Favorite Christmas Movies!

The annual movie mommy Christmas movie posting is here! It would probably help if I looked at last year's posting...nah. If I don't remember, neither do you!

Love Actually (2003): If you haven't seen Love Actually yet, I don't know what you are waiting for! This movie not only has an all star cast BUT an all talent cast including Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Bill Nighy and well...many more. This who's who of British cinema doesn't really have to rely on the full talents of the actors as each superbly written vignette about love, loss, love and family tell their own story. It is a true gift to yourself to just sit and enjoy this movie.

The Holiday (2006): The unlikely combination of Jack Black, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Cameron Diaz make for a delightful movie about two women on a search for a change in their lives during the holidays and do! Winslet and Diaz play two women at opposite ends of the world (but not in their love lives) who decide to swap houses for the holidays. With a stellar supporting cast this charming movie will be a more than pleasant surprise.

Elf (2003): Whether you like Will Ferrell or not - this movie is so much fun and such a delight that you will forget he is in it! I think it is important to point out the director - Jon Favreau, who is also an actor that has appeared in funny supporting parts as in Swingers, The Replacements and Somethings Gotta Give seems to give him a good pace for adding comic timing to his directing. He also directed Iron Man and Zathura and his humor and pace is seen there as well. I don't know if Will Ferrell is the kind of actor that needs a heavy handed director to keep his shtick in line but it works for this movie. Buddy the Elf (Ferrell) was raised by Elves in the North Pole but figures out that he doesn't fit in. After finding out he had human parents and his father is still alive - he heads to the Big Apple. A fish out of water story can always be fun and is taken full advantage of in this movie. A great cast to support Ferrell doesn't hurt either. Take a chance on this movie and I promise, by the end, you will have found your own Christmas spirit!

Miracle on 34th Street (1947): Only the original captures the simple innocence of the belief or non-belief in Santa Claus. I am sure everyone reading this has seen this movie - if you haven't seen it in a while, time to see it again. This movie never loses it's magic - black and white or "colorized" it is still a treat. Is the Macy's Santa really Santa? Young Natalie Wood would like to know! At the time 20th Century Fox used it's "stable of stars" to make this movie with Maureen O'Hara and John Payne who were known for more serious movies. But in a post-war America, it was time for some belief...in something. If your children have never seen this version now is the time!

Scrooged (1988): I wasn't a fan of this movie when I was younger but over the past couple years I have come to appreciate it's unbelievably cynical "Scrooge" as only Bill Murray can play him. Bill Murray plays a TV executive who is producing a live TV version of A Christmas Carol. It is ironic that someone with zero Christmas spirit is producing this show. Of course, he is visiting by the three spirits and learns what Scrooge learned. If you are like me - give it re-watch and you will catch some things you didn't before.

Merry Christmas from the movie mommy!

DVD Review

Nim's Island: Normally, when you hear "a movie the entire family will enjoy" you think - kids' movie or even chick movie. Nim's Island really is a movie that everyone will enjoy - if they don't...you should consider why you are friends with them!
The tag line for this movie is "Be the hero of your own story" and that is very true!
The title character is played by Abigail Breslin (brilliant in Little Miss Sunshine) as a child raised on a tropical island with her marine biologist father (played by the ultra-hunky Gerard Butler) . They love the fact they live away from the world and can enjoy their island. A series of events leaves Nim alone on the island with invaders on their way and her only way to communicate is through the internet. She receives an email (on her shared email account with her father) addressed to her father from the famous adventure author Alex Rover. Nim is a huge fan and is happy to answer questions from the author about research for the next book.
Adventure ensues for Nim, Dad and Alex Rover. And without revealing to much it has enough adventure, romance and kid appeal that, really, the entire family or an adult looking for a good movie can enjoy.
You will be surprised and delighted by the cast and how the story comes together and ends.
I put this one up there with The Last Mimzy as surprisingly wonderful and and leaving the viewer feeling warm inside - that lasts for days.
MMMMM (out of 5 M's)

James Bond - The Movie Review

Quantum of Solace: This is hands down one of the best James Bond movies EVER! I mean really! I consider myself the big screen expert on James Bond (see my post below this one) and my expert opinion says - Go see this movie!
Daniel Craig bring James Bond to a new level. Forget Jason Bourne or the Transporter movies - Bond can take them all on. Craig isn't just another pretty face or bod. He is an actor who brings a level of depth and down right humanity to the part with a dash of cynical humor. He is also evenly matched to Dame Judi Dench as M. Don't look for Q or his gadgets in this movie. There isn't even Miss Money Penny. And no Aston Martin. There are plenty of the usual 007 stunts to keep every action fan happy, don't worry. And as usual, the opening sequence has a wild one.
Bond is up to his usual super spy antics but M is worried that he will go out for revenge because of the death of his main squeeze from the last movie. Don't worry if you didn't see it. I saw it and I had trouble keeping track of who the players were...but that didn't matter. There is also a young woman that is on the trail of revenge as well. She is a cool customer whom Bond runs into along the way and inadvertently leads him to who he was looking for. They make a good team.
Bond's revenge is not for who you or M thinks it is. And that makes for an interesting character study on the relationships of the main characters.
There is no doubt that this 007 is for a new generation. Don't get me wrong, Pierce Brosnan was definitely part of my generation's wish list for Bond. But I don't get hung up on that (after all there have been 10 Doctor Who's). The character has to evolve and grow with the times. In the old days the bad guys were Commies of all kinds. Now, the enemy isn't so easy to recognize and loyalty seems easier to buy.
Go see this movie, even if you have never seen a James Bond movie. You will be left wanting more.
MMMMM (out of 5 M's)

The Streak

I have a secret. It involves a spy. A debonair, slick, well dressed spy, who is often shaken, not stirred. Yes, I have had a relationship with James Bond since 1973. I was young then but old enough to know that I had to have more.
In 1973 my father took me to see Live and Let Die at the Margate Twin. I was 6 years old and I had never seen anything like it. I recall commenting that I had never been so frightened in my entire life. I think it had to do with voodoo, witch doctors and wild special effects - on the big screen. Maybe it was a little much for a small child - but it didn't end there.
Since then, I have seen every James Bond movie AT the movies. Yes, it's only the big screen for me and James. My Dad usually took me and when I moved out on my own I would go many times by myself. Nothing would keep us apart.
Yes, Roger Moore was my first. And they say that you never forget your first Bond - he is usually the favorite carried through life. Sorry Sean Connery fans. But he never did it for me. I even liked the short lived Bond of Timothy Dalton. I think he should have had more chances. But then again - Pierce Brosnan - schwing! Remington Steele fans waited, for what seemed like forever, for him to be Bond. The part seemed a sure fit. Alas, some relationships are not made to last forever.
Now, I have a new Bond in my life - Daniel Craig - SCHWING! Okay, okay, there are hormones involved (You know how to make a hormone right?). Yes, hunkiness has come to the character. I welcome the change. Don't get me wrong - I dig debonair and someone who looks good in a tux but there is nothing wrong with looking good in a tight swimsuit!
My love for Bond movies transcends good looks and schwingability. There is no other series like it. And I feel no other streak like it. Sure, maybe you saw all the Friday the 13th movies at the movies (begs the question of - why?) but to each his/her own. But I have NEVER met anyone with my streak.
It's a small thing. But I think about all that has happened to me in the past 35 years and well...I don't see anything else that consistent in it.
And yes, I will walk across a room, stop and turn - pretending to shoot. Like the beginning of a 007 movie.

VOTE!

It's your right.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
— Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1870)

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
— Nineteenth Amendment (1920)

The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any
primary or other election . . . shall not be denied or abridged . . . by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
— Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964)

The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of age.
— Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971)

Rays of Hope

There is nothing better than when your favorite sports team is in a championship! In the Tampa Bay area we had some droughts. Then we won the the Superbowl in 2002 and the Arena Football championship. Then we won the Stanley Cup in 2004. These teams were thought to be out of any running for any kind of championship and often looked like the were playing for the other team. We've put that to an end.
Now it is time for the Tampa Bay Rays (formerly the Devil Rays) to get some!
Baseball in the Tampa Bay area, up until 1998, was reserved for Spring training of other MLB teams. The St. Louis Cardinals were in St. Petersburg for years. The Yankees train in Tampa. The Phillies in Clearwater and so on. We knew baseball. Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and others of fame stayed in the area. Baseball star watching was a popular sport in town.
In 1998 the Tampa Bay Devil Rays debuted to a sold out and enthusiastic home crowd!
(Just in case you don't know - the term "Tampa Bay" refers to the entire geographic area of 4 major cities and many small towns in and around the area.)
The Devil Rays started out in the basement and have been scratching and scraping their way up from the bottom ever since. Attendance dwindled. Heads hung low.
And now after 10 years in the league - they are in the World Series. Not only IN the World Series but BEAT the Yankees and the Red Sox to get there!
In the past there would be Yankees fans at Devil Rays games...they outnumbered the home team fans. There would be more cheering when a Yankee did something great then the Devil Rays (who never did anything great). Not for lack of trying. We had Jose Canseco a known DH but he was a dud. They got Joe Piniella to get the team rolling but no go.
This season the stands have been full. Baseball is back!
Apparently the Devil Rays just needed some faith. This season the Devil in the name was dropped and a new logo was developed. There might be something to that because when the Buccaneers changed their colors and logo they started having winning seasons. Coincidence?
Sport, if nothing else, is about superstition with luck and dash of fate.
The Rays are one of the youngest teams in the league (in regard to the age of the players) that seems to just enjoy playing the game. No, they aren't used to winning and maybe that makes the taste of it all the more sweeter.
I don't know what will happen when this series is over. If the Rays win there will be fireworks and horns blowing till 5am the next day. If they lose the fans will still meet them at the airport. That's the kind of sports town "Tampa Bay" is.
We know how to lose and keep playing.
And we know the taste of victory and how to relish it.
And sometimes it is...how you play the game.

Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

A new season is here! Finally! After the writer's strike and a long summer (bright spot being The Closer) it is time to kick back and enjoy this season's fare.
I am glad that my old favorites have returned - Criminal Minds, Pushing Daisies, Ugly Betty, Ghost Whisperer (guilty pleasure!) and NCIS (I still hope for improvement).

I have decided to try out a few new shows as well:

Bones : This isn't exactly a new show but it is new to me. Having been on USA network since 2005 it has a steady following of viewers and I can see why. Starring Emily Deschanel (who has a decent sized body of work but only in small parts) and David Boreanaz (known to many viewers as the hunky sensitive vampire, Angel) as an odd couple solving cases for the FBI. Bones is the nickname of Deschanel's character because she is a forensic anthropologist who studies bones and what they can tell her. Boreanaz's character is an FBI agent who sees how she can help him solve cases. This could be a typical formula series but USA network has shown us through Monk, House, Psych and Dead Zone that they are far from formula. Bones follows these two investigators as well as the rest of her team and the FBI gang. There are many characters that get woven into each story (much like CSI) that creates more of an ensemble feel. There is sexual chemistry but it is not forced - it seems natural and the viewer isn't left waiting for these two to "get together." We can wait. They are very good developing characters. If you are looking for something different in your viewing - give Bones a chance.

The Mentalist : I can only hope that actor Simon Baker (you may remember him as the cad in The Devil Wears Prada) can carry this show on his own as the title character because the rest of the cast is lacking. Baker plays a former TV psychic who now works as a private investigator helping the police solve cases. He admits he was never a psychic but uses his keen powers of observation to solve the crimes (ala Sherlock Holmes). Baker is charming, witty and a pleasure to watch as he effortlessly cruises through each case. That cannot be said for his co-star Robin Tunney, who in spite of a large resume of TV and movies, falls flat. She is supposed to be this tough cop who puts up with his tricks. She is either mis-cast, mis-directed, badly written, a weak actress or all of the above. What they need is a tougher woman! There are many great examples of strong women on TV and she is not one of them. There is also this terrible excuse for sexual tension. It's not there! The rest of the cast is okay but the show needs work. Keep Baker and re-work the rest of the show and it will be a winner. It is worth watching for Baker and that's it.

I eagerly await the premiere of Eleventh Hour this week! I hope it is worth the wait.