Smile of the Week: June is Busting Out All Over
Posted on June 1, 2011 at 3:15 pm
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Veggie Tales Live! Sing Yourself Silly
Posted on May 23, 2011 at 8:00 am
B+| Lowest Recommended Age: | All Ages |
| MPAA Rating: | NR |
| Profanity: | None |
| Alcohol/ Drugs: | None |
| Violence/ Scariness: | None |
| Diversity Issues: | None |
| Date Released to DVD: | May 23, 2011 |
| Amazon.com ASIN: | B004RBC5FQ |
I love the silly songs from Bob and Larry and the Veggie Tales gang!
The first-ever live show DVD from Big Idea entertainment is this delightful collection of the silliest silly songs ever sung, including my two favorites, “The Hairbrush Song” and “Endangered Love” (which we refer to as “Barbara Manatee” in our house). The live show has classics like “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything” and some new songs, plus dancing, bubbles, confetti, some peeks backstage, and some lessons about sharing and friendship. It won’t be out until next month but I have one DVD to give away to a lucky fan. Send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Veggie” in the subject line and tell me your favorite silly song. Don’t forget your address! I’ll select one winner at random on June 1. Good luck and stay silly!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TSoEYkMnAQ
10,000 Historic Recordings — Free Online
Posted on May 12, 2011 at 3:12 pm
The Library of Congress has a new online “jukebox” with more than 10,000 historic recordings made before 1925. “Much of it hasn’t been widely available since World War I,” notes the Washington Post. “Call it America’s iTunes.” The Library hopes to keep adding more recordings that are in the public domain. Harry Connick, Jr. was there to celebrate the opening of the online archive by playing “I’m Just Wild About Harry” on the piano. The Paul Whiteman version of the song is in the jukebox, and so is one from the song’s composer, Eubie Blake. According to Justin Jouvenal of the Washington Post:
The collection, which is drawn from Sony’s back catalog, is a bewildering assortment of stuff. Listeners can hear the first ever jazz release — “Livery Stable Blues” by the Original Dixieland Jass Band — to 32 recordings of yodeling. There is a reading of the classic “Casey at Bat” and a forgotten speech by President William Howard Taft on U.S. policy toward Puerto Rico. Most of all, there is loads and loads of music: famed opera singer Enrico Caruso and composers Irving Berlin and George Gershwin are all represented.
“The absence of these recordings have created a sort of cultural amnesia. I think the jukebox will lead to a rediscovery of these artists,” said Patrick Loughney, who oversees the Library’s National Audio-Visual Conservation Center campus in Culpeper.
The jukebox allows listeners to create playlists of their favorite tracks and share them via Facebook or other sites. The Library is creating a series of playlists curated by historians and well-known artists.
You can browse or search by type (vocal, spoken, instrumental), performer, composer, lyricist, date, or title. There is something there for everyone — be sure to check it out.
Mao’s Last Dancer
Posted on May 7, 2011 at 5:45 pm
Director Bruce Beresford, best known for “Driving Miss Daisy,” returns to the themes of cross-cultural connections in this film based on the memoir of Chinese ballet star Li Cunxin.
Li (Chinese surnames appear first) was taken from his poor, rural family at age 11 to study ballet. Madame Mao had declared the arts to be a priority and officials were sent to the furthest reaches of the country to find children who could be trained. Li succeeds more through determination than passion or natural ability, and despite Madame Mao’s insistence on ballet performances based more on political messages than on art. His family (with the radiant Joan Chen as his mother) is very proud of his contribution to China.In 1979, in the early, fragile days of US-China diplomatic relations, Li is sent to spend some time as a guest trainee with the Houston ballet, led by Ben Stevenson (the always-superb Bruce Greenwood).
His English is poor. His understanding of anything other than what he has been told by the Chinese authorities is non-existent. The Americans’ ability to understand him is not much better. But there is the common language of dance. And there Li is so dazzling he is quickly given an opportunity to perform in a key role on stage. The audience loves him.Li does not want to go home. He becomes romantically involved with a tender-hearted young dancer. He appreciates the opportunity to perform without regard to the political content of the ballet. He consults a lawyer (a crafty Kyle MacLachlan). He takes a very big risk for himself and also for those who have befriended him.The film feels episodic and oddly understated and remote. That may be in part because the key role of Li is divided between three actors, Wen Bin Huang as a child, Chengwu Guo as a teenager, and Chi Cao as an adult. Or, it may be because Li the character is reserved by nature and training and something of a cipher. But like its title character, the movie comes alive in the ballet performances, which are well-staged and convey not only the creative energy of their own story-telling but the ultimate expression of the performers’ passion for their art.
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