Riyo, a young Japanese girl longs for a fresh start, after both of her parents die. The year is 1918, and her aunt contacts a match maker. Riyo, becomes a picture bride, a part of the custom of matching a husband and wife based on photos and letters. The beautiful Riyo, a shy, gentle girl, likes the look of her match, the handsome Mitsuji, so she embarks for Hawaii, where she will join her husband working in sugar cane fields. Once she lands, she is shocked to discover that the photo she was sent was very dated. Mitsuji is, in … Continue reading →

Crafty Becky Sharp may not have been blessed with a good start in life, but she has her wits, her beauty, and her ability to speak fluent french, qualities she hoped will raise her from orphan to leader of society. Along the way, she laughs at society but years to be at its center, falls in love, but makes foolish choices, has a heart of gold at times and could care less in others. The film is an adaption of William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1848 novel, an undertaking, since the book spans decades of the early 19th century and is filled … Continue reading →

Amanda Price is obsessed with Pride and Prejudice. “I love the story, I love Elizabeth, I love the manners and language and the courtesy.” It is something her sleazy boyfriend Michael doesn’t understand. His idea of romance is proposing marriage in between burps and swigs of beer. Michael eventually collapses on the couch leaving the house quiet enough for Amanda to hear mysterious noises coming from the bath. It is none other than Elizabeth Bennet come through some sort of time portal. Eventually, Amanda ventures through the door to the world of Austen, complete with Mr. Darcy. Will her presence … Continue reading →

Pixar has done it again, Brave is a beautifully animated fairytale set in Scotland. The princess in this story, Merida, is a fiery red head with a mind of her own. No damsel in distress waiting for Prince Charming, Merida is determined to choose her destiny instead of allowing tradition to chose it for her. Merida wants to ride her horse and shoot arrows. There is nothing prissy about this princess, she is as rough and tumble as any boy. For the first time we see a strong bond between mother and daughter in a fairytale. Somehow, along the way, … Continue reading →

Set in the Dorset village of Mellstock during the 1840s, Under the Greenwood Tree focuses on a new arrival to the village, Miss Fancy Day. Miss Day, an educated beauty who has travelled to the village to take care of her ailing father and to be the new schoolmistress, is met with a lot of curiosity. She becomes the talk of the square, and three suitors step forward to ask for her hand in marriage. There is the wealthy landowner who promises silk dresses and live in maid service, the intelligent and educated Vicar who promises her the world, literally, … Continue reading →

I love Julia Roberts in anything! I think she is amazing, the range of emotions she can portray, and make you believe, hold me enthralled. This story of Snow White deviates from the original where the princess is a helpless little thing, cooking and cleaning, then waiting for Prince Charming to wake her with a kiss after she falls prey to an evil spell. In this version, Snow White is strong, she holds her own, stands up for those who are suffering and she uses true love’s first kiss to break the spell on the prince. All of the fairy … Continue reading →

As you would expect from Dr. Seuss, The Lorax is full of lessons. The movie is about the perfect town, Thneedville, a town made of plastic, even the trees are plastic, much to the dismay of Audrey, a high school girl voiced by Taylor Swift. The main character, Ted, is quite taken with Audrey and sets out on a quest to get her a tree, a real, live, growing tree. To find the trees, Ted must first discover what happened to them and for this he must go outside of town to find the Once-ler. Outside of Sneedville is gray … Continue reading →

The story of Henriette Delille is anything but ordinary. Based on a true story, The Courage to Love explores a little known time in Lousianna’s history. When the “Americans” were a threat to the way of life, and free women of color were openly kept by rich white benefactors. The children of such matches, known as Quadroons (if they had a quarter of non-white “blood” or Octaroons (for an eighth) where prepared by their mothers to attend balls, where their suitors would pledge their keeping for a year or a lifetime. The law forbad the marriage between persons of mixed … Continue reading →

Fortunes rise and fortunes fall. Four young American Women, living in the world of 1870s England find themselves sailing the treacherous waters of the social world of the well to do. Will they break themselves against the reefs or sail successfully to shore, loaded down with treasure? The Buccaneers, a 1995 BBC miniseries is based on Edith Wharton’s unfinished novel by the same name. Wharton, who grew up in the elite circles of 19th century society, a contemporary of the Astons and the Vanderbilts, knew all about the pressures of marriage and position that might befall a young American, whose … Continue reading →

Time is short, and I’m behind! My lovely daughter is doing a movie review for me, I hope you enjoy it. Like any fan of Marilyn Monroe, as soon as I heard of this movie, I was dying to see it. This film portrayed Marilyn Monroe in a way that not many have. To the world she was bright, confident, and, of course, a sex symbol. To the people who actually knew her, she was insecure, always afraid she was not good enough. This film was captured from the point of view of someone who looked past the glitz and … Continue reading →