By: Chrysa Smith Oprah Winfrey has said it. Loosely translated, it is something like this: 'If you're a woman born in the United States, you are lucky.' Visually circumnavigating the globe, I would have to agree with her. But I would add that even if born in the US, depending upon the era and your culture, your luck might still run out. Judy Dench wonderfully portrays such drama in Philomena--the story of an [...]
By: Mary Fran Bontempo It's not quite Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, but it's pretty close. Saving Mr. Banks, one of the Disney Studio's offerings for the holiday season (the animated Frozen being the other), is the tale of how the magical, whimsical, delightful film, Mary Poppins, almost didn't get made. P.L. Travers, creator of Mary Poppins and author of the series of books depicting the character, resisted the wooing of one Walt Disney for the better [...]
by Chrysa Smith Nothing says giving thanks or demonstrates the conservative pilgrim lifestyle like a trip to Las Vegas. Yes, it's counter-intuitive. But maybe you've had enough of the turkey drippings and coffee grinds, and taking a virtual trip, even to the local movie theater, sounds like music to your ears. If so, head on down to see Last Vegas--a pseudo spoof on The Hangover films, only with a slightly more mature all-star [...]
By: Mary Fran Bontempo I'll admit it; I'm a sucker for a sweet love story. Most women are, and About Time, a delightful film from the creator of Notting Hill, and Love Actually, two equally captivating rom-coms from 1999 and 2003, respectively, fits the bill perfectly. Even better, my husband loved it, too. About Time stars the always charming Rachael McAdams as Mary, love interest of Tim, played with a self-deprecating appeal by [...]
By: Mary Fran Bontempo There's no way four raggedy, skinny men can motor a little skiff next to a gigantic ocean liner, board it and take it, and its crew, captive. As far as movie scripts go, it's an unbelievable plot line. But incredible as it may seem, this was no movie script, at least until it was turned into one for the film, Captain Phillips, in theaters now. Captain Phillips relays the [...]
By: Mary Fran Bontempo Think Cast Away but in outer space and crammed into real time. Gravity, the widely-heralded space disaster movie starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney is, at its most basic, a survival film, a la the Tom Hanks desert island movie from 2000. (Hard to believe Cast Away is thirteen years old.) The primary difference, that Gravity takes place over an actual ninety minute time frame, as opposed to the [...]
By: Mary Fran Bontempo Who would have thought? Being filthy, insanely rich has a downside. Well, it has a downside if your husband turns out to be a philandering, lying cheat, a la Bernie Madoff, who is caught, thrown into jail and you, his devoted spouse, lose everything and end up living with your down-on-her luck sister. Blue Jasmine, the latest offering from writer/director Woody Allen and starring the gloriously elegant Cate Blanchett [...]
