December 17, 2012

December 17, 2012 By

  This wonderful collection of animated classic stories is a perfect stocking-stuffer for children of all ages. Created by Billy Budd Films in New York City, the films are child-friendly and most are done in wonderful claymation. The entire collection runs for 247 minutes allowing for variety and guaranteeing return visits by youngsters. Of all the films “Martin the Cobbler” by Leo Tolstoy is my favorite. Tolstoy’s daughter Alexandria, is the narrator.   The Christmas stories on the DVD are:... Read more

December 14, 2012

December 14, 2012 By

Today, December, 14, a gunman killed 26 people in Newtown, CT, including 20 elementary school children. “Wreck It Ralph” opened in November I didn’t have a chance to see it until today. I was driving home from seeing the film and listening to the news on NPR. The newsperson described President Obama as wiping away tears as he spoke words of comfort to parents, his behavior noted by many news outlets. 2012 has been a year marked by gun violence tragedies. On August... Read more

December 13, 2012

December 13, 2012 By

In the time before the great contests recorded in “The Lord of the Rings,” the Shire, hobbit zone of Middle Earth, is a gentle place, and hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is comfortable in his hobbit hole home. He loves his books and appears to be rather fussy. Enter the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellan), who tries to entice Bilbo to come on an adventure. Bilbo is reluctant, but Gandalf has invited a band of 13 dwarves, led by... Read more

December 12, 2012

December 12, 2012 By

    Here is the trailer for the new television series on The Bible from producers Roma Downey (Touched By An Angel) and Mark Burnett (The Voice, Survivor, Celebrity Apprentice) comes THE BIBLE, an epic ten part mini-series that will debut on The History Channel on March 3, 2013. This new epic 10-part miniseries will premiere on The History Channel on March 3, 2013 (just two weeks or so into Lent!) It is produced by Mark Burnett (Survivor, The Voice) and... Read more

December 11, 2012

December 11, 2012 By

According to the Mayan Calendar the end of the world is to happen on December 21, 2012: 12/21/12. But it did not happen on all the other dates that have foretold this terrible, cataclysmic event. It is already 12/12/12  and so far, so good. We’re still here. Earlier this year I was invited to give a presentation at a local parish on “Apocalyptic Themes in Cinema”.  I wondered why people are so fascinated by the end of the world and... Read more

December 10, 2012

December 10, 2012 By

  Here is a link to John Monahan’s excellent interview with Mona Golabek, star of the one-woman play “The Pianist of Willesden Lane.” It appeared on Boston’s Catholic TV last Friday, December 7 and can now be seen online. The interview is at the 18″ minute mark of the half hour program “Clear Voice”. It is an excellent interview and introduction to the play, that I believe, can change lives. You can still purchase tickets to “The Pianist of Willesden... Read more

December 10, 2012

December 10, 2012 By

Click here to see Episode 3 of “Take It All” December 12, 2012 (NBC) (I wasn’t able to embed the video 😉 Thanks to my co-contestants, you are the best! And thanks to Howie Mandell and the crew as well, and to all of you for watching! This is me giving the NACMP beauty queen wave that I learned from Vicki Bedard, Miss Brown Trout of Hometown, MI: NACMPWave And my sister Emilie giving me “suggestions” that neither I or... Read more

December 5, 2012

December 5, 2012 By

In 1766, the little sister of Britain’s King George III, Princess Caroline Mathilde (Alicia Vikander), is betrothed to her cousin, King Christian VII (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) of Denmark. The king, a mentally ill philanderer, has to be coaxed into fathering a child. The king’s ministers are concerned about the monarch’s instability, so they hire a German doctor, Johann Friedrich Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen), to be at his side. The king comes to trust the doctor. But when they return to court... Read more

December 3, 2012

December 3, 2012 By

Although it took me some time to figure out what was going on and what Dreamworks’ handsome, over-long film was trying to say, it became apparent about halfway through that I could easily make connections between the imaginative narrative and Christian beliefs. Seeing “Guardians” bears out the saying “You get out of a film what you bring to it” because you make meaning according to your own lens. The story opens with Jack Frost (the voice of Chris Pine) telling... Read more

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