Thursday, May 29, 2008

R.I.P.

Funny, funny, funny.

I think of Saturday nights, gathered around the TV, a bit past my regular, weekday bed time and my mom laughing while sewing. Nice memory.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Bringing up the young'ns with the classics

Saturday, we introduced The Holy Grail to our 9 yr. old son. He is quite the movie fanatic, having watched all 3 Lord of the Rings before he was 7... I suppose he is well rounded, or at least able to handle a certain level of plot....

I am happy to report that he found Monty Python to be quite entertaining! There are some adults out there who have no concept of British humor, so I'm quite proud of my boy. Or else Monty Python is targeted to 9 yr. old boys? That's a toss up.

Not only is he now hooked on Monty Python quoting bits around the house - hmmm, is that a good thing? My mom has now gotten him addicted to The Marx Brothers and Abbott and Costello....

I wish more people would show their kids the classics, and not have them think that Spongebob the Movie is quality filminati....

Just my thoughts...

Friday, May 9, 2008

Rodgers & Hammerstein

Today's Amazon Gold Box deal is an extra $5 off the The Rodgers and Hammerstein Collection (60% off the list price) -- $39.99

For today only, save 60% on "The Rodgers and Hammerstein Collection," featuring two-disc editions of the classic musicals "The Sound of Music," "Oklahoma!," "Carousel," "The King and I," "South Pacific," and "State Fair."


My favorites are The King & I, The Sound of Music and Oklahoma. I've always liked the dark themes that run through those three musicals and how the film adaptations allow things that a stage production couldn't.

What are your favorite movie musicals, R&H or otherwise?

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Recommended Book

I just read the advance copy of a memoir from Canadian writer, David Gilmour, and it's a doozy! The tag line reads: The true story of a father who let his son drop out of school-if he watched three movies a week.

The kid in question was in high school, in danger of dropping out anyway, and agreed to his dad's terms, which were that he had to watch 3 movies a week with him and he had to stay away from drugs.

It's an interesting, quick read, but at times it does get bogged down by minutia. What I enjoyed were the movie picks, and there's a list of all of them in the back of the book. Mr. Gilmour often split the movies into themes, which seem to ring true for me. One was "Buried Treasures," which included "True Romance," "The Last Detail," and "Murmur Of The Heart." The most creative theme had to be what Gilmour called "Stillness," which was based on his theory that an actor can steal a scene by simply not moving. That one included "High Noon," "The Godfather," and "Casablanca."

Did the kid ever go back to school? Should I be the spoiler? And did both he and his dad learn many lessons from their time watching and discussing films? What do YOU think?

The book comes out next week, so check it out if you like. It's called "The Film Club," and the author is David Gilmour.

WARNING:Here's the spoiler

(The kiddo eventually expressed interest in going back to school, so he prepped and took an exam to finish off his secondary education.)