Monday, January 24, 2011

Monday Movies - Sickly Sickos...


Feature Presentation...
MONDAY MOVIE MEME



Here in the Northeast, winter is in full-force. Not only is it quite cold outside, but it's that time of year when colds, viruses, the flu are prevalent. If you're not sick, you know someone who's sick. An unfortunate side-effect of the cold and germs being passed around is people have a tendency to be less neighborly and willing to stop and chat. Films display more sympathy for illness than we do and foster generosity and togetherness. Share on your blog movies that contain a form of illness as its theme or feature a character who is sick or diseased. Link your post back to The Bumbles Blog. If you don't have a blog, list your choices in the comment section of The Bumbles Movie post!

Brian's Song (1971) This was a TV movie about the life of the Chicago Bears professional football player Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan) who is diagnosed with terminal cancer and his friendship with Gale Sayers (played by Billie Dee Williams), Chicago Bears running back and Pro Football Hall of Fame player who helped and supported Piccolo during his struggle with cancer. The TV movie was such a success that it was shown in theaters.

My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (1989) an Irish drama film about Christy Brown (portrayed by Daniel Day Lewis) an Irishman born with cerebral palsy who grows up in a poor, working class family to become a writer and artist despite only being able to control his left foot. Daniel Day Lewis won the Academy Award for Best Actor and Brenda Fricker won for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of Bridget Brown.

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (2007) directed by Julian Schnabel this movie is based on the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, (portrayed by Mathieu Amalric) the editor of the French version of Elle magazine. Bauby suffered a massive stroke at the age of 42 and was left in a condition called locked-in syndrome meaning Bauby was completely paralyzed but still mentally alert and intact. Bauby is still able to blink his left eye and comes up with a system of communication by blinking his left eye proceeding to write his memoir!

Philadelphia (1993) Tom Hanks portrays attorney Andrew Beckett who sues the law firm he was employed by for unfair dismissal alleging they fired him because he had HIV/AIDS. The jury finds in Andrew Beckett's favor awarding him punitive damages of $4.5 million. Beckett dies shortly after the jury verdict. This was the first mainstream Hollywood film to acknowledge HIV/AIDS.

Lorenzo's Oil (1992) Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon portray parents Augusto and Michaela Odone whose young son Lorenzo has a very rare disease, Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) and for which they are desperately searching for a cure and a doctor willing and able to treat their son. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Susan Sarandon was nominated for a Best Actress Award.

One True Thing (1998) Ellen Gulden (Renee Zellwegger) is a writer for New York magazine whose father, George (William Hurt) is a college professor and former novelist whom she greatly admires. Ellen is unimpressed and critical of her mother, Kate, who was a stay- at-home mom and doesn't work. Kate has been diagnosed with cancer. George pressures Ellen to come home and care for her mother. Ellen does so reluctantly, worried that it will cause problems with her career and love life. Staying home with and helping her mother becomes a learning experience for Ellen and an opportunity to reassess long held beliefs and ideas. What she discovers surprises her.

9 comments:

  1. I still have yet to see Lorenzo's Oil; have to make this a must-see soon! :)

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  2. I need to watch more movies - I haven't seen a single one of these. Of course, I do remember when Brian's Song was so popular.

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  3. I can't believe I forgot Philadelphia. That is the downside of posting this meme first thing on MOnday morning! I loved Diving Bell.

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  4. Lorenzo's Oil. Good one. I also picked Philadelphia. The others I'll have to check out!

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  5. You win for best selections today! I love all of your choices - none of which I thought of initially but all of which are top 10's. Awesome job! Does that cheer you up after the Jets loss? You know how I'm feeling about it, but I do extend my sympathies.

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  6. LINDSEY: Lorenzo's Oil is a great movie, sad but inspirational.

    BERMUDAONION: I didn't realize that Brian's Song actually made it to the theaters! Most of the time, the books are better than the movies anyway...and rarely is a movie better than the book!

    SANDY: Diving Bell is wonderful. No worries about not listing Philadelphia in your movie list...you chose some fantastic movies!

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  7. HMSGOFITA: gmta! The Diving Bell is a fantastic movie. My Left Foot is much older but also an amazing and inspirational movie. They make you see life from a different perspective.

    THE BUMBLES: Wow! Thank you! That does cheer me up! Ugh, the Jets! That game really ticked me off. But I'll say it, I don't think they deserved to win. So as bummed as I am, they need to work on many parts of their game!

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  8. The only one of these I've seen is Brian's song, but I've seen parts of Philadelphia. I have Diving Bell on my shelf so I'll have to chaeck out the movie after I get arpund to reading it.

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  9. I've seen quite a few of these but several I haven't. I'll have to add them to my Netflix queue and give them a try.

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