A LITTLE SOMETHING TO BRIGHTEN YOUR DAY !

ST. PATRICK'S DAY

The "Busy Bee",as I like to call him, has handed over today's post to me. I hope you do not mind.


 TheChamCham and I are both Irish on our mothers' side and as I like to celebrate just about every holiday you can think of, we had a little celebration beginning with breakfast.

                            I know,I know, it IS fattening, but it is only once in a while. I promise he will be getting fruit and yogurt for the rest of the week.

Next, movies ! We watched THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH

It is a lovely film directed by John Sayles.It is one of those films that is hard to describe but I shall try. It takes place in Donegal,Ireland, the story of a family with a strange,yet magical connection with the sea, an island, and the seals who have lived there going back many generations. If you like quiet Irish films (I do) and happy endings (I do) , then I think that you will like it. I  have the soundtrack and I play it quite often when I am cooking. Jenny Courtney and Richard Sheridan (Fiona and Eamon) are both very good, especially considering that it was the first film for both of them. I also liked the grandparents Hugh and Tess (!) played by Mick Lally and Eileen Colgan. The cinematography is beautiful ( you cannot go wrong with Haskell Wexler). I only wish that I could find a recipe for that seaweed soup !


Next, we watched THE QUIET MAN.

The John Ford classic with a good story, wonderful performances from John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Victor McLaglen, Mildred Natwick and many others. The scenery is beautiful, the art direction and cinematography are lovely (although, I wish Maureen O'Hara's costumes had been prettier). If you have never seen this film then I hope that you will and if you have, why not watch it again? 

Next, Dinner !!!

                                               IRISH STEW (I forgot to sprinkle the fresh chopped parsley before I took the picture.) I make it with beef ,but of course lamb is traditional. 

                                              IRISH SODA BREAD (Yummy warm with butter)

                                 TheChamCham loves his Guinness.  I prefer apple juice.

We ended the evening's entertainment with the original CELTIC WOMAN concert. And then.......


                                                                     DESSERT !     

                         
                           CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH BAILEY'S IRISH CREAM FROSTING.
                                                                        AND COFFEE.            

                              May you be in Heaven half an hour before the Devil knows that you are dead.

                                                                 SLAINTE.

TRAILERS

                                                               

                                                                          So we watched Jurassic World

again tonight. Great movie. Lots of fun. Then we went to IMDb and Tess read the new trivia aloud. (She does this every time we watch it, and after everything else we watch)

Then we watched some trailers. Kong, Skull Island (Wow! That looks insane! )

We both like the 1933 Fay Wray  version, don't like the 1976 Jessica Lange version, and admired, but didn't love  the 2005 Naomi Watts' version.

(Tess' mom once had dinner with Fay Wray in the 1980's. She said that she was still lovely. Tess says her autobiography was one of the most interesting she has ever read.)

Then we saw FEUD:Bette and Joan. I thought Faye Dunaway nailed Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest and reading down the credit list Catherine Zeta-Jones as Olivia DeHavilland ? I can't see it.

Then we saw the trailer for a little movie called ..........

The Mummy.

Hmm, wasn't there already a movie or two by that name ? I think I'll save my comments until I see the entire movie, but I think using "Welcome to a new world of Gods and Monsters" is, how shall I put this..........um, PLAGIARISM !!!  At the very least, I think it's lazy writing.  I mean, if they couldn't even think up an original title, I guess expecting them to come up with an original tagline was presumptuous.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017)
Tess has been dreading this once since the first casting announcements.

We're both fans of the 1991
ANIMATED Disney feature but after seeing the trailer neither one of us is interested. Emma Watson was miscast, it's as simple as that. Using her to lure the Harry Potter audience is a poor excuse to star the wrong person in an iconic role, and surrounding her with versatile, seasoned and much more talented actors and singers only proved how wrong she is for the role.
If you think I'm being unfair, let me know !

As a comparison, we watched "INTO THE WOODS"

last night and were pleasantly surprised. After having separately seen the Broadway production (me) and the PBS televised version (Tess), we were curious ,and ten minutes in we were hooked. Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada, Young Victoria) as The Baker's Wife was wonderful ! (neither of us even knew she sang ) and Lilla Crawford as Little Red Riding Hood (in her FIRST film role !!! 😲 Although she has been on Broadway) was amazing ! Why didn't Disney cast a talented unknown as Belle ? $$$$$$$$ Is that a good reason ? Heck, no ! By the way, Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) DOES have an impressive singing voice (who knew that HE sang ???)  Mandy Moore had to audition SIX TIMES for TANGLED and they already knew she could sing !!! 😧

THE LITTLE MERMAID

is apparently next. Who do you think should play Ariel ? We saw Sierra Boggess on Broadway and she was wonderful ! You say she's not sixteen.......So the H*** what !!!
Then cast an unknown teenager who can SING, (and presumably swim!) ARE YOU LISTENING DISNEY ???)







HEADS UP to any Native American teenage girls who can sing. They'll be casting Pocahontas

eventually. GET AN AGENT !!! 😉