2018 Top 10 Television

Here's my 2018 Top 10 Television List.

1. Castle Rock (Hulu)
2. EastEnders (BBC)
3. Will & Grace (Revival)
4. The Christmas Chronicles (Netflix)
5. The Ranch (Netflix)
6. Days of Our Lives
7. Roseanne (Revival)
8. Mrs. Brown's Boys (BBC)
9. Grace & Frankie (Netflix)
10. Alex, Inc. (ABC)

2018 Top 10 Theatre

Here is my 2018 Top 10 Theatre List.

1. Angels In America (An Other Theater Company-Provo)
2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (An Other Theater Company-Provo)
3. Let The Right One In (An Other Theater Company-Provo)
4. Cabaret (Utah Valley University)
5. Annie (Hale Center Theater-Orem)
6. Six Characters in Search Of An Author (An Other Theater Company-Provo)
7. How I Learned to Drive (An Other Theater Company-Provo)
8. Next Fall (An Other Theater Company-Provo)
9. Holiday Inn (Broadway HD)
10. Gypsy (Broadway HD)

2018 Top 10 Films

Here is my 2018 Top 10 Films List.

1. Mary Poppins Returns
2. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
3. A Star is Born
4. Halloween
5. Call Me By Your Name
6. Black Panther
7. Avengers: Infinity War
8. Solo: A Star Wars Story
9. The Incredibles 2
10. Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

Mary Poppins Returns

Thank you Rob Marshall for bringing us back to the golden age of Disney! Thank you for bringing this world a piece of brilliant film making that is so desperately needed at this time in our nation! We need optimism, hope, family, and entertainment that can take us out of our worries for a few hours and at the same time bring us hope for the future. That is what you have brought to the world with "Mary Poppins Returns."

To be able to sit in a crowded movie theater and to see adults and children alike laugh and cry together, children singing songs as they leave the theater, was pure pure magic! This beautiful film brought me back to the joys of my childhood and brought back such happy memories of those golden age Disney films that brought me such joy as a child! Thank you Marc Shaiman for one incredible score and memorable songs, particularly the final song, who's message is so sorely needed today!

Click here for IMDB Trivia about the Film

Emily Blunt, you were so so beautiful and exquisite as Mary Poppins. Reading the trivia on IMDB it was so heartwarming to read that Julie Andrews herself approved and gave her blessing to the casting of this remarkable talent! Every time the camera caught your eyes you made me cry. You were so lovely in the role and I can't think of anyone else playing this role other than Julie Andrews herself.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, you lit up the screen with that charming smile and your wonderful personality. You took an original role and created such a wonderful character and in your usual manner, brought us into the story from the beginning and kept us there! Ben Whishaw, you broke my heart as the adult Michael. You played this role with such vulnerability and sensitivity! I was rooting for you from the beginning. The beautiful Emily Mortimer as the adult Jane Banks, as always, lit up the screen with such beauty and poise! You captured the heart of this character so well and brought her into adulthood with such grace! Pixie Davies, Nathaniel Saleh & Joel Dawson you all lit up the screen with such innocence and pure joy as the Banks children. Thank you all for reminding us all of the joy of being a kid again! Julie Walters, you were pure joy as always as the wonderful Banks housekeeper, Ellen; Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, Angela Lansbury, and the incomparable Dick Van Dyke, you were all wonderful to see on the big screen once again! And thank you so much to the wonderful David Warner for your awesome performance as Admiral Boom; you can't have Mary Poppins without Admiral Boom!

This wonderful film was pure joy from beginning to end! Thank you Disney for allowing Rob Marshall to have his vision come to life on the big screen! Don't miss this wonderful film!!

Holiday Baggage

I stumbled upon this beautiful and touching film yesterday while searching Netflix for something to watch. I absolutely fell in love with this film from the very beginning. I didn't even know this film existed until yesterday.

I adore Cheryl Ladd and Barry Bostwick who play Pete and Sarah Murphy, Pete a retired pilot and Sarah a heart surgeon at a Chicago hospital who meet to sign divorce papers in a restaurant and sudden circumstances leave Pete stuck in Chicago for Christmas when he planned to be getting married in the Bahamas to his new "young" girlfriend. Needless to say what happens next is a beautiful holiday story of love, family, and the importance of sticking together as a family no matter what the circumstances.

The entire ensemble cast is incredible and I highly recommend this film for the holidays!

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

I have been waiting to finally have the opportunity to see the highly anticipated next chapter in J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts film saga and I was not disappointed in the least! Wow, what a film! J.K. Rowling has tied the Harry Potter series quite neatly into this prequel saga about the battle between the Wizarding World and the Muggle World not only throughout Europe but the United States as well. She has ingeniously expanded the Wizarding World quite cleverly and this installment was packed with thrills galore and excitement abounds throughout this entire film! I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.

Once again Eddie Redmayne touched my heart as Newt and delivered another fine performance as the wonderful under appreciated hero of this saga and alongside the wonderful Jude Law as a young Dumbledore. attempts to save the Wizarding and Muggle worlds from the evil Grindelwald, played to perfection by Johnny Depp. The entire ensemble deliver excellent performances all around and I am so excited to see where J.K. Rowling takes us next! Don't miss this exciting film!

The Birdcage

I sat down and re-watched one of my all-time favorite comedies and Robin Williams film and laughed my ass off! I adore this film and it still holds up against the test of time. Even now with more freedoms including marriage for the LGBTQ community, this story is still relevant today. We still have anti-LGBTQ politicians in office and particularly, our Trans-Gendered family members are still facing so many challenges and life-threatening situations each and every day and we still as a community are facing challenges all over America and the world at large.

This wonderfully touching and funny film is based on the original French Film, "La Cage Aux Folles," which because a musical by Arthur Laurents, Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman back in the 80's which was groundbreaking, even for Broadway and I remember seeing it at the Palace theater after I graduated from high school on my very first trip to NYC. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane play a gay couple, Albert (Lane) and Armand (Williams) who's son has come home from college to tell them that he is getting married to the daughter of an ultra-conservative politician (Gene Hackman). The hilarity ensues when the in-laws come over to dinner!

I adore this film and despite the stereotypes, which are based in reality, it remains a true champion of our community and shows that we all want the same thing, love, family, acceptance and understanding. If you haven't seen this film, what is wrong with you? Get a copy, sit down, and prepare to laugh your ass off the way I did!

Love Actually

Day 15 of my Holiday film fest.

I remember seeing this wonderful holiday themed romantic comedy anthology classic on the big screen back in November of 2003 and instantly falling in love with it! This was the grandaddy of all anthology (multi-plot) romantic comedies and was written by Richard Curtis (Notting Hill, The Vicar of Dibley) and was followed by Garry Marshall's: "Valentine's Day," "New Year's Eve," and "Mother's Day." None can even come close to this masterpiece.

With an all-star cast: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, the late, great Alan Rickman, Kiera Knightley and many more, you can't go wrong!

From death, unrequited romance, marriage, first-time romance, infidelity, you get everything under the sun in this movie gem! It is an adult romantic comedy and not for the kiddies. It is set in Britain and has strong language, but is worth your time. I'm confident you will fall in love with this film as I did!

White Christmas

Day 14 of my Holiday film fest. Sorry again, another hectic week.

What can be said about this wonderful Christmas classic that hasn't already been said?! This is hands down my favorite Christmas movie of all time! I had the great opportunity back in Christmas of 2014 to see this film on the big screen with my dear late mother and it was a real treat for both of us. We would watch this film together every Christmas and also with my late father when he was alive.

This is Irving Berlin at his finest. With Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen where could you go wrong? Absolutely nowhere! This is one of the finest movie musicals ever made and what's not to like: singing soldiers, romance, the lights of Broadway, a cozy Vermont lodge and a White Christmas!

Do yourself a favor and watch this again, or see it for the first time! This film always puts me in the Christmas spirit every time I watch it!

The Christmas Chronicles (Netflix)

Day 13 of my Holiday film fest. I apologize once again. I'm playing catch-up again. It's been a hectic week!  I didn't know what to expect when I sat down tonight to watch this brand new holiday film from Netflix, boy were my expectations blown out of the water!

What a delightful and heartwarming holiday film! Witty, entertaining, and just plain old-fashioned fun! It's been a long time since I've seen a Santa Claus film that has been this much fun to watch! Thank you Netflix for delivering, what I feel is destined to become another classic, a fun, witty, and touching film for the holidays. A film about family, team work and just believing in yourself and holding on to that child-like faith in the good that is in this world!

Kurt Russell delivers a bang on performance as the jolly old elf and I had so much fun watching him play this role! This is the Santa I always dreamed about! The entire cast is top notch and I highly recommend you sit down one night this holiday season and watch this awesome Netflix original! Don't miss it! There is a very good reason why this is the most popular Netflix original right now and is getting so many views! It's one terrific film!

The Holiday

Day 12 of my Holiday film fest. I adore this beautifully crafted romantic comedy. Cameron Diaz plays the delightful Amanda, a hugely successful movie trailer creator/producer in Los Angeles who breaks up with her long-term boyfriend and decides to take a few weeks off for Christmas, preferably somewhere far from the hustle and bustle of L.A. She looks online and finds a website for house swapping to save money on vacations. Enter the sad Iris, played beautifully by Kate Winslet, a reporter for the London Telegraph who has been in love with the same man for over three years, but who doesn't feel the same way. She too has had it and wants to get away far from England. Amanda stumbles upon Iris' ad on the house swapping website and a deal is made. Both their lives will be changed forever, mainly due to two awesome gentlemen: Graham, Iris' older brother, played wonderfully by the handsome Jude Law; and, Miles, a movie composer played to hilarious perfection by the wonderful Jack Black.

I fell in love with this wonderful film when I first saw it on Netflix a few years ago and it is among my all-time favorite romantic comedies. If you haven't seen this film, get a copy! You will fall in love with "The Holiday" like I did. Written and directed by the wonderful Nancy Meyers ("It's Complicated" and "Something's Gotta Give"), two other films by the way you need to see as well!

As Good As It Gets

I re-watched this wonderful and delightful romantic comedy last night and fell in love with it all over again! I remember seeing this with my dad at the Water Gardens Theater in Pleasant Grove back in 1997.

Jack Nicholson gives one of the best performances of his career as the OCD writer, Melvin Udall. Melvin on the suface is very narcissistic, mean and nobody wants to be around him, particularly his gay neighbor, the delightful Simon Bishop, played wonderfully by Greg Kinnear. We also meet the delightful Carol, played beautifully by the wonderful Helen Hunt, who is a waitress at the local cafe Melvin frequents.

You have to see this film to see how these three people cross paths and how their lives are changed forever! This film is delightful and touching! You truly see how sometimes we are put with people for a reason! The tag line for this film is: "A comedy from the heart that goes for the throat." A perfect tag line for this film! If you have't seen it, do yourself a favor and get a copy! You will not regret the time you spend with Melvin, Simon & Carol! Your life will be changed forever!

Scrooge

Day 11 of my Holiday film fest. This is my all-time favorite version of the Dickens' classic hands down! Albert Finney is magnificent as Scrooge and is surrounded by an incredible array of British theater talent that is second to none! The score is by Leslie Bricusse (Victor/Victoria, Jekyll & Hyde) and the wonderful and sorely missed Anthony Newley (Stop The World I Wanna Get Off, Doctor Dolittle).

From the beginning of the overture to the final scene, you will be magically and musically transformed back to Edwardian England and to the timeless tale of redemption and love! The music fits so well into the story and adds so much depth and soul to the story!

Do yourself a favor, if you haven't seen this version, get a copy and watch it! I am confident you will fall in love with it as I have! I never miss it each and every Christmas!

Radio City Christmas Spectacular (75th Anniversary)

Day 10 of my Holiday film fest. Finally caught up. Christmas in New York City wouldn't be complete without the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular. This wonderful video was captured during the 75th Anniversary celebration back in December of 2007 which now this year marks the 86th year of the Radio Christmas Spectacular.

I love this show and every time I have been in NYC during Christmastime I never miss it! This video captures the excitement of one of their shows and it's not to be missed! The sets, gorgeous costumes and of course the Rockettes themselves are not to be missed. So if you've never been to one of these, catch this video. It can be purchased on Amazon and iTunes.

The Muppet Christmas Carol

Day 9 of my Holiday film fest. Anyone who knows me well knows that this is my all-time favorite Christmas movie! The Muppet version of the beloved Dickens' classic is so heartwarming, hilarious and brilliantly executed! Micheal Caine's wonderful interpretation of Scrooge is superb and the rest of the "human" actors all give magnificent performances all around!

This film was made shortly after Jim Henson's tragic death due to pneumonia, but his wonderful son, Brian took the reigns like a pro and did a wonderful tribute to his late father's legacy! What we get is a beautifully crafted film in true Henson style including the quirky Muppet humor that must accompany any Muppet film!

This will always be a part of my Holiday film fest every year!

Noel

Day 8 of my Holiday film fest. This grossly overlooked 2004 holiday drama, I stumbled upon last year when watching Netflix, looking for holiday films to watch. I will be forever grateful that I stumbled upon this hidden gem. It touched my life forever!

Susan Sarandon portrays Rose Collins, a children's book editor, divorced and the sole caretaker of her mother who suffers from Alzheimers. One Christmas eve she finds herself walking into the neighboring room of a patient in the same hospital her mother's staying at and runs into a quiet ex-priest, played by the wonderful Robin Williams. In another part of the same city, lives police officer Mike Riley played by Paul Walker and his fiancee Nina Vasquez played by Penélope Cruz. Mike Riley is the jealous type which causes a riff between them on Christmas Eve. Then while on duty with his partner, Paul (Rob Daly), Mike is confronted by a lonely waiter named Artie (Alan Arkin) while paying his check, a confrontation that will change both their lives forever!

This beautifully done film is a story of love, loss, family and relationships set during one Christmas Eve in New York City. A lot of the story hit really close to home for me and I think that is why I fell in love with this film when I first saw it last Christmas. I highly recommend this film to everyone! You can buy or rent it on iTunes and Amazon Prime. Unfortunately it's no longer available on Netflix.

A Christmas Carol (2014)

Day 7 of my Holiday film fest. Playing a bit of catch-up, so sorry. This is one of my all-time favorite versions of Dickens' beloved classic. George C. Scott gives the performance of his career as the old miser, Scrooge. Mr. Scott delivers such a varied, soulful and three-dimensional performance in this well done British made for television movie.

I remember when this first aired on television back in 1984. In fact that was my first Christmas here in Utah. My folks and I had moved to Utah that year back in June. It is hard to believe that that is now been 34 years.

The entire ensemble give magnificent performances all around. I personally feel that out of all the straight forward dramatic versions of this timeless story, this one stands out as one of the best and if you haven't seen this version get a copy straight away! Don't miss this wonderful interpretation!