Tag Archives: movie

Dec19

who you are.

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so proud of my dear friend

breeda kelly miller

who had an idea 

that grew

into her one-woman play

‘Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home’

performed around the world

and

into a book by the same name

and

at long last

the airing of her play on *PBS this past monday.

where i had the pleasure of watching it on televsion with her

bravo, breeda kelly miller

your family would be so proud of you.

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‘we all have different gifts so we all have different ways of saying to the world who we are.’

-fred rogers

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Detroit PBS brings live theater back to TV Monday with “Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home.” True stories of an Irish immigrant, brought to life by her Michigan daughter. Join Breeda Miller and me at intermission and after. On TV or online locally at https://www.detroitpbs.org/live-tv/wtvs-hdtv/ — Mon. 12/16, 8:00pm ET
 
 
 
Feb23

strangers dangers.

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saw one of my hitchcock favorites for yet another time

a psychological thriller

that never gets old

but does continue to get creepier.

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“i’m a typed director. if i made cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach.”

-alfred hitchcock

 

 

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art credits: warner brothers pictures, 1951

Feb17

one love.

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always enjoyed bob marley

the new biopic musical film about him

was a bit disjointed

but

 leads were very good

his message stood strong

music was a great bonus

especially loved the real footage at the end.

 

—

“love the life you live, live the life you love.”

-bob marley

 

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image credit: paramount pictures

Jan29

maestro.

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 a beautiful, beautiful film

in every way

it will bring you

great music

great joy

great love

great passion

and

will break your heart.

early in the film

felicia, later to be leonard bernstein’s wife

asks him –

“you don’t even know how much you need me, do you?”

and he answers –

“i might.”

through all they endured

together and apart

around the globe and back

they found

the greatest love of their lives

in each other.

brava.

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“a work of art does not answer questions, it provokes them;

and its essential meaning is in the tension between the contradictory answers.”

-leonard bernstein

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image/film credits:  netflix, lea pictures, sikelis productions, amblin entertainment, fred berner films
Jan23

dance like it’s a snow day.

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oops, it is!! lucky –

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20 years ago, these sweet dance moves premiered at the SundanceFilmFestival 🎶🕺🏼

in one of my all-time favorite movies

here’s your chance to watch:

https://fb.watch/pKQ0h11lJR/

—

“we’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.”

— japanese proverb

 

 

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credits: searchlight pictures, napoleon dynamite, sundance film festival

 

 

Nov25

the holdovers.

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after seeing the trailer for this film

i really thought it was going to be a comedy

it did have its funny moments and lines

as the movie played out

 it was so much more

the trio of lead actors were brilliant

the characters

interacted

 revealed themselves

learned about each other

   personal stories emerged

in ways unexpected, tragic, and beautiful

 finding something in each other

perhaps they didn’t even know they needed

but oh, did they ever

because as their understanding

of their humanity

with all of its flaws and challenges

came to the forefront

they chose grace

each was made the better for it

and forever changed.

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“the moment we cry in a film is not when things are sad

but when they turn out to be more beautiful than we expected them to be.”

-alain de botton

 

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image credit: miramax films, focus features

Aug26

dog days.

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on international dog day

deep into the dog days of summer

i’m reminded of one of my all time favorite movies

‘dog day afternoon’

incredible acting

unbelievable

and inspired by

a true story.

photo from the actual crime scene, 1972

 

—

sonny: “is there any special country you wanna go to?”

sal: “wyoming.”

sonny: “sal. wyoming’s not a country.”

-salvatore ‘sal’ naturale – dog day afternoon 

 

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credits: warner brothers pictures, 1975, avenue magazine, life magazine, the boys in the bank

 

 

 

 

Jun14

“i’m spicy and i’ve got skills.” – pascal siakam.

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( those of you who know me or read me,

know that flamin’ hot cheetos are my fav snack.)

Eva Longoria makes her film directorial debut with “Flamin’ Hot” — a feel-good story of how a Mexican American janitor rose through the ranks at Frito-Lay and was the brains behind the wildly popular and spicy Flamin’ Hot Cheetos corn snack.

“People think it’s about the Flamin’ Hot Cheeto but it’s about the life of Richard Montañez,” Longoria told the Australian television show “Today.”  “He came up with this brilliant idea to put chili on chips for the Hispanic market and today Flamin’ Hot is the No. 1 snack in the world and it’s a multibillion-dollar industry that transcends snacks.”

The comedy-drama biopic distributed by Searchlight Pictures is based on Montañez’s first memoir, “A Boy, a Burrito, and a Cookie: From Janitor to Executive,” that details his humble beginnings from growing up in a migrant labor camp in Southern California and living in a one-bedroom apartment with his parents and 10 siblings to selling drugs on the streets of East Los Angeles, mopping the floors at Frito-Lay’s Rancho Cucamonga plant and building a career that spanned more than 40 years at PepsiCo.

Longoria admitted she was ashamed of not knowing Montañez’s story until she read the script. “I was like, ‘How do I not know this? He’s Mexican American like me. I love Flamin’ Hot.’ So it was like the flavor you knew, but the story you didn’t, and so I was immediately inspired and I thought, ‘Everybody should know this story. There are so many lessons we can learn from his life.”

Jesse Garcia as Richard Montañez in the movie Flamin' Hot.
Jesse Garcia as Richard Montañez in the movie “Flamin’ Hot.”

While Montañez’s story has become an inspirational tale of Latino entrepreneurial success, Frito-Lay disputed the claims that he created the spicy line of Cheetos, calling his version of the story an “urban legend,” and stating that he “was not involved,” according to an investigation by The Los Angeles Times in 2021.

That same year, Montañez reaffirmed his story with his second memoir “Flamin’ Hot: The Incredible True Story of One Man’s Rise from Janitor to Top Executive.”

The film’s producers were informed by Frito-Lay of these allegations in 2019 before production but moved forward with the project. Longoria’s film does include nods to the possibility of the Flamin’ Hot flavor being developed in the Midwest at the same time. Frito-Lay credits Montañez with playing a “key role in accelerating the growth of our Flamin’ Hot Brand,” according to its website

“Flamin’ Hot” is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.

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“a good spicy challenge strikes a balance between flavour and fear.”

-adam richman

 

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source credit: edwin flores, NBC Latino. Searchlight Pictures

Apr25

flashdance. one more time.

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repost below from 5 years ago, now the 40th anniversary of this film

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35 years ago ‘flashdance’ was released

and it emerged again recently

in honor of international dance day

 i loved this movie

 had the shoes, the ripped up sweatshirt, the perm

though my dancing style

was a bit different  

from this welder by day/dancer by night

and i didn’t live in a cool loft

or have an eccentric dog

or ride my bike to work

or look at all alike

but other than that

we were like sisters.

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Take your passion and make it happen! #InternationalDanceDay

—

“let us read and let us dance –

two amusements that will never do any harm to the world. “

-voltaire

 

 

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image credit: paramount pictures, jennifer beals

Jan30

living.

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saw this beautiful, moving film yesterday

slow, quiet, understated

but, oh so incredibly powerful.

 

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“i am delighted to experience the beauty of life.”

-lailah gifty akita

 

 

 

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studio credits: lionsgate uk, darkside cinema