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Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
Really Didn't Think We Would Like This, but DID!
I could list dozens of Christmas movies I cringed through or turned off or walked out on. And of the several people I knew that had watched this, none seemed too thrilled with it. But we had a freeze in early December, so we CRANKED up the heat and decided to give this movie a try while drinking hot cocoa and snacking on Christmas cookies.
We were just hoping for a nice holiday "feel good" movie. And that's what we got. Some good laughs. A unique story. Tim Allen, Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Cheech Marin, etc.
It was a good time. Some people can't be pleased and others just watch movies in a raw mood and then trash them. But I disagree with my nay-saying friends. I would recommend this to anyone with a sense of humor in good humor when they watch it.
A Bone to Pick: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2015)
My Wife And I Are Hooked
I am not a fan of chick flicks. My wife is not a fan of the more gruesome, bloody crime and mystery flicks. So, we have enjoyed finding different movies and shows that are something in-between, especially those that are a series like Aurora Teagarden Mystery. We've seen every Columbo, Matlock and a few others, and were looking for something along those lines.
We found it.
I do not write this as a "fan" of Candace Cameron Bure's other works. As a matter of fact, I had very low expectations. Not because she is not a good actress. But because I just haven't enjoyed the sitcoms she's been in and haven't enjoyed the other movies I've seen her in. Now, I'm a FAN. I just hope she keeps doing these type of films.
And what a nice surprise to see Marilu Henner, again. I was a big fan of her work on Taxi. And the supporting actors are a pretty solid crew.
What I don't understand is why some reviewers claim that this show is "predictable". I believe we could gather them all up in a room and at 15 minute intervals, take their predictions! What a good time that would be, because... I believe they would get a lot of their predictions WRONG and disprove their own claims.
And I can only speak for my wife and I at this point, but we enjoyed this first installment (that I understand is based on the second book) and do NOT find it predictable.
But you ARE watching a Hallmark movie. If you come expecting Aurora to be Laura Croft or Wonder Woman (or have that kind of budget), you are in for a disappointment.
On the other hand, if you turn on, "A Bone To Pick," without a bone to pick and expect something along the lines of Murder She Wrote or Diagnosis Murder? You're gonna enjoy this.
The Waltons: The Birthday (1974)
Another Important Episode Dealing With People Issues
If you watch this and think that people do not act this way, then you haven't been around many people. But in the depression era, there weren't as many "psych meds" and most people faced reality the way we see it portrayed in this episode. They simply worked things out over time.
I knew a lady who spent 20 years dying. She knew her time was short and spent 5 presidential terms spread out over two decades convinced of that fact. She finally did pass away at the young age of 85. Thankfully, in this episode, Grandpa Zeb doesn't take quite that long to snap to and, without injecting a "spoiler", I will just say that this episode was a good treatment of matter.
Richard Thomas and Will Greer worked well together, even as Greer and Ellen Corby provided a lot of great banter throughout these first few seasons. Brings back a lot of old memories of my Georgia-born and bread grandfather and his more proper and prim Yankee bride of around 7 decades of marriage.
The Waltons: The Visitor (1974)
More Realistic Than Many May Realize
As a minister, I have dealt with these situations a number of times. Nearly all that I am aware of involve dementia. But this is very real and the way it was handled in this episode was superb, except that they don't really let us know if this was a mental breakdown of a temporary nature or of a more permanent nature (like dementia or Alzheimer Disease). I
I also knocked off one star because the one weakness of the treatment of these things in this script. No matter what explanation provided for Mr. Beardsley's mental state, he would have shown additional signs and symptoms. They should have shown him confused about other matters (going to church on the wrong day, thinking it's a different year, found walking around disoriented, etc.) but this seemed to depict him doing just fine except that he thinks his wife is coming home soon.
With that said, anyone watching this thinking it is "strange" or "the weirdest", etc., and giving it low marks, is not looking at the Waltons as intended by it's producders. This is real life. And most of us will deal with such things at some point if we have any elderly loved ones in our lives.
A great episode, as usual.
The Homecoming: A Christmas Story (1971)
This 2 Year Old Grew Up To Love The Homecoming & Waltons
Growing up, I would see the Waltons on TV as my mom would watch it regularly, but I was too busy playing outside to care about TV unless there was inclement weather. Years later, I was told that the Waltons began with this movie, "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story." And my mother told me that I was just a little boy when it aired that Christmas of 1971. I was two.
This year, I turn 50 and I finally saw this OLD movie. 48 years later and I was HOOKED. I wanted to see more. After reading some of the great authors including Jesse Stuart who wrote of the hills of Kentucky and select authors in the Harvard Classics, my mind and heart were prepared and hungry for this kind of movie. And Earl Hamner Jr. is the perfect compliment to all of my previous reading on Appalachia and studies of Americana.
You will see a review here and there from someone who doesn't "get it". And I wouldn't have gotten it just ten years ago, even less so twenty years ago. But having been raised in the hills of southern Ohio where I could look out my bedroom window and see the hills of Greenup, Kentucky across the Ohio River with train tracks bordering the river on both sides, I have grown to appreciate my home and the surrounding states with their amazing mountain landscapes and people.
The stand out performances that made this movie in my opinion were Patricia Neal, Edgar Bergen, Ellen Corby, Richard Thomas and Cammie Cotler. And the story, simple and authentic, made me think of my own grandparents and life in simpler times that I only get to visit from time to time.
And that is the appeal of this movie. It's well written, well told and superbly acted. If you are from the hills, any hills, you will find something of home in this film. If you are not from the hills but appreciate the wonder and beauty of mountain living, you will watch and wonder if life really was like this. It was, for most of us.
Marjoe (1972)
An Exercise In Blasphemy
As a Christian and a Pastor, I respond to the story with a couple of thoughts: 1. How dumb this emotionally-unhinged version of heretical Christianity is. 2. Hos sick the manipulation is and how sad the naive suckers who give their money and hearts to this nonsense.
But as sickening as it is for me to watch, I am GLAD that any of the crooks and liars are exposed. The shame is that some of the shallow viewers would use this as an excuse to reject historic, authentic Christianity.
To Marjoe and all the other charlatans, Jesus says; Matthew 7:22-23 (KJV) "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
And on the merits, this film is very well done. The footage of the "services" may seem a bit long to some who watch, but I prefer filmmakers err on the side of "long" so that no one can claim it was chopped up and misrepresented in some way.
As a history buff, I also appreciate the value of unscripted "live" video. Having Marjoe right there in the interviews simply makes this a RARE documentary expose. I own the DVD and show it to those who have a stomach for it.
Paul, Apostle of Christ (2018)
Might Have Been A Good Movie If It Weren't Supposed To Be About Paul
What would the reaction have been if Peter Jackson used the names of characters found in, "The Lord of The Ring," books but then just made up the plot, events, etc.? Those who have read and loved Tolkien's writings would have been pretty upset, right?
That's how any serious Christian who is a student of the Bible has to feel about this movie. At least that's how I feel.
This should have been about someone else (since there isn't a shred of historical support for hardly any of this happening to Paul or Luke) and maybe titled, "Ancient Believers" or something like that. Billed as "historical fiction" about fictional Christian characters, Bible believers would not have been disgusted by the total disregard for the Biblical text.
One thing is an absolute fact: this movie is NOT about Paul, the Apostle of Christ.
The Hidden Faith of the Founding Fathers (2010)
Amazing Compilation of Information
If you love a good, thorough documentary and you are interested in American history and want to know REAL information (much of which you will never see elsewhere), then you will love this. I am an amateur historian/history lover and have done my fair share of research and reading on this subject. Far left AND far right sources cannot be trust. THIS documentary hits the bullseye. The producer, Chris Pinto, isn't afraid of the fact and not afraid to ask the tough questions.
For those who think 3 hours is "too long", get it on DVD and watch it in six 30-minute episodes. If you found this boring, the problem is your lack of attention span and not the film. I have watched this three times over the past 8 years since it came out, watching it alone, then with my wife and kids, and then with friends. Each time, we had great discussions and a great time.
I knocked off 1 star because it COULD have been shortened by few minutes and have to be honest, so I couldn't give it a full "ten". But I HIGHLY recommend this to those it was intended for.