All the Gilmore Girls Episodes Will Be Streaming on Netflix!

Posted on September 13, 2014 at 8:00 am

I am delighted that all of the 153 episodes of “Gilmore Girls” will be available on Netflix, starting in October. This show had some of the most delightfully quirky characters and some of the most witty dialog in television history. Melissa McCarthy plays the chef and business partner and best friend of Lorelei (Lauren Graham). And you can see early performances from actors like Sean Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy’), Jared Padalecki (“Supernatural”), and Matt Czuchry (“The Good Wife”).

I wrote about what made “The Gilmore Girls” special and how much I loved sharing it with my then-teenage daughter ten years ago. If you’re new to the show, check out this Huffington Post list of some of the series highlights.

Limited Time Offer from Amazon: Warners Best, 100 Films for About $2 Each

Posted on September 11, 2014 at 3:26 pm

This is an amazing deal. For a limited time, Amazon is offering a collection of 100 Warner Brothers classics at 75 percent off. Best of Warner Bros 100 Film Collection, including 22 Best Picture winners, a limited edition 27 x 40 poster, two Warner Bros. documentaries, and more, just $!49.99 until September 13, 2014. You’d pay more than this for just ten films. If there’s a movie-lover in your life, now’s a good time to do your holiday shopping.

The films are:

1. The Jazz Singer (1927)
2. Broadway Melody of 1929 (1929)
3. The Public Enemy (1931)
4. Cimarron (1931)
5. Grand Hotel (1932)
6. 42nd Street (1933)
7. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
8. A Night at the Opera (1935)
9. The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
10. The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
11. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
12. Dark Victory (1939)
13. Gone with The Wind (1939)
14. Wizard of Oz (1939)
15. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
16. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
17. Citizen Kane (1941)
18. Mrs. Miniver (1942)
19. Casablanca (1943)
20. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
21. Gaslight (1944)
22. Anchors Aweigh (1944)
23. Mildred Pierce (1945)
24. Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
25. The Big Sleep (1946)
26. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
27. An American in Paris (1951)
28. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
29. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
30. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
31. A Star Is Born (1954)
32. East of Eden (1955)
33. Rebel Without A Cause (1955)
34. Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
35. Giant (1956)
36. The Searchers (1956)
37. A Face in the Crowd (1957)
38. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
39. Gigi (1958)
40. Ben-Hur (1959)
41. North By Northwest (1959)
42. How the West Was Won (1962)
43. What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962)
44. Viva Las Vegas (1964)
45. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
46. Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
47. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
48. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
49. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
50. Bullitt (1968)
51. The Wild Bunch (1969)
52. Dirty Harry (1971)
53. Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)
54. Cabaret (1972)
55. A Clockwork Orange (1972)
56. Enter the Dragon (1973)
57. The Exorcist (1973)
58. Blazing Saddles (1974)
59. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
60. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
61. All The President’s Men (1976)
62. Superman, The Movie (1977)
63. Caddyshack (1980)
64. The Shining (1980)
65. Clash of the Titans (1981)
66. Chariots of Fire (1981)
67. National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
68. The Outsiders (1983)
69. The Right Stuff (1983)
70. Risky Business (1983)
71. Amadeus (1984)
72. The Color Purple (1985)
73. The Goonies (1985)
74. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
75. Lethal Weapon (1987)
76. Batman (1989)
77. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
78. Goodfellas (1990)
79. The Bodyguard (1992)
80. Unforgiven (1992)
81. The Fugitive (1993)
82. Interview with the Vampire (1994)
83. Natural Born Killers (Director’s Cut) (1994)
84. Shawshank Redemption (1994)
85. Seven (1995)
86. L.A. Confidential (1997)
87. The Matrix (1999)
88. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
89. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
90. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
91. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
92. The Notebook (2004)
93. Million Dollar Baby (2005)
94. The Departed (2006)
95. 300 (2007)
96. The Dark Knight (2008)
97. The Blind Side (2009)
98. The Hangover (2009)
99. Sherlock Holmes (2009)
100. Inception (2010)

Cinderella — With Music by Rodgers and Hammerstein

Posted on September 10, 2014 at 8:00 am

Every family will enjoy the 50th anniversary edition of the glorious Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, starring Lesley Ann Warren, with Celeste Holm as the fairy godmother, Jo Van Fleet as the evil stepmother, and Walter Pidgeon and Ginger Rogers as the King and Queen. One of the ugly stepsisters is played by Pat Carroll, who would go on to provide the voice for one of Disney’s most memorable villains, Ursula in “The Little Mermaid.” And the prince is played by “General Hospital’s” Stuart Damon. The performances are delightful but the star of the show is the wonderful music from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. It was later remade with Brandy, Whitney Houston, and Bernadette Peters, equally delightful. And the rare first version with Julie Andrews is available now as well. All three are perfect for families to watch together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtFhREtPdiE

“Cinderella” was the only musical Rodgers and Hammerstein (“Carousel,” “The King and I,” “The Sound of Music”) ever wrote for television. But it ended up on the duo’s home turf anyway when “Cinderella” became a Broadway hit, with Tony Award-winning costumes.

Best TV Show of the Fall: The Roosevelts on PBS

Posted on September 8, 2014 at 3:25 pm

Passion, betrayal, unprecedented power, triumph, failure, devastating loss, personal and professional turmoil, and triumph again, played out against the most tumultuous events of the 20th century — that is the real-life story of the Roosevelts, especially the two who served as President, Theodore and Franklin, and Franklin’s cousin, wife, and first lady, Eleanor. Ken Burns, the foremost documentary historian of all time, has produced “The Roosevelts,” premiering on PBS September 14, 2014, featuring the voices of Meryl Streep, Edward Herrmann (who memorably played Franklin Roosevelt in two made-for TV movies),Paul Giamatti, and Peter Coyote. Three fascinating personalities who shaped our era are portrayed in seven mesmerizing episodes, covering the creation of National Parks, the digging of the Panama Canal, the passage of innovative New Deal programs, the defeat of Hitler, and the postwar struggles for civil rights at home and human rights abroad.

A sickly boy became the essence of vigor and energy. No one ever engaged in the world with more passionate, joyous intensity.

A brash young father struggles to recover from the devastating effects of polio.

These were three aristocrats who fought for the people.

Make time to watch this with your family. It’s the best series of the fall. Next week, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History will also be available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Schoolhouse Rock is Coming Back to TV!

Posted on September 4, 2014 at 8:00 am

ABC will be airing a tribute to the classic educational series “Schoolhouse Rock” on September 7. Now parents can sing along to “I’m Just a Bill” and “Conjunction Junction” and share with their kids these delightful and remarkably informative gems.

Victoria Miller wrote for The Examiner:

According to CNN, the man behind the show’s iconic soundtrack was jazz pianist and vocalist Bob Dorough, who was approached in 1971 by a New York advertising exec whose sons could not multiply. After setting the multiplication tables to music with the song “Three’s a Magic Number,” the musician knew he had a hit.

Last year, Dorough, who is now 90, said he still performs and still gets requests from adults to sing some of the “Schoolhouse Rock” bits when they recognize his voice.