By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

When Rango was announced as best animated feature at the Oscars, I came to a revelation. This was the first year I did not review any nominated animated motion pictures.

With the $70.5 million box office take over the weekend, I knew Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax would be the film for me to review this week.

Published 41 years ago, this 72-page easy reader was considered a serious children’s book that became required reading for Earth Day.

The Lorax told the story of a hermit named Once–ler, who was responsible for destroying all the trees in this particular neighborhood of Dr. Seuss.

After causing the departure of the Lorax, the guardian of the trees, the Once-ler tells his tale of woe to a child. With trademark Dr. Seuss wit and rhyme, The Lorax is a poignant fable about man-caused disasters.

If only the producers of Dr.Seuss’ The Lorax had the courage to be understated.

Instead, the audience is given a romantic subplot between characters voiced by Zac Efron and Taylor Swift, whose grandmother (Betty White) makes non sequitur statements that ultimately become profound pearls of wisdom.

As The Lorax, Danny De Vito sounds miscast as a nature god. We are given two chase sequences that are used to sell 3-D. The musical numbers are toe-tappers, but the tunes are not memorable.

Despite these flaws, there is no denying the entertainment value of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax for young children.

In particular, the early sequences in which young Once-ler moves into the forest and encounters singing bears and goldfish. With less frenetic actions, these are sweet moments.

Children will not forget the sad eyes of the animals when they are forced to leave the forest. It is a subtle moment that best presents the theme of conservation.

In a world where people don’t drink water from the tap, but purchase it in plastic bottles, Dr, Seuss’ The Lorax provides pointed criticism to consumer behavior.

By Scott Morganroth

A year ago, the FAU Owls basketball team had a 21-11 record and were in first place in the Sun Belt Conference with a 13-3 mark. That earned them a trip to the NIT, where they would lose to the Miami Hurricanes.

What a difference a year makes. The Owls finished with an 11-19 overall mark and were tied for third place in the conference with Western Kentucky with 7-9 records.

FAU’s only chance to make it to the NCAA Tournament was to win the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Hot Springs, Arkansas. But Arkansas State (13-19) put an end to FAU’s post-season aspirations by ousting the Owls, 70-55, Saturday Night.

Dennis Mavin led the 8th-seeded Owls with 12 points and Shavar Richardson had 11. FAU finished the season with a five-game losing streak. This was the last game for Richardson and his fellow senior Alex Tucker.

Richardson finished his career with 1,018 points, which is 9th in FAU history, while Tucker leaves as the all-time leader in assists with 538, which is also good for 7th all-time in Sun Belt Conference history.

FAU Coach Mike Jarvis’ career record at FAU stands at 52-71, while he is 371-273 overall.

After the Owls blew a double-digit lead to the Troy Trojans and lost an 83-82 decision, he had some critical comments about the way the season has gone, especially after the high expectations following last year.

“We’re still not ready to win and we may not be again this year,” Jarvis said. “This team should have been better, has the ability to win games and the games we lost were mostly mental. We haven’t played as hard as we can for 40 minutes all year. Until we do, we don’t deserve to win.

“We’re talented enough. I love my guys. They’re mature, but my children are not hungry enough like most teams in America.

“Last year’s team was much hungrier and this team lacks hunger. Lots of teams will go into their conference tournament, hoping the fairy godmother will get them to the NCAA Tournament.”

The players will be watching the NCAA Tournament like the rest of us on their couches or at sports bars.

During the Owls final home game against Troy, former FAU Baseball Coach Kevin Cooney was honored as the newest member into the School’s Sports Hall of Fame.

With basketball season over, this hasn’t been a good year for Men’s Producing Revenue Sports, as the football team finished with a 1-11 mark. In addition, the basketball squad reported an  underachieving year at 11-19.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

Wednesday evening, March 7, is the eve of The Festival of Purim. Purim is a very colorful holiday. Children, and adults, are known to dress up in costumes that make the Temple a rainbow of colors.

Colors can be found in the Bible. For instance, I just mentioned the rainbow … G-d’s sign that he would never destroy the earth by flood again … and, need I remind you that the flood showed no preference to one color over another.

Then, there was Joseph and his multi-colored coat and last, but not least, there was the High Priest who wore a breastplate that had stones of 12 different colors on it.

Why a multi-colored coat? Why stones of 12 different colors? According to many historians, a multi-colored coat was a sign of leadership. Who was Joseph supposed to rule over? His brothers … not just one brother, but all of his brothers. And that multi-colored coat should have served as a constant reminder that he needed to keep each and every one of them in mind when he made a decision, as each of his brother’s needs were different.

Why stones of 12 different colors on the breastplate of the High Priest? How many tribes of Israel are there? That’s right, 12, so this was to serve as a constant reminder that he was tending not just to this tribe, but to the entire House of Israel, a house with different wants and needs. But the High Priest was responsible for serving them all.

Have you looked at the American Flag lately? Take a look at it. It is truly a sight to behold. Notice that it has three different colors on it. That’s right, Old Glory isn’t just red. Old Glory isn’t just blue. Old Glory isn’t just white. Old Glory is red, white and blue.

If you look closer, you will see that there is more of one color used in the flag than the others, but that is not to send a message that one group, one color, or one political party should be favored. No, let those colors remind each of us and each of our duly elected officials that America is a Melting Pot of the red, white and blue … and, we need to listen to each other. We need to work together, not just for our own sake, not just for our party’s sake, but for all the inhabitants thereof.

I remember a song lyric that my mother of blessed memory taught me many years ago. It was The Color Song and it asked what G-d’s favorite color was. I have never forgotten it, and I think it is a message that all of us need to remember with all the political campaigning we are being bombarded with because, my dear readers, God’s favorite color, despite what some candidate might tell you, isn’t red or blue. G-d’s favorite color is the color of Love!

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and serves in this capacity in a number of Health Care settings in the area including Advocate Home Care Services and L’Chayim Jewish Hospice in Partnership with Catholic Hospice of Broward County.

Since our family, the Eller family, has lived in Deerfield Beach since 1923, I’ve often been asked to put in writing some of the history of the area, either experienced personally, or that I heard from my parents or grandparents. For some of you old timers who might be worried about certain old “scandals,” don’t worry. I won’t be writing about those (smile).

– David Eller, Publisher

How we went from two employees to several hundred

-The new beginning-

For five years, from September of 1959 through April of 1964 when I graduated from the University of Florida College of Engineering in Gainesville, I was a full time student. It required 164 credit hours in order to graduate back then, which by taking 16 course hours per semester could be done normally in five years, which I did.

PRIZE PUMP, 1964 — David Eller is awarded first prize in the Engineer’s Fair at the University of Florida, Gainesville, for this irrigation pump, which he built himself. It handles 200 gallons per minute. David, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Marlin Eller and a graduate of Pompano Beach Senior High, where he served as president of the Student Council, has a major in Ag-Engineering at Gainsville and made the dean’s list for the fall term. This is his senior year.

Unlike many of today’s students I graduated with no debt and paid for my college by receiving $40 per week from my parents; and I earned a few dollars a month playing my guitar at fraternity parties and doing machine work in the University Research Departments.

During my five years at college, I had made a lot of good friends from foreign countries like Sweden, Germany and France, who invited me to visit them after graduation. My parents weren’t too enthusiastic about the idea, but my mother had a dear friend from Pennsylvania, Elsie Dimmick, who wintered in our neighborhood in Deerfield every year.

I always enjoyed talking to her because she and her late husband had lived all over the world; he had been an engineer building steel mills. We affectionately called her Aunt Elsie. A few weeks before I graduated from college, she invited me over and gave me a check for $500 as a graduation present, which she suggested I should use to visit those friends I had made in college. I accepted, of course, and used the last few weeks of my college days planning visits to my foreign friends.

Back in the ‘60s, a new book had come out about traveling in Europe on $5 per day by using special train passes and staying in hostels easy to locate at every train station. So I set out to prove the book true.

I departed the day after graduating from the U of F and headed for Sweden, where I spent the next several weeks visiting my college girlfriend and her family and learning a little Swedish. Then, I was on to Germany and France for a few weeks before heading home, just before running out of money.

My parents, especially my dad, were extremely happy to receive me the July 1964 weekend I arrived back home.

On Monday morning, I got up early and dressed myself in dress slacks, a white shirt and tie to look the way I thought graduate engineers are supposed to look. When I walked into our “shop” next door to our house on Dixie Highway a block north of the Hillsboro River bridge that morning, I was surprised that no one was there, only my dad sitting in his office alone up front.

I looked around, then stepped into his office and said “Where’s Joe (our longtime welding foreman)? Where’s Horace (our longtime machine shop foreman)? Dad sitting at his desk reviewing bills looked up (looking sad) and said “I had to lay them off a few weeks ago. We have no jobs. No pump orders. I couldn’t afford to keep them.”

I remember a queasy feeling in my stomach. Then Dad said, “Go get out of those church clothes you’re wearing and get your machine shop clothes on. We’ve got a couple of lathe jobs to do for the Deerfield Rock Company and a drive shaft repair for Vrachota trucking. You change clothes and do those jobs while I go out to the Range Line (State Road 7) and visit some farmers and see if I can sell a pump or something.”

As dad was getting up to leave, I stupidly said, “Dad, how much am I going to get paid?” (Knowing my engineering buddies were getting on average of about $200 per week.) Dad stopped in his tracks and motioned me into his office. He pointed to a stack of bills on his desk that he had been looking over. There was a tape on top that read about $10,000. Dad said, “See that tape?” I said, ‘’Yes.’’ He said, “That’s how much we owe. Now, look in the checkbook.” I did. The balance in our bank read a little over $200. “So Son,” he continued, “we’ll try to pay you the $40 per week I’ve been sending you. And, as you can see, I’m only paying myself $75/week.”

Then he looked at me with a strong stare and said, “I’ve been holding on, waiting for you to get home. Now let’s get to work!” We did, and the rest is history.

David Eller

Deerfield Beach coach Kenny Brown shouts instructions to his team during the regional quarterfinal victory over Miramar. Photo By Gary Curreri

By Gary Curreri

Melvin Randall is hoping to add another milestone to an already successful season following Blanche Ely’s 75-58 victory over host Atlantic in the Class 7A regional final on Saturday.

Reserves Kahlil Thomas and Dallas Cameron filled in for three starters in foul trouble and helped the state’s top-ranked Tigers (28-2) advance to Lakeland for the first time since winning it all with (now Florida guard) Kenny Boynton Jr. in the 2006-07 season.

“Our bench was a big help [Saturday night],” said Randall, who has won three state championships (two with Deerfield Beach and one with Ely) and earlier this season won his 400th career game. “They stepped up to the plate. My starters were in foul trouble. Kahlil made some key steals and dunks and turned the momentum around. After that, we never looked back.”

With Tigers’ 6-6 forward Clide Geffrard and two other starters mired in foul trouble, Thomas provided a spark off the bench with 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals, and Cameron added 10 points and six assists for the Tigers, who are ranked 19th in the country by ESPN FAB 50.

Ely advanced to the Class 7A state semifinals in Lakeland on Friday against St. Petersburg, which upset No. 4 Martin County 77-76.

Anterio Smith led Ely with 18 points. Benji Bell had 12 points and Geffrard finished with seven points and 10 rebounds in limited minutes.

Randall, a 1981 South Plantation High School grad, who went to Mercer University, said he knew his team was going to be a force this season.

“We have a pretty good group of young men,” Randall said. “I have had them for a couple of years. Over the summer, we played the AAU circuit. A lot of the coaches were surprised when I told them this was my high school team and not from different high schools. They were very impressed that we were extremely competitive. We went out to Dallas and finished eighth out of 64 teams in July.”

Randall believes his team has a chance to win state. Losing in the first round of Districts last year has galvanized the team.

“It is going to take some hard work,” Randall said.

“It is not easy when they get between those black lines on the court. I think losing last year helped us. It wasn’t a great feeling. I didn’t like it. I personally didn’t know how to react to it because it had never happened to me, but I know what it did to me — motivate me to work that much harder in preparing them to get a great experience.”

Bucks fall in regional final

Deerfield Beach High School came up short in its bid for a Class 8A state final four berth when it dropped a 67-61 decision to visiting Spanish River on Saturday.

“It was a lack of execution,” said Deerfield Beach coach Kenny Brown. “We just missed a lot of easy shots in the first and second half, but you had two really good teams playing a well-played game. We just came up short.”

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Thirty two years ago, bad boy Dustin Hoffman accepted his first Oscar for Kramer vs. Kramer on behalf of all actors.

Being a Dillard School of Performing Arts acting student, I thanked Dustin in the journal we were required to write to my teacher, Mary Helen Rassi.

The next day in class, Ms. Rassi acknowledged Dustin’s passionate speech. However, she focused on several Broadway performers who thought they “had it made” when they were featured on A Chorus Line. When their careers did not evolve, some of these performers suffered nervous breakdowns and turned to substance abuse. To quote my mentor from this day, April 15, 1980:

“It is important to be successful, but it is even more important to know your own success.”

Those words have been a comfort to me, given my inability to win an Oscar in the past 32 years.

After reviewing my experiences in the entertainment fields, I’ve realized that much of the glitz and glamour are synthetic by-products.

My joy has been creating the actual product, whether writing, directing, producing, acting or research-and-development. My Dad taught this value to me.

During my “unemployment years,” I was getting frustrated watching some unscrupulous people succeed in the entertainment and educational fields. At my brother’s request, I went to house-sit, which lasted six months with no television. The highlight was working with my dad for several weeks.

We did simple repairs, upping the value of the house by $10,000. He reminded me of the carpenter’s motto, “Measure twice, cut once” and that there are no shortcuts to success.

Since that time, I have been blessed with steady income and many conversations with my parents.

Starting in his 70s, my dad became a master model boat builder, the culmination of his craft, talent and experience over the years, with a mindset rivaling the likes of Michelangelo and Da Vinci.

Coverage of the Oscars seemed to focus more on the red carpet and less on the artistic success of The Artist and Hugo, which reminded me of Mrs. Rassi’s words from 32 years ago.

On the other hand, my dad has been happily married for 65 years, raised three kids with master’s degrees, mentors his five grandchildren and quietly turned 90 this week.

My Dad has lived by example and I love him for that.

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

www.emilyrosen424.com

When did it happen, this new awareness of fragility, vulnerability, mortality? When did I start being conscious of every step I take, begin refusing to take physical risks? When did I first step into the shower holding onto the rails, and exiting with “Be careful, step slowly, you don’t want to slip and fall,” echoing in my ears.

When did I give up the idea of someday (in some cases, again) bungee jumping, hang gliding, zip lining, jumping out of an airplane, serious skiing, white water rafting, hot air ballooning, mountain climbing?

When did I first mount my bike with the conscious thought of not falling? And when did I decide not to ride without a helmet? When did I become obsessed with daily exercises? And when I did begin to look forward to a just-staying-home day?

When did I first ban bread and cake from my refrigerator? When did I begin to check labels for high fructose corn syrup and sodium?

When did I begin to accept sickness and death without a feeling of devastating sadness and injustice?

When did I first stop caring about who won the Oscars, the World Series, The Super Bowl, the NBA title? When did I first recognize that I could live without a lot of the goodies I was living with, but that I couldn’t live without reading? When did I first acknowledge my addiction to my computer?

When did I first admit to myself that I have outgrown certain people and that there are some relationships that need not be continued? When did I stop caring what other people think? When did I learn how to balance the needs of loved ones with my own? When did I learn that compromise is not a dirty word and that there is no living without it? When did I learn that aging has nothing to do with numbers?

When did I learn to love a good debate with rational people whose political views are different ? When did I accept that my own views can be altered?

When did I first learn to accept that marriage has highs and lows? When did I learn that adult children are responsible for themselves and that letting go of 18 years of nurturing and hovering is not easy, but is – eventually – freeing?

And when did I accept that I may be a good writer – but that I am not great, nor is my writing destined for immortality?

When did I first know – REALLY know – that learning to have realistic expectations is a life-saver and that hanging on to merely reasonable ones end in disappointment, hurt, anger, rage and often irrational behaviors … and that learning to recognize the difference is better than all the PhDs in the world?

And when did I become so smart?

Zion Lutheran’s Vince Stubbs (left) goes up for two points in a game against Wellington Christian’s Charlie Brown.Photo by Gary Curreri

By Gary Curreri

While Blanche Ely and Deerfield Beach boys’ basketball teams are within one game of the state final four in their respective classes, another local team, Zion Lutheran Christian School, had a stellar season.

Zion Lutheran boys basketball coach John Guion said he couldn’t have been happier with his first year at the school. The Lions finished the season at 16-6, but suffered a first round loss in the district tournament.

“We set the bar high for the future of Zion basketball,” said Guion, who moved to South Florida from North Carolina to take over the program.

“We look to improve upon our success next season. Losing in the first round of districts was a disappointment that will fuel our hunger to get better in the off-season. I want to especially thank our administration, parents and student body for the support they gave us through the season.”

Guion moved from Charlotte, North Carolina. He has family and friends in South Florida.

“I really liked the feel of the place,” Guion said. “I knew they were coming off some rough years and that they had an Athletic Director here, Cody Loomis, who wanted to do things the right way, and turn the program in a right way.”

“I know their middle school team had also gone to nationals and had success there,” added Guion, who had four players from the middle school team playing varsity this season: Vince Stubbs, Manny Rojas, Keith Stone and Hunter Redeker. He said the team also got a stellar season from senior Bruno Mendoca who averaged 23 points a game.

“They had a good feeder program and I knew that I could develop a program here, not just a basketball team.”

Guion said the intensity of playing high school basketball and the structure of playing a varsity school was an adjustment for his young team. He said he gave them “small bites” of what to expect.

“They had never heard of a scouting report before,” said Guion, whose team ran off eight consecutive wins at one point.

“I wanted to give them time and not overwhelm them. I thought we’d come in here and, if we got them to have a .500 season, that would have been a great job. This was the most resilient group of kids I have ever been around. We still have a lot of maturing to do.

“It wasn’t important for us to win this year,” Guion added. “We just wanted to compete every night, get better at what we are doing and see the growth there. Winning wasn’t the obstacle. We just want to build the program the right way.”

Ely rallies; holds off Raiders

Benji Bell scored a game-high 24 points as host Blanche Ely (27-2) rallied for a dramatic, 56-52 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas in a Class 7A regional semifinal on Tuesday night.

The Tigers, ranked No. 19 in the most recent ESPNHS Powerade Fab 50, will now travel to Atlantic for a regional final on Saturday.

“St. Thomas really outplayed us for the first three quarters,” said Blanche Ely coach Melvin Randall. “We just started to pick it up and dug in during the fourth quarter and played Ely basketball … I think I aged about 10 years.”

Bucks top Cypress Bay

Marcus Owens led Deerfield Beach with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Terence Johnson added 18 points as the host Bucks held off a late charge by Cypress Bay, 64-57, to advance to its first regional final since 1999, when it won the Class 6A state championship.

The Bucks (24-4), who also received eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds from Janoris Jenkins, will host Spanish River on Saturday night.

Fifth-year coach Kenny Brown said his team, composed mostly of sophomores and juniors, has the ability to win state if they cut down on the turnovers and missed free throws that plagued them Tuesday night.

“They just have to settle down,” said Brown, whose starting unit has been intact for three years. “It is so hard for some reason for them to relax and we are winning. I am like, why are we rushing? Take your time, spread the floor and play basketball.”

By Dave Montalbano

AdventuresOfCinemaDave.com

Despite a critical pummeling, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island has been resilient at the box office.

Currently, the IMAX treat at the IMAX Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery until March 9 (when John Carter opens), this film is a fun adventure movie for the whole family.

A loose sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth:
3-D, Josh Hutchenson returns as Sean, a teenage rebel with some intelligence. He has received a secret ham radio code from his long lost grandfather, Alexander (Michael Caine), a character who could be Kungaloosh, a member of the dearly-departed Adventurers Club. Despite protests from his Mom (Kristin Davis) and Stepfather (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), Sean embarks on a quest to find his grandfather.

This film is a trademark of producer Charlotte Huggins, whose previous MODS IMAX credits include Encounter in the Third Dimension,  Alien Adventure and the first Journey.

Oscar events

Four years ago, while promoting his original Journey, Hutchenson was honored by the Palm Beach International Film Festival (PBIFF).

This Sunday, PBIFF will  host an Oscar party at Mizner Park. Officially sanctioned by Oscar, the event will feature a LIVE broadcast in the Count de Hoernle Amphitheater. Admission is FREE. Dress like your favorite actor. Bring a towel and sit on the grass. Silent auction will feature the second Cinema Dave Adventure Pack. Enclosed in a large painter’s box, this pack will feature movie memorabilia, social science artifacts and my book The Adventures of Cinema Dave in the Florida Motion Picture World. www.pbifilmfest.org.

Meanwhile, The Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) will host their Oscar party at Cinema Paradiso in Ft. Lauderdale starting at 6 p.m.

Meals will be named after this year’s Oscar contenders, including Moneyball Miso Soup, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Thai Curry Coconut Shrimp Soup, Hugo Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Midnight in Paris Stir Fried Veggie Rice, The Artist Steamed Dumplings, War Horse Teri-yaki Meatballs, Tandoori Chicken and for dessert … The Tree of Life Ginger & lemon cake, refreshing The Descendants Sorbet Bar and The Help Rice Pudding with a complimentary glass of Sake. (www.fliff.com)

Regardless of whether you Journey 2 the Oscar parties in Cinema Paradiso or Mizner Park, Billy Crystal will be host at both events. Stay tuned past the Oscars and you might see my old classmate “Jake Byrd” from the red carpet on The Jimmy Kimmel Show.

“Doe Adar a female dar…” Yes, I know the lyrics actually say, “Doe a deer, a female deer,” but we are just starting the Hebrew month of Adar. Adar is the month in which we celebrate the Festival of Purim where we read The Book of Esther. And, just a few days after we celebrate Purim, we move our clocks ahead as Daylight Savings Time begins.
Time is an amazing thing. It is a gift. Some people seem to have forgotten the value of time. Some take time for granted. In the Book of Esther, we find that we are (or at least were) running out of time, and then, wonder of wonders, the wicked Haman, who tried to put an end to our time, finds he has run out of time.
I’ve thought a lot about time in recent days. It probably had something to do with a couple of visits to medical specialists. In one office, I was kept waiting 45 minutes and, when the doctor finally saw me, she apologized profusely and let me know she was well aware of how valuable my time, not her time, but mine, was. She let me know she would try to do better in the future.
And then there was the other specialist, who kept me waiting two hours beyond my scheduled appointment and, when he entered the room, there wasn’t even so much as an “I’m sorry you had to wait so long.”
At one of the Health Centers, I asked the people at the Healing Service how many of them had watches on. Several raised their hands and I asked what time it was. Again, several responded, calling out the correct time. That’s when I said it was a good time to count our blessings. Here are a few we came up with:
• If you have a watch, you are blessed because there are many people who do not own one.
• If you can fasten the strap from the watch around your wrist, you are blessed because there are people who, no matter how hard they try, cannot perform this feat of manual dexterity.
• If you can see the face of the watch, you are blessed because there are people who cannot see at all.
• If you can read the time, you are blessed because there are those who have such severe dementia they can no longer remember how to tell time.
• And, if you can tell someone else what time it is, you are blessed because there are those who can no longer speak.
Now, let me ask you a question, dear readers. Why is it that we never seem to notice how many blessings we can count from something as simple as a watch? Could it be that we just never take the time?
Time is not only found on the hands of our watches. Time is on our hands. The question is what are we going to do with the time we have? The choice is up to you! Take some time to think about it and don’t forget to set aside some time to count your blessings.
Shalom my friends,
Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and serves in this capacity in a number of Health Care settings in the area including Advocate Home Care Services and L’Chayim Jewish Hospice in Partnership with Catholic Hospice of Broward County.