Films Archives - The Culture Mom

08Dec

Review: “Mary Queen of Scots,” a Dynamic Dose of Gender Politics

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

I was lucky to screen "Mary Queen of Scots," a film out in limited release now, last week right after returning from Israel. I was fearful I would fall asleep from a shot of jetlag that accompanied me back to America as the screening took place on an early Monday morning. I did not know much about Mary Stuart going into the screening, nor did I know much about her relationship with Queen Elizabeth. I was curious and quite excited to learn more about the supposed two rivals and real-life cousins, and I was also keen to watch two of the best actresses Read More

22Mar

The Zookeeper’s Wife, a Holocaust Film that Celebrates Light

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

Last week I screened The Zookeeper's Wife, a Holocaust-themed film directed by Niki Caro. The Holocaust is a very personal issue for me. My feelings have very deep roots, stemming back to my childhood and it often fuels my writing. I've interviewed survivors, written about my recent visits to concentration camps, talked about why my being a mother makes the connection even deeper, and why we must #NeverForget. I also gravitate towards Holocaust films and review them as often as possible. Holocaust films are not easy to make and I've watched my share Read More

10Mar

Giveaway: #LoveBlooms at The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Posted by The Culture Mom 93 Comments

If you saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, I know you're as excited as I am to see the sequel. In addition to the fact that it's set in India (the part of the world that ranks highest on my bucketlist) and that it's a romance (my favorite kind of film), it stars a dreamy cast that includes Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel and Richard Gere. Does the word "swoon" sum it up for you? Here's the plot: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is the expansionist dream of Sonny (Patel), and it’s making more claims on his time than he has available, Read More

15Dec

Interview with the Cast of Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

The other day I spent a half-hour with some of the greatest names in show business: Rebel Wilson, Dan Stevens, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and director Shawn Levy. I was invited as part of a group interview promoting their new film, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, which I had screened the day before. As expected, the group had a synergy and spirit for the film, including Wilson and Stevens, the newest cast members, proving how much they enjoyed making the film together. Upon meeting them, I immediately felt a tremendous need to vocalize how I Read More

04Sep

Joan Rivers: A Comedic Pioneer is Gone

Posted by The Culture Mom 17 Comments

A world without Joan Rivers. Who can imagine? I grew up with her, as I'm sure you did. She was responsible for so much. She made us laugh. She was a true pioneer. She spoke out for what she believed in. She celebrated life and helped us get through hard times, using her as our example. Tonight while reading tributes from her Hollywood colleagues, I stumbled across "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work," on Netflix. a documentary made in 2010 that saluted her life and career.Her career spanned 4 decades and she paved the way for female comediennes, but she had Read More

30Jun

Taking My Tween to See The Fault in Our Stars

Posted by The Culture Mom 17 Comments

When I interviewed the author John Green, who wrote The Fault in Our Stars, I was a bit star-struck. Here I was schmoozing with the Judy Blume of our day, and one of the other interviewers on the call asked him how he felt about that title. He admitted that being called the modern Judy Blume made him feel uneasy but also very proud. Her books dealt the tough issues of puberty and adolescence of her day and so do his. He writes so eloquently about illness, death, falling in love, breaking up and the tough choices we have to make in life. It was just Read More

26May

An Interview with ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ Author John Green

Posted by The Culture Mom 12 Comments

I was recently part of a group of culture and book bloggers who asked author John Green a few questions about the upcoming release of the film adaptation of the he extremely popular young adult novel The Fault in Our Stars. His excitement for the film was quite infectious, even over the phone, and there can't be anyone more excited about the release of the film...except the public. Since the official trailer was released by Twentieth Century Fox a few short months ago, it has received over 19 million views. Here’s what I found out about his involvement Read More

01Feb

The Poetry of 12 Years a Slave

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

Sometimes you see a movie that stays with you for a very, very long time. That movie for me is 12 Years a Slave. I nipped into a very empty cinema on a weekday afternoon recently on my own and prepared myself for an afternoon at the movies. To say that it was like therapy is an understatement. From the minute I first set eyes on the eyes of Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon, I was smitten. Inside his eyes I felt the weight of the 19th century reality of slavery. The film starts out as his character, Solomon Northup, a brilliant violinist is living in Read More

07Jan

Getting My Indie Film Fix on Netflix

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

When we first got Netflix, I was initially excited to catch up on series I'd yet to see, like Friday Night Lights and Breaking Bad. Then I reveled in watching old movies from the 1970s and 1980s with my kids like Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Breakfast Club. Then I ventured into classic films starting many of the greats like Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Bette Davis. And now? Now I'm relishing in independent films, as I continue to find one golden indie after another that I either loved or had never seen before. Read More

03Nov

Getting Up Close and Personal with the Cast and Crew of “The Book Thief”

Posted by The Culture Mom Leave a Comment

Five years ago, someone in my book club selected The Book Thief by Australian author Markus Zusak. As soon as I turned to the first page, I was mesmerized. Let me preface this article by saying that I am Jewish and I'm someone who has always felt a profound sense of responsibility towards my people and heritage because of what happened during the Holocaust. I read a lot of books about this time period. I watch movies about it. I have even thought about going back to school to study the Holocaust. I am currently interviewing survivors for my Read More