Merry Christmas! Stay Safe, Everyone!
Posted on December 25, 2021 at 10:00 am
I love this Christmas play from “The Bells of St. Mary’s,” mostly improvised by the children performing it.
New Christmas Classics: Great Family Movies for Christmas
Posted on December 24, 2021 at 8:00 am
There are literally dozens of Christmas movies on television, not just on the Hallmark Channel, and I enjoy them. But I would not call them classics. Indeed, it’s hard to tell them apart. There have been some wonderful recent holiday films that deserve to be called classics.
“Jingle Jangle” is a delightful musical with an outstanding cast, including Forest Whitaker and Keegan-Michael Key in the story of a toymaker and his granddaughter. The joyous musical numbers are colorful and remarkably athletic.
“A Boy Called Christmas” is a fanciful origin story of Santa Claus as a boy in Finland who goes off in search of Elfhelm. The cast includes Dame Maggie Smith, Kristen Wiig, and Sally Hawkins, and Stephen Merchant provides the voice of a mouse sidekick.
“Klaus” is another Santa origin story with a stellar cast, this one featuring spectacular animation and voice talents of Jason Schwartzman, J.K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, and Joan Cusack.
“The Man Who Invented Christmas” is a different origin story — this one the story of how Charles Dickens came to write “A Christmas Carol,” with “Downton Abbey’s Dan Stevens in the starring role.
“The Star” is the story of the Nativity, through the eyes of a little donkey named Bo (Steven Yeun), and the friends he meets along the way as he helps Mary (Gina Rodriguez) and Joseph (Zachary Levi) on the way to Bethlehem
Interview: Dana Canedy about “A Journal for Jordan”
Posted on December 23, 2021 at 11:49 am
Dana Canedy’s book, A Journal for Jordan, is the story of her romance with First Sgt. Charles Monroe King, with excerpts from the journal he wrote for the son he would meet just once before he was killed in Iraq. It’s now a movie starring Michael B. Jordan and Chanté Adams, directed by Denzel Washington. I interviewed Ms. Canedy for the Alliance of Women Film Journalists.
An excerpt:
He was writing at a time in his life where he was looking forward to this new life that was coming into the world but also watching soldiers die really focused him in terms of writing what was important and stripping away anything that wasn’t. That’s what makes the journal so powerful. Also, I don’t think he realized he was writing themes throughout the journal that emerged. I don’t think that was on purpose. But when I read it, it very clear what the themes were. They were his love of God, his absolute pride, and dedication in military service. His utter profound respect for women, and the fact that he expected Jordan to respect women. And his love for me. Those are the four themes that came through over and over in in the journal.
It’s a Wonderful Life 75th Anniversary
Posted on December 21, 2021 at 10:56 am
Smithsonian Panel on “It’s a Wonderful Life”
Posted on December 16, 2021 at 4:27 pm
It was a great honor to be invited to participate on the Smithsonian’s panel discussion of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and what we can learn from it about our history.