By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

In Spanish Language with English subtitles, Marshland (La isla mínima) opens tomorrow in area theaters. It is a gritty crime procedural that is simplistically presented with static cinematography. This simplicity is deceptive.

The setting is a marshland near Villafranco, Spain, circa 1980. Though Generalissimo Francisco Franco had been dead for five years, the ghost of his dictatorship remains. There seems to be a seasonal crime wave during harvest season. During an annual festival, two teenage girls disappear.

Two detectives are called in to investigate. While both detectives have different political views about law enforcement, both individuals also have unrelated skeletons in their closet. However, when the two girls are found brutally and shamefully murdered, the two detectives put aside their differences to catch the killer.

Is this the work of a singular serial killer or a systematic ritual from organized crime? These two plot threads unravel into a logical climax. Like any good mystery, multiple clues and red herrings are placed within the storyline. The two detectives propel the narrative, but part of the fun of this film is the quirky characters that detour the investigation.

The world of Marshland feels like the south of the border version of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Writer/Director Alberto Rodriquez makes this his personal film noir, filled with gothic detail. One can see the nightmarish visualization of Spanish Master Francisco Goya in Marshland’s visualization.

This film is definitely a vacation from the dog days of the August box office releases. This simple film will create haunted memories.

Javier Gutiérrez, one of the actors who played one of the detectives, is expected to visit the Movies at Lake Worth and Cinema Paradiso this weekend.

For more details, contact Cinema Paradiso at 954-525- FILM (3456) and the Movies at Lake Worth 561-968-4545.

Everybody needs a change once in a while. It might be something as simple as a change in hair color. It might be a change of attitude or lifestyle. And even if you don’t want to change, we all know there are times we have to adjust to change whether we want to or not.

Try and imagine the changes the Children of Israel had to go through after being freed from slavery, wandering around in a strange new land.

Not only were they in an unknown place, but they had no idea how long they were going to be there.

When someone is admitted to a health center, they are coming to a strange place and they have no idea how long they will be there.

In the wilderness, the Children of Israel had to learn to sleep under very different conditions. And those of us who have had to go through a medical ordeal face a similar issue as we find ourselves having to sleep in a strange bed, with pillows that are not as fluffy as we are used to. We may have an injury or a surgical area that makes it impossible for us to sleep in the position that we are most comfortable in.

In the wilderness, The Children of Israel had to adjust to different sights and different sounds.

Those of us who have spent time in the hospital can relate.

There are the constant beeps of medical equipment, the lights on all night long, the noise coming from the staff and from those who cannot help but moan in pain. And there is the waiting.

The Children of Israel did not know how long they would be stuck in the desert and, as patients, we have no idea how long we will have to wait for the aide, the nurse, the doctor or our pain pills.

And then there was the Manna, the food that fell from the heavens.

They had to get used to the Manna, as it was simply not the food they were used to. And, one thing I can tell you for sure, no matter how good the food in a health center or hospital might be, it sure as shootin’ is not the food we are accustomed too.

And, depending on your illness or injury, you might have to get used to using a special utensil to eat with or you might need to be fed. The Israelites were told to gather a double portion on Fridays as they were not permitted to gather food on the Sabbath and, if they tried to do so, the food would be rotten.

Who among us hasn’t faced a test or procedure where we are told that we better eat or drink a little more on this day because, as of midnight, we will not be able to have anything to eat or drink.

G-d gave the Children of Israel a list of rules to live by. The medical care providers (though they are certainly not gods) tell us what we should and shouldn’t eat, what kind of exercise we should do and for how long, and when to take our meds. They tell us what rules we should follow to live what will hopefully be a longer and healthier life.

The question is, Will we make those changes? Will we comply?

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach (201 S. Military Tr., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442). Regular Shabbat services are open to everyone on Saturday mornings from 9 to 11:30 a.m.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

We have truly reached the dog days of August with the Motion Picture Box Office as Hollywood releases overhyped financial bombs like the Fantastic Four. This August echoes last August when The Expendables 3 and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For were released to pathetic box office returns.

Shaun the Sheep Movie opened poorly in the United States last weekend, but has achieved respectable gross overseas. This film is another stop-motion animation with British charm and humor. Unlike their other films Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit or Chicken Run, this film features no dialogue. The only words that are heard are from the thematic original songs heard on the soundtrack.

The film opens in the 1970s (You can tell by the farmer’s disco clothing and his cassette tapes) in which the farmer takes pictures of his prize sheep. The years fast forward and we see that the farmer has aged, but his clothing has not changed. He, his sheep dog and sheep live a structured and routine life.

Though a series of unfortunate events, the farmer is knocked out in his trailer. The farm animals party too hard, the trailer becomes unhitched, careens down the hill and lands in the big city. The animals follow their master and it is chaos.

To enjoy this film, you have to enter the state of mind that you use to watch a baseball game or golf tournament. This film is a visual feast of sophisticated humor, but has a warm heart and a gentle spirit. I just don’t know why Shaun the Sheep was singled out because this movie is really an ensemble piece.

Cinema Paradiso features the opening of two new movies this weekend: People Places Things and 10,000 Saints.

• 10,000 Saints features an actor’s ensemble best known for their contributions to independent cinema: Asa Butterfield, Ethan Hawke and Hailee Steinfeld.

• People Places Things is a light comedy set in New York City. It is the story of a graphic novelist and college professor who must balance his job between the demands of work and being the single father of two 5-year-old twins.

For more information, visit www.fliff.com.

To say that I was an excellent middle school football player would be a lie. Frankly, I stank. But I kept trying — mostly because scorching summer afternoon practices were followed with a refreshing ice cold carbonated beverage: the Slurpee.

I can remember one day, having been completely consumed with my Slurpee that I hopped in the wrong car, going so far as to buckle my seatbelt! It wasn’t until I heard from the driver, “Well, who are you?” before I realized my embarrassing mistake. I quickly unbuckled my seatbelt, tucked my tail between my legs and dashed back to my actual ride.

I suppose we all have similar mesmerizing Slurpee moments. In fact, I believe there is a pandemic of such infatuation moments happening today. Kids’ eyes are affixed to screens, teens to themselves via the selfie-stick (don’t get me started on that one) and adults to their work. At best, children are quiet, teens look their best and adults are efficient; at worst, children lack time-management, teens mask insecurities and adults neglect their responsibilities. But amidst such duplicity, I’d like to focus on one particular affixation as we prepare for back-to-school: grades.

It’s Cameron Dallas’ character Felix, in the movie Expelled, who says it best about grades, “Straight As, [they’re] the Holy Grail of Academia … catnip for parents” and the “reward for properly raising your kid.” But is it? Should it be? Will high marks keep your child from living in a van down by the river? Hardly.

As a former high school teacher, I’m not implying parents abandon their concern for the report card. All I’m suggesting is that we re-evaluate our obsession or, dare I say, all-consuming search for the “Holy Grail of Academia.” Here’s why: because grades (the end), have increasingly become more valuable than the effort to obtain said grades (the means), which has opened the door for grade inflation in both the high school and college realms.

It’s become a simple business transaction. The academic institution is looked upon favorably due to a booming population of students with high GPAs and parents are satisfied because of their child’s seemingly exceptional performance. Win-win, right? Except that such an emphasis drives students to judge their self-worth based on a letter (rationalizing whatever means necessary, like cheating, to achieve those high marks — the worldly standard by which they are measured.) I’m sorry to say, but straight As might mean nothing more than your child knows how to work the system.

I don’t mean to imply that all students with straight As are system manipulators. It’s this: Straight As or not, stop measuring your student solely by four letters. Understand that not all students are “A” students, and that’s okay. I can’t tell you how many times I watched academically-gifted students “earn” high grades with little effort and be praised, whereas students who busted their butt only achieved a “C” accompanied by little to no recognition (now that’s a tragedy).

And understand that when we receive something, like high letter grades, for something we didn’t work hard to obtain, that’s when entitlement rears its ugly head. So let’s change the paradigm.

Here’s my professional recommendation: Praise your student’s effort and help them understand their identity in Christ, because in all honesty, does anything else really matter? You can personalize Matthew 16:26 to read “And what [does your child] benefit if [they get straight As] but lose [their] soul?”

You know why being a terrible football player didn’t matter to me? Because I knew God had a different path for me — an awesome one and something only He could equip me to begin. So, this school year, let’s go #BeyondTheLetter when evaluating growth.

Look to Galatians 5:22-23 for the standard: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law.”

Is your student understanding what it means to love unconditionally? Finding joy during trials? Developing patience? Kind to others? Seeking a deeper understanding of faith? Gentle and exhibiting self-control?

If so, rest assured that no letter grade is going to stop the plans God has for your child — even should they fail a course or two along the way.

CJ Wetzler is the NextGen Pastor at First Baptist Church of Deerfield Beach. Before transitioning into full-time ministry, CJ was a commercial airline captain, and high school leadership and science teacher. For questions or comments, he can be reached at cj@deerfieldfirst.com.

By David Volz

Children who are getting ready to start school received some help from the Crockett Foundation on Saturday.

Both Henri and Zack were football stars at Blanche Ely High School and Florida State University. They later played in the National Football League (NFL).

Many families came to the Community Health Festival that took place at the Pompano Citi Centre on August 8. The Crockett Foundation partnered with Broward Health to hold the event. Doctors, nurses and other health professionals performed health checks, vision care, dental care and immunizations. Families received other social services as well.

Members of Zeta Rho Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority also participated in the program.

Children who participated in the health physicals received a backpack filled with school supplies.

Henri Crockett, CEO of the Crockett Foundation, enjoyed the program and seeing young people receiving healthcare and getting ready for school.

“I like this event because it has a positive impact on families. I want to lighten the load on parents. It is important to make sure that these kids are ready for the first day of school.”

Henri Crockett and his brother Zack Crockett, who is vice president of the Crockett Foundation, know the struggles many families face. They believe it is important to give back to the community and do what they can to help families in the area.

JoeAnn Fletcher, president of the Zeta Rho Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, loved the opportunity to help out at the event. Many of the chapter members distributed backpacks to the families. “Our purpose is to serve others,” said Fletcher.

Nabil El Sanadi, M.D., President and CEO of Broward Health, offered his medical services at the Community Health Festival. He said he loved the opportunity to help children in the community.

Stephanie Buquo brought her children, Matthew and Michael, to the event. She said she was glad that her sons could each receive a backpack and school supplies for the upcoming year.

By Gary Curreri

Despite bowling a perfect game in qualifying, Pompano Beach’s Zach Griffin said he didn’t bring his “A” game to the Broward County (USBC) Top 8 Tournament at AMF Davie Lanes.

What he did bring was good enough as he captured his second consecutive junior boys championship with a 219-202 victory over Miami’s Cody Stevens in the final.

“I have been busy with work and getting ready for school so I haven’t been able to find the time and, when I do have the time, I sleep,” said Griffin, who works at Strikers Family Sportscenter and recently graduated from Cardinal Gibbons High School.

“When I am done with my nine-hour shift, I am exhausted and just want to go home,” added Griffin, who admitted he hadn’t practiced in 2-1/2 months.

He is headed to Springhill College in Mobile, AL on a bowling scholarship. “It is probably the last tournament I am going to bowl before college, so my dad (Greg) seeing me shoot 300 and win was nice. He really wanted to see that.”

The Top 8 bowlers in each division each bowled four games with the Top 4, with the highest pin fall after that moving on to a step ladder final with the fourth place bowler taking on the third place bowler, and the winner moving on to bowl against the second seed, and that winner taking on the highest seeded player.

The 300-game was the fifth sanctioned game of Griffin’s career.

“That was nice,” said Griffin, whose last sanctioned 300-game was in a winter league four months ago. “It was weird because I had just come off my worst game in qualifying which was a 202. I had trouble finding my line. I just moved in and started fi ring it 18-miles-an-hour at the 10-board and clearly it worked. It was really nice, too, because, the last couple of shots, I didn’t know if they were going to carry, but they did.”

“I’m happy with how I did,” Griffin said. “It is a good repeat too. If it happened, it happened. If it didn’t, it didn’t.”

Griffin is looking forward to bowling in college where he will bowl upwards of four times a week.

“It’s nice,” he said. “I always wanted to bowl in college when I heard that a couple of my older friends went. It is a really nice atmosphere, was something I was looking for when I was looking at schools.”

Two weeks remain at Simply Soccer

There are two weeks left at the popular Simply Soccer Camp in nearby Coral Springs.

Simply Soccer, which has boys and girls, ages 5-14 of all skill levels, has attracted a record number of children from throughout Broward County for its 27th annual summer camp series at Mullins Park in Coral Springs.

The camp, featured during a live broadcast by CBS4 the day following the United States’ 5-2 victory over Japan in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, is down to its final two weeks of the summer beginning Monday. They are August 10-14 and 17-21.

There are three sessions, ranging from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and a Tiny Tot program from 9 a.m. to noon. Players will be taught a variety of soccer skills from dribbling to shooting.

It is the longest running soccer camp offered by the city.

Campers must bring a soccer ball, swimsuit, shin guards, water bottle and lunch. For information, call 954-345-2200.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

It was late one July night that I stayed up with my cousin Ronny and my brother Carm to watch Sherlock Homes and the Secret Weapon, starring Basil Rathbone. While Rathbone will always be the ultimate Holmes for me, the modern day search for authenticity has created some fine performances from Robert Downey Jr. and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Now the Master Thespian Sir Ian McKellan portrays the Master Detective in Mr. Holmes.

Based on the novel A Slight Trick of the Mind written by Mitch Cullin, Mr. Holmes examines the mystery of regret and usefulness. Living in a cottage near the White Cliffs of Dover, Holmes has left London and has basically lived in seclusion for 30 years. A man of eclectic interests, Holmes devotes most of his time to tending bees.

While running an errand for Mr. Holmes, young Roger (Milo Parker) uncovers an incomplete manuscript about Sherlock Holmes’ last case. Angered at first, Holmes completes the manuscript, but not before confronting an emotional secret from his past.

Running under two hours, Mr. Holmes packs a lot of plot. Yet, under Bill Condon’s direction, Mr. Holmes unfolds at a leisurely pace. This pacing allows the actors to breathe life into their characters. While not as heralded as Sir Ian McKellan’s showy performance, Laura Linney reveals much about Mrs. Munro with only an askance glance, a revealing voice, and a voice that is always trying to prevent itself from screaming.

Mr. Holmes is likely to generate Oscar buzz for Sir Ian McKellan. It is a culmination of so many roles the actor has played in the past 18 years.

Every emotion is on display, yet the actor never loses control of the character’s genius.

While the big studios are mass marketing the latest Mission Impossible and Fantastic Four, South Florida is about to screen some independent films locally that have created some overseas buzz. Opening August 20 at Cinema Paradiso is Marshland (La isla minima), a thriller set in a secluded area in the South of Spain.

On Saturday August 15, Cinema Paradiso will also be screening Thomas R. Dicken’s Aliens: Zone-X. The director Thomas R. Dickens, who worked as an animator, modeler and technical director on the Scooby Doo movies, will attend the screening.

Info: www.fliff.com

I want to talk with you about walls today. Why? Because we all put up walls; and because I felt myself climbing the walls as I tried to figure out what to write about this week.

I sat at my desk and I looked at the walls. Those walls contained pictures and those pictures made the walls speak to me. Those walls spoke to me about their family history.

They spoke of the Walls of Jericho and how Joshua made those walls come tumbling down.

Those walls told me how some of their family became famous for keeping people out and how some became famous for keeping people in.

Those walls talked to me about the Great Wall of China, which was built to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from the attacks of Nomads.

They told me about The Berlin Wall, built in the middle of Berlin by East Germany to stop East Berliners from escaping to the west. Thank goodness that wall went down in 1989 with the fall of the Soviet Union.

Those walls told me of the great Walls of Troy, built to protect the city of Troy.

Those walls shared the story of one of the newest members of the wall family, The Vietnam Memorial Wall, which was built to honor those who fought and died or are still Missing in Action from yet another horrible time of war.

And, those walls proudly shared with me the story of their Jewish Branch, the Kotel, the Western Wall, the sole remnant of the Holy Temple located in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Riskin notes that Harav Kook, speaking of the Western Wall, said, “There are some hearts which are made of stone, and there are some stones which are truly hearts.”

Cardiologists may be able to go inside our bodies to see the wall of our heart, but there is an emotional side to the heart as well. Jerusalem is the heart of our people and The Wall … the Western Wall … is the heart of our city … and the seat of our soul.

Others may have damaged the walls of our heart, but we have found a way to bypass the damage by building something through the study of Torah that can survive beyond the walls.

Harold B. Lee wrote that, “The most important work you and I will ever do will be within the walls of our own homes.” What have we done and what are we doing of importance in this, our home?

Comedienne Goldie Hawn said, “Comedy breaks down walls. It opens up people. If you’re good, you can fill up those openings with something positive, maybe combat some of the ugliness in the world.”

As slaves in Egypt we lived a life imprisoned behind the walls of the Pharaoh. G-d freed us from those walls. He showed us that there were other walls for us to get through, as we walked through the Red Sea with a wall of water on both sides of us.

We still have many walls to get through. We have walls to break down and we have walls to build up.

Maryanne Hershey wrote, “May your walls know joy. May every room hold laughter and every window open to great possibility.”

Joshua may have blown a horn and knocked down the walls of Jericho, but, in just a couple of months, we will blow the Shofar for the High Holy Days.

May the blasts from that Shofar remind us to fill every space in the walls of our heart with loving kindness, and let us say, Amen.

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is the spiritual leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach (201 S. Military Tr., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442). Regular Shabbat services are open to everyone on Saturday mornings from 9 to 11:30 a.m.

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

www.emilyrosen424.com

I graduated from High School in Brooklyn, NY on the day that American troops stormed the Normandy Beachhead (DDay), the beginning of the end of the “good” war.

There were 500 kids in my graduating class and only two of us – me and my best friend Carol — who were exhorted to keep our mouths shut during the singing of our class song, reconfirming the well-known fact that both of us habitually sang off-key .

Don’t bother with the math. Suffice it to say that many a year and many a lifetime have subsequently passed, but Carol and I have endured as good friends, singing our hearts out in private on the very few occasions when we get eye-to-eye contact, she, a resident of Connecticut, and I, a transplanted Floridian.

So when she called several months ago, insisting that is was time for me to visit in her newly downsized condo digs, I succumbed.

The first thing she did was get tickets for the Emmy multi-awarded “The Curious Incident of the Dog,” etc., the price of which was “curiously” close to a Porsche. But I didn’t want a Porsche.

And thus began “Emily’s Life Review” tour.

Once “up there,” I could not “not visit” the remains of my other life – people who contributed to what became the richness of my life, people with whom I shared important milestones and giggles. Carol’s house was my final and longest stop.

Planning the trip had some similarity to the planning of an army invasion, minus the big map and pointer and 4-star generals. Many of my personal 4-star generals, however, were quick to offer me updated intelligence. It went like this: “You’re crazy to attempt so many places.” “Renting a car? You don’t know how bad the traffic is. You will be stuck on throughways forever.” “One wrong turn and you’ll be lost. And you know how bad you are with the GPS.” “You’re too old to be traipsing alone all over the tri-state area.”

The bile rose in my stomach – and I am known to live and advocate in loud decibels for a stress-free life — but I soldiered on … and a glorious “Nyeah Nyeah” to all of them. My plan worked seamlessly – from the cousin family wrap-up, to the nursery-school car pool reminiscences, to the years of exotic world travel in out-of-the-way destinations with Billie, my best of all times travel friend (a former next door neighbor), and to Carol and our high school war-time days and young motherhood.

Beaches and parks, and community activities, were all part of the deal. Manhattan streets and traffic, subways and frenzy, the cacophony of sounds and smells, the body shapes and misshapes, the whirring of unrelenting movement and fl ow of energy – the numbing experience of the 9/11 memorial and museum brought it all, in the midst of building cranes rising to the sky, to a meditative halt, a reality check, a somber reflection on humanity and the eternal struggle between good and evil, and a human artistic achievement worthy of its purpose.

I came home on an emotional high. Now, I am breathing deeply and exhaling slowly. I let go of my stress and fulfilled my mission.

So it’s Back-To-School August and for many Florida full-timers, vacation is over, and the countdown to next June begins. But, now, it’s time to knuckle down and get the work done.

By Gary Curreri

More than 400 junior lifeguards competed in the 5th annual Junior Lifeguard State Championships recently on Ft. Lauderdale Beach.

Pompano Beach led the way with 60 competitors, while Deerfield Beach brought 27 junior lifeguards.

There were three primary age divisions in the state event including A Division (ages-14-17); B Division (ages 12-13); and C Division (ages 9-11) and an introductory Grommets Program (for 7-8 year-olds who are not yet qualified to join the Junior Lifeguard Team).

Pompano Beach’ Shannon Snell, 17, a senior at Cardinal Gibbons High School, is no stranger to the competition and turned in a stellar performance winning the Girls A Division of the beach flags event in addition to the surf swim and the run-swim-run.

Snell, who has been a junior lifeguard for nearly eight years, competed in last year’s World Championships in France last year where she placed 10th in beach flags; 6th in the 100-meter dash and 10th in the paddle.

“It was really epic to represent our country,” said Snell, who competed for the Pompano Beach junior lifeguard competition. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Admittedly, there is a lot of pressure being at a world level and in a high performance competition she said, “you need to know what you are doing.”

“I am going to remember everyone I competed with and the teamwork,” she added. “Just the part of racing with each other and working together… and making friends for life … We know each other and learn new tricks every year from each other.”

Deerfield Beach’s junior lifeguards was led by Daniel Padron, who won the B Division of the beach flags event, while Pompano Beach also got a strong performance from Summer Schulte, who won the B Division in the paddle, run-swim-run and surf swim. There were seven events – beach flags, paddle, run relay, run-swim-run, paddle relay, surf swim, and the ironguard.

Local winners in the beach flags were Shannon Snell (Pompano Beach, Girls A Division); Daniel Padron (Deerfield Beach, Boys B Division); Christian Quinones (Pompano Beach, Boys C Division).

Winners in the paddle were Andre Bacic (Deerfield Beach, Boys A Division); Nicholas Calice (Pompano Beach, Boys B Division); Summer Schulte (Pompano Beach, B Girls Division); Jake Schulte (Pompano Beach, Boys C Division); Tamara Backers (Deerfield Beach, Girls C Division); Reef Coote (Pompano Beach, Boys D Division) and Victoria Vanacore (Pompano Beach, Girls D Division).

Winners in the Run-Swim- Run competition were Race Wilhoit (Pompano Beach, Boys A Division); Shannon Snell (Pompano Beach, Girls A Division); Christian Henderson (Pompano Beach, Boys B Division); Summer Schulte (Pompano Beach, Girls B Division); Jake Schulte (Pompano Beach, Boys C Division).

Winners in the Surf Swim competition included Shannon Snell (Pompano Beach, Girls A Division); Christian Henderson (Pompano Beach, Boys B Division); Summer Schulte (Pompano Beach, Girls B Division) and Samantha Escobar (Pompano Beach, Girls D Division).

The state championships were a precursor to the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) regional competition recently in Daytona Beach. The national USLA competition will also be held in Daytona Beach on August 5.