Pompeii: Back From The Dead - Documentary

 Pompeii: Back from the DeadCheck Price

Rating: 7 arthritic fingers up.

The ancient city of Pompeii in Italy has caught my attention as John and I hope to visit the unearthed city one day. In fact, Pompeii has long held my interest since my parents came back from a trip to Italy with fascinating photos back in the 1970s. Mom and Dad were also enamored with the ancient Roman town and treated us to a narrated slide show that I'll never forget.

Pompeii: Back from the dead is a wonderful documentary for all ages. Buried and unearthed under 70 feet of ash, Pompeii is shown in amazing detail. The documentary walks one around the various buildings of the doomed city and gives the audience a perspective of what daily life in 79 AD.

It was interesting to find out that Vesuvius, the volcano that destroyed the city, had laid dormant 1500 years. In fact, the citizens of Pompeii didn't even know they lived at the foot of a volcano. There wasn't even an Italian word for volcano!

I'm pretty sure that my Mom would have particularly loved this documentary as it would have brought back memories of that Italy trip, and that fabulous white leather jacket she brought back!

If you liked Pompeii: Back from the dead, you'll also like these great documentaries:

 Planet Earth: The Complete BBC SeriesCheck Price The Blue Planet - Seas of Life Collector's Set (Parts 1-4)Check Price Life (David Attenborough-Narrated Version) [Blu-ray]Check Price

The Apartment with Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurry

 The Apartment (Collector's Edition)Check Price

Rating: 9 Arthritic Fingers Up

The Apartment is most likely a movie that your favorite senior citizen has already seen once or twice, but it is still great fun. First published in 1960, Jack Lemmon plays the part of C.C. Baxer, one of many up and coming workers in a very large company. What sets C.C. apart is that he's a bachelor with an amply furnished batchelor pad which comes in very handy to the philandering upper level managers at his company.

The more C.C. lends out his apartment for trysts, the faster he moves up the corporate ladder. But, his top level boss (Fred MacMurry) wants more than C.C's apartment - he wants the girl (Shirley MacLaine) that the bachelor has his eye on too. As an aside, Shirley MacLaine might be her prettiest in this movie with her pixie hair cut.

The hilarity continues as C.C. tries to schedule all of the extramarital activity in his apartment. It's sad when a guy has the flu and can't even stay in his own bed!

The comedy in this film is good natured and light. Just right for your favorite senior citizen.

If you liked 'The Apartment', you'll probably also like:

 Odd CoupleCheck Price Some Like It Hot (Collector's Edition)Check Price The Jack Lemmon Film Collection (Phffft! / Operation Mad Ball / The Notorious Landlady / Under the Yum Yum Tree / Good Neighbor Sam)Check Price

All Of Me - Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin

Rating: 10 Arthritic Fingers Up

 All of Me (1000)Check Price

Although Mom is no longer with me to rate this movie, I can still hear her chuckling in my mind at this comedy film; this would definitely have been one of her favorite movies of all time.

The laughter starts when millionaire Edwina Cutwater (Lily Tomlin) finds out she's dying - no, that doesn't sound so funny but what is funny is when she agrees to have her soul (for a whole bunch of money) transferred to the young, beautiful female body of Terri Hoskins (played by Victoria Tennant).

But, the plan goes awry when the shaman who is doing the soul transferring accidentally transfer her soul into the body of Roger Cobb (Steve Martin), her lawyer. She takes over the right side of his body. See, in this movie at least, money can buy you everything - even if it is you soul inhabiting the wrong body.

Each actress and actor in All of Me puts on very funny performances. This is a great movie to watch with an elderly loved one!

If you liked All of Me, you might also like:

 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)Check Price The Incredible Shrinking WomanCheck Price Steve Martin: The Television StuffCheck Price Movie Marathon Collection: Steve Martin (Bowfinger / Parenthood / Housesitter / Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid / The Lonely Guy) (1982)Check Price

Lucy - The Story of Lucille Ball's Life

Rating: 6 Arthritic Fingers Up.


Note: Amazon doesn't sell this movie so if you have a senior loved one who needs a bit of entertaining, you'll have to find it on Netflix. Sorry. But, I've kindly added a link to the full series of the hit show 'I love Lucy.' No need to thank me. Now, onto the review of 'Lucy.'

While in bed with a torn calf muscle (ouch), I was flipping through Netflix and settled on 'Lucy' with a whole bunch of actors and actresses I don't know including:

Rachel York as Lucy (looks nothing like her)
Danny Pino as Desi Arnaz (looks nothing like him).

The movie was benign enough and just interesting enough as it went into details of Lucy and Desi's sort of tumultuous relationship. He was, predictably, a male chauvinist, cheating man, who had been raised in the lap of luxury until a revolution caused his upper class family to flee his home country. And, equally as predictably, Lucille Ball was a tough, strong woman.

The underlying love story really is a love story though. Through their ups and downs, and even after divorce, they still kept in touch.

I think my Mom would have liked this movie but probably not have loved it. It's a bit slow and some of the language is a bit rough (not that she would have cared about that - we didn't call her 'Dirty Gertie' for nothing.

If you like Lucille Ball, you might also like:

Move Over, Darling with Doris Day and James Garner

Rating: 8 Arthritic Fingers Up

Move Over, Darling is a really cute movie featuring a very young Doris Day and James Garner. Declared dead after, presumably, being lost at sea after a plane crash, Ellen (Doris Day) is rescued from a deserted island and reintroduced to her old life. And, her timing is impeccable as she appears back on the scene the very day her husband, Nicky (James Garner) has her declared legally dead and remarries a new wife - and takes off on his honeymoon where a very coiffed and stylishly dress Ellen also shows up. When Nicky sees Ellen standing in the lobby, the antics start!

Produced in 1963, Move Over, Darling is sure to delight any elderly person who liked movies back then. Doris Day's innocent face is sure to stir memories of the good old days when phone calls were $0.10 and movie tickets weren't much more. It's also fun to watch the supporting cast of characters when they were younger such as Don Knotts, Thelma Ritter, Edgar Buchanan, John Astin, and Pat Harrington.

And, if your senior citizen loved one loves Doris Day as much as I do, you might want to check out the below good movies for senior citizens:

Calendar Girls with Helen Miren and Julie Walters

Rating: 8 Arthritic Fingers Up

Calendar Girls is a very funny british comedy about a group of 50 something women who come up with the idea to make a nude calendar of themselves in order to raise money for a new sofa in a hospital waiting room. The movie is filled with beautiful scenes filmed in England so it really is a work of art on top of being funny. The only reason Mom would have given it 8 arthritic fingers up as the rating is because I doubt she would have been able to understand some of the thicker British accents. But, if you're from England, you can't go wrong with Calendar Girls.

As an aside, the nude scenes are not really all that nude so even prudish elderly women and men will think this movie is funny. Pick it up today - makes a great Christmas stocking stuffer also as it's not very expensive.

If you liked Calendar Girls, you might also want to check out:

The Long, Long Trailer with Lucy Ball and Desi Arnaz

Rating: 5 arthritic fingers up.

Produced in 1954, this old movie is pretty amusing if you consider the age of the thing. You won't see any great special effects, although, the one scene where Lucy gets blown out of the camper is pretty funny. The premise of this movie (and the reason I watched it as we just bought a travel trailer) is that this young married couple decide to buy a travel trailer so that they can be together as Desi starts his music career on the road.

As can be expected, travels and travails occur, including getting the car (a cadillac is pulling this very long, long trailer!) and trailer stuck in mud up to the axles. Lucy, in typical Lucille Ball fashion, is a daffy housewife who insists on collecting rocks on their trip around the US. Of course, this adds to the weight of the travel trailer and to Desi's despair.

Amusing as this short film is, as a younger person, you might not like it, but watch it with an older person and you'll like it more. I'm sorry that my Mom is no longer with me to have watched it, but I know she would have laughed at the antics in this movie.

If you liked the Long Long Trailer, you might also consider watching Lucy and Desi's 2 other movies:

When Harry Met Sally with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan

Rating: 9 arthritic fingers up



Mom would have rated this "10 arthritic thumbs up" if she was still here with me but, since I'm taking over the rating now, I gave it a slight downgrade to "9 arthritic fingers up" due to the very fun scene where Meg Ryan (Sally) fakes an orgasm - I'm just not sure that every elderly person is as progressive as "Dirty Gertie" was.

Regardless, When Harry Met Sally, is a wonderful movie about two friends (Harry <Billy Crystal> and Sally <Meg Ryan> - go figure) meet in New York. The film follows them through a close friendship, to love, to hate, and back to love so the ending is very sweet. Elderly people will also love the real life couples who are featured in small vignettes throughout the movie - people who have been together for many many years and still love each other - just the way it should be.

Some of the best scenes are the first time Harry and Sally land in bed. The camera first focuses on Sally - hair amuss, smile on lips, eyes closed in contentment and then the camera pans to Harry whose eyes show the shock and panic he feels. Both Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are wonderful in this movie. I'm certain your elderly loved one will really enjoy this film.

If you liked When Harry Met Sally, you might also like:

An apology to my readers...

I'll start by apologizing to those who have wandered upon my GoodMoviesForSeniorCitizens blogspot - I've been inactive since December 2011 due to increasing needs to be with and care for my Mom, Gertie. Quite sadly, but not tragically, Mom died peacefully in her sleep at 7:11am on  February 15, 2012. She lived a wonderful 95 years. She was surrounded by my brother, Mike, my friend, Sharyn, our excellent caregiver, Elizabeth and myself as she took her last breath.

The time of Mom's death, 7:11, was fitting as we are all gamblers. Before my Dad died in 2005 at the age of 89, I flew out every 6 weeks to pick up the folks, pile them in my brother's van (which he gracefully loaned me every time I asked) and drive them to Laughlin, Nevada for a quick gambling fix. Dad and I would usually belly up to the craps table where hearing Yo 'Leve as an 11 appeared on the dice would send up peals of laughter from us. Mom usually stuck to blackjack or, occasionally, she'd sit between us on a special stool the pit boss brought over so that all 4'10" of her could see over the table.

Our trips were only over the weekend as I was working full time back then and had little vacation to spare. So, for Mom's soul to depart this earth at 7:11am was fitting indeed. I see that time as a nod to good times to come.

So, this blog has layed dormant for 6 months now and it's time to pick up the pieces of Good Movies for Senior Citizens and move on. Since I'm 54, I suppose I technically am just a year away from being a senior citizen in my own right but I will take over the "Arthritic Fingers Up" ratings. After all, I knew Mom the best and know what she'd still call a movie worth watching.

So, dear readers, let's go! I'll try to post a review shortly to get this thing back on the road. That's what Mom would have wanted.

If you happen to find a movie you think is good for senior citizens, kindly leave me a comment and I will try to review it.

Lori

The Other Side of the Mountain - Jill Kinmont's story

Rating: 8 arthritic fingers up.

Mom and I were sitting in the living room after being home just a week - Mom broke her hip 11/11/11 (said that was a lucky day?...) and we spent 5 subsequent weeks in rehab. While surfing through Apple TV, I wandered upon "The Other Side of the Mountain." What a great movie. Now, not 10 arthritic fingers up but a respectable story.

The Other Side of the Mountain is the true story of Jill Kinmont - a one time Olympic hopeful who had a skiing accident in 1955 when she was just 19 (and, coincidentally, the same week she was she was on the cover of Sports Illustrated). With paralysis from the neck down, Jill Kinmont's story is an inspiring tale of overcoming adversity and going on to lead a full and vital life.

After falling in love with Dick Buek, a fellow dare devil skiier, Jill's life looked back on track until Dick was killed in a plane crash on November 3, 1957 at the age of 27. But, ah, Jill goes on. And, goes on splendidly to gain her teaching certificate and, to this day, as a retired teacher she still paints.

With Mom's recovery being slow, and, with Mom being 95, this story hit home. Jill Kinmont was young and in way worse shape than dear Gert yet she persevered through a tough run at physical therapy and her subsequent healing. Mom and I had a nice talk afterwards when I was helping her walk to the kitchen. She's a survivor too...just like Jill Kinmont.

To read more about Jill Kinmont's true story (she's a painter these days), please click this link: Jill Kinmont's story

If you liked The Other Side of the Mountain, you might also like:

Jill Kinmont's tale of her life:

Not without my daughter with Sally Field

Rating: 7 arthritic fingers up.

Not without my daughter is a true story about Betty Mamoody - an American woman married to an Iranian man. In 1986, she agreed to accompany her husband to his home in Iran for a 2 week vacation to visit his family. She, her daughter and her husband arrived in Iran to a tumultuous greeting and a war strewn country.

During their 2 weeks in Iran, Betty Mahmoody's husband rededicated himself to the Shiite Moslem faith and took on the role of a traditional Iranian man and expected Betty to become an Iranian woman. Swathed in traditional Iranian dress she was beaten frequently and, upon occasion, Moody beat his daughter too.

Considering herself and her daughter held hostage, she fought long and hard to escape over the border (mostly on foot and horseback) to Turkey where she went to the American Embassy. She was reunited with her family in the US in 1986.

Today, Betty Mahmoody fights for the freedom of others in the same predicament. More can be read about this fascinating woman here: Betty Mamoody.

As is Sally Field's wont, she played the part of Betty Mamoody with perfection. This movie was a great find for a rainy, cold day. Mom had no trouble following it and really liked it.

If you liked Not Without My Daughter, you might like some of Sally Field's other movies such as:

Awakenings with Robin Williams and Robert De Niro

Rating: 6 arthritic fingers up

For those of you who have seen Awakenings, you might wonder why only 6 arthritic fingers up. I chose this rating as, in my own opinion, this movie is easily a 10 but, when viewing with a senior citizen, it's probably quite sad in the end.

Awakenings is based on a true story of British neurologist, Oliver Sacks, and his quest to bring back to life a group of people suffering the effects of an epidemic of encephalitis lethargica between 1917 and 1928. The disease left these people in a catatonic state with little ability to interact with others or their environment.

Robin Williams (playing Malcolm Sayer) is superb in his portrayal of Oliver Sacks. He breaks away from his rapid fire personality and plays this shy researcher with grace and great skill. But, the winning performance of the movie Awakenings, and perhaps of his career, goes to Robert De Niro who plays Leonard Lowe, a now 40 something man who has been in a catatonic state since he was a very young boy. Robert De Niro masters the mannerisms of one both awakening and then descending back into a deep sleep with such skill it's just amazing.

As heartwarming as it is heartbreaking, Awakenings should be on everyone's bookshelf. Just view it carefully before sharing it with you favorite senior citizen.

If you liked Awakenings, you might also like:

Birdcage with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane

Rating: 10 arthritic fingers up! (for open minded senior citizens).

Ok, Birdcage the movie hits it out of the park. Enchanting, funny, and very easy to follow, this movie had my Mom laughing out loud. The one caveat I would put upon the rating is that the movies characters are homosexuals and, although Mom and I don't care, some seniors may be more sensitive. It's just how they were raised, folks.

Birdcage opens with a drag show in a club owned by Armand (Robin Williams) in Florida. Armand and his companion, Albert, the star of the drag show (Nathan Lane), live in a grand home above the club. Tended to by gay housekeeper Agador (Hank Azaria), Albert is quite the drama queen in more sense than one.

Armand's son, Val, the product of a one night stand some 20 years ago, is getting married to the daughter (Calista Flockhart) of a very conservative politician played by Gene Hackman and asks that "Auntie Albert" not be present during the meeting between Armand and his fiance's family. This is where the fun begins.

There's many laugh out loud parts of the movie Birdcage. Our favorites were:

• "Sparticus" trying to walk in shoes. Hank Azaria is hilarious as a slapstick actor.
• Watching Albert, in his pink striped suit glory try to walk like John Wayne

The movie is totally enchanting and has some great one liners in it that are easy to follow. Although Nathan Lane is truly the star of the show, Hank Azaria's housekeeper character takes the cake as far as Mom and I were concerned.

This is a GREAT movie for a senior citizen or anyone, imho.

If you liked Birdcage, you'll love:

   

Moonstruck with Cher and Nicholas Cage

Rating: Four arthritic fingers up

I'll admit it - this review is mostly my take on Moonstruck as my Mom fell asleep right after it started, awoke briefly, decided it was boring and dozed right back off. I could have done the same if I hadn't been entertained by online writing while the movie was playing.

The premise of this movie is one of deception - and, everybody is cheating on everybody else during this particular phase of the moon - hence, Moonstruck.

Cher's character is engaged to an Italian mobster type man but sleeps, and falls in love with, his brother. Cher's mother (Olivia Dukakis) meets a younger college professor during dinner out one night and there she goes! Meanwhile, Cher's father is carrying on a display of affection with a tart.

Besides everyone doing everyone else, there was a scene when Cher's original boyfriend is at the bedside of his ill mother. I found that scene a bit uncomfortable given that I'm my elderly Mom's caregiver. I was glad she slept through it, although the mother does recover.

There's also a lot of Italian yelling and gesturing. I say skip this one. Instead, you might like:

   

Rio

Rating: 3 Arthritic Fingers Up Rio, the newly released animated film featuring voice of Jesse Eisenberg (as Blu) and Anne Hathaway (as Jewel)            is a bit too much like Finding Nemo (without the funny character of Ellen Degeneres). The movie was cute, but in the opinion of one very senior citizen (94) and one approaching senior citizenship (none of your business...), and one 40 year old, it was sort of boring.

The story starts with the requisite capture of Blu, one of the last blue Amazon parrots on earth. In fact, Blu is only 1 of 2 known of his species. Unfortunately, Blu lives with his owner (and total devotee Linda). And, since he's lived a totally cushy life, he's never learned to fly.

Linda and Blu get talked into a trip to Rio so that Blu can, ostensibly, continue the species with Jewel (a kind of nasty bird at first). Through many trials and tribulation, including a kidnapping (bird-napping?) plot, Blu learns to fly and is....well, I won't spoil it for you if you haven't seen it.

Personally, I lost interest in about 30 minutes; Mom was sleeping by minute 10.

There are other animated flicks that I would recommend though for viewing with a senior citizen friend, including the below:

The American President with Michael Douglas and Annette Bennings

Rating: 10 Arthritic Fingers Up!

 Talk about just the sweetest love story ever and super sexy too (gives the caregiver something to watch at the same time...), The American President is one of our favorite movies ever. What starts off as an adversarial relationship between a lobbyist on The Hill (Sydney Allen Wade played by Benning) turns into a true love story when The President (President Andrew Shepherd played by Douglas) develops feelings for this tough lady.

Recently widowed, the President is running the country with a group of great advisors (including Michael J. Fox) and trying to raise his teenage daughter, Lucy, at the same time. Douglas is a nice guy all around but no nicer than when he takes dating advice from his daughter.

As a mixture of humor and love, one of our favorite parts was when the President tries to buy the lobbyist flowers on his own. Yes, he does own a rose garden but has quite a hard time buying a bouquet of flowers.

This movie is fast enough paced to keep Mom's attention yet was still easy to follow. We both highly recommend it!

If you liked The American President, you might also like:

  

Finding Nemo with Ellen Degeneres and Albert Brooks

Rating - 10 arthritic fingers up!

 "A boat? I saw a boat!"

Now, if you're a caregiver of the elderly, you might well identify your charge with Dory the fish (Ellen Degeneres) - a fish of very short term memory. This character about put me down for good with laughter! I just dropped and rolled. Mom was also amused - albeit, not nearly as much as I was.

Finding Nemo is clearly a winner when looking for a fun, light movie needed to entertain about anyone in the world, including a 94 year old.

The story starts with Nemo, a clownfish with a bum wing (um...fin) and an overprotective father starting off to school on his own. Little did he realize the perils of not listening to good old dad. Poor Nemo gets trapped in a net and ends up in a dentist's office in an aquarium in Sydney, Australia.

The story line is delightfully whimsical and easy to follow. Honestly: everyone will love this movie - if not, just press ESC-APE (pronounced Esc-CA-pe...) on your DVD and dial up something else!

If you liked Finding Nemo, you'll also like:

    

Rainman with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman

 Rating: 10 arthritic fingers up!

Rainman is a delightful story of a mentally-challenged man (Raymond Babbitt) played by Dustin Hoffman and his very selfish younger brother (Charlie Babbitt) played by Tom Cruise.

After their father dies, Charlie Babbitt discovers that his dad's vast fortune (3 million) was left to Raymond while Charlie was left only a rose bush and an antique car which Charlie had stolen from his father when he was young. As a result of the theft, his Dad had reported the car as stolen and Charlie spent a few days in jail which just burned him up and caused an estrangement between Charlie and his dad.

So, Charlie realizes that to get to the money, he has to get to his mentally-challenged brother, which he does. As the two impart upon a cross country journey, Charlie starts to see his brother in a new light.

Our favorite scene of all is when the two men are coming down the escalator in Las Vegas in beautiful suits. This scene alone is worth watching the movie!

There's the prerequisite love story also between Charlie and his girlfriend who takes a liking to Raymond. It's through her eyes that Charlie further sees his brother as a man - not just someone who is dependent upon others.

Rainman is a wonderful movie which held Mom's attention throughout. Have a few hankies around though - Mom wasn't the only one crying...

If you liked Rainman, you might also like:

     

La Bamba with Lou Diamond Phillips

Rating: 7 arthritic fingers up.

La Bamba tells the story of Richie Valens, from the undiscovered youth all the way to the fated plane crash that took his life along with the Big Bopper and Buddy Holly on February 3, 1959. Lou Diamond Phillips does an admirable job portraying Richie although I felt like his lip syncing to the songs was a bit off.

La Bamba would have garnished a higher rating if it wasn't that I constantly had to readjust the volume to a comfortable roar. If I adjusted the movie speaking parts to a dull roar, when a song came on, if the volume was left alone, I would have had curled hair! For those who can't hear anyway, it was probably ok but it ground my teeth down! So I was always fiddling with the volume.

Mom and I loved the story though as it is heartwarming and inspiring. In Richie Valens short life, he only got a few songs out but they were all popular. "Come on, let's go" was his first published recording followed shortly by "Donna" and his most popular hit, "La Bamba." In his own way and in his short 17 years, Richie Valens left his mark on the music industry.

If you liked La Bamba, you might like:
    

Living with a Stranger - Julia Roberts

 Rating: 6 arthritic fingers up.

This thriller movie held my interest (mostly) but not Mom's. The story line is a bit implausible. Julia Roberts plays a battered wife who fakes her own drowning to escape from her husband. After a night sail which turns bad in a storm, she slips overboard and manages to make her way to shore and a quick trip to her house to gather her runaway bag. In her wake, she leaves the most gorgeous house on Nantucket. I'm thinking that if I were her, I would have figured out a way to keep that house! But, that's besides the point. She also made a fatal error by putting her wedding ring in the toilet. Why she'd do that when she had the whole ocean in front of her was just too weird. And, the implausibility of the wedding ring still being there peaking out of the bottom of the toilet bowl after the funeral and after the house has been shut up just doesn't ring true (sorry). Didn't those people pee?

Anyway, Julia makes a run for it and tries to start a new life. That's as far as I'm going with this review. Don't want to be a spoiler for the tense ending!

As far as senior citizens liking this movie, maybe not so much. There's flashback scenes that sort of confused my Mom and the suspense was not her favorite thing.

If you or your senior citizen liked this movie, you might also like: