The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

This movie is about a man, Alfred Kralik, who works as a sales clerk in a boutique. One day a woman, Klara Novak, comes in asking for a job, and he tells her that there aren't any available positions. However, that very same day the owner of the store orders this cheap, impractical, musical cigar box, and Alfred said that no one would want to buy them. Klara successfully sells one of these cigar boxes and is hired. Klara and Alfred have not been getting along together at work, both thinking that the other is haughty or pretentious based on that first encounter.

One day, the boss decides that the window display of the store is old and ineffective, so decides that everyone will have to stay after work to change it. Unfortunately both Klara and Alfred need the night off. They've both been exchanging letters with strangers, strangers that seem to be their ideal partners, and they both happen to be meeting their pen pal that very night. Klara succeeds in getting the night off, but when Alfred asks his boss if he could leave early, he ends up getting fired! Feeling very down, he and his friend go to check out what his pen pal looks like, as he's thinking of marrying this girl. He didn't want to go in to meet her, now that he'd lost his job and had no way to support her. His friend looks in the window and tells him that the woman waiting for him looks like Klara, and it turns out that it is Klara. He goes in to talk to her and after a good deal of talking, and a little taunting on his part, she ends up insulting him, and he leaves her be.

Back at the shop, the boutique owner, Mr. Matsuchek, hired a private investigator to find out who his wife was sleeping with (he thought before that it was Alfred). He is about to kill himself when one of his delivery boys walks in and stops him. Mr. Matsuchek begins to recover and gives Alfred his job back, making him the manager of the store. Alfred begins getting close to Klara again, knowing that she was the one whose letters he fell in love with. Will he ever reveal himself to her? And will she still love him when she knows who her mystery pen pal is?!

This movie is the original 'You've Got Mail'. There was another movie along the same lines with Judy Garland called 'In the Good Old Summertime' if you're a fan of the storyline, which seems to be timeless. This movie is sweet, but practically so. The characters don't really go out of their way to be together. I don't know that I felt much of a connection between Stewart and Sullivan, the spent most of the film at odds and not that much time in love. I wouldn't say that it's one of the most romantic movies ever made, but it's a charming film sure to please!

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

This movie is about a family who lives in St. Louis. All is going well, more or less, for the members of this family. They are a family of 9. Five girls, one boy, a mother, father, grandfather, and a housekeeper Katie. Esther (Judy Garland) and her sister Rose have their minds on men, and they each have their own targets. Judy Garland is of course the star and her love life takes center-stage, but she does share the spotlight with Margret O'Brien, who plays the youngest daughter Tootie. She actually has one of my favourite scenes in this movie, the Halloween scene. All of the kids dress up, but unlike Halloween today, the kids would 'kill' people. They rang the doorbell, but instead of getting candy, they would yell 'I hate you So-And-So' and throw flour at them. It's a great scene.

Anyway, their world is turned upside down when their father tells them that his work is sending him to New York, permanently. No one takes the news that they will have to leave St. Louis well, they're down right resistant to the idea. Eventually they all sadly come to terms with it, but they're heart-broken. Will they really have to leave their beloved St. Louis? Right when the Worlds Fair is about to open? Even though they may have prospective beaus?!?!?

I enjoy this movie every time I watch it. It has great songs and is an overall feel-good film. It's mainly a romance, but it has a family dynamic that adds another level to the film, making it that much more endearing.

Kira- Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

Katie is an 11-year-old girl living with her family in the States circa 1950. She lives with her mother, father, sister Lynn, and later, her brother Sammy. Her parents were born in Japan, and back in those days, visual minorities weren't as socially acceptable as they are today. Katie's parents have to work in chicken hatcheries, because in those days Japanese- Americans couldn't do much else in terms of employment. Her sister Lynn eventually shows signs of a strengthening sickness and the story deals with the family's poverty, and the struggles her sister's illness cause, both on an emotional and an economic level. The novel's title, kira-kira, means to sparkle in Japanese. Her very intelligent sister sometimes showed Katie how the world could be amazing, how certain things in life would have a kira-kira.

I wasn't really impressed with this story. It won a Newbery award so I was expecting something good, I didn't end up getting it. Katie was an average kid, with an average intelligence level, and average thoughts, and an average life... which made this story an average book for me. The author would constantly have Katie notice how intelligent other people around her were, how good other people were, or hint at how interesting other people's lives must be. As the author kept doing this throughout the novel, and didn't make Katie's life any more interesting, I began to wish she had told the story from a different perspective. This story could have had a lot to say and could have been very emotional. It takes place in a very interesting time, from the perspective of people who would have struggled at that time, and on top of that their family had a major tragedy. Even with all of this potential, it was still a struggle to keep picking the book up. The author didn't do a good job establishing a connection between the reader and the characters, and as a result I didn't care about what happened to any of them. I kind of wished their situation would keep getting worse, hoping that that would engage me.

At the end of the book Katie talks about the whole kira-kira philosophy of the book and I felt like the concept didn't have enough weight to be presented as though it was present throughout the entire book. The author didn't spend enough time developing that idea or tying it into the events in the book. There were a lot of depressing, unfortunate situations, but no sparkling outlook from Katie's perspective. Maybe in the eyes of another character this idea was more developed... but that really doesn't help the reader as we are only privy to Katie's thoughts.

The book wasn't bad by any means. I know my review is somewhat... completely bashing it, but it wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't what I associate with Newbery books, or great books in general. The story was an average kids book, and I'm sure some kids would enjoy reading it, but the book might not make it to anyone's favourites list any time soon.

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958)

This is the story of an unhappy couple who are called back to the husband's childhood home, a wealthy estate in the south, because his father is not expected to live much longer. We learn very quickly that the couple, Maggie and Brick, are not getting along and have in fact been fighting for some time. From their interactions we get the sense that Maggie has done something in the past that is so unspeakably despicable in the past that she is lucky to still be with him at all. She comes off as a potentially sensual woman, but acts only with contrite concern for her husband. She loves him dearly and seems to want nothing else save his love in return.

As if their private situation isn't enough, they must also deal with the other people in the house. Brick's brother and sister-in-law are vicious people who are only there for the family fortune, and Brick isn't exactly on speaking terms with his parents. Maggie must deal with a conniving sister-in-law, who is constantly reminding her that while she and her husband have managed to have many children, she and brick have none. Her mother-in-law also seems concerned that they are without child. What lie in Maggie and Brick's past that keep them at arm's length? And what will happen to that family fortune? Or the family it belongs to?!

This isn't my favourite Elizabeth Taylor movie, but it's pretty good. Maggie was an interesting character. Strong, but quietly so. She was independent, but desired dependency, and though I'm sure she could have played the same games as her sister-in-law, she seemed to exist on another level entirely. And on the subject of Brick, who has an issue with not only Maggie, but his father as well, he's just a drunken, immature, lay about. His father is somewhat forceful in his dealings with him, but Maggie is completely willing to meet him half way, and go further than that just to make up with him. Despite how she is with him, he just completely shuts her out, not even in company. When I did find out what was between them he seemed even more immature than his behaviour lead me to believe, and if I were Maggie I wouldn't be that forgiving. Overall it's a good movie though.

You Can't Take It With You (1938)

This movie is about a young couple who fall in love, but are from two very different families. The man, Tony, is the son of a big time banker. The family is wealthy and ruthless, and proud of it, but Tony never felt like he belonged. The woman, Alice, is Tony's secretary and is from a middle class family, but not just any middle class family. Her grandfather is a revolutionary in his perspective on life. He lives every day of his life doing what he wants to do, and encourages others to do the same. As a result, their family is far from normal. Alice's sister is constantly dancing around to crazy music, being played by her husband. Her father and two other men make fireworks in the basement, and there are always minor explosions going off, and her mother writes plays. Not because she wants to, but because a typewriter was mistakenly delivered to the house one day. Needless to say this is a very bizarre household.

Alice and Tony are very much in love, but Tony's parents aren't very keen on having Alice for a daughter-in-law, and Alice won't marry Tony unless she has their consent. After an unfortunate meet the parents episode, they all end up in jail and Alice's grandfather winds up telling Tony's father off, instructing him on what's really important in life. During the court hearing, Alice decides that she's had enough and dumps Tony then and there. How will the two ever be together now?! And will Tony's father always be the heartless man we know him to be? Who knows?!?!?

This is one of my favourite movies. It's a bit of a romance and that's always nice, but the main theme deals with what one values in life, and how one should live in accordance with those values. We all work so hard in life, trying to be happy. Some of us work really hard at our place of occupation while others just worry themselves sick. It's so common to hear people complain about how much they hate their jobs, the dreams they have of what they would do if only they had this or were that, things they could have done but gave up on for various reasons. So many people settle for jobs they hate, people they don't like, places they can't stand, and for what? Because they're too afraid of what might happen?

This film was made 70/80 years ago and it's still relevant. Timeless I'd say. It's funny and romantic, but thought-provoking at the same time. A definite must watch.

Dungeons and Dragons

I bought this show for a dollar on a whim, thinking it would be the worst thing I've ever seen. It was however shockingly close to par in terms of 80's cartoon goodness.

The premiss of the show is that six kids go on a Dungeons and Dragons ride at an amusement park and get magically transported to the dungeons and dragons world. When they get there they are in immediate danger, facing a huge five-headed dragon, and then the evil villain of the series, Venger. Then this little man (the dungeon master) appears out of no where and gives them all magical items that grant them special powers. The items all coincide with types of characters are in the dungeons and dragons game, so there is a ranger, acrobat, cavalier, thief, barbarian, and magician. In each episode,  the dungeon master gives the gang a hint, telling them which way they should go to get home. They meet a lot of people on the way and each character is explored a bit.

It's not an amazing show by any means, but I have to say, it's a lot better than I thought it would be. And it might not be the best show of it's era, but I would watch it if it was on tv.

Kaseifu no Mita

This drama was about a dysfunctional family that hires an emotionless housekeeper. Apparently the ratings were very high for this show... but I've personally seen better.

The story opens with four children and their father dealing with the death of the mother of the family. It's been a couple of weeks and the father decides to hire a maid to do the housekeeping. What with the mother gone the work around the house wasn't getting done as it used to. When the housekeeper arrives, the family is kind of taken aback by her appearance and presence. Unlike other housekeepers, she has a heavy coat and a baseball cap and she is very curt with the family, speaking without any trace of emotion. Despite this though, she was excellent at what she did, so the family decides to keep her. As the story progresses, the family learns that there is something kind of off about this housekeeper, Mita-san. One of the things is that she will do anything that is commanded of her, anything, and this of course is one of the central plot points of the story. As the plot progresses we learn more about each of the children, and their father, and of course, Mita-san plays a role in fleshing out each of these discoveries. Usually being directed to do something immoral or illegal. We also learn more about the mother's death, was it an accident? and of course about Mita-san and why she is the way she is.

All of the main characters in this story annoyed me. First off, the father and the youngest daughter look kind of weird. The father looks like a snake, literally, and it's sort of unsettling to look at him. Sometimes I find myself looking at him just to find what I don't like about his face. In addition to that his character on the show is a pathetic, spineless loser. Harsh but true. The youngest daughter doesn't look odd at first glance, but there's something weird about her teeth. They're too perfect for a kid her age. Also, she whines constantly. The oldest daughter is sort of weak-willed. There's a funny part of the show where she orders Mita to kill her, and then runs away in fear as Mita pursues her and tells her to stop. Then she orders Mita to kill her again. Its filmed like a horror scene... but it's just ridiculous. The Oldest son has huge anger issues. I can easily see his character in an abusive relationship. Never before in one drama have I been so dissatisfied with the cast.

This drama is watchable, but I was tempted to drop it half way through.