Five Children and It

Posted on January 13, 2009 at 8:00 am

One of my favorite books is Five Children and It, the E. Nesbit classic about children who discover a magical creature and have a series of adventures when he gives them one wish a day.

The movie, starring Kenneth Branagh and Freddie Highmore will be on STARZ tonight:

And the book is a great choice for reading aloud.

The Top 10 Jewish Movie Characters from Esther Kustanowitz

Posted on January 11, 2009 at 8:00 am

Esther Kustanowitz posted her list of the top 10 Jewish movie characters on Idol Chatter. Some are a bit of a stretch — Obi-Wan Kenobi? Melanie Griffith in “A Stranger Among Us?” Aside from the fact that she is only pretending to be a Jew in that film, some people consider that and her performance as a Jew the same year in “Shining Through” to be, well, a shonda (embarrassment to the community).

I would add to this list: Judd Hirsch as the sympathetic psychiatrist in Ordinary People, Meryl Streep as a sympathetic psychiatrist in Prime and as a Holocaust survivor in Sophie’s Choice and as a high-strung food writer in Heartburn, Barbra Streisand as a sympathetic psychiatrist (is there a pattern here?) in The Prince of Tides and as musical comedy star Fanny Brice in Funny Girl (plus Omar Sharif as Nicky Arnstein), Carol Kane as a turn of the century immigrant in Hester Street, Brendan Fraser as the only Jew in the fancy prep school in School Ties, Robin Williams as a club owner named Goldman — or is it Coleman? — in The Birdcage, George Segal as a Jewish cop (and Eileen Heckert as his mother) in No Way to Treat a Lady, Ben Kingsley as a Holocaust survivor in Schindler’s List, Ben Cross as an Olympic athlete in Chariots of Fire, Jessica Tandy as a Southern aristocrat in Driving Miss Daisy, Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein in All the President’s Men, Jennifer Gray as Baby who will NOT be put in a corner in Dirty Dancing, and Woody Allen in just about anything.

My List of Comfort Movies

Posted on January 10, 2009 at 8:00 am

My gallery about the best movies to watch when you’re in bed with the sniffles or flu has been posted.
The right movies can help you pass the time until you feel better. They can even help you recover faster, too. Author and editor Norman Cousins pioneered “humor therapy” after he found that watching silly movies and television shows did more to ease his pain and cure his ailment than conventional medicine. Laughter can decrease blood pressure and boost your immune system. So a good comfort movie can not only help you get better faster; it is good preventative medicine as well. It is also a nice way to spend a cold and snowy weekend, even if you are perfectly healthy because it will help keep you that way. After all, Proverbs 17:22 tells us that “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” And, almost as important, Dr. Netflix does make house calls.

Tribute: Eartha Kitt

Posted on December 27, 2008 at 11:56 pm

Eartha Kitt, who died this week, was an electrifying performer. The warm reminiscences about her incendiary performances on and off-stage are as entertaining as the legendary actress/singer was herself. The Washington Post had Will Haygood’s hilarious recounting of the most expensive — and mesmerizing — lunch of his life. Entertainment Weekly has a piece about a recent cabaret performance by the still-flirty octogenarian .

The obituaries mentioned the spirited attack on our involvement in Viet Nam at a White House luncheon that led to controversy, headlines, and years of difficulty in getting booked. The highlights of her performing career that were most often mentioned were her appearances in nightclubs, her performance as Catwoman in the “Batman” television show, and her unforgettable recording of “Santa Baby.” But today I am remembering her perfect casting as the villain in one of Disney’s most under-appreciated films, The Emperor’s New Groove.

Disney Treasures: Dr. Syn, Annette, Donald 4

Posted on December 24, 2008 at 4:00 pm

The latest set of Disney Treasures really live up to the name with some extra-special treats from the Disney vaults.

Annette – 1957-1958 Season Everyone’s favorite Mousketeer was the 1950’s version of Miley Cyrus. The 1957-58 episodes featured here include all 20 episodes from her own TV series (“Annette”) and a new tribute to her career. The song she sang on the show, “How Will I know My Love,” was written by the Sherman brothers (who would later go on to write the songs for “Mary Poppins”). It became a hit and led to a successful recording career. Annette’s sweetness and unaffected charm is as winning as her talent.

The Chronological Donald, Vol. 4 completes the collection of Donald-ania and includes two Oscar-nominated shorts, “No Hunting” and “Rugged Bear” with Cinemascope cartoons on DVD in their original format for the first time. No one ever got madder better than Donald Duck and it is always a delight to see him bluster.

Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh is an exciting three-part miniseries starring Patrick McGoohan as priest by day/avenger by night, based on the novels by Russell Thorndike.