A wonderful life

Taking advantage of my time off from class (which makes for freer evenings and weekends) I've been on a roll with my list and recently watched It's a Wonderful Life (#98) and wondered how it could be that I've never seen this movie. I also wondered how I could have been so completely wrong with my notions of what the movie was about--I thought it was a Scrooge story with George Bailey's character as Scrooge--you know--someone who is a downer on Christmas.

To me, this movie wasn't really about Christmas, or a Scrooge, but about someone who had dreams for their life, who sacrificed some of their dreams for the happiness of others, who believed in something greater than themselves, and who understood the power of people and the power of people working together working together for a common purpose. And in the end it wasn't the places he'd seen, or the things he'd done, but rather, it was the people in his life and who he was to those people that gave George all the joy and happiness he needed.

Perhaps these themes seemed even more poignant to me given the current economic climate, my own desire to travel and see the world, and the fact that my dad worked in a bank for all of my growing up years.

Whatever the case--I loved this movie. I'm glad I finally made a point to see it, and I'll try not to feel snubbed by others when they exclaim, "HOW could you get through 30 years and NEVER have seen It's a Wonderful Life?!?!?" (since this is what I've been asking myself too!).

If you've never seen it, I'd highly encourage you pick it up (add it to your Netflix queue, borrow from a friend, or pick up at your local library)--I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

And the Oscar goes to!

In honor of the Oscars, some of my personal favorites (most of which did not make the Oscars list)...

• Favorite movie when I was a kid: Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, and Little Mermaid were all favorites, and still are!
• Favorite movie when I was in high school: The Cutting Edge (I own both the VHS and DVD version of this film)
• Favorite movies now: Pride & Prejudice (the new version), Love Actually, Love Comes Softly, The Christmas Card, The Magic of Ordinary Days (Hallmark Hall of Fame), Live Free or Die Hard (I had to get at least one action flick in here!)

Hard to guess that I'm a romantic at heart, huh?

When you care enough...

I'm sure this is just the first, of what will be many, blog posts about one of my favorite institutions...I love Hallmark for oh so many reasons, but this past weekend I was reminded of one. It was Saturday night and my mom texted me with a note saying there was a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie on CBS and was I watching? To which I texted her back that no, I wasn't watching because it was a repeat (one I'd already seen, good, but not one I watch over and over). My mom knows how much I love those HHF movies and was looking out for me--thanks mom!

If you've never seen a HHF movie, I'd highly recommend you check them out--at your local library, on the Hallmark Channel (if you have cable!), through Netflix, or watch for them to be broadcast on network TV, etc. What I love about the HHF movies is that they are family-friendly, often educational (ie, about a specific time in history, a significant individual, or a subset of humanity), and almost always have a happy ending. Though they first started broadcasting back in 1950, it wasn't until the 1990s that I remember seeing my first HHF flick, Sarah, Plain and Tall, starring Glenn Close. That's the other crazy thing about HHF movies--they have all these MAJOR celebs starring in them...and I don't think that Hallmark is paying them big bucks. Everyone from Rosie O'Donnell to Alicia Silverstone, Jennifer Garner, Faye Dunaway, Nathan Lane, Anna Paquin, Dean Cain, Gary Sinise, Diane Lane, Ving Rhames, Kyra Sedgwick, Kathy Bates, Anne Heche, Aidan Quinn, James Garner, Jeff Daniels, John Lithgow, Clive Owen, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Christopher Walken, Tate Donovan, Alfre Woodard, Matthew Modine--the list goes on and on! I think these actors work with Hallmark because they know it's a good product--it's not about the money, it's about enriching the lives of the audience and making something of substance.

Two of MY favorite Hallmark Hall of Fame movies (and ones that I actually own and would be happy to lend to anyone interested!) are The Magic of Ordinary Days (2005) and Loving Leah (2009). The Magic of Ordinary Days stars Keri Russel (of Felicity fame) and Skeet Ulrich. And yes, it's a love story, but it's so sweet! The time period is WWII, in rural Colorado. Keri is a city gal and relocating to a farm, for a variety of reasons, is not her idea of fun. (Side note: letters and a library play small supporting characters in this flick!) I still remember watching this for the first time (on TV) with my friend Mel--good memories!

Loving Leah is a more recent flick and a total love story involving mostly actors I'd never heard of before and an interesting story line involving ancient Jewish traditions, a young doctor, a woman who wants to go to college, an overpowering mother, and Ricki Lake as a reformed rabbi. Yea, so totally not-believable, but I love the fairytale!

And, ok, so I need to come clean here. It's not just the movies I love...it's the Hallmark commercials that are shown (when a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie is broadcast on network TV). They re-broadcast many of the same commercials (and I have some favorites) and they still touch my heart every time!!

And I just saw that Hallmark is turning 100 this year--wow! Happy Birthday my friend (from your biggest fan)!!!