Meet Queen Elizabeth I and II, Spinal Tap and James Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life

11/23/17 Elizabeth, Best Makeup, 1998
12/16/17 Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Best Costume Design, 2007

Cate Blanchett stars in these two films about one of the greatest monarchs in history, Elizabeth I. Shekhar Kapur directed both films, and the some of the cast carries over from one film to the next (unless of course they were beheaded or otherwise knocked off). They are lush, beautiful films, with gorgeous and extravagant sets and costumes. The cast is deep with stars, including Geoffrey Rush as Francis Walsingham, spymaster to the queen; Joseph Fiennes as Robert Dudley, one of Elizabeth's suitors; John Gielgud as Pope Pius V; Clive Owen as Sir Walter Raleigh; Eddie Redmayne as Anthony Babington, and so many more. Blanchett was nominated for both films as Best Actress, but lost out to Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love in 1998 and Marion Cotillard as Edith Piaf in  La Vie en Rose in 2007. It's hard to believe that in 1998, this was only Blanchett's fifth film. She commands the screen and makes Elizabeth come alive. The films represent the events in Elizabeth's life: her many suitors, the plots against her life, the attempt to balance Protestantism and Catholicism, war against Spain. But it is not a documentary, and some events are told out of sequence, people's lives have been shortened or lengthened for dramatic purposes. If you watch the films, watch them because there is great acting and production value, not for the last word in Elizabethan history.

11/23/17 The Queen, Best Actress, 2006

It was kind of weird watching this movie about the royal family's reaction to Princess Diana's death 20 years after it happened. We know a lot more about the events, and have more information from Princes William and Harry. Helen Mirren stars as Queen Elizabeth, she won an Oscar for that role, and she is as restrained as Cate Blanchett was outspoken as her predecessor. Michael Sheen stars opposite Mirren as new Prime Minister Tony Blair, a man who seems to be in opposition to the monarchy, which his wife, Cherie (Helen McCrory) definitely is, as is his staff. The royal family struggles with how to deal with Diana's death, internally - when to tell the boys, how to bring her body back to England, but also externally, because Diana was "the people's princess" and the nation fell into deep mourning, and expected that same reaction from her former in-laws. Blair has a common touch (not meant in a bad way) that resonates with the British people, but it is unfamiliar territory for Queen Elizabeth and her family. The movie shows the transition that the Queen makes, and also how Blair gained an insight into the centuries of tradition and isolation that make grand gestures so difficult. The change in behavior and the ultimate response by Queen Elizabeth changed the perception of the royal family and their interactions with the people. Mirren is terrific; I don't know if Prince Philip really is so difficult, but James Cromwell plays him as a most unlikeable person. Prince Charles is played by Alex Jennings; Diana is represented only by news footage. Sheen holds his own when sharing the screen with Mirren. The Queen is a good film that presents a moment in time that many of us lived through via 24 hour news cycles. 

11/25/17 It's a Wonderful Life, 1946 #46 BBC, #20 AFI, National Film Registry

When I mentioned to people that I was going to be watching It's a Wonderful Life, I got strange looks. Haven't I watched it before? Yes, but years ago, and I didn't find it life changing or anything. It was never part of my family's winter traditions. So, as has happened several times with 'the lists', I have re-watched a movie so I could review it properly. And to be perfectly honest, I have tried for about a year to watch it, but I couldn't get a disk that would play. I finally did, and watched it from beginning to end, and...I really enjoyed it. And I think I 'got it'. It's a Wonderful Life is on the BBC, the American Film Institute and National Film Registry lists, but it did not win any Oscars. It was nominated for five Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Film Editing and Best Sound Engineering) but lost out to The Best Years of Our Lives, which is also a fantastic film. If you're not familiar with the story (first of all, please contact me, because I hated being the only one), George Bailey lives with his family in Bedford Falls, New York, where he has lived his whole life, his father and uncle ran a savings and loan. On Christmas Eve, events conspire to make George wish he had never been born. Enter Clarence, a guardian angel still looking to earn his wings. Clarence shows George what life would have been like in Bedford Falls if he hadn't been born. James Stewart stars as George, and he brings all of his tools: his enthusiasm and energy (think Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), physicality, humor, pathos. Donna Reed is Mary Bailey, George's supportive wife, who sacrifices her honeymoon funds to bail out the savings and loan. Lionel Barrymore is the thoroughly unlikeable Mr. Potter. The movie was directed by Frank Capra, who worked with Stewart on Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The film may be one of the most American of films; it highlights what is great about America: people helping each other out, working hard and seeing the results. Of course, greedy Mr. Potter seems eerily close to many of our leading politicians and corporate leaders. After watching the movie, I totally understand why it is on all three of my movie lists. If you're wondering, Clarence finally gets his wings.

12/8/17 This is Spinal Tap, 1984, National Film Registry

This is Spinal Tap is a mockumentary that was directed by Rob Reiner and co-written by Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, and is about the British band, Spinal Tap, who started in the 1960s and are touring the U.S. to promote their new album. The film looks back at the beginning of the band, their evolution through different styles of music, as well as their many different drummers. Nigel Tufnel (Guest), David St. Hubbins (McKean) and Derek Smalls (Shearer) are the mainstays of Spinal Tap and Marty Di Bergi (Reiner) is the filmmaker trying to capture everything with a straight face. Nothing seems to go right, from poor ticket sales, to an album cover that's not exactly what anyone had in mind, to a Stonehenge set that is a little smaller than expected. The movie is a precursor to the Guest-helmed films like Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, with improvised dialog, comedic scenes handled with absolute seriousness and a lack of irony, and characters that seem just a little off. There are a lot of cameos that are fun to pick out: Billy Crystal and Dana Carvey as catering mimes; Paul Schaefer as a music promoter; Bruno Kirby as a limo driver; and several others (Fran Drescher, Ed Begley, Jr., Patrick Macnee). If you like music and concerts (me, me), then some of the scenarios may be reminiscent of various interviews or biographies/autobiographies you may have read or heard. It's definitely a part of American pop culture. 

The AFI and National Film Registry featured: The French Connection, American Graffiti and Swing Time

6/11/16 The French Connection, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, 1971  #93 AFI, National Film Registry 


The French Connection won five Oscars, including three of the top awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Williams Friedkin) and Best Actor (Gene Hackman) and may have one of the most well-known car chases. The French Connection is definitely a movie of its time, taking us through a gritty, crime-riddled, drug infested New York City. Hackman and Roy Scheider play two New York City detectives who stumble onto an international drug ring moving into New York. Popeye Doyle (Hackman) and Buddy "Cloudy"Russo are partners, Doyle being more hot-headed and impetuous, and Cloudy trying to rein him in. A mysterious man from Marseilles, France, is planning to smuggle in a lot of heroin to the US, involving local Mafia connections to do so. Doyle and Russo spend a lot of time chasing around, fighting with the FBI, taking us on a tour of New York City (Ward's Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan).  Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) is the smooth criminal who leads Popeye and Cloudy on the wild goose chase. The French Connection is full of iconic movie moments: the car chase and the way the drugs are smuggled in (hint: it's a method often referenced in other crime dramas). I definitely enjoyed the movie, seeing 1970s New York, and finding those iconic moments; I always like watching Gene Hackman, a great American actor. It won five Oscars in a year that I think was full of fabulous movies, many of which won Oscars in other categories. Winning Best Picture, it beat out Fiddler on the Roof, A Clockwork Orange, The Last Picture Show and Nicholas and Alexander (the only nominee I have not seen); Friedkin won Best Director over Peter Bogdanovich, Stanley Kubrick, Norman Jewison and John Schlesinger (not a small feat); I'm less familiar with the films from the Best Actor category, but I am familiar with the actors, and they are no slouches: Walter Matthau, Chaim Topol, George C. Scott and Peter Finch; I have only seen Topol's performance in Fiddler on the Roof, and they are such different movies, I'm not sure I could have judged. Without a doubt, this is an American classic.


6/11/16 American Graffiti, 1973 #62 AFI, National Film Registry

I have this very vague recollection that when the television show Happy Days came out, American Graffiti was mentioned as being an influence; I would have been only 9 or 10, so please forgive me if I am totally making that up. Anyway, I guess I was trying to say that the shadow of American Graffiti has followed me and I finally watched it. Directed by George Lucas and produced by Francis Ford Coppola, the movie takes place over one night in 1962 Modesto, California, with a group of friends having adventures together and separately. There are a lot of young actors who went on to have long acting careers, some a little more famous than others (Ron Howard, Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss). Cars and music are as important to the movie as the characters and stories.  There is young love, new love, making out, dancing, young people on the cusp of adulthood, some of them looking to get away from their little town and see the world. A coming of age movie, it is a time capsule of that era, when people listened to their favorite DJ, went to the drive-in for a malt and burger, before the Civil Rights movement was fully mobilized and there are virtually no African Americans in the movie. The music is a wonderful primer of the 1950s and 1960s, including music from Bill Haley and the Comets, Del Shannon, The Beach Boys, The Platters and more. I know very little about cars, but it was fun to see the cars from that time: a yellow deuce coupe, Ford Thunderbird, and the others. It was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, but lost to The Sting in both categories.

 7/2/16 Swing Time, Best Original Song, 1937, #91 AFI, National Film Registry

After watching Swing Time, I don't think it it is on the AFI and National Film Registry because of the plot or the acting, but because of the incredible dancing by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and the music by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields. The story was inane and I didn't pay too much attention except when Astaire and Rogers were dancing. My favorite dance numbers were "Pick Yourself Up" and "Never Gonna Dance" which Rogers and Astaire did together, and "Bojangles of Harlem", which Astaire did solo. Sadly (watching in the 21st century), he did it in blackface, according to Wikipedia as a tribute Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, whom Astaire admired. Trying to ignore the blackface, I really enjoyed the dance, which was fun to watch. The movie also featured the song "The Way You Look Tonight"which won the Oscar for Best Original Song. If you are a fan of dance films, Astaire and Rogers, Jerome Kern, then you should definitely check out this movie, and you can probably just fast forward between numbers. That's what I should have done.

My brother is running in the Susan Komen Breast Cancer run in Cleveland in honor of our mom. Please consider supporting him: Cris's page

Going back - In the Heat of the Night, A Streetcar Named Desire, Dances with Wolves and Rocky

I requested several classic movies from the library before the Oscar nominations were announced because I thought I was in really good shape. Ah, overconfidence. I thought since I had them, I should watch them, cross them off the list and move on. It feels like a strategy one might use in a hot dog eating contest, eat and move on to the next one. I will try to give good and reliable reviews despite my cinematic overload.


1/15/16 In the Heat of the Night, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, 1967 #75 AFI, National Film Registry

So, the movie was made 48 years ago, in the midst of the American Civil Rights movement, with two of the greatest actors at that time, and perhaps ever. One was nominated for Best Actor and won, and the other was not even nominated, not for this movie or the other big movie he was in, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Rod Steiger won Best Actor and Sidney Poitier was not even nominated. Seriously.  If I was a cynic, I would say things haven't changed all that much in Hollywood. 1967 was a great year for films, nominated films included Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Cool Hand Luke (a favorite of mine; Newman lost out to Steiger), The Graduate, Bonnie and Clyde (ack), and Camelot among others. Virgil Tibbs (Poitier) finds himself as the prime suspect in the murder of a wealthy man in Sparta, Mississippi. The problem is Virgil is black and the victim is white (although from Chicago) and Mississippi is in the South. Virgil shortly proves that he is actually a police detective from Philadelphia, and is ordered by his superior officer to stay and help Chief Gillespie (Steiger) solve the murder.  Tibbs and Gillespie have a strained relationship at best, with Tibbs upsetting, well actually smacking, a wealthy scion of the community, who also happens to be a remnant from the antebellum South. Tibbs finds himself surrounded by violent racist members of the community on more than one occasion. The movie as a movie is a murder mystery that needs to be solved by the stranger; the stranger happens to be a Northerner and black, which adds to the tension. Norman Jewison directed In The Heat of the Night and a little over 15 years later he directed another murder mystery that includes race relations and another great black actor, Denzel Washington. Steiger digs into the gum-chewing, drawling chief Gillespie who may not be a card carrying member of the NAACP, but he's also pragmatic and realizes that Tibbs may bring some detection skills to the case. Steiger is as explosive as Poitier is cool and restrained, we only see Tibbs really lose his temper once; he handles the indignities of being called 'boy' with a controlled anger, he tells Gillespie that "They call me Mister Tibbs" back in Philadelphia. Poitier and Steiger are a study in contrasts and I really enjoyed the scenes they did together, watching two geniuses at work. You cannot go wrong watching this movie, ever.

Philadelphia Art Museum

1/16/16 Rocky, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, 1976, #57 AFI, National Film Registry
 You cannot even think about Rocky Balboa and not hear that theme music. Rocky has become part of the American pantheon, the man who makes his dream come true and gets the girl. I saw the original years ago, and honestly, was, like, meh, and I think I have maybe seen one of the sequels, so I wanted to see if I had changed or at least I could have some appreciation for the king of underdog movies. And, I guess I was motivated because Creed is a continuation of the Rocky saga and Sylvester Stallone has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor (however, Michael B. Jordan, playing Apollo Creed's son, was not nominated). Anyway, back to the movie at hand, Rocky. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is a boxer in Philadelphia who is sort of successful, but never really got that big break. He still fights, but he also acts as the muscle for a local loan shark. Rocky likes Adrian (Talia Shire), who works at a pet store and is really shy. Adrian is Paulie's sister, and Paulie (Burt Young) wants to get in with Rocky's boss. Rocky gets his shot at the big time when Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) needs a quick replacement for an injured opponent. Creed is smooth and rich, and if you think too hard, you would probably not believe that he would ever ask Rocky to fight, but Rocky is a local boy, a Southpaw and he has a cool nickname, Italian Stallion. Rocky starts to train for the big fight, reconnecting with Mickey (Burgess Meredith in an Oscar-nominated supporting role). Mickey sounds like he gargled with glass shards and he's just as gruff. Don't look to him for comfort. There are great shots of Rocky running through the streets of Philadelphia and up steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum. The fight sequence is very well done, with both fighters landing blows as well as taking them. What was interesting to me, and it's funny looking back forty years, is that Rocky was made with a 1.1 million dollar budget, but made over $225 million. But because of the tight budget, there were things that couldn't be re-shot, or that were shot differently, like the ice skating scene - they couldn't afford to have as many actors as they wanted, so, they filmed it with just Rocky and Adrian. Who would have thought that a franchise was born. I was also impressed with Stallone as Rocky, before he knew he was going to be a huge multi-million dollar star. Rocky in this first film was very sensitive and tender but with a huge heart and a some naivete as well. He's a huge animal lover and a kid from the neighborhood. Perhaps you knew this, but I had no idea. I really liked it and it finally dawned on me why he's such a popular character. You've probably seen it already, but if you haven't, get some Philly cheese steaks and some hoagies and watch a homegrown American hero.


1/16/16 A Streetcar Named Desire, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction  - Set Direction B&W, 1951, #47 AFI, National Film Registry

I planned to watch A Streetcar Named Desire when I watched On the Waterfront, it made perfect sense. Although, if you recall, I requested the play and not the film. Grr. I did finally get the correct item and re-watched the film; I say 're-watched' because I watched it about ten years ago. The film version stars Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski, Kim Hunter as Stella Kowalski, Stanley's wife (winning an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress), Vivien Leigh as Blanch DuBois, Stella's sister (winning an Oscar for Best Actress) and Karl Malden as Mitch, Stanley's friend and Blanche's suitor (Best Supporting Actor). The story is set in New Orleans, and New Orleans is as much a character as the actors. Stanley and Stella live in the upstairs of a two family home and have their own version of wedded bliss until Blanche comes for a visit. It took me about half of the film to not be annoyed by Blanche (Leigh), she seems so over the top. It occurred to me that perhaps that intention and not overacting (I really don't know) because that is Blanche's character Leigh is acting as Blanch and Blanche is acting. Blanche has left the family estate/plantation, Belle Reve under unclear circumstances and has nowhere else to go. Stanley is not very sympathetic to Blanche, but he bends to Stella's loyalty to her older sister. Blanche's behavior is erratic, somehow not of this world and as a viewer, we don't know exactly what is going on or why she is acting this way. She certainly seems delusional at times. Mitch, a bachelor living with his elderly and ailing mother, is taken by Blanche's charm and ladylike disposition and they begin seeing each other, but we find out that they're meetings are usually in darkly lit places. Stanley wants Blanche out of his home and sets out to find what really happened in her home of Auriol, and why Blanche left. Throughout the film we see how explosive Stanley's temper can be, especially when he's been drinking or Blanche and Stella harangue him for being 'a dirty Pollack' or a pig. He gets physical with Stella, pushing and shoving, smacking her, and her reaction is to be angry and run to her neighbor's house, but it does not take much for her to come back to Stanley, in fact, she seems to be turned on by his aggressive animalistic behavior. Brando as Stanley can be violent and brutal but then seems to be so tender with Stella. It's an intense performance. Stanley uses his contacts to learn more about Blanche and it seems that Blanche may have had a mental breakdown and did things that a proper lady would never do, so much that she was run out of town. There is a lot that unfolds and with any great movie, the drama comes from the unraveling. What I will tell you is that if you have only seen Vivien Leigh as Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, her portrayal of Blanche will surprise you; as strong as Scarlet was, Blanche is fragile and not as resilient. Kim Hunter was in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire (as were Brando and Malden, only Leigh was not, her role played by Jessica Tandy, although Leigh was in the play in London) and she seems to have the chemistry with Brando, and she can go nose to nose with him during their arguments. There are some differences between the play and the movie, some changes were made due to the morality of movies at the time and what you could show and say and what you couldn't; allusions to homosexuality are strongly muted, and the ending is also different than the play.  Brando is powerful and was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, but lost out to Humphrey Bogart in African Queen.

1/16/16 Dances with Wolves, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, 1990, National Film Registry

 If I said I was avoiding this movie, for once I would not be exaggerating. As a rule, I am not a Kevin Costner fan and a movie that goes for three hours is a big turn off. BUT, for some reason it seemed like a good idea. And, much to my surprise, I liked it, not loved, but not hated either. The movie is set in the 1860s as the US is expanding westward.  Kevin Costner is Lieutenant John Dunbar a soldier in the Union Army who is wounded and then sent to a post out west at his request. The post is deserted, but he is spotted by the Pawnee and the Sioux. Through a series of events, he befriends the Sioux, especially Stands with a Fist (Mary McDonnell) a white woman who was adopted by the Sioux, and her adopted father, Kicking Bird. The movie is three hours long so I'm not going to give you a detailed synopsis. There are trials and tribulations, a battle with the Pawnee and fight with Army soldiers. Dunbar lives with the Sioux and takes on the name "Dances with Wolves". A lot of the movie is in Lakota with either subtitles or Stands with a Fist translating. There are a lot of great things about the movie, in particular the scenery is really beautifully filmed, the plains of South Dakota and Wyoming, the wildlife, including the bison (although they were part of private herds). The score by John Barry is very powerful as well. The acting was well done, with Mary McDonnell and Graham Greene both outstanding. Costner was okay, too. The movie gives an unkind and somewhat barbaric portrayal of the Army soldiers, and much is based on fact. Looking back a hundred years can be tough, especially when you know the things that were done were wrong. Maybe the expansion was inevitable, but it was brutal. Ways of life were lost and people killed. Dances with Wolves sheds a little light on that; it may not be textbook, and perhaps the Lakota dialect was not perfect, but I will admit I was wrong about hating it and that maybe watching it will encourage people to learn more about Native American history.

The next entry you see should include more of the 2015 nominees, including: The Danish Girl, Star Wars, Ex Machina, Cinderella and (I'm so creeped out by this) Fifty Shades of Grey.

Spectre and Get Low

11/15/15 Spectre, not yet nominated, 2015

It's funny, I would not consider myself a James Bond fan, and yet I have seen all of the Daniel Craig movies in the theater, usually in the first couple weeks. So, a couple friends and I went to the theater this past weekend and waited. They waited for him to take off his shirt and I, well, that's not why I was there. The movie opened with some incredible views of the Day of the Dead parade in Mexico City. That was pretty impressive. Then Bond goes off and does Bond things, like killing people and flying a helicopter dangerously low to the crowd. Upon his return to London, he is reprimanded by M, now played by Ralph Fiennes, and told to behave himself. It may take me a while to get used to Fiennes, as I really loved Judi Dench as M, a role she first played in 1995. M (Dench) left Bond a brief upon her demise and Bond heads off on a mission to Rome, driving a spectacular car. Christoph Waltz is Ernst Blofeld (a familiar character to Bonds fans), and he really is a great bad guy. Since the movie is still so new and there are more detailed synopses elsewhere, I will not dwell too much on the story. Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Color) is Dr. Madeleine Swann, the daughter of one of Bonds's nemeses, and Bond has promised to protect her, even if she doesn't want him to. There are a couple of cool explosions, one was the largest explosion on a set (I'm pretty sure there will be some Oscar nominations for effects, sound and editing). There were a couple of story elements that I liked, they were a little unexpected and added a twist (no spoilers here). So, what about the song? Sam Smith co-wrote and performed "The Writing's on the Wall". It was fine; I have to admit that I have never heard him sing, so I didn't know what to expect, and I was surprised when he hit some very high notes. I think while Shirley Bassey's "Goldfinger" is THE Bond song, Adele's "Skyfall" is right up there, and for those new to Bond films, it probably is THE song, so it must be hard to follow Adele. My guess is it will be nominated for an Oscar as well, and could be quite an interesting performance in 2016. The big question - did I like the movie? The movie ended and we looked at each other and kind of went, oh, okay, that was all right, but none of us left thinking that was the best movie, or even the best James Bond movie we'd seen. I wanted more gadgets from Q, I thought they were kind of lame and my friends wanted less clothes on Daniel Craig.

11/15/15 Get Low, 2009 

 I saw the trailer for Get Low a few times and thought it looked funny, Bill Murray is dry and cynical and Robert Duvall plays an enigmatic hermit in Tennessee in the 1930s. Felix Bush (Duvall) lives alone in the woods and decides to throw a funeral for himself and ask people to tell a story or memory about him. Frank Quinn (Murray) is the owner of the funeral home who sees a great opportunity to make some money and generate some publicity; his assistant, Buddy Robinson, is not so mercenary about it, and befriends Bush. Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek) is a contemporary of Bush, and we're not totally certain of their relationship until further in the movie. Get Low is a quirky little film, in some ways it reminded me of St. Vincent from a few years ago, which starred Bill Murray, you think it's going to be some gut busting hilarious movie, and it suckers you in, and then shows you a flawed man who has some demons. It kind of reminds you that everyone has a story and everyone has pain, some just bury it deeper than others. There are great performances from everyone, especially Duvall and Lucas Black who played Buddy.

Three years and still going with Citizen Kane, Shane, Taxi Driver and The Searchers

 You read that right, it's been three years since I began this compulsion to write about Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated films, which then began including any movie (because you never know, it might be nominated) and then various live performances that I have seen. There's really no science or training involved, it's just a way to share my opinions and thoughts, maybe get you to see a movie you would otherwise miss or maybe prevent you from wasting 2 or more hours of your life. You're welcome. One of the things that has happened since I started blogging is people are always asking me what's the best movie I've seen lately or have I seen "Centipede Man" or whatever it was (um, no). It's nice and flattering, but I sometimes want to say just read the blog, but the truth is many times I actually can't remember what I've watched once I've written about it. In a good month I will watch 15-20 movies, maybe go to one or two live performances and maybe read a book connected with a movie I've seen. Paraphrasing IT support, I have to periodically clear my cache, which means I don't actually remember everything. Putting it into perspective, over the pat three years I have watched and reviewed: 362 Oscar-winning movies (out of 1196 winners), dozens of Oscar-nominated films, 59 out of 100 of the AFI 100 Best films, 102 out of 625 films on the National Film Registry and 32 of 100 from the newly added BBC top 100 American films. Without further ado, I will begin adding to the list.

8/12/15 Shane, Best Cinematography, Color, 1953, #45 AFI, National Film Registry

Shane is a Western starring Alan Ladd as Shane, Van Heflin and Jean Arthur as Joe and Marian Starrett, Brandon DeWilde as their son, Joey and Jack Palance as Jack Wilson. Shane is a mysterious stranger in Wyoming who is befriended by Joey and his parents who are struggling to establish their homestead despite threats from cattle rancher Rufus Ryker. George Stevens (Giant, Diary of Anne Frank) directed and the award winning cinematography was done by Loyal Griggs (The Ten Commandments) and the outdoor scenes, especially against the mountains, was really breathtaking. The story of the conflict between ranchers and homesteaders isn't exactly new, nor is the mysterious stranger aspect, but I liked the way Ladd didn't overwhelm a scene with a macho act, but he also wasn't afraid to throw a punch and his/Shane's interaction with Joey was fun and a little heartbreaking to watch. Brandon DeWilde was fun to watch, he had some of the best facial expressions, during the fight at the general store/saloon where Shane and Big Joe take on Ryker's men, his eyes get as big as saucers. There was a sexual tension between Marian and Shane and some dialog that makes me think something was edited out. DeWilde and Palance were both nominated for Best Supporting Actor that year but lost to Frank Sinatra in From Here To Eternity. I really liked this movie, not really appreciating the influence that it had on other film makes, just enjoying the scenery, the action and the acting which is a lot more than I can say for our next movie, The Searchers.

8/13/15 The Searchers, 1956 #96 AFI, National Film Registry, #5 BBC

I am at a loss. This has to be one of the worst or at least not interesting movies I have watched in a while, but it's on three out of four of my lists. The Searchers stars John Wayne as Ethan Edwards, a veteran of the Civil War who returns to his family in West Texas, leaves to chase some rustled cattle, then comes back to his brother's home to find some of the family killed, except for the two girls who are believed to have been captured by the Comanches. Ethan and the family's adopted son, Martin Pawley, set off to find the girls. To say Ethan doesn't really like Martin is a gross understatement, and a lot of the movie has the two of them bickering and quarreling. The movie covers several years, and it just was exhausting. The end, I thought, was ridiculously anti-climatic as they find Ethan's niece, Debbie (Natalie Wood), now a member of a Comanche tribe and unwilling to go home. The Searchers was directed by John Ford, but that's not enough for me to say why it's considered a masterpiece, compared to Stagecoach or True Grit, both which starred John Wayne; I also do not get Ethan Edwards as a compelling character. You can watch it if you want or have a list, but otherwise, skip it.

8/14/15 Citizen Kane, Best Writing - Original Screenplay, 1941, #1 AFI, National Film Registry, #1 BBC

The Battle Over Citizen Kane, 1996

This is the granddaddy of them all, co-written, directed and produced by Orson Welles and starring him as the titular Kane. There is probably as much written about the movie as there is about the making of the movie and the battle with William Randolph Hearst. The story of Charles Foster Kane is told in a series of flashbacks, relying on the memories of Kane's closest associates and employees; Kane is modeled on several wealthy men of the period, most notably Hearst, and along those lines, Kane becomes a powerful newspaper publisher. The movie follows Kane as he leaves his home in Colorado with his parents to move east to become the ward of wealthy banker, Walter Parks Thatcher. Kane buys a struggling paper with great aspirations to use the paper to lift the poor and protect those who cannot protect themselves, one of the great muckrakers. Kane later marries the niece of the President and we see the marriage deteriorate over a period of years through a montage. Kane later builds a castle called Xanadu where his second wife is practically kept captive. Over the years, we see Kane go from a vibrant young man who loved life and everything it had to offer to a controlling unhappy man, convinced that he could buy and build his happiness, when he is really just miserable. Kane and his closest friend, Jedidiah Leland (Joseph Cotton) eventually grow apart as Leland doesn't approve of Kane's manipulation of events to create headlines. I liked how the story unfolded and it reminded me a little of Rebecca (lately a lot of movies remind me of Rebecca) because we only learn about Kane from his associates, nothing is firsthand knowledge, and you'll have to figure out who or what Rosebud is for yourself. You may or may not be impressed with Citizen Kane, but the filming techniques used at the time were very innovative, and when you also consider that Orson Welles was directing and starring in his first film, coming from his radio career ("War of the Worlds") and the Mercury Theater group and also that most of the actors in the film had never acted in films before, oh and that Welles was 26 when Citizen Kane was completed. Welles is very dashing and handsome and has a great speaking voice, I enjoyed just listening to him. Watching Citizen Kane is almost prerequisite for film buffs as much for the techniques and the story but also to watch a genius at work, a genius that never reached that height again, and to see the film that has influenced so many directors.

I was fortunate that with the library's copy of Citizen Kane a copy of The Battle Over Citizen Kane was included. This documentary talks about the fight between William Randolph Hearst and Orson Welles over the release of Citizen Kane. It takes the viewer back to 1941 and puts into historical context Hearst's power and influence and Welles' stubbornness and artistic vision. It was very helpful.

8/22/15 Taxi Driver, 1976 #52 AFI, National Film Registry, #19 BBC

Almost everyone who watches movies is familiar with the character of Travis Bickle and his famous line "You talking to me?" even if they haven't seen the movie itself. Robert DeNiro stars as Travis Bickle, a former Marine who looks for an overnight job to cope with his insomnia and finds one driving a taxi in some of the seedier parts of New York City. Some of the people that Bickle meets include Wizard (Peter Boyle) a long-time taxi driver, Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) who is a campaign worker for presidential candidate Charles Palantine and Iris (a young Jodie Foster) a prostitute who is pimped by Matthew (Harvey Keitel). Unlike Charles Foster Kane who we only see through the eyes of others, we see what Travis sees although we don't always understand the relevance of it to him, and we don't really know a lot about his past; and we gradually see Travis lose his grip on reality as he clumsily pursues Betsy, taking her to a Swedish sex film. You get the feeling that he really doesn't think there's anything wrong or perverted about it and he doesn't understand why she is so upset. This rejection leads him to try to assassinate Palantine, perhaps trying to win back Betsy. As this is going on, he also meets Iris, a young prostitute who gets in his cab but his roughly grabbed out by Matthew. Something about her affects Travis and he seeks her out, not for sex, but to try and help her escape her life of sex and drugs. Foster isn't in the film as much as DeNiro, but when she is onscreen you are drawn to watching her, her wise-beyond-her years attitude seems natural and not pretend. Bickle has a sense of right and wrong, that in some way is innocent and in others very judgmental; given the time period, it's possible that Bickle was in Vietnam, all we really get from the film (not notes in Wikipedia or special features) is that Travis was a Marine, not if he experienced the horrors of combat. I had a preconception that Bickle was a raving psychopath, and he may be unbalanced, but DeNiro exerts a control over the character that makes you want to watch and see what happens next. Foster and DeNiro were both nominated for Oscars, and in one of the most befuddling wins, Beatrice Straight won that year for her less than 10 minutes on screen in Network, beating out Foster, but also Jane Alexander in All the President's Men and Piper Laurie in Carrie - crazy. DeNiro lost out to Peter Finch, also from Network; both men played very emotionally stressed characters, maybe Bickle was too much at that time. I don't want to tell you how the movie ends, because it was kind of a surprise to me and if you haven't seen it, you should, and I don't want to ruin it. Taxi Driver was directed by Martin Scorcese and written by Paul Shrader, a team that would work together several more times. Scorcese captures the New York City of the 1970s which was gritty and makes it as much a character as Bickle or Iris.

Digging into the Oscar vault - Stagecoach with John Wayne, Harvey with James Stewart and Winnie the Pooh

I'm afraid I'm about to disappoint some of my friends because I have yet to see Gone Girl, Fury,The Judge or any other new movie even though I had Friday off. It's not that I don't want to, I've just become one with my recliner and loathe going out. I may be one more Law and Order marathon away from an intervention. But that does not mean I have been slacking, oh no, I knocked another four movies off of the list this weekend, and while they were all extremely different (no theme weekend for me), they all got a thumbs up.

10/17/14 The Hellstrom Chronicle, Best Documentary, 1971

The title of this movie struck me as something that could have been a Robert Heinlein or Isaac Asimov book. It definitely had science fiction elements and even used a few clips from some sci-fi movies. This won for Best Documentary, even though the character of the title, Dr. Nils Hellstrom, is fictional and some of his proposed theories are a little wacky (some seem spot on forty-three years later). Dr. Hellstrom is an entomologist (at least I think so based on his interest, but he's just called a scientist in the Wikipedia write-up). Anyway, Dr. Hellstrom has an very doomsday point of view and sees humans on a path to war or conflict with insects and he goes on to recap the evolution of insects over the past million of years. The macrophotography is incredible; too incredible if you don't like bugs, like me. There are closeups of insects being born, having sex, fighting and dying. It's quite the circle of life. This is the type of thing that used to be on The Learning Channel  or The Discovery Channel and that is still shown on PBS (support your local PBS station). The Dr. Hellstrom character is played by Lawrence Pressman (who may be familiar from his many television appearances) with his tongue firmly in cheek. I was debating whether or not to recommend this for younger viewers, and I guess I would leave that up to you. It can be a little scary and gross in parts (yes, I think nature should be clean and neat) and there are about 10-15 minutes devoted to sex among the insects. Of course, you could look at that as a great opportunity to have that birds and bees discussion you've been avoiding. Squeamishness aside, I did enjoy it and I think the quality of the photography holds up all these years later.

10/19/14 Harvey, Best Supporting Actress, 1950

Harvey is the story of Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart) an affable man with a drinking problem and an invisible (imaginary?) white rabbit as a companion, Harvey. Harvey, by the way, is known as a 'pooka', a creature from Celtic mythology. Elwood lives with his sister, Veta (Josephine Hull in her Oscar winning role) and her daughter, Myrtle Mae. Veta and Myrtle Mae are concerned about Elwood's insistence on Harvey's existence; Elwood introduces Harvey to everyone he meets, even the bartender at his favorite bar serves up two martinis without a second thought. Veta wants to have Elwood committed to a rest home/sanatorium, one, to cure Elwood of his hallucinations and two, to keep him out of the way as Myrtle Mae tries to find a suitor. This is where things go a little off the rails, with the staff at Chumley Rest thinking that Veta is the one who needs to be institutionalized. It's pretty comical. Elwood goes through these events totally non-plussed, not troubled at all by those who don't believe in Harvey. James Stewart plays this straight, no camp, no over-eager selling and trying to convince us Harvey is there, and after a while, you kind of start to believe it yourself. Amid the chaos caused by the confusion over whom should be checked in to Chumley Rest, there are some other stories happening; one is the budding romance between Myrtle Mae and Marvin, a nurse at Chumley Rest (Marvin is played by Jesse White, the Maytag repairman); another is the love/hate/love relationship with Dr. Sanderson and Nurse Kelly, also employed at Chumley Rest. Elwood helps bring the two contentious lovers together, or maybe it was Harvey. Dr. Chumley offers Elwood the chance to be normal and stop seeing Harvey if he takes an injection. Through some intervention (Harvey?), Elwood does not get the injection. I liked Harvey, it had some funny bits and James Stewart is always fun to watch. In the introduction to the DVD, Stewart provides some insight to his feelings about the movie and the play (Stewart and Hull played their roles on Broadway first). I thought it was interesting that so many children attended the Saturday matinees because there are references to sex and the whole alcoholic aspect. I don't know if I would recommend this for kids. The good thing is the movie is short enough that you can watch it first and then decide for yourself.

10/19/14 Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, Best Animated Short Film, 1968

Is there anything more comforting than Winnie the Pooh? I think not. I could listen to Sebastian Cabot narrate the phone book, but when he's narrating the adventures of the Hundred Acre Wood, it's just so soothing. I think Winnie the Pooh is timeless, especially the short films made in the late 1960s and early 1970s (I find the later versions don't have quite the same feel). Pooh and his friends experience Winds-day, which is at it sounds, very windy and blustery and rainy. We meet all of Pooh's friends like Kanga and Roo, Rabbit, Tigger, Owl and my favorite, Eeyore. The Blustery Day contains quite a bit of action and characters (it's only about 26 minutes long) including the Heffalumps and Woozles as well as songs by the song-writing team of Richard and Robert Sherman. There is something special about Pooh and the very simple lens with which he looks at life; it's just not that complicated, and that is so refreshing, he has no ulterior motives. There is a book called The Tao of Pooh, I should probably dig that out. One of my favorite things about Disney animated films is figuring out who the voices are and what other characters they have done (this was before big celebrities voicing characters). I had a great time following the different links on Wikipedia to get these tidbits: Sterling Holloway was Pooh, he was also the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Stork in  Dumbo; Paul Winchell played Tigger and he was also Gargamel from The Smurfs among a plethora of voice-over roles; Hal Smith as Owl might be better known to audiences as Otis the town drunk in The Andy Griffith Show; and the inimitable Sebastian Cabot, also known as Mr. French from Family Affair. I watched this on a VHS tape (yes, you read that right), but I believe this may also be available with some other Winnie the Pooh shorts on DVD.

10/19/14 Stagecoach, Best Supporting Actor, Best Music (scoring), 1939, national film registry

John Wayne birth place, Winterset, Iowa

1939 was a great year in film: Gone with the Wind (10 Academy Awards), Wuthering Heights, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Wizard of Oz and John Wayne's first major role as The Ringo Kid in Stagecoach. Whew. John Ford directed John Wayne, Claire Trevor as Dallas, John Carradine as Hatfield, Andy Devine as Buck and Thomas Mitchell as Doc Boone, his Oscar-winning role. Nine characters or as the movie poster in the Wikipedia posting says, "9 Strange People" are heading to Lordsburg, New Mexico Territory via the titular stagecoach through Apache country. The Ringo Kid is out for revenge against the men who killed his family. Dallas has been kicked out of town for being a woman of ill-repute and Doc Boone is the town drunk and leaving town for greener pastures. We learn more about the characters as they proceed on their journey, almost like a western Canterbury Tales (Chaucer would be pleased). I have to admit I am not as familiar with the work of John Ford as I probably should be, but Stagecoach has been called one of the most influential films made (Wikipedia article). I was more interested in that it was John Wayne's first major role and he definitely seems like a natural and was very charming; I liked watching his scenes with Claire Trevor (who won the Oscar for her part in Key Largo and was nominated for her role in The High and the Mighty, with John Wayne), and I was rooting for the two of them to ride off into the sunset. Thomas Mitchell starred in two of the year's major films, Gone with the Wind (he was Scarlett O'Hara's father) and Stagecoach. I enjoyed the movie and look forward to watching more John Ford films (he has won the most Oscars for a director, so I'll have plenty of opportunity).

The Normal Heart, Bridges of Madison County, Louie, The Best Years of Our Lives, Words and Pictures

Well, it's not like I wasn't doing anything, but it probably seems like it. So without further ado.

The Normal Heart, winner Outstanding Television Movie - Emmy, 2014

It always seems inappropriate to me to say I 'loved' or 'enjoyed' a movie about AIDS or the Holocaust or anything that is about such a serious topic, but what do you say? The Normal Heart was a movie based on the play by Larry Kramer and had a laundry list of television, movie and theater actors that would make any casting director drool. The Normal Heart is set in New York City in the early 1980s and stars Mark Ruffalo as Ned Weeks, our protagonist, and follows him as the New York gay community begins to experience the epidemic that came to be known as AIDS. Julia Roberts is Dr. Brookner as the doctor who treats and documents these cases as they come in; her character is brave in her refusal to cower to the fear the disease has inflicted on caregivers and the public. Alfred Molina is Ben Weeks, Ned's older brother who manages Ned's finances and does not quite accept his brother's homosexuality as normal or healthy. Matt Bomer is Ned's lover who contracts AIDS. There is a litany of other actors, some who were in the Broadway play like Jim Parsons and Joe Mantello. Larry Kramer has been a polarizing figure in the gay community for decades and Ned seems to take on those qualities, an outspoken criticism of the gay community for ignoring AIDS and confronting politicians and potential allies, and the conviction that his is the right way and the only way. This movie does not shy away from anything, not the sex, not the ravages of the disease and not the internal conflicts, nor should it. With the passage of time, it seems that the outbreak of AIDS has been forgotten, the incredible fear that came with it, the deaths of people like Rock Hudson and Freddie Mercury, Liberace that brought the discussion to the general public. The acting is passionate and intense, the frustration is palpable as Dr. Brookner's request for funding and to be included in the research is so haughtily denied. The sadness when Ned says he will no longer speak to his brother until Ben acknowledges that he is an equal and not sick or abnormal is familiar to too many gays and lesbians. This is hard to watch but I think it's worth it. A couple of years ago there was an Oscar-nominated movie that parallels the events in The Normal Heart called How to Survive a Plague that I also recommend as well as Longtime Companion that came out in 1989 and follows a group of friends in the early days of AIDS as well.

Roseman Bridge, Winterset, Iowa 2014

The Bridges of Madison County, nominated Best Actress, 1995

(sigh) One of the things that happens when people find out you watch movies and write about them is they love to recommend movies for you. If I'm really not interested, I usually lie or tell them I have a list a mile long of movies that I have to watch. I kind of set myself up for this one, The Bridges of Madison County, because I told several people that I was going to Iowa and that I saw the bridges of Madison County and the inevitable question was - have you seen the movie? No, it was not on my list, of that I was sure, but a friend from work was insistent, pleading her case that she loved it and it was wonderful and would make me cry. I thought is there a sports documentary hidden in there, because otherwise, I probably won't be crying. I didn't think I would watch it, but then I thought, crap, I should just watch it and then I can use my picture (above) and cross it off the list (I'm not sure what list, but it's crossed off now). Okay, so the movie stars Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep as two people who find each other in 1960s Iowa; she is a farm wife, Francesca, who gave up a lot to be with her husband on his family farm in Winterset, Madison County, Iowa, and he is a photographer, Robert, who is on assignment for National Geographic to shoot the bridges of Madison County. The movie is told in flashback after Francesca's death and her grown children learn of the brief, but impactful, affair. Meryl Streep lost the Oscar to Susan Sarandon in her role as Sister Prejean in Dead Man Walking. I have seen a lot of Meryl Streep movies, and while I think it's fair to say she is pretty excellent in everything she does, I didn't think this was an Oscar-winning role or performance. Francesca and Robert embark on a whirlwind affair while her family is at the Illinois State Fair, and he asks her to go off with him. She wisely declines, knowing that the magic of the four days probably could not be sustained, although she feels the effects of the affair for many years. There you go. The movie was close to three hours, or at least that's how it felt. It was nice to see my neighbors to the south get a little recognition and I guess it brings in a lot of tourists who want to see the bridges (I only saw two and then was pretty much done). I have now seen the bridges and the movie, I refuse to read the book.

Louie, Season 1, 2010

I don't know, I usually don't buy into hype. I'm the anti-hype person, but after watching Louie win Emmys for the past couple of years, I thought I might be missing something. (insert very long, painful silence)
Yeah, no. There were funny bits, but mostly, it was really not my type of comedy, and I use that word loosely. There are currently three other seasons, but I think I'll quit while I'm ahead and just wait impatiently for the next season of Veep to come to my library.

The Best Years of Our Lives, Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Writing - Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Honorary Award, AFI #37, 1946

Most of you have probably never heard of The Best Years of Our Lives even though it one seven competitive Oscars and was one of the blockbusters of its time. The Best Years of Our Lives follows three servicemen as they come home from World War II; coincidentally they all live in the same town. They represent the Navy, Airforce and Army and range from being a young man in his early twenties to an older man who has been married twenty years and has two older children. William Wyler directed; Frederic March (who won an Oscar as Best Actor) is Sergeant Al Stephenson who is married to Milly (the wonderful Myrna Loy) and was a bank manager in his previous life; Dana Andrews is Captain Fred Derry who was a bomber pilot but was a soda jerk prior to joining the service. Harold Russell, who was the first non-actor to win a competitive Oscar, was Petty Officer Homer Parrish; Russell actually did lose his hands in the war and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but he was also given an honorary Oscar because the Academy did not think he would win. Hoagy Carmichael is Homer's Uncle Butch and he runs the best bar in town which serves as a meeting place for the guys. As I thought about how I would try to describe all of the different things that go on the movie, I had this visual of swim lanes (if you work in Project Management, then you might understand what I'm trying to convey). The three men are linked because they travel home together, then go their separate ways, then come back together, and so on. That's kind of what makes the movie so long, there's a lot of story to tell. In one way, this movie is very much a period piece, but in other ways, this story could be told today, with our veterans coming back from whatever theater of war they were in and trying to deal with getting back to normal, with injuries you can see and injuries you can't. They didn't call it PTSD back in the 1940s, but that's what it would be recognized as now. Anyway, Al comes back to his loving family and his job at the bank. He's given a promotion to work with small business loans for veterans. Fred returns and looks for his wife whom he married during his training; he struggles in the real world because he doesn't want to go back to the soda fountain, but he doesn't have formal training (these days, the fact that he had to learn how to fly one of those massive bombers would count as some kind of training). He also finds out his wife really isn't interested in him since he doesn't have any money. Homer comes home with his two hooks (his words) but he hasn't really told his family or his girlfriend, Wilma, so they are surprised when they see them. Homer takes it all in stride, well aware that people may be nervous about him or think he can't do anything; he proves them wrong, being able to light matches (think about it, we're used to using our fingers to hold them match), shoot a gun. Harold Russell held his own, and if I didn't know he had never acted before, I don't think I would have known from his performance. Homer doesn't want Wilma to be stuck with him and tries to keep his distance. Wilma, to her credit, isn't having it, and is persistent. He finally gives in and I thought one of the sweetest moments I have seen on film is when he takes her to his room and shows her what his nightly routine is like, so she can have an idea what she is getting into. He shows her how he takes off his robe, his prosthesis and then for all intents and purposes, he's helpless. She doesn't care. It was just a brutally honest few minutes. If the movie was made today, the repercussions of the PTSD and trying to fit in probably would have been more graphic, peppered with swear words, violence and maybe not have had such a positive outcome. So, if you watch this movie (and I hope you do), don't be too quick to characterize it as hokey or unreal.

Words and Pictures not nominated, 2014

This was another movie that someone recommended. It stars Juliet Binoche and Clive Owen as teachers at a private prep school in Maine (I swear they must have been right on the Canadian border, but that's neither here nor there). Juliet Binoche is an artist and is teaching the Honors Art Class, she also suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. Clive Owen is an English teacher who has more than an obsession with the English language and a drinking problem. They somehow become engaged in a debate on which is more necessary or powerful, words or pictures. The debate draws in the students who create poems and paintings to make their points. It certainly is an interesting concept, and the dialog is peppered with quick wit and an appreciation of language. There's some other stuff going on as both characters are knocked back by their respective diseases. I really did not care for Owen's character, I found him smug and arrogant and obnoxious. Binoche was a little more likable than her character in the Before the Dawn/Sunrise/Sunset trilogy, but I guess I really didn't like her either. However, saying all of that, the movie does make you think about words and images and their power, and if you are interested in that debate, then you might like this.

Fleetwood Mac, September 30, 2014 - Target Center, Minneapolis

I have gone to a lot of concerts over the pat year, and this was the biggest venue I have been to since I saw Peter Gabriel at the United Center in Chicago. The only reason I went was because Christine McVie rejoined the band, and she wrote my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs. The show was amazing, the band opened with "The Chain" and as far as I'm concerned just rocked it the whole night. Mick Fleetwood and John McVie have been the unchanging factors in the history of Fleetwood Mac, and they really are one of the best rhythm sections out there. Mick Fleetwood, who is well past 60, still bangs the drums with such ferocity it's hard to believe. Lindsay Buckingham, who I go hot and cold on, he always seems to diffident, has a unique guitar style and gets some great sounds and had a couple incredible solos. This was the first concert of the latest tour and the Target Center was sold out and very engaged and appreciative, as was the band. They thanked the audience several times, not just the 'thank you very much' but they expounded on how excited they were to start the tour, and start it with Christine McVie. It was a love fest up there. They played for over two and a half hours and did all the hits and I was trying to mentally tick them off my list. I was pretty high up, although towards the center, so I was head on, but they were awfully teeny down there. Thank god they had huge screens. I hope this iteration sticks around, they say they are also working on a new record. I would see them again (only these five, otherwise, forget it). My only complaints are actually about the audience, and at first I was going to blame Minnesotans, but I think this may be how it is these days. What the frack is it about talking through the concert? Seriously? It's not a damned football game or a picnic or a pizza party in your living room. Shut the hell up. Then, the chick behind me apparently felt like she was at home in her chaise lounge because she had her feet up over the end of the seat, right behind my head. I don't drink at concerts (or anywhere really), one I don't like the taste of beer, and the thought of paying $8 for a beer is just obscene, but then if you drink 32 ounces of beer, at some point, you're going to have to expel it, so the up and down, just makes me nuts. Then, I paid a lot of money to see this show, and I don't want to miss anything. If I missed "You make loving fun" because I was in the bathroom, I would have been devastated. I guess that's your choice, but could you be less annoying going up and down the stairs? Oh, that felt good. Thanks for listening. If you can, see Fleetwood Mac when they come to town, you will not regret it.

More 2014 Oscar Nominees: Nebraska, Blue Jasmine, The Hunt

1/25/14 Nebraska, nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography 2013

In Nebraska, like August: Osage County, family relationships, especially the parent and child relationship is at the center of the story; the landscape and countryside are also characters in the story. Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) is the somewhat addled, alcoholic/drunk patriarch who believes that he was won a million dollars and wants go from Billings, Montana, to Lincoln, Nebraska, to claim his prize. Since he can't drive, he tries at various times to walk, although the highway patrol and his wife, Kate (June Squibb) and kids, David and Ross (Will Forte and Bob Odenkirk) are not exactly supportive of this Quixotic adventure. Eventually, David decides this might be a good chance to spend some quality time with his dad, and against Kate's wishes, they head off on a road trip. Woody is somewhat of a curmudgeon and resents the loss of his freedom as well as his family denying his opportunity to claim his prize. Woody suffers some misadventures during the trip (including losing his dentures along the train tracks, which is a very funny scene). David and Woody take a detour back to Woody and Kate's hometown of Hawthorne, and Kate and Ross come down for an impromptu family reunion. That visit raises the ghosts that Woody and Kate long since left behind, including Woody's family, of whom Kate does not think very highly; Woody's old business partner, Ed Pegram, played by Stacey Keach; and Woody tells them all that he is on his way to collect a million dollars. None of this is done with any bravado or bragging, just a plain fact (which is Woody's style for everything). There is a great scene where David and Ross believe they are reclaiming an air compressor that Woody lent to Ed Pegram over 30 years ago; I thought that was pure comedic genius and timing. Of course, at some point, Woody has to accept that he has not won the million dollars, but you will have to see that and the other familial exchanges for yourself. In August: Osage County it's the mother-daughter relationship that gets focus and in Nebraska it's the father-son relationship and it's an interesting contrast - August: Osage County has yelling, a lot of dialogue and 'explosive' interactions (hot if you will, like Oklahoma in the summer); Nebraska is quieter, with Woody being very frugal in his words and his actions, while David and his other family members doing most of the talking, but still restrained in most of their actions and interactions (cool like autumn or winter in Wyoming or Nebraska). Bruce Dern is great as Woody, almost stereotypically stoic like his fictional Swedish ancestors. Dern is in a pool of great actors for the Best Actor Oscar, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthew McConaughey and Leonardo DiCaprio, so I think it's going to be close. June Squibb was achingly familiar to the women sitting next to me (don't get me wrong, I could have done without their chatter, but it was interesting to hear the parallels in their own lives with the Grants; I think this is probably true for many of my Minnesotan/Wisconsin/Dakotan friends); Kate was feisty, cantankerous, resentful and yet very protective of Woody (I guess it's one of those, I can be angry and resentful at my husband, but you cannot moments). June Squibb had some great lines, and she has a speech where she just goes off on her in-laws and I wanted to applaud; so she not only had great lines, but delivered them convincingly. She's nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category, and that one, I think is locked up by Lupita Nyong'o. Alexander Payne directed Nebraska and he chose to film Nebraska in black and white and I think it fits the film perfectly. There is something that will resonate with everyone, especially the parent-child arc, but as I said, I think there is something that is very uniquely Midwestern to the story that struck a chord for this transplanted Minnesotan. Nebraska has a bittersweet quality that is tempered by the humor. You should totally see this movie (big screen is great, but I think you'd okay if you have to wait for DVD).

1/25/14 Blue Jasmine, nominated for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, 2013

I think my next project may be to watch all of Woody Allen's films and do my analysis and categorization of them because he does seem to have certain themes for his movies; this isn't scientific but to me a movie like Bullets Over Broadway is a more obvious comedy, but something like Blue Jasmine or Cassandra's Dream or Matchpoint have almost a Greek tragedy component (Blue Jasmine is probably more comedy than the other two just mentioned); the protagonist 'gets' what is coming to them. Jasmine (Cate Blanchett nominated as Best Actress) is the ex-wife of Hal, a Bernie Madoff-type character, played by Alec Baldwin, who has lost every trace of her posh lifestyle, except the feeling that she should still have all of those luxuries. This narcissistic trait grates on her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins nominated for Best Supporting Actress), who lost a great deal of money by trusting it to Hal, and has always struggled. Blanchett plays Jasmine with no sense of irony or humor, which makes it funny to watch her cluelessness among her friends and family, and total strangers. Poor Ginger has her own problems, including divorcing her husband, played surprisingly well by Andrew Dice Clay, and then relationship problems with her new boyfriend, Chili, oh, and her sister won't move out. Hawkins is good and can definitely hold her own with Blanchett (to see Hawkins in a starring role check out Happy-Go-Lucky). Woody Allen has written over 70 movies and I think he still has something to say; I like his movies like Blue Jasmine more than Midnight in Paris, that could have been because of Owen Wilson (not a fan) or the story with the ups and downs in Jasmine's life.

1/26/13 The Hunt, nominated for Best Foreign Film, 2013

Oh, this one will grab you and not let go until it's over. The film database I keep in my head is failing me in terms of other similar films but I know they are there. Anyway, The Hunt stars Mads Mikkelsen who was also in Denmark's entry last year, A Royal Affair, as Lucas, an aid at the local kindergarten. The young daughter of his best friend accuses Lucas of behaving inappropriately with her after he upsets her. The little girl who is perhaps six has no idea of what her statement means in the grown-up world and the firestorm she is about to set off in her village. I don't know if it's fair to say that if this happened in Copenhagen or another large European city it would have been handled differently, but in a small village where everyone knows everyone else, it creates a maelstrom that Lucas cannot escape, even though he knows he didn't do anything wrong. And I think that may be part of what makes the movie so tense and suspenseful is that as the viewer you know that Lucas didn't do anything and all you can do is watch the events unfold, hoping that everyone in the village is as insightful as you are. Unfortunately, that isn't the case, and most of his friends distance themselves. In the midst of this, Lucas reconnects with his teenage son, Marcus, who has had to spend most of his time with Lucas's ex-wife. Marcus stands by his father's side and they build a strong bond. The ending is worthy of Hitchcock (man, I hope I'm referencing the right filmmaker) and it caught me by surprise. I'm not going to lie, it was hard to watch the witch hunt, and it's amazing at how fast everyone turned on Lucas. But it is a great performance by Mikkelsen (who should have been nominated for his performance even if it would have added to an already crowded field). One other thing - apparently they don't wear blaze orange in Denmark when hunting.

1/26/13 Frances Ha, not nominated, 2013

Ok, I just watched this because Greta Gerwig was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress for Frances Ha and I wanted to see if she should have been nominated for an Oscar. And...no. I haven't had a painful movie in a while, so maybe I was due, but man alive I hated this movie. What a bunch of nothing; I don't mind slices of life without any clear end in mind, but this seemed ridiculous. I didn't even think it was very funny and the acting was amateurish at best; I think the point was to make it seem like the conversation and action was natural and improvised, but it just wasn't very good. I think people get 'ground-breaking' and 'pretentious' mixed up and I think that's the case here. Where I think Nebraska and August: Osage County can apply to a cross-section of movie-goers and almost anyone can say 'oh my gosh that happened to me', I don't think that is true here; I think it pertains to a small segment of the population, and if their lives are as meaningless as those in the film, who wants to see that. Rant over.

Redemption - National Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion

11/4/13 Blogger's note: in over 120 posts, I have never fretted about an entry once it's posted until last night. I turned off the computer, went to bed and had a panic attack about what I wrote. Did I leave sentences unfinished? How and why did I use 'automaton'? Did I write anything about the show? I'm going to blame it on the time change. I have re-read the post and only changed one word, so any flaws are still intact. Cheers and happy Monday.

11/2/13 A Prairie Home Companion, live from The State Theater in Minneapolis

After seeing Bad Grandpa last week, I felt like I needed some intellectual redemption. Don't get me wrong, as I mentioned, we laughed until we cried, but having people tell me they never thought I would see it kind of made me feel like I let them down. Or, I suppose, conversely, perhaps it made me seem more human and less like an automaton (a big thanks to my co-worker for using one of my favorite words, it made my day). Anyway, I bought the tickets for A Prairie Home Companion (APHC) long before I knew I was going to see Bad Grandpa, so the timing was just fortuitous.

I have listened to APHC on and off for years, taking pleasure in the fact that its home-base is here in St. Paul, and Lake Wobegon is a fictional town in Minnesota. I was delighted that when Robert Altman made his film based on the radio show, he filmed a lot of it locally, including at The Fitzgerald Theater. (I'm a Buckeye, but when the opportunity arises, I'll gladly fly Minnesota colors.) The chance to see APHC live seems to come and go so quickly, by the time I hear about it the dates, I've missed them. Also, driving to St. Paul still scares me, although I have perfected my route to the Fitz, but this time, the troupe was performing in Minneapolis at the State Theater, so I took the light rail downtown. The seats were in the second balcony, but at center stage, so I was pretty happy. It's not like there's a lot to see because it's a radio show, but at the same time, it was really cool to watch the band and the cast getting in place, and there are a couple of set pieces.

There is a part of me that assumed a Public Radio audience would be a little more sophisticated and informed about behavior in a theater. Well, shoot that stereotype right down the toilet. Apparently having a smartphone (which I do not) requires you to take flash photos during the performance and turn it on to check the time every fifteen minutes, oh and not get in your seats until 4:47 when the show starts at 4:45. Oh, I feel better now. At 4:45 the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band came on (led by the ever-present Rich Dworsky on piano) and began playing some bluegrassy music, after 7 minutes or so (times are estimates because I don't have a smartphone and cannot read my watch in the dark) Garrison Keillor came onstage to great applause, for some reason I thought that the show was starting right then as Garrison launched into a welcome and some Minnesota-centric jokes and observations, but then close to the 5:00 hour he said the show was going live in 15 seconds. Dang, nobody else was going to hear the about how modest Minnesotans are (actually, some of that did come up during the live show). The red light went on and we were LIVE from Minneapolis. The regular cast of characters appeared with Sue Scott, Tim Russell, Fred Newman doing multiple voices and effects (watching them work to see how some of the sounds were made was really cool - cue the geek music). A young singer names Hilary Thavis sang bits I can only guess were written by Garrison; she was very good, and a Twin Cities-based choral group called Cantus also sang a few songs written by Garrison and a few by other composers. I am not always familiar with the talent that appears on the show, but I find that my horizons are expanded on a regular basis. The skits included a commercial for POEM - Professional Organization of English Majors, a Guy Noir episode (which was not my favorite, sometimes those are hit or miss) and a story from Lake Wobegon. Keillor sang a bit as well. A treat for me (again, expanding horizons) was having Billy Collins read several of his poems. Billy Collins was twice US Poet Laureate (I didn't know that until the performance); I'm not big into late 20th/21st century poetry; I much prefer Blake, Coleridge and Wordsworth. But, I may be a convert to Mr. Collins. Many of the poems he read were very accessible and had a humorous twist; they almost gave you a sense that you could have written them if you tried. I don't mean that in a negative way, I just mean they captured every day life in language that you could understand even if you wren't an English major. "The Revenant" is a poem written in the voice of a dog's ghost; "The Suggestion Box" is about all the ideas that people like to give poets about topics for poems, which apparently happens all the time. Mr. Collins came out several times during the show, so it wasn't like one long poetry reading.

I wasn't ready for the show to be over. I wanted more: more skits, more music, more of Garrison Keillor's thoughts on the humility of Minnesotans and the history of Minneapolis. I thought this would be one thing crossed off my bucket list and move on, but I have to say that when the show returns to the Twin Cities, I will be doing my best to get a ticket and have my mind expanded. Skol!

Back on track - a review of two classics: The Graduate and High Noon

Steve Hackett at the Arcada Theater, 9/21/13

Well, I think I have finally recovered my week off, which was really spectacular. It's always nice to go home, even if it puts me way behind on my movie watching. Not only did I go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as I mentioned, I also ate my way through the East Side of Cleveland, going to favorite places like Tommy's (nothing else like it anywhere) and Melt Bar and Grilled. On my way driving back to Minnesota, I took I minor detour to St. Louis to see Dar Williams (you're not surprised are you?). I blame a friend of mine who said you only live once, so don't have any regrets. What's nine hours out of your way when you get to hear good music? Dar was playing the Duck Room at Blueberry Hill in the Loop, which was a much better location, size-wise, than the other two venues where I saw her. The audience was totally into it and you felt like you were with old friends. I don't want to be pushy, but if you haven't tried listening to Dar after my previous mention, you really should, just to shut me up. I would recommend her best of collection, called "Many Great Companions", it gives a great overview of her career, it's in the car right now. Opening for Dar was Angel Snow; she endeared herself to the crowd because she actually didn't tell us who she was until about halfway through her set when someone yelled out "What's your name?", she couldn't believe she hadn't told us. It was just her and her guitar and a bunch of original songs. She was really good, and I hope she makes it to Minneapolis at some point in the future. If you get a chance to see her live or listen to her stuff, I don't think you'll be disappointed. I ended the trip with a stop in St. Charles, Illinois, a lovely town along the Fox River to see Steve Hackett. Steve (we're on a first name basis) was the guitarist for Genesis during their progressive rock period in the 1970s. I have never seen him and this was the perfect opportunity: he was doing Genesis songs and St. Charles was actually on my way home. So, while Fridays and Saturdays are normally movie nights for me, last week they were filled with music.

9/28/13 The Graduate, Best Director, 1967

It's kind of fitting (although totally serendipitous) that The Graduate had such a great soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel, it ties in nicely with the singer-songwriters I talked about earlier. 1967 was a great year for movies: Camelot, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Cool Hand Luke, Doctor Doolittle, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner among others. I've heard about The Graduate forever, it's talked about as a movie of a generation, with Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson, a "cougar", (although I don't think that term was invented 45 years ago) and Dustin Hoffman as recent college graduate, Benjamin Braddock, who has no real idea of what he wants to do, despite the recommendation of his father's friend "Plastics". Mrs. Robinson and Benjamin fall into a rather emotionless affair, which eventually wanes as Benjamin falls for Elaine (Katharine Ross), Mrs. Robinson's daughter. Oh, I didn't mention, Mr. Robinson is the partner of Benjamin's father, making everything a little awkward. I liked this movie a lot (I was ready to be disappointed, fearing it would not live up to the hype), but it was funny, well-acted, well-written, and the direction/filming kept me interested. Mike Nichols won Best Director (he has also directed Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? which is great if you like a lot of screaming, I couldn't stand it; Working Girl, Silkwood and others). I'm not sure what to call the technique, but he liked to obscure the scene, either by lighting or having a character's face hidden or framed by an object, he also used what I can only describe as a use of perspective that was interesting. Bancroft is wonderful as the emotionally vacant, cynical Mrs. Robinson who seduces the young Braddock, played by the stammering, searching and bemused Dustin Hoffman. The exchange between Bancroft and Hoffman when she begins her seduction is worth the price of admission. If you watch this, you will see a lot of familiar faces, including Buck Henry (later of Saturday Night Live fame), Norman Fell (Three's Company), Alice Ghostley (Bewitched) and William Daniels (Knightrider, St. Elsewhere) amongst others. This is on AFI's list of 100 Best Films.

9/28/13 High Noon, Best Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Music scoring of Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Best Song, 1952

Oh Gary Cooper, how you vex me. Everyone who has watched movies or television over the last 60 years has heard of this movie and maybe even knows a little about the storyline, but I wonder how many people have actually seen it. Gary Cooper is Will Kane and the movie starts with Kane and Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly) getting married by a Justice of the Peace. Will is the outgoing Marshal of Hadleyville; he and Amy are leaving town, looking for a more peaceful life, except an old foe is headed back to town and Will feels obligated to stay and try to protect his friends in the town. File this one under 'no good deed goes unpunished' because his intention is not appreciated by most of the townspeople or his new bride. Amy is a Quaker and believes in non-violence, and she doesn't want to be a widow less than 24 hours of getting married; some of the townspeople are kind of short-sighted and don't appreciate Will's efforts to make the town safe. Basically, the poor guy is on his own. One of the cool things about the movie is that it follows the events of the day in 'real-time', so the action takes place in a little over an hour and that adds to the tension of watching the clock tick down to 'high noon'. If you're read my previous entries on Gary Cooper, you know he and I have a complicated relationship, and that is not helped by this movie. I get that the Marshal would be expected to be very stoic and somber, but there are more than a few moments where Cooper is so stiff, but he won Best Actor for his efforts; Jose Ferrer was nominated for his role as Toulouse-Lautrec in Moulin Rouge and he was excellent in that; I also saw Sir Alec Guinness in The Lavendar Hill Mob, which I did not love, I have not seen the other nominees. Grace Kelly was hardly in the movie and honestly, not very memorable, not when compared with To Catch a Thief. The actress, who played Kane's previous love and was also the lover of Frank Miller, the bad guy, Katy Jurado, was very good and very memorable, and I think she should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actress. What I did really like about the movie was the way it ended, that was priceless (but I'm not going to tell you how it ended, you'll have to check it out yourself). So, you're asking...should I watch it? Yeah, go ahead, it's on the AFI list of the best 100 movies, and it is a classic, it won't kill you and the soundtrack (which also won an Oscar) was also quite nice. It's family-friendly and you can judge for yourself. I am glad I watched it, and I don't have to do it again.

An unlikely trinity in Thoroughly Modern Millie

8/10/13 Thoroughly Modern Millie, Best Original Score, 1967

Maybe this is what the Jazz Age was supposed to be, not Baz Luhrmann's version of The Great Gatsby. Neither one is very realistic, and if I had to pick, I would pick Millie and company over Jay Gatsby et al every time. Millie (played by Julie Andrews) moves to New York to find a husband via job interviews (the interviewees think they are interviewing Millie for a job, while she is interviewing for future husbands). This may not seem very independent or feminist, but Millie has it all under control and knows what she wants. Miss Dorothy (Mary Tyler Moore) is even newer to New York and more than a little naive; Millie takes Miss Dorothy under her wing. Millie and Miss Dorothy are staying in the Priscilla Hotel for single women. James Fox (familiar to viewers of the BBC) plays Jimmy Smith, a young man who is vying for Millie's affections. The inimitable Carol Channing plays Muzzy, a very wealthy widow, who loves to throw big parties at her Long Island estate and show off her new talents (dancing, singing, leading the band). One of the subplots in the film involves Mrs. Meers, the proprietress of the Priscilla Hotel and her predilection of Mrs. Meers to abduct any of her lodgers who are alone in the world because nobody would miss them. This could be rather sinister, and does provide many of the more suspenseful moments in the film, but also some of its comedic scenes. Mrs. Meers was played by English actress Beatrice Lillie, who was more well-known for her stage work in America and London. She was amazing; great facial expressions and timing. Hilarious. I tried really hard to find something I didn't like about the movie, and my only issue is I think it went on about 10 minutes too long at the end, other than that, I loved it. The music was fabulous, the comedy was right on, the cast was spot on, I mean was there anyone better than Julie Andrews in the 1960s for musicals? I think not. Even in the 1980s with Victor/Victoria, she was brilliant. And think about it, how many movies have a Jewish wedding scene, a vaudeville show, a major character in drag, and an acrobatic finale? Exactly. Carol Channing was nominated as Best Supporting Actress, and based on her performance here versus Estelle Parsons in Bonnie and Clyde, I'm still not sure how Estelle Parsons' hysterical shrieking beat Channing's dancing and singing and flying. Elmer Bernstein won for Best Original Score. George Roy Hill directed, and he also directed The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid among many others. It seemed almost in the style of Blake Edwards (The Pink Panther movies). The movie was set in the 1920s, and made in the 1960s, and I'm fairly certain that if the movie was made today, the portrayal of the Chinese would be changed drastically because those stereotypes are not acceptable. The next time you are looking for a 'terrif' film that is suitable for the whole family, think about Thoroughly Modern Millie, you will not be sorry (see if you can spot Pat Morita - The Karate Kid and Jack Suh - Barney Miller).

Cimarron, it's Latin for really long, melodramatic and overacted

7/31/13, Cimarron, Outstanding Production, Best Writing - Adaptation, Best Art Direction, 1931

This entry could have been titled 'Cimarron the movie that derailed my NetFlix queue'. You would hope that a movie that sits on your television for over a month would be outstanding and that you would be smacking your head wondering what the hell took you so long.....Well, I also hope the Browns win the Super Bowl before I die....I live in hope, and it was not fulfilled by this movie. It was not horrible, I mean, I have watched horrible movies, but it did not quite energize me or excite me.

Cimarron starts with the Oklahoma land rush in 1889 and Yancy Cravat (St. Paul, MN native Richard Dix) trying to stake a claim. Yancy is quite the Renaissance man - a lawyer, a journalist, an adventurer, and full of wanderlust. The movie covers forty years of life in Osage, Oklahoma, with Yancy, his wife, Sabra (Irene Dunne), their children and the growth of a pioneer town into a bustling metropolis. Yancy kind of comes and goes as the spirit moves him, while Sabra keeps the home fires burning and their paper running. The movie won for Best Production (now called Best Picture) and I just don't know about that, it may have been because the scope was so sprawling and all-encompassing, or the other films weren't quite up to the same level, but perhaps they should have skipped it this year.

So, for all the snarkiness above, the movie was interesting to me in a few different ways. I think the period they were trying to cover was very interesting, and I don't think quite covered this way in other movies (the mini-series Centennial from the late 1970s/early 1980s covers a two hundred year period in Colorado's history and it's one of my favorites). Some of the portrayals verge on mocking stereotypes, particularly the black 'servant' (I use quotes because slavery was abolished, but he seemed to act like one), Isaiah which was actually kind of hard and embarrassing to watch. I'm not asking for political correctness from a movie made in 1931 covering a time period 50 years earlier, but it was just uncomfortable. The concept of such a strong (albeit sometimes disagreeable) woman, in Sabra Cravat was very interesting. The movie sometimes directly and sometimes indirectly deals with the conflict that the settlers had with the Indians, not so much with fighting, but with the racism and treatment of them; in fact Sabra has a few incredible rants against them. Yancy, when he is around, probably is the ideal of the Progressive Party from the late 1800s and early 1900s, and is frequently quoting from the Bible, especially when dealing with racism and defending those weaker than himself. I have to say, if my significant other came and went the way Yancy did, that door would not be open to him again (at one time he left for 5 years to go fight in the Spanish-American War). The movie was based on the book by Edna Ferber. I don't plan on reading that, but if you do, please let me know how it goes for you.

A Labor Day movie two months early - Norma Rae

7/5/13 Norma Rae, Best Actress, Best Original Song, 1979

I suppose had I could have planned this better, I would have waited for Labor Day weekend to watch this because I'm always searching for themes (speaking of which, keep an eye out for another 'flashback' to movies already watched), but carpe diem and all. Sally Field is Norma Rae, a worker in a cotton mill in North Carolina who gets very intrigued by a union organizer Reuben Warshowsky played by Ron Liebman,a Jewish union organizer no less. This is based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton. Norma Rae is feisty, independent and can generally be a pain in the butt to management, her parents, and anyone else she encounters. She's my kind of woman! The movie looks at a period of union history that happened in my lifetime, it was less than 25 years ago, and seems a little hard to believe that people worked under those conditions for those wages. It also gives a glimpse into the racial and gender dynamics at the time. While the motivation for the movie is the fight to unionize, it really is a look at the growth and education of Norma Rae, and her fight for what she believes in - her family and friends. Sally Field won her first Oscar for her portrayal of Norma Rae, and it was a pretty impressive field of actresses, Jane Fonda, Jill Clayburgh, Bette Midler and Marsha Mason. I thought she was great, and I highly recommend the movie. In addition to the Best Actress award, the movie won for the Best Original Song, It Goes Like it Goes, and I have to say 'WHAT?'. I'm mildly confused as to how a movie like The Rose did not yield one song? I had not heard of most of the nominated songs, except for Looking through the Eyes of Love from Ice Castles and The Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie. No contest - The Rainbow Connection hands down. 1979 was a strange year.