one Broadway musical. One theme from the film is that circumstances can effect the way we view the world especially how we evaluate people. I really enjoyed the performances by Buster Keaton (Sherlock Holmes, Jr.) , and S.Z. Sakall (Casablanca) as the shopkeepers nephew and the shopkeeper, respectively. Their presence helps bring out much of the films comedic elements. One aspect of the film I did not enjoy was that many of the musical numbers, although entertaining on their own merit, did not really go with the story that was being told. This led to kind of an uneven feel to the film, which led to my mediocre rating. I would definitely recommend this film to fans of Garland and to those who like to watch different adaptations of the same source material.
Saturday, February 10, 2024
Two Ways To Film The Same Scene
Thursday, June 22, 2023
Avengers: Infinity War Cast Sings "The Marvel Bunch"
Sunday, May 21, 2023
Don't Cross The Snakes
Sunday, April 30, 2023
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.
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
These Blogs Are So Last Year
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Does Grief Last Forever?1 year ago
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Growing Up1 year ago
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