On Gene Kelly and GRAND Social No. 77

It's Monday, which means it's GRAND Social time! Thank you for coming by for the link party.

Before I kick off GRAND Social No. 77, though, I need to ask for your input on something extra special. I have some great opportunities coming up in the next two weeks — including a Bloggy Boot Camp conference this weekend and the Starz Denver Film Festival which begins this Wednesday and runs through Nov. 17. It's the latter that I need your input on.

As part of the Starz Denver Film Festival, I will be interviewing Patricia Kelly, the widow of Gene Kelly. Yes, that Gene Kelly. Crazy, huh!? She emailed me to introduce herself in advance of the festival, and we've planned an email interview (unfortunately our schedules conflict, preventing an in-person chat) for an exclusive Q&A to be published here for you, the Grandma's Briefs readers.

And that's where you come in: I want to know what questions you would like asked of Patricia Kelly. She will be at the festival to present GENE KELLY: THE LEGACY, so please watch the following trailer for the performance. Then leave a comment below on what you would like me to ask Mrs. Kelly about the presentation, her life with Gene Kelly or about Mr. Kelly himself. You can also email me your questions today, if you prefer. Either way, I'll fit in as many questions from Grandma's Briefs readers as I can when I conduct my once-in-a-lifetime interview with Patricia Kelly.

I look forward to your questions!

And now... GRAND Social No. 77.

How it works:

• All grandparent bloggers are invited to add a link. You don't have to blog about grandparenting, just be a grandparent who blogs.

• To link up a post, copy the direct URL to the specific post — new or old — that you want to share, not the link to your blog's home page. Then click the blue button below marked "Add your link" and follow the directions.

• You can add up to three posts, but no duplicates, contests, giveaways, or Etsy sites, please.

• Adding a mention such as This post linked to the GRAND Social to your linked posts is appreciated. Or, you can post the GRAND Social button anywhere on your page using the following code:

<a rel="nofollow" href="/" target="blank"><img src="http://grandmasbriefs.squarespace.com/storage/GRANDsocialbutton.jpg " alt="Grandma’sBriefs.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

• The GRAND Social linky accepts posts through Wednesday evening, so please come back to see those added after your first visit.


• If you're not a blogger, you have the pleasure of being a reader. Those sharing a link would be honored to have you visit, read and, if so moved, comment, even if just a "Hey, stopping by from the GRAND Social." Bloggers who link are encouraged to visit the links of other bloggers and do the same.
  

Saturday movie review: 'The Armstrong Lie'

Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics

I don’t remember exactly where I was when I first heard that Lance Armstrong had finally admitted that the allegations about his doping activity were true, but I do remember exactly how I felt. I was saddened. Saddened far more by the truth than I expected I might be when the allegations first began swirling years before.

I’ve never really followed the sport of cycling, and Lance Armstrong was no hero of mine. But he was a hero to many, including many youngsters and many affected by cancer. Learning Armstrong was yet another to fall from the pedestal and into disgrace hurt my heart. His admission was, to me, final proof that heroes in American sports simply do not exist. Proof, too, considering how long he'd held out on revealing the truth, that Armstrong was a big fat liar.

There’s been so much in the news for years now — too much, really — that I fully understand those who have followed his story closely being fed up, filled up and done had enough of Armstrong, for better or for worse. As someone who quickly tires of the 24/7 rehashing of bad news, good news and all things celebrity, I purposely steered clear of much of the news and eventual over saturation on all things Armstrong, though. So I hadn’t heard the entire story and looked forward to seeing it through the lens of award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney in his film THE ARMSTRONG LIE.

Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics

I had the opportunity to screen THE ARMSTRONG LIE this past week in advance of it being featured at the Starz Denver Film Festival. Bottom line: I found it a compelling tale of one man's blatant and boorish refusal to fess up to his wrongdoings despite irrefutable evidence against him. Ultimately, his fixation on power and winning no matter what, no matter who he destroyed, brought him down. I found myself shaking my head again and again throughout the viewing, wanting to just grab Armstrong by his famed yellow jersey and shake some sense and remorse into him.

What I liked most about THE ARMSTRONG LIE:
I appreciated the explanation of the film's title. Sure, we all know Armstrong lied, so it seemed an obvious choice of a title. But knowing that the title comes straight from front-page headlines of French newspapers — "le mensonge Armstrong" — emphasizes the world-wide disgust with Armstrong's defiant refusal to admit the truth. As mentioned in the film, doping was unfortunately commonplace in cycling, but it's Armstrong's adamant and repeated lying that was and is the story.

I also appreciated the filmmaker's honesty throughout the film. It's difficult to not get caught up in the hype and hope of Armstrong's attempt at a comeback. Gibney admits the challenge it was to not be lured in by the hope, the charm. Perhaps those moments of wanting to believe, to cheer Armstrong on are what made the betrayal all the more distressing to Gibney, who in turn expected and eventually received the on-camera apology.

Plus, I just really liked the filming of the races. During race scenes, I wondered again and again how the heck they filmed such footage. The music selections for the racing scenes (and others) were a perfect complement. The impressive filming and winning soundtrack made the incredible story far more enjoyable than one might expect such a frustrating, maddening tale to be. 

What bothered me most about THE ARMSTRONG LIE:
Nothing about the film itself, just the lies, really. And Armstrong's unbelievable inability to admit the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Worse yet? His lack of remorse.

A woman who viewed the film at the same time I did said to me afterward that she thinks Armstrong is truly a psychopath. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it sure seems to me that some sort of psychological issue led to Armstrong's downfall as a hero and champion. What's most disheartening about that, I told my fellow film goer, is that eventually Armstrong's children will learn the same ugly truth the rest of the world has and will no longer consider their dad a hero and champion either.

THE ARMSTRONG LIE, rated R for language, opens in NY, LA and Austin Nov. 8, 2013. Learn more from Sony Pictures Classics.

Disclosure: I screened this film as a member of the media covering the 36th Starz Denver Film Festival.

Coming next week: Monsters University and Last Vegas

Welcome back to a Saturday post on Grandma's Briefs. I've taken weekends off from blogging since the beginning of summer. During that time, I most missed sharing movie trailers with you — which were often the primary subjects in my The Saturday Post posts because I love movies so.

In light of that, Grandma's Briefs is back on Saturdays, with a movie double feature!

Going forward (at least until we all tire of it), each Saturday I'll share with you my picks of the upcoming week's movie releases — one on DVD and one opening in the theaters. Some I've seen, some I plan to see. Either way, I count them as the best bets of the week's releases for Grandma's Briefs movie lovers.

MY PICKS OF NEXT WEEK'S MOVIE RELEASES 

Out on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday, Oct. 29:

Monsters University
2-Disc Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy
Rated G
$24.99
www.MonstersUniversity.com

Opening in theaters Friday, November 1:

Last Vegas
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Michael Douglas, Kevin Kline, Morgan Freeman
Rated PG-13
105 minutes
www.LastVegasMovie.com

Enjoy your Saturday!

GRAND Social No. 74, plus a 'Shrek The Musical' discount

Welcome to GRAND Social No. 74. That's seven four... SEVENTY-FOUR.

For 74 weeks running, I've hosted a link party for grandparent bloggers and readers. And the surprising thing? For 74 weeks, bloggers and readers have joined me! Meaning super posts from super grandparent bloggers have been shared then read by equally super readers.

Very cool. Thank you all very much for making the GRAND Social such a success. And thank you for showing up once again for today's GRAND Social.

Before kicking off GRAND Social No. 74, though, I'd like to share with you a great deal for those who are already working on their holiday shopping. Or for those who just plain like Shrek and would enjoy this Broadway production that received eight 2009 Tony Award® nominations including Best Musical, winning Best Costume Design of a Musical and received a Grammy Award® nomination for Best Musical Show Album.

Shrek The Musical, from DreamWorks, is out on Deluxe Blu-ray and DVD tomorrow. I honestly had no idea until being contacted that there was such a show, but I've been promised I have a review copy on its way to me and I will soon post my review. But in celebration of the DVD going on sale tomorrow, Tuesday October 15, I have a discount code to share with you in advance of my review — just so if you planned to get Shrek The Musical, you get the deal.

Here it is... a code for 20 percent off Shrek The Musical when purchasing from FoxConnect. Just note the corresponding code below, then click here to purchase either the single-disc DVD ($12.99 before discount) or the Blu-ray Deluxe Edition ($18.99 before discount). Note: Those are not affiliate links.

Stay tuned for my review of Shrek The Musical, coming soon to a Grandma's Briefs page near you.

And now, for today's main attraction ... drum roll ...

GRAND Social No. 74!

Again, thank you for joining me.

How it works:

• All grandparent bloggers are invited to add a link. You don't have to blog specifically about grandparenting, just be a grandparent who blogs.

• To link up a post, copy the direct URL to the specific post — new or old — that you want to share, not the link to your blog's home page. Then click the blue button marked with "Add your link" below and follow the directions.

• You can add up to three posts, but no duplicates, contests, giveaways, or Etsy sites, please.

• Adding a mention such as This post linked to the GRAND Social to your linked posts is appreciated. Or, you can post the GRAND Social button anywhere on your page using the following code:

<a rel="nofollow" href="/" target="blank"><img src="http://grandmasbriefs.squarespace.com/storage/GRANDsocialbutton.jpg " alt="Grandma’sBriefs.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

• The GRAND Social linky is open for new posts through Wednesday evening, so please come back to see those added after your first visit.


• If you're not a blogger, you have the pleasure of being a reader. Bloggers who link up would be honored to have one and all — other bloggers as well as readers — visit, read and, if so moved, comment, even if just a "Hey, stopping by from the GRAND Social."

• For another grandparent linky, visit Connie's Say It Saturday Link Party each Saturday.