Thursday, November 29, 2012

The Nice List



The leftover turkey has either been eaten or thrown-out, and hopefully, all the Halloween candy has been consumed by either you or your kids.  The decorations have been up in the stores since October, and I know some of you have already got your Christmas shopping completed.  So now it’s time to start getting in the holiday mood unless you’re already there – right?  What gets me in the holiday mood?  Well, I guess it could be listening to the music (which has already been playing since before Thanksgiving), or maybe some shopping, putting up the tree and getting out the decoration boxes from wherever their stored.  But for me, it’s the movies! 

Just after Thanksgiving, I got out all the DVDs and videos from the Christmas drawer and got excited about watching the old favorites once again.  Many of my favorites are television specials, and thankfully, quite a number of them have been released in home-viewing format.  But I won’t talk about those, just the movies that capture the Christmas season.  Hopefully, some of your favorites are here, too!

One silent night
#10 -  Joyeux Noël (2005)
Based on real-life events of World War I, this is the only foreign film that makes the cut.  I do love history, and this film nicely tells the story (with its inaccuracies, included) of the Christmas Eve truce of 1914, as men from both sides stop to sing carols and exchange gifts, such as they could.  This film stars Diane Kruger (National Treasure, Troy).  The rest of the cast is less recognizable, but for me it works, as this film the captures the humanness of countless unrecognizable faces who served in war.

"It's the cookies!"
#9 – Santa Claus: the Movie (1985)
This movie is quite dated, and the story unravels into complete nonsense, but the initial concept of the origins of Santa Claus & his wife are well-played by David Huddleston and Judy Cornwell.  There is magic in the characters they bring to the screen, and Dudley Moore plays a fairly convincing elf.

  
Yes, that's Bob Hope in drag!
#8 – The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
This movie was not intended to be a Christmas movie, per se, but has become a holiday classic.  With it’s popular  song, “Silver Bells,” sung by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell, this zany story of a horse bet gone wrong and the capers that ensue to make sure the ‘sweet little old ladies’   are safe from crooks is a smile a minute!


Ann Jillian & Kevin Corcoran
#7 – Babes in Toyland (1961)
The only Disney production to land on the list stars Annette Funicello, Tommy Sands, Ed Wynn, Tommy Kirk, and Ray Bolger.  In classic Disney style, it weaves childhood stories from Mother Goose into a classic tale of good versus evil.  Enter the weary toymaker of Toyland to help battle Barnaby and his sinister plans.

"I can't hear it."
#6 – The Polar Express (2004)
I didn’t love that Tom Hanks did all the main character voices, nor did I love Robert Zemeckis’s vision of what Santa Claus should look like, but I love the story.  It brings back the memories of childhood lost and the hope of Christmas. The first time I saw this film was in IMAX 3-D, and it just brought warm and happiness and I felt I could reach up and grab thrown caps from the elves. It warms my heart and renews my spirit in the holiday. Do you believe?

#5 – Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
How to be a monkey
Love.  Seeing Natalie Wood as a beautiful child, unbelieving as her character may be, the stunningly gorgeous Maureen O’Hara as a single working mother, who in 1947 was not the ‘norm’ for movie subjects, the strikingly handsome John Payne, and the irrepressible Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle is a sure-fire hit.  No wonder it is a classic.  I love it in the black and white and seeing the vintage New York cityscape always charms me.  And, as usual, even though I know it’s coming, every time Susan yells, “Stop!” I start my sob fest!

"Bah, Humbug!"
#4 - A Christmas Carol (1999)
A Christmas Carol is not only one of my favorite Christmas stories, but one of my all-time favorites on any list.  I have seen all but a couple of obscure film adaptations of this classic tale of life misspent and repentance, and I have to say that this go-round starring Patrick Stewart is my favorite.  It blends the best of all the other attempts and best fits the books descriptions.  The use of CGI is done extremely well, and I should not forget to mention Sir Patrick’s amazing characterization of Ebenezer Scrooge is one, if not, the best.

"Someone needs a hug!"
#3 – Elf (2003)
I cannot believe this movie is already nine years old.  I loved it in the theatre and saw is subsequent times that year.  I remember telling myself that when it came to home release it would become the first movie of the season to watch.  It has been ever since.  The pure unadulterated joy of Buddy the Elf and the happiness he spreads by being so innocent makes me happy, too!  The dialog is already classic with my family, as so many of the lines are the ‘repeat them anytime’ kind. With jokes about the size of toilets, the four basic food groups, free candy, whispering, the world’s best coffee, and a host of others, they can fill an afternoon with enough laughter and Christmas spirit to get the ol’ Claus-o-meter up and running! And don’t forget, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

"Snow, snow, snow, snow - Snow!"
#2 – White Christmas (1954)
What was to be a second pairing of Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire (for the first, see #1), became the delightful first pairing of Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. Add the lovely warm vocal stylings of Rosemary Clooney, the dancing talents of Vera-Ellen, great actors Mary Wickes and Dean Jagger as support, and you have a cast worthy of the music of Irving Berlin in this best-loved Christmas classic.  Terrific musical numbers woven through the story of two post war-time vets gone Broadway producers, lifts the spirits with the use their talents to brighten the retirement days of their former Army major general. And of course, there’s the classic title number to close out the show.

"...but what an Inn!"
#1 –Holiday Inn (1942)
The subject of two prior A Dusty Corner blogs (June 29 & November 22), this gem has been my favorite Christmas classic since junior high, and it remains to this day.  Although the film covers many of the holidays celebrated throughout the year (the premise of the film itself), the film focuses on the Christmas & New Year’s days.  This first of the two films (White Christmas being the second) chronologically is filled with Irving Berlin’s music (these two films are also tied through a converted & modified set) and again stars Bing Crosby; the great dancing is now performed by Fred Astaire & Marjorie Reynolds, and there is a fantastic supporting cast as well.  This one doesn’t make me cry, as many of the others on my list do, but provides a sense of the traditions of the holiday seasons, and although those traditions are not as easy to keep or the times have changed to prevent them, those feelings are still in my heart and can be brought to mind, as any ‘auld acquaintance.”

Happy Holiday Movie-Watching!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

A Real Turkey


It is Thanksgiving Day, so I will make this quick and savory! Over the summer, I shared with you a favorite moment from one of my favorite films, Holiday Inn.  On this festive day, I offer up another tasty morsel from the same.  Perhaps you will keep it in mind as you celebrate throughout the coming days.

For those of you not understanding the unsettled turkey in the initial moments, this is a tongue-in-cheek jest to the changing of the Thanksgiving Day established by President Lincoln.  Mainly due to Great Depression fall-out, and with (no) thanks to President Roosevelt, Thanksgiving was resettled to the next-to-last Thursday of the month.

In this sequence, here is another great song featuring the inimitable Bing Crosby, “I’ve Got Plenty to Be Thankful For,” and features the adorable Louise Beavers as ‘Mamie.’  Although in the movie, this song not only covers the holiday of Thanksgiving (which is a turning point of the film), but it moves the plot along, as any great film will do.

As you look back on this past 12 months, may you truly have much to be thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving!


Bing Crosby - "I've Got Plenty to Be Thankful For"

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Casting Call


I’ve often wondered who would play me in my own life movie.  Granted, the answer should be, “Me!” but if I was to have some event happen in my life that was to be written into a screenplay and then made into a major motion picture, I would certainly need to be cast.

Ideally, I would choose someone like Monica Bellucci, Sophie Marceau, or Rosamund Pike. Just like anyone else would do, I would want a physically ‘beautiful person’ to represent me (and let’s face it, they look nothing like me, and all the really beautiful ones are dead…). The studio, however, would probably cast a Nikki Blonksy, Rebel Wilson, or Melissa McCarthy. Perhaps they’d even consider Kathy Bates (a great actress, but you get the idea). (p.s. Dear Family, don’t even suggest Ms. Bullock…!)

So maybe a movie about me isn’t the best idea.  
How about a movie already made that best represents my life? Have you ever given that a thought?  Or how about a movie that you wished best represented your life?  There again, a tough call.  It would be easy to choose a fantasy or science-fiction film where you could be Princess Leia, Queen Amidala, Arwen, or Lyssa, (speaking to the female readers – guys, you’ll have your own set), but even then there are hardships that perhaps you would choose to not endure.   Any fairytale would strictly be out of the question, as I really don’t feel like having a dragon breathe fire towards me or have any witch attempt to feed me a poison apple!

Every movie has conflict, otherwise we wouldn’t watch.  Even the most gentle of Walt Disney live-action films has some sort of conflict.  It needs to exist in order for us to see the resolution of that conflict, see a better self, a changed person, or come to the conclusion that a particular solution is not always a good or better one.  With that said, taking the good with the bad and visa-versa, what movie says, “me,” or “you”?

Is it your favorite movie?  Is it a movie that you idealize in your own mind?  As I reveal my favorite films in a few of the last weeks of this year, my favorite films might not always find me in them.  As I child, I thought I would have loved to live during the “old west” / westward movement days. But as time went on and I learned of the hardships these amazing people faced, I realized I would have high-tailed it back to Boston within the first hour of travel! 











Is my life movie a comedy or drama?  Does it deal with the deepest heart-felt emotions, or does it just make me laugh and realize that life is a ‘joy ride’ at best?  Is my life movie a black and white classic or is it a contemporary box-office hit? Or maybe it is even an independent film that never graced a nation-wide screening and went straight to home dvd?  Why do these movies that I love elicit my devotion?  

And why do they make me cry, laugh, search myself, and watch again and again?  I know these are rhetorical questions, but they roll around in that space between my ears every now and then.

I don’t have the answer yet.  I have never watched a movie and said, “That is my life!”  I hope that no single film does that to me - ever, as then it really should be me on the screen.  But to find similarities and nuances of my life makes me connect.  It provides a bond to me and me to it. And, should there ever come a day when I can get that story from my life on paper, perhaps I will say, “Now that is my life!” 

Friday, November 9, 2012

With a Grain of Salt


This week I bring you a menu of delicious faces – yes, most of them can actually act, as well, but being a connoisseur of food and movies, I thought I would make a few pairings here myself.  I enjoy a handsome face as much as the next gal, but you won’t find the likes of Ryan Gosling, Josh Lucas, or Bradley Cooper here.  No, thank you! That current generation ‘all looks alike’! I’m talking guys that are just plain “yummy”! Some of these guys can look amazing with long or short hair, some with both facial hair or clean-shaven, others are just classy and perfect in the way we always saw them. And yes, this blog exposes a part of myself I usually keep quiet. (Except at home, when I melt like butter, and my husband lovingly says, “I’m in the room!” Honey, I know! But you also know you are the best of them all; it’s a good thing I “let you” have your list, too!)

Appetizers – 
Clive Owen - Inside Man
So appealing to the ‘dark side,’ but I’d never think to ‘bring him home to Mom.’

Richard Gere – could very well be placed on the wine list.
Clive Owen
Robert Downey, Jr. - Stark Enterprises
Robert Downey, Jr. – Tony Stark, yes, please!

Kurt Russell - loved him when he was a Disney kid and love him still!








The mini-series king
A Side of Fruit –
Self-explanitory, but who cares!
Richard Chamberlin – Father Ralph…
Rock Hudson








Soup & Salad – 
Guys from the past that could make a meal on their own, or pair with a main course.
Sir Roger Moore
Roger Moore - my Bond. James Bond.
Gregory Peck
Charlton Heston
Cary Grant
William Holden
Richard Burton
Gene Kelly - my dance hero
John Wayne at 23
John Wayne - my hero
Dennis Cole
Robert Conrad*
*only living actor in this list








Wine – 
These men get better with age
Tom Selleck – Mom used to keep his picture hidden in her office drawer!
The "CoolEST King"
Steve McQueen -  It took me to be 40 years old to figure this one out, but once I did…
Matthew LeBlanc – with grey hair
Bruce Campbell
Adam Arkin – with grey hair
Sam Elliot
Liam Neeson
Peter Breck
Joe Lando – when “Dr. Quinn” aired on t.v., my youngest son, then around 3 years old, would ask, “Mommy, is that your boyfriend?” I wonder what every gave him that impression. (...and he could be the brown-eyed brother to Daniel Craig (see below))
Mr. Redford
Robert Redford – DUH!











Main Course -
beef AND brains
Elliot Garfield garnered an Oscar
Richard Dreyfuss – this guy is liberal down to his skivvies, but never having liked him in my teens, something clicked in the ‘80’s and I would love to sit down to dinner and listen to his mind.

Jared Harris – talk to me, Jared, you fine Brit, you.


William Petersen – Gil Grissom, please.


David Mamet's everyday "Joe"
    Campbell Scott - wired-framed eyeglasses, a must!









Dessert – 
eye candy
George Clooney – Don’t open your mouth, George! Just sit there.
John Slattery – John might easily get a main course listing, too.
A new Bond makes the list
Tim Hutton - reminiscent of his handsome father.
Blair Underwood
Antonio Banderas
Benjamin Bratt
Daniel Craig – oh those, baby blues!
Dylan McDermott - another pair of gorgeous blues!
Luke Perry
Ioan is Lancelot to Clive Owen's Arthur
Ioan Gruffud - for those of you unfamiliar with this young man, his name is pronounce ‘Yowan Griffith’ – ah, to be Welsh! Oh, wait! I am!
Edward Norton






Until next week…

And from last week's blog - Hachi: A Dog’s Tale was on television last night, I sobbed uncontrollably as soon as the music started…