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Sniff, Sniff…the Best Tearjerker Movie List – Part 2

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Continue with me on my tearjerker journey through some of the movies that made me cry over the years. 6. Brian’s Song Wow, I must have been all of eight years old when I saw this one. It was a made-for-television movie, but it tore through my young heart nonetheless. It is the true story of Chicago Bears teammates Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan), who was white and Gale Sayers (played by the oh-so-handsome Billy Dee Williams), who was black. The two opposites attract and become best friends – that is until Brian Piccolo is struck down with cancer … Continue reading →

The 84th Academy Awards

The 84th Academy Awards is over and it was record setting. For the first time since 1929 (when Wings won), a silent film, The Artist has taken the Best Picture statue. It was also the first movie filmed in the 4:3 aspect ratio to win Best Picture since 1955. It was the first non R-rated film to get Best Picture since 2004 (when Million Dollar Baby won). Jean Dujardin because the first Frenchman to win a Best Actor award. Was his acceptance speech charming or what? Michel Hazanavicius becomes only the second Frenchman to win Best Director (Roman Polanski, who … Continue reading →

A Review of the 81st Academy Awards – Part 2

There were some amusing moments during this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. I thought it was cute when Kunio Kato added “Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto” to the end of his thank you speech for Best Short Film (Animated), La Maison en Petits Cubes. And, I absolutely loved it when high wire walker Phillippe Petit thanked the Academy for believing in magic then did the magic trick. That was also as good as him balancing the Oscar on his chin. That made me want to see Man on Rope. Of course, the big winner of the night was Slumdog Millionaire. It took … Continue reading →

A Holocaust Hero Passes Away

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The other day, I was blogging about the movie The Pianist and how at the end, a Nazi officer actually helped Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman right before the war ends. There were many Holocaust heroes during that time – people who risked their own lives to save others. One of them, Irena Sendler, has just passed away recently at the age of 98. Irena was a Polish social worker during World War II. Irena began offering Jewish families food and shelter in 1939. Soon, her job as a social worker would allow her to help more Jews. Saying she was … Continue reading →

This Year’s Academy Awards

This Sunday is the 79th Annual Academy Awards. This year’s host will be Ellen Degeneres. I like Ellen – I think she is funny. I never cared to watch her talk show because I like her more as a stand up comedian, but I think she should fit in well as host. This is her first appearance as an Oscar host. As I started searching Families.com, I realized we had tons of blogs on Oscar’s previous hosts, previous winners, and this year’s nominees. Check some of these out: Blogs about former Oscar hosts: Chris Rock Chris Rock: Brooklyn’s Own Stand-Up … Continue reading →

Retro Mondays: Oscar Moments to Remember

I am in excitement mode. I love Christmas and Halloween, but after those two holidays, the biggest holiday of the year to me is Oscar Night. Well, actually, I should say Oscar Day because for me, it is an all day event. Coverage in our house starts around noon and does not end for at least the next 12 hours. Here is a look back at some interesting Oscar moments: We Liked Her, We Really Liked Her She already had one Oscar sitting on her shelf (for Norma Rae), but when Sally Field won again in 1985 for Places in … Continue reading →

Rolling Towards Oscar Night

Each year, there are several award ceremonies that take place before the Academy Awards. These ceremonies often give us a glimpse into who may be a favorite to win a coveted Oscar. Usually, the Golden Globes are considered a good indicator, but this does not always prove true. Adrien Brody, who was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama by the Foreign Press, lost to Jack Nicholson for About Schmidt. But, I think many people were surprised, including him, when he beat out four previous Oscar winners to take home the 2002 Oscar for … Continue reading →

Banned from Saturday Night Live – Part III

Who would have thought so many people and musical acts had been banned from appearing again on Saturday Night Live, it would take up three blogs? But, the most notorious banned is still to come! Sinead O’Connor Few people who were watching the night of October 3, 1992 can forgot the image of Sinead O’Connor saying “Fight the real enemy!” while ripping a photo of Pope John Paul II in half. The “applause” cue was cut off and the audience just sat silent in amazement. NBC received many complaints about this episode within minutes. Host Tim Robbins was raised Catholic … Continue reading →

Superman in Hollywoodland

I’ve mentioned before what a big part of pop culture the Superman character is. But even those who play Superman seem to make the news, whether it is good or bad. Some actors who play the Man of Steel get typecast as Superman. Such was the plight of George Reeves, who played Superman on the television show during the 1950s. There was so much controversy around his death that almost 50 years later, there is a new movie coming about it called Hollywoodland, starring Ben Affleck as Reeves. If you don’t know the story behind the man that will always … Continue reading →