Music Review: Olivia Newton John: Back with a Heart

 Back with a Heart was released in 1998 by MCA Nashville.  It marked John's first album in four years as well as a return to Country after 20 years.  This album is mostly about love.  The title song, Back with a Heart, was released as a single and the flip side was I Honestly Love You.   This was released in both country style and contemporary style.  Precious Love was released as a single.  The song Love is a Gift won a Daytime Emmy after being played on the soap, "As the World Turns."  Olivia Newton John as a nice soprano voice that is fun to listen to.

Music Review: Eric Clapton: Unplugged

Eric Clapton is first a guitar player, and his guitar playing shines in the album.  He kicks right off with an instrumental, and through all the numbers the guitar playing is excellent.  He has two standby numbers which never disappoint, Tears in Heaven and Layla, an acoustic version.   This is a live album which was recorded in front of an MTV studio audience for the show, "Unplugged."  The album was very well received with three Grammys and the best selling live album of all time.

Movie Review: ****My Big Fat Greek wedding 3 (2023)

 The family is back minus the father who has passed away, but we are headed to Greece for a reunion of the father's family.  Fortoula (Nia Vardalos) wants to take her father's journal to his old friends.  Her brother, Nick (Louis Mandylor) wants to find a special tree for father's ashes.  Ian (John Corbett) travels with his wife.  The cousin who set up the reunion is hoping someone will stay as their town is drying up. literally; the spring has stopped flowing and everyone has gone away.  However during the course of their stay, the figure our why the sring had stopped, and reverse it.  The fathers friends had all moved away, but Ian was able to track them down with the help of a priest.  Other family brought them.  The tree was very obscure, but the locate it in the end.  And their daughter, Paris (Elena Kampouris) becomes engaged.  There is another wedding which takes place among relatives on the island.

A happy ending all around.  

Robin Williams Movie Review: ***^ Father's Day (1997)

 Collette Andrews (Nastassja Kinski) asks her old boyfriend, Jack (Villy Crystal) to search for her runaway son, Scott (Charlie Hofheimer) telling him he is the father.  When he says no, she asks another ex-boyfriend, Dale (Robin Williams) with the same message, "your are the father," and Dale agrees, and turns out Jack also begins searching.  There going after him embarrasses the actual father (Bruce Greenwood)

and he also starts hunting.  His hunt however goes awry with car issues, and a tipping of the portapotty.  He does get home however.  Jack and Dale join forces.  The finally catch up with him in Sacramento at a concert.  He and his older girlfriend are following a band.  The girlfriend ditches him for a band member, and the two fathers take him to a hotel, he was passed out from drugs or alcohol.  

They are ready to take him back, but he is determined to chase the girl.  He next catches up with her in Reno, with the two fathers close behind.  He has also stolen $5000 from a drug dealer and buys a necklace for the girl.  The drug dealers are after him, and the two fathers coe through with head butts so they can get away.  They have to convince the girl to quit leading him on and be honest with him.  Then they are set to go home.  They get Scott back to his mom, who admits she lied to her two exes.  However Scott confides to them both separately that they are his father.  Robin borrows Jack's car to go to the airport, but instead picks up a girl with the fancy car, and they decide to drive rather than take a plane.  

There is enough comedy in this film to be fun.  It opens with a suicide attempt on the part of Dale which was a bit alarming.  There is also drug usage and the concert seen is also a bit disturbing.  

Billy Crystal Movie Review: ****Forget Paris (1995)

 Entertaining love story about Mickey (Billy Crystal) and Ellen (Debra Winger) as told by their friends as they wait for them to show up for the engagement party of Andy (Joe Mantenga) and Liz (Cynthia Stevenson).  They had an intense opening relationship; but interrupted by his having to go back to work as an NBA official.  But then they come together, and the officiating schedule keeps getting in the way.  Many NBA players do cameos which is fun.  Kareem Abdul Jabar, Charles Barkley, Isaiah Thomas, David Robinson, Bill Laimbeer, and Reggie Miller.  She works as an airline liaison in Paris.  She quit her job to move in with him, but for sometime neither are happy, they separate.  The relationship seems to effect the coming engagement plans of the other couple as the story is told, until they work pass that.  Now why are Mickey and Ellen late to the party?  Are they together or not?

Marvel Movie Review: Fantastic Four: ****Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

 This movie is very fun, with the Silver Surfer (Laurence Fishburne) appearing from outer space and wreaking havoc on earth citizens, and making large holes in the earth.  Turns out this is for another entity which is coming, the devourer of worlds/ Galuctus.  Earth is earmarked for destruction.  The surfer causes havoc amongst the Fantastic Four,  Mr. Fantastic/Steve Richards, Sue Storm/ Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/ Human Torch and the Thing/ Ben Grimm (Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis) as they keep changing abilities with each other.  And then Dr. Doom/ Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) comes back into the picture as team lead.  It does not go well, as Dr. Doom uses the efforts of Fantastic Four to steal the surf board, from which point he goes nuts with killing people.  They realize the Surfer with his surf board is the only way to save the earth, so basically they have to defeat Dr. Doom.  

Music Review: James Taylor: Sweet Baby James

James Taylor: Sweet Baby James, Country Road Music, Inc., Warner Brothers, 1970. 

James Taylor is a singer and song writer.  This effort was his second album.  It reached number three on the billboard charts, and the song Fire and Rain also reached number three.  It was nominated for album of the year in the grammies.  Fire and Rain is a song that goes over and over again in my mind, especially the chorus, "I've seen fire and I've seen rain,  I've seen sunny days that I though would never end, I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, But I always thought I'd see you again."  It is one of my favorite songs.  It is very much biographical for James Taylor, describing he friend who passed away by suicide, and then his struggles with addiction.  I love that he could open up this way in a song.