Sleeper Gems - Movie: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Sleeper - belated success: somebody who or something that is not an immediate success but, often surprisingly, later becomes one
In this case, it shall simply be an older movie or lesser known movie that I like.
Gem - somebody or something excellent: somebody or something considered to be valuable, useful, or beautiful (informal)

With this theme in mind, I have thought to highlight every so often an old movie, or a newer one I happen across, especially ones that are not so well known, that I feel is worth recommending.



Today while doing chores, I watched a BBC miniseries from the late 90s: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, based on a Anne Bronte story. I recall watching it on PBS on various afternoons back when it was more current. I enjoyed it back then and I enjoyed it now. In many ways it has a similar theme as Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Anyone who is a fan of Jane Austen and the Bronte Sisters and of costume dramas should be pleased with it. I like it's themes of protecting oneself and one's child when faced with an abusive spouse and of maintaining fidelity and integrity in the midst of such a difficult and abusive marriage. I particularly like the message that marriage is a serious matter and should not be rushed into. The heroine does just that, ignoring her aunt's advice and endures years of escalating misery because of it.
**Spoiler alert**

Don't read further if you intend to rent it.

I like that at the conclusion of the story, the heroine, now a widow and free to remarry, does not intend to rush into it again, but advises a sensible time of engagement with her suitor. Once bitten, twice shy and the wiser for it.

Monday Night Football Widow/300

I honestly tried to like football, oh about a gazillion years ago when Big Daddy & I first got together. Well, I'm exaggerating. However long a gazillion years is, I'm quite sure 24 years is not even close. The point is that in the beginning I did try. I asked questions, I tried to learn. Big Daddy says I'm not being honest, I never really tried to like it, but I respectfully disagree. I really did try to understand football and hoped I could like it. It didn't happen. I just don't like most sports at all. Period. When Adam played football last fall, I would try to follow the game. As we sat there, I would get a little distracted and end up chatting with someone. Then I would just cheer and clap when everyone else that was rooting for our team would cheer and clap.

I joke about being a football (or sports) widow, but really I don't mind. He's not as into every single sport and play off as he used to be, and he's a fairly good and attentive husband the rest of the time. So this time of year I retire to the bedroom and watch all the Clean House or other home improvement-food network-type shows I care to, which aren't his favorites. Big Daddy gets the living room, the bigger TV, which is fine with me. He's not such a fan of those half-hour home shows. This weekend I was pleased to see a movie I like, The 300 on the schedule while Big Daddy's Saturday college and Sunday Night pro-football played. He likes that one too, but not as much as watching his favorite college team!

The 300 is not for everyone. It's what you might call a guy's kind of movie. Full of action and fighting. I prefer the TV-edited version for obvious reasons. I linked the above review which is not exactly favorable, and contains some spoilers, to give a clear picture of why many would find it objectionable. Here is another review.

I disagree with what the author of the 'Plugged In' review says in his conclusion. I personally don't think most people admire the movie for the blood and gore it portrays. I'm sure some do. I rather think that many others like it for the extreme bravery, self-sacrifice and all around kick-butt-toughness the warriors portray. They are willing to fight with everything they have for a noble cause - the cause of freedom. Some of the dialogue is Shakespearean, in my own little opinion. As when the soldier known as Captain speaks of seeing his grown, but young son die in battle: "I have lived my entire life without regret until now. It's not that my son gave up his life for his country. It's just that I never told him that I love him the most. That he stood by me with honor. That he was all that was best in me."

Another reason I think the movie has its fans is that visually, the movie is stunning. It's like nothing you have ever seen before, it's filmed in such a unique way. It has special effects that are part Matrix and part comic book.

Anyway, that's all I have to say for this week. Oh except for a couple of things.

It was really, really warm. We had a reprieve from the extreme heat about two weeks ago, but this week it was back to blistering. It actually blistered Big Daddy's head. Ouch.

This rooftop garden is amazing (thanks to found on the web). Check out the rest of the 'Top 12 Rooftop Gardens' HERE.

Well, as my Mom and my friend C.P. would say, "Toodles."

Movie Review: Okie Noodling

I can't exactly remember how I got interested in this movie. I think that years ago, during the short time we lived in wild, wonderful West Virginia Big Daddy told me a fish tail. He said that some men he worked with were talking about how some catfish lurked at the bottom of the Bluestone Lake and Dam and grew quite possibly the size of a VW Beetle! (Or at least the size of a man.) I was skeptical, but after watching the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet I now concede to the possibility. Kind of. I concede that there are some mighty, big catfish around.


Anyway, I somehow came across this documentary called Okie Noodling. The movie follows some brave and somewhat crazy men who fish for catfish with their bare hands. And they catch some big ones, not as big as a VW or themselves, but big nonetheless. When I saw that The Flaming Lips did the soundtrack for the documentary, I was hooked, or rather I should say this movie grabbed me. Sorry couldn't resist that.

As for my review, it is an interesting movie, an entertaining way to spend 45 minutes or so. There is just a tiny little bit of profanity once or twice. It's fascinating to see how some people go about following their passions and off-beat hobbies.

Two Movie Reviews, or I Once watched Mama Mia

I don’t go to movie theaters much, particularly not for a grown-up movie. (I was going to write adult movie, but that usually means something entirely different than what I’m actually saying.) If I do go to the theater to see a movie, it’s usually G fare that our whole family [hopefully] enjoys. If Big Daddy and I want to see a movie for grown-ups, we just wait until it’s released on DVD and rent it.

I have recently rented and watched two movies that are music driven. I liked them both, in varying degrees and for varying reasons. A few thoughts occurred to me while watching them. I thought I’d compare and contrast them, and some of the issues they brought to my mind. You’ll have to bear in mind that I cannot help but view everything through the filter of my Christian beliefs.


The movie “Once” was released commercially in 2007, and I have wanted to see it since then. When we lived in Central Florida, our local movie rental store did not carry it. I was pleased to see it on the shelves of our local store here. Once is a serious movie of the independent genre. It follows the paths of two musicians who meet by chance, and strike up a musical partnership and friendship. The music drives the story along, as a natural part of the characters’ lives, and in the movie we see a slice of that life. The songs, which are very good, are showcased in that respect. The actors are also the real musicians, and while not well-known, are extremely talented.

“Mama Mia” is a musical, was released last year, in 2008. I probably don’t have to tell you it was a blockbuster. It’s based on the successful Broadway musical, based on the songs of 70’s super-group ABBA. I have always had a big-old soft spot for ABBA (even when I was a punk-rock grrrl and couldn’t admit it to anyone). ABBA’s hit songs are strung together to go along with the plot. The cast are all famous and award winners. The setting is a gorgeous Greek island. I love the songs, the location and the costumes (the flamboyant stuff and even the regular clothing). On a side note, I do appreciate that the bathing suit the main character wears during a scene was a cute one-piece, modest by most standards. Anyhow, it’s not meant to be a deep movie, it’s meant to be fun and fluffy. In those respects, it works.

The plot follows a young woman who is getting married. Her single Mom never told her who her father was, but she finds her mother’s diary from the summer before she was born. Unbeknownst to her mom, she reads the diary and discovers there are three viable candidates for her dad. Also unbeknownst to her mom, she invites them all to the wedding, hoping to find out the truth about her dad. Hilarity and shenanigans ensue (please know I am typing that with sarcastic fingers) over the discomfort of all parties, who do not know about each other, have not seen each other in 20 years and are slowly figuring out the paternity issues.



Both movies showcase wonderful music. Both movies deal with the foibles of life, lust and love, and our human ineptness or competence in dealing with such things; albeit in a low key kind of way. One movie is rather serious and the other is light-hearted.

Once is primarily about two characters, and a short period in their lives. Soon after their initial meeting, the Guy does declare his desire to spend the night with the Girl, which she refuses. We learn why his advances are rebuffed later, and he does not make any pressing moves after that. She is married, though estranged from her husband. It is not clear why. We learn the Guy’s passionate music is inspired by a woman he loved and left because of her unfaithfulness. It is revealed that she desires his forgiveness and to reconcile. Guy and Girl continue on in a very satisfying musical partnership and friendship. They encourage each other in their personal and professional pursuits. They truly make such beautiful music together; you know that it could very easily spill over to a romantic connection. You can sense their attraction to one another but they never let it cross the line. The Guy and the Girl go on to their respective futures and partners without having anything to complicate and shame them. They acted nobly toward one another. The characters hold to a higher ideal.

Mama Mia is another matter altogether. The characters become enmeshed in the baser human desires, revel in them, all the while lamenting over the fallout (read: heartache) from them. If only they would just stop the tomfoolery and stop and think for a moment. If the young Donna had not so quickly consoled herself in the arms of another man before her love affair with Sam was resolved, perhaps the two of them would have had a shot at a happy marriage. If Donna would have been honest and told her three lovers about her pregnancy, her daughter would have had a dad. That has obviously left a big hole in her daughter’s life. All three men seem happy to step up to the plate. Donna is puzzled at why her daughter even wants to get married. At the end, the young bride and groom call it off, for no other reason than they’re too young. Yet, they are going to sail off in the moonlight together to see the world and follow their dreams. Just not as a married couple. The old lovers, Donna and Sam do get married, so as not to waste a good wedding, and acknowledge that they do still have loving feelings for each other.

What is the message here? The young lovers were happy to make a commitment, and don’t seem impeded by anything other than their early 20-something age. Yet they “come to their senses” and realize that youth, marriage and following one’s dreams cannot occur, more or less, simultaneously. The old lovers have carried a torch for each other all those years. They admit to their individual various struggles in the intervening years: a failed marriage, struggles with loneliness, finances and single-parenthood. They would have saved themselves a lot of grief if they had accepted that true love is a virtuous possibility, worth fighting for (or waiting for), and it was within their grasp all those years ago. What if they just married back then? Am I the only one who thought, why are they nudging their daughter in the same mistaken direction they went in at her age? Don’t commit fully to love, honey, but do enjoy your freedom and liberty while you’re young, wink-wink. This seems so typical of the mores and values that came into the mainstream with the baby-boomer generation.

However, Mama Mia is meant to entertain rather than provoke thoughts, it’s a pleasant ride through a repertoire of pop songs. Yet I can’t help but wonder about the underlying values it asks me to just go along with and take for granted as I go on that ride. Once is a slice of life drama, it’s realistic, and it’s not pretty, like the people and setting of Mama Mia. What is beautiful about Once, is that it quietly and effectively ennobles the viewer through it’s subtle portrayal of a platonic relationship between two lonely and gifted musicians; and how they place the greater good over a instant gratification. The gracious gesture at the end of the movie Once shows more LOVE than all the wedding and bedding that is sung about, flirted with or implied within the entire Mama Mia movie.

Christmastime is here…

...And I love it! We have our lights up, our tree, our decorations and we are ready!


What’s your favourite Christmas movie? I love A Charlie Brown Christmas. On the other hand, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas used to scare the heck out of me when I was a child, and he still does. I am still uncomfortable watching it! I really like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, the old stop-action animated one where the characters are felt or clay. I like A Christmas Carol, too, but I can’t say which version I like best. I think that the movie The Nativity Story is one of my new favorites. Perhaps I am biased because of my faith, but I think it is a very well made, impeccably acted and visually compelling adaptation. I think anyone could appreciate it, even if they are not particularly religious. It’s directed by Catherine Hardwicke, who most recently directed the blockbuster Twilight. Check it out.

What’s your favorite Christmas music? I have so many favorites. Away In A Manger, O Come All Ye Faithful, O Little Town Of Bethlehem, Breath of Heaven by Amy Grant, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by the Pretenders, 'Zat You Santa Claus by Buster Poindexter, Little Drummer Boy by David Bowie and Bing Crosby, Put The Lights on the Tree by Sufjan Stevens, Ave Maria by Joan Baez….and of course, Christmastime is Here from the Charlie Brown special.


I will miss a few of the holiday traditions we enjoyed in Central Florida. Visiting Donelly Park in Mt. Dora, and enjoying the magical wonderland of lights and eating dinner at Vincent’s! Plant Street in Winter Garden was also lovely! I will miss driving by the decorated, old southern mansions in Oakland, some tasteful and some kitschy, but all a delight to the eyes. I will miss my dear family and friends there! I will not miss my dog-tired feet from working the retail craziness at Bealls, but I will miss my old co-workers. Last year I was so busy with my job and having some extra children in the nest, it was a very good Christmas overall, but a little crazy and stressful, too. God bless them (((J & T))), every~one!

I am looking forward to new traditions here in the Keys. I hope to visit the lighted boat parade in Key West. I have never seen a boat parade before, let alone boats with lights and decorations. That should be fun. I’m also told that the lights in the prayer garden of San Pablo are beautiful; I can’t wait to see them. We are having a candle light service on Christmas Eve. I look forward to some down time with my family, and to reflect on the season in a quietly joyful way this year.

Blessings, Ya'll!

He was a good actor

Rest in peace, Paul Newman.