Florence Foster Jenkins
Nicholas Martin and Jasper Rees
Book
'People may say that I couldn't sing. But no one can say that I didn't sing.' Despite lacking pitch,...
A Still Untitled, (Not Quite) Autobiography
Book
Actor Ron Moody has enthralled generations with his masterly performance as Fagin in both the stage...
Lies and Liars: How and Why Sociopaths Lie and How You Can Detect and Deal with Them
Book
Approximately 12 million Americans, or one in twenty-five, are sociopaths. But what does this...
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated Mother Knows Best: A Tale of the Old Witch (Villains #5) in Books
Jul 21, 2021
We follow Gothel, of Tangled fame, a lifetime before she becomes Rapunzel’s guardian and mother. We learn about her life and what drove her to kidnap the princess when she was a baby.
We learn that Gothel had two sisters, sisters that she would do anything for as they were triplets. But their mother doesn’t seem keen to teach Gothel and her sisters her magic, which frustrates Gothel more than her sisters. Their mother dies one night, leaving Gothel to take on her duties as Queen of the Dead and rule over their “kingdom” otherwise known as the Dead Woods. Gothel thrives, while her sister do not and she becomes concerned for them, attracting the attention of the three Odd Sisters.
We follow them as they try to help Gothel help her sisters and learn her magic, whilst trying to get their hands on her mother’s spell books.
In the last part of the book, we discover why she kidnapped Rapunzel and what happens before she ends up in the tower and then follow her quickly (through the use of mirrors) through what happens in the film.
I really do love these different views on the Disney villains and the thought that goes into giving them a back story, so that they aren’t just “evil”. I can’t wait to continue on with the series and hope there are many more to come.
Flickering Treasures: Rediscovering Baltimore's Forgotten Movie Theaters
Book
Baltimore has been home to hundreds of theaters since the first moving pictures flickered across...
Storytelling and Ethics: Literature, Visual Arts and the Power of Narrative
Hanna Meretoja and Colin Davis
Book
In recent years there has been a huge amount of both popular and academic interest in storytelling...
Fred (860 KP) rated Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) in Movies
Jan 22, 2019
Anyway, let's talk about the movie. From the beginning scene with the planes in the desert, you know you're in for something special. At the time I saw the movie, I was big into UFOs. I knew all the stories, all the alien types, all the photos. I even knew who Dr. Allen Hynek, who ran Project Blue Book, was & recognized him at the end of the film, where he makes a cameo. My dad, who was not into sci-fi & didn't believe in the supernatural, told me many times that this was one of his favorite films because "It could happen".
And that's part of the movie's appeal. It could happen. But it's Spielberg's direction of the actors that makes it seem even more real. The way Roy's family acts when all together is all too real & much like real people would act. Everyone in the film is great. If I had only one complaint about the movie, it would be that Roy's wife leaves him too quickly. It's almost like she doesn't even like him & is so quick to give up on him. In any case, she is played very well by Teri Garr. We meet a lot of strange people on the way too, who also have seen these UFOs, like the whistling guy, who saw Bigfoot once too. And he's believable. Again, it all seems like it could happen.
Then there are the special effects. Done by ILM, who had no peers at the time. The UFOs look like they're there & the Mothership at the end still drops my jaw. Throw in John Williams memorable score & you got movie magic. Whenever I think of this film, I get in the mood to watch it right away. And I usually do. I probably have seen this movie over 50 times & will watch it again & again. Close Encounters is Spielberg's best & my third favorite of all time
The 15:17 To Paris (2018)
6.2
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Movie Watch
From Clint Eastwood comes “The 15:17 to Paris,” which tells the real-life story of three men...
Real-Deal Brides Podcast
Podcast
Wedding planning is fun, but brides and grooms need to know the "real-deal" in order to help them...
Ed Fox: Vol. 2
Book
Our first Ed Fox title, Glamour From the Ground Up, introduced the heir to the peculiar photographic...