My Favorite Holiday Movies

Holiday movies can be sentimental or fun. I don’t do too many holiday movies so the list is short, but I never get tired of these. Here they are  in no particular order:

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Forget Johnny Depp (and I’m a fan) the Willie Wonka that warms my heart is Gene Wilder! He is just the right amount of funny and serious! Throw in the bad children and a kid’s (and adult’s) dream of all that cool candy and it is heaven!  I still try to imitate Veruka and every time I see the ending (and it has been MANY times), I cry! They aren’t even in the elevator yet and I’m tearing up. He gives Charlie the WHOLE factory! And it admit it, you are singing the Oompa Loompa song to yourself right now.

A Christmas Story

Fffffudge….. admit it you have seen this movie, a holiday staple, dozens of times…. you worried that Ralphie would “shoot his eye out”…you wanted your own leg lamp and you remember that age of trusting in Santa, just in case. I didn’t grow up in the time period, but this movie made one nostalgic for simpler holiday times, when it wasn’t about the next electronic item, but  more about simple pleasures.

The Santa Clause

I think I watch this movie at least two or three times every holiday.  Tim Allen plays a newly divorced man trying to connect with his son during the holidays. One night, he gets a job offer he really can’t refuse. From the first scene to the last, you’ll smile and have a laugh.  I love the sequels almost as much!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

This was a classic hit back in my day that still holds up well. John Candy and Steve Martin are hysterical as two very different men trying to get home during the holidays who end up stuck with each other and deal with bad situation after bad situations…. I love the deer scene.  John Candy was truly a comic genius and is so missed. Growing up near the areas they filmed, I still tell my son “I remember driving past the El Rancho Motel”!

Christmas in Connecticut

The original 1945 version with Barbara Stanwyck as a food writer and 1940′s version of Martha Stewart,  who agrees to “host” a homey Christmas for a returning WWII hero. Problem is she can’t cook and is nowhere near a homemaker…. its funny, sappy and romantic… I love it!

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

This is a fantasy film I saw recently, but can’t wait to watch again. Filmed in Finland, it’s about of group of people who discover the truth behind the Santa legend. Let’s just say he wasn’t quite so nice! Instead of rewarding good children, he punished the naughty. Children start disappearing and the reindeer start turning up dead. A group of men, led by one of man’s son, set out to capture Santa and put an end to all this. What follows is bizarre, but really fun.

-Christine

He’s Back!!!

Sunday is Oscar night when Hollywood puts on their tuxes and gowns to celebrate the year’s best in film. I am very excited about watching it this year! Billy Crystal is back!!! Yay! After Eddie Murphy backed out (thank you!), it was announced he would be hosting.  Starting in 1990, Billy has hosted on and off 8 times. This Sunday will make it 9, second to Bob Hope who hosted 18 times!

Billy has had many very funny and memorable moments on the show… Billy being wheeled out ala Hannibal Lecter, or his hysterical introductions of the nominated films (paying tribute to Titanic with the Gilligan Island’s theme).  He is just funny enough to make what seems like an endless show (editing for a short documentary award, anyone??) be pleasurable. After suffering through last year’s James Franco and Anne Hathaway debacle, it is so nice to see Billy back. It has been too long, 8 too long years.

And what better way to show his humor as this, after he accepted the hosting job, he tweeted  ” Am doing the Oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when I pick up my prescriptions. Looking forward to the show.”

So am I.

-Christine

God Bless The Vicar, Of Dibley That Is!

My love of all Britcoms continues in my latest TV watching vice… The Vicar of Dibley. The show stars the fantastically talented Dawn French. Dawn is the French half of the very funny French and Saunders comedy duo, who brought us Absolutely Fabulous. The show was created by Richard Curtis of Four Weddings and a Funeral fame, specifically for her.

Geraldine Granger is a bodacious and lively female vicar who is sent to the very small and rural town of Dibley. While there she meets a variety of “interesting” characters namely the village council. There is the arrogant multimillionaire, David Horton who initially tries to get Geraldine fired, and his thick as a plank son Hugo. Hugo loves Alice Tinker, the church verger, who is so dense that at one point, after reading the Da Vinci Code, she is sure she is a descendent of Jesus Christ. There is Frank Pickle, a man who never met a speech or a story he couldn’t drag out for hours on end. He is well-known for putting people to sleep. Jim Trott is an elderly gentleman who says no-no-no-no before most of his sentences. This turned into a problem when he was asked if it was a deal on the British version of “Deal or No Deal”. You can only imagine. Owen Newitt is a farmer with extremely poor hygiene and some rather adult interests. He is Geraldine’s biggest supporter and along with David Horton, wanted to marry her. There was also Letitia Cropley, who died early in the series…. she was especially known for her cooking…. parsnip brownies or pancakes with  a hint of liver, anyone??

From the Easter Bunny incident, to Dalek Bridesmaids,  to Geraldine’s real middle name (think Mary Poppins songs) this show is a classic! Throw in some bawdy humor and a fantastic ensemble cast, add Dawn French who  is one of the best comediennes of our time and you have a must see. There are some great guest stars, Sting and Sean Bean,  for example and some really touching moments such as the special involving the Make Poverty History campaign or the church service for animals that despite sounding silly, was quite heartfelt. The Fountaindale Library owns all the DVD releases of the show, so check out our catalog for this and other Britcoms.

Enjoy!!

-Christine

They’re Too Much!

Does the name “Heat Miser” mean anything to you? Do images of little  men dancing with straw hats fill your head? Then you are one of the many devoted fans of the Rankin/ Bass stop-motion Christmas specials that ran (and still run) ad nauseam during the month of December starting back in the mid 60′s.  Everyone remembers “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” or “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and even “Frosty the Snowman” . Those were just too pedestrian for me, I wanted something campy and fun (even though I didn’t know what campy was at the time)… well, I found it with my favorite Christmas special,  “The Year Without a Santa Claus”. It didn’t run often, and I think it even took a break for several years… but I never forgot it.

The show opens with Santa dealing with a bad cold. His doctor tells him he needs to make changes this Christmas….  Santa, feeling that people really don’t believe much in him anymore and not feeling well, decides to take a holiday. Two of his elves, Jingle and Jangle,  decide to set out to find people who still believe in Santa. They fly off  on a very young Vixen, run into some trouble and end up in Southtown USA. There Vixen is mistaken for a dog and sent to the pound, where she get sick from the hot weather (she is a reindeer after all!). The skeptical mayor promises the elves if they can get it to snow this Christmas in Southtown and prove themselves to truly be magical, Vixen will be freed. 

The elves have to go ask two very scary people for help… the Miser brothers! What follows is one of the most memorable and outrageous song and dance routines ever done by cartoon characters in a children’s Christmas special.The Snow Miser controls the climate in the North, he’s “Mister White Christmas”, he’s “Mister Icicle”, he’s “Mister 10 Below”, he likes things to turn to snow in his clutch!  The Heat Miser controls the climate in the south, he’s “Mister Green Christmas”, he’s “Mister Sun”, he loves it over 100 degrees, he likes to have things melt in his clutch  (he’s too much!). Accompanied by mini versions of themselves as a chorus line, each brother gets a chance to sing and dance. The elves try to convince the brothers to, for one day let it snow in the snow and be hot in the north. They won’t stand for it…. and after their respective musical numbers, they fight. So the elves call on their mother, “Mother Nature”, who makes them compromise.

Meanwhile, Santa comes to Southtown to help. The children of the world decide if that if he won’t come to them, they will make him presents. We get the song “Blue Christmas”! Santa is moved…. it snows in Southtown, Vixen is freed and Christmas is saved!  Happy ending. And children everywhere, are left singing “I’m Mister Green Christmas….”! And yes, they sell Miser action figures, t-shirts and Halloween costumes.  

-Christine

 

He Really is a Big Part of the Family!

 

From the people who brought you Awkward Family Photos, comes another hysterical web site catering to those of us who love our furry (or feathery, or scaly) friends…. Awkward Family Pet Photos!  What says  love more than a photo of you and your wonderful pet chicken? I am not sure I can think of anything more touching…..  It will look lovely over the mantle place or maybe in the barn!

And just in time for the holidays… something heart warming for those Christmas card, just don’t forget to include Buster! Imagine the joyous looks on your family and friend’s faces when the see this!

And just because Mr. Peepers is gone, that doesn’t mean you can’t have those precious memories of him!  Don’t let that stop you!

Awkward Family Pet Photos is updated frequently and is just as much fun as it sister site. So take a visit, have a laugh or maybe you have a photo you want to submit!

-Christine

Let me tell you about a great movie!

    

     Let me tell you about a great movie! It is called Hotel for Dogs starring Emma Roberts and Jake T. Austin:

     Foster children Andi and Bruce have been placed with a strange couple who care more about their music careers than their foster children. After a close call with the local pound, the kids end up searching for Friday, their secretly adopted dog, in an abandoned old hotel. In the hotel,  they find several other stray dogs seeking shelter. Andi and Bruce, along with three other local kids, begin caring for the strays. Bruce is a clever inventor whose innovative gadgets ensure top-notch care and constant entertainment for all the dogs.

     The film is funny, heartwarming, and has great special effects. It is good entertainment for the whole family. I think you will enjoy it.

     (The Fountaindale Library own this DVD. To see about availability, please check our online library catalog.)

- Bob

Lights! Cameras! Its Oscar Time!

It’s that time of year again, “Oscar” time!  The Oscars, real name Academy Awards, has been around almost as long as motion pictures have. The Academy Awards are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to award excellence in the motion picture arts.  The first Academy Awards were held in Hollywood on May 16th 1929.  The winners were Janet Gaynor and Emil Jannings winning for multiple roles instead of the now traditional one. The first movie to win was Wings, with it also being the only fully silent picture to win an award.  Winners did know before hand of their award.

The story of the award got the nickname “Oscar” varies. Some say it was actress  Bette Davis who said it looked like her first husband others that it was the Academy’s Executive Secretary who coined the phrase. No matter who did, the name stuck and we call it that today.  In addition to the traditional awards, there have been “special” small size awards given to stars such as Shirley Temple, lifetime achievement awards and the Irving Thalberg memorial award given to producers for creative excellence. Irving Thalberg was an Academy Award winning producer who died at the young age of 37 in the 1930s. There is a great web site  that the Academy has which lists past winners, history, quotes etc…. on the Awards.

  Throughout the years ,there have been many memorable moments during the ceremonies. Hattie McDaniel being the first African-American to win an award for Gone With the Wind, Louise Fletcher signing to her deaf parents when she won her oscar for best actress in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Marlon Brando refusing his award for The Godfather, sending out Sacheen Littlefeather, otherwise known as Marie Cruz, in protest of the U.S. treatment of Native Americans. And most memorable, in 1974, David Niven was presenting an award when a streaker ran behind him. David quipped “The only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping … and showing his shortcomings.”. There were also some really awful moments. Many of us remember 1989  watching aghast as Rob Lowe and Snow White sang and danced to Proud Mary, ending up in a Disney Lawsuit for unauthorized use of a Disney character! And then of course, there are the LONG acceptance speeches, the awards for short documentaries that no one ever heard of, and the length of the ceremony itself! The 1998 ceremony ran 4 hours and 2 minutes! There have been some great hosts Billy Crystal (those opening song and dance numbers!), Bob Hope and some not so good, David Letterman (the Uma… Oprah joke, not great to begin with, got worse real fast).

The Fountaindale Library has some great materials on the Academy Awards. There is The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History, DVD collections of the short films nominated in 2003 , 2007 (a chance to see them!!), as well as Academy Award Winning Music From MGM Classics . We also carry many of the award-winning and nominated films. In addition to those mentioned above, we have newer titles like  Slumdog Millionaire , and The Departed, to the classics like The Sound of Music, and All About Eve.

The 82nd Academy Awards will be held on March 7th and will be hosted by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.

-Christine J.

And Now For Something Completely Different…..

In the early 80s, I spent plenty of time watching British sitcoms on PBS. They were so “cutting edge” and much sillier!  My favorite was always “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”.  The show ran from 1969 to 1974 and spawned several movies. The Pythoners are the late Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and American Terry Gilliam. Helping these silly men out was the very funny and very sexy “unofficial Pythoner” Carol Cleveland.  But don’t think she handled all the female rolls! Cross dressing applied!  Carol played the attractive and young women, the guys played housewives and older women. They called them “pepperpot ladies”. The funniest looking one was always John Cleese. No way did he even remotely resemble or even try to resemble a woman.

Python was different then most comedy at the time. Skits would have no definite endings, characters from other skits would wander into different scenes and in addition to general silliness there was also Terry Gilliam’s animation. Totally off the wall.  Skits included a blancmange from outer space turning people into Scotsmen, the fish slapping dance,  self-defense against fresh fruit (one of my favorites), Hell’s Grannies, twit of the year contest… the list goes on. Some of the most memorable are The Dead Parrot Sketch (He’s pining for the fjords!), The Lumberjack song , and The Spanish Inquisition (no one ever expects them!).  And don’t forget to ask for eggs, bacon, Spam and Spam for your next breakfast!

The Python movies were hysterical and sometimes controversial. Holy Grail took on the Camelot legend with killer rabbits and insulting  Frenchmen. Don’t forget its only a flesh wound! Holy Grail  also inspired the Broadway Musical Spamelot.   Life of Brian was really controversial as it told the story of Brian, a man whose life parallels that of Christ. While Christ gets glory and resurrection, Brian just gets crucified. They also did a movie compilation of skits from the show and finally their last movie was Meaning of Life, which is based on the seven stages of man. Of course it was also silly and included one of the grossest movie scenes I had ever seen. I never want a thin mint when I’m full.

After the show stopped airing in addition to movies, the Pythoners remained active in the entertainment industry. John Cleese went on to do Fawlty Towers , another British comedy classic about Basil Fawlty, harried hotel owner and operator. If it could go wrong, it went wrong at Fawlty Towers! He also gained US success in A Fish Called Wanda, which also included Michael Palin. Eric Idle did some films and some US sitcoms. America’s own Terry Gilliam went on to direct feature films including Brazil.  Sadly Graham Chapman, who once studied medicine,  died in 1989. At his memorial, John Cleese delivered a memorable speech both funny (“good riddance!) and touching. The surviving members  then joined other friends to sing “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” from Life of Brian.

There is a good website called Monty Python’s Completely Useless Web Site  chock full of Python information. The Fountaindale Library has some Monty Python materials  available for loan. A great DVD of infamous skits is Monty Python Live!  Or for an overview of the history of Python, try The Life of Python.  There is also a book on the Python story by the guys called Monty Python Speaks.  

Monty Python’s Flying Circus is funny,extremely silly, and somewhat racy. Its ……….British comedy at its best.

-Christine J.