Posted on October 17, 2015 at 3:56 pm
There’s a cool new website that is kind of like Match.com, except that it matches you with a movie character! Charactour.com lets you find your movie dream date or remix your favorite character to create your own ideal match.
Posted on October 12, 2015 at 2:19 pm
The blogger behind Phyllis Loves Classic Movies held an invitational blogathon on a subject many people have strong feelings about: remakes. Phyllis herself took on one, or I should say, two of my favorites: “My Favorite Wife” with Irene Dunne and Cary Grant and “Move Over Darling” with Doris Day and James Garner. (The original remake was to star Marilyn Monroe and Dean Martin, but she was fired shortly before she died and he refused to continue without her.) I was always intrigued by one difference between the two: the 1940 version has the missing wife as a much more independent character with a career, while the 1963 version reflects the era’s more limited idea of the scope of opportunities appropriate for women.
Other participants in the blogathon are just as much fun to read, including the vastly inferior remakes of “Double Indemnity” and “Libeled Lady,” the musical remakes of “Little Shop of Horrors” and “The Philadelphia Story” (“High Society”), and the both good and bad remakes (three movie versions) of “Love Affair”/”An Affair to Remember.” There are also three versions of “Shop Around the Corner” (one a musical with Judy Garland and one updated to the era of email in “You’ve Got Mail”). And there’s a whole category of directors who remade their own films.
What do you think are some of the best/worst remakes?
Posted on September 28, 2015 at 3:30 pm
Have you ever wanted to let an advertiser know what you thought of the commercial? Or just checked out the actor or theme music? Ispot.tv is a great site with commercials and background info, with comments from viewers on what they like and don’t like.
Posted on September 24, 2015 at 12:00 pm
Here is the MPAA rating for “Hotel Transylvania 2”
Rated PG for some scary images, action and rude humor
And here is the rating for the first “Hotel Transylvania”
Rated PG for some rude humor, action and scary images
Can anyone tell me what the difference means?
Posted on September 21, 2015 at 4:22 pm
Many thanks to Tara Sonenshine for this thoughtful commentary:
It’s Yom Kippur, The Pope is Arriving, and “Meet the Patels” is in Theaters….Let’s Celebrate “Tradition”
I am very glad to have met the Patels last night via the new film, “Meet the Patels” starring Indian-American actor, Ravi Patel, in a comedic documentary about a young man’s journey to find a wife, on his own, while his parents insist on providing him with an arranged marriage. With Ravi’s sister, Greeta Patel, filming the entire quest, the movie both entertains and inspires. For me, as a Jewish movie goer, the film reminded me of the similarities in cultures and religious traditions mixed with the generational divides that challenge all faiths.
Indian arranged marriages are not too dissimilar from old-fashioned Jewish “Shidachs” where a matchmaker pairs up the groom and bride based on criteria ranging from family background to physical characteristics as well as important considerations like money. The key is parental involvement—something eschewed by modern millennials. Like Jewish parents, the Patels are desperate for their grown children to marry and procreate, and they want Indian tradition to prevail. All that was missing in the movie was a “fiddler on the roof.”
The irony about tradition is that despite the predominance of modern technology, an Internet-driven society, and the notion that people can have “friends” without ever meeting them, there is still something special about being in the same room with those we want to know. Crowds will flock to see the Pope in Washington, Philadelphia, and New York City, even though they can get a better seat at home watching CNN. Our kids use speed dating—simply a scaled up version of what The Patels were offering with “biodata” and martial conventions where single people scope out the potential mates. In the end, there is nothing truly new about services like “Jewish Singles.com” or “Christian Mingle.com” or what The Patels had in mind.
So as Jews around the world celebrate “Yom Kippur,”—the Day of Atonement, and Catholics wave to the “Pope,” let’s toast traditions—may they last forever.
Tara Sonenshine is former under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs.
