Oscar Predictions and The Week in Reviews

[I review the movies "American Hustle," "Magic, Magic;" "Killing Season;" "World's End;" Jayne Mansfield's Car;" "Passion" and "Stranger Within" and recommend a novel]

Happy New Year, everyone!

I am back on track with my usual Friday reviews. 

But first, I want to weigh in on who I think will be nominated for Academy Awards, which will be announced on January 16th (the awards will be telecast on March 2nd).  The Golden Globes have already announced their nominations, and though Academy Award nominations often follow suit, not always, and I think there were some major omissions this year.  Plus the Golden Globes divide films into dramas and comedies, thus making many more nominations for Best Picture and Best Actor and Actress than the Academy Awards will.  And I have to add, these were my nominations before the Golden Globes were announced, I promise!


So here is what I think some of the nominations will be.

Best Actor                                                        Best Actress

Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)            Sandra Bullock (Gravity)
Joaquin Phoenix (Her)                              Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks)
Christian Bale (American Hustle)               Meryl Streep (August: Osage County)
Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)                     Judi Dench (Philomena)
Matthew McConaughey                             Amy Adams (American Hustle)
(Dallas Buyers Club)         
                                       
          

Best Supporting Actor                                Best Supporting Actress

Jared Leto (Dallas Buyer's Club)                 Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)       Julia Roberts (August:Osage County)
Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)                  Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

I am only going to put in three nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Actress, because in the famous words of Bill Murray on Saturday Night Live's Weekly Update, "Who really cares about this award anyway?" 

Best Picture                                             Best Director

12 Years a Slave                                        Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)
American Hustle                                         Paul Greengrass  (Captain Phillips)
Captain Phillips                                           David O. Russell (American Hustle)
Gravity                                                      Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
Her



Winner Predictions (by me):

Best Actor:  Chiwetel Ejiofor, though I think Tom Hanks outdid himself in "Captain Phillips," especially the last 15 minutes of the film and Christian Bale was, well, Christian Bale, the chameleon.  This is the deep category this year.

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock should never have won for The Blind Side. She should win for "Gravity," EXCEPT here comes old Meryl Streep again and she gives an amazing performance, but of a very unpleasant character. The Academy doesn't usually like unpleasant characters. They could cancel each other out and Thompsom or Dench could get it. 

But I am voting for Streep.

Best Supporting Actor:  I am completely against first time actors and children winning Academy Awards, so that eliminated Abdi.  Though Leto was amazing (he's come a long way from his "My So-Called Life" days), I am banking on Fassbender to win.

He was just astonishing.  As I was watching him in "12 Years," I said out loud Academy Award.  He just let it all hang out.

Best Supporting Actress:  Again, I don't want Nyong'o to win.  She needs to do more work first, but is Julia Roberts' part really a supporting role?  If not, that isn't fair. 

I think Nyong'o will probably win.  The Academy tends to reward first timers in this category.  But Jennifer Lawrence stole the show in "American Hustle."

Best Picture:  I think"12 Years a Slave" is a shoe-in, but the sheer amount of work it took to make "Gravity" was amazing.  And "Captain Phillips" was riveting, and there weren't even any women in it.  I usually don't like films with all men.

Best Director:  If "12 Years a Slave" wins Best Picture it stands to reason that Steve McQueen should win for Best Director (and don't get him mixed up with that other Steve McQueen), but it doesn't always work that way. 

I vote for Alfonso Cuaron, because of what went into making "Gravity."

The only other category I am going to weigh in on now is Best Documentary - if 56 Up doesn't win Best Documentary, there is no god. 

This series has followed 14 British children every seven years from the age of seven in 1964 to present and, in addition to the incredible determination it took to follow these fourteen people every seven years, it's riveting viewing.

OK film lovers, what do you think?

***NEW ON DVD***

American Hustle

The con is on.  As they say in the film, everything is a con and everyone is conning everyone.  It's what we do in America.
                
Jennifer Lawrence steals the show, but this is really an acting extravaganza - Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, DeNiro.  Fresh script, great acting, humor...what more could you want? 

And a shout out to my friend, Barb, over at Living Richly in Retirement (a great blog, by the way), Jeremy Renner does you proud.  Don't you love his pompadour?  Hair seems to play a big role in this film.

Rosy the Reviewer says...run, don't walk to see this.  It will pick up many awards.  Loved it!


                           

***DVDS***

Some You Might Have Missed

(and some you should be glad you did).

I see the bad ones so you don't have t).

                                      

Magic Magic (2013)

A naïve American girl goes on a road trip in Chile with friends of friends that turns into a nightmare.

Rosy the Reviewer says...This is more of a nightmare for the viewer.  Love Juno Temple, but she needs to find some better vehicles for her talent.  Some of the things she has been in lately are wearing thin on me.

Killing Season (2013)

Two veterans of the Bosnian War -- one American, one Serbian -- form an unlikely friendship that turns deadly.  I didn't think I would like this one and John Travolta's accent got on my nerves at times.

Rosy the Reviewer says...this isn't "Captain Phillips," but it's a tense game of cat and mouse.  If you like movies about "human hunting," such as "The Most Dangerous Game, you will probably like this one.

World's End (2013)

Five friends attempt to relive their attempt to conquer "The Golden Mile," an epic pub crawl of 12 pubs culminating in The World's End pub which they had failed to do 20 years before.  In so doing, they, of course, encounter an alien invasion.  

It is the third and final film in Simon Pegg's the "Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy," following Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007).

Rosy the Reviewer says...If you liked "Shaun of the Dead" and/or British humor, you will enjoy this. I loved it.

Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012)

Billy Bob Thornton wrote, directed and starred in this film of two disparate families coming together in the South of 1969 for a funeral.  

Jayne Mansfield was a blonde bombshell actress who was famously decapitated in a horrific car accident. Thornton uses that allusion as a centerpiece for this story reminiscent of Tennessee Williams - think "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."  I can't decide if Robert Duvall is good in this or not.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Thornton is a talented writer and actor, but this is no Slingblade.  But if you like Wes Anderson or movies about quirky Southern families, you might like this.

Passion (2012)

Think "All About Eve" in a business setting except with murder in mind. Remake of the movie Love Crime ("Crime d'amour" 2010) starring Kristin Scott Thomas, so I have to ask myself, why remake this film three years later?

 And what is really strange, the first one was French/English/Japanese and this one is French/English/German.  Albeit the first one had more subtitles but other than that, a literal remake.  De Palma is a big Hitchcock fan, so there is homage to "Psycho" and "Vertigo" and stylish cinematography and music a la Hitchcock.  I notice that he has reversed the hair colors of the stars from the original:  in the original the villain had dark hair and vice versa.  It's the little things, I guess.

Rosy the Reviewer says...What is happening to our great directors?  Spike struck out this year with "Oldboy" and this one does not live up to De Palma's best work.

Stranger Within (2013)

After being attacked, an acclaimed actress and her psychiatrist husband retreat to a remote Mediterranean island where they meet a mysterious and troubled young woman who becomes a threat.  

William Baldwin's hair could have been a character all it's own.  Warren is a model-turned-actress and you can tell.  It was like a really, really bad Lifetime movie and that's giving Lifetime movies a bad name.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Rosy, repeat after me.  I will never, ever again put a movie in my Netflix queue based on the preview alone.  "I will never, ever again put a movie in my Netflix queue based on the preview alone."

***Book of the Week***

The Borgia Mistress by Sara Poole

Book three in the "Poisoner Mysteries" series, Francesca Giordana, Borgia court poisoner, is once again center stage, this time to avenge her mother's death and save Pope Alexander VI from his enemies.  

Francesca is a plucky heroine, but the writing is sometimes a bit stilted at times.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are a fan of historical fiction and mysteries, you should enjoy this.

That's it for this week. 

See you Tuesday where I will check in on my retirement, six months later!

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it and/or email it to your friends.

Check your local library first for books and DVDs.

A Retired Librarian's New Year's Resolutions

Sigh. 

I can't believe that 2014 is almost here.

So once again it's time to make those New Year's resolutions. 

As you have probably surmised, I like to include my dogs in costumes in my blogs, but I realize that is just a way to get a cheap laugh, so my first resolution is to stop using dogs in costumes as a cheap way of getting a laugh, and instead, I will work to be more serious about the topic at hand.

Ahem.

Every year I make New Year's resolutions, but I usually don't go back and review them.  I think that's a good idea. 


So, in 2013, did I do what I said I was going to do? 

Let's see...

2013 Resolution #1. Lose weight.

No.

2013 Resolution #2. Exercise more.

Nope.

2013 Resolution #3. Pay more attention to my husband.

Oops.

2013 Resolution #4. Watch less TV.

Ouch.

2013 Resolution #5. Stop buying clothes (especially since you will be retiring and won't need so many) Uh-uh...that's a no for "I can't believe how badly this is going."

2013 Resolution #6. Retire

I did do that.

Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.  But one out of six isn't so bad...
is it?

 

Most of us don't do so well keeping our New Year's resolutions.  Some statistics say we quit during January!

 

However, if you want to make some resolutions you can actually keep, why not try

The Library 

Pick at least three of the following and I promise you, your life will be changed for the better.

 

• Download free e-books for your Kindle, Nook, IPad or other device from your library's website.

• Take your child or grandchild to library story times.

• If you don’t have a library card, get one. It’s free and is your ticket to so much: free DVDs, computer usage, and databases where you can find car repair information, genealogical research, newspapers and much more, all from the convenience of your own home. And you can't find this free on the Internet.  Libraries purchase this information for you.

• Speaking of DVDs, why pay a service for them when you can check them out for free at the library?  They have the latest releases and you can place your requests online via the web page and check out a bunch at a time.

• Never got around to learning how to use a computer? Many libraries provide free computer classes and learn how to use a mouse, find what you need on the Internet, use your email effectively, send attachments, copy and paste, all those things that have you stumped. And if you are a job hunter, we have a class highlighting job hunting resources on the Internet, as well as a laptop you can use in the library for as long as you need to.

• Need help preparing your tax return?  Libraries partner with the AARP every year to help people fill out their tax returns. The service is free by appointment.

•  New in town and want to meet your fellow residents? The Library is a community gathering place. 

•  Is your little one just starting to read?  Libraries have books especially focused on new readers. And baby and family story times are designed to help your little one succeed in kindergarten.

• Have a slow Internet connection or no Internet? Free computer usage is available at the library, and if you have a laptop, most libraries also provide free

 

This is just a taste of what awaits you at the library if you resolve to make your life better this year.

 

So get yourself to the library and start on those resolutions!

Now for those other pesky personal resolutions for 2014...

Sigh.

Let's try one more time...

1. Lose weight.
2. Exercise more
3. Pay more attention to my husband
4. Watch less TV
5. Stop buying clothes

But this year, I am going to take some tips from my friend Juhli over at Boomer Girl's Guide, a blog I highly recommend and add these:


6.  Keep learning
     I am working on my meditation practice and reading, reading, reading

7.  Focus on being happy in the present
      I am keeping a gratitude journal

8.  Give of yourself through volunteering
      I have been appointed to the local Council on Aging - my mother didn't have a
      good "end of life." I am passionate about people being able to end their days in
      their own homes or in the care of their loved ones. 

9.  Fill my days with meaningful activity
      All of the above and more

10. Laugh
      This is difficult sometimes when one is feeling down, but I do tend to have a
      wry take on things and can still find some humor in despair.

 

What are your New Year's Resolutions? 

(Besides getting yourself to the library, of course).

Best wishes for a happy and productive

New Year!

 

                                           Old habits die hard.

See you Friday for my Oscar Predictions
and the Week in Reviews.

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it and/or email it to your friends

How Well Do You Know the Classics? A Quiz

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to make my way through the classics of literature, re-reading some, introducing myself to others. 

So as I make my list, I thought it would be fun to see how many of these you recognize.

See if you can match the picture and quote to the classic book.

1.

"Such helpfulness was found in her - so much power to do and power to sympathize - that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant 'able' so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength."






2.

"Fiddle-dee-dee. I'll think about that tomorrow."








3. 

"Fifteen men on a dead man's chest. Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!"







4. 

"If I am the phantom, it is because man's hatred has made me so. If I am to be saved, it is because your love redeems me."








5.

"I told you! No wire hangers, ever!"








6.

"Hardworking folks only smell bad to people who have nothing better than [to} stick their noses in the air. Well, whenever you stick your nose in the air, Nellie Oleson, it's going to get punched!"








7.

"I must be crazy to be in a loony-bin like this."








8. 

Elwood P. Dowd:"I've never heard Harvey say a word against Akron."








9. 

"I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes."







10. 

"Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?"

How did you do?

Here are the answers.

1.  The Scarlet Letter

2.  Gone with the Wind

3.  Treasure Island

4.  Phantom of the Opera

5.  Mommy Dearest

6.  Little House on the Prairie

7.  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

8.  Harvey

9.  Great Expectations

10.  Romeo and Juliet


You may disagree with me on what constitutes a classic, but these are definitely "classic" reads, guaranteed to amuse, delight or enlighten.

I plan to read the classics this coming year. 

Why don't you join me?

(All of these titles should be available at your local library).

What recommendations do you have?

 

 

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it and/or email it to your friends

A Baby Boomer's Christmas Eve Memories

 

It's Christmas Eve and we are spending it alone. 

That's life, as my sister would say.

When you get old and your children have their own lives, this happens.

Growing up, Christmas Eve was always special. 

My family opened presents on Christmas Eve, Santa came the next day and we spent Christmas Day either at my grandparents house or they came to ours for the big Christmas feast.  I never realized we did it this way, because it's the way they do it in Scandinavia, Germany and other European countries.  Since my mother was Swedish, it makes sense.

So when I had my own family, I followed that same plan. When you start on Christmas Eve, it drags the holiday out in a delightful way. Why crowd Christmas day with all of the fun?

But now our children have their own families and will have their own traditions, and we are navigating that time of our lives when we need to get used to that.

But we have our happy memories.

My first Christmas.

My 5th Christmas.
(Animal fur didn't seem to be an issue in the 50's)

My 7th Christmas and Echo the Dog's first.

(Motorcycle jackets were big for 12 year old boys, I guess. I am surprised my mother let him wear it in the picture)

Childhood memories include the tree falling down every year, sleeping with my brother as we awaited the arrival of Santa (not sure how that hastened his arrival), homemade Parker House rolls, snow falling on Christmas Eve, worrying Santa would leave a lump of coal in my stocking (a threat my mother used) and my Mother's delicious pies.

Somewhere across the world in Turkey my Hubby-to-be was celebrating Christmas too.

My son's first Christmas.

My son's second Christmas.
(The tree was in the playpen for its own protection).

First Christmas with Hubby.

  

First Christmas for our daughter



The carol-playing bell-ringing Santa from Grammy that played carols and rang his bell over and over and over and over...fun gift for the son, not so much for the parents. 

He disappeared mysteriously.

 

All the grandchildren received Blaze the Horse from Granddaddy.

 

  

 

As they grew, so many more memories:

Visit from Aunt Posy (my sister) with Twinkle the cat.

 

Traditional Christmas Eve dinner:  Pizza

Traditional Christmas Eve activities:

• Singing Christmas carols in the car while riding around looking at Christmas lights and the kids whining about when it would be over so we could open presents
• Presents - 10 each and we all had to watch as each one was opened so it would go on and on
• Reading about the birth of baby Jesus, followed by "Twas the Night Before Christmas."  Kids yawning.
• Bedtime for the kids - never easy
• Party time for the parents, thus making putting up basketball hoops and putting bicycles together all the harder.

Christmas Eve 2012

We are all older now and on different paths. 

But, hopefully, our happy memories hold us close.

Now us old folks are making some new happy memories!

 Mildred

 Frederic

 Tarquin

Happy Holidays Everyone. 

See you Friday!

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it and/or email it to your friends