Category Archives: Opinions

Beauty

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Beauty is not in the way we look, the size of our clothing, or the color of our hair. Beauty is not how we apply makeup, or if we don’t wear it at all. Beauty is not the color of our eyes, and it’s definitely NOT in the color of our skin.

Beauty is deeper than what we see on the outside.

Beauty is in your soul, your being. It’s the way you love, the way you laugh, the way you carry yourself. Beauty is in your imperfections. It’s your honesty and trustworthiness. Beauty is in your positive attitude, loving heart, and the way you treat others.

Don’t be fooled by what you see on the outside. Some of the most beautiful people have ugly hearts and some people you may consider ‘ugly’ are the most beautiful souls in the world.

ugly heart

The Handmaid’s Tale – A Review

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I’ve been watching The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu, season two now. This show is very difficult to watch but riveting. I find myself cringing in disbelief many times throughout. If you haven’t read the book (I haven’t but I plan on it), or seen this very well-acted series, then I highly recommend it.

The story is set in a totalitarian society created by Gilead, where women are treated as property and have no rights. The wives of Gilead men have become sterile, so fertile women have been sought out, kidnapped and basically forced into sexual servitude in order to repopulate the world. This new world they have created is reminiscent of the Puritanical era.

A young woman, whose own child was taken from her and placed in the care of another family, is taken to be a handmaid. Her name is Offred, meaning ‘of Fred’ derived from her master’s name (Fred), known as her Commander. Her real name is June, but handmaids are not allowed to use their real names. Women are not allowed to read, write, drive, or have jobs, or money….among other things. The handmaids are raped in “ceremonies” in order to produce children, their sole purpose.

There are different classes of women. They are segregated by color of clothing, signifying social class. The Wives wear blue, Aunts (the women who train the handmaids) wear brown, Marthas (cooks and housekeepers) wear green, Handmaids wear red. Econowives, who are women married to lower class men and perform all domestic duties, wear various colors, and young unmarried girls wear (you guessed it) white.

This terrifying, near-future dystopian story makes you think about how our society could slowly change direction…. the wrong direction. Could women someday lose control of their own bodies? Today’s women are already on the verge of losing their right to birth control and abortion. I shudder at the thought of what comes next….

It’s difficult to watch many of the scenes, invoking anger, empathy, sympathy, and sorrow. Chock full of fear, violence, heartbreak, murder, politics, and religion — it’s a very haunting and chilling series, with great actors! Check out the trailer for season one below.

My Top 10 Favorite Movies

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When I started this list I thought, “Oh, that should be easy!” Nope. Not easy at all. So, here’s my Top 15 Favorite Movies…..

NOPE. That’s not going to work either.

Top 20?

NOPE. Final offer. Top 25 Favorite Movies – and these are NOT in any particular order. These are just great movies that I have watched over and over again. I couldn’t possibly put them in numerical order!

Please note, these are MY favorite movies. They do not have to be movies YOU like, because…well, they are MY favorite movies, not yours. Just wanted to clear that up since there are so many folks who don’t like when others think for themselves.

  • The Godfather – 1972 Starring Al Pacino, Marlon Brando. A great mob saga!
  • Braveheart – 1995 Starring Mel Gibson. The story of William Wallace, the 13th-century Scottish patriot. Well done considering so much had to fit in a mere 3-hour movie!
  • Dances With Wolves – 1990 Starring Kevin Costner. A Civil War soldier befriends the Lakota Indians and leaves his old life behind.
  • To Kill A Mockingbird – 1962 Starring Gregory Peck. Growing up in 1930’s south, depression-era, amongst great prejudice.
  • The Goonies – 1985 Starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman. A group of misfit kids run into criminals, find a pirate’s treasure and save a family’s home.
  • The Breakfast Club – 1985 Starring Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez. A group of high school students spend Saturday detention together and find out how much they really have in common.
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind – 1977 Starring Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr. A man experiences strange occurrences and is drawn to follow the clues to find out what it all means.
  • E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial – 1982 Starring Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas. Kids help a friendly alien escape humans and return to his home planet.
  • Angels With Dirty Faces – 1938 Starring James Cagney, Pat O’Brien. A priest tries to persuade a gangster to not lead a group of misfits down the same path.
  • The African Queen – 1951 Starring Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn. During WWI a riverboat captain and a prim & proper missionary collide.
  • Planes, Trains, & Automobiles – 1987 Starring John Candy, Steve Martin. A man is forced to travel with an annoying and obnoxious slob.
  • The Birds – 1963 Starring Rod Taylor, Tipi Hedren. A Hitchcock thriller, a story of birds that attack.
  • Benny & Joon – 1993 Starring Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aiden Quinn. A story of mental illness, eccentricity, and love.
  • What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? – 1993 Starring Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio. Growing up with the challenges of mental illness, and the responsibilities of taking care of the family.
  • Stand By Me – 1986 Starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman. A writer tells the story of how he and his buddies found a dead body when they were kids.
  • The Color Purple – 1985 Starring Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey. A black southern woman overcomes abuse and finds herself.
  • One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest – 1975 Starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher. An overbearing nurse and rebellion in a mental institution.
  • Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? – 1962 Starring Bette Davis, Joan Crawford. A sinister and former child star torments her crippled, more famous sister.
  • Frankenstein: The True Story – 1973 Starring James Mason, Michael Sarrazin, Leonard Whiting. Although you know the story of Frankenstein, this story will tug at your heartstrings.
  • The Wizard of Oz – 1939 Starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Margaret Hamilton. A tornado carries a young girl and her dog off to the land of Oz.
  • The Sound of Music – 1965 Starring Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer. A young woman leaves a convent to care for a widowed man’s children, who are hard to handle but so very talented!
  • Psycho – 1960 Starring Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh. A remote motel is run by a young man under the rule of his mother.
  • Alien – 1979 Starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt. A space vessel hears a distress signal from another vessel and they investigate, only to find out an alien being is also aboard the craft.
  • The Lost Boys – 1987 Starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Corey Feldman. Brothers find out that the town they have just moved to is inhabited by vampires.
  • Legends of The Fall – 1994 Starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Perkins, Aiden Quinn. The story of 3 brothers and their father in Montana through love, war, and betrayal.

 

I’m sensing a theme with this list! I seem to be drawn to movies about misfits, criminals, and mental illness! Yikes! I also notice the years of these movies fall between 1938 and 1995. Are there other great movies before, during, and after those years? Of course! I know I have left out some great ones, but I was lucky enough to decide which ones go on this list!

What are your favorite movies? Do we have any faves in common?