The Importance of Earnest Service

Archive for the ‘Movies’ Category

Service of Horror Films

Monday, October 26th, 2026

I posted “Service of Fear,” on Halloween 2016. At the time I asked fellow tenants in the office space I rented for their favorite horror movies since I don’t like to be scared so I avoid them.

They mentioned:

“The Haunting”

“When a Stranger Calls”

“The Birds,” “Psycho” & “Rear Window”

“The Conjuring”

“The Gate”

“The Strangers”

“Halloween II”

“The Thing”

“The Shining”

“Poltergeist”

“The House of Wax”

“Bones”

I asked AI if there was a correlation between horror movie popularity and scary political times. “Yes — research and cultural analysis show a strong historical correlation: horror film popularity often peaks during periods of political unrest, social anxiety, or ideological polarization, as the genre reflects and amplifies collective fears.”

Some examples AI provided:

“Great Depression (1930s): Films like Dracula, Frankenstein, and White Zombie reflected fears about outsiders, immigration restrictions, and racial prejudice.”

“1960s religious upheaval: The breakdown of traditional religion fueled occult horror (The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby)”

“Post‑9/11: Horror emphasized random violence and ‘us vs. them’ nationalism (The Strangers, Cloverfield)”

What am I scared about? Shenanigans that impede a legitimate election that has already begun with DOJ holding hostage 20,000 votes in Los Angeles and the president ordering DOJ to block the Alaska Senate race if Republican, Senator Dan S. Sullivan loses.

Are you a horror film fan? What are your favorites? Does your yen for the genre increase when you feel anxious about political unrest?

8 Comments »

Service of Vintage Films, TV Series and a Few New Ones That Make You Smile

Thursday, July 2nd, 2026

There are some vintage films and TV series that consistently warn my heart. In the former, just a few are “Out of Africa,” “The King and I,” “Moonstruck,” “Brief Encounter,” “A Little Romance,” and “Roman Holiday.”

I’m having a wonderful time rewatching “West Wing,” on Netflix. The script, acting and plot twists can’t be beat. “Downton Abbey,” and the original “Law and Order,” especially with Jerry Orbach, also top the TV list. “MASH,” if I’m in the mood, “Mike and Molly,” in small doses and “Cheers” are fun to revisit.

Among new series I look forward to episodes of “All Creatures Great and Small,” “Grantchester,” and “Lincoln Lawyer” and I mourn when the series are done.

I wonder if the directors and screen writers knew that they were producing such special films/series. What are your favorites–old and new?

13 Comments »

Service of Favorite Movies

Monday, November 17th, 2025

**My Pope socks are among my favorites, a special gift from Nancie Steinberg.**

Pope Leo XIV met with Hollywood actors and directors on Saturday. They included Cate Blanchett, Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Adam Scott, Spike Lee, Chris Pine and George Miller.

In this context, a few days before, he named four of his favorite movies during an interview with Variety: “It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946,” “The Sound of Music, 1965,” “Ordinary People, 1980,” and “Life Is Beautiful, 1997.” [All but “It’s a Wonderful Life” won Oscars.]

Edward Segarra, USA Today, quoted a statement from the Vatican that the Pope “has expressed his desire to deepen dialogue with the world of cinema … exploring the possibilities that artistic creativity offers to the mission of the Church and the promotion of human values.” [A little stuffy but….]

“Casablanca,”1942, and “Brief Encounter,” 1945, headed my husband’s list of favorites.

And some of mine? “Roman Holiday, 1953,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” 1961, “The King’s Speech,” 2010, “Moonstruck,” 1987, “Uncle Buck,” 1989, “A little Romance,” 1979, “Arthur,” 1981, “Philomena,” 2023, “An Affair to Remember,” 1957, and “Good Morning Vietnam,” 1987.

I hardly–if ever–go to the movies anymore. I fear it’s a habit a lot of people have dropped. I see a bunch at home, mostly on Netflix, PBS or TCM.

What are some of your favorite films? Will movie houses survive?

On the bottom of my wonderful Pope socks.

17 Comments »

Service of a 1939 Movie

Monday, October 13th, 2025

Flipping channels one night on TCM I found “Bachelor Mother” a movie starring Ginger Rogers, David Niven and James Coburn that was made 86 years ago. Did it have any relevance to the first quarter of the 21^st century?

Some similarities between 1939 and 2025 are eerie. Prices were rising as was global fascism and the country was in for a life-changing innovation thanks to technology: New York broadcast the first TV program.

I asked Google about the country’s mood during the New Deal under FDR: “The mood in America in 1939 was one of wariness and anticipation. The nation was at a critical inflection point, balancing isolationist tendencies with the escalating crisis in Europe.” Pearl Harbor and WWII were two years away.

“The Neutrality Act of 1939 formalized the U.S. policy of neutrality, but the escalating situation forced a re-evaluation of the country’s strategic posture and technological preparedness. The year was marked by significant technological advancements, political maneuvering, and looming global conflict.”

In some ways, the film was way ahead of itself. Ginger noticed a baby on the steps of a foundling home and the staff determined it was hers, which it wasn’t. She meets David who is the son of the department store owner where she works. She ends up keeping the baby and both David and his dad, James, who also believe that the infant is hers, don’t blink twice. In ’39 I doubt they would have been that accepting of a woman having a baby out of wedlock.

Today the screen writer would have had to address the fact that the baby had no papers, no birth certificate and that his mom could afford daycare while she worked as a department store clerk. The foundling home staff or someone from the state would have checked into Ginger’s background and ability to feed and care for the infant.

Wardrobes in some films both then and now baffle me. Characters with no money sport amazing clothes and these days they arrive at a destination with a small suitcase and countless changes of day and eveningwear.

I love a cheery ending and there was one. Wealthy David falls in love with Ginger and even wealthier grandpa/father James adores the baby and they all live happily ever after.

Would the Hallmark Channel produce such a film today? Is an unwed mother such a yawn these days that the screenplay wouldn’t pass muster? Do you enjoy vintage films? Can you overlook the conveniences and innovations we enjoy today that are missing from the oldies?

4 Comments »

Service of Feel-Good Sports Movies

Thursday, January 11th, 2024

For someone who doesn’t watch sports on TV I nevertheless have an affinity for movies about winning teams.

I recently saw “The Boys in the Boat,” directed by George Clooney, starring Joel Edgerton, Callum Turner and Peter Guinness. I love “You can do it! the underdog wins” kind of film. This one told a true story about an American rowing team in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It was based on Daniel James Brown’s book.

It didn’t meet “Chariots of Fire,” one of my all-time favorite films of any and all genres, with its magnificent score and a more complex story than “Boys,” which I liked less passionately. When “Chariots” runs on Turner Classic Movies, that’s it. I’m in.

I also saw “Ferrari,” starring Penélope Cruz and Adam Driver. I would have liked it more had the interminable racing scenes been cut considerably. [I’m expecting to hear a sigh from racing car enthusiasts.] I most enjoyed the scenery, the acting and the personal interactions in the film. Oh, and it isn’t really a feel-good film, unless you focus solely on the handsome cars, but I don’t want to be a spoiler.

I mentioned “Boys” to a friend who responded with “What about ‘Cool Runnings’ and ‘The Mighty Ducks?’ Those were the cute sports movies of my generation.” He’s almost 40. He added “Cool Runnings=Jamaican bobsled. Mighty Ducks= youth hockey.” I haven’t seen these.

He continued, “My dad loved ‘Rudy,’ a football movie about Notre Dame.” I missed this one too.

Do you have a favorite sports film? Do you also appreciate the uplifting nature of these movies?

9 Comments »

Service of Legislating Art

Thursday, May 11th, 2023

I was once forced to follow another PR agency’s format both in presenting to the client the year’s placement results and my proposal. I froze. My mind didn’t accept their system. I had to fight to overcome what was to me cockamamie, convoluted organization. Normally, I plow into such a task with no trouble, especially enjoying the proposal part once I’ve determined my approach.

You can’t equate my dilemma with the creativity required to write a play or movie, but if the talent is given parameters and restrictions, inspiration must be tested. Nevertheless, I thought of my nightmare after hearing what a playwright’s agent told me and what Richard Dreyfus recently brought to light about the Oscar’s guidelines.

The agent said that in her stable of playwrights there is one of Hispanic background who has more work than he can handle. The others can’t get anything produced either because the subject matter or their characters don’t meet new strictures which specify required percentages of diversity and/or because the writer isn’t part of a minority.

And film? According to Lisa Respers France, CNN, “beginning in 2024, movies must meet certain criteria for representation to be eligible for the Academy Award for best picture.

“Films have to meet at least two of four benchmarks, which cover – among other things – whether the lead actors are from underrepresented groups or if at least 30% of the cast and crew come from these groups. Dreyfus criticized the new rules because, France quoted, “it’s an art. And no one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give into the latest, most current idea of what morality is.”

I am sad about this because while most recognize and hope to repair past wrongs, the powers that be show, once again, that they aren’t able to do so in a way that doesn’t negatively impact some. This solution is much like the one I described in a recent post, “Service of a Well-Meaning Initiative That Creates More Problems than it Solves.” To level the playing field so more would be able to buy a house the Feds ignite divisiveness by raising the monthly mortgage payments of buyers with good credit scores and large downpayments giving more favorable terms to riskier borrowers, reducing their fees.

I proposed a solution for the mortgage situation—focus first on putting a chicken in every pot rather than on home ownership and take away the halo around the latter–but have come up blank regarding how to achieve equity for creative endeavors. There must be a better way than putting virtual handcuffs on writers. Any ideas?

2 Comments »

Service of Intellectual Property—in Theater Too?

Monday, March 20th, 2023

Zurich, Switzerland. Image by Jörg Vieli from Pixabay

I rented office space for a decade from a law firm that specialized in intellectual property. It’s big business. For years I represented brands belonging to a corporation in the top 100 of the Fortune 500 list and one of the first things I learned was how to refer to the corporate name–there was only one way, no “the” or “corporation.”

Friends who directed organizations such as the International Linen Association in addition to promoting the fabric watched out for inappropriate linen references. One example might be a textile using the color “linen” when the fabric was made of cotton or calling a line “Linen,” when it was made to look like it but was polyester.

More recently, The New York Times reported “David Stärkle, who oversees the enforcement of the Swissness legislation for the Swiss government, said that it would be misleading for Toblerone to continue to include an image of the Matterhorn, a symbol of Switzerland, on its packaging when some of its production was happening outside the country.” The wording on the packaging of the sweet treat—first made 115 years ago in Bern—will also change. It will now reference its founding in the country but will no longer be “Toblerone of Switzerland.”

Champagne can’t be used on a bottle by an adjacent region of France even if the product is as delicious and bubbly.

I get all these examples. The next one not so much.

After the movie musical “RRR” won the Oscar for the Best Original Song “Naatu Naatu” there was a kerfuffle by some about the performance on stage March 12. According to Yahoo News, even though the singers Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava were Indians, none of the dancers were of South Asian descent nor were American choreographers Napolean & Tabitha Dumo. Lead dancers at the ceremony were Billy Mustapha who is Lebanese Canadian and Jason Glover, American.

According to Yahoo, “The two lead dancers in the song Ram Charan and Jr NTR did not perform on the award night….. Jr NTR told The Juggernaut the original actors didn’t want to take part in the performance to keep the focus on the singers.”

I saw the performance and it and the music were riveting. Check with my friends: I texted in real time that it was my choice to win. I didn’t think about who did what any more than I would have about the nationality of the actors in any show.

If the execution is superb, who cares? In fact, I most admire the famous actors who so convincingly become their characters I forget they are there. One was Robert Morse in “Tru” where he played Truman Capote. Morse was heterosexual and Jewish. Capote was neither. So? Another was Billy Crystal when he became his aunt standing on a Broadway stage with no props or costumes in “700 Sundays.”

I understand the business reasons for intellectual property. But I think that it is a shame when such specificity intrudes on theater. How many high school, college and amateur productions will be constrained should such thinking take hold? If there aren’t enough Jewish children in a class does that mean that “Fiddler on the Roof” is off the table? Did people squawk when Paul Newman played the lead in “Mr. and Mrs. Bridge” about a conservative country club couple in Kansas City in the ‘30s and ‘40s? Your thoughts?

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

10 Comments »

Service of Irritating Add-On Charges

Monday, February 7th, 2022

I don’t mind some add-ons such as the five cent deposit on cans and bottles or the cost of a grocery bag if I leave behind one of my many totes–which rarely happens.

Well publicized airline surcharges must annoy many. Pick a price and cover things like booking–whether on the phone, in person or online; accept carry on luggage; serve peanuts, pretzels and a soft drink to everyone; lend a pillow or blanket and let people choose the seat they want. Stop adding charges for the small stuff. It’s petty. The approach makes me think the company would buy subpar fuel or skip aircraft maintenance steps to save a few more dollars.

I am bombarded with surcharges by my New York Times digital subscription. I think “gotcha” when I click on an article about a recipe and read about its background and click to see the ingredients list and instructions only to read I must first subscribe to the cooking section. It costs $5 every four weeks or $40/year. There are some free recipes but not for the one I’ve been bamboozled into reading. Then there’s the extra cost to see the “Wirecutter” recommendations. I understand you must also pay for many of the games like the crossword puzzle. Just charge me a few dollars more on my digital subscription and stop hitting me left and right because I feel taken and will look elsewhere for the information kept from me. The paper featured mulligatawny soup over the weekend. I had an amazing bowl in Addis Ababa and never as good since. I’ll check out other recipes on the web.

The add-on is more subtle in this example. Two adults and two children went to the movies last Saturday afternoon in a Chicago suburb. The tickets cost $34. Two small popcorn, two small boxes of candy, one small drink and two cheese sticks cost $52. My goodness.

Are there add-on charges that irritate you and any you think are valid and are glad to pay?

24 Comments »

Service of Favorite Films II

Monday, March 8th, 2021

As of Friday, New Yorkers are allowed back in movie theaters at a pandemic-safe 25 percent. Will they go?

So many films are available on demand or on streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime or Hulu. I only subscribe to Netflix and have loved series like “Lupin,” “Marcella,” “Heartland” and “Anne with an E” and films like “The Intouchables,” and “Midnight Diner.” I can’t keep up with all the entertainment. On my to watch list are “Made You Look,” “Captain Fantastic” and “Sister Sunshine.”

I’m still enamored of favorites on Turner Classics such as “Chariots of Fire,” “Roman Holiday,” “Brief Encounter,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “The Way We Were” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”

Will people be happy to stay home or are folks desperate to get out? For a year we’ve watched movies from the comfort of our sofas accompanied by our choice of snacks. On streaming services we can watch whenever it’s convenient–there are no show times–stop a flick or episode to text a friend, wash a dish, grab a nibble, replay a missed section or visit the loo.

Before sharing an indoor space with strangers for two hours with masks on–or off-and-on between handfuls of popcorn and sips of soda–some will wait for 70 percent of us to be vaccinated or at least to see if any venues require proof of covid-19 vaccination.

Is New York being too cautious to the detriment of the economy? Mississippi and Texas have lifted all pandemic restrictions including mask-wearing in all venues.

Going to the movies makes for a perfect date for teens and college friends, for folks who want to get out of the house and as an excuse to meet a friend and grab a bite before or after. I’ve loved going to the movies alone or with a pal. When my husband watched football or golf many a Sunday I’d be off to the flicks. I’ll expect I’ll return but not yet. And you? Are you waiting for herd immunity to kick in? Are you happy to forever cocoon in place to satisfy your flick fix?

12 Comments »

Service of Looking for Trouble

Monday, February 10th, 2020

Some people look for trouble usually, but not always, to benefit themselves.

Folks in retail have many tales to tell. Yesterday there was a kerfuffle at a Manhattan chain drugstore. One of the employees, planted to escort customers to the aisle and product they need and to keep an eye on things had apparently accused a woman of stealing. She responded by screaming at the top of her lungs. I moved to another part of the store pronto.

A friend who works in a boutique has too many stories of customers who try to pull one over on the business. At the slightest hint that they won’t get their way these shady customers also yell and scream. This is a good strategy because they know that no retailer wants to discourage other customers who are uncomfortable with a fight. While infuriated, my friend is forced to give them what they want.

I’ve written before about the woman who sat behind me at a restaurant. The place was having a bad staff day. I’d been there many times and service was prompt but something had happened–most likely a chunk of waiters had called in sick. The remaining ones were scrambling, apologizing profusely along the way. This customer wanted a free meal and ratcheted up her negative claims escalating from “You are discriminating against me because I’m a woman eating alone!” which was unlikely as the restaurant was in Grand Central Terminal where lots of women travel and eat alone to “I’m a cancer victim. I want to see the manager!”

More recently a friend and I were listing our favorite movies. We agreed on Gigi. She told me about an acquaintance, perhaps inspired by the Me-Too movement, who claimed that the song “Thank Goodness for Little Girls” was disgusting and smacked of something dark. You be the judge. Think 1958 when the movie premiered.

The words Maurice Chevalier sang:

“Each time I see a little girl
Of five or six or seven
I can’t resist a joyous urge
To smile and say
Thank heaven for little girls
For little girls get
Bigger every day
Thank heaven for little girls
They grow up in
The most delightful way.
Those little eyes
So helpless and appealing
When they were flashing
Send you crashing
Through the ceiling”

This reminded me of the woman who threatened to sue a former wallpaper client because she claimed that the pattern–letters of the alphabet sprinkled in all directions–spelled nasty words inappropriate for a child’s room. Sure, all the letters for millions of words were in that wallcovering but really, talk about a stretch.

Do you have examples of people who look for trouble because that’s just how they are or because they want something for free? Is it valid to rip into vintage films, songs or books and measure them by today’s sensibilities and contemporary word usage thereby placing them in a cultural or entertainment dustbin?