A Scene That I Love: Charlie Brown Gets The Seasonal Blues In A Charlie Brown Christmas


Charlie Brown isn’t the only one who gets sad around the holidays.

A lot of people do.  I’m one of them.  I love Christmas but I still get sad thinking about those who are no longer with us and that another year is coming to an end.  I know that this holiday, just like last year, is going to be especially difficult for many people around the world.  Don’t be ashamed if you’re feeling down this month.  You’re not alone.

In this scene that I love, Charlie Brown is feeling down for the holidays too but he finds someone to talk to.  Unfortunately, that person is Lucy.  However, sometimes it’s most important just to have someone to talk to.

This year, I hope Lucy finally gets her real estate.

I Watched Beautiful Wave (2012, Dir. by David Mueller)


After her father dies in an accident, teenage Nicole (Aimee Teargarden) is sent to Santa Cruz for the summer by her mother.  In Santa Cruz, Nicole meets her grandmother, Sue (Patricia Richardson), for the first time.  At first, Nicole is bitter and angry and doesn’t want a thing to do with Santa Cruz or its culture of surfing.   That changes when she learns about her grandfather, Max (Lance Henriksen).  Max was a legendary surfer who went to Vietnam and never returned.  When Nicole comes across Max’s old map of surfing spots, she and her friend Kayla (Alicia Ziegler) go on a journey that leads to Nicole not only appreciating surfing but also discovering the truth about her grandfather.

Beautiful Wave is pretty predictable and, at first, Nicole is so sullen that she can sometimes be difficult to take even if she does have a good reason for not being in a cheerful mood.  I liked the idea of Nicole and Kayla going on a journey together but I didn’t like that they brought two knucklehead surfers with them.  What could have been a celebration of sisterhood instead became a film about two women having to deal with two idiots.

Beautiful Wave still won me over, with its gorgeous beach footage and its story of paying respect to the past and discovering your own roots.  Even with the two idiot surfers getting in the way, I appreciated the way the film showed the bond between Nicole and Kayla.  The ending was heartwarming, even if it did raise more questions than it answered.  There are some movies that you have to be in the right mood for and I guess my mood was the right one for Beautiful Wave.

So, We Watched Sidelined 2: Intercepted (2025, Dir. by Justin Wu)


Since we had a few hours to kill before the Cowboys game started, Lisa and I decided to watch a movie.  I wanted a love story.  She wanted something with dancing.  We settled on Sidelined 2.

Sidelined 2 picks up where the first Sidelined ended.  Drayton (Noah Beck) is the starting quarterback at USC, even though he’s only a freshman and he’s really scrawny for a football player.  (All of the football players in this movie looked too scrawny to be playing for a top-ranked program.)  Dallas (Siena Agudong) is studying dance at Cal Arts and trying to figure out how to pay for her semester after she learns her scholarship won’t cover everything.

They’re in love but they still struggle because they’re going to different schools and they both have to figure out how to balance their relationship with all of their other responsibilities.  Drayton tears his ACL and becomes bitter.  Dallas gets a job at a coffeehouse and her boss has really messy bangs and keeps singing songs on his guitar.   Dallas and Drayton realizes that there are other possibilities out there.  Will their relationship last?

I thought the first Sidelined was cute for what it was.  The second one was pretty boring and whatever charm the two leads had in the first film disappeared during the sequel.  Drayton’s not much of a boyfriend, even before he ruins his knee.  Dallas says she’s never even been to Dallas, which is weird.  If I was named after a city, I would visit.  It’s a Wattpad movie and all of the dialogue sounds like it was written by an AI that had been programmed to try to sound young by dropping random slang.  Drayton asks Dallas if she’s “hangry.”  Lisa made me go back three times to make sure he actually said that.

James Van Der Beek comes back for five minutes.  He used to be the teenager with a dream.  Now, he’s playing the father of a teenager with a dream.  Feel old, yet?

4 Shots From 4 Film: I Am Thankful


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.

On this Thanksgiving, here are four films that I am thankful for.

4 Shots From 4 Films

Dunkirk (2017, Dir by Christopher Nolan)

Nomadland (2020, Dir by Chloe Zhao)

CODA (2021, Dir by Sian Heder)

Top Gun: Maverick (2022, Dir by Joseph Kosinski)

 

A Scene That I Love: Planes, Trains, & Automobiles


This scene, from Planes, Train, & Automobiles, epitomizes everything that I love about Thanksgiving.  It’s a reminder that home can be anywhere that is welcoming and that family doesn’t just include those with whom you share a common ancestor.

When John Candy finally admits the truth, that Marie is dead and that he hasn’t had a home for years, it brings tears to my eyes.  That’s great acting.  After everything that has happened, he finally gets to spend Thanksgiving with someone who cares about him.

I hope everyone is having a good Thanksgiving today.  Enjoy it however you celebrate.

Get In The Mood For Thanksgiving With These Thankful Images


If you’re having trouble getting in the mood for Thanksgiving, fear not.  Here’s some of my favorite Thanksgiving artwork, from the funny to the poignant.  All of these images remind me why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

(It’s not just because my birthday is sometimes the same day!)

by Bridget Voth

by Natalia Vetrova

by Joseph Christopher

by Norman Rockwell

by Norman Rockwell

by Norman Rockwell

by Norman Rockwell