Holiday Movies - Starting early

The Man Who Came to Dinner (1941)

In this television adaptation of the hit Broadway play, Monty Wooley, who plays Sheridan (Sherry) Whiteside overstays his welcome at the home of an Ohio Family. He slips and falls on the ice on his way to their house for dinner. He is told that his hip is fractured and he requires bed rest.

His stay puts a cramp in a lot of people's style including his secretary played by Bette Davis.

I've always liked Monty Wooley, and I loved him in this. This is also one of Bette Davis' better roles.

It takes place during Christmas so it is an appropriate movie to watch during this time of year.

4 out of 5 stars.



An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving (2008)

This movie based on a short story by Louisa May Alcott was aired on the Hallmark Channel. It was pure Hallmarkian. A struggling widow is trying to support her 3 children, and they will not be able to afford a Thanksgiving turkey. The widow's estranged mother (who is rich) shows up unexpected. There are a lot of wounds and a lot of dysfunction, but it all comes together in the end. After all, it is Hallmark.

I give this 3 out of 5 stars. I don't know if it was the story or the production. It was just OK for me. It is a nice film though, very family friendly.

BLOGGER BLOCKAGE!

My job has blocked blogger. I can see it, but I can't post or answer comments. URGH!

I will be doing all my posting from home.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

It's never to early to read Christmas books. This is the only book I borrowed from the library this week. Still reading one from last week and also working on an audio book. Not to mention, the other books I have on order are still in a queue. I hate waiting for books sometimes.

And only 1 DVD this week. Not technically a Christmas movie and I love Kinkade, so I hope this will be a sweet movie.

Hoping to have more loot to share next week.

A-Z Wednesday

A-Z Wednesday is hosted by Vicky of Reading at the Beach

Welcome to A-Z Wednesday!!
To join, here's all you have to do:
Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with the letter of the week.
Post:
1~ a photo of the book
2~ title and synopsis
3~ link (amazon, barnes and noble etc.)

Be sure to visit other participants to see what book they have posted and leave them a comment.(We all love comments, don't we?) Who knows? You may find your next "favorite" book.

This Week's Letter is "M"

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

For this novel of French bourgeois life in all its inglorious banality, Flaubert invented a paradoxically original and wholly modern style. His heroine, Emma Bovary, a bored provincial housewife, abandons her husband to pursue the libertine Rodolphe in a desperate love affair. A succès de scandale in its day, Madame Bovary remains a powerful and arousing novel.

AWESOME. I listened to this on an audiobook. I was pleasantly surprised that it was good and that I enjoyed it. I do often read/listen to Classic novels, but when I read the synopsis I thought "sounds pretty boring", but it wasn't. It was suspensful, surprising and just good story telling.

Mario Lanza Documentaries

If you are not into opera or classic movies, you've probably never heard of Mario Lanza.

Mario Lanza (January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an Italian American tenor and Hollywood movie star who enjoyed success in the late 1940s and 1950s.

He has done a handful of movies, some of the most memorable ones are "The Great Caruso" and "That Midnight Kiss".

I love to read and watch things about famous people, and since I'm a Mario Lanza fan, I was happy to hear of a more recent Documentary that was a special feature on the movie "The Toast of New Orleans".

The documentary "Singing to the Gods" was very accurate according to my knowledge. There is a book by the same name, although I have not had the pleasure of reading it yet, but it is on the TBR short list.

"Singing to the Gods" was produced in 2005. Like most documentaries, it touches on his childhood, his rise, his movie career, his singing career, his personal life and tragedies. Interviews with the people who knew him, including one of his daughters and his personal trainer. It was well produced & well put together. When I watched it, I didn't think much of it. I thought it was an accurate portrayal of Mario Lanza.

A few days later I watched "Mario Lanza: The American Caruso", this one is the 1983 documentary (I even watched in on VHS, talk about retro!) Placido Domingo was the narrator.

I'll start by pointing out the parts I enjoyed:

1) I liked the scene where Placido showed us Mario Lanza's childhood notebook, and how he was looking for a 'stage' name at a very young age. How he came up with Mario Lanza (his birth name was Alfred Arnold Cocozza). He took his mothers name - Maria, and masculinized it, and then used her maiden name. I thought that was pretty cool and something I had not known about him.

2) I liked hearing all of his children talk about their parents.

3) I enjoyed the candid shots of the family.

4) The were accurate about his title "The singing truck driver". He was never actually a truck driver, he occasionally backed up the truck near his father's store, but for years they called him that and that is a fallacy.

Now, what I didn't like:

1) I adore Placido, but he should stick to singing and not speak in English. Is accent was so thick, I could hardly understand what he was saying (and I live in THE BRONX), Spanish accents are like second nature, but even I couldn't get all of his words.

2) The started the documentary with his movie career and showing clips. I didn't mind this so much, but it was a half an hour before they got to his childhood, and that was so brief, if you blinked you would have missed it.

3) And the part that got my goat!!!!!!! That he was killed by the mob....C'MON!
They were saying he died of a heart attack, which I believe is false, I believe he really died of a pulmonary embolism caused by his Phlebitis. His Phlebitis is a well known fact, and he having a pulmonary embolism from it is not hard to believe. The conspiracy theories made me angry. That the nurse was paid by the mob to do something to his IV that would make it appear that he had a heart attack.

Mario died in a weight loss center that used a twilight sleep and IV feeding to induce weight loss. Mario had done this time and time again with success. And although his rapid weight fluctuations could have very well caused a heart attack, I doubt it.

So the whole mob story just ticked me off. Why does it have to be the mob? Because he was an Italian American? Why can't he just have died, young and tragically?

See, now I'm in rant mode. LOL!

So the break down is:
Singing to the Gods gets 4 out of 5 stars
Mario Lanza: The American Caruso gets 2 out of 5 stars.

October Reads - October Watches

Closing the gap to my goal of 75.


Books 58 - 66

58. When the Heart Cries - Cindy Woodsmall
59. The Last Song - Nicholas Sparks
60. Have a Little Faith - Mitch Albom
61. Night Flight - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
62. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate - Jacqueline Kelly
63. The Christmas List: A Novel - Richard Paul Evans
64. The Well: David's Story - Mildred Taylor
65. Finding Purpose Beyond Our Pain - Meier & Henderson
66. Crossing Over - Ruth Irene Garrett



No goals for movie watching, just keep a list for my own sanity. I'll start with #254 for the year since I haven't been putting a running total in this blog. Yes I watch a lot of movies, but this is a slow year. Last year I was on movie #254 in July!

Movies 254 - 282

254. Beetlejuice
255. Son of Frankenstein
256. White Zombie
257. Salem's Lot (1979)
258. Ghostbusters
259 Where The Sidewalk Ends
260. Highlander
261. Ghost Story
262. Trick r Treat
263. Quarentine
264. Unforgetably Evil: Documentary
265. Chris Rock: Kill The Messenger
266. Tales of Terror
267. I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
268. If…
269. O Lucky Man!
270. Drag Me to Hell
271. The Haunting of Molly Heartly
272. Ghostbusters 2
273. The Objective
274. The Haunting in Connecticut
275. Last House on the Left
276. Fallen Angel
277. Bedlam
278. House of Wax
279. Mr. Sardonocus
280. School of Rock (Rewatch)
281. The Stepfather (1978)
282. A Murder of Crows

As you can see, October is filled with Horror pictures. Now that the month is over, you will see an increase in Holiday fare.

Are there any THANKSGIVING Movies?

YES!

You know I love to research stuff, movies especially. Here are some Thanksgiving themed movies I've found. Some I've seen, some I will see. If I have seen, you will see my comments in red. All descriptions from Amazon.com

What's Cooking?
109 min.
What happens when families come together for Thanksgiving? Almost anything! Sit back, relax and enjoy this "generous and charming" (The New York Times) tale of four very different families as they cook up some tasty holiday surprises: love, betrayal and even a few outrageous secrets! And, ultimately, discover the astonishing power love has to reconnect us all.
I think this is the best Thanksgiving movie I've ever seen. Not only does in integrate cultures, it has a touching story that will keep you involved right until the very end. Highly Recommend.



Who Made the Potatoe Salad?
90 min.
Michael, a young San Diego police officer, is so thankful that his beautiful girlfriend Ashley has accepted his marriage proposal that he decides to meet her family over Thanksgiving dinner. But nothing can prepare Michael for what Ashley's family is about to serve up: Her dad's a Black Panther, her brother's a thug, and her grandparents – well, they've got it goin' on...and on and on! By dessert time, Michael has to wonder whether his first meeting of the prospective in-laws should be his last in this delectable comedy that'll leave you begging for seconds!
This was cute, but average. A fun way to pass 90 min.

One Special Night

92 min.
Two strangers take refuge in a small cabin during a stormy winter night and, despite their differences, or because of them, they are undeniably drawn to one another in this holiday classic that demonstrates once again the charisma that has made them two of the world's most beloved stars.

Hannah and Her Sisters

103 min.

Hannah and Her Sisters spins a tale of three unforgettable women. The eldest daughter of show-biz parents, Hannah is a devoted wife, loving mother and successful actress. A loyal supporter of her two aimless sisters Lee and Holly, she's also the emotional backbone of a family that seems to resent her stability almost as much as they depend on it. But when Hannahs perfect world is quietly sabotaged by sibling rivalry, she finally begins to see that she's as lost as everyone else, and in order to find herself, she'll have to choose – between the independence her family can't live with...and the family she can't live without.

My second favorite Thanksgiving movie of all time. Family interaction at its finest. Woody Allen hit the mark with this one.

Dutch

107 min.

Dutch Dooley, a working-class good guy who’s the new boyfriend of a wealthy big shot’s ex-wife. But when the woman’s spoiled son refuses to come home from his Southern prep school for Thanksgiving, Dutch volunteers to pick the bratty boy up for a road trip back to Chicago that quickly goes hilariously wrong. From fireworks fiascos to hitchhiking with hookers, can a man who’s really just a grown-up kid find a way to bring out the child in a little jerk?
I laughed and laughed. This was a delightful and funny movie. Kids will enjoy it too.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

93 min.

Given the presence of both Steve Martin and John Candy, one would expect this John Hughes comedy to be much, much funnier than it is. Certainly it's not for lack of effort on the part of its stars. Martin is an uptight businessman trying to get home from New York for the holidays. But one thing after another gets in his way--most of it having to do with Candy, a boorish but well-meaning boob who takes a liking to him. Together they travel all over the map; no matter how hard Martin tries to shake him, he can't. But Hughes's writing is never as sharp as it should be and this film winds up being only intermittently humorous.

I thought it was funny enough to keep me entertained.

Son and Law

95 min.

An insouciant college student asked by a friend to pretend to be her fiancé over Thanksgiving break, thus discouraging a jerk back in her hometown from proposing. Shore's character agrees but is given a hard time by the girl's salt-of-the-earth family of farmers. The hero and the friend character have a crush on each other, and now that they have an opportunity to explore romance, their relationship is threatened by poor his tests of rural manhood.

Pauley Shore stars in this, and I'm not a Shore fan, however, I thought this was pretty funny. Shore does some dumb slapstick, but all in all, the story was fun, and romantic.

The Myth of Fingerprints

91 min.
A Sundance Festival special, this indie family comedy-drama was given unduly harsh treatment by critics when it was released. Starring as the long-estranged son of an emotionally distant father, Noah Wyle comes home to his family for Thanksgiving in hopes of reconnecting with his old girlfriend, and receives unexpected results. But he's not the only one coming back. There's the brother with a cute fiancée, who doesn't quite understand what all the tension is about. There's the glum sister who is down on love and everything else until she connects with a childhood acquaintance. And Mom is there to referee it all. But the central conflict involves Wyle and his father.

I couldn't finish this one. I sat through 30 min or so and turned it off. It was too slow, I was bored to tears. I will try again.

Home for the Holidays

103 min.

Holly Hunter plays a Chicago-based single mom who--on the day before Thanksgiving--loses her job and is informed by her daughter of the latter's intention to surrender her virginity while on a weekend-long affair. If that's not enough, Hunter's character then has to fly to Baltimore to join her fractious family for another difficult Thanksgiving. Robert Downey Jr. is terrifically charming as her prankish, gay brother, and Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning show plenty of comic resilience during the predictably interesting Thanksgiving dinner scene. The script by W.D. Richter (Brubaker) avoids the usual clichés in family dramas--the deepest, darkest secret revealed here involves the painfully sweet revelation of a 40-year-old crush. Jodie Foster, directing her second feature, focuses instead on the inevitable softening of old grudges and disappointments with time. This is a wise as well as wonderfully fun movie.

I tried to sit through this one, for Downey Jr., but I found I couldn't. I will try again this year. If I can't, I will give it up.

Pieces of April

80 min.

The plot of Pieces of April, a sweet independent film, couldn't be simpler: As a raffish young woman named April struggles to cook Thanksgiving dinner in her dingy, cramped New York apartment, her estranged family slowly drives toward the city, stopping now and then to question why they're going to a meal they expect to be not only bad to eat, but awkward and unhappy. The writing, acting, and directing of Pieces of April ranges from straightforward to clumsy--and yet the movie builds to a surprisingly potent emotional conclusion. Much of the credit goes to wily Patricia Clarkson, who plays April's cancer-ridden mother with a compelling mixture of sadness, rebellion, and wistful hope.

This wasn't a bad flick, I sat through it.

The House of Yes
85 min.

This film was the toughest of the bunch to embrace, based as it was on a self-consciously quirky off-Broadway play about Thanksgiving at the home of a particularly strange family. Oldest son Josh Hamilton comes home from college for the holidays, with fiancée Tori Spelling in tow. What he hasn't told her is that his twin sister, Jackie-O (played by Parker Posey), thinks she's Jackie Kennedy--or that he and Jackie-O have shared more than, shall we say, filial affection. Posey is wonderfully edgy and she and Hamilton spar with entertaining vigor, but you still have to cope with writer-director Mark Waters's pretentious script.

NO! I hated this film so much, I wanted to dig my eyeballs out with a spoon!

For Children

Stories of Thanksgiving
34 min.
This holiday collection includes these 2 titles: Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message The Pilgrims of Plymoth A comprehensive activity guide with exciting ways to enhance early language and literacy skills. K-4.

Molly's Pilgrim
24 min.
Based on the beautifully sensitive book by Barbara Cohen, this live-action film examines the plight of a young Russian-Jewish emigrant who has come to the United States to escape religious persecution. "Molly's Pilgrim" carries a message about religious tolerance and other American values, Thanksgiving, and growing up, and can be appreciated on many different levels. Winner of the 1985 Academy Award for best live-action short film.

I saw it, I loved it. My daughter loved it too. Great for children and adults. You learn about tolerance, which we all seem to forget.

An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving (2008)
90 min.
In this moving Hallmark Channel drama based on a short story by Louisa May Alcott, struggling widow Mary Bassett is trying to support three children, but money is so tight that they can't even afford a Thanksgiving turkey. An unexpected visit from her estranged -- and moneyed -- mother means Mary can prepare a proper holiday meal. However, it will take more than a feast to heal this family's emotional wounds.
I plan to watch this one in November. I see mixed reviews, some say it was decent, others say it was awful.