Two (2) Cary Grant Movies to Watch During the Christmas Holiday

At one time, Cary Grant (1904 - 1986) was one of Hollywood's main leading men. He was certainly one of my favorite actors. He has been acting since the 1930s but most of the movies I remember watching when I was growing up were released in the late 1940s and the 1950s. 

Watching old movies is one of my favorite things, especially during the holiday season. Christmas is not until December but I hope no qualms about starting the celebrations as soon as the autumn season is officially declared. The last week of September is usually the first week of the fall season. Here are my 2 picks for Cary Grant movies to watch for the Christmas season.  It's best to watch in December.

Image credit:  Amazon.com

Movie #1:  The Bishop's Wife (1947), leading lady, Loretta Young Cary Grant is an angel from heaven named Dudley. He came down to earth in response to the Bishop's prayer for guidance and in the process of performing his ministerial angel duties, ends up spending most of his time with the bishop's unhappy wife. The answer to the bishop's prayer lies in him realizing that in the performance of his duties as bishop and a husband, he had somehow misplaced his priorities. All he needed was to put back on the right path. It's a warm and fuzzy feel-good kind of movie that is best watched during the Christmas holiday season. 

The Hollywood Collection: Cary Grant: The Leading Man

Movie #2:  An Affair to Remember (1957), leading lady, Deborah Kerr What happens when two (2) lovers make an arrangement to meet at a certain place, on a certain date, at a certain time, with the intention to get married and living happily ever after … only one of the lovers does not show up at that certain place and time, as per the arrangement? Another love story and a real tear-jerker! My favorite part of the movie was where Deborah Kerr started crying but she took her handkerchief and started wiping the tears from Cary Grant's face. He gently took the handkerchief away from her and started wiping her years. She was the one crying. Not him! It was a love affair to remember. I remembered it and have rewatched the movie more than once. It wasn't a Christmas movie but that touching love scene happened during a Christmas holiday.


vintage christmas pictures

Christmas in the #Movies: 30 Classics to Celebrate the Season (Turner #ClassicMovies) https://t.co/qiIMfTq2Bf via @amazon #holiday #fun #SeasonsGreetings #secretsanta #giftexchange #HappyHolidays

— My Shopping Channel (@goshoppingbees) December 11, 2023

In remembrance of Cary Grant, who passed #otd November 29, 1986 pic.twitter.com/jiAzvLUR6u

— 𝙉𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙜𝙞𝙖. (@Dear_Lonely1) November 29, 2022

An Invitation to Come With Me on My Star Trek Adventures

Welcome! Please come with me and boldly go where I (and millions of other Star Trek fans) have already gone and will happily go again! ☺

Gene Rodenberry’s Star Trek series really made a name for itself and earned the reputation that allowed for all of the other ST spinoffs. Any program that wants to carry on the Star Trek tradition should be worthy. It’s 2020+ and my Star Trek lust is not being satiated. I viewed a few episodes in three different series that have the name Star Trek in the title and … in my humble opinion … they don’t live up to the name. Hey! It’s an opinion. Feel free to disagree. We all have our peculiar tastes when it comes to entertainment.

First, let’s recap the Star Trek series being used as my basis for comparison.  (Let's also thank online streaming services like Netflix for allowing fans to binge watch these memorable TV shows.) 

Star Trek: The Original Series

The TV show aired back in the 60s (1966-69) and was considered groundbreaking because of its diverse cast, which included an African-America female high ranking officer, Lieutenant Uhura; and a Vulcan first officer, second only to the captain of the USS Enterprise, the logical and the incomparable Mr. Spock. Imagine. Before man had a mission to go where he had never boldly gone before, Vulcans had already boldly come to us. An advanced civilization had to come and give us ignorant humans a helping hand with our exploration efforts. It’s interesting. Considering that during our space explorations we found that there were so many other “sentient beings” in the universe, one may wonder why the Vulcans chose to ally with the humans and landed in the United States of America for their First Contact. That question is answered in another Star Trek series called Star Trek: Enterprise, which did not air until 2001 after several other ST spinoffs happened in between.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

The show ran from the late 80s into the early 90s (1987-1994). It will always be remembered for Captain Jean Luc Picard, he was very commanding and very wise; the android named Data, he was incredibly smart and very handy to have around; and an extremely scary enemy called … The Borg! Hey! Why fight them? “Resistance is futile”. So what! We fought them anyway!

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

This series aired throughout the 90s (1993-99) and quite frankly, I liked the episodes where they were in the holo suites more than the episodes where they were facing off with a real enemy, The Dominion. The most memorable characters were Captain Benjamin Sisko and Odo, the changeling. (Image: Deep Space Nine Station.)

Star Trek: Voyager

This series began in 1995 and ended in 2001. Can you believe it? They got stranded in outer space, in the wrong quadrant, and the entire series was about them trying to find their way back home and get home before they were too old for their relatives to still recognize them. So get this! A 24th-century state of the art starship with no GPS to give them directions when they’re lost. It’s believable. Sometimes we humans are very creative and inventive but in the process of building things, we overlook an obvious and critically important feature. Who was the scariest enemy? The Vidians. These beings were suffering from a disease so they went everywhere stealing organs from everybody else. They didn’t ask for organ donors. They just took what they needed. What must it feel like to have your lungs disappear? One second you’re breathing. The next second? NO AIR!! Who is the most memorable character in this series? Seven of Nine. She was a Borg drone, who was captured by The Borg when she was a child. By the time she was found by the crew of The Voyager, she was a young woman. Captain Janeway was determined to give her back her life so that she could live as a human again. She succeeded. Out of all of the characters in all of the Star Trek series, I am never going to forget Seven of Nine.

Star Trek: Enterprise

This series is the prequel. Star Trek: The Original Series began without ever explaining how the United Federation of Planets began. It ran from 2001 and 2005 and honestly, nothing about the show was memorable. But it did explain how and why it was decided that we should boldly go where no man had ever gone before. Even if we do cross paths with sentient beings who think they are a superior race or just don’t really like us very much and want to fight a war. If you think about it, it’s really not that much different from living on planet earth.

So now it’s the 21st century and here’s where I am in my Star Trek adventures.

Star Trek: Picard

I watched only one episode because it was offered free of charge for the curious who might be willing to pay to watch the entire series. It was OK. To be honest, since it bore the name “Picard”, I had higher expectations. I’m content to wait until I can binge watch all of the episodes for free at some later date when its novelty has word off.

Star Trek: Discovery

I watched some episodes and I have several complaints.

• Number 1: The lighting is awful! For many scenes, it seems so dark.
• Number 2: The Klingons wear way too much make-up!
• Number 3: The special effects are serious overkill.

This series was launched in 2017. By this time, the original Star Trek series was 50 years old.

Star Trek Continues

I was searching for streaming apps and stumbled across this series. You will recall that the mission was supposed to last for 5 years, only the show was canceled after 3 seasons. Somebody decided that since the original Star Trek series was cut short and fans were terribly disappointed, they would continue the old show only … with new actors playing the old parts for Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Bones, Scotty, etc.

• Number 1: The replacements have no strong screen presence at all! They are like cheap imitations or really bad counterfeits of the original cast. My opinion.
• Number 2: If the first episode is an indicator, it’s a good series to watch if you want to compare it with your imagination. Surely you must have wondered what the Star Trek series would have been like had they actually completed the 5-year mission. I am not that impressed, however, in all fairness, the creators of this series get an A++ for their honorable intentions.

♦ All I can say is… once upon a time … there was an awesome TV show called Star Trek that set the standard for all the other science fiction space exploration television series that would come after.

Original Source

#StarTrekDay

been boldly going for 55 years 💛
— happy #StarTrekDay ! 💫 pic.twitter.com/eg2OkLpx8s

— star trek gifs (@tosgifs) September 8, 2021

GOOD READS: Charles Dickens Wrote More Than One Ghost Story

 “Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world’s best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.” (Wikipedia)

Since readers seemed to appreciate my post about William Shakespeare, I decided to share a short post about another famous British writer, Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870). Unlike Shakespeare, hardly anybody challenges or questions whether Dickens is the true author of any of his works.  He is known by almost everyone as the man who wrote “A Christmas Carol“.  This novel is a literary masterpiece that has been adapted to film numerous times and has become part of the holiday tradition.  Every Christmas people want to see those ghosts! The popularity of this original work has overshadowed the fact that it wasn’t the ONLY ghost story Charles Dickens ever wrote.  Dickens had a fascination with supernatural phenomena and the existence of spirits or ghosts.  Because of his avid interest, he wrote several ghost stories. Enough to have them compiled into one volume for your reading pleasure.  That’s if you like a good ghost story!

Wordsworth Classics: “Complete Ghost Stories” by Charles Dickens

Original source

THE 16 GREATEST CHARLES DICKENS NOVELS

Four Favorite Movies and Nine Favorite Movie Stars

Favorite movie stars very likely starred in your favorite movies. Did you grow up watching television or going to the movies on Saturday afternoon? In this article, I am remembering the movie stars from my childhood who are no longer with us. They made quite an impression on my young mind – in a good way – and I don’t care what the official biographies or the movie critics say! To me, these actors and actresses were larger than life and the films they starred in helped build character. I will speak briefly about each. Very briefly. Even though these movies are old, it is possible you may not have watched them. I would not want to spoil the ending.

Image credit

● 1st MOVIE:  Bogart and Bergman in “Casablanca”

• Humphrey DeForest Bogart (Dec 25, 1899 – Jan 14, 1957)
• Ingrid Bergman (Aug 29, 1915 – Aug 29, 1982)

Casablanca (1942): This movie was a love story; and if you don’t remember anything else about this film you will remember these two lines: “Play it again, Sam.” and “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

● 2nd MOVIE:  Marvin, Bronson, and Savalas in “The Dirty Dozen”

• Lee Marvin (Feb 19, 1924 – Aug 29, 1987)
• Charles Bronson (Nov 3, 1921 – Aug 30, 2003)
• Aristotelis “Telly” Savalas (Jan 21, 1922 – Jan 22, 1994)

The Dirty Dozen (1967): This is a movie about redemption. A dozen men, twelve convicts, are given an opportunity by the United States Army to serve their country, just as any law-abiding patriotic soldier would do. All they have to do is carry out a mission behind enemy lines and come back alive! The records of their crimes will be wiped clean and they will be free men. Think they succeeded?

● 3rd MOVIE:  Frank Sinatra in “Von Ryan’s Express”

• Francis Albert “Frank” Sinatra (Dec 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998)

Von Ryan’s Express (1965): This was a war movie. But it was Frank Sinatra like I had never seen him before. He wasn’t singing and dancing and this was no lighthearted film. He was a prisoner of war with a group of other prisoners who planned a daring escape from German-occupied Italy on a freight train. Frank Sinatra was Colonel Ryan.

● 4th MOVIE:  Peck, Quinn, and Niven in “The Guns of Navarone”

• Eldred Gregory Peck (Apr 5, 1916 – Jun 12, 2003)
• Anthony Quinn (Apr 21, 1915 – Jun 3, 2001)
• James David Graham Niven (Mar 1, 1910 – July 29, 1983)

The Guns of Navarone (1961): As this is a British-American film, it was released in both the United States and the United Kingdom. If I were to prepare a Top 5 List of Movies To Watch Over and Over Again, this movie would be on that list. A group of men, a commando unit, handpicked by the military because of their special skills were sent on a mission to destroy a German fortress located on Navarone Island.

The Captain of the team was persuasively played by Gregory Peck. Anthony Quinn was a Colonel who served in the Greek Army. The best way to describe his character is by plucking a line from the movie that he said about himself. He said, “I’m not so easy to kill.” If you’re going on a dangerous mission you want a guy like that on your team. David Niven is the demolitions expert. Though he was reluctant, he had to come along. Without his expertise in the field of explosives, there was no point in even attempting to carry out the mission. Everything about this movie was memorable. The actors, the soundtrack, the scenery! It was spectacular!

Remembering today the late 🇬🇧British actor #DavidNiven #BOTD in 1910 in #London, seen here with co-stars #AnthonyQuinn #StanleyBaker & #GregoryPeck in the 🇺🇸American epic war adventure "THE GUNS OF NAVARONE" (1961) dir. J. Lee Thompson pic.twitter.com/gD66mmzhCk

— Neville F Chamberlain (@NevilleFChambe1) March 1, 2021

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Who are your favorite movie stars who starred in your favorite movies?

Korean Drama TV Series: Destined With You (2023)

Destined With You is a Korean drama a fantasy rom-com series, with 16 episodes, released in 2023.  

This K-drama series is a love story between Lee Hong Jo, a lowly civil servant at Onju City Hall and Jang Shin Yu, a successful lawyer who was hired to work for the city's Mayor.

• Jang Shin Yu suffers from an illness and when he tries to sleep he is tormented by a bloody hand that caresses his face. His illness is actually a centuries-old curse.

• Lee Hong Jo discovers that she is the owner of a box that contains a book of magic spells. Is there is a spell that can lift his curse?

These two people have a past-life connection. During the Joseon Era, Jang Shin Yu was Jang Mu Jin, a wealthy young nobleman who fell in love with a shaman named Aeng Cho. Lee Hong Jo was Aeng Cho, the shaman. It was a forbidden union that ended tragically. They meet again in modern times. Will their love survive this time? They are both told that whether tragedy or happiness, their destinies could not be severed. They are destined to be with each other.

Main Characters:

• Jang Shin Yu | Jang Mu Jin (played by Ro Woon, “The Kings' Affection”; “Tomorrow”)

• Lee Hong Jo | Aeng Cho (played by Jo Bo Ah)

• Rowoon’s New Drama ‘Destined With You’: Cast, Plot, Review, Episode Schedule, And More | TheBeauLife

• Enjoying Destined With You? Top 4 K-Dramas You Need To Add To Your Watchlist Starring Rowoon | Filmfare.com

• 'Destined With You' on Netflix Review: Stream It Or Skip It? | Decider

Celebrities We All Admire: Do You Heart Bruce Lee?

I heart libraries. One time I checked out a book from the library about the incomparable Bruce Lee. That was when I realized that several people in my house heart Bruce Lee. That book got passed around. My sons loved that book! Had to pry it loose from their fingers so I could return it to the public library. Must admit. It was a great book! But then, everything about Bruce Lee is spectacularly awesome!! Don’t you agree?

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Image credit: BruceLee – The Evolution of a Master Art Legend by Advance Martial Arts, on Flickr

* * * In Memory Of Asian-American Legend ~ Bruce Lee (Nov 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973)

Old But Gold Movies: Review: “There Will Be Blood” (2007)

“There Will Be Blood” (2007) is a movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis.  He won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. If you are a fan, then you will love the actor but you will hate the character he played.  Oh my!  What a horrible awful awful man!!  You never want to meet someone like that in real life!  If you know someone like that then surely you must go in the opposite direction every time it looks like you're going cross paths.  If I were keeping a list of movies I hate, this film would be at the top of the list.

I HATED THIS MOVIE!!!

If you are a loyal fan of Daniel Day-Lewis (Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis) then you have probably seen this movie. It’s not a recent film. It was released 10+ years ago. The movie is “There Will Be Blood”.

I don’t care for all of the movies where Daniel Day-Lewis is the star, even if he is a “Sir”. But I do know that he always gives 200% whenever he gives a performance.

This film won 2 Oscars. One award was for Best Achievement in Cinematography: Robert Elswit. The other was given to Daniel Day-Lewis for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

He was good! He played his part well. He was so good that I HATED HIM!!

I HATED THIS MOVIE!!!

If I met any of those people in real life I would run away from them!

I only liked 2 characters: the adopted son (of Daniel Day-Lewis) and the girl he fell in love with.

As for the character played by Daniel Day-Lewis and that preacher he was always butting heads with?

I HATED BOTH OF THEM! I HATED THEIR GUTS!!

So was there blood? If you have not seen the movie, I don’t want to spoil it for but … yeah! Blood was definitely shed.

Sean Fennessey, a writer for The Ringer, a publication that covers sports, pop culture, and tech, provided a succinct description of this film in his movie review:

Never crawl out? Never??

What a relief to know that it was just a movie and not a historical account of real events.

So relax. If you are pursuing the American dream … dream on!

♦ Original Source.

K-Drama Review: 100 Days My Prince (2018) ~ Season 2 Confirmed for 2024

100 Days My Prince (2018) is a historical period K-drama, with 16 episodes, currently available on popular streaming sites such as Netflix, Viki, and Amazon Prime.  

"100 Days My Prince Series season 2nd not a secret now. We're expecting it to land on Saturday, May 11, 2024 almost same time as previous. Here's all we know about the upcoming part of the history."  (Source)

For those who have not watched Season 1, below is a recap.

Plot Summary

In the beginning episode, we meet the young boy who will become the prince and the young girl that he falls in love with and promises to marry.  Like typical historical Korean dramas, it is loaded with political power struggles between ruthless court officials and of course, there's a touching love story. 

Childhood Trauma

A young prince witnesses horrific bloodshed and commands that it be stopped. Since he is a small child, his command is disregarded and he is returned to his father; only to learn that it was his father who ordered the bloodshed. To add insult to injury, his mother is “accidentally” killed (really she was murdered). 

From that day forward, he not only hates his father, HE HATES EVERYBODY!

Everybody except his close friend from childhood.  Everybody should have at least one true friend in this world. 

Two Marriages of Convenience?

The prince is forced into a marriage of convenience.  His wife, the princess, becomes pregnant by another man. In an effort to cover up her infidelity, the father-in-law (the father of the princess) attempts to kill the prince. The assassination attempt fails. However, while trying to escape his assassins, the prince falls down a slope and hits his head. A poor man finds him and takes care of him as best he can while he is unconscious. 

When he regains his consciousness, he does not remember who he is. When he was the prince he had given an order that all spinsters get married.  The poor man's daughter has not yet obeyed this command and time is running out.  The poor man is desperate to save his daughter from being punished for disobeying the law.  She is in peril and could be flogged to dearth.  So he the prince that he is his daughter's husband-to-be and that they must marry immediately.  Another marriage of convenience? 

What Happened During 100 Days

For 100 days, he lives the simple life of a commoner and falls in love. He is found by his father-in-law and brought back to the palace. His memory has not returned. But slowly bits and pieces of incidents from his past, like puzzle pieces, begin to fit together. His story begins … AGAIN! 

Gradually he realizes who he is and what he needs to do, i.e. fight against those who want him dead.  But he also knows what he wants to do, i.e. marry the woman he fell in love with as a commoner.  Eventually, he'll discover that she is the little girl he met when he was a child and had promised he would marry anyway.  Sadly, along the timeline from their childhood to young adults, many many unhappy and tragic events have occurred.

Will the prince overcome his opponents and will he and the woman he loves be able to live happily ever after?

• Do Kyung Soo stars as Prince Yul; and
• Nam Ji Hyun plays Yi Seo, the woman he truly loves.

RATING

Most viewers gave this series 4.8 out of 5 stars or 9.5. out of stars.  I agree.  To date, 100 Days My Prince stands as "the 11th highest-rated drama in Korea" (Source); and fans are super excited for Season 2.

Original source

If you are a Do Kyung-Soo (D.O.) fan, while you're waiting for 2024 to arrive, check out these:

• Swing Kids (2018)

• Along With the Gods: The Last 49 Days (2018); AND Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds | Singwa Hamgge- Joewa Beol (2017)

• Bad Prosecutor (2022)

Movie Recommendation for Fans of Sophia Loren: Sunflower (1970)

Did you know that sunflowers turn to follow the sun? In Greek mythology, a young nymph fell in love with the sun god Apollo. What do you think the gods did to her?  It's a tragic love story.  The movie "Sunflower" which stars Sophia Loren is also a tragic love story.  Where to Watch.



But the sunflower has more than one love story.

Do you enjoy old movies? Are you also a fan of Sophia Loren? If so, you may have already seen this film, but if you haven't, it comes highly recommended. (That means my husband liked it! ☺) It's a very moving love story about a newly wedded couple. The woman's husband went to war and did not return home. Even though others tell her he is probably dead, she believes her husband is alive and sets out to prove it.  "In the Soviet Union, Giovanna visits the sunflower fields, where there is supposedly one flower for each fallen Italian soldier, and where the Germans forced the Italians to dig their own mass graves."  (Quote Source)

That's it! No spoilers. That's all you'll get out of me, except to say that, this movie would make a great addition to your personal video library. Ms. Loren has starred in many movies that just didn't enough publicity or airtime. This is one of them.

Sunflower (English Subtitled)

"#SophiaLoren, 36, from her #movie #Sunflower" #history #pics #photography pic.twitter.com/XPwzo99Tmw

— Rebecca Rocki (@RebeccaRocki) February 20, 2017

Sofia Loren 2014 Drawing #Drawing #pencildrawing #graphitedrawing #Art #artist #artwork #sofialoren #sofia #loren #goldenage #goldenhollywood #actress pic.twitter.com/446Rp13EeS

— Trevor Doell (@doelldesigns) June 30, 2020

"Nothing makes a #woman more #beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful" #Sofia Loren #montegrappa #Barcelona pic.twitter.com/IFHTbEUG83

— Tomas Colomer 1870 (@Tomas_Colomer) December 14, 2015

Also posted at our partner blog: Joie de Vivre Magazine.

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Hollywood Screen Legends and Icons: Sophia Loren (September 20, 1934 - )

Discovering Sophia Loren - 2011

Sophia Loren: Live From the TCM Classic Film Festival - 2016