You go for it, Girl!

It's been a while since I participated in The Bumbles' Monday Movie Meme. This week's theme is take-charge movie heroines...the ones who save the day, who change what's wrong into something very right. I loves me some powerful women, especially when the characters are based on the real thing. These ladies are the real thing.

Meryl Streep as Karen Silkwood in Silkwood (1983). This movie was based on the true story of Karen Silkwood, a metallurgist in a plutonium factory, who was purposely contaminated with radioactive material, psychologically tortured and most likely killed, to prevent her from exposing blatant worker safety violations. It was nominated for five Oscars and five Golden Globes. Cher won a best supporting actress Golden Globe for her portrayal as Karen's friend Dolly. Kurt Russell also starred. Co-written by Nora Ephron and directed by Mike Nichols.

The decontamination shower scene gets me every time.





Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich (2000). Also based on a true story. Erin Brockovich stumbles into a legal assistant position at a going-broke law firm run by Ed Masry (an excellent Albert Finney). She also stumbles onto incriminating information that a large California power company is polluting the city's water supply and ultimately brings the company to its knees. The film was nominated for a slew of awards (42), both in the U.S. and abroad. Julia Roberts won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for best actress. Steven Soderbergh directed. Little known fact: Danny deVito was Executive Producer.





Sally Field as Norma Rae (1979).  Sally Field won seven best actress awards, including an Oscar, a Golden Globe and the Cannes Film Festival, for her portrayal of Norma Rae. Norma was an operator in a southern textile mill, working in deplorable conditions under hostile management, hostile mill owners, and even some of her co-workers who didn't want to lose their jobs. When a union organizer (Ron Leibman) comes to town, Norma sees an opportunity to do something worthwhile with her life and joins up with him.







Honorable mention: fictional characters.

Renee Zelwegger as Ruby Thewes in Cold Mountain (2003)
Jane Fonda as Kimberly Welles in The China Syndrome (1979)
Jodie Foster in Flightplan (2005), Panic Room (2002), The Brave One (2007)

Monday Movie MeMe--Don't Know Much About History

Today's Monday Movie MeMe theme, hosted by The Bumbles, is Historical Films. Out of the thousands of films that could be included in this list, I chose to concentrate on an area that fascinated me as a teenager...World War II movies. I watched as many as I could find on our three television stations. They still intrigue me.

Saving Private Ryan  tops my list as having the most realistic battle scene on the beaches of Normandy. My father-in-law wanted to see this when it came out, so I took him. In all, I've seen it four times. David asked me how I could watch it more than once.

The Longest Day was the original film depicting D-Day, and you can't have a WWII movie list without including one of John Wayne's best.

Patton won eight Academy Awards, including a Best Actor Oscar for George C. Scott. General George S. Patton was a complex man who wrote poetry, loved America and hated diplomacy. Who can forget him standing in front of that gigantic flag and giving his famous speech to the Third Army?

"I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor, dumb bastard die for his country."

Tora! Tora! Tora!  was a collaboration between Japanese and American co-producers. It tells the story of the bombing of Pearl Harbor from both sides and how the United States almost fumbled the ball in the Pacific theater. As the two sides plunge closer to war, the tension escalates until the final, spectacular air raid, the most realistic ever filmed.

The Bridge on the River Kwai is David Lean's best film. It tells the story of British and American prisoners-of-war in Burma who are forced to build a bridge by their Japanese captors. The officers conspire to blow up the bridge so that it can't be used by the enemy, but Colonel Nicholson (a fabulous Alec Guiness) takes pride in the structure that is built under his supervision and tries to stop them. It won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Guiness).

Schindler's List is Steven Spielberg's finest movie to date. Oskar Schindler is a pragmatic, womanizing businessman who uses Polish Jews as cheap labor in his factory to make cookware for the Third Reich. Schindler slowly comes to realize the immensity of the evil that is taking place as the Jews in the Krakow ghetto are quickly and systematically taken away to be liquidated. His workers end up in the concentration camp run by the sadistic Aman Goeth. Schindler strikes a deal with the money-hungry Goeth and smuggles his workers out of the camp to his factory in Czechoslovakia. With the help of his accountant, Itzhak Stern, he manages to get 1100 people to safety. He can't rest though, because he believes he could have saved more.

The Pianist is Roman Polanski's story of Wladysaw Szpilman, a classical pianist who performs for radio audiences in Warsaw. Adrien Brody perfectly captures the heart of this survivor. His family is all whisked away, but somehow Wladysaw manages to survive, sometimes on sheer will alone. His imagined playing of the beautiful music that he loves helps him overcome the loneliness and hunger that surrounds him. The climactic scene in which Szpilman has to actually play for a German soldier is filled with spine-tingling tension and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

The Diary of Anne Frank captivated my young mind, both in film and in the book. The director, George Stevens, wanted to pay tribute to this courageous young girl after having witnessed the Nazi death camps. Anne makes the best of a bad situation when her family of four is forced into hiding along with four other Jewish people. Anne's hopefulness and romanticism in the face of impending doom makes us hope for the best, even though we know the outcome.

There are so many more movies I could have put on this list, but as usual I've gone on too long. Forgive me, I love movies.

This clip is from the final scenes of Schindler's List. It is an emotional one.

Christmas movies make me happy

Holiday Faves is the theme for this week's Monday Movie Meme hosted, as always, by The Bumbles. Oh dear, how can I pick just a few?

Little Women (1994) is the one I want to watch when I decorate the tree. I know that purists  prefer the 1933 version with Katharine Hepburn and Joan Bennett, or even the 1949 version with June Allyson, Elizabeth Taylor, Margaret O'Brien and Janet Leigh, but the newer one is a sentimental favorite because it's the one that Aimee and I watched and cried over together when she was a teenager. And it's just prettier. And let's face it...Christian Bale is a much better actor than Peter Lawford.

This year I couldn't watch 'Little Women', because the VCR is broken, so I watched another longtime favorite....White Christmas. Sure, it's kind of hokey and Bing Crosby got a little carried away with the stage makeup and the settings are totally unbelievable, but the main reason I watch this year after year is for Rosemary Clooney's singing and Vera Ellen's dancing. And who doesn't love the last scene when the whole crew dresses up in their beautifully lush Santa-inspired costumes to sing 'White Christmas'?

On everyone's list is A Christmas Story. There are so many memorable lines in this movie that it would take all day to quote them here, but my favorite is "Fra-gee-lay. That must be Italian!". I even have it written on a box of fra-gee-lay stemware in my basement!

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, another perennial favorite of the whole world it seems, has topped many a list. Who doesn't love to laugh at the "old-fashioned Griswold family Christmas"? Again, too many gut-laugh-worthy lines to mention here, but I bet you can guess my favorite one:

Hey! If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I'd like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head, and I want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is! Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where's the Tylenol?

I've never been able to memorize that one even though I drive my kids crazy when I say every other line along with the actors!

One Magic Christmas is relatively obscure, but I love its message of hope for a despairing mother. It's a nice take on 'It's a Wonderful Life' (a fave, of course) with excellent performances by the under-appreciated Mary Steenbburgen and Harry Dean Stanton who portrays Gideon, the angel.

Honorable mentions:

Elf (I love Zooey Deschanel)
Miracle on 34th Street (the original and not colorized)
Home Alone
Christmas in Connecticut

Monday Movie MeMe--True Romance

There are a hundred and one movies that I could name as truly romantic, but none says it better for me than Chocolat.

What could be more romantic than a mysterious and sensuously beautiful woman (Juliette Binoche) who comes to a rigid puritanical village with her daughter to set up a chocolaterie.  She sets about the task of winning over the sexually repressed men and oppressed women by serving them chocolate that makes them want to do things they haven't thought of doing in years. And did I say Johnny Depp plays a heartbreakingly gorgeous gypsy who wins our lady's heart?

The mayor is outraged when Vianne Rocher sets up her shop across the street from the church and at Lent, of all things! Slowly, the town comes to accept and love Vianne and her daughter Anouk, but the mayor is determined to run her out of town. He almost succeeds and almost destroys her, but with the courage she finds in her newfound love and the strong bonds she has made with some of the women, she overcomes even the mayor's determination and stops running away from her life.

The supporting cast is stellar and includes Lena Olin, Leslie Caron, Alfred Molina, and one of my favorite actresses, Dame Judi Dench. Lasse Hallstrom directs.

If you haven't seen this wonderful movie, do yourself a favor and watch it soon. Thanks, Bumbles, for the theme.

Susan's Monday Movie Meme

Movies, movies, movies! I love movies! So, like Sandy, I decided to play along with The Bumbles this week.

The theme for this week is "Show us your collection". No problem! I tend not to buy very many, but the ones I do are ones I really, really like. Well, mostly.

Most viewed: That's easy, 'Lonesome Dove'. Even though it's umpteen hours long and is technically a mini-series, we have watched it more times than I can remember. It is THE best western ever made, in my totally unbiased opinion. What's not to love about Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall at their cowboy finest? The book is one of my favorites, too.

Never viewed: 'King Kong'. Really? Did we need another version with Naomi Watts as the heroine? I'm sure it's a fine version, but I think I prefer the classic with Fay Wray. Oh, wait a minute, it has Clive Owen in it. Excuse me, I'll be back in....3 hours and 7 minutes.

Afraid to admit you own: 'Annie'. Oh, don't get me wrong, I love the one with Aileen Quinn and Albert Finney. The one we have was made for TV with Ashley Johnson and Joan Collins. Yes, THAT Joan Collins. It is worse than awful.

Guilty pleasure: 'Dirty Dancing'. I will watch the entire thing just so I can hear Patrick Swayze say, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner!"

Most shared: Like Sandy, I don't share much, but my copy of 'Brokeback Mountain' has made the rounds in the family.

Why did we buy this?: 'Once Upon a Time in the West' is a Henry Fonda/Claudia Cardinale fake spaghetti western snoozefest. Our son, Jaye, bought it for his dad for Father's Day or Christmas. I think we made it through about fifteen minutes before turning it off.

Most treasured: 'Dad' with Ted Danson as the son who doesn't have time for his aging father(Jack Lemmon), but comes to treasure his time with his father when he's forced to take care of him after an illness. When we watched this the first time back in the 80's, our son Josh cried so hard he had tears actually squirting from his eyes. He bought it for his own Dad after he became an adult.

Wildcard: Boy, this one is tough. I can feature any movie that I want for any reason. There are so many, but I guess it would have to be 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. I'm sure that it will make many lists, but it IS my very favorite movie of all time. Is any father more understanding and brave and noble than Atticus Finch? And besides, every time we watch it, I get to hear David say at the end when Boo Radley is revealed behind the door by Scout, "I forgot that Robert Duvall plays Boo Radley!" Really, honey? After all these years?

Home and Garden and Movies Show

My best friend Cindy and I went to the Central Ohio Home and Garden Show at the Ohio Expo Center on Saturday. I broke one of my cardinal rules about going to anything like that on the opening day. I think everyone in central Ohio was there. The venue seemed smaller than usual, probably affected by the economy, and the bodies were really packed in there. I kind of hate tight crowds, so we didn't stay long.

I was hoping to see an equal balance of inside and outside displays, but there was only one featuring an ultra-gourmet kitchen. (Anyone watch HGTV?) Not that I aspire to one of these over-indulgent monstrosities, but it's fun to look at them occasionally. I was mildly impressed by the movie blockbuster garden theme which prominently focused on outdoor kitchens and living areas. Well, I suppose that's the new "in" thing and they're very nice, don't get me wrong, but who can afford to create that kind of landscaping these days?

It was hard to get pictures because of the crowd, but here are my favorites. Oh, and my batteries died in the point-and-shoot, so I didn't get them all. I'm sure this will be enough to start you yawning.

'Cast Away' was one of the most detailed displays. Notice Wilson beside the grass shack.

 

 

 

'The Secret Garden' was sweet.

 

Herbie was ridin' high in 'The Love Bug'.

 

'Ratatouille' was cute and imaginative, but I couldn't get people out of my way to actually get any flowers.

 

'Mary Poppins' was a little insulted when I asked if she was twelve. No, sixteen.

 

 

Lastly, three water features that I liked.

 

 

 

(Of course, you can click on the photos to make them bigger.)