Remembering JFK

Posted on January 20, 2011 at 9:33 am

Commemorate the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of John F. Kennedy with a look at these films:

JFK – A Presidency Revealed The History Channel’s balanced view is candid about the President’s shortcomings and mistakes but also captures his optimism and vigor and his ability to inspire.

Thirteen Days The gripping story of the Cuban Missile Crisis shows the young President at his best in responding to Soviet missiles placed in range to attack the United States.

John F Kennedy – Years of Lightning, Day of Drums This documentary focuses on “Six Faces of the New Frontier:” Six Faces of the New Frontier”, the Peace Corps (founded by the President’s brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, who died this week), the Alliance for Progress, Civil Rights, Space Exploration, Disarmament, the pursuit of peace, the Cuban crisis, the Berlin crisis, his journey to Costa Rica, his speech at the Berlin Wall and his visit to the Kennedy ancestral home in Ireland.

Pt 109 Cliff Robertson stars as Kennedy in this story of his experiences as skipper of a PT boat and his heroism in saving 10 of his men. (Only available on VHS.)

Famous Speeches & Interviews He was the first true television president and this collection of some of the highlights of his appearances on video and television includes his famous inaugural speech.

Contest for Teachers Only: DVDs on Presidents and Martin Luther King

Posted on January 9, 2011 at 3:52 pm

I have two DVDs to give away — for teachers only, this time. These are from my very favorite series for kids, Scholastic’s Storybook Treasures and they are perfect for celebrating Martin Luther King Day, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and President’s Day in the classroom.

March On!… and More Stories About African American History The first story on this DVD is written by the sister of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., with a very personal account of his “I Have a Dream” speech. “Martin’s Big Words” has Michael Clarke Duncan narrating the story of Dr. King, from his childhood asking his mother about “Whites Only” signs and being inspired by the power of his preacher father’s big words. “Rosa,” narrated by author Nikki Giovanni, is the story of the woman who decided not to give up her seat on the bus and changed the world. And “Henry’s Freedom Box” is the true story of a slave who escaped to freedom — through the mail.

So You Want to Be President… and More Stories to Celebrate American History The title story teaches kids that presidents are people and that their backgrounds and personalities affect the way they do their job — and sometimes the mistakes they make. Narrator Stockard Channing played the role of the first lady on “West Wing.” The late Senator Ted Kennedy narrates “My Senator and Me,” his own story about a dog’s-eye view of political life in Washington. In “Madam President,” a girl imagines what she could do if she had the job. And “I Could Do That: Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote” tells the story of the suffrage leader and first woman to hold public office in the United States — she took over the job of the judge who resigned in protest when she got women the vote in Wyoming, the first state to give women that right.

Send an email to moviemom@moviemom.com with either President or King in the subject line, to let me know which one you want. Don’t forget your address! The first to respond will get the DVDs.

Johnny Belinda

Posted on January 4, 2011 at 3:59 pm

Celebrate the birthday of Jane Wyman with her Oscar-winning performance in the classic Johnny Belinda.

Belinda (Jane Wyman) lives with her father and aunt on a farm on an island off the coast of Nova Scotia. Her father, Black McDonald, is hard and angry. He resents Belinda because her mother died when she was born, and he treats her like an animal because she is deaf and mute. People in the town refer to her as “the dummy.” Dr. Robert Richardson (Lew Ayres) teaches Belinda to communicate through sign language, and for the first time, her sweet and loving personality emerges. She is raped by Locky McCormick, a drunken brute, and becomes pregnant. The baby is named Johnny Belinda.
Everyone assumes that Robert is the father, and he must leave the comÂ¬munity. Belinda’s father finds out Locky was responsible and confronts him. Locky kills Black, making it look like an accident. When Locky’s wife cannot have children, he wants Belinda’s baby, knowing it is the only child he will ever have. The people in the town believe that Belinda cannot take care of the baby and decide to take it away from her.

Locky goes to Belinda’s house and tries to take the baby, but she thinks he means to harm him. Trying to protect herself and the baby, she kills Locky. She is charged with murder. It looks as though she will be convicted, until Locky’s widow comes forward and tells the truth. The community understands that even though Belinda cannot speak, she is loving, devoted, brave, and intelligent. Robert returns to be with Belinda and her child.

Jane Wyman spoke of trying to achieve an “anticipation light” when she was preparing for this role, the look of interest and attention she saw in deaf people who were trying to understand what hearing people were trying to communicate.

This movie does a good job of showing that learning a little bit can make a person hungry to learn more, and that having even one person believe in someone can make that person feel capable of achieving anything. The key themes of this movie, recognizing the humanity in those who are different and the impact that having that humanity recognized has on people and everyone around them, are well worth discussing.

Some kids may want to know more about rape as well, and this provides an opportunity to discuss it as a crime of power and aggression rather than of sex. Young girls often misunderstand and worry about somehow sending a signal that invites rape. It is important to make sure they understand , as shown in this movie, rapists are not accepting an invitation and , on the contrary, it is the idea of overpowering someone who does not want to consent to sex that is exciting to them.

Parents should know that this movie includes a rape scene that is not explicit, but still disturbing, as well as a violent confrontation that proves fatal.

Family discussion: Why is Belinda’s father so hard on her? How much do you think Belinda understands before she learns sign language? How can you tell? What makes her decide to be more aware of her appearance? Why does Aggie change in the way she treats Belinda? What does she mean when she says their family may fight with each other, but they support each other when any one of them needs it? How is this movie similar to The Miracle Worker? How is it different? See if the kids can recognize this “anticipation light” look and even try to create it themselves. They also may want to wear earplugs, as Wyman did, to help adjust her reactions to those of someone who does not respond to auditory cues and signals.

Movies to Ring in the New Year

Posted on December 30, 2010 at 8:00 am

Rotten Tomatoes has a list of New Year’s Movies. Here is my list, which I first posted in 2007:
When Harry Met Sally… is a sweet, funny love story starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal as two people who took a very long time to realize they were meant for each other. A series of New Year’s Eves punctuate their developing relationship.
Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn star in Holiday, about an idealistic young man whose engagement to a wealthy girl is supposed to be announced at a New Year’s Eve party. Hepburn plays the girl’s sister, whose support for the engagement gets complicated when she begins to fall for him herself.
The Apartment, the bittersweet comedy about an ambitious man who lets the executives at his company use his apartment for their assignations won the Oscar for Best Picture. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine star in this Billy Wilder classic.
The pilot episode of Futurama takes place on New Year’s Eve in the year 3000, and yes, Dick Clark (well, his head) makes a cameo appearance.

Twelve More Great Christmas Movies Without Santa, Tiny Tim, or A Message from Ovaltine

Posted on December 19, 2010 at 3:58 pm

I love the classics, but if you’ve seen them all and want to try something new, take a look at these holiday gems:

Desk Set Before smart phones and Google, there were people like the character played by Katherine Hepburn in this romantic comedy, her first color film with her favorite on- and off-screen co-star, Spencer Tracy. She is old school as a researcher for a television network who relies on her reference books and prodigious memory to answer all questions. He’s the tech guy who is installing a computer (the size of a small house). Sparks of all kinds result. (Ages 10-Adult)

Die Hard One of the greatest action films of all time has Bruce Willis as a cop visiting his estranged wife at her office on Christmas eve, just as a group of super-genius bad guys (led by the magnificently malevolent Alan Rickman) take over the building. (Very strong language and explicit and graphic violence — Ages 15-Adult)

It Happened on 5th Avenue A homeless man moves into a mansion while the owner is away for the holidays and soon finds himself hosting some WWII vets and their families. The owner’s daughter comes home and finds herself pretending to be another squatter. (Ages 8-Adult)

An Affair To Remember Get out your handkerchiefs. Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr play a couple who meet on a ship as they are returning home to get married to wealthy, upper-class types who can support them in the manner to which they would like to be accustomed. When they fall deeply in love, they realize they must earn their right to be together. And when tragedy strikes, it will take all the magic of Christmas to bring them a happy ending. (10-Adult) Note: the original version, “Love Affair,” with Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne, is also a wonderful film, but skip the third version with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening.

The Shop Around the Corner Before You’ve Got Mail and the musical version In the Good Old Summertime was this charming black-and-white romance with Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart as warring co-workers in a department store who do not realize that they are in love with each other via a secret pen pal letter exchange. There is also a stage musical version called In the Good Old Summertime. (10-Adult)

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas The Jim Carrey live action version is all right, but this animated film from Chuck Jones is the real Grinch movie, with the deliciously sinister voice of Boris Karloff. (All ages)

“Period of Adjustment” The only way to see this one is in its annual broadcast on Turner Classic Movies as it is not available on DVD. So set your TIVO for this story of newlyweds (Jane Fonda and Jim Hutton) who have something to learn about communication. He brings her to visit his old war buddy who is having some marital problems of his own. This is the only comedy from legendary playwright Tennessee Williams and it is a heart-warming gem.

The Gathering Ed Asner plays a tough, type-A businessman who neglected his family to pursue his career. He asks his estranged wife (the superb Maureen Stapleton) to bring together his grown children and their families for Christmas, and we and they later discover why it is so important to him to make peace with them at last.

Joyeux Noel On Christmas eve 1914, as officers prepared their troops for battle, the soldiers on opposing sides reached out to each other for a spontaneous celebration of Christmas, exchanging chocolates and playing soccer. The famous “Christmas truce” becomes an affecting and inspiring movie. For a similar story, see A Midnight Clear, based on the autobiographical novel by William Wharton.

Little Women “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” begins one of the most beloved of American novels, the autobiographical story of four sisters from Louisa May Alcott. All three filmed versions are fine, but I especially love this one, with Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, Susan Sarandon, Christian Bale, and Gabriel Byrne.

This Christmas A superb cast including Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, Loretta Devine, Columbus Short, and Regina King, and Chris Brown nicely captures the rhythm and volatility of adult sibling interactions, a mash-up of in-jokes, old and new and often-shifting alliances, the need for acceptance and approval, and affectionate teasing that sometimes flares up to reveal or aggravate old wounds. Director Preston A. Whitmore has a sure hand in balancing half a dozen different storylines and multiple switches of tone from light-hearted romance to lacerating confrontations and gritty drama. The plots may be predicable but the individual cast members are all superb and completely believable as family, the whole greater than the sum of the parts. And Chris Brown sings “Try a Little Tenderness” and the title song.