I am returning to random thoughts once again this month with these ditties for your reading pleasure. Feel free to share with friends.
I am so used to speaking into my phone so that I don’t have to type that
now when I leave someone a voice mail message, I find myself speaking
the punctuation into the message. Period.Do you ever have so many things going on at once that you dial the phone and hear it ringing but you realize that you don’t remember who you are calling? Say it isn’t just me, please!
I would like it noted for my permanent record that, according to my dermatologist, I have “fabulous” skin. I guess she doesn’t see the wrinkles and bags that I see!
I would also like it to be noted that I am told that I have excellent veins and that I don’t even flinch when the nurse takes blood.
How is it that we can be UNDER the weather but never OVER the weather?
Here is a new pet peeve: I hate it when the doctor’s office calls but the caller uses a cell phone that is not identified as the practice, so you don’t know the identity of the caller. When that happens, I don’t answer the phone and am likely to miss an important call. If I do answer, the call is usually from someone trying to sell me a lower interest credit card or solar panels.
What do you do with that first piece of bread in a packaged loaf? It is called the heel, and I know you could eat it, but it only matches up with the heel at the end of the loaf, so you can’t use it in a sandwich without removing all of the slices in between. I think of it as the “protector” of the rest of the loaf, the piece most likely to get stale before the rest of the loaf.
Why bother to iron? The only time my ironed clothes look good is immediately after I iron them, when they are hanging in the closet. When I put them on, they almost immediately look like I slept in them. And it never looks like it was a calm and restful night, either!
I’m at the point in life that when someone tells me a story about the things we did in high school, I don’t remember being there. Not in the story, but in high school!
Somebody, please, remind me NOT to buy skin cream with cocoa butter in it. Every time I apply it to the scars on my shoulder, I smell chocolate. And I use so little at one time that I will be tortured by this jar for YEARS!
Do you live with someone whose annoying habits drive you crazy? You know, like leaving the drawers and cabinet doors open in the kitchen, leaving shoes on the floor and letting the dishes drain dry and not putting them away? Yeah, me too. And I live alone. Must. Do. Better.
Women can tell we are getting older when the amount of hair on our chin surpasses the hair on our legs.
For all others, you know you are getting older when you can no longer get up – off a chair, out of bed or from the couch – in silence. I now make the same noises my father used to make.
You know how many movies I see during the course of a year, so having a “loyalty card” at my favorite theater (Montgomery Cinema in Skillman) make sense, right? All those movies don’t add up to much with their system. I think I need to see about a million more to get even one for free!
I had to drop my car off for service and I was given a loaner for the day. But the loaner was a 2019 model that doesn’t use a regular key, so I had to figure out how to turn it on (hit the button that says “START”) and then I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off. I hit the same button, but the lights and radio kept going. I had to ask someone in the neighborhood for help to turn it off. That was humiliating.
I order so much stuff on Amazon that when a package arrives now, I get excited because I can’t recall what I ordered.
The remote control for the little TV in my office has a green button and a red button. The red button is for power and the green one is to mute the sound. That arrangement flies in the face of logic, where green should be for power and the red one for mute. Strange.
If there are 1,000 shopping carts from which to choose, I invariably will get the one with the bad and noisy wheel.
My world has some kind of crazy synchronization. When one box of tissues runs out, so does a second one. When I need a new battery for a clock, something else also needs a new battery. And when one lightbulb burns out, usually another one does, too.
If you are the kind of person who always runs late, don’t even consider moving into an “active adult” community (55 and over). In my Canal Walk community, if you don’t arrive at least 10 minutes before an event starts or the bus is supposed to depart for a trip, you get a lot of dirty looks. Being early here is the norm (imagine all of those “early bird” dinners) and being on time is being late. Speaking of which, I have to go, or I won’t be early enough for my activity!
I wonder if organizing guru Marie Kondo does refrigerators. I don’t typically have much food in mine, but it could definitely benefit from her expertise. Where should I keep bottled water? Tall bottles of beverages? And while she’s here, I’ll ask her to show me how to load the dishwasher to optimize that space, too.
The voice recognition on my TV remote could use some fine-tuning. I asked for “New York Yankees” and the movie “Kinky” came up as a choice. The Yankees are kinky? That’s news to me!
I have reached critical mass on my Kindle. Maybe instead of downloading every book that people recommend, I should start just writing them down and deciding later whether I want to read them. How do I get rid of books I have read and don’t want to keep? And when am I ever going to read all of these books?
The people at the Food Network seem to take an obsessive delight in beating Bobby Flay on the show “Beating Bobby Flay.” The ubiquitous chef squares off against challengers, with each making the challenger’s signature dish. All of the judges are seasoned (no pun intended) Food Network chefs and competitors from “Iron Chef America,” “Chopped” and the many cooking competition shows aired on the network, and they seem thrilled when Bobby loses to a signature dish from his challenger. All in good fun (and good food), I guess.
I hate it when I record something on the DVR so I won't have to watch the commercials and then I watch the program but I forget that it was recorded, so I end up watching the commercials anyway. Does that make any sense?
My highlight of the summer was seeing former Rutgers Women’s Basketball player Erica Wheeler not only get selected for the WNBA All-Star team, but then capture the MVP Award with 25 points and a record-tying seven 3-pointers. I watched Erica’s whole career at Rutgers, where she was a gutsy and energetic guard who could fly down the court. The announcer would yell “3 for 3” (referring to her uniform number) each time she hit one from behind the 3-point line. Before her senior year, her mother died and she almost left Rutgers. But RU Coach C. Vivian Stringer had told her mother when she recruited Erica that she would make sure her daughter graduated, and CVS convinced her to come back. She grew up in the Miami area, once barely escaping a shootout on the streets. Erica didn’t get drafted by the WNBA. Instead, she got a regular job, then quit to follow her dream, first playing basketball in Puerto Rico, Brazil and Turkey before finally getting her chance to join the WNBA, the women’s professional league here in the US. So, this small kid, undrafted but with her degree, took advantage of every opportunity that came her way and finally made it to the bigtime, where she stood out among a group of the best players. The tears flowed as she accepted her award – by her teammates and those of us watching on TV, in addition to Erica herself. Determination and inspiration made a difference. This is why I watch sports. Skill, yes, but also that never-give-up attitude, and the time when an unheralded player makes memories for all of us. Then that moment became a part of ESPN’s ad campaign under the banner “Why we love sports.” I get chills every time I see it.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Tina's September 2019 Movies and More
September's baker's dozen movies included almost all new works for me (marked with an asterisk), and many highly worth seeing. Numbering picks up from previous months. The ratings are on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna fish. I should make my annual goal of 144 (an average of 12 movies a month) easily with 3 months to go!
112. The Last Resort* (2018) -- Andy Sweet and Greg Monroe were young photographers in Miami Beach in the 1960s and 70s who were fascinated by the large Jewish population of mostly elderly people who migrated to Florida from New York. They spent much of their time documenting the scenes of everyday life all around them. The population was mostly working-class people who retired and occupied small apartments in local hotels. The residents enjoyed dragging their aluminum chairs to sit in groups and schmooze on the beach. There were the “porch people,” whose day consisted of relishing the warm weather, gathering on the porches of their buildings and engaging in chit chat. But as the population aged and died off, a new influx from the Caribbean moved it, bringing colorful culture and younger people to Miami, even as the older buildings began to crumble. And then the drug trade moved in, drastically changing the demographic. This documentary (which I watched on Netflix) primarily focuses on the work of the young photographers and their affinity for the senior population. Miami had so many art deco buildings, lavish hotels and, of course, the beautiful beaches. This ode to a different time is not for everyone, but I enjoyed seeing people captured in a moment of their lives. 3 cans.
113. Hidden in Plain Sight* (2019) – Katie/Anna, a victim of domestic violence, fakes her own death, moves hours away from home with her young son and assumes a new identity. When her former boyfriend Nick finds out about the son he never knew he had, he starts to stalk her, as, of course, you know he would. She can’t go to the police, who think she’s dead, and their reunion will not be a pleasant one. This is a very predictable movie starring no one I had ever heard of. I can’t recommend it. 1 can.
114. 127 Hours* (2010) – James Franco does an outstanding job in playing adventure junkie/mountain climber Aron Ralston in this movie based on Ralston’s true-life account of a climb gone terribly wrong. Ralston slips into a crevice while climbing and becomes trapped when a boulder falls on his arm. He can’t budge the boulder to get free, and he brought only a limited supply of water and snacks with him on what he thought would be a brief outing. His near-fatal mistake was telling no one where he was going. Throughout his five-day ordeal, Aron begins to hallucinate, recalling memories of family and friends. A torrential rain helps supply him with some water, but no one is around to extricate him from his perch in the crevice. Finally, he takes things into his own hands, so to speak. Very suspenseful drama and much less visually disturbing than it could have been. 3 cans.
115. Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice* (2019) – This aptly named documentary provides a wide selection of songs by the magnificent Linda Ronstadt, features voice overs by the artist herself and plenty of comments by her contemporary artists. It traces her musical journey from the Stone Ponies to the beginning of the Eagles, to a solo act who could sell out a stadium. Ronstadt just loved music and found songs she “just had to sing.” She was interested in so many kinds of music and recorded songs that appeared on the pop, rock and country charts in the same week. Throw in operetta, traditional standards and her Mexican albums and you have one of the most prolific and versatile singers to ever record. The artists who appear in this film agree that she had an outstanding voice that was special. The poignancy of knowing the Parkinson’s has robbed her of the ability to sing is heartbreaking. What a talent! I need to start listening to her magical music again. 4 cans.
116. Abducted in Plain Sight* (2017) – This disturbing documentary is proof that truth is stranger than fiction. It recounts the story of 12-year-old Jan Broberg, kidnapped by a trusted family friend, Robert Berchtold. Berchtold, a master manipulator, has an obsession with Jan, but he is equally effective in convincing her parents that he did nothing wrong. He gets away with it – not once, but twice. He is determined to marry the prepubescent girl, and he spins a tale about aliens and a mission they must complete to “save the world” as the reason he sexually abuses her. His behavior is absolutely outrageous, but there is plenty of outrage about her parents, too. Who allows a trusted “friend,” an adult male, to share a bed with a 12-year-old in their own home -- which Berchtold did for months before the first kidnapping? The parents are so innocent that they don’t even contact the authorities about the missing girl until 5 days after Berchtold supposedly took her horseback riding and neither returned. Despite the fact that they return (courtesy of the authorities) and the anguish suffered by her family, he does it again, kidnapping Jan and transporting her to California this time. I’ll skip the sick details here, but if you can get past them, this is a compelling tale of abhorrent behavior misunderstood and condoned by incredibly gullible adults. Unbelievable – except that it is true. 3½ cans.
117. The Bookshop* (2018) – This is a quiet tale of young British widow Florence Green (Emily Mortimer), who lives her dream by purchasing an old home in Hardborough, England, and opening a bookstore. She raises the ire of local town snob Violet Gamart (Patricia Clarkson), who wants the old home to be used as an arts center. Florence’s support comes from Mr. Brundich (Bill Nighy), a wealthy recluse who loves books and allows Florence to select and send him her choices. Clarkson is particularly good as she conveys graciousness that glosses over her steely will to run poor Florence out of town. Not much happens here, but it was a pleasant change of pace, especially after the movie above. 3 cans.
118. Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives* (2017) – When Clive Davis earned his law degree from Harvard, he could not have imagined that he would become a revered music producer and executive who introduced the world to Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Alicia Keys, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow and countless other music icons. This documentary traces his rise and reveals his “ear” for music. He could spot talent and match artists with songs like no one else, always in search of “hits” that would get plenty of airplay on radio. His record company, Arista (which he founded after working for Columbia), was responsible for the sale of millions of albums and countless gold records, and his stewardship of young talent virtually insured success. Netflix features so many rich and worthwhile documentaries like this one that are both entertaining and informative. 4 cans.
119. Bringing Down the House (2003) – There are some movies that aren’t great but which I enjoy watching anyway, and this is one of those. Steve Martin plays straight-laced Peter Sanderson, a divorced tax attorney with two kids and no love interest. Then along comes Queen Latifah as Charlene, who is decidedly NOT the lawyer she purports to be online. She is an escaped convict who needs someone to her get her a new trial. This duo doesn’t match up at all, and he needs to be devoted to his job as he tries to win an elderly client (Joan Plowright) and her fortune for his firm. The clash of the different worlds of Charlene, Peter and the older women prove challenging for all of them. Stealing the show is Eugene Levy as Howie, a man who appreciates Charlene’s many virtues, but the highlight of the movie is the scene where Martin shows up at a club, ditching his conservative attire and looking like a “player” in an attempt to get info on Charlene’s case. 3½ cans.
120. Downton Abbey* (2019) – Welcome home, my former Sunday night friends. I was delighted to spend two hours in the company of the Downton crew as they prepared the arrangements for a visit from the King and Queen of England. Yes, the plot is a bit contrived, but writer Julian Fellows manages to give us the best of the characters in the former PBS series. As usual, the best zingers are reserved for the inimitable Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith), but she is not the only source of humor, as the rest of the cast conspires to protect their roles at Downton Abbey as the royal servants try to take over the downstairs territory. There was a storyline for everyone and plenty of hints of a sequel to come. OK, it wasn’t “Citizen Caine,” but I loved it. If you are a Downton fan, you won’t be disappointed. 4 cans.
121. Nothing Changes: Art for Hank’s Sake* (2018) – What is art? What is success? This documentary (I watched it on Amazon Prime Video) examines 87-year-old artist Hank Virgona, an enthusiastic illustrator and artist who, even battling cancer and at an advanced age, experiences what he considers “breakthroughs,” as he continues to follow his passion. Six days a week, Hank travels from the modest Queens apartment where he has lived since 1954 to his studio in Union Square, Manhattan. Where this trip used to take him half an hour, he has slowed from a walk to a shuffle and can spend up to two hours commuting. But even that trip inspires Hank to create art by sketching the people he sees on the subway. He captures vignettes that freeze a moment in time and he turns them into slices of New York reality. They are full of emotion, humor and craftsmanship. I’d say that if you are still pursuing your passion to create at 87, you have defined your own style and achieved success. 3½ cans.
122. The Music Never Stopped* (2011) – Gabriel Sawyer (Lou Taylor Pucci) wanted to be a musician despite his parents’ preference that he pursue a more traditional career path. He left home before graduating from high school for the streets of Manhattan and did not return. After 20 years, his parents are summoned to a hospital, where Gabe is suffering from a brain tumor. Once he undergoes surgery to remove it, his memory is shot and he is barely able to communicate. His father (J.K. Simmons) hires a music therapist (Julia Ormond) to help restore is brain and to reestablish their bond through the use of Gabe’s musical memories. He can connect and remember so much about his favorite songs and bands of the 1960s-70s, like the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones and others, and his father studies their songs to help him connect with his son. This is a very sweet and touching film. 3 cans.
123. Judy* (2019) – Renee Zellweger plays show biz icon Judy Garland with great authenticity AND does all of her own singing as she captures every nuance in Garland’s fabled voice and persona. Judy started her show business career as a child actress/singer in such movies as the classic “The Wizard of Oz.” Denied food and forced to pop pills to keep her thin and going, Judy picked up bad habits and bad influences at a very early age. At the time of this movie, she is in her late 40s, looks a decade older, and is fighting to keep her children from her latest ex-husband, Sid Luft. But she is without a home and cannot provide much-needed stability for her kids, so to make money, she agrees to perform a series of concerts in London. The well-paid gig should be easy for the chanteuse, but for the producers – who never know whether Judy will be sober or show up at all – her appearance is problematic at best. The movie depicts her as a sad figure, forced to perform because she has no choice. I remember seeing Judy Garland on TV, a fierce but fragile woman, so slight that she looked like she could fall apart at any moment, and Zellweger gives her vulnerability the spotlight in an Oscar-worthy performance. “Judy” is enough to break your heart even without chasing that rainbow. 4 cans.
124. A Simple Favor* (2018) – The favor isn’t quite so simple in this twisty suspense comedy. Mommy Blogger Stephanie (Anna Kenrick) is a young widow, a great mom, and the kind of enthusiastic person who will do anything for anyone. High-powered PR exec Emily (Blake Lively in a ruthlessly cool role) is happy to dump her son on her new “bestie,” but when she fails to show up to pick up her child, Stephanie goes all Nancy Drew on her. Stephanie is not at all what she seems, buy Emily can more than one-up her. I don’t want to reveal the juicy plot, but it was like no movie I have seen, and I’m glad I did. I caught in on Amazon Prime and recommend it. 4 cans.
112. The Last Resort* (2018) -- Andy Sweet and Greg Monroe were young photographers in Miami Beach in the 1960s and 70s who were fascinated by the large Jewish population of mostly elderly people who migrated to Florida from New York. They spent much of their time documenting the scenes of everyday life all around them. The population was mostly working-class people who retired and occupied small apartments in local hotels. The residents enjoyed dragging their aluminum chairs to sit in groups and schmooze on the beach. There were the “porch people,” whose day consisted of relishing the warm weather, gathering on the porches of their buildings and engaging in chit chat. But as the population aged and died off, a new influx from the Caribbean moved it, bringing colorful culture and younger people to Miami, even as the older buildings began to crumble. And then the drug trade moved in, drastically changing the demographic. This documentary (which I watched on Netflix) primarily focuses on the work of the young photographers and their affinity for the senior population. Miami had so many art deco buildings, lavish hotels and, of course, the beautiful beaches. This ode to a different time is not for everyone, but I enjoyed seeing people captured in a moment of their lives. 3 cans.
113. Hidden in Plain Sight* (2019) – Katie/Anna, a victim of domestic violence, fakes her own death, moves hours away from home with her young son and assumes a new identity. When her former boyfriend Nick finds out about the son he never knew he had, he starts to stalk her, as, of course, you know he would. She can’t go to the police, who think she’s dead, and their reunion will not be a pleasant one. This is a very predictable movie starring no one I had ever heard of. I can’t recommend it. 1 can.
114. 127 Hours* (2010) – James Franco does an outstanding job in playing adventure junkie/mountain climber Aron Ralston in this movie based on Ralston’s true-life account of a climb gone terribly wrong. Ralston slips into a crevice while climbing and becomes trapped when a boulder falls on his arm. He can’t budge the boulder to get free, and he brought only a limited supply of water and snacks with him on what he thought would be a brief outing. His near-fatal mistake was telling no one where he was going. Throughout his five-day ordeal, Aron begins to hallucinate, recalling memories of family and friends. A torrential rain helps supply him with some water, but no one is around to extricate him from his perch in the crevice. Finally, he takes things into his own hands, so to speak. Very suspenseful drama and much less visually disturbing than it could have been. 3 cans.
115. Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice* (2019) – This aptly named documentary provides a wide selection of songs by the magnificent Linda Ronstadt, features voice overs by the artist herself and plenty of comments by her contemporary artists. It traces her musical journey from the Stone Ponies to the beginning of the Eagles, to a solo act who could sell out a stadium. Ronstadt just loved music and found songs she “just had to sing.” She was interested in so many kinds of music and recorded songs that appeared on the pop, rock and country charts in the same week. Throw in operetta, traditional standards and her Mexican albums and you have one of the most prolific and versatile singers to ever record. The artists who appear in this film agree that she had an outstanding voice that was special. The poignancy of knowing the Parkinson’s has robbed her of the ability to sing is heartbreaking. What a talent! I need to start listening to her magical music again. 4 cans.
116. Abducted in Plain Sight* (2017) – This disturbing documentary is proof that truth is stranger than fiction. It recounts the story of 12-year-old Jan Broberg, kidnapped by a trusted family friend, Robert Berchtold. Berchtold, a master manipulator, has an obsession with Jan, but he is equally effective in convincing her parents that he did nothing wrong. He gets away with it – not once, but twice. He is determined to marry the prepubescent girl, and he spins a tale about aliens and a mission they must complete to “save the world” as the reason he sexually abuses her. His behavior is absolutely outrageous, but there is plenty of outrage about her parents, too. Who allows a trusted “friend,” an adult male, to share a bed with a 12-year-old in their own home -- which Berchtold did for months before the first kidnapping? The parents are so innocent that they don’t even contact the authorities about the missing girl until 5 days after Berchtold supposedly took her horseback riding and neither returned. Despite the fact that they return (courtesy of the authorities) and the anguish suffered by her family, he does it again, kidnapping Jan and transporting her to California this time. I’ll skip the sick details here, but if you can get past them, this is a compelling tale of abhorrent behavior misunderstood and condoned by incredibly gullible adults. Unbelievable – except that it is true. 3½ cans.
117. The Bookshop* (2018) – This is a quiet tale of young British widow Florence Green (Emily Mortimer), who lives her dream by purchasing an old home in Hardborough, England, and opening a bookstore. She raises the ire of local town snob Violet Gamart (Patricia Clarkson), who wants the old home to be used as an arts center. Florence’s support comes from Mr. Brundich (Bill Nighy), a wealthy recluse who loves books and allows Florence to select and send him her choices. Clarkson is particularly good as she conveys graciousness that glosses over her steely will to run poor Florence out of town. Not much happens here, but it was a pleasant change of pace, especially after the movie above. 3 cans.
118. Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives* (2017) – When Clive Davis earned his law degree from Harvard, he could not have imagined that he would become a revered music producer and executive who introduced the world to Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Alicia Keys, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow and countless other music icons. This documentary traces his rise and reveals his “ear” for music. He could spot talent and match artists with songs like no one else, always in search of “hits” that would get plenty of airplay on radio. His record company, Arista (which he founded after working for Columbia), was responsible for the sale of millions of albums and countless gold records, and his stewardship of young talent virtually insured success. Netflix features so many rich and worthwhile documentaries like this one that are both entertaining and informative. 4 cans.
119. Bringing Down the House (2003) – There are some movies that aren’t great but which I enjoy watching anyway, and this is one of those. Steve Martin plays straight-laced Peter Sanderson, a divorced tax attorney with two kids and no love interest. Then along comes Queen Latifah as Charlene, who is decidedly NOT the lawyer she purports to be online. She is an escaped convict who needs someone to her get her a new trial. This duo doesn’t match up at all, and he needs to be devoted to his job as he tries to win an elderly client (Joan Plowright) and her fortune for his firm. The clash of the different worlds of Charlene, Peter and the older women prove challenging for all of them. Stealing the show is Eugene Levy as Howie, a man who appreciates Charlene’s many virtues, but the highlight of the movie is the scene where Martin shows up at a club, ditching his conservative attire and looking like a “player” in an attempt to get info on Charlene’s case. 3½ cans.
120. Downton Abbey* (2019) – Welcome home, my former Sunday night friends. I was delighted to spend two hours in the company of the Downton crew as they prepared the arrangements for a visit from the King and Queen of England. Yes, the plot is a bit contrived, but writer Julian Fellows manages to give us the best of the characters in the former PBS series. As usual, the best zingers are reserved for the inimitable Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith), but she is not the only source of humor, as the rest of the cast conspires to protect their roles at Downton Abbey as the royal servants try to take over the downstairs territory. There was a storyline for everyone and plenty of hints of a sequel to come. OK, it wasn’t “Citizen Caine,” but I loved it. If you are a Downton fan, you won’t be disappointed. 4 cans.
121. Nothing Changes: Art for Hank’s Sake* (2018) – What is art? What is success? This documentary (I watched it on Amazon Prime Video) examines 87-year-old artist Hank Virgona, an enthusiastic illustrator and artist who, even battling cancer and at an advanced age, experiences what he considers “breakthroughs,” as he continues to follow his passion. Six days a week, Hank travels from the modest Queens apartment where he has lived since 1954 to his studio in Union Square, Manhattan. Where this trip used to take him half an hour, he has slowed from a walk to a shuffle and can spend up to two hours commuting. But even that trip inspires Hank to create art by sketching the people he sees on the subway. He captures vignettes that freeze a moment in time and he turns them into slices of New York reality. They are full of emotion, humor and craftsmanship. I’d say that if you are still pursuing your passion to create at 87, you have defined your own style and achieved success. 3½ cans.
122. The Music Never Stopped* (2011) – Gabriel Sawyer (Lou Taylor Pucci) wanted to be a musician despite his parents’ preference that he pursue a more traditional career path. He left home before graduating from high school for the streets of Manhattan and did not return. After 20 years, his parents are summoned to a hospital, where Gabe is suffering from a brain tumor. Once he undergoes surgery to remove it, his memory is shot and he is barely able to communicate. His father (J.K. Simmons) hires a music therapist (Julia Ormond) to help restore is brain and to reestablish their bond through the use of Gabe’s musical memories. He can connect and remember so much about his favorite songs and bands of the 1960s-70s, like the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones and others, and his father studies their songs to help him connect with his son. This is a very sweet and touching film. 3 cans.
123. Judy* (2019) – Renee Zellweger plays show biz icon Judy Garland with great authenticity AND does all of her own singing as she captures every nuance in Garland’s fabled voice and persona. Judy started her show business career as a child actress/singer in such movies as the classic “The Wizard of Oz.” Denied food and forced to pop pills to keep her thin and going, Judy picked up bad habits and bad influences at a very early age. At the time of this movie, she is in her late 40s, looks a decade older, and is fighting to keep her children from her latest ex-husband, Sid Luft. But she is without a home and cannot provide much-needed stability for her kids, so to make money, she agrees to perform a series of concerts in London. The well-paid gig should be easy for the chanteuse, but for the producers – who never know whether Judy will be sober or show up at all – her appearance is problematic at best. The movie depicts her as a sad figure, forced to perform because she has no choice. I remember seeing Judy Garland on TV, a fierce but fragile woman, so slight that she looked like she could fall apart at any moment, and Zellweger gives her vulnerability the spotlight in an Oscar-worthy performance. “Judy” is enough to break your heart even without chasing that rainbow. 4 cans.
124. A Simple Favor* (2018) – The favor isn’t quite so simple in this twisty suspense comedy. Mommy Blogger Stephanie (Anna Kenrick) is a young widow, a great mom, and the kind of enthusiastic person who will do anything for anyone. High-powered PR exec Emily (Blake Lively in a ruthlessly cool role) is happy to dump her son on her new “bestie,” but when she fails to show up to pick up her child, Stephanie goes all Nancy Drew on her. Stephanie is not at all what she seems, buy Emily can more than one-up her. I don’t want to reveal the juicy plot, but it was like no movie I have seen, and I’m glad I did. I caught in on Amazon Prime and recommend it. 4 cans.
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