Pophistory: music, movies, history, and life.
Because nothing says Christmas as much as a quiz, here is another Christmas quiz to go with our previous quiz on music from classic Christmas films and TV specials. Here, see how many questions you can answer out of the following nine questions about Christmas in the movies. Answers appear at the end.
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One of the most anticipated movies for the coming year is Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and its trailer was just released. The film will be released in December 2012 as the first of two films adapting the novel, and it looks like anyone who enjoyed The Lord of the Rings movies will also like this one.
As you can see from the trailer, many of the actors from The Lord of the Rings movies appear, so that the “prequel” feels like a part of the series rather than a different movie altogether. The trailer includes Andy Serkis (Gollum), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Elijah Wood (Frodo), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), and Cate Blanchett (Galadriel). The Hobbit is set sixty years before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring and follows Bilbo Baggins, who is played by Martin Freeman, on a journey where he discovers Gollum and the ring featured in The Lord of the Rings. I can’t wait.
In other anticipated trailer news this week, a theatrical trailer for The Dark Knight Rises was also released.
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Around the country, some people are paying off Christmas layaway accounts for people they do not know. In a cool act of random kindness, Good Samaritans are going to Kmarts and anonymously paying off a customer Christmas layaway account or two for random strangers. In one case, a woman in Indianapolis paid off the layaway accounts for 50 people, saying she wanted to do something nice in memory of her husband who had just passed away. Other individual acts are on a smaller scale but still make a gigantic difference to the aided family. The acts of kindness began in Michigan and has spread to many other parts of the country. While the Good Samaritans have appeared in other stores, most have occurred in Kmarts, apparently because of that chain’s history of offering layaways. I know what our cynical readings are thinking, but Kmart officials deny any involvement.
The story reminded me of the film, Pay It Forward (2000), which starred Kevin Spacey, Haley Joel Osment, and Helen Hunt. In the film, a teacher played by Spacey gave an assignment to change the world, and in response, Trevor McKinney (Osment) developed his “Pay It Forward” plan. Under his idea, a person does a good deed for another and then asks that person to “pay it forward” to three other people who need help. If the plan works, the good deeds in the world will multiply exponentially. The film follows a reporter investigating the effects of McKinney’s idea while McKinney, his mom, his grandmother, and his teacher all struggle with their own problems.
The film got mixed reviews from critics but did better with audience members as shown by the 40% critic rating and 82% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While the film has some flaws, it is a decent entertaining movie that also addresses some serious issues. I suspect many went to the film expecting either an uplifting happy movie or a light romantic comedy and did not get what they expected. While the movie is ultimately not a downer, it does pull at the heartstrings. The movie was based on a novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde, and there is now a Pay It Forward Foundation inspired by the book and film.
The Kmart holiday Good Samaritans do not appear to be asking anyone to pay their good deeds forward, but anytime someone does an act of kindness it involves a leap of faith that the deed will somehow make the world a little better place. And anytime someone else does an act of kindness it reminds us all that we should aspire to be better people too.
While speaking of layaway and good things, let’s do a good deed and listen to the best song about layaway, the 1972 song “Lay Away” by the Isley Brothers. Like the Kmart Good Samaritans, the Isley Brothers are putting some love on layaway.
Bonus Song of “Calling All Angels”: If you have seen the movie Pay It Forward, you probably recall the powerful use of a song at the end. I did not want to ruin the ending of the film for those who have not seen it, but you may see the ending along with Jane Siberry singing her song “Calling All Angels,” which she recorded with k.d. lang. Warning: If you have not seen the film, the link at the song title shows the movie ending. You may hear the song without ruining the ending here.
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Test your knowledge of the classic songs appearing in movies and holiday television specials with these ten questions (plus a bonus question). How well do you know your Christmas music? Answers and videos of all the songs appear at the end with your score.
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Not long ago, I was driving to work when some jerk was cutting people off and driving recklessly as she rushed on her way. Where I live, such aggressive driving is not uncommon and it annoys me when other drivers think they are more important than everyone else. On this morning, though, as she cut around me, I did not rescind the aggressive driving or even flip the bird as I have been known to do.
Several blocks down the road, I noticed her car parked on the side of the road. She was parked outside a junior high school, and in front of the school there also was an ambulance. She was rushing because she had heard that her child had been hurt. The incident reminded me of one of my favorite quotes, generally attributed to Plato: “Be kind because everyone is fighting a hard battle.”
I thought of the quote and the driver recently while watching The Descendants (2011). Too often, films portray characters as two dimensional, either good or bad. But some, like The Descendants, at least provide a few brilliant moments that remind us that others are just as complicated as we are. These moments in The Descendants were my favorite parts of the movie. We watch George Clooney having a late-night conversation with a teenage boy, who suddenly goes from being a stereotype played for comic relief to a real person. In another scene, we watch a father-in-law yell at his son-in-law played by Clooney, while we wonder why Clooney’s character does not easily respond. But then we see why Clooney held his tongue. He remembered that everyone is fighting a hard battle.
The Descendants tells the story of Matt King (Clooney) whose wife is in a coma from a boating accident. While she is in the hospital, King tries to connect with and understand his two daughters, while he also struggles with a major family and work decision and with a discovery about his dying wife. Many critics have mentioned Clooney’s performance as Oscar-worthy, and it is. The other actors — including Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, and Beau Bridges — are excellent, and the film makes great use of the Hawaii scenery to help tell the story.
Because I had already heard a lot about the movie before seeing it, the first third of the movie seemed too familiar, but as the movie progressed, I was sucked into a deeper story than I expected. Some of the trailer clips make the movie look like a comedy, but while there are some funny moments, the film is more moving drama than hilarious comedy. The Descendants is directed and co-written by Alexander Payne, who also directed and co-wrote Sideways (2004), About Schmidt (2002), and Election (1999). While all of those movies touch on some similar themes and tone, they each are different, and one should not expect another Sideways. But The Descendants is an excellent addition to the director’s outstanding work.
Some Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me?: On Rotten Tomatoes, The Descendants currently has a 90% critic rating and an 85% audience rating. Leonard Maltin praised the movie, asserting, “Watching a film as mature, moving, original and unpredictable as The Descendants renews my faith in American movies.” One of the few dissenters on the movie, Walter Chaw at FilmFreakCentral concluded that “The Descendants doesn’t just waste my time–it also empties the chamber of an artist (Director Payne) who should be making better movies.” Ouch.
What did you think of The Descendants? Leave your two cents in the comments.
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