Top 5 Classic Movies to See

After doing my Christmas list, I had to do my all time favorite classics!

5.The Maltese Falcon - In University I was forced to read the book and watch the movie. I was glad I did. The book was perfectly written and the movie was superb! A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette. Stars Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor and Gladys George

4. Gone With the Wind - Okay, so I am not one for the mushie stuff. I mean sure I write romance but most of the movies out there that are called Romance are just blah - but this movie I first saw it when I was about  15 and ADORED it. American classic in which a manipulative woman and a roguish man carry on a turbulent love affair in the American south during the Civil War and Reconstruction. Stars Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh and Thomas Mitchell

3. The Gold rush - Charlie Chaplin aka The Tramp goes the Klondike in search of gold and finds it and more.  I sat at home watching this movie with my mother the other day. It's a silent move from about 1925 and I laughed so hard my sides hurt. This movie is hilarious. And oh, if someone says "I'm so hungry I could eat my shoe" this movie is where it came from lol.

2. Casablanca - Of course this movie would make this list. Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II: An American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications. Stars Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid.

1. Citizen Kane - This movie is my all time favorite movie ever! Why? This masterpiece is in black and white, made in the 1940's and it was made it was surprisingly clever! Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance - "Rosebud!" Citizen Kane stars Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten and Dorothy Comingore.

The Best Christmas Movies

So no this is now a review. I just thought I'd count down the top ten of my FAVORITE Christmas movies! There are some classics that didn't make the list because I was only counding down from 10 so enjoy!

10. Christmas In Canaan - DJ and Rodney don't like each other from the start. Rodney thinks DJ is an ignorant white farm boy, and DJ thinks Rodney acts too smart for his own good. After a school bus scuffle between the two, DJ's father and Rodney's grandmother come up with a clever solution that brings the boys closer than either of them would like. Living in Canaan, Texas in the 1960's does not make it easy for a black boy and a white boy to forge a friendship. It is only amid the magic of an unforgettable Christmas that DJ and Rodney discover a land of milk and honey where hope and love make all the difference.

9. White Christmas (1954) -  successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general.
8. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed.

7. Home Alone 3 - Alex Pruitt, a young boy of nine living in Chicago, fend off thieves who seek a top-secret chip in his toy car to support a North Korean terrorist organization's next deed.

6. Sound of Music - A woman leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to the children of a Naval officer widower.

6. A Christmas Story - Ralphie has to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect gift for the 1940s.

5. Trading Places - A snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.

4. Make the Yultide Gay - (GLBT) - Olaf "Gunn" Gunnunderson, an out-and-proud gay college student, crawls back into the closet to survive the holidays with his family. He keeps his cool as his quirky Midwestern-hearted parents try to set him up with his high school sweetheart, Abby. But when his boyfriend, Nathan, shows up at their doorstep unannounced, Gunn must put on a charade to keep the relationship a secret. With pressure mounting from all sides, will Gunn come out before the truth does?

3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas - (with Jim Carey) - The Grinch, a bitter, grouchy, cave-dwelling creature with a heart "two sizes too small," lives on snowy Mount Crumpit, a steep, 3,000-foot (910 m) high mountain just north of Whoville, home of the merry and warm-hearted Whos. His only companion is his faithful dog, Max. From his perch high atop Mount Crumpit, the Grinch can hear the noisy Christmas festivities that take place in Whoville. Annoyed and unable to understand the Whos' happiness, he makes plans to descend on the town and deprive them of their Christmas presents, Roast Beast, Who-hash and decorations and thus "prevent Christmas from coming. - From Wikipedia

2. Home Alone 1 - An 8-year-old boy, who is accidentally left behind while his family flies to France for Christmas, has to defend his home against idiotic burglars.

1. A Christmas Carol (1984) - An old miser who makes excuses for his uncaring nature learns real compassion when 3 ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone!

From Kato's Totally Biased Movie Reviews, I'd like to say have a Merry Christmas and we wish for you a happy, safe and prosperous New Year!

Be safe this season.

No drinking and driving!

And take the family to a movie!

Hugs,

Kato

Christmas Comes Home to Canaan

Starring: Billy Ray Cyrus, Gina Holden, Emily Tennannt, Matt Ward, Jacob Blair, Liam James

In the story, Daniel's son Bobber needs extensive orthopedic surgery and months of intensive physical therapy to recover from being struck down by an automobile. Rodney Freeman, the young black man who Daniel took into his home and raised as another son, has become a famous writer and offers to fly Daniel and Bobber to San Francisco and to pay for the surgery. Once in San Francisco, Daniel meets and falls for Briony Adair, a physical rehabilitation specialist who will be working toward Bobber's recovery. When therapy progresses slowly, Bobber invites Briony to come home to Canaan to spend Christmas with the Burtons and continue his treatment. Briony is a natural at caring for a thriving family, but Sarah, Daniel's daughter distances herself not wanting to dishonor her late mother's memory, and a disastrous Christmas visit drives Daniel and Briony apart. In the soul searching that follows, Daniel finds the strength to open his heart again and invite love back into his life.

It amazes me just how talented Billy Ray Cyrus is. I watched every episode of DOC because of him just to see what else he could do and every movie or TV show he popped into over the year I paid close attention.  In this movie, Christmas Comes Home to Canaan I didn't expect him to be able to carry off the character Burton, a father trying to raise his three kids and one 'adopted' child in a racist small town after the death of his wife. But once again, Billy surprised me. Though this movie seemed relatively low budget, it focuses on family and what family truly is. 

While this movie could have used some work, there is just something about it that left me feeling fulfilled and ready for Christmas. 

Make the Yuletide Gay

Starring: Adamo Ruggiero, Hallee Hirsch, Keith Jordan

Make the Yuletide Gay is a 2009 American romantic comedy film about a gay college student who is out at school, but is afraid to reveal his sexual orientation to his parents. 

Rob Williams is a genius! This movie was so funny I laughed so much by the end I had a migraine!  It was just what I needed to beat my Christmas blahs. After being bombarded by the same, old, boring movies about Christmas on tv, it was great to finally watch one that had nothing to do with angels, or Santa, or bells, or evil corporations being taken down after the lead male got the Christmas spirit and grows a conscience. 

I have to admit I went into this movie not knowing Adamo Ruggiero (From Degrassi) was in it and was VERY surprised to see him. He plays Nathan, boyfriend to Keith Jordan's character Olaf "Gun" Gununderson. The two are desperately in love and while they hold hands and make out in public at school, at home Gun is a different person. At home, he tries so hard to be straight. He even changed the way he dresses, from elegantly, to bum-ie to keep up the charade.

Nathan, well, while his parents know, they are trying desperately not to acknowledge it. The treat Nathan like he's a stranger and is always going off on one trip or another. The last straw comes when they ditched him for a cruise rather than spending Christmas with him. 

I love this  movie.

While this movie was hilarious and brilliant and stellar - I couldn't help thinking of the boys and girls out there who are scared to come out to their parents. It is never easy and if you want a little help or advice, check out the It Gets Better  campaign or the Trevor Project.  Because no one should have to go through these things alone. 

Oh and this movie has a happy ending so it's right up the alley for Christmas!

Gossip Girl -Series Finale

Cast

Privileged teenagers attend an elite private school in New York City. Based on Alloy Entertainment's book series.

Before this year, I never wanted to watch this show. I mean come on, another tv show about kids with too much money on their hands and no idea what to do with it all. I have enough crap in my life and I didn't need to watch theirs every week.

But here in Canada it's hard because most of the time TV is the most boring thing around especially when their's a storm outside and the meteorologists are saying we should try staying inside. So I turned to MUCHMUSIC and there it was. A whole day of GOSSIP GIRL on with nothing else on the other tons of station we pay for that are completely useless.  So, I grabbed a chocolate bar and started in on it. I realized this show had Josh Scwartz, the guy who gave us THE OC so I was like....this has to be epic!!

When the day was over I was a season through the series and was intrigued. Then I started catching up at friend's place through their DVD and eventually I was completely caught up. 

So I am enjoying it. I especially loved me some Chuck Bass and the nerd of course I had to root for the nerd. But this show had the potential going out in style! I was pumped for the final episode. Everyone was so tight lipped about it that I was thinking "omg! This is going to be off the CHAIN!"

Then I sat there watching it. I noticed I began watching the clock thinking "It's 24 minutes in and  I'm not impressed." To me, it was like the writers realized it was their final rodeo and just gave up. Sure, it was pretty someone ended up dead, Gossip girl was revealed and the fashion was amazing but everything else was disappointing. The story just stopped and then they go 5 years in and everything was just like it was before - them getting everything they wanted. I was so let down by this ending. I expected more. More drama, more betrayal, more...more...MORE. I know they were trying to tie it all up in a nice little bow but they failed and they did so miserably.  With the whole build up to the series finale, I wanted more fireworks and more writing but I just didn't get it.

And then the true end came with the wealthy kids standing around and some outsider guy walking buy with the wealthy kids giving him dirty looks. 

With that ending I couldn't help thinking - "dear god! Haven't we suffered enough?"