Still Mine

Posted on July 18, 2013 at 6:00 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and brief sensuality/partial nudity
Profanity:	Mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Sad themes of aging and loss
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	July 19, 2013

Why do we spend so much time in movies watching young people fall in love? Why is the wedding so often the happy ending? “Still Mine” is a beautifully performed true-life tale of a couple who have been deeply in love for 70 years. That is a love story.

James Cromwell (“Babe”) plays Craig Morrison, a flinty, taciturn, stubbornly independent man in his 90’s who is committed to caring for his wife, Irene (the exquisitely lovely Geneviève Bujold), as she is struggling with becoming forgetful. Their seven grown children are concerned, but Irene wants to stay at home and Craig is resolute. He has land and he knows how to build. When she falls down the stairs in their home, he decides he will build a new house for them on their land, something small, simple, and one-story, where he can keep her safe.

The local building authorities tell him that he is in violation of their rules. They have no reason to believe that the structure is unsafe. But they have regulations about the certification of lumber and various other check-list requirements that his home does not meet. As the movie opens, he is in court, with the judge to decide whether he will go to jail for contempt, or go home to his wife.

We then go back two years to see what has led to this court appearance, in a series of sensitively understated scenes brimming with privileged moments. It is clear that the depth tenderness between Craig and Irene is earned over a period of decades. And it is so sweetly portrayed it will make you eager to get old.

Parents should know that this movie’s themes include aging and loss. There is a sad death.

Family discussion: How should families talk about end of life issues? Do you agree with the way the Morrison’s children and grandson respond to them? What is the best way for government authorities like the building inspectors to ensure the safety of the community but give people like Craig the freedom they need?

If you like this, try: “The Straight Story” and some of the earlier films with the immensely talented Cromwell and Bujold like “Babe,” “W,” “King of Hearts,” and “Anne of the Thousand Days”

The Real Story: What Really Happened in Movies from “The Bling Ring” to “Dog Day Afternoon”

Posted on June 2, 2013 at 8:00 am

Slate has a great list of magazine articles that were turned into movies, from “Adaptation” (Susan Orlean’s “The Orchid Thief”) to the upcoming “The Bling Ring” (“The Suspects Wore Louboutins” by Nancy Jo Sales). Take a look to find out the real stories behind “Argo,” “Coyote Ugly,” “The Perfect Storm,” “The Fast and the Furious,” and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”

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Behind the Candelabra: The Real Story of Liberace and Scott Thorson

Posted on May 24, 2013 at 3:50 pm

Behind the Candelabra premieres this weekend on HBO. It is based on the hard to believe but true story of one of the most popular and flamboyant stars of the 1950’s and 60’s, who went by just one name: Liberace.

Wladziu Valentino Liberace was an American of Polish/Italian heritage, a gifted classical pianist, a masterful showman, and a pioneer in the art of celebrity branding and marketing. He was multi-platform before the term was invented For decades he was the highest-paid entertainer in the world. He had record albums, endorsements, and movie and television appearances and his own series, but it was his live stage show that was what people loved most. He never tried for a career as a serious classical musician, performing with orchestras in concert halls. He liked to play what he called “classical music with the boring parts left out.” And the show was as important as the music, from the flashy pianos to costumes Lady Gaga would envy. Ermine capes. Crystal-encrusted tuxes. Feather boas. Chandeliers and of course candelabras. Excess was not enough.

It was a different era. Liberace was not openly gay. On the contrary, when a British newspaper called him “a deadly, winking, sniggering, snuggling, chromium-plated, scent-impregnated, luminous, quivering, giggling, fruit-flavoured, mincing, ice-covered heap of mother love,” he sued under their notoriously strict libel laws. testified under oath that he was not a homosexual, and won.

In the late 70’s, Liberace met a handsome teenager named Scott Thorson. They were together for five years, and after they broke up (and Thorson was “fired” as Liberace’s chauffeur), Thorson sued him for “palimony.” It was settled out of court. Thorson is now in jail, charged with identity theft. He has had removed the plastic surgery prosthetic Liberace paid for so that Thorson would look more like an idealized version of himself when young. Thorson’s book, Behind the Candelabra: My Life With Liberace, tells the story of their love affair and the unimaginable excesses of their life together and is the inspiration for this film. It is in competition at Cannes and will be released theatrically overseas, but in the US no studio would back it, so it is on HBO.

Steven Soderbergh (“Oceans 11,” “Traffic,” “Erin Brockovich”) directed and it stars Michael Douglas as Liberace, Matt Damon as Thorson, and Debbie Reynolds, who knew Liberace, as his mother.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqAC1yiIROw

The Real Story: Pain & Gain

Posted on April 25, 2013 at 3:59 pm

This week’s release “Pain & Gain” opens with these words: “Unfortunately, a true story.” Indeed, three body builders from Dade County did come up with a plot to make money by kidnapping a wealthy businessman and having him sign over his assets to them. The movie is based on a three-part magazine article by Pete Collins about “the now-infamous Sun Gym gang – a band of knuckleheaded bodybuilders who became confederates in an abduction-torture-extortion-murder ring gone haywire.” Collins spent two years investigating the case, including trudging through 67 boxes of court documents and attending the five-month-long trial. His book about the case is Pain & Gain: This Is A True Story.

I don’t want to give away too many spoilers, so I will just say that many of the most wildly outlandish details of the movie eally happened, plus a lot more that was even stranger but too complicated to include in the movie. The Miami New Times News has an update about the current status of the characters. On the left, a photo of Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson from the movie. On the right, a mug shot of the real-life ringleader, Daniel Lugo, now on death row.

The man who was kidnapped has written two books about the experience, Pain and Gain-The Untold True Story and Pain and Gain: How I Survived and Triumphed: An Uplifting Story of Thriving after a Traumatic Experience.

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Jackie Robinson: The Real Story

Posted on April 10, 2013 at 8:00 am

This week’s release of “42,” the story of Jackie Robinson and the breaking of the color barrier in major league baseball should inspire families to learn more about this extraordinary athlete and groundbreaking figure in the early Civil Rights era. It was on this date in 1947 that he signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson’s grace, dignity, and extraordinary skill and teamwork began to change the perception of African-Americans. And the virulence of the racist attacks he suffered brought to the attention of many people who were ignorant or in denial how harshly racist American society was and how much damage those policies and attitudes inflicted.

Robinson played himself in The Jackie Robinson Story, with Ruby Dee as his wife.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILIA20AqA5I

Dee played Robinson’s mother in “The Court Martial of Jackie Robinson,” the story of Robinson’s fight against bigotry in the still-segregated US Army.

Here Robinson appears as a mystery guest on “What’s My Line?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LaRkuU-YjM

The Atlantic has an excellent piece about the historical context for Robinson’s offer from the Brooklyn Dodgers, including the efforts by sportswriters and activists to integrate baseball and a discussion of Robinson’s support for the Civil Rights movement. Robinson’s autobiography is I Never Had It Made, and other books include Baseball’s Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy and Jackie Robinson: A Biography. The Ken Burns series for PBS about the history of baseball has an episode called The National Pastime that includes Robinson’s story. Major League Baseball has adopted an annual tradition, “Jackie Robinson Day,” on which every player on every team wears #42.

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