Woodchurch to Cincinnati over Many Generations

  In the village of Woodchurch, in the county of Kent, in the country that called itself England was born a girl named Katherina to the wife of Richard Edingham.  The year was 1435.  She may be my 16th great grandmother.  She married a man named Robert Clarke.  One of their sons was named William Clarke. William married a woman named Benedicta Ashburnham.  They had a son named Richard. The year 1504, adult Richard's wife had a daughter named after her mother.  The place was Wellbourne, in Lincolnshire.
     When Margaret Thomas Clarke grew up she married a man who earned the title, Sir Richard Smith.  Together, they produced thirteen children, the eldest of whom was born William, in 1518. His daughter Eleanor, grew up and married Alexander White.  Sometime around 1546 or so, they had a daughter named Frances.  They also had a daughter named Katherine, who would grow up to travel with her husband across the English Channel to Holland.  A couple of years later, they would take a small ship across the Atlantic with a group of religious dissenters to start a new life in a wild land near the James River in the New World.  That trip would be interrupted by bad weather and that group of Protestant dissenters, later referred to as Pilgrims, landed and named Plymouth in 1620.
    Frances did not follow her sister, right away.  Instead she stayed behind in England and grew up to marry another Francis.  But Frances and Francis eventually followed her sister to Leiden in Holland. This is where their son, John, was born in 1602.
     Sometime after 1620, John made his way across the Atlantic in the great Puritan migration, and ended up in Connecticut.  He married a woman name Johanna Whitmore.  Their daughter, as was the custom at the time, was also named Johanna.
     When little Johanna became a young woman, she married a man named John Burrows.  To them was born another John Burrows in 1671 in Groton, New London.  Young John married a woman with a name typical of the time and place, Patience.  Patience later gave birth to Eunice.  Eunice grew up to marry a man named Jonas Curtis.  Jonas and Eunice lived for time in Stratford, Connecticut, where their daughter, Hannah, was born in 1739.
     Hannah grew up and married my fifth great grandfather, Henricus, known also as Henry.  Henry Ellsworth saw action as volunteer for the Revolutionary militia.  He had a famous lawyer for a cousin by the name of Oliver Ellsworth.  Oliver would become the third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court a few years after helping to write part of the Constitution of the United States.  Oliver was also a friend of George Washington.
     But much more ordinary Henry and Hanna raised a family containing one son named John.  John grew up and married Mary Whitney, probably in New York state.  They had two sons, one of whom fought for the Union in the American Civil War.  His name was Freeman.  But before going off to war, Freeman married young Scottish immigrant, Jane Smith.  They had several children before Freeman's unit went to Murfreesboro, Tennessee in 1863.  This was where Freeman probably died of dysentery.
     Jane had to raise the younger children herself, the last of whom was a spunky but mildly deformed gir named, Marilla.  Not one to let a little deformity deter her, Marilla met young Orlando Richmond, whose family was also from New York.  They married and had three children.  Their son, Harry was born in Ohio in 1875.  He grew up in North Baltimore, Ohio.  Harry met and married a young Pennsylvanian girl named Ninetta, who insisted on being called Nina. Nina rhymed with china.  In North Baltimore, Nina gave birth to Gladys, Grace, and Harold Richmond.
     Gladys was born in 1903, the year those Dayton boys, the Wright brothers, flew a motorized vehicle in North Carolina. Early in the 1920's, Gladys having gone to the teacher's college in Bowling Green, married a man who towered almost a foot over her five foot, one inch height.  His name was Forest Borough.  Being from Weston, Ohio, Forest and Gladys bought a house half way to North Baltimore, in the village of Deshler.
     Gladys and Forest had only one daughter.  Her name was Roberta, but like her grandmother Nina, she insisted on being called by her nickname, Bobbie.  Bobbie grew up to become a nurse and married my father in Cincinnati, in 1951.  I was born in 1958, third of four children.
     Cincinnati was a long way from fifteenth century Woodchurch in Kent.  By the records written and maintained by many other people, I found my way there in 2013.

American Hustle is No Con

   American Hustle is a bona fide Best Picture Oscar contender.  See it for yourself.  See Christian Bale's transformation into overweight combover person, Irvin Feldstein, conman, hustler extraordinare. He is in love with beautiful women supplied to us by Amy Adams and a remarkable performance by Jennifer Lawrence.  She is charming as Feldstein's clueless wife.
    If the acting is not enough, there are plenty of laughs supplied by circumstances involving ace comedic actor, Bradley Cooper.  He is a self absorbed FBI agent who falls for Amy Adams" Lady Greensley.
Loosely based on seventies FBI sting known in the media as ABSCAM, the script makes it seem like the FBI got it wrong in as many ways as possible, and still got some high level Congressional convictions.
Did I mention the great soundtrack put together by award winner, Danny Elfman.  There is nothing like fine pop music from the seventies cleaned up by twenty-first century technology.  See this movie at your favorite cinema, then buy it on DVD when it is released.  Five stars!

Before Midnight

       Yes, see this movie, if you must, before midnight.  It is not worth staying up beyond that time. Maybe eight o'clock.  Is there snappy dialogue?  Yes, but too much.  Does the dialogue cover poignant subjects?  Yes, but again, too much.  How much to you want to cram into a movie.

This movie is pretentious and over-rated.  There, I said it.  Okay, perhaps I, too, am pretentious and over-rated, but then, as the juvenile cliché states, it takes one to know one.

The actors are attractive and can act, given a vehicle with life to it, which this not.  Clearly, this movie is a case of a sequel depending too much on its previous incarnations.  Neither the writers nor the director has nothing new to say.  Yes, people in relationships get older.  The relationships change.  If you are over a certain age, you learn this.  Most people learn this the hard way.  Yes, I know, some people never learn.

Richard Linklater and his team have no more to contribute about this theme and should move on to new ideas.  Okay, thanks.  I had to get that off of my chest.

Process and Story: Stories We Tell

  Sarah Polley's bio-documentary,"Stories We Tell", should be seen and digested for content, style, and execution.  I do not get to see documentaries that often, for one reason or another, but I will be surprised if this one is not Oscar nominated, and would be happy to see it win.  It is far more than just a young Canadian woman's search for identity.  What we have in this film, is someone grabbing onto a life-changing discovery like a slow running train in the opposite direction.
   Some would say that she is exploiting her family, and her own personal story for self-aggrandizing reasons, and there are arguments for that.  But if you can get beyond this perspective, this film is worth seeing for the way it is told and what it is saying about family, film-making and storytelling.  As somebody who loves literature and the importance of a rich family life, storytelling, as well as film and the art of filmmaking, I found this film irresistible.
   See it on the big screen for fun, but at least on video because it is a significant work of art as well as a compelling story.  Listen and watch Michael Polley particularly, Sarah's "Father", who steals the show and rightly so.

Hope Springs for Better Movies Than This

It was nice of the producers of "Hope Springs" to provide Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep with such a walk in the woods vehicle.  They are getting a little older and need a break from strenuous acting, now and then.  Meryl had to do dishes a few times, serve a few meals, make bacon and eggs five times, but Tommy Lee even got to sleep in several scenes.

No effort was required from either of them.  Vanessa Brown's pedestrian script spelled it all out for anyone who had no idea what was going on.  Steve Carrell shows some chops as a dramatic actor in an otherwise, undramatic movie.  His Dr. Feld felt genuine if unsurprising.  Not his fault, right Vanessa?

Perhaps I am being unfair, but every scene of this movie was predictable.  Maybe I should have written it.  No, it is nothing like my middle-aged life, but had I seen it twenty five years ago, I still would have found it predictable and unwatchable.

There is no need to see this movie.  Go, instead, to speak to your middle-aged friends who seem to be drifting apart and ask them about that reality.  It has made its money for the studio.  Everybody got paid.  Even the uninspired Ms. Brown may get another job because it made enough money.  Do not go to a half-price matinee.  Do not see it on DVD, and do not watch it when it is shown on commercial television in, no doubt, a week or two.  The commercials will out shine it.

The Kid With a Bike

How can you miss with a French film about a boy with a bicycle? The answer is: you cannot. Director Jean-Luc Dardenne and co-creator Luc Dardenne filmed a minimalist script with a heart wrenching core and come out with a tight, terrific film that moves quickly, makes its points, shows you its story and ends on a high note. Mostly well acted by Cecille de France and young Thomas Doret, you will quickly be drawn in by exactly what the dialogue relates. You only have to deal with the emotional fallout as it happens. A young boy is rejected and clings to the first people that take him in, shown to us in moving juxtaposition. This film could never be adapted for an American version. That could not happen in this universe. Go see this for the story. Go see a caring side to France. Go see a story about a young boy and his bike. It is well worth your time. It will renew your faith in the ability of cinema to tell a story.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Ewan McGregor's movie's are not known for being edgy or thought-provoking. They are more pure entertainment. That's what I expected to see in "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen". Unfortunately for Ewan and the movie, somebody pulled the plug on the writing just beyond the halfway point in the movie. The first twenty minutes had some clever romantic comedic moments. But somebody decided they had to make a jingoistic statement by throwing in an unlikely muslim assassin attempting a low percentage shot and being foiled by an even lower percentage fishing cast. Emily Blunt is her lovely ingenue self, but is given nothing to stretch any acting talent she may have. But I should say some upbeat things about this movie I really wanted to like. You cannot fault Lasse Halstrom's direction and choice of locations. I do not fish, but he made me want to go to Scotland to, at least, walk along side of the stream. Sadly, instability in the real Yemen made filming there, impossible. Morocco stepped in for those locations. Let me just say, forget the plot. Go to watch Ewan and Emily. Go for Lasse's direction. And yes, see it in a theatre and save your iPad for lesser movies.

George vs. George

Just a quick word about George Clooney's two big movies of 2011, "The Ides of March" and "The Descendants".  "The Descendants" is very family friendly, if somewhat depressing while being big, lush, and visually pleasant, particularly in the winter.  Hawaii is much more realistically portrayed than usual in cinema.  George's performance is understated if self-conscious.  This will sound bad, but the story is very feminine, in a way that will automatically appeal to many women.  I'm not dismissing it, just making an observation.

Don't wait until March 15th to see "The Ides of March",  a directorial piece by George.  He has a small part that is crucial to the plot, and probably required a lot less "acting".  This story is much more masculine, a political thriller. I also have to like it because several scenes were filmed in the Cincinnati area.   Ryan Gosling, the upcoming George, is surprisingly good and deserves any attention he gets from this role.  Marisa Tomei shows off some decent acting skills but is miscast as a national newspaper reporter.  The role is a tad underwritten or over-edited.  I'm not sure which.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman is his usual intense and thoroughly believable character.

See both movies.  Go to the theatre for "The Descendants".  "The Ides of March" works fine on the small screen, unless you are a fanatic about George or Cincinnati.  They are both worth the time investment.

"The Descendants" http://www.foxsearchlight.com/thedescendants/

"The Ides of March" http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/theidesofmarch/

Hanna

While Hanna left me yearning for more, watch for its star Saoirse Ronan, to go places in the cinematic world.  Eric Bana is a
 dropout CIA agent who raises the product of one of his assignments. 
 The story left me regretting what I did not teach my daughter, i.e
aggressive self-defense, multiple languages, primitive survival skills.
(My daughter turned out rather well, if I may say so.)  Cate
Blanchett, one of today's premier actors, dons a convincing 
Southern accent as a ruthless CIA agent hunting father and daughter. 
Fair to middling action sequences mix with diverting scenery 
for a so-so film, overall.  
Nevertheless, I liked young Ronan and will watch for her later work.

Top Films of 2010

Check out The Fighter http://www.TheFighterMovie.com and King's Speech http://www.Kingsspeech.com. These two movies have it all, good writing, directing, and acting. If you only go for entertainment, they will both satisfy.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

My wife agreed to go to see "The Men Who Stare at Goats" because it stars George Clooney. I like Clooney because he's a capable comedic actor and because he is a local boy (Northern Kentucky son of Nick, nephew of Rosemary). Ewan Mac Gregor also puts on a fun performance as as n'er-do-well American cuckolded newspaper reporter tracking down a secret Army unit that uses paranormal military skills to defend the country. Jeff Bridges supports as the commander of the secret unit. The film tells a good story but doesn't take itself too seriously. There is a wacky twist of an ending that is satisfying. I see a series blossoming from this movie. You heard it here first. http://www.themenwhostareatgoatsmovie.com/

Duplicity

The trailer for "Duplicity" is either an abject failure or surprising success. By taking a couple of scenes out of context and presenting them as typical of the movie, the trailer nearly dissuaded me from seeing the movie, at all. On the other hand, the trailer left me with low expectations, pleasantly surprising me when the movie was much better than the trailer suggested.

Julia Roberts gives a maturely restrained performance as she embraces a refreshingly middle-aged character who, clearly, has been around. She outshines a seemingly put-upon Clive Owens, who comes off as a bit whiny. The dialogue is zippy and fast moving, as is the out of sequence time scheme. While it left me wanting more, you won't fall asleep at this one.

I've Loved You So Long

My wife and I take for granted that French films will contain a measurable amount of angst, just as American films will contain a significant amount of bravado. "I've Loved You So Long" does not disappoint on this account. Nevertheless, the story is rich enough to lose oneself in, for an hour or two, and the city of Nancy and surrounding countryside are pleasant enough to help the rest of the way. Kristin Scott Thomas gives a strong performance as a half-English French woman caught up in circumstances that send her to prison for a long stretch. She is released to live with her younger sister, who only partially remembers her, and her family. The family is lovable and watchable. The sister is believable and drawn well enough to balance some of the focus. Subtitles and gratuitous smoking.

Gran Torino

As fine a career as Clint Eastwood has had, it is time for him to hang up his spurs and fold up his director's chair. "Gran Torino" is an apprentice's effort, at best. It is a made-for-tv-movie, a Lifetime movie, a YouTube original. Neither acting, nor writing, nor tired directing could save this film. Even the few good humorous moments could save it. There are so many movies and so few viewing opportunities. Don't waste your time and remember Clint for "Forgiven".

Revolutionary Road

When Kate Winslet brought Revolutionary Road, the novel and screen play adaption to her husband, Sam Mendes, she was doing him a favor. This quiet story of a simple couple in the fifties needs the subtle direction of Mendes and deceptively strong intensity of Winslet's performance. The combined themes of "who am I?" and "what could I become?" cause any viewer open to such philosophical questions reflection during and after the film
It all starts with a couple getting together and starting their married life in the suburbs. Domesticity in the fifties combined with the emergence of Marketing as a profession suggests a potential boring film, but add a realistic social life, throw in a couple of extra-marital flings and now your talking about a film that will grab your attention
Leonardo DiCaprio is consistent in a standard performance and will be well received by his fans as an example of why he should be taken as a serious actor. The supporting cast is simultaneously strong and subtle as evidenced by Michael Givins in his role of the next door neighbor.
Don't be over-influence by the socially controversial climax. We all have important decisions to make in our lives, and must live with consequences as well.