Back in 1977, I was a mere 15 years old. I took my Dad to the movie theater to see a war movie called A Bridge Too Far. I never liked war movies, and I still don’t care that much for them. Dad and I watched this movie on DVD last Friday night. It was still a good movie, all 3 hours of it. With an all-star cast and great production, it kept my attention. Not just Friday night, but all those years ago when I was just 15 years old! This really isn’t about the movie, though. It’s about the memory of seeing it with my Dad.
For all these years, I thought we saw the movie with the original Jaws, but after Googling Jaws, I learned that there were 2 years between the movies. I asked Dad about it and he said he remembered us going to the movies twice; first to see Jaws and then a second time to see A Bridge Too Far. Now, his short-term memory sucks but he does have good long-term memory so I have to trust his memory vs. mine.
I think I had more fun in the theater with my Dad than I ever did with my mom. I took Mom to see Jaws, too. Of course, she drove because in 1975 I was only 13. She laughed during the movie (sadistically, I might add) and seemed like she couldn’t wait to get home. I never went with her again!
Dad was a different story. He has always loved a good war movie. As a kid, he and his friends used to go to the movies. It cost just a few measly cents to get into the theater back then. Oh, the stories he used to tell about those days! He was happy to see a good war movie, even with his daughter. We had popcorn and soda, everything my treat. I spent my hard-earned babysitting money! It was a good memory. Just me and Dad.
A Bridge Too Far / 1977 / Starring Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins, Robert Redford, James Caan, Ryan O’Neal, Gene Hackman, Lawrence Olivier, Elliott Gould, Maximilian Schell, Ben Cross, and more.
I thought I’d be different and talk a little about a film from 1996, 28 years ago. It’s a ridiculous film – almost as absurd as Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Remember that one? If you don’t, count yourself among the lucky ones!
This film is a parody of alien invasion films and it’s hilarious yet stupid as hell. You’ll laugh throughout while shaking your head at the same time! Maybe you’ve seen it. The name of the film is Mars Attacks! Directed by Tim Burton and stars Jack Nicholson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Annette Bening, Glenn Close, and more. I can’t help but wonder what the hell these big-name actors were thinking? Here’s the trailer:
Those aliens crack me up! I was mimicking them for days after I saw the film. Have you seen it? What did you think? 😂
Although today is Christmas Eve, my Christmas is over. Dad and I had ours yesterday with my son and his beautiful family. We had a nice visit and our family’s traditional Christmas Eve with pizza, pizza balls, and popcorn cake. We opened gifts and after a great afternoon, we left.
The only thing missing was our tradition of watching Christmas movies, as we did when my kids were little. The Santa Claus, Trapped In Paradise, Bad Santa, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, and the originals Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas were among our favorites. Of course, the list changed over the years as movies such like Bad Santa were inappropriate for little ones!
It’s been a rough couple of months and it was nice not to worry about a holiday meal or cleaning for guests. I think my days of hosting family get-togethers are over. Last year, I put out a charcuterie board and even that was hard on me. So, I really appreciate my son and his wife having us over this year. No stress, no mess. I wish I could say no pain, but I’ll always have pain to deal with.
Have a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, my friends. I hope your celebration is filled with peace, love, and laughter!
Last week, after I posted My Top 5 Favorite American Actors, a reader said she couldn’t wait to see what actresses I might pick. I’ve been thinking about that ever since. I don’t have many favorite actresses, so this list has been difficult! Please note that I definitely do not have enough favorites to make two separate lists; one for British actresses and one for American actresses. This is a list that includes both.
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5. Sandra Bullock – I first saw Sandra in the movie Speed, which I enjoy watching time and time again. She always lends a touch of ‘real’ to her roles. She gives the impression of the “girl next door” with her down to Earth performances. I enjoyed the Miss Congeniality movies, which proved she could be funny. While You Were Sleeping, Practical Magic, Premonition, and The Lake House are among my favorites. I never saw Bird Box – and I’ve heard mixed reviews, and I’ve not been in a rush to watch it because it’s a horror film.
Photo Credit: Photo12.com – Collection Cinéma
4. Reese Witherspoon – The first thing I ever saw Reese in was a movie called Freeway. If you haven’t seen it, you should! She was very young in this movie and she was a spitfire! She did an amazing job! She’s a fine actress and seems to have the determination to move mountains! I liked her in movies such as Wild, Fear, Walk The Line, Sweet Home Alabama, and a limited series you may have seen on Hulu, called Little Fires Everywhere.
Photo Credit: Imdb.com
3. Emma Thompson – Emma is a British actress, who was once married to my favorite British actor, Kenneth Branagh. She appeared in several movies with him and one of my favorites is Dead Again. It’s a must-see if you haven’t already. Emma’s strong performances include Nanny McPhee, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V, and The Remains of the Day, just to name a few.
Photo Credit: Amazon
2. Elisabeth Moss – Elisabeth is an amazing actress! I never paid much attention to Elisabeth when my dad watched the series Mad Men. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. It wasn’t until her role in The Handmaid’s Tale that I took notice. She did (and continues doing) an excellent job. It’s a hard series to watch and I’m sure it hasn’t been easy filming it either. She seems to take on the strongest emotional roles offered to her. I have seen her in Top of The Lake, a series with 2 seasons, and I just watched The Invisible Man last night! It was phenomenal – actually SHE was phenomenal! I have added a few of her other movies to my Netflix queue.
Photo Credit: Imdb.com
1. Bette Davis – My all-time favorite actress would have to be the legendary Bette Davis. She refused to conform; portraying strong, willful women and unafraid to take on any man, or woman for that matter! You may have seen her in Whatever Happened To Baby Jane, The Virgin Queen, Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Of Human Bondage, and The Bride Came C.O.D. The latter, is one of my favorites in which she starred with James Cagney, one of my favorite American actors. I realized, while going through a list of her movies, that I haven’t seen nearly enough of them! (And there are so many!)
Photo: Public Doman
Honorable Mention – Helen Hunt – Helen was a riot in Mad About You, and I loved her in Twister, Pay It Forward (which I refuse to ever watch again because it broke my heart), As Good As It Gets, and a recent flick called I See You. I wasn’t particularly fond of I See You and she was almost unrecognizable had I not seen her name in the line up. There seems to be something up with her face and it’s not just her getting older…at least I don’t think that’s it. Aside from that little bit of weirdness, I think she’s a great actress. She projects the image on a hard-working American woman. In my book, she certainly is!
Photo Credit: Imdb.com
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It was really difficult putting these women in order, let alone deciding which ones should be on my list in the first place! There are so many talented actors and actresses! I hope you’ve enjoyed these posts of my favorites. I may keep doing them…perhaps favorite comedians or favorite action movie heroes. Suggestions? I’ll take them into consideration!
Last week, I posted about my Top 5 Favorite British Actors, which was inspired by The Huntress. This week, I decided to try to pick my favorite 5 American actors.
I will start by saying there are so many great actors, this might not be an easy post! I mean, I know who #1 is but will it be difficult to put the rest in order? Oy. I’m going to try.
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#5. Vincent Price – I grew up in the 60’s and I always looked forward to the weekends when horror movies aired on the television! My sisters and I called them “monster movies” and while some were actually “monster” movies, some were just downright spooky and had the most awesome villains. My most favorite villain is Vincent Price. He was a master of his art. He was the ultimate villain, and there will never be another like him. I loved watching him in films such as, House of Wax, The Raven, The Fly, House of Usher, The Haunted Palace, and so many more.
Photo: Public Domain
#4. James Cagney – I was never much into Humphrey Bogart movies, like everyone else, except for African Queen. I was a Cagney fan, completely! He was not only a great actor, but he could also sing and dance! He was a Vaudeville singer and dancer. He was born in 1899 and was 86 when he passed away. He had an amazing career! One of my favorite movies is Angels With Dirty Faces. Other favorites include Yankee Doodle Dandy, Public Enemy, and White Heat.
Photo: Public Domain
#3. Robert De Niro – One of the greatest actors of all time, in my opinion, with many awards to prove it! De Niro has always been one of my favorites! Films such as The Godfather Part II, Bang The Drum Slowly, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Casino, Heat, Goodfellas, are just a few of his most excellent works! De Niro has also made comedies, which I didn’t think he could pull off but he sure as hell did! Check out Meet The Parents with the two sequels, Analyze That and the sequel Analyze This, just to name a few. The man is fantastic!
#2. Al Pacino – My daughter always teased me that I liked old men. I had to remind her that Al Pacino wasn’t always old. He was once young and gorgeous, and still not too bad for being close to my dad’s age! He’s an amazing actor and he still gets amazing roles, and a very recent role that he totally rocked was Amazon’s Original series, Hunters. Pacino caught my eye back in the day with Dog Day Afternoon and of course, The Godfather films. Some other fantastic films are ScarFace, Scent of A Woman, and one of my personal favorites, And Justice For All.
Photo Credit: Thomas Schulz
#1. Johnny Depp – This placement was easy, like I said when I started this post. I absolutely love and adore Johnny, since his days on 21 Jump Street. I love his innate ability to capture the uniqueness of the most eccentric characters! Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of The Caribbean series, The Mad Hatter in Alice In Wonderland, Tonto in The Lone Ranger, and so many more. I have many favorites but I’m pretty sure Benny & Joon comes in at the top, with What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Edward Scissorhands, Blow, Chocolat, The Man Who Cried…and…and…and I could never put them in any order! If you really want to laugh your ass off, check out Cry-Baby. It’s an oldie-but-goody!
Photo Credit: Angela George
Honorable Mention: Samuel L. Jackson – I always say, “There’s nothing better than the perfectly placed swear word.” And that’s why Samuel L. Jackson gets an honorable mention! Ha! Well, that and he IS a great actor! Shaft, Die Hard With A Vengeance, Deep Blue Sea, Jurassic Park, Kiss of Death, to name just a few are worth watching in my opinion. Oh, and don’t forget about Snakes On A Plane!! I can’t help but laugh because it was ridiculous, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Photo Credit: Georges Biard
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In a nutshell, these are just a few of my favorite American actors. You may be wondering if I have any favorite female actors… Um…I don’t know! I never really thought about it before! That will be a good post for next week, after I’ve had some time to think about it!
Being Aunt Debbie 