By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Based on a graphic novel by Alexis Nolent, “Bullet to the Head” has all the elements of a pulp noir crime drama. When you factor 66- year-old Sylvester Stallone as your noir protagonist, one expects a world-weary perspective about the mean streets.

Ironically, Stallone seems to be the most energetic actor in the movie.

He portrays a hit man in New Orleans. After shooting a corrupt policeman, his partner is killed. Given that it was a police shooting, a federal investigator (Sung Kang) gets involved with the muddled investigation. Through happenstance, the New Orleans hit man and the federal investigator realize it is better to work together for mutual survival.

Given we spent last weekend watching the beauty of New Orleans from Super Bowl 47 coverage, Bullet to the Head presents sights not approved by the Louisana Tourist Board. Prostitutes, perversions and pain are the focus of the Big Easy in this film.

Guilermo Del Toro presents Mama, a ghost story in the vein of The Orphanage, The Devil’s Backbone and Don’t be Afraid of the Dark. There are genuine scary moments that will make audience members jump, but Mama is also a personal story about the family dynamic.

Raised in a forest with a dubious past, two feral girls are adopted by Lucas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his punk rock girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain). Lucas harbors guilt about the children’s current disposition; his brother (also played by Coster- Waldau) tried to kill the girls.

When Lucas is hurt in a mysterious accident, the punk rock girlfriend (with NO maternal instinct) becomes an instant nanny. Through querulous circumstances, the punk rock nanny learns that these two children have a guardian devil.

While not Oscar quality, both Bullet to the Head and Mama exemplify genre expectations. Of the two movies, Mama is the better produced and most thought provoking.

I want to share a poem with you today. It was written by a woman by the name of Lilyan Davidson. (Lil’s daughter gave me the okay to use her mother’s poem). It was written back in June of 2010.

Now, before you read the poem, let me tell you that, in my years as a Professional Health Care Chaplain, I have had the blessing of working with some of the most angelic therapists in the world right down here in Sunny Florida.

I am a Chaplain at St. Anthony’s Rehab Hospital and the therapists there are incredible. I work with the therapists at Sunrise Health and Rehab Center and, again, the therapists there are simply amazing. Lil was a patient at Park Summit in Coral Springs, a sister facility of The Forum in our own Deerfield Beach … and, yes, you had better believe that the therapists who work there are also a pure joy to watch.

The therapist spends a full hour at a time with their patient and, during that time, they not only get them doing things they never thought they would ever be able to do again, but they also prove to be the greatest of motivators.

So often, I see people looking at therapy as a waste of time, but let me tell you something, I have seen people go into therapy feeling so low in spirit that it would seem that nothing would be able to lift them up. But then, the therapist gets a hold of them (whether they like it or not) and, before long, I see a whole new attitude in a large number of those very same patients.

Lil was one such patient. She would do anything to avoid having to go to the therapy room. But, while Lil may have given up on herself, the therapists had not given up on Lil. And after struggling to avoid therapy with every excuse she could think of (including, “The dog ate my wheelchair,”) she finally saw what the therapists had known and had been trying to tell her for a couple of weeks already, that she was on her way to being more independent than she ever thought she would be again.

So please read Lil’s poem. It just might move you or a loved one to rise again:

Love your therapist – By Lil Davidson

(In Thanks to the Therapists at Park Summit, June 30, 2010)

To love your therapy person is not easy.

Sometimes, they make you feel a little bit queasy.

The therapy people are relentless, that much is true.

No matter where you hide, they’ll find you.

So don’t think about going to your room and closing the door.

They have ways to get in, even under the floor.

You can run, but, you can’t hide.

Correction: You can’t run … yet.

You may as well give up, and meet your fate,

for the therapy people who lie in wait.

They are dedicated to restore your health.

That much is true. They only want what is best for you.

They want to make you well, though you protest.

When you recover, it will be best. Though you protested, LOOK, you’re walking! Now, was it worth all of that squawking?

I hope and pray you will take Lil’s words into your heart, and into your arms and legs as well. Now, get moving.

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and of the Association of Professional Chaplains, He works professionally in this capacity with a number of healthcare facilities in the area, and with hospice. He is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach.

By Gary Curreri

Caitlin Huiting has her sights on taking her golfing career to a whole new level.

Whether it is on the LPGA tour or at a golf course, there is little doubt she can accomplish what she wants to.

“I want to be a pro golfer,” said Huiting, who spent her senior high school season playing for the boys’ golf team at Zion Christian Lutheran School in Deerfield Beach. “Either that or a teacher on a big golf course somewhere.”

When it came time for districts, she teed it up with the girls and finished third with an 82 in the District 7-1A competition and advanced to regionals. She duplicated her score at regionals, but didn’t advance to state. She is the first girls’ golfer at her school.

Huiting, 18, enjoyed competing against the boys. Her school team was composed of seven middle school and high school boys as teammates and Huiting said the biggest challenge was driving the ball and how she was a little shorter off the tee in some cases. She made up for it with a stellar short game.

“It was fun playing high school golf against the boys,” said Huiting, who was one of 91 female golfers from around the United States, as well as from China and Finland, that competed in the recent Dixie Amateur Women’s Golf Tournament at the Heron Bay Golf Club in Coral Springs. “I was a great experience, and I enjoyed it a lot actually. It was a lot different than playing with girls.”

Huiting doesn’t practice golf that often, and tries to play one tournament a month. The Dixie Amateur was a step up for Huiting as she took on some of the top amateur golfers in the world.

Huiting opened with an 88, but finished 79-73 for a 240 total and narrowly missed the cut for the final round. Huiting is headed to Seminole State College on a full ride scholarship to play golf next season.

“I am a little surprised that I have done as well as I have without playing that much,” said Huiting, who plans to play in the Future Collegians World Tour at Inverarry Country Club on Feb. 9. “I work really hard for it when I do practice. Taking time off just helps me to recuperate and do better the next time.”

Huiting said she likes golf because of the nature of the game.

“I like the respect that it has,” Huiting said. “Everybody who is around golf is just very respectful. It kind of makes you grow up more. Being around all of the older people is so nice. They are always so courteous and everything. I enjoy it.”

She is also an all-around athlete having played volleyball and softball all four years. She was also a member of the school’s girls’ soccer team and scored twice for the Lions including a penalty kick in a 2-1 (2-1 PKs) shootout win over Highlands Christian in the District 13-1A tournament. The team went on to lose to Yeshiva, 5-0, in the semifinals and finished the year 5-10-1.

By Dave Montalbano

cinemadave.livejournal.com

Stand Up Guys opens tomorrow and it seems to be a film that is designed for our South Florida neighborhood. The film opens with the style and cinematography of an early low budget exploitation film from the 1970s. It features actors who developed a cult following for their performance from this era of motion pictures: Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin. With a touch of Rip Van Winkle, Stand Up Guys will be a contemporary hit.

Val (Pacino) is released from prison after many decades. He is met by Doc (Walken), a former partner-in-crime. While the two greet each other warmly, both know that Doc is assigned to kill Val. Instead of turning this event into a maudlin moment, these two Stand Up Guys decide to party hearty.

Director Fisher Stevens styles Stand Up Guys with a sense of swansong darkness. This noir set-up provides a life-affirming movie about old guys who teach a new generation how to be a Stand Up Guys. The center section provides the most humor, in which Pacino and Walken rescue Arkin from a nursing home.

Arkin is currently in the race for a Best Supporting Oscar for his work in Argo, directed and starring Ben Affleck. Much like Dustin Hoffman’s Oscar-nominated performance in Wag the Dog, Arkin portrays Lester Siegel, a veteran showbiz producer who must pretend to produce a movie in Iran, circa 1979. For those needing a history lesson, during the Islamic Revolution, the Iranian government held Americans hostage during the Carter Administration for 444 days. While the 52 hostages were the headline story, eight potential hostages slipped away and hid at the Canadian Embassy.

With Hollywood hocus pocus, CIA operative Mendez (Affleck) devises a plan. Working with award-winning makeup artist John Chambers (John Goodman), Mendez poses as a Hollywood producer who wants to film a Star Wars inspired movie with Islamic sympathies. The Trojan horse is daring, and Argo truly deserves its Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Last weekend, the motion picture box office suffered. But, many Oscar nominated films are still playing on the big screen, and there are some good motion pictures, like Stand Up Guys, opening on the big screen.

Have you ever heard about the man who was quizzing his wife during half-time of the Super Bowl to find out if she had ever before been in love with another man?

The man’s wife finally answered, but only after reflecting on the question far too long.

“Absolutely not,” she said. “When I was in high school, I really liked one boy for his impressive intellect. Then, there was that spectacular athlete in college I admired because of his humor, courage and character.”

Then she paused, smiled and wistfully said, “And after college, oh my, there was that one young man I was attracted to because of his amazing good looks and charm. But surely you understand that, with you dear, the only explanation is love!” We can argue whether the man’s question or the woman’s answer is worse, but we can agree that we get more than a little confused about love and we trivialize that which we need the most.

Some people claim to love the Super Bowl, but have no idea who won the game last year. Other people say they love the Super Bowl commercials, but, the day after seeing them, have no remembrance of what they promote.

And, sometimes, perhaps like the woman responding to her husband’s prodding, we label something as love if we don’t know what else to call it or how else to explain it.

The truth is what the world needs most is love – genuine love, unending love, the kind of love Paul describes in the 13th chapter of his letter to the Corinthians. Read it, re-read it, and try your best to apply it to your life, especially to the people you love!

Some of you will remember Hal David’s song lyrics “What the World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love” put to music by Burt Bacharach and popularized by singer Dionne Warwick. The song was thought to draw special meaning out of the context of the turbulent 1960s and early ‘70s.

But, behind the simple lyrics and the catchy tune is a Biblical truth and a basic human need that passes like time from one generation to the next. Our need for love is really our need for God. The Ten Commandments and the holiness code of the Torah are based on God’s steadfast love that runs deeper and lasts longer than mere admiration, attraction, amusement or even personal enjoyment, even though we often seem to value these other things more.

God’s love flows much like the Jordan penetrates the wilderness. The heaven opens and the Spirit of Love descends like a dove, but somehow the song’s lyrics still ring true to me and you.

Love still is the only thing there’s just too little of, not just for some, but for everyone. Lord, we don’t need another mountain or another meadow. There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb. There are oceans and rivers enough to cross, enough to last ‘til the end of time. What the world needs now is love, sweet love!

The Good News is this.

God is love and the Holy Word of God made flesh reveals God’s unending love to the world in Christ. God comes to the world to save the world. And, in Christ, finally and forever, we have the love we need, all the instruction, all the encouragement and the foundation for a song that never ends.

What the world needs now is not a new Super Bowl champion. What the world needs now is for us to share the love we already have.

Join us this weekend Saturday @ Six or Sunday morning at 8:30 or 11 a.m. The Message “What the World Needs Now” is based on 1 Corinthians 13.

Rev. Andrews is a minister at Community Presbyterian Church of Deerfield Beach (Steeple on the Beach) located five blocks south of Hillsboro on AIA. See more @ www.communitych.org or on Facebook.

By Dave Montalbano

cinemadave.livejournal.com

Six years ago at the library where I worked, a colleague presented a picture of a man being water boarded. With condescension, my colleague said, “THIS is what our government is doing.”

“He is lucky,” I replied, “If he threatened to kill my family and friends, I would not be so nice.”

Our conversation about enhanced interrogations stopped. Yet, with the release of Zero Dark Thirty, the debate will begin anew. Zero Dark Thirty is director Kathryn Bigelow’s procedural about the Central In-

telligence Agency’s hunt for terrorist Osama Bin Laden. The highlight is the Navy Seal Team 6’s raid on Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. Given the Obama Administration’s lack of transparency on the subject, Kathryn Bigelow provides an important public service and has created a criticproof movie.

At 157 minutes, the story leading up to the raid is fascinating for historians and true crime aficionados. Supposedly based on fact, only the names (and possible genders) have been changed to protect the those involved.

As seen through the eyes of Maya (Jessica Chastain), the film opens in darkness as we hear the voices of the victims from the terrorism attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. In 2003, Maya takes part in the enhanced interrogations and gleans a very important clue. However, under bloated bureaucracy and political pressures, this clue won’t be realized for seven years.

Zero Dark Thirty provides a good review of recent international history. While the United States homeland was kept safe after 9/11 (to focus on things like “reality television”), Bin Laden’s terrorist network bombed innocent people in London, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. From this history lesson alone, one sees the Bush Administration vindicated by his tactics in fighting terrorism.

If there is a flaw in Mark Boal’s screenplay, it is the presentation of Bin Laden. Instead of presenting a man, we are presented a mythical figure. Bin Laden’s execution is presented in shadows and blocked camera angles. It is as if Columbia and Universal pictures feared reprisal from Bin Laden’s demons.

By Gary Curreri

Greg Norman hit the ceremonial tee shot off the first tee of Pompano Beach’s Pines Golf Course last week. It signified completion of his first ever Signature Golf Course for a municipality.

The Pines Course has been closed since April 2012. The course is one of two owned by the city of Pompano Beach, and the first municipal course revamped by Greg Norman Golf Course Design.

Norman, who has won 80 professional events, including 20 U.S. PGA Tour titles in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, said he got his start playing on a municipal course.

“I have been hearing some great reviews and the test of time is still ahead of us,” Norman said. “I am sure everybody is going to enjoy the course. It’s a significant day. We wanted to come in here and make sure that the people would be able to play and keep it affordable. Some of the holes are designed where the ball will gravitate toward the hole depending on the pin placements.”

Norman has designed or redesigned 12 courses in Florida and 84 overall around the world since 1987, including Dubai, Australia and South Africa. Two years ago, the city put out the redesign for bid and the process culminated last Wednesday with the official opening. The course has been open since Jan. 1 for play.

“We took a pig’s ear and turned it into a silk purse,” Norman said. “The important factor is that the city of Pompano absolutely loves it and, hopefully, they will see an increase in rounds.” The new course, which is next to the other municipal course, the Palms, features new Celebration Bermuda turf and irrigation, improvements that should keep the course playable and keep maintenance costs down. It is estimated that there are 94,000 rounds played on the two courses annually.

“This course will definitely be a destination, not only for the residents, but also for attracting tourists from around the world, which means an economic engine for our city,” said Pompano Mayor Lamar Fisher. “The course will be affordable in relation to its quality, complimenting a full service of facilities.”

Commissioner Charlotte Burrie called the day “a beautiful day in paradise.” She becomes a 50-year resident on Feb. 4. She said she played the courses when she younger “and all of the body parts worked.”

“I have never seen the Pines Course any more beautiful than it is right now,” Burrie said. “With a vision of ‘build it and they will come,’ it is beautiful. We have already seen an increase in play and we have received all favorable comments.”

Pompano Beach Golf Pro Bob Loring, who has been the head pro for the past 11 years, said he has already seen an increase in members.

“We have a Greg Norman Signature Golf Course that is close to the beach,” Loring said. “What a great combination for the city of Pompano Beach.”

Loring also shared with the audience how there was a concern about the placement of a cart path and, within a day, in the pouring rain, they moved the path from one side of the fairway to the other. He said the course has the “what” factor.

“Before, when golfers would come in after their round, I would say, ‘what’s the matter?’” said Loring, of the redesign that cost about $4 million. “Now when they come in, they say, ‘what a golf course!’ The Pines course is what you achieve when you combine a city with a vision and a visionary golf course architect.”

I have no problem letting anyone know that I am a fan of (and please don’t get offended by the term) “chick-flicks.” Give me a good comedy-romance that has lots of laughs, few tears and a full gamut of emotions in between and you can pretty much guarantee that I will love the film.

But the movie I saw at FAU was no “chick flick.” In fact, it was a foreign film, with French, Hebrew and Arabic. Don’t worry though; there are English subtitles that are quite easy to follow. The movie was called “The Other Son.” Now, don’t worry, I will not give away too much of the story; although, I will tell you that the butler did it. Just kidding, there is no butler in this movie. But, this is a movie that makes you think as much as and maybe even more than any great mystery film. It is the tale of two babies switched at birth. One of the babies is born to a Palestinian Muslim family and the other to an Israeli Jewish family.

That’s right; the Muslim is raised as a Jew and the Jew as a Muslim. At one point in the movie, one of the boys, now a young man, asks what one does when you find out that you are your own worst enemy.

That line really called out to me. You see, the Sages teach us that, if you have something you dislike about someone, you would do well to look at your own actions because what you are seeing in them may be like looking into a mirror … not a carnival mirror that distorts our image, but a mirror that is clean, clear and streak free … a mirror that shows our true self, rather than the image we like to picture ourselves as being.

The other day a woman was waving her hands frantically as she told me how she could not stand her neighbor. Do you know why? It was because her neighbor could not talk without waving her hands all over the place. In other words, she hated the other woman for something of which she herself was guilty. She simply refused to look at the fact that she was guilty of the very same behavior.

This brings me to another movie I had the joy of seeing. It was called “This is 40.” I have to warn you, while the movie is quite funny, it is also filled with a lot of curse words. And there is a scene in this film where the parents wonder where their child learned to use such foul language, but all you have to do is listen to the parents throughout the show and you know exactly where their child picked the choice of words.

Sometimes, we are indeed our own worst enemy. But remember, G-d is watching us. I know this because Bette Midler told me so. But let me tell you who else is watching; our children are watching. If you want to see a mirror image, well, it’s not just the hair color, the eyes or the cheekbones; it’s not just their looks. Your child is watching your actions, listening to your word, soaking up everything you say and do, and learning every step of the way.

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and of the Association of Professional Chaplains, He works professionally in this capacity with a number of healthcare facilities in the area, and with hospice. He is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach.

By Dave Montalbano

cinemadave.livejournal.com

Opening tomorrow is the Oscar-nominated best foreign language film A Royal Affair, a good motion picture that works on so many levels: the story is fascinating – yet contemporary; the cinematic details support the narrative and the Danish-speaking actors provide enough non-verbal communication for American audiences to empathize with their characters, regardless of subtitles. This film is history, minus the boring academic lecture.

Caroline Mathilda (Alicia Vikander) is courted by Danish King Christian VII (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard), an immature man who is actually insane. The two marry and she begins to breed. Enter Dr. Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen), a man of science, who becomes the King’s favorite adviser.

Under Dr. Struensee’s influence, reforms are made and people are happy. However, the Danish elite fear losing power and they challenge the King’s authority. While the King entertains himself in the brothel, Struensee and Caroline find comfort in each other’s arms.

Soon to be known as the new Hannibal Lechter and best known as the James Bond villain in Casino Royale, Mikkelsen creates a realistic sympathetic character. His Struenesse appears stoic, but Mikkelsen reveals the good doctor’s many shades of grey. As Caroline, Vikander matches Mikkelsen much like Ginger Rogers matched steps with Fred Astaire.

Despite Spike Lee’s ill wishes, Quentin Taratino’s Django Unchained has become a Golden Globe Awardwinning box office success. Even though this western suffers from his superfluous Taratino touches, it is the director/ writer’s most entertaining movie yet.

Clocking in at almost three hours, Django (Jamie Foxx) is a slave separated from his wife, Brumhilda (Kerry Washington), who lives on a Mandingo Plantation owned and operated by cruel Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his equally nasty manservant Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson). After sharing adventures and life experiences with a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz), Django learns enough life lessons to attempt to rescue his beloved.

Django Unchained is full of little interesting details with some creative violence and first rate performances from Jackson, Waltz and DiCaprio.

However, if one is seeking a good story with strong character motivations and a sense of history, go see A Royal Affair opening this weekend.

By Gary Curreri

Melvin Randall believes his Blanche Ely High School boys basketball team could be the most talented he has ever had at the school.

“They can be better than last year’s team,” said Randall, whose team is the defending Class 7A champions after defeating Oak Ridge, 78-46, in last year’s state championship game. “They show little spurts of it. They have to be consistent. On paper, we have five Division 1 players on this team, but they have to play like it night in and night out. They can run the table and they can be better than last year’s team. I have to keep pushing them and motivating them.”

The host Tigers (15-1) got a game-high 27 points from senior guard Darrion Allen as it defeated Deerfield Beach, 72-60, at home before a standing-room only crowd.

Deerfield Beach (21-3) was led by forward Marcus Owens, who scored 18 points, including 10 in the first quarter as the Bucks stormed out to a 15-5 lead to start the game. Khalil Thomas scored 18 points for the Tigers and Richard Lee added nine points. Vanderbilt Carpenter tallied 16 points for the Bucks.

Getting off to slow starts in games this year has been a problem for Randall and his Tigers.

“We work so hard and they are taught and they know against any team, whether it is a strong team or the less fortunate teams, we are going to have a target on our backs, that teams are going to get up to play Ely because of the success we had last year,” said Randall, who graduated five from last year’s team. “Two were off and on starters, and we added a couple of guys (Lee, transfer from Northeast, and Lance Tejada, a Miramar transfer) who are pretty good.”

Randall said it has been a work in progress. He said he’s been trying to get everyone on the same page because of the pressing style that they like to play.

“It’s different,” Randall said. “It is like another country to them and they are beginning to understand and it is going to take some time. I gave them an expiration date in the middle of January where everybody should be on the same page. They come from a different style and a different philosophy on playing defense. We play an uptempo pressing defense rather than sitting back in a 2-3 zone.”

Senior Dallas Cameron, who committed to American University one week after his 18th birthday in September, said it has been a difficult transition.

“It is really tough to put everything together,” said the 6’ 3”, 175 lb. guard. “The team we had last year had been together for 2 to 3 years, so everyone was committed. That’s why we had so much success last year. This year, with new people coming in, they have to learn the system and defense. They have to learn the system quicker.

“We are getting there,” Cameron said. “We still have a long ways to go. We have come out flat in a lot of games. We have to pick it up because that is going to catch up to us.”

Cameron said it would be huge to win another state title.

“Nobody in Ely history has ever won back-to-back championships,” Cameron said. “There have only been three state championships in Ely history. To go back-to-back would be huge.”