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Previous Posts
Disney Lets Merida Be Merida After All
Did the folks at Disney even watch "Brave?" One of the great strengths of Pixar's first movie starring a female character (and its first originally written by a woman, Brenda Chapman, though she was replaced by a male director) was that its feisty heroine, Merida, looked like a real girl and not a
posted 8:00:52am May. 18, 2013 |
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Want to Know What James Franco Thinks of "The Great Gatsby?"
I'm interested in James Franco's take on "The Great Gatsby" because of what this polymath who attended two grad schools at once has to say about the challenges of adapting great writing to the screen and the differing goals and audience expectations of a book now viewed as a classic and a movie.
Th
posted 8:00:42am May. 17, 2013 |
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Interview: Directors/Writer/Star of "Desperate Acts of Magic"
Magic is in the air. And on the screen. Two big-budget films with some of Hollywood's biggest stars playing magicians are being released within a few months of each other. In March, we had the silly comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, with Steve Carell and Jim Carrey. Coming up is the en
posted 8:00:21am May. 17, 2013 |
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Star Trek: Into Darkness
This time, there's crying in "Star Trek." And some very significant time on Earth as well. This story is in the most literal sense, close to home.
Writer-director J.J. Abrams, who rebooted Gene Roddenberry's original "Star Trek" saga with a rousing 2009 origin story prequel now takes us clos
posted 9:36:25am May. 16, 2013 |
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Interview: Candace Cameron Bure of "Finding Normal"
It was great to catch up with Candace Cameron Bure to hear about her new film, "Finding Normal," premiering this week on GMC-TV. She plays a brilliant type-A surgeon who is completely focused on status and her career until she gets stuck in a small town and sees a different way of life.
What i
posted 8:00:14am May. 16, 2013 |
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posted July 28, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Thanks for reminding me of this. I spent hours with this book and the video with my oldest daughter. Everytime we pass a laudromat we make reference to the artist there who makes paintings based on the clothes spinning in the dryer.
posted July 28, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Mike Mulligan has been my life-long hero. I remember very clearly my mom taking me past a construction site simply so I could see “Mike” deep in the hole. I was probably no more than 3 or 4.
I realize that DVD’s are convenient, and that professionals do the voices. But nothing compares to reading this book with a kid – and helping each other make the sounds and do the voices.
However, it might take a while to explain “steam shovel”. Perhaps it is time for a renewed version that keeps the charm but upgrades the machinery. Of course, the ending might have to change too. With our upgraded HVAC equipment it is very unlikely that a Big Digger could be converted to heat and cool a building. Maybe there can be a Mike in Space – a Shuttle that becomes a Lab that heats and cools and does all the computations.
posted July 29, 2008 at 6:31 am
The story of Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne the steam shovel was one of my very favorites, too. I am pretty sure I first heard it on “Captain Kangaroo,” but I think I also heard it at my local library’s story hour. The devotion and the way they solved the problem were so simple and endearing, every bit as satisfying now as it was when I first heard it.