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The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

Apr3

Organizer Daughter and a friend and I watched the movie version of this book by Jane Yolen this afternoon in conjunction with the urchins’ study of World War II. I read the book a long time ago and didn’t remember much about it. Hence, the ending quite shocked me, as I vaguely remember it shocking me when I read it.

If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s a tale of sixteen year old “typical teenager” Hanna Stern who, when she is forced to attend the annual family Seder, tries to avoid hearing the interminably long stories that her elderly relatives tell about their WW II experiences. However, during the Seder, a mystery intervenes (or is it a dream?), and Hanna is somehow transported back to Poland in the year 1940. She attends a Jewish wedding with some of her relatives who think she is a cousin who has been ill with a fever, and at the wedding, tragedy strikes. The Nazis come to take the Jews to “work camps”, and because Hanna has ben completely inattentive to her family’s history and heritage, she has very little idea of what will happen next to her and to her Polish, Jewish family.

I wouldn’t recommend the movie for any children younger than 13 or 14. Even my high schoolers were, I think, shocked by some of the scenes of brutality and horror that took place in the concentration camp. And that’s despite the fact that I think the movie sort of understates and even misrepresents the reality in some ways. The inmates of the camp are a lot more free to interact and a lot more warmly dressed than I would think was the true state of affairs. Anyway, this movie is for mature teen and adults, and I think it did my teens some good to see enacted some historical facts that they had only read about until now.

The movie stars Kirsten Dunst as Hanna and Brittany Murphy as her friend Rifka.

Bringing Back Kate, or What’s Up, Professor Grant?

Apr2

Brown Bear Daughter and I watched the 1938 Katherine Hepburn/Cary Grant movie Bringing Up Baby the other night, and I realized about halfway through the movie that one of my other favorite movies, What’s Up Doc?, made in 1972 with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal, was just a take-off on Bringing Up Baby, practically a remake. Absent-minded professor meets lunatic girl who brings his ordered life crashing down around him—and coincidentally ends his engagement to the wrong, boring girl. Screwball comedy. Innocent mayhem. Lots of laughs in both movies.

I like Katharine and Cary better than Barbra and Ryan, but for some reason I think What’s Up Doc? is the funnier movie. Madeleine Kahn, as Ryan O’Neal’s boringly hilarious fiance, adds a new layer of comedy to the second movie and almost steals the show. Hepburn would never have let herself get upstaged by anyone. Don’t you wish The Great Kate were still around to make more memorable movies? I’d love to see What’s Up Doc?, revised and updated, but starring magically young again Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.

Movie News

Feb18

Two Hobbits?

After settling a lawsuit with Peter Jackson on “The Lord of the Rings,” New Line co-chairmen/co-CEOs Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne announced jointly with MGM chairman Harry Sloan that the way is clear to turn J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Hobbit” into two live-action films.

The resolution clears the way for “Spider-Man” helmer Sam Raimi to direct. While Shaye said no creative alignments have yet been made, Raimi has long been interested — as long as Jackson was involved or gave his blessing.

The studios hope to start production in 2009, shooting two films simultaneously and releasing them in December 2010 and December 2011. New Line will run production and distribute domestically, while MGM will release internationally. The studios will co-finance the films.

Jackson’s Kiwi stages, post-production and visual effects facilities — which he built to accommodate “LOTR” — likely will be used to mount “The Hobbit.” And New Zealand once again will be used as the visual backdrop for Middle-earth, this time to tell the story of how Frodo’s uncle, Bilbo Baggins, ventured from the Shire and wound up taking the Ring of Power from Gollum.

If they do half as good a job as Peter Jackson and crew did with LOTR, I’ll be watching.

To This Great Stage of Fools: Born February 2nd

Feb2

Hannah More, b. 1745. Evangelical philathropist connected with William Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect. In her youth she was also a friend of actor David Garrick, lexicographer Samuel Johnson, and politician and writer Horace Walpole. After her conversion to evangelical Christianity and her retreat from the high society of London, her friends were clergyman and hymn writer John Newton and anti-slavery activist William Wilberforce. She was active in the anti-slavery movement in England, and her character makes an appearance in the movie, Amazing Grace, a movie I highly recommend, by the way.

Here’s a snippet from her poem, Slavery, published in 1788 to coincide with the first parliamentary debate on the slave trade.

. . . the countless host
I mourn, by rapine dragg’d from Afric’s coast.
Perish th’illiberal thought which wou’d debase
The native genius of the sable race!

Perish the proud philosophy, which sought
To rob them of the pow’rs of equal thought!

James Joyce, b. 1882. “Bayard himself confesses to never having finished Ulysses, by James Joyce. Personally, I have a theory that there is a very good chance that Joyce himself didn’t even finish writing the book, since I have never actually met anyone who has read the thing cover to cover.” —Sarah Vine in a review of Comment Parler des Livres que l’on n’a pas Lus (How to Talk About Books that You Haven’t Read) by M. Bayard. Ms. Vine didn’t read Mr. Bayard’s book, either. Has anyone here actually read Ulysses, other than Madame MM-V, that is. I must say I’ve never felt the urge. It’s on my list of “Books That If I Had More Than One Life I Would Certainly Also Read But Unfortunately My Days Are Numbered.” What’s on your list of that name?

Under the Heaventree, an essay by Frederica Matthews-Green on the Christian life and Christian theology in the style of a chapter from James Joyce’s Ulysses. At least Ulysses is good for something.

James Stephens, b. 1882. Irish novelist and poet. He was a friend of James Joyce.

Ayn Rand, b. 1905. The Fountainhead is one of the books on the list for my LOST project, but I’m not about to spend my time on that massive tome either. I think that all I’d get for my time and energy is a very long expostion in fiction of Sawyer’s philosophy, “It’s every man for himself, Freckles.”


Judith Viorst, b. 1931. Author of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Atheneum, 1972. We’ve all had them. Reading about Alexander’s bad day somehow helps me to laugh at my own bad days in a misery-loves-company sort of way.

Name That Movie: Christmas Edition

Dec6

These are quotations from the movies that help make up a Semicolon family Christmas. Can anyone name all ten?

1. “If you’re ever under a falling building and someone offers to pick you up and carry you to safety, don’t think, don’t pause, don’t hesitate for a moment— just spit in his eye.”
“What did that mean?”
“It means we’re going to Vermont.”

2. “Why don’t you kiss her instead of talking her to death?”
“You want me to kiss her, huh?”
“Ah, youth is wasted on the wrong people.”

3. “Yeah, there’s a lot of bad ‘isms’ floatin’ around this world, but one of the worst is commercialism. Make a buck, make a buck. Even in Brooklyn it’s the same–don’t care what Christmas stands for, just make a buck, make a buck.”

4. Rats, singing: “This is my island in the sun!”

5. “All I want is what I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share. ”

6. “Why am I such a misfit? I am not just a nit-wit. You can’t fire me, I quit. Seems I don’t fit in.”

7. “Garments were invented by the human race as a protection against the cold. Once purchased, they may be used indefinitely for the purpose for which they are intended. Coal burns. Coal is momentary and coal is costly. There will be no more coal burned in this office today.”

8. Stacy: Come on, you guys. She must have some good qualities. Think about it. Come on, you two.
Matt: Well, both her eyes are the same color.
Tanya: She never threw up on me.

9. “I wanted to play ‘Mousetrap. Ya roll your dice, ya move your mice. Nobody gets hurt.”

Yeah, we’re heavy on the animated features around here. I still have a six year old in the house.

Ten Best Movie Musicals Ever

Nov28

Oklahoma (1955)
The first great movie musical. Yes, it’s pretty corny, but the songs are great anyway. And I can’t resist the humor of “Poor Jud Is Dead.” “It’s summer and we’re running out of ice.”

The King and I (1956)
I really enjoy all the Siamese children and the wives and, of course, Yul Brynner as the king of Thailand. “Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera. . .”

West Side Story (1961)
A musical version of Romeo and Juliet transferred to New York City in the 1950’s. Leonard Bernstein wrote the music, and Natlaie Wood makes a beautiful Maria (Juliet). Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1962 as well as numerous other awards, this movie deserved them all.

The Music Man (1962)
76 trombones lead the big parade; Professor Harold Hill can charm the money out of an Ioway skeptic; and who can resist lyrics like these:
Marian Paroo: Do you think that I’d allow a common masher – ? Now, really, mama. I have my standards where men are concerned and I have no intention…
Mrs. Paroo: I know all about your standards and if you don’t mind my sayin’ so there’s not a man alive who could hope to measure up to that blend of Paul Bunyan, Saint Pat, and Noah Webster you’ve concocted for yourself out of your Irish imagination, your Iowa stubbornness, and your li’berry full of books!

My Fair Lady (1964)
Of course, the ending is unsatisfactory. Why does Eliza go back to that conceited Henry Higgins? And Rex Harrison can’t even sing–just speaks his lyrics. Nevertheless, the songs and the acting and the story of a flowergirl who becomes a lady are all delightful enough to make up for any flaws.

The Sound of Music (1965)
Classic, pure classic.

Camelot (1967)
“In short, there’s simply not / a more congenial spot / for happily ever aftering than here in Camelot.”
I simply refuse to think that this movie has anything to with JFK; King Arthur is much more interesting than the Kennedys.

Oliver! (1968)
Another great movie musical, and Dickens is one of my favorite authors. Jack Wild plays an engaging Artful Dodger, and Mark Lester is so cute as Oliver. I also think Oliver Reed is a great actor. (I once saw Oliver Reed in a film about Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and to this day I picture Rossetti looking a lot like OR.)

Hello Dolly (1969)
I like Barbra Streisand in movies. This musical is one of the great Broadway musicals of all time, and Streisand is bold and brassy and funny as the matchmaker who wants a match for herself.

Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
Tevye the Jewish milkman talks to God and tries to understand his wife Golde and looks for husbands for his six daughters. Unfortunately, the world is changing, and the dependable things in Tevye’s life are becoming few and far between.
Perchik: Money is the world’s curse.
Tevye: May the Lord smite me with it. And may I never recover.
Tevye: As the good book says ‘Each shall seek his own kind’. In other words a bird may love a fish but where would they build a home together?

And then they quit making them. I have a couple more musicals on my list of 107 Best Movies Ever, but none of the musicals made after 1971 made my list. What is there after Fiddler on the Roof? Grease?

Questions about Phillip Pullman and his books

Nov25

Christian film critic and author Jeffrey Overstreet on Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series.

I think these are some good questions (from Mr. Overstreet’s post) to discuss with your children if they and you read the books or see the movie together:

If we cast off all “Authority” and set up “free will” as the ultimate source of guidance, where will that get us?
Has the world shown us that the human heart is a trustworthy “compass”?
Does free will lead us always to the right choice?
If the heroes accept the “truth” of the aletheometer (the compass itself), aren’t they letting themselves be guided by just another source of truth… another “Authority”?
But wait a minute… the movie told us that “Authority” is bad and we should only follow our own hearts, didn’t it?
If there are “many truths,” then aren’t these heroes being as self-righteous and wicked as the oppressors by demanding that their version of the truth is better than others?
What is so inspiring about the battle between the bears?
Hasn’t this story led us to a place where it’s just “survival of the fittest” all over again?
Should we really hope that the world falls into the hands of the strongest fighter, rather than into the hands of love?

Disclaimer: I’ve not read these books, probably won’t, and won’t be seeing the movie. I’ve got a list of books a mile and a half long to read, and Phillip Pullman’s opus is w-a-y d-o-w-n off the list. However, I thought Mr. Overstreet gave an excellent analysis of the books, the movie, and their impact and background from a Christian worldview perspective.

Movie News

Oct11

Ariel at BitterSweet Life tells me that they’re making a movie based on one of my favorite books, A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Van Auken. Wow, I hope they do a good job with this one. One good sign is that the screenwriter is Barbara Nicolosi, a blogger and an intelligent one to boot. (Her blog: Church of the Masses)

Mommy Life Barbara’s recommending the movie Ushpizin (available for rental).

The movie version of Khaled Housseini’s The Kite Runner comes out in early November. I have a feeling I won’t be able to watch it because there are scenes in the book that I couldn’t watch enacted on a big screen. It was, and is, a great book nevertheless.

I’m not sure about this movie either. It’s based on the book Into the Wild by John Krakauer, and it’s about adolescent rebellion and adventure gone awry. I haven’t read the book, but I might see the movie anyway.

Autumn Rain recommends the movie Wit with Emma Thompson. I think I’ll have to add this one to my movie queue.

Has anyone seen this Snow White-goes-to-college movie, and is it rated PG-13 for something that I would not want to see? It sounds cute and funny, but I’ve been fooled before.

Where Have They Been All Their Lives?

Oct3

My three youngest children, ages 10, 8, and 6, just discovered a movie that they’ve never heard of or seen: The Sound of Music.

I find it difficult to believe that they’ve never seen The Classic Movie Musical of all time. Are they homeschooled or something?

Movie News

Jul5

I just read while cruising the blogs that the following new movies are due out soon:

A new Indiana Jones movie with Harrison Ford as a very old Indiana. (How old is Harrison Ford, anyway?) Director Steven Spielberg and Executive Producer George Lucas are also back in the saddle for this one. It has a May, 2008 release date.

A sequel to National Treasure. Mrs. Happy Housewife says the original National Treasure contains historical inaccuracies. No, no, say it ain’t so! We were using that movie as the backbone of our early American history curriculum. 🙂
The new National Treasure movie is about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. So that should take us through the end of the Civil War.

Becoming Jane, the movie about Jane Austen’s life and love, will be in theaters in August. I think it will be fun as long as no one’s expecting historical fact instead of fictionalized romance based Austen’s life.

Golden Door is already in release in some cities, according to the official website. It’s a story about immigration to the U.S. through Ellis Island in the early 1900’s. More American history curriculum. 🙂 I’m going to have an entire course covering the span of U.S. history soon. Not really, but the movie does sound interesting.

Finally, they’re not new movies, but Melissa Wiley is compiling a great list of movie suggestions for her Netflix queue. I’m definitely going to add some of them to my Blockbuster list.