Posted on January 30, 2013 at 8:49 pm
The last of the WWII-era singing trio The Andrews Sisters died today at 94. Patty Andrews was the middle of the three singing sisters whose close harmonies were part of the soundtrack of the 1940’s (and many, many films set in the 1940’s), selling more than 400 million records. May her memory be a blessing.
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 8:00 am
My very favorite series for kids has a new release, Stone Soup…and Other Stories from the Asian Tradition from Scholastic Storybook Treasures. Scholastic takes the very best in children’s literature and makes them into DVDs that gently animate the original artwork with top voice and music talent. Here actor B.D. Wong (“Law and Order: SVU) reads the title story and “The Five Chinese Brothers” (it takes each one’s special talents to work together to rescue a sibling), “Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China,” and “Stonecutter” (one of my very favorite stories — about the foolishness of envying the power of others and overlooking your own). The read-along captioning is a splendid way to encourage beginning readers.
I have one copy to give away. Send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Stone Soup” in the subject line and tell me your favorite kind of soup. Don’t forget your address! (US addresses only.) I will pick a winner at random on February 3.
Posted on January 30, 2013 at 8:00 am
I always enjoy the surveys from Criticwire, and this one was especially fun. The question: What is the worst movie sequel ever made?
I expected to see “Batman and Robin,” “Grease 2,” “Stayin’ Alive,” “Speed 2,” and “The Whole Ten Yards,” all of which appear, but they left off my choice, the awful “Sting 2” with Jackie Gleason and Terri Garr. What sequel would you pick?
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 3:59 pm
Fans of “Project Runway” will be happy to hear that popular judge Nina Garcia, editor of Marie Claire and best-selling author, now has her own web series about fashion and style. “Decoding Style,” a ten-episode makeover web series available on AOL On Network’s Style channel, Stylelist, HuffPost Style, and HuffPost Women. She tells women what signals they are sending with their appearance and how to make sure that they are communicating who they are and sending the messages they want to send.
Posted on January 29, 2013 at 8:00 am
British TV specialist Acorn has the first complete collection of Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime: The Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries starring James Warwick and Francesca Annis as the lively detective duo; Agatha Christie’s Poirot & Marple Fan Favorites Collection featuring 11 of the detectives’ most popular mysteries with guest stars Jessica Chastain (Golden Globe-winner for Zero Dark Thirty) as well as Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) in a Marple and Poirot mystery; and Wodehouse Playhouse Complete, featuring all three series of the uproarious BBC comedy starring Pauline Collins (“Shirley Valentine” and “Quartet”).
