Thursday Movie Picks: Financial World

I miss making cards! I'm back to work but I am still weak and am surprised by that since I thought I would be all better. I guess it takes time and I will get better. My mom is the same but talk about a survivor! Let's move on to happier things, namely movies:), this week it's all about the financial world and this genre is not my favourite even though I deal with finances but I'm a credit counsellor not a wheeler -dealer. I'm certain the ones I pick will be popular this week especially the last one. The brainchild of this weekly series is Wandering Through the Shelves, if you want to see what everyone else has chosen, head on over to this blog. Here are my 3....

1. TRADING PLACES-1983

I get a real kick out of this film which placed Eddie Murphy into big time movie land. He plays a con-artist, bum on the street who tries to make money by scamming people. Dan Ackroyd is a sucky who is filthy rich and works in the big financial world, a brokerage firm called Duke & Duke. The Dukes( played beautifully by the great old actors, Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche) are 2 brothers always laying bets often at people's expense. They decide to take the suck and the scammer and have them switch places. What they didn't count on are the 2 men, who are the pawns, to start working together and with a fun hooker in tow start to play their own game. It is fun, witty and well acted.

2. WORKING GIRL-1988

Even though this stars Melanie Griffith whom I can't stand, it is another fun film about a secretary to this snotty woman who doesn't treat her staff well at all. On a skiing trip, the snot breaks her leg. The secretary decides to take over the snot's position and wants to show her ideas to the financial world. She ends up not only stealing the snot's job but also the boyfriend. We like this movie because even though the girl is so, so wrong in what she has done, we condone it because her boss is a real bitch. A smart film and well acted by the leads, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver and yes, even Melanie

3. WOLF OF WALL STREET-2013

This film garnered all types of awards. One can see that it is a Martin Scorsese film and it is well acted but I can't stand this movie. Yes, it is funny in parts, well written and I can see all the good points but I find it ugly just like Goodfellas. These are people I care nothing about and relish when they are finally caught and the film ends. It's about a man who plays the penny stocks only to create a huge scheme with securities involving Wall Street and the banking world. We see him screw the women, the people and the government and loving every minute. The whole place have people who love to bring in whores and screw them on the table while others wait in line, other women who work there enjoying their jobs..ughhhh. I won't watch this again. It is based on a true story by the way. It also stars Jonah Hill whom I dislike as I feel this person is an arrogant A Hole. Nope, I don't know why I think that, but I do. Oh, Lastly, I'm all for a good swear word, my favourite is the F word but  this movie vomits swear words like no tomorrow...big turn off.

What are your 3?

Thursday Movie Picks: animation for adults

Well, I suck at this one because I couldn't think of one I saw that was all animation so here are my 3. Thank heaven I had last week to dig into what is left of my brain cells and come up with these 3. Check out Wandering Through The Shelves to see what animated films the others have come up with.

1. BAMBI MEETS GODZILLA-1969

I first saw this in high school when one of the priests showed this in his religion class! I have no clue what it has to do with religion but I liked this priest. He was good looking and all the girls tried their best to sit on his lap and twirl their hair but he was always really good and never led them on. In fact, quite the opposite and he once stopped the class and asked for respect. He was true blue with a wicked humour that I loved. For anyone who has problems with deer eating their gardens, you may like this. I still love this one.

2. THANK YOU MASKED MAN-1971

This comes from Lenny Bruce.....need I say more? Ok, so this is very politically incorrect about the masked man who ends up buying Tonto and the horse for ...personal reasons.

3.  BUGS BUNNY AND FRIENDS-1940-1964

I love Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, The Tasmanian Devil, Pepe Le Pew, Marvin the Martian, Claude the Cat and all the rest. People think of them from Saturday morning tv when they were butchered up due to a-holes who censored these shows and cut up many of the original shows. These cartoons were shown on the big screen with all the Warner Bros. Films. I had a hard time thinking of which one to choose but I decided to show Bugs and Daffy and Elmer...poor Daffy:)

I am slowly feeling better, weak but better and am back at work. My mom is very weak but she was wheeled into the dining area and ate a bit. She refused to go back to her room and wanted to sit in the lounge which made me feel good. My brother has his own scientific test-he buys her a coffee and donut from Tim Horton's. She ate 3/4 of the donut! This is good news. The sad news is that her friend, Gladys, passed away last Thursday from pneumonia. My mom doesn't remember so we will not bring up Gladys's name. Who know...maybe I caught this from the home??

This sucks

first, to all my blog friends who live in or near the path of Hurricane Irma, stay safe and hope you and you family are well.

I don't have our computer hooked up at home yet since my hubby did another debacle so I have no Thursday Movie Picks this week but will show it next week when I am back at work. Yes, I have been downloading YouTube videos etc... from work since blog land is not compatible with my tablet.

The reason...I have pneumonia. It has been shit since I came back from vacation because everyone was off due to vacation or illness which left me to do all the counselling, bankruptcy and other stuff at work. I think it is now my turn and I was told by my dr to stay home and rest. I don't think it is severe which is good but it is enough to piss me off.

So the third crappola shitfest aside from work and illness is my mom....she is dying. She was in the hospital with pneumonia about 3 weeks ago and I thought things turned out well as she was back in Heidehof 4 days later. The sad news is she is going down hill. It could be weeks...or months but I have this gut feeling she will not make it to Christmas. Last Thursday, my brother met with the Dr and others and I was on speaker phone since I was sick. The dr. explained that she has permanent pneumonia in her lower right lung( weird as this is where mine is). Her lungs look like bubbles under a microscope and they have actually decreased in size. They are literally disintegrating which puts more pressure on her heart. Her heart has an arrhythmia and also not in the best shape. She is eating less and is in bed more. If the Drs would try to place pressure on her heart( if her heart stopped), they would break all her ribs. If they did revive her she would be on a permanent breathing machine and a feeding tube and this would not be right for my mom. Quality of life, in whatever shape or form, is what she deserves now.  My hubby has visited her but, the rye bread with German salami I made for her, she had no wish to eat. Oh, I instructed my hubby how to make her sandwich, I didn't touch it.

So, I am pissed and really, really upset that I can't visit my mom. When she needs me, I'm not there and can't be until I am 100% better. I wish I had fun News but there it is. I do have strange news though. When my brother was visiting her, she asked him who the lady was standing by her bed. He looked around and saw no one. A little bit later, she asked what that blue light was by her closet, again, my brother saw nothing. My mom never saw anything weird the whole time she has been ill with the dementia so I leave that thought with you.

Thursday Movie Picks:TV Edition-High School

It`s TV time again and it's all about high schools which I hated being in. I was bullied and have little happy thoughts going to a Catholic high school. I always said the teachers were typical, it was the students but now I wonder. You see, one teacher, I used to call him Father Feel-Up( real name Father Foley), went with the mayor of Welland, Mayor Stranges, to Buffalo and picked up 2 male hustlers. Feel-up and Stranges were found, naked, tied up and robbed. Oh and Father Feel-Up and the Mayor stole over $20,000 from the lottery that was run at my high school. I found out that my former principal was charged with child porn back in 2013. Ahh what wonderful memories... I wish I was making this up. Ok, on to tv shows and let's celebrate shows that one wishes would be reality. Head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves to see what the others have chosen.

1. WELCOME BACK KOTTER-1975-1979

I used to watch this religiously and got a kick out of Horschak. This show made John Travolta's career believe it or not because it helped him get his starring turn in Saturday Night Fever. It starred Gabe Kaplan as a nice teacher who tries to teach inner city kids, the worst being  5 delinquents. You laughed at their shenanigans and enjoyed the teacher and his wife. It was fun for its time.

2. READY OR NOT-1993-1997

Even though I was already in my 30's when this came on, the Canadian TV show appealed to me. It was about 2 friends, one who loves boys, pink and everything girly and her best friend who could care less about things like this and had a strong independent streak. It dealt with many issues girls go through but in an intelligent, sensitive and thought provoking way. I really enjoyed this show. Oh..and yes, that is Ryan Gosling with the freaky eye brow

3. FREAKS AND GEEKS-1999-2000

I really loved this show because this one I could relate to because I felt, and still feel, I am a freaky geek and proud of it. It takes place during the high school years centering on a young girl and her brother, with loving parents, who becomes friends with both sides-she, with the freaks and her brother, with the geeks. It once again touches on the trials and tribulations that kids face. This is one show that was cancelled way too early and it is now considered a true gem of the TV industry.

Which ones comes to your mind?

A gardening experience

Hi everyone.....I'm now sick so I can't see my mom. We had a brief scare yesterday as she was sent back to the hospital, but they did the tests and she is aok and back at her home. I think, due to her difficult breathing, she will soon be in a wheelchair. It is too difficult for her to walk down the long hall to her room. The good news is that someone does exercises everyday with the people.

I have read some experiences people have had with animals and thought I would add my own. This took place back in the 80's ...I think the late 80's but my memory is turning menopausal. My brother's first wife started a garden and after a year, stopped, so I decided to take it over. The first year went well except for my mom stealing all the lettuce leaves. I thought it was a rabbit or a deer but I caught my mom who was the true varmint. I covered the garden with an old pool tarp so I would have little weed pulling the next spring.

That spring, I put my rubber boots on, my garden hat and went out to start the garden. I started to take the tarp away when I heard this swishing sound. My curiosity was aroused and I moved the tarp again and saw something move underneath it. I was hooked and felt like I was in some jungle ready to find some rare animal. I pulled the tarp back and there lay this large black ugly snake. It was fat and it was long, I would say it was about 5 ft...I'm not kidding. I had never seen it before but I knew one thing...it was ugly. I was used to garter snakes but this was no garter snake.

Did I run? Oh no, I was thinking I was Marlin Perkins from Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdomor rather Jim, the poor doofus who always did the hard crap. I took my rake and started to push the snake, let's call him Herman, to see what the snake would do. Can we say "Dumb Ass!" I nudged Herman again who suddenly, reared his head in an upright position looking at me. Now I, let's call me idiot, thought I was far enough back (I was) that he can't strike me so I nudged poor Herman again. Quicker than you can say blonde bimbo idiot, he struck so fast that any notion of working with anything wild evaporated.

I ran, with my arms and hands outstretched like the blonde twit that I am, my rubber boots almost falling off, towards the house, got inside and breathed a sigh of relief. I escaped Herman and his unhappy view of this blonde idiot. I called my neighbour who came with his tractor and looked all around but Herman was gone. I had never seen this type of snake before or after but my ex, who is a snake lover, said it was probably a rat snake since we had a creek behind our home.

So went my adventure between Herman and the Idiot. Geez, rereading this you would think I was writing some porn film.

Thursday Movie Picks: the Stage.

Just so all of you know...my mom is back to her "norm" and has no recollection that she was in the hospital nor that she had pneumonia. Dementia, in this case, is a blessing as who wants to remember this crap. Everyone is back to work so I can breathe and try and catch up on my own work. Thank you so very, very much for all your kind words, prayers and best wishes, I was very deeply moved. Now that life is back to norm( Ha!), the eclipse is done, and the freaks have hid themselves away, I can talk about the stage because we all know the world's a stage. This week at Wandering Through The Shelves, it is about the stage and I picked 3 films that, I believe, is a theme within a theme and I wasn't even going for that. It will be interesting what the other film nuts have chosen so head on over and check it out. Here are my 3....

1. THE BLUE ANGEL-1930

This is the film that made Marlene Dietrich famous but it was not her first film as she always liked to say. It stars the leggy Dietrich with Emil Jennings( he won the first actor Oscar) as the hapless professor who falls under her spell. The professor is angered by his male students being captivated by this cabaret star rather than wanting to study. He finally goes to the Blue Angel to catch the boys and over a few visits falls for Lola Lola. You see his slow decay as he succumbs to her, um, charms. It is directed by Joseph Von Sternberg who was Dietrich's Svengali. A great expressionist German film showing the decadence of Berlin. It is worth seeing how this decadence and a place that looks like garbage( what his students call him) seduces and ruins a man. Great film.

2. CABARET-1972

I love this film that has the Kit Kat Club as the centre for all that is going on in the lives of the people involved. You have Sally Bowles, played by Liza Minnelli, who loves to wear shocking nail polish, as the main headliner at the club. She meets the young student/writer, played by Michael York, who rents a room from the same place she is living at. They become romantically entwined and meet a rich Jewish lady, a young German man who falls for the Jewish lady and comes out as also being Jewish and a rich German playboy who likes to swing both ways. Decadent Berlin has never been shown better than by the MC of the Kit Kat Club, played by Joel Grey who showcases life that is happening outside the club. You not only have romance but horror. Bob Fosse brought horror with 2 musical pieces that I found shocking. The Gorilla skit and the young boy singing in a beer garden. The Nazi party is gaining ground and there is no way to stop it.

3. MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS-2005

I just watched this a few months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. It take place during WW2 with Mrs. Henderson, played by the great Judi Dench, as a widow who is very, very wealthy. On a whim she buys a derelict theatre, fixes it up and starts having round the clock shows. It becomes such a success that other theatres adopt this which brings her finances for the club down so she starts having shows with women...naked. People are aghast and upset but she pulls it off and it becomes a hit. She loves the theatre, the girls and the people who work there. It is a thoughtful, fun and an entertaining film based on a true story.

What films would you choose?

Thursday Movie Picks-Rescues

I'm sorry I haven't been around much to visit like I love to do. August has been blecchhhh actually. I have often been seeing 6 people per day at work, falling behind as a person was on a vacation and another suffered a heart attack. I consider the lady who had the heart attack a friend. It was mild but it was not the first nor will it be her last, according to her Dr. The worst was that my mom was taken to the hospital on Sunday and has pneumonia. Now, the great news is she is back at her long term care facility and her oxygen levels are back to what they were before she became ill and she is beginning to eat. My brother really was there for my mom but she did suffer a delirium state Monday morning and it left him shaken. She couldn't breathe and was scared, anxious and angry and would not settle down. She had bouts of this and we did our best to calm her down. I had to work since I am the only one to see clients but then would see my mom afterwards. I came home exhausted and now I need to be near a bathroom as my tummy is not happy. It's just been....sad.

So, in a little honour to my mom, who lived through WW2 and was part of the German Resistance, gave food every day to a man behind a fence at some "work" facility and, right after the war, her parents took in a Jewish man, gave him clothes and food even though they were also starving, I am picking 3 films that took place during WW2. It is all about the rescue this week and one could go in so many directions. Head on over to Wandering Through The Shelves to see what the others have chosen...

1. THE PIED PIPER-1942

I have not seen this film in a long time but would love to revisit it. It also stars one of my favourite actors, Monty Woolley as a man who got stuck behind enemy lines during WW2  and wants to get back to England. A couple request he take their 2 children with him to safety even though he hates kids. He agrees and before he knows it, he has more children in tow trying to get to freedom. His hard heart softens as he realizes the children depend on him. Monty is great and was up for an Oscar for this role. A great gem that has been forgotten.

2. THE BIG LIFT-1948

I bet few remember the aftermath of WW2  and  the nightmare that followed when the Russians took over a large part of Germany. My mom remembers to this day and says that was when her true hell began. This broke Germany up into 2 parts East and West  and the centre was Berlin. Russia tried to starve the city of Berlin to take over the city. The States, realizing that this was a key to keeping the world free plus could not abide the German people from starving after already suffering multiple bombings during the war, rape, murder and pillage by the Russians, started an air lift program. US bombers flew over the city and would drop food so the city would not starve. One man, seeing the small children at the Templehof airport, started "Operation Little Vittles" dropping chocolate and candy. My mom's best friend, Brigitte, was 10 years old and was one of those kids who waited for the candy. Due to the U. S. etc, Berlin was not totally taken over and Russia did not take all of Germany. This film is about this airlift and also threw in romance and intrigue. It's a very good film and worth watching. Sorry for the more history less film plot but the 2 work together.

3. WALLENBERG: A HERO'S STORY-1985

I had never heard of this man until I watched this TV movie (Yup, I'm cheating) that was shown in 2 parts. This is one man that I consider one of the most admirable and heroic people ever! Richard Chamberlain played Wallenberg, a Swedish man from a rich family, who took it upon himself to rescue tens of thousands of Jews by issuing faked documents, bribing officials and at, one point, literally jumping onto a boxcar handing out documents to the Jewish people held inside the boxcar, opening the car and letting them walk while gun fire was shot over his head. The Arrowcross men never stopped him and were stunned by his courage. The sad part is the Russians took Wallenberg after the war and never disclosed, to this day why except some feeble attempt to say Wallenberg was a spy. They say he died in 1947 but many prisoners from the Soviet Gulag mentioned a Swedish man held prisoner until the 1970's and even the 1980's. I consider this an excellent movie and hope you can watch it one day. I had to choose this man whom I truly admire and consider him a hero.

I feel guilty for not choosing Schindler's List which is also heroic. What rescue films would you choose?