More Snow on Saturday + Petsitting + Movie Review

It snowed again last night but it was all light fluffy powder instead of the heavy wet type a few days ago. I am pet sitting again for neighbors and Henry was a trooper when we went out when he was ready around 7am. 

 This is the spot he chose for himself on Friday night. I put the little bed that fits in his carrier under him. I like dogs on furniture but not on my furniture 🐾🐾😉 if you know what I mean.

His furry legs were covered in small snowballs that were hard to get off. Next time we go out I will use the hairdryer to melt them. Luckily I had a big towel handy what was recently used to clean up some spilled coffee. I keep one handy on the back of my door to the basement and it's easy to grab in an emergency. The sun is out and the thermometer is above freezing and my car is almost totally melted so I can get out easily if I had to but I don't.

I just watched a great movie on Hulu -- THE LOST KING with Sally Hawkins about the lost grave of King Richard III. It was wonderful and I loved it. It's the perfect movie for the long Presidents' Day weekend. https://www.hulu.com/movie/the-lost-king-d375d155-00b4-45ea-8584-2fbb4826f57a Enjoy!

I liked the way the sun was shining through the geranium leaves in today's last photo. Have a great weekend. xo

Movie Recommendation: The Luzhin Defence with Emily Watson

I watched this movie last night.  

https://tubitv.com/movies/670513/the-luzhin-defence

It is leaving TUBI this month so don't delay in watching it. It's FREE and I know you will love it. Filmed in 2000. I adore Emily Watson and she's wonderful in this film. 

"It's the early 1920s and Aleksandr Ivanovich 'Sascha' Luzhin (John Turturro), a gifted but tormented chess player, arrives in a Northern Italian city to compete in an international chess competition. Prior to the tournament he meets Natalia Katkov (Emily Watson) and he falls in love with her almost immediately. She in turn finds his manner to be appealing and they begin to see each other in spite of her mother's disapproval." The screenplay was based on the novel THE DEFENSE (or The Luzhin Defence) by Vladimir Nabokov.

Let me know if you watch it and if you liked it. It is streaming on Prime Video and Apple TV too. "You're welcome." Enjoy! xo

Movie: THE GRAND SEDUCTION watch free on TUBI

 

Watch the movie trailer HERE

Movie review HERE

Watch the movie free on TUBI - HERE

There are ads but I don't mind them.

This movie aired in 2013 and it's darling.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

xo

Enjoy the movie and the long Labor Day weekend.

Two TRUE Spy Movie Recommendations: FREE ON TUBI

THE CATCHER WAS A SPY

https://tubitv.com/movies/684147/the-catcher-was-a-spy

I enjoyed this so much. It's a true story about a Princeton educated catcher for a baseball team who became a spy. I recommended it to a friend who had also read the book but didn't know it was a movie.

RED JOAN starring Judi Dench

https://tubitv.com/movies/100000249/red-joan

It's mostly flashbacks to her student days and early employment. The actress who plays her then reminds me of a young Laren Becall. This is a must-see movie before seeing OPPENHEIMER that comes out this week about The Manhattan Project.

Hope you are all having a nice summer and have found ways of staying cool. I didn't turn on my central air until July 2nd. My house is very comfortable. I have mine set at 79° and that seems to be perfect unless I am doing something strenuous. I only have two zones, my main floor and the attic. I find that if I leave the basement door open it removes the humidity from down there too. I turn it off completely at night because the condenser is just outside my bedroom window and the noise would keep me awake. So far this system is working perfectly. I also turn it off completely when I go out. I changed the filter too. 

Let me know if you watch either or both movies and if you liked them. TUBI is wonderful and has a really vast catalog of great movies. They say it has surpassed YouTube in popularity. https://tubitv.com/home There are commercials but they aren't very distracting.

Enjoy. xo, Rosemary

Love in a Cold Climate BBC Mini Series 1980

I just finished watching this 2-part series on BritBox and loved it. It's also available on Amazon Prime and maybe Hulu as well as DVD. It's based on the book by Nancy Mitford. 

♡Highly recommended tv streaming.♡

xo

Great Movie to Watch (FREE)

I woke up early this morning and watched this movie on my laptop from ShoutFactoryTV and it was simply wonderful. It is a free service with ads but this movie only had one at the beginning. I cannot figure out how to stream to my TV on my Chromecast but luckily my laptop has a good screen for viewing movies. Use the link provided below to go directly to this movie.

A HANDFUL OF DUST

All of the actors we know and love from Britain were so young!

https://www.shoutfactorytv.com/a-handful-of-dust/5c05ad3def995e14a6012272

Enjoy. xo

The Flame Trees of Thika on Acorn TV

My current obsession. The Flame Trees of Thika miniseries on Acorn TV is absolutely wonderful. It was filmed on location in 1981 in untamed Africa. If you liked "Out of Africa" you will love it. The movie is based on a Memoir by Elsbeth Huxley so it's also a true story. Enjoy the YouTube preview and be convinced.

North Side Photo of My Yard

I mowed day before yesterday and took this photo from the North side of my cottage. The white clapboard you see on the far left is the side of my cottage with no windows. The headboard of my bed is pushed against this wall. The two windows in this room overlook the front and the back. The sky was overcast in the back but the sun was shining in the front as you can see from the shadows. I was determined to beat the rain.

I mowed the front late in the afternoon yesterday and it rained overnight, as predicted. So far I am keeping up with lawn maintenance and still enjoying the exercise. 

I downloaded TUBI from the App Store on my phone and iPad. It is also available on a computer here: https://tubitv.com/ Tubi is a free streaming service with movies and tv shows. There are commercials but they are only 15 seconds in length and do not interfere with the shows or movies at all. I have been watching Season 19 of Midsomer Murders, the last PBS season with the original DCI Barnaby. Season 20 with his replacement isn't available yet. I have watch several good movies too but I honestly cannot remember the names. I watch a movie every day and can recommend ENCHANTED APRIL and MRS. PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT. Quite accidentally, both of these movies had Joan Plowright. and now I must look for more of her movies. Her body of work is incredible. Those were offered on HOOPLA through my public library. 

It is a dreary day today with rain on and off, perfect for watching 2 movies. xo

SWEET LAND movie recommendation

I watched the BEST movie last night on Pluto TV  This is an on-demand movie under the Romance category. There are commercials but they don't detract too much from this utterly charming film produced by Alan Cumming. Elizabeth Reaser is beyond fabulous as young Inge. It is also available on Amazon Prime. It is the sweetest movie and I know you will love it!!!! It is very heartwarming and wholesome too.

SWEET LAND

In the aftermath of World War I, Inge Altenberg (Elizabeth Reaser), an orphan from Snåsa, Norway, arrives in America to a very cold reception. The parents of immigrant farmer Olaf Torvik (Tim Guinee) remain in Norway, where they met her. Dialogue reveals that the four of them have worked out an agreement that allowed her to emigrate to America for the purpose of marrying Olaf. The Minnesota farming village of Audubon, in which her intended husband lives, is horrified to learn that she is a German immigrant with no papers. To make matters worse, she has accidentally obtained membership papers for the American Socialist Party. Scandalized, both the town's Lutheran minister and the county clerk refuse to marry them.

When events lead them to openly cohabit with each other, they find themselves ostracized by the entire town. They are then forced to harvest their crop completely by hand and alone. This particular harvest season brings not only work, but love as well.

THIS BEAUTIFUL FANTASTIC movie

This exciting news deserves a blog post all of its own! My favorite movie, pictured above, is now streaming free "on demand" on PLUTO TV under the ROMANCE category. I know many of you were disappointed when I blogged about its being on Kanopy through my library card. Sadly, not all libraries offer this free streaming service but PLUTO TV is free to everyone with a WiFi connection.

Here is the movie trailer for this charming film. I have seen it three times but I just might watch it again tonight in bed on my iPad. You are welcome!!! So far, everyone on this blog has enjoyed it and I hope you will like it too. 

xo, Rosemary

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes: Movie Review

An endearing and quietly rhapsodic slice of Americana about a single year among the Norwegian immigrants in a Wisconsin farm town, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes enthralled 1945 audiences and critics with its timeless joys. Told from the viewpoint of little Selma (Margaret O’Brien), the film explores grand childhood adventures: making friends, a pet calf, Christmas, a terrifying trip down a flood-swollen river, a barn fire and a ride on a circus elephant’s trunk. In a change-of-pace role, Edward G. Robinson is a revelation of wisdom and compassion as Selma’s father, leading a fine cast that illuminates the profound power of everyday triumphs and sorrows.

I have watched this movie twice on TCM and love it. It follows the life of a close Norwegian family in a Wisconsin settlement. The family values of the whole village are wonderful and Margaret O'Brien is a treasure. I love her telling of the Nativity in the church Christmas pageant.

Maybe you can find the DVD at your library. You can stream it on Amazon and iTunes. This is a must-see movie. I have never read the book but it must be wonderful too.

Mostly Martha + Zodiac : Two Great Kanopy Movies

MOSTLY MARTHA is a very entertaining movie about a controlling chef who is definitely not in control of her life. 

This might be too violent for some or most of you but I like true crime movies. Click here to view the 2007 movie trailer before you decide to watch it. 

'Zodiac" is the "All the President's Men" of serial killer movies, with Woodward and Bernstein played by a cop and a cartoonist. It's not merely "based" on California's infamous Zodiac killings, but seems to exude the very stench and provocation of the case. The killer, who was never caught, generously supplied so many clues that Sherlock Holmes might have cracked the case in his sitting room. But only a newspaper cartoonist was stubborn enough, and tunneled away long enough, to piece together a convincing case against a man who was perhaps guilty. read more here

August 1st + Two Legal Drama Movies

August is a month to try to enjoy in spite of the heat because once September rolls around the rest of the year flies by.

I enjoy legal dramas and two that I have enjoyed on Kanopy are shown below.

Emma Thompson is wonderful. View movie trailer here. I loved the interior design of her London apartment too.

This movie is based on a true story and the legal trial takes place in England. 

Based on the acclaimed bookDenial: Holocaust History on Trial, DENIAL recounts Deborah E. Lipstadt’s (Academy Award® winner Rachel Weisz) legal battle for historical truth against David Irving (BAFTA nominee Timothy Spall), who accused her of libel when she declared him a Holocaust denier. In the English legal system, in cases of libel, the burden of proof is on the defendant, therefore it was up to Lipstadt and her legal team, led by Richard Rampton (Academy Award® nominee Tom Wilkinson), to prove the essential truth that the Holocaust occurred. View video movie clips here.

Two More Kanopy Movie Recommendations

A MAN CALLED OVE: I actually watched this on a DVD from my library but it is now on Kanopy so I want to watch it again. I blogged about the book before I saw the film (with subtitles).

Ove, an ill tempered, isolated retiree who spends his days enforcing block association rules and visiting his wife's grave, has finally given up on life just as an unlikely friendship develops with his boisterous new neighbors. Based on the bestselling novel.

I just read that Tom Hanks is producing and starring in an English language interpretation of this film. That should be good. I adore Tom Hanks!

THIS BEAUTIFUL FANTASTIC: A contemporary adult fairy tale revolving around the unlikely of friendship between a reclusive young woman with dreams of being a children's book author and a cantankerous widower, set against the backdrop of a beautiful garden in the heart of London.

Bella Brown (Jessica Brown Findlay) is a beautifully quirky young woman who dreams of writing and illustrating a successful children's book. When she is forced by her landlord to deal with her neglected garden or face eviction, she meets her nemesis, match and mentor in Alfie Stephenson (Oscar-nominated actor, Tom Wilkinson), a grumpy, loveless, rich old man who lives next door and happens to be an amazing horticulturalist.

This was the first movie I watched on Kanopy 8 months ago. I found it delightful. I loved all of the library scenes and the mean librarian too. Watch the movie trailer here.

Let me know if your public library offers Kanopy.