Tina's October 2026 Movies and More

This month provided a bunch of interesting programs which received ratings ranging from no cans to 4½ cans. The MUST-SEE in this batch is the documentary on Elizabeth Holmes, "You Can See Everything." There are also two stage shows, several other documentaries and two of my favorite sports movies. Movies and shows I had not seen previously are indicated with an asterisk and all entries are rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna fish. Numbering picks up from previous months.

111. The Unabomber* (2026, Netflix) – This dramatization of the real-life case of Ted Kaszinski runs on parallel tracks. There is young Ted (Jacob Temblay), an underage student at Harvard undergoing a battery of tests to see if he can be broken by his haughty professor (Russell Crow). And there are the FBI agents who worked on the case of the Unabomber for 18 years as Kaszinski shipped his homemade bombs to schools and business where he felt the people responsible for pushing an agenda that disagreed with his own worked. His efforts resulted in 23 bombings, many injuries and three deaths. Rejected by society for his views and antisocial actions, Ted retreats to a windowless cabin in the Montana woods with no heat or running water, where he can assemble his bombs and do research without scrutiny. His manifesto of what ails the world was ultimately published by The New York Times in hopes of smoking him out, and it did just that, as his brother recognized some of his writings. One agent in particular (Shailene Woodley) is a linguistics expert and matches Ted’s syntax and language to identify him. It took authorities 18 years to bring the case to a close. Fascinating and scary. 3½ cans.
112. Slap Shot (1977, Cable TV) – Paul Newman (sigh) is Reg Dunlap, a washed-up hockey player and coach of the hapless minor league Charleston Chiefs, a failing franchise that is about to go under permanently unless someone agrees to buy them. What could make the team desirable to a new buyer? Not better hockey; just more violence and brawling. Enter the Hanson Brothers, three bespectacled young players who like nothing more than throwing off their gloves and fighting the opponent. This movie gives a great view of the life of the low-level professional athlete, enduring long, boring bus rides, chasing women and wondering if their careers are over. Compared to Newman’s more stellar work, this movie is minor league indeed, but it is strangely endearing. And that Maxine Nightengale song hits just the right notes. Not a great movie but a personal favorite of mine. 3½ cans.
113. Animals* (2026, Netflix) – When a movie with a big star launches on a streaming service rather than in the movie theater, I can’t help but wonder if the producers knew it was not destined for a big box office take. Maybe that’s what happened with this Ben Affleck-Kerry Washington movie. In any case, I’m glad I didn’t spend money to see this one in the movie theater. Affleck, who also co-wrote and produced the movie, plays Mark, an independent running for Mayor of Los Angeles. He is married to Washington and they have one young son. What his wife doesn’t know is that he has financed much of the campaign out of their own money, and when he wins (or so he thinks), he plans to reimburse their accounts. He is courting the Latino vote to put him over the top. But just before the election, his son and the son of their Latino housekeeper are out trick-or-treating together when Mark gets a call saying his son has been kidnapped and he should not contact the police but must pay a huge ransom (which he doesn’t have because of his investment in his campaign). He and his wife and political advisor are forced to bring in help to get the money, but who is behind the kidnapping? That’s one of many questions that go unanswered in his drama. There are secrets and betrayals and a few stunts that seemed impossible. Overall, a letdown. 2½ cans.
114. Verity* (2026, Manville Cinema) – My book club read this Colleen Hoover suspense novel and liked it. It translates well into a movie. Verity (Anne Hathaway) is a very successful novelist whose terrible accident has left her unable to move or speak or continue writing successful books. Her husband (Josh Hartnett, in dire need of a haircut), hires Lowan (Dakota Johnson), young writer whose work he thinks could carry on in Verity’s voice. She accepts a lucrative deal from Verity’s publisher and moves into their house to review Verity’s notes and plans for the next book in the series. If it were only that simple. Verity also lives in the house, cared for by a full-time nurse, while the husband takes care of their little boy. As Lowan explores Verity’s notes and mindset, she begins to doubt the verity of the situation. The movie held my interest, even though I kind of remembered the plot as it unfolded. You can appreciate this movie without having read the book. A taut thriller with plenty of suspense and a few gasps along the way. 3½ cans.
115. The Widower* (2026, Netflix) – A man marries six different women and four of them die, mostly out of unusual circumstances. Coincidence? In this true-crime drama, the man in question makes his living conning women into marrying him, and when they die, he lives off the proceeds of the insurance policies he has taken out on their lives. This guy looked and acted like a real creep, but no one could either stop him or get women to stop marrying him. A strange tale indeed. 3½ cans.
116. The Breadwinner* (2026, Netflix) – Comedian Nate Bargatze co-wrote and stars in this comedy about a father who finds himself in charge of the house and family when his wife’s invention gets investors from “Shark Tank” to help it launch. All of a sudden, Katie (Mandy Moore in a role that is beneath her talent) is off and running, leaving her incredibly inept husband in charge of the family. She is the soul of efficiency, with her color-coded, detailed calendar and system to make sure the kids get dropped off and picked up from school, get ferried to practices and other extracurricular activities. He, on the other hand, barely knows the children’s names, doesn’t know where they go to school, who their friends are or anything about how to run their life, and he approaches these new responsibilities with a look of shock on his face. He’d rather be selling cars than worrying about his children. This premise was much more amusingly presented in the Michael Keaton-Teri Garr movie, “Mr. Mom.” I watched up until the point where a seemingly-dead horse came back to life and crashed into the house, destroying everything in its wake. The horse should have destroyed the script, because this is one awful movie. I like Bargatze as a stand-up comic, but does he really think that a wife should bear all of the responsibility of caring for the home and family while letting the husband be an incompetent fool? Stick to stand-up Nate. 0 cans.
117. The Trial* (2010, Peacock) – Matthew Modine plays Mac, an experienced lawyer grieving over the loss of his wife and children in a car accident three years ago. He is so despondent that he is about to commit suicide when he gets a call from the town judge, telling him that he needs to represent Pete Thomason, a young man charged for the murder of his girlfriend. Pete remembers nothing of the tragic incident and he is certain that he didn’t do it. Mac thinks he and the girl may have been drugged by a third party, but how can he prove who did it and how. Considering how much of the story takes place in the courtroom, the tone of this movie is too low key. Of course you want to see whodunit, but is it worth an hour and forty-one minutes? Not really. 2 cans.
118. The Unexpected 3rd (2026, George Street Playhouse) – Kathryn Groder wrote and stars in this one-woman play, capturing the issues associated with aging, life, and where do we go from here as a woman approaching 80. It is a clever look at a woman who has been through plenty in life but is still searching, curious and capable. She moves around the eclectic stage set, tossing aside papers from what looks like a manuscript, but one without end. Grody does a great job of bringing the character to life sans script, prompters or breaks. I couldn’t help but notice how many heads of gray and white hair were on hand to see the play, which is entirely appropriate. 3 cans.
119. The Post (2017, HBO Max) – This story seemed especially timely in light of the continuing acrimony between the current White House and the media. The film is set in 1971 and revolves around the question of whether The Washington Post should publish the classified Pentagon Papers, which condemn the government for its lengthy cover-up of issues regarding the Vietnam War. The sitting President, Richard Nixon, and his henchmen could potentially drive the paper and its publisher, Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep), out of business. But executive editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) pushes forward to obtain and print the secret report and not allow its arch-rival, The New York Times, to be the exclusive source on this red-hot information. It is not only the reputation and the business of the Washington Post that is in jeopardy. It is also freedom of the press that is at stake. Several years later, the Post would come under more fire when Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein worked doggedly on the story of Watergate. Just the presence of Streep and Hanks adds gravitas to the movie, as they win their case in court and proceed with publishing the Pentagon Papers. Good story. 3½ cans. 
120. You Can See Everything* (2026, Manville Cinema) – I thought I knew everything about Elizabeth Holmes, but after seeing this fascinating 3-hour documentary, I don’t think anyone does. Holmes, the once wunderkind whose drug testing company Theranos promised to revolutionize lab testing by delivering scores of results from a single drop of blood, is currently serving time in prison for committing investor fraud. Here, host and writer Nathan Fielder moves into the house Holmes shares with her partner Billy Evans, a tech entrepreneur who is rife with red flags from the start of the film, and their two children in the weeks before her sentence is about to begin. Using extreme close-ups and asking probing questions, Nate and the camera seem like they are looking into Elizabeth’s soul – if you believe she has one. He has unfettered access and tries valiantly to explore Holmes’ motivations and actions that led to her evolution from the young, self-made billionaire to a convicted felon. This movie prompts plenty of questions and if you see it, you will need to discuss it later – so don’t go alone! I can see this movie getting an Oscar for Best Picture. Or at least Most Provocative film of the year, if that category existed. 4½ cans.
121. A Man Called Otto (2022, Amazon Prime) -- I have seen this Tom Hanks movie several times and have to admit that it has become a favorite. Hanks is just right as the grumpy widower, whose life revolves around his “rounds” and routines in his small housing community. He is despondent over the loss of his dear wife and is ready to end it all, so when a pregnant new neighbor and her family move in, developing a friendship with this crew seems to be the last thing he can imagine. 3½ cans.
122. Tow* (2026, Prime Video) – Rose Byrne delivers a top-notch performance as a homeless woman who cannot get a break. While applying for a job, her car (where she has been living for month), is stolen. When it is located in a tow yard, getting it back is the beginning of yet more troubles as she is forced to deal with bureaucracy and corruption. 3½ cans.
123. The One About Matthew Perry* (2026, Netflix) – When our “friend” Matthew Perry died in 2024, it was hardly a surprise. His problems with addiction were well documented, even by Perry himself in his memoir. But watching this three-part documentary was sad, sobering and confounding. Perry was a brilliant comedic talent, a young actor who just wanted to be famous when he started out. His lifechanging fame came when he was cast as the sardonic and witty Chandler Bing on the then-new TV show “Friends,” in a part that he was born to play. Fame came quickly and explosively, and Perry had demons stemming from his family life that he couldn’t manage. He was in and out of rehab many times but he just could not stick to sobriety. In this series, his sister provides insight into Matthew and his life, along with interviews with some of his best buddies as well as several women he dated. No one from the cast of friends appears in the series. We know how this story ends, yet we can’t help but feel the heartbreak. 4 cans.
124. Schmigadoon* (2026, Broadway show) – If you are looking for an entertaining escape from your routine days and the troubles of the world, pay a visit to Schmigadoon, where everything is colorful and the people are relentlessly cheery. This fantasy musical pays homage to many of the classic Broadway shows, such as Oklahoma, The Sound of Music and The King and it delivers plenty of campy characters, singing, dancing and lots of fun. The acting, sets and staging were perfect and the show was a delightful way to spend my birthday. 4 cans.
125. Rudy (1993, Cable TV) – If you can get through this classic tale of “underdog-beats-the-odds) without choking up, we need to check your pulse. Sean Astin plays the real-life Rudy Ruttinger, a lifelong fan of Notre Dame football, whose dream in life is to play for the Irish. The fact that he isn’t academically gifted enough and that he is way too small won’t discourage him. He works his way into Notre Dame and onto the practice squad for the team, showing determination and more heart than many of the players. He is not content to work at the mill in his hometown, like his father and brother. Watching him work so hard to fulfill his dream is gratifying, especially when he is hoisted up by his teammates and carried off the field triumphantly after his one and only appearance in uniform. If I ruined it for you, too bad, because you should have seen this movie by now! 4 cans and a couple of tissues.

October Offerings

1.    We should throw out those big eyecharts that hang on the wall of the optometrist’s office. Instead, let’s hand out the tiny instruction sheets that come with our electronic devices. I truly didn’t think fonts that small existed or could be printed. And since instructions are not all that intuitive and the buttons on the devices are as hard to see as the “manual,” I needed my trusty old magnifying glass to figure out how to charge and pair my new ear buds with my phone. If these documents were used to test our eyes, we would have a more accurate measurement of our sight! And have you resorted yet to taking a picture of something and enlarging it so you could read it? Last week I needed to replace a light bulb, but the markings on the old bulb were so hard to see that I had to take pictures and blow them up so I could identify the right bulb.
2.    I wish I could cook half as well as the chefs who get chopped on “Chopped.”
3.    I have about a zillion T-shirts in my collection and I have to restrain myself from buying more. But it is hard to resist when I see one that reads, “I’m really cold but I am trying to be brave.” Or “The day they handed out patience I left because it was taking too long.” Tempting!
4.    A real test of patience is when you send a text message to someone and can see that the recipient is typing a reply. How long will this take, you wonder? Is this going to be “Gone with the Wind” when you’re done? Come on, already, let’s see that reply!
5.    My sister is retired but she has so many appointments (doctors, physical therapy, etc., like the rest of us), that she says she takes a “personal day” every now and then and intentionally does not schedule anything!
6.    I know there is a lot of concern about artificial intelligence taking over. Until then, I am and will remain a devotee of Chat GPT. I use it often and am astounded by how quickly I receive a detailed response to whatever my question is. I prefer reading the directions it provides to watching a 10-minute YouTube video that I have to rewind and rewatch to understand. And it sure answers me so fast! 
7.    This time of year, NFL football is back on TV. Every Sunday, my mother would change the channel to CBS at 7 PM to watch “60 Minutes” and would be annoyed when the 4 PM game was still in progress, delaying her show. “Again with the football?” was her outcry. If you knew my mother, you can imagine her saying just that.
8.    Lately I have been awakening from my frequent afternoon naps not knowing where I am and thinking that I am supposed to be doing something (other than napping). I don’t think the naps are that long or the sleep that deep, but if I can’t immediately figure out where I am, maybe they are deeper than I thought.
9.    Why don’t road crews work on their projects during the summer, when traffic is lighter? You want to change the traffic lights? Do it when there’s less traffic! The main road through Hillsborough was blocked the other day practically in front of the high school, making it hard for buses, passenger cars and emergency vehicles to use the road without having to take a detour. In my next life, I want to be an engineer and figure out how to design more efficient roadways, parking lots, and even walking paths. And speaking of work for engineers, my sister has a drain in her backyard that the township recently added after years of her complaining about running and standing water in the part of her backyard that belongs to the township. They said they would put stones around it for drainage. So, what did they do? They covered the drain with stones, so now it can’t drain. And wait until it freezes in the winter. Do we civilians have to do everything? What are our tax dollars used for? I should have been an engineer!
10.    I’m tired of being so short. I can’t reach a light bulb even on a step stool to change it. Items above the first shelf in the kitchen cabinets are beyond my reach. Practically every pair of pants I buy has to be altered. It might be easier to have my legs lengthened! Now that it is the fall, with the sun rising early, I can’t see out of the windshield of the car because I’m too short for the visor to block the sun from blinding me. I need a phone book to sit on. Do we still publish phone books? Actually, I have a cushion that I will try.
11.    The speed limit in my “active adult community” is 25 MPH. But there are constant complaints about speeders – many of whom drive for FedEx or Amazon. I will concede that I see them zip by my house. But, as for the residents, I see more people here driving way BELOW the speed limit, not exceeding it. Too often I am stuck behind someone driving 12 miles an hour. Let’s not EXCEED the limit, but can we at least get close to it?
12.    I just saw a study that said that people who consume chocolate frequently are smarter and hotter than those who don’t. I have many friends who are willing to take part in any follow-up studies. Science, baby, science!
13.    In my travels to a new area (for me), I noticed a road marked “Search Road.” Imagine looking for that online. 
14.    My driveway was sealed recently and I was not allowed to drive or park on it for a few days. Just to be sure, well after the recommended waiting period, I paused the car in the street until the garage door was fully opened and then zoomed the car up the driveway so my wheels never stayed in one spot long enough to cause a dent or dip. It’s a good thing that my brakes work well or I might have overshot the garage and ended up with the car in the house.
15.    I went to ShopRite to pick up a few things. I popped my trunk and grabbed my shopping bags. I was halfway to the store when I realized I was carrying my gym bag with my wet bathing suit instead of my shopping bags. Duh!
16.    I’m really glad we don’t get graded in my aqua dance class. I can imagine the comments on my report card: Lacks musicality; has trouble learning the correct steps; needs help distinguishing her right from her left…My leg goes forward when it is supposed to go back, especially if we are doing something with our arms as well as our legs. I have a new respect for the ”Dancing With the Stars” contestants. How can they learn to do all of those steps and the routine to music while wearing heels and fancy costumes? I just hope I don’t fall over in the pool!
17.    With all of this aqua dance experience, I feel qualified to be a judge on “Dancing With the Stars.” Instead, earlier this week the show had sportscaster Joe Buck sit on the judging panel, largely because ESPN has the rights to the Super Bowl broadcast this year and he will be doing the game. The theme of the night was Super Bowl halftime music. It isn’t that Joe Buck did a bad job judging, but after watching every episode of every season, I would have done a great job critiquing the performances (watch your posture and those heel leads)! PS – I’m still willing and available.
18.    I finally stopped watching “Survivor” after 50 seasons! I had enough of the backstabbing, the lying, the challenges that had keys to unlock puzzle pieces, etc. I’m done, and I don’t miss it a bit. The “Amazing Race” is still on my viewing schedule, but I’m happy I “survived” 50 seasons of Jeff Probst and his dimples. It was nice while it lasted. 

Tina's September 2026 Movies and More

We just made it into double digits last month. I'm hoping for a better October. Meanwhile, movies and shows I had not seen previously are indicated with an asterisk and all entries are rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna fish. Numbering picks up from previous months.

100. 9-5 (1980, Netflix) – Dolly Parton’s vibrant title song could be the theme song for a generation of women fighting for equality. Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Parton play the overlooked and undervalued employees of a faceless corporate entity who decide to seek revenge for all of the bad behavior and unfair treatment they have had to endure at the hands of their male boss. Dabney Coleman is perfectly smarmy as their boss, purposely knocking over pencils so he can see Parton bend over to retrieve them. The women kidnap the boss and chaos ensues. Personally, I don’t care for the slapstick turn the movie takes, but I get the point. While the boss is “tied up” (quite literally), the ladies issue edicts under his name to institute “radical” reforms, such as equal pay and day care. The leading ladies do a great job, and the fact that this movie has had such staying power is a testament to the reality it portrays, even in the throes of silliness. Plus, that catchy song will endure forever. 3½ cans.
101. Top of the World* (2026, CNN) – What could be grander than a luxurious New York restaurant on top of the World Trade Center? Windows on the World featured fine dining and spectacular views of New York for its patrons. However, in the wake of the tragedy of 9/11, the restaurant crumbled to the ground along with the rest of its tower, killing all the employees who were already on duty, preparing food for that day’s customers. This documentary features interviews with surviving staffers who were not on duty or scheduled to start later in the day. The sense you get is of their pride at being part of the restaurant and their connections to each other as a “family,” long before the terrorist attack. 3 cans.
102. Decoy Plane* (2026, Netflix) – This very short documentary recounts the recent event involving President Trump secretly leaving Turkey via a plane that was not Air Force One, having been vacated via a catering truck along with a few key staffers. One way to determine your status in the Trump administration is to see if you were one of the people who were spirited off AF1 or were left aboard the original plane, which security officials speculated might come under attack. The subterfuge was to thwart any potential attack on the President, and no media members or others left in the dark even knew they were flying a plane that might be attacked. No comment. 3 cans.
103. 102 Minutes in the Towers* (2026, History Channel) – This documentary is a first-hand account by the people who were in the World Trade Center when the Twin Towers were hit by jet airplanes and subsequently crumbled to the earth. Police, firefighters, and employees who worked in the Towers all have incredibly moving stories to tell, delivering information I had never heard before. They describe the sound of the jets crashing into the buildings and of the collapsing towers, the feel of the smoke, the darkness, the chaos and debris they had to fight through just to get out alive. I have always thought about how many people were NOT killed and wondered how those people were able to survive both the plane crash and the buildings collapsing. It was truly a miracle that anyone got out alive. 4 cans.
104. Enemy of the State* (1998, Prime Video) – This is an action-adventure movie that really kept me glued to the TV (translation: I stayed mostly awake). Will Smith plays a lawyer who runs into a man who happens to have video of a corrupt government operation and gives it to him. When the government agents realize that Smith has the tape, they use every technique and device to track him down and retrieve it, and, if they ruin his life, so be it. Action packed! Pass the popcorn. 3½ cans.
105. Absence of Malice (1981, Prime Video) – Sally Field is a newspaper reporter wavering between her responsibility as a journalist and her ethics when she reports a story about a Miami man (Paul Newman) who may or not be involved with the Mob. Newman is excellent as the innocent man fighting to save his reputation while simultaneously condemning the news media for writing stories based on leaks and assumptions. These are two very appealing actors and the story is absorbing. 3½ cans.
106. A Killer Story* (2026, HBO Max) – This 3-part, true crime drama focuses not only on the murder of a couple (allegedly at the hands of his ex), but also on the investigative efforts of a husband and wife who are obsessed with this case. The amateur sleuths finally get the attention of a crime reporter whom they persuade to join them as they try to ferret out the truth and protect the accused, whom they are convinced is innocent. It takes decades for the case to end, and even then, I’m not convinced that the prosecutors, the jury or the people following the accused murder got it right. The truth is out there. 3½ cans.
107. Ted Lasso, season 4* (2026, Apple TV) – All good things must come to an end, and we all thought Ted Lasso (Jason Sudekis) did that after Season 3. But the folksy soccer coach returns to the pitch, this time to coach the Richmond Women’s team in England. Most of the cast are still on board but it was awkward (it seemed to me) to work them into this new environment. Some of the new characters grated on me while some of the established players just didn’t impress me much anymore. In fact, I quit watching after episode 5. Ted Lasso, it was fun while it lasted, but your goodbye should have been after season 3. 3 soccer balls.
108. Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette* (2026, Hulu) – This 9-part series traces the relationship between the enigmatic, handsome “Sexiest Man Alive” and a New York PR woman working for Calvin Klein. John F. Kennedy Jr. meets Carolyn Bessette and is definitely smitten, even though he is dating actress Darryl Hannah (much to mother Jacquelyn Kennedy’s dismay), and as soon as he and Hannah call it quits, JFK Jr. pursues the confident, independent Carolyn (Sarah Pidgeon). But no one could be prepared to face the press and the scrutiny that Kennedy attracted daily. Much of the story is about them dealing with how to handle the press, which John needs to make his new magazine, George, a success. It is tough watching a story where you know the ending; each scene is leading up to the plane crash that takes the lives of the couple and her sister, Lauren, in 1999. John’s taciturn sister Caroline (Grace Gummer), has a line about him not being measured by what he has accomplished but by what he would have become. I did not think I would like this story as much as I did, even knowing that dialog here is often just speculation since it wasn’t witnessed by a third party who could vouch for it. 3½ cans.
109. The Remains of the Day* (1993, Cable) – Long before Mr. Carson ran the estate at Downton Abbey, Mr. Stevens (Anthony Hopkins) was the butler for Darlington Hall in England. A perfectionist, he runs the house with efficiency and attention to detail, turning a blind eye to his employer’s political views and support for the Nazis leading up to WWII. Stevens has grown up in service and sees so little beyond his world and the responsibilities he takes so seriously. Even the arrival of the equally efficient Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson) as the head housekeeper (Mrs. Hughes in Downton) cannot distract him from his duties. I was rooting for a Stevens-Kenton relationship, but Stevens is too dedicated to his life running the house to let any personal feelings get in the way. The very saddest part of this movie has nothing to do with the plot; Christopher Reeve, looking robust and healthy, has a role as a US representative who participates in an important meeting. Seeing Reeve in his virile, handsome persona always makes me sad after his accident and subsequent death. This is a classic movie that I never mind watching again. 4 cans.
110. O Solo Mio* (2026, Hulu) – This is a sweet movie about elementary school teacher Matt (Kevin James), who has a big wedding planned only to be left at the altar in Italy by his bride with cold feet. She won’t answer his messages and he feels justifiably alone. Since he cannot get back the money he spent for his honeymoon, he decides to go anyway, touring Italy with a sad sack face that somehow attracts new friends. You feel sorry for the big lout, but the friendships he experiences – especially by the coffee house owner – make the experience bearable. Kevin’s Matt is a lovable lost soul, and the movie makes you root for him to find happiness. 3 cans.

September Stuff

1.    The definition of frustration is having a full quart of delicious Talenti gelato in the freezer and not being able to open it. I tried every technique and device I had on hand short of using a chainsaw and could not get it open. This is apparently a problem known by the Talenti folks, so it isn’t just me. Still, when I finally threw that gelato in the trash, I was not a happy girl!

2.    A window company recently emailed me to let me know that it is probably time to replace my windows. Their records indicate that my house was built in 1900. What? This house was built in 2015 and I have lived here ever since. Somebody is getting bad information!

3.    I’m always perplexed by the people selling windows in ShopRite. Does anyone go there thinking, “quart of milk, loaf of bread, new windows?” My standard response is “My house is new so I don’t need windows yet.” It is actually 11 years old, but I still don’t need windows!

4.    At my recent annual ophthalmology appointment, I was asked if I wanted the ophthalmologist to check my vision and glasses. Isn’t that what I am here for, I asked. I was told the doctor is there to examine the health of my eyes, and the vision exam is a separate procedure for which there is a separate charge (luckily, my insurance covers it). I had a feeling my vision had changed a little and the exam confirmed exactly what I suspected. But to be asked whether I wanted to have my vision tested by the eye doctor seemed so strange to me. Marcus Welby would just have done it, no questions asked!

5.    I don’t understand Hallmark’s business model. Aside from the TV channel and streaming of shows and corny movies, there are the Hallmark stores with their extensive holiday displays, gifts and great but expensive greeting cards. So why do they have another line of cards that they sell in the Dollar Store at two for a dollar? The cards are nice, and they say Hallmark on the back. The other day I bought a bunch for upcoming birthdays, spending less on six cards than I would have spent on one. Aren’t they competing with themselves? I would have had to buy the cards in a Hallmark store if they didn’t have a less expensive line at the Dollar Store!

6.    A friend of mine is so neat and fussy about her home that her son says if the house was on fire, she’d go around and make sure the beds were all made before evacuating.

7.    Since when did cream cheese get so fancy? The local bagel store near me offers plain, vegetable, honey walnut, jalapeno, scallion, strawberry, bacon & chives and Oreo. Oreo cream cheese?

8.    It’s a little early for Thanksgiving but tell that to the pack of 5 gigantic turkeys who were lounging on my patio and in my backyard the other day. I hollered at them, but they ignored me. I was tempted to show them a Shady Brooks Farm label to taunt them, but then they would have to get too close to read it. I finally started clanging on a pot with a wooden spoon and they eventually got the idea that they were not welcome here and got in a line and ambled over to my neighbor’s yard. Brazen buzzards!

9.    Most of us have a box of baking soda in the refrigerator to help eliminate odors. When was the last time you changed yours? There’s a spot on the box where you are supposed to note the date when it was placed in the fridge, but does anyone do that? Can baking soda go bad? What can possibly happen if it is past its expiration date? I wouldn’t recommend using it for baking, but if it is just there to absorb odors, I guess it might be less effective over time. Who thinks about changing that box?

10. The words TREAT and THREAT differ by just one letter, but there’s a big difference.

11. One of my dear friends surprised me this month by sending me a photo of a note she found while sorting through old letters. It was from 1985, sent to her by my mother to congratulate her on her new job in New York. Just to see my mother’s personalized notecard, her precise penmanship, her humor in the note, and the fact that she would take time to celebrate an accomplishment by someone who was NOT her daughter made me so happy and so proud. And the fact that my friend kept it for all this time because it was important to her really moved me. Her family always made me feel like I was one of them, and clearly my mother felt that way, too. We agreed that we were lucky to have such warm and wonderful parents and a friendship that is still going strong after more than 50 years.

12. Since the last time this blog came out, we have lost two women whose lives and influence will live on, making the world a better place. Dolly Parton was a giant in music and had an equally large presence in philanthropy. She wrote 3000 songs, including some of the world’s favorites, and wrote far more than 3000 checks to fund her Imagination Library to give books to children, to fund hospital care and medical research during the Covid crisis, to enable kids to go to college and so much more. She set up her Dollywood amusement park in her native Tennessee to bring joy and jobs to the people in the area. Her gifts will keep on giving for many years to come. In her own way, she was aligned with feminist and activist Gloria Steinem, founder of Ms Magazine and the proponent for equal rights and treatment of women. Steinem’s writing and her magazine were designed to make people – men AND women – think about inequalities and how they could be rectified. Parton’s anthem “9 to 5” was the musical representation of Steinem’s work. As the two of them take over Heaven, we are left here to celebrate and carry on their work.

13. It has been 25 years since the tragedy of September 11, 2001. That is one of the days when everyone who was alive remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard about the two airplanes crashing into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. I watched several shows recounting the heroic efforts of the NYC Fire and Police Departments as well as other rescuers and accounts by people who had been trapped in the Towers. Even after all of this time, these stories moved me to tears. I listened to the reading of the names of those who were lost in the attack and the moving story of how New Yorkers with boats converged in the harbor to evacuate the survivors who were stranded in lower Manhattan. A story that started with man’s inhumanity to man ended with people joining together on that day and subsequent days to demonstrate the best of mankind. It should not have to take a tragedy for people to come together and show love, kindness and respect for each other. Should it?

August 2026 Movies and More

There are plenty of new movies, series and documentaries in the August collection. Some are heartwarming (Don't Say Good Luck), some are sad (Steel Magnolias), ones is a repeat visit to a favorite (Friday Night Nights) and some simply soar (Thunderbirds). There are a few that show blatant lack of concern by big companies (E-Bay and Boeing) and even a one-woman stage show that I really enjoyed. Everything is rated on a scale of 1-5 cans of tuna fish, with 5 being the top rank. Those marked with an asterisk are ones I had not seen previously. Numbering picks up from prior months. This should keep you busy over the Labor Day weekend. 

86. Whatever It Takes: Inside the eBay Scandal* (2024, Prime Video) – What scandal? Did some eBay customer not receive the Beanie Babies they bought on the auction platform? No, this documentary is about a married couple of writers who reported on eBay, seeking to make it easier for buyers and sellers to do business on its platform. After a particularly critical series of reports, Ina and her husband suddenly started receiving strange packages, porn, nasty direct messages and other suspicious things and had no idea who would want to do them harm. It seems that eBay’s in-house security team objected to what they said online and took drastic action. Decisions that were made to torment the writers went up the chain of command, all the way to top of eBay, and the employees were told to do “whatever it takes” to stop their negative reporting on the company. This movie is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I found it very interesting. Surprise, surprise, the top execs who approved this egregious behavior got off scott free. Cyberstalking and real-life stalking are crimes, my friends. 3 cans.
87. Wordplay (2006, Prime Video) – If you do The New York Times crossword puzzle, you know that its long-time editor is Will Shortz. Every year for many years, he presided over the Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Connecticut, where devoted players gathered to compete. These people mean business and do the puzzle in PEN! Several of the champions are highlighted here as they compete for the crown. And puzzle constructor Merl Reagle shows how he comes up with these brain teasers. 3½ cans.
88. The Speed Cubers (2020, Netflix) – I can’t solve a Rubik’s Cube at all, no less in under 10 seconds. The young people who participate in Rubik’s Cube competition have some otherworldly skill to solve the puzzle – some even with one hand or while blindfolded. The stars of this documentary are very appealing characters. Champion Feliks Zemdegs is truly remarkable, not only for his ability but also for his generous nature in helping a younger contestant who is clearly a prodigy get through his social anxiety to enjoy the experience. This heartwarming documentary about Rubik’s Cubers is totally unexpected and totally wonderful. 4 cans.
89. Friday Night Lights, Seasons 2-5 (2006-2011, 76 episodes counting season 1, Prime Video) – This was my rewind of this wonderful series about growing up in a rural Texas town where high school football is the most important thing. But it is much broader than that as we experience the kids’ growth and maturity (or lack thereof), race relations, law and order, substance abuse problems, teenage pregnancy, corruption, etc., and watch them dream big dreams that are often shattered. Football Head Coach Eric Taylor and his school counselor wife Tammi (Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton) provide the moral grounding for a bunch of kids who are growing up in a single-parent household (or worse), some of whom who are poor and looking at football to get them into college or into the professional ranks. The acting is superb, the writing outstanding and, overall, this series ranks among the best ever to me. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose. 5 cans.
90. The Dynasty: UConn Huskies* (2026, Apple TV) – In the first few minutes of this new 3-part series on Apple TV, famed UConn Women’s Basketball Coach Geno Auriemma comes across just as you imagined he would if you follow women's basketball. He is a dictatorial bully who coaches, cajoles, pushes, criticizes and does everything he can to make his players be the best they can be, even if he sometimes crushes their spirits. He seems to know how far he can push them without breaking them, and his formula has proved to be very successful, with 1288 wins and 12 National Championships in his 41 seasons at UConn. He's a brilliant tactician and motivator, and his overwhelming desire for his players to be the absolute best they can be is laudable. I don't know, maybe it takes a lot of yelling and swearing and being deliberately mean to get the best out of people, but I know that would never work for me. You can't argue with his success, but his methods are tough to take. There is a hard look at his relationship with the late, legendary Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt. Geno resented her success and made it a mission to beat her whenever they faced each other. The series ends with the UConn's National Championship in 2025, but I would have liked to see his ridiculous behavior versus Dawn Staley this year. That episode showed his real character, and it was not pretty. 4 cans.
91. 9/11 Reunited* (2026, National Geographic) – When the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001 struck the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in the Washington, DC, area, thousands of innocent victims were killed, including heroic rescuers, firefighters and police personnel. Some people miraculously survived, many because of the efforts of rescuers and, sometimes, thanks to the civilians who stayed with them, dug them out and gave them hope. This 3-part documentary focuses on some of the survivors and the people who saved them, most of whom are reunited here for the first time since that horrific day. The stories of that day are poignant, as the rescuers feel they had to take action and the survivors remain eternally grateful. 4 cans.
92. Marc by Sophia* (2025, HBO) – Director Sofia Coppola trains her camera on fashion designer Marc Jacobs in her first documentary. Jacobs is deep into planning his fashion show, taking inspiration from iconic designers like Yves St. Laurent and Broadway legends like Bob Fosse and his shows. Jacobs is everywhere, fussing over the volume of the eyelashes being worn by his models, checking the gap between the outfit and the hair on one model, and adjusting and creating the stage set. And then there are the clothes, where he supervises design, fabrics, cut, fit and every other detail. I didn’t always understand his explanations for his decisions, but I can respect his appreciation for and dedication to design. This is, quite literally, a backstage look at an accomplished designer and his vision of beauty. 3½ cans.
93. Don’t Say Good Luck* (2026, Netflix) – Being a teenager is tough enough without your mother dying of cancer. Sophie Birenbaum (Sunny Sandler) is a nervous wreck, trying out for the school play and ultimately winning the lead in “Waitress.” Just as she is dedicating more of her time to the play (and crushing on the male lead), her mother (Melanie Lynskey) finds out that her cancer has returned. She is getting weaker and worse, and Sophie is torn between her role in the play and her role as a daughter. When Sophie sings “She Used to Be Mine,” the song has more meaning than originally intended. Sandler (daughter of Adam Sandler) does a great job with her role and demonstrates an excellent voice. This one is a winner. 3½ cans.
94. Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing* (2026, Netflix) – This documentary may be new but the story isn’t: Just another big company skimping on the details to maximize profits. Boeing was told again and again by its quality control staff that there were problems with reused or defective parts. Management not only ignored the warnings, but the whistleblowers were penalized for mentioning them. And the planes went down and lives of innocent people were lost. Was it a training issue? A quality issue? The plant was built in South Carolina to take advantage of its loose laws on unions, and the workforce was mostly local people with no prior experience in the airline industry.  One part of this story that hit home for me was when workers were asked if they would fly in the planes they helped to build, and many said they would not. The documentary does not treat top management kindly (rightfully so), pointing out their extremely high compensation and golden parachutes, especially in light of the failure of the airplanes and deaths of the people on board. This movie makes you shake your head and wonder how people can be so careless with the safety of others. 3½ cans.
95. Air Force Elite - Thunderbirds* (2026, Netflix) – This soaring documentary provides an in-depth view of the immensely talent pilots who are accepted to be Thunderbirds, the aerial unit for the Air Force. Imagine flying with such precision that these powerful flying machines and their pilots can perform such precise maneuvers that they are just inches apart. The pilots selected for this prestigious assignment train hard for at least a year and work closely with the team of people who are responsible for the care and maintenance of the planes. The flying sequences are spectacular. 3½ cans.
96. Steel Magnolias (1989, Cable TV) – In the wake of the passing of the inimitable Dolly Parton, I thought watching her performance in this sweet but sad story was the tonic I needed. Parton is in a great ensemble cast here along with Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley Maclaine, Julia Roberts and Darryl Hannah. Field has the showy part as the mother of Roberts’ ill character, but Parton plays her role as Truvy, the town beautician, with humor and warmth and a shot of cornpone. The power of female friendship helps the characters get through the ultimate heartbreak. Their bonds run thick and deep and, in the end, are what will enable them to survive true tragedy. 4 cans.
97. Leanne – Season 2* (2026, Netflix) – Stand-up comic Leanne Morgan is back with the second season of her Southern fried sitcom here, along with Kristen Johnson as her sister and Celia Weston as her mother. Leanne is hitting 60 and worried enough by her aging parents living alone that she takes them into her house. Meanwhile, she faces the fall-out of her husband’s abrupt departure in season 1 to be with another woman, deals with her own feelings for an FBI agent who wants to make their relationship more permanent, and whether or not she should change her hairstyle to have bangs. Morgan seems more at ease in front of the camera this year, though her character still has a whiny, perplexed look on her face most of the time. This sitcom is moderately amusing, with the occasional quotable line. The cast is very good, but some of the characters are more annoying than amusing (the father and the ex-husband). The season features 10 episodes, with the 10th ending with no cliffhanger or any indication that it will return next year. If it does, I’ll watch. If not, nice try, Leanne. 3½ cans.
98. Nobody Cares: Laura Benanti* (2026, George Street Playhouse) – Broadway and TV actress Laura Benanti brings her one-woman show to the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick to remind us of the excitement of live theater. Through a combination of a funny monologue and clever songs, Benanti traces her rise from ingenue to perimenopause, though misogyny, 3 marriages and childbirth with amusing anecdotes. Now in her late 40s, Benanti moves her lithe body with grace and isn’t afraid to be bawdy. I will look at her in a different way when I see her playing a part on stage or TV from now on. 4 cans.
99. Death of the Preacher’s Wife* (2026, Netflix) – For all of the true crime stories I watch, I was surprised I wasn’t aware of this tale of a young woman who marries a dynamic preacher and falls completely under his spell. His views promote obedience by the wife to anything the husband says or wants, and he quotes scripture to validate his skewed view of the relationship between married partners. He interjects his homelife into his sermons, humiliating his wife and leading to her death. There was no way she was going to get out alive. This documentary has three parts, and they fly by as her situation gets increasing tragic as he controls her medication and commits her to a mental hospital to exert his control. 3½ cans.