Contest: Babies! (and check out the Grand Prize!)

Posted on September 23, 2010 at 8:00 am

I loved “Babies” and I am very honored to be able to give away three copies of the Blu-Ray/DVD.

As I said in my review,

Until they make a movie entirely consisting of raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, Hallmark cards, and puppies in the window, this will hold the record as the most awwwwwww-inspiring movie ever made.

It’s about babies, but it’s also about families and about our common humanity.

The Blu-Ray and DVD have lots of great extras including an update showing the babies today with their families watching themselves.

BONUS FEATURES EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAYTM HI-DEF: Unleash the power of your HDTV with perfect picture and purest digital sound.
BD-LIVETM: Access the BD-LiveTM Center through your Internet-connected player to watch the latest trailers and more!
MY SCENES: Bookmark your favorite scenes from the movie.
pocket BLUâ„¢: USHE’s groundbreaking pocket BLU app uses iPhoneâ„¢, iPodÂ® touch, iPadÂ®, BlackberryÂ®, Androidâ„¢, Windows and Macintosh computers to work seamlessly with a network-connected Blu-rayTM player and offers advanced features such as:
Advanced Remote Control: A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-rayâ„¢ player. Users can navigate through menus, playback and BD-Liveâ„¢ functions with ease.
Video Timeline: Users can easily bring up the video timeline, allowing them to instantly access any point in their favorite film.
Mobile-To-Go: Users can unlock a selection of bonus content with their Blu-rayâ„¢ discs to save to their device or to stream from anywhere there’s a Wi-Fi network, enabling them to enjoy content on the go, anytime, anywhere.
Browse Titles: Users will have access to a complete list of pocket BLUâ„¢-enabled titles available and coming to Blu-rayâ„¢ Hi-Def. They can view free previews and see what additional content is available to unlock on their device.
Keyboard: Enter data into a Blu-ray player with your device’s easy and intuitive keyboard.

BONUS FEATURES (DVD and BLU-RAYâ„¢):
THE BABIES – THREE YEARS LATER FEATURETTE: Director Thomas BalmÃ¨s revisits all the babies – who are now four years old – and their parents.
EVERYBODY LOVES… YOUR BABIES SWEEPSTAKES WINNERS: See the winning photos and videos from our fans – whether it was their first words, playing with siblings, or simply sleeping.

If you’d like to submit an entry, send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Babies” in the subject line. Include your address (used for prizes only, I promise) and tell me the cutest thing you ever saw a baby do. On Oct 2 I’ll pick three winners at random. And if you’d like to try for the grand prize, a Complete Air Convertible Car Seat, send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with Car in the subject line and give me your address and your favorite music to listen to with the baby in the car. Good luck!

Remembering 9/11/01

Posted on September 11, 2010 at 2:00 pm

As we remember the unspeakable losses of September 11, 2001, we also remember the immeasurable gallantry, courage, and devotion it inspired. ground zero.jpg
“Metal of Honor” is a heart-wrenching documentary about the iron workers who arrived as the World Trade Center buildings collapsed and stayed for eight months to make sure the area was cleared safely. “Up From Zero,” produced and distributed by the U.S. Department of Labor, is about the construction workers. The perseverance and dedication of these people is profoundly moving. Their humility, integrity, and compassion is deeply inspiring. No Hollywood version can do justice to the honesty and devotion of these people and the enormity of their contribution.

Trailer: Something’s Gonna Live

Posted on September 11, 2010 at 8:10 am

I’m looking forward to this film about the unsung people who are responsible for some of the most indelible movie moments, cinematographers, production designers, storyboard artists, and others. Without them, the movies would be empty.

Righteous Women: Documentaries about Jewish Heroines

Posted on September 8, 2010 at 3:50 pm

George Heymont has an excellent column in the Huffington Post about three new tributes to real-life Jewish heroines, all shown at the recent San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. “Ahead of Time” is the story of Ruth Gruber. The first journalist to enter the Soviet Arctic in 1935, Ruth also traveled to Alaska as a member of the Roosevelt administration in 1942, escorted Holocaust refugees to America in 1944, covered the Nuremberg trials in 1946 and documented the Haganah ship Exodus in 1947. Her relationships with world leaders including Eleanor Roosevelt, President Harry Truman, and David Ben Gurion gave her unique access and insight into the modern history of the Jewish people.

Heymont calls Ingelore “a deeply moving” story of a deaf-mute Holocaust survivor, from the subject’s film-maker son.

Surviving Hitler: A Love Story sounds like a movie, but it really happened. A Jewish teenager and an injured soldier join a doomed plot to kill Hitler (the one portrayed in the Tom Cruise movie, “Valkyrie”). Heymont says,

What makes Wasson’s documentary so touching is that Helmuth was an amateur filmmaker whose 8-mm home movies (including footage from the German home front) survived Germany’s destruction under Hitler’s rule. Whether shooting footage of Jutta in a bathing suit, sipping coffee, or reading a book, his 8-mm films glow with the strength and optimism of young people in love.

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Documentary

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg

Posted on August 25, 2010 at 8:00 am

Gertrude Berg is described in this sympathetic and engaging documentary as an earlier version of Oprah. She wrote every word of over twelve thousand scripts. She played the lead role and oversaw every element of the programs on radio, in television, and in a feature film. She branched out to a line of clothing and a cookbook. She was the first “first lady of television” before Lucille Ball took the title. It is probably more due to Desi Arnaz’s three-camera system for making infinitely rerun-able tapes that has kept “I Love Lucy” in the forefront while shows of equal quality faded from the airwaves.

Aviva Kempner (The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg) has assembled archival footage and contemporary interviews to illuminate the life of this pioneering writer/actress/producer. The film may go too far in giving Berg credit for creating the sit-com, but it makes a convincing case for her stature and influence, even more impressive in light of the era’s bigotry and the restrictions on professional advancement for both Jews and women.

For many people, “The Goldbergs” was their first exposure to a non-stereotyped Jewish family. Among the film’s most affecting interviews are the comments from viewers who speak of what the show meant to them, including the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who says that since her mother had no family, they thought of the Goldbergs as their relatives, and from non-Jewish women who talk about how the series’ portrayal of family felt very much like their own experiences and cultures.

The saddest part of the film is the portion about Philip Loeb, who played Berg’s husband on the series until his name came up during the era of the blacklist. Berg showed great courage and integrity in fighting to keep him on the show and he showed great honor in insisting that the show go on without him. The tragic outcome is conveyed with great sympathy and feeling.

Kempner has a real gift for making these almost-forgotten lives fascinating and vital. Perhaps most important, the film made me sorry that the very intriguing clips from Berg’s television series didn’t go on longer. I’d like to spend more time with the Goldbergs.

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Biography Documentary