Music At The Market: Wood Family Tradition

Second time is the charm

The Wood Family Tradition have rescheduled after a rain out due to Hurricane Ian. They will perform Friday, Nov. 4, at the Surry County Farmers Market located at 903 E. Atkins St. in Dobson. There will be food trucks on hand and there is no cost to watch the show. (Submitted photo)

Mother Nature had other pressing plans that caused a performance of The Wood Family Tradition last month to be cancelled due to Hurricane Ian. Even though the Atlantic Hurricane season does not wrap until the end of November, Surry County residents are ready to try again.

Coming up this Friday the Dobson Tourism Development Authority and the Surry County TDA presents a rescheduled concert from Sept. 30 featuring the Wood Family Tradition.

The tourism authority’s Travis Frye said he got off the phone with Mother Nature and was told, “The weather looks perfect, and we will have delicious food trucks including Shikora Express Japanese Grill, Mermaids On The Go, BJs Fry Shack, and Station 1978 Firehouse Peanuts.”

He reminds everyone that this is a free concert that takes place at the Surry County Farmers Market, 903 E. Atkins Street, Dobson. Organizers say take a lawn chair and the family out to this event.

Food Trucks will be set up and ready to serve by 6 p.m. with music to follow from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.

Special thanks to have been offered by Frye to sponsors who have supported both the Dobson & Surry County TDA throughout this series: Surry Communications, Frontier Natural Gas Company, and Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation. Additional support from WPAQ 740 AM 106.7 FM The Voice of the Blue Ridge, The Mount Airy News, and Our State magazine.

A lot of folks around these parts are already familiar with the Wood Family Tradition. Put all the years of picking, grinning, singing, and entertaining it a whopping 150+ years of experience for the Wood family.

The Wood family says that family values, legacy, faith, and humor are just a few things that Wood Family Tradition bring to the stage. Music, however, is nothing new to this family.

Stemming from the legacy of hard driving, traditional, and original bluegrass music that the legendary banjoist/singer/songwriter Al Wood began in the ’60s, Mike, Bobby, Jason, and Brian were raised on a strict diet of bluegrass and bluegrass gospel music.

Members of Wood Family Tradition are Mike Wood on guitar and vocals, Bobby Wood on bass and vocals, Jason Wood on mandolin and vocals, Mackenzie Wood on vocals, and Brian Aldridge on the banjo and vocals.

Cardinal duo finishes 2A State Runner-up

Dobson candidate dies as election looms

The Surry Arts Players will be performing “Shrek The Musical JR.”, directed by Shelby Coleman, this weekend with performances set for area school children and youth as well as two public performances.

More than 750 area students will be bused to the Andy Griffith Playhouse to see the show on Friday, Oct. 21 and on Monday, Oct. 24. Public performances will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 22 and Oct. 23, at 3 p.m. in the Andy Griffith Playhouse. Tickets are on sale now.

Beauty is in the eye of the ogre in “Shrek The Musical JR.,” based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation film and Broadway musical. It’s a “big bright beautiful world” as everyone’s favorite ogre, Shrek, leads a cast of fairytale misfits on an adventure to rescue a princess and find true acceptance. “Part romance and part twisted fairy tale, ‘Shrek JR.’ is an irreverently fun show with a powerful message for the whole family,” organizers of the production said in announcing the performances.

The production stars Walker York as Shrek, Django Burgess as Donkey, Cassidy Mills as Human Fiona, Jazylne Rodriguez as Ogre Fiona, Claire Youell as Young Fiona, Maggie Wallace as Teen Fiona, Matthew Chelgren as Lord Farquaad, Hannah Hiatt as Dragon, and Noah Wilkes as Pinocchio.

Additional cast includes; Gracie St. Angelo, Abbie Schuyler, Elise Spencer as storytellers, Kori Hawks as Captain of the Guard; Charlie Johnson, Israel Petree, Atticus Hawks as Guards; Charlotte Banfield, Ava Chrismon, Zinnia Burgess, Sierra Nichols as Knights, Mason St. Angelo as Gingerbread Man, Genevieve Quinn as Mama Ogre, Kinston Nichols as Papa Ogre, Anderson Holladay as Little Ogre, Tanner Price as Big Bad Wolf; Thomas Holladay, Lee Bodenhamer, Brooks Harold as 3 Little Pigs, Zoey Rumsey as Wicked Witch, Reese Cox as Peter Pan, Makenna Holladay as Ugly Duckling, Molly Easter as Mama Bear, Noah Petree as Papa Bear, Lorena Arroyo as Baby Bear, David Arispe as White Rabbit, Lydia Beck as Sugarplum Fairy, Brooke Nichols as Madhatter, Revonda Petree as Pied Piper, Carleigh Jo Mills as Bishop, Samuel Holladay as Dwarf, Talea Holladay as Rooster; Prim Hawks, Alayah Amos, Addison Etringer, Maddie Youell, Kenzie White, Noelle Snow, Morgan Cooke, Jenna Hawks as Duloc citizens; Anne Rachel Sheppard, Remi Devore, Jackie Delacruz, Ella Sheets, Kaitlyn Holladay, Sidney Petree, Paisley Montgomery, Charlotte Banfield as Rat Dancers.

Serving on the production crew is director/choreographer Shelby Coleman; Music Director Katelyn Gomez; costumers Khriste Petree and Amanda Barnard; set designer Shelby Coleman; set construction Jason Petree, Sparky Hawks, David Brown and Tyler Matanick; lighting designer Tyler Matanick; props master Cassidy Mills and Shelby Coleman; set painting Ava Thomason, Ella Pomeroy and Shelby Coleman; stage crew Patrick McDaniel, Callie Grant, Peyton Alexandria, Ella Pomeroy, Ava Thomason.

“Shrek The Musical JR.” is based on the DreamWorks Animation Motion Picture and the book by William Steig. Book and Lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and Music by Jeanine Tesori.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for youth 12 and younger. Tickets are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org

The NoneSuch Playmakers theater company is offering up an early Halloween treat as they transport their audiences back to Victorian England for their new original mystery, “The Golden Dawn Murders.”

The year is 1890. During a lavish dinner at Calderwood House, a remote family manor, prominent financier Lord Peter Alston (Brack Llewellyn) is shot dead on his own doorstep. Chief Constable Alarbus Jones (Scott Carpenter) is summoned to the scene, where he encounters an elite group of dinner guests and an odd symbol on the drawing room wall. It’s the emblem of The Order of the Golden Dawn, one of several secret societies that existed in the United Kingdom during Victorian times. Jones learns that most of those attending the dinner are members of this enigmatic group, but there seems to be no connection to the murder.

In the course of his investigation, Constable Jones encounters a young woman who was not on the guest list—Katherine Hadleigh (Rachel Macie), a former maid at Calderwood House. She tells Jones that the members of the Golden Dawn have a dangerous secret hidden behind their affluent exteriors—a secret that could bring down the British Empire. As the constable learns more about the mysterious order, he discovers that Miss Hadleigh has some shocking secrets of her own.

“Miss Hadleigh’s presence brings an element of the paranormal to our story,” said Brack Llewellyn, who wrote and directed the play. “No spoilers, though. We want the audience to make the discoveries along with Constable Jones.”

“The Golden Dawn Murders,” Llewellyn said, is a bit of a throwback to theatrical melodramas of the past.

“Most of the action takes place in one room. It’s an ensemble cast that includes some unsavory characters, a red herring or two and an unexpected ending,” Llewellyn said. “At its core the play is a whodunit, but there are larger implications for Jones as he delves into Miss Hadleigh’s allegations about the order. He’s a small town cop who finds himself in uncharted territory. We hope the audience will want to hiss at the villains and cheer for our intrepid constable.”

Besides Carpenter and Macie, the cast includes David Nielsen as textile millionaire Victor Baldridge; Christine Werner Booher as author Ann Scott Perry; NoneSuch newcomer Thomas Smith as prominent London surgeon Benjamin Stockton; Olivia Jessup as railroad heiress Melisande Portman; Brian Greene as American exporter Douglas Daughtry; Janelle Metzdorf as Lady Margaret, the murder victim’s icy widow; Branden Macie as engineering genius Hamish Upton; Jonathan Carpenter as musical prodigy Owen Anderton; Meredith Dowdy as Millicent Atwater, the cook at the manor; and Toby Bunton as Merrick, the butler.

Performances of “The Golden Dawn Murders” are Friday Oct. 7 and Saturday Oct. 8 at 7 p.m., and Sunday Oct. 9 at 2 p.m. All performances will be held at the L.H. Jones Auditorium, 215 Jones School Road, in Mount Airy.

These are “pay what you can” performances. There is no set ticket price. Patrons are asked to pay only what fits their budgets. The Playmakers adopted “pay what you can” following the pandemic shutdown to make their shows accessible to more people, whatever their means. A portion of the proceeds will go to support the Jones Family Resource Center.

The Surry Arts Council is sponsoring three concerts at the Blackmon Amphitheatre this week in conjunction with Mayberry Days, featuring three of the more popular bands that regularly play during the arts council’s summer concert series.

Legacy Motown Revue returns to the Blackmon on Tuesday followed by The Embers featuring Craig Woolard on Wednesday and Band of Oz on Thursday. The concerts on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings start at 7:30 p.m. The show on Thursday evening begins at 8 p.m.

The Legacy Motown Revue takes listners back to the days of The Drifters, The Coasters, The Jacksons, Earth Wind & Fire, The Temptations, and so many more legendary icons. “Featuring talented performers that dance and sing, plus ang six-piece horn band, you will be transported back in time to one of the most influential periods in American Musical History,” arts council organizers said.

“The Embers are widely considered a musical marvel and have laid the groundwork for what has become known as ‘Beach Music’ in the Carolinas, Virginias, the gulf coast region of North America, and every beach in between,” arts council officials said. “They are a true musical tradition with which many Americans have listened to from childhood to adulthood. The Embers consider the genre of Beach Music as ‘music with a memory’ and have been creating lasting memories since its inception in 1958.”

“The Band of Oz is one of the most successful groups in the Southeast and continues to get the very best reviews from the top people in the entertainment business,” concert organizers said. “The band now features a full horn section to total a dynamic eight-member group. They still perform well over 200 shows per year for corporate events, festivals, concerts, wedding receptions, and many other public and private events.”

Admission to each show is $15 or a Surry Arts Council Annual Pass. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with an adult admission or annual pass. The Dairy Center, Whit’s Custard, and Thirsty Souls Community Brewing will be at the concerts to provide food, snacks, drinks, beer, and wine for purchase. No outside alcohol or coolers are allowed to be brought into the Amphitheatre area. Those attending are asked to bring a lounge chair or blanket to sit on.

Tickets are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org

Katie Deal will make her debut performances in Mount Airy during Mayberry Days which kicks off on Monday, Sept. 19. She will perform her one-woman show, “Katie Deal: Crazy for Patsy Cline” on Friday, Sept. 23 at the Andy Griffith Playhouse and “Wildflowers: The Women of Country Music” on Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Historic Earle Theatre.

Deal has performed to sold-out houses across the US and Canada. A Georgia-born artist, she is best known for her authentic country sound. She is the 2016 recipient of the Georgia Country Artist of the Year Award and a member of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame.

With a new take on nostalgia, “Crazy for Patsy Cline” features a live Nashville band. Taking the audience from Patsy Cline’s early music to her jazz club days, “Crazy for Patsy Cline” is a unique concert version of the songs and stories of Cline told from the experiences of country singer Deal.

“With all the songs you know and love, ‘Crazy for Patsy Cline’ delivers an evening of unparalleled entertainment and a walk down memory lane,” officials with Surry Arts Council said of the upcoming show.

Deal takes the stage with her one-woman concert, “Wildflowers: The Women of Country Music,” featuring her rockin’ Nashville band. This original tribute honors legends such as Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, Reba McEntire, Crystal Gayle, Shania Twain, Kitty Wells, and others. Join Deal as she performs groundbreaking hits such as “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels,” “9 to 5,” “Harper Valley PTA,” and “Stand By Your Man.”

“Katie Deal: Crazy for Patsy Cline” takes place on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the Andy Griffith Playhouse. Tickets are $45. “Wildflowers: The Women of Country Music” starring Katie Deal will be held on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Historic Earle Theatre. Tickets are $40 for balcony and $45 for orchestra. Tickets for both shows are available online at www.surryarts.org, via phone at 336-786-7998, or at the Surry Arts Council office at 218 Rockford Street. For additional information, contact Marianna Juliana at 336-786-7998 or marianna@surryarts.org

The Blackmon Amphitheatre will have a full schedule of music this weekend. Liquid Pleasure will play Thursday night, Too Much Sylvia will take the stage on Friday night and Cassette Rewind will perform on Saturday night. All three shows will be at 7:30 p.m.

Liquid Pleasure is a Chapel Hill-based party band that plays everything from Top 40, rap, rock, and a variety of other genres. After more than two decades of bringing audiences to their feet, the band Liquid Pleasure has become a multi-cultural icon.

“With no album high on the charts to boost them, Liquid Pleasure is a marketing phenomenon. By word of mouth only, they are the most accomplished band in their circuit. Liquid Pleasure brings fun and excitement to people who want to have a great time,” Surry Arts Council organizers said.

Developing a loyal following of friends and fans sporting their red sunglasses and singing along to the band’s songs, Too Much Sylvia plays anything from a few unplugged tunes, some beach, motown, funky 70’s, retro 80s, a few of the top current hits and some country.

“Blend this in with some possible special guests such as ZZ Topp, Village People, Pit Bull, etc. and it really turns into the perfect entertainment for everyone,” concert organizers said.

Born in the ‘80s and raised on radio, Cassette Rewind is “the ultimate authentic ‘80s experience. Cassette Rewind provides captivating and dynamic performances of Prince, George Michael, Journey, Whitney Houston, and countless 1980s pop icons. Grab your Members Only jacket and put on your leg warmers because nothing’s going to stop you from getting footloose and singing along.”

Admission to each show is $15 or a Surry Arts Council Annual Pass. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with an adult admission or Annual Pass. The Dairy Center, Whit’s Custard, and Thirsty Souls Community Brewing will be at the concerts to provide food, snacks, drinks, beer, and wine for purchase. No outside alcohol or coolers are allowed to be brought into the amphitheatre area. Those attending are asked to bring a lounge chair or blanket to sit on.

For anyone who believes “The Andy Griffith Show’s” hold on the public may be loosening, brothers Cort and Stark Howell have a message — not so fast.

The two, sons of actor Hoke Howell (a character actor known for portraying hillbilly Dud Wash on The Andy Griffith Show), released the independent film Mayberry Man last year. While the film has had a limited release — 30 theaters spread across a dozen states altogether, according to Cort Howell, many of those showings have been sell-outs. But what really tipped the scales for the movie was getting a deal to distribute through Amazon streaming services.

“It has performed extremely well on Amazon Prime for a small indie film — huge success for a small film like ours.”

That has led the duo, along with much of the movie’s cast, to take the next step and create Mayberry Man: The Series.

“In the feature film, arrogant movie star Chris Stone’s life changes when he is forced to spend a week at a nostalgic festival celebrating ‘The Andy Griffith Show,’ the beloved television classic from the 1960s,” Cort said in a press release. “Mayberry Man: The Series picks up where the movie leaves off, following Chris Stone as he navigates his newfound relationships with Mayberry’s sweetheart Kate and the quirky characters of a modern-day Mayberry.”

The movie’s plot had its beginning in a real-life visit Stark Howell made to Mayberry Days several years ago.

“I’ve always been a fan of the show, but I was shocked to discover the spirit of Mayberry still exists today within the tight-knit Mayberry fan community,” he said. That visit started the creative wheels turning in his mind, and he and his brother, along with several other children of Mayberry stars, put the film idea together.

“It’s the perfect setting to tell modern-day, family-friendly stories that express the virtues of the fictitious town of Mayberry that we all love.”

He said during that developmental stage, he and his brother decided to produce the movie as an independent project, which he said would allow them to make a family-friendly movie without the influence of sometimes less family-friendly studios.

Stark’s younger brother Cort Howell produced the movie and will return as producer of the series. “We worked outside the Hollywood system and partnered with Mayberry fans through crowdfunding to protect the wholesomeness of the project,” Cort said. “We plan to repeat this winning formula with the series.”

Much of the funding for the project was raised through crowdfunding efforts, after a kick-off party at the Loaded Goat in Mount Airy, with many of the larger donors earning time on screen during the movie. They intend to use the same strategy for the series. While he and his brother have secured private backing for some of the cost of the venture, he said the crowdfunding component will be vital to getting the series off the ground.

“For fans who always dreamed of visiting Mayberry, they have the opportunity to participate in the show as actors and extras,” he said. When backing the project on Indiegogo beginning June 25, fans can choose from a variety of perks that include things such as getting their name in the credits, passes to a red-carpet premiere, participating on-set as a background extra, or they can even land an on-screen speaking role.

The project involves what Stark Howell calls “Mayberry royalty,” the kids of many of those actors who were in the show during its 1960-1968 run. Andy Griffith’s daughter Dixie Griffith is returning as executive producer and Karen Knotts, daughter of Don Knotts, will be a cast member. Additionally, co-producer Gregory Schell is the son of actor-comedian Ronnie Schell who appeared on “The Andy Griffith Show” and played Duke Slater in “Gomer Pyle, USMC.” Ronnie Schell is also slated to appear in the series.

The filming of the show will also follow a pattern familiar to those who have seen the movie. Many scenes will be shot in Mount Airy, especially during this year’s Mayberry Days. Much of the original movie was shot in Mount Airy and the surrounding area, including scenes shot during the 2020 Mayberry Days.

Other scenes from the movie were shot in and near Danville, Indiana, home of a smaller festival called Mayberry in the Midwest, as well as scenes shot in California.

Cort Howell said the eventual distribution of the series had not yet been determined, and most likely won’t be until 2023.

The crowdfunding campaign launches June 25 and runs through the end of July. Special events are planned throughout the campaign and can be found at mayberryman.com.

The 50th Annual Mount Airy Blue Grass and Old-Time Fiddlers Convention, featured in a story on page 1A today, will feature more workshops than ever this year.

These will take place on Tuesday, May 31 through Friday, June 3 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. each day at the Grandstand at Veterans Park. It brings master musicians directly to attendees who want to learn from them and play with them. The workshops are another way to enhance the experience for those from across the nation attending the Fiddlers Convention.

Instructors include Wes Clifton, Darrius Flowers, Kevin Fore, Trish Fore, Chester McMillian, Michael Motley, Lucas Pasley, Aaron Ratcliffe, Bill Sluys, Nancy Sluys, Martha Spencer, Emily Spencer, Kirk Sutphin, Adam Lowe, Mecca Lowe, Tammy Sawyers, Jim Vipperman, and the Mustard Cutters Band.

The workshops begin on Tuesday at 10 a.m. There are multiple classes in fiddle, banjo, and guitar as well as dances, jams, workshops focusing on vocals and playing together.

During the first weekend of June, thousands of old-time musicians and enthusiasts from all over the country and the world congregate at Mount Airy’s Veterans Memorial Park for the annual Fiddlers Convention. This year, the celebration of the 50th Annual Convention is featuring extra opportunities funded by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and Come Hear NC. The Surry Arts Council received these funds that will be used to pay area musicians to host these free workshops.

The Tuesday through Thursday workshops are sponsored in part by a grant from the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources along with Come Hear NC.

The Friday workshops are funded in part by a subgrant from the Surry Arts Council to Veterans Memorial Park Inc. with funding from a Grassroots Grant from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

The workshops are all free. There is no advance registration. Instructors will gather at the grandstand prior to each class. A complete schedule of workshops may be picked up at the Veterans Park gate. For additional information contact marianna@surryarts.org.

ELKIN — Plans have been announced for the Reevestock Music Festival in Elkin, which will feature Hiss Golden Messenger, a Grammy-nominated band specializing in Indie folk, blues, alternative country and country rock sounds.

Reevestock, now in its 11th year, has grown into a two-day musical celebration held in both downtown Elkin and the town’s Hidden Amphitheater.

The grassroots festival is slated for Aug. 5-6, with early bird tickets now on sale, according to information from Sam Tayloe, its director.

Reevestock is a signature annual event for Elkin which also draws music fans from throughout the Carolinas and beyond, festival organizers say.

The bulk of activities will take place during its second day on Aug. 6, a Saturday, at Elkin’s Hidden Amphitheater a privately owned entertainment venue with a main stage featuring a gazebo surrounded by a running stream with connected waterfalls.

Hiss Golden Messenger, led by Durham-based songwriter MC Taylor, will be the featured act that day, scheduled to perform at 8:05 p.m. Taylor conceived the name Hiss Golden Messenger for the folk music group, which has been described in the Washington Post as eliciting both biblical serpents and the white noise of cassette tapes.

Its 2019 release “Terms of Surrender”was nominated for the Best Americana Grammy Award.

“Sanctuary,” a single emerging in 2021, additionally has gotten much airplay.

Also slated to perform on Aug. 6 are Momma Molasses (1 p.m.), Handmade Moments (2:15 p.m.), Dreamroot (3:40 p.m.), host band Time Sawyer (5 p.m.) and Daniel Donato (6:30 p.m.).

Reevestock will kick off on Aug. 5 with the Downtown Get-Down Block Party at 5:30 p.m. in Elkin. The free outdoor party to launch the festival is to include music by Luke Mears and Robert Holthouser, billed as a “guitar-driven blues-influenced singer/songwriter duo.”

Reeves Theater will be open for drink purchases and food trucks are slated to be on hand for dinner.

After the block party, a ticketed show at the Reeves Theater will feature Stillhouse Junkies and Clyde Williams, with festivities continuing with a free late-night jam at Angry Troll Brewing featuring Pennsylvania’s Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers.

Cindy Baucom has been tapped to serve as emcee for the festival. She is a broadcaster, producer, promoter, singer, musician, writer and photographer whose radio show, “Knee-Deep in Bluegrass,” airs weekly in nearly 100 markets.

Organizers promote Reevestock as a relaxed, family friendly festival that features children’s activities during daylight hours, plenty of shade and free nearby parking along with free shuttle service.

Local vendors will offer food, beer and wine.

The festival benefits the Reevestock Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to seniors at Elkin, East Wilkes and Starmount high schools seeking to continue their education through any four-year, two-year or technical program.

Ticket sale and other information is available at https://reevestock.com/

The weather was not cooperative, with heavy storms on Friday evening and rain off and on much of Saturday, but the annual Pilot Mountain Civic Club Mayfest returned this year, filling the streets with vendors and shoppers.

While the crowds might have been off from what organizers were hoping for as a result of the poor weather, thousands still made their way to Pilot Mountain for the three-day event.

Mayfest, the major annual fundraiser for the local Civic Club, is a popular gathering, where town residents, as well as visitors from all around the region, visit Pilot Mountain for live music, a variety of food booths, and a number of craft and other vendors.

The event, an unofficial beginning of summer for many, had been cancelled the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but folks seemed to enjoy this weekend’s event even through the stormy weather.

The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History will be celebrating Cinco De Mayo over the coming week, with dancing, music, food, crafts, a raffle, kid’s activities, and a History Talk about the holiday presented by a local historian.

Always free to the public, the History Talk for this month will be held at the museum on April 30, in the third-floor program space from 2 -4 p.m. Presenter Justyn Kissam will be talking about Mexican history and culture as well as the origins of Cinco De Mayo.

Though the holiday falls on a Thursday this year, the museum will be having its Cinco De Mayo celebration on Saturday, May 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., all of which is free to the public. This celebration will have food and crafts for sale, music, and free crafts for children at the kid’s activity table. The highlight of the event will be the dance performance where the museum’s Mexican Dance Bootcamp group as well as a local professional dance group will perform several traditional dances in authentic outfits.

The event will take place in the back-parking lot behind the museum and is accessible through Virginia Street and W. Oak Street through the gate. Just look for the food truck and the women in colorful dresses.

The museum also has its Wheelbarrow Full of Fun Raffle sponsored by the Women’s League of Mount Airy during the celebration. This wheelbarrow is full of assorted local spirits from wine to gin. The raffle will be held in the courtyard at the museum and tickets are on sale now for $10 for a single ticket or $20 for 3.

Anyonewith questions about the events can contact The Mount Airy Museum of Regional History at mamrh@northcarolinamuseum.org or call 3336-786-4478.

Dancers from the Mount Airy Museum of Regional Histories’ Mexican Dance Bootcamp that will be preforming at the Cinco De Mayo Celebration

Caption: Mexican Dance Bootcamp instructors Carmen Mungia and Luz Maria Alvarez, as well as other local dancers, during their performance at Peacefest in traditional Aztec dance outfits which will also be showcased during the Cinco De Mayo Celebration.

ARARAT, Va. — One definition of a “jam session” is the informal playing and/or singing of improvised music without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements, which seems to describe the Willis Gap Community Center Open Jam pretty well.

It features regular Friday night gatherings of old-time , bluegrass, country and gospel performers wielding all-acoustic instruments in conforming to Appalachian traditions. This includes a session planned there this Friday, when the doors will open at 6 p.m. and the music is to begin at 7 p.m.

Musicians and singers of all skill levels are invited along with music fans.

In addition to the tunes rendered, dancing, food, fellowship and fun in a family friendly environment is offered, according to information from Mary Dellenback Hill, the secretary of the Willis Gap Community Center Board of Directors.

A kitchen at the center sells fresh slaw and chili for hot dogs, along with chips, cakes, candy, popcorn, soda, coffee, bottled water and hot chocolate. A 50-50 drawing also is part of the festivities.

The Willis Gap Community Center Open Jam originated in the mid-1990s, when groups of musicians would meet regularly at a local home.

Its growing popularity subsequently prompted a move of the jam sessions to the community center, located at 144 The Hollow Road in Ararat, where events are now slated each Friday night.

Along with providing entertainment, the gatherings are playing a historic role by helping to keep alive the music traditions of the region.

The Willis Gap open jam is an affiliated partner of The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail. It links various communities in Southwest Virginia, such as Willis Gap and Floyd, which are helping to preserve the traditional genre through regular performance sites and in other ways.

Also as part of its status as a living Patrick County historical project, the Willis Gap Community Center Open Jam serves as an exhibit for the Crossroads: Changes in Rural America program.

That effort is being made possible in Stuart, through the Reynolds Homestead Creative Arts Center there, by Virginia Humanities, formerly known as the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities — an organization promoting the civic, cultural and intellectual life of the state.

Crossroads: Changes in Rural America is part of Museum on Main Street, a partnership between the Smithsonian Institution and state humanities councils nationwide.

Among others involved are the Virginia Association of Museums, the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce, the county government and Virginia Tech.

Local musician Darrius Flowers has received a $5,000 grant for emerging artists from the NC Arts Council.

Executive Director of the Surry Arts Council Tanya B. Jones recommended that Flowers apply for this grant.

Despite not beginning to play music until February 2017, Flowers plays fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and bass. He also sings and does flat foot dancing.

“God has blessed me with the ability to pick up music quickly. While I’m mainly self-taught, I have had lessons through the TAPS program, and that’s how I got involved with the Surry Arts Council. When workshops became available through the Surry Arts Council, I took lessons from those instructors, and that helped me progress in music,” said Flowers. TAPS is short for the Traditional Arts Programs, a series of free music lessons the council provides to area youth.

Flowers was also the recipient of the Wayne Henderson Scholarship which allowed him to take private lessons from Jim Vipperman, a local musician TAPS teacher.

Flowers has always loved music. It has always been a part of him.

“I already had a love for music. I can’t recall a day where I haven’t listened to music. I can’t say what it was that made me want to start. I just knew I wanted to. There was something in me saying, ‘Let’s try playing the fiddle,’ and as they say, the rest is history,” said Flowers.

Flowers has already played in a variety of different live shows at the age of 18. He’s been playing live on and off for about three years. He plays with many different bands at the Autumn Leaves Festival and has performed at other festivals numerous times. He is also active in his church, playing and singing every Sunday.

“I hope to have my own recording studio for making albums for myself and others and writing my own songs. I also hope to start touring and playing music at locations around the world,” said Flowers.

This grant was given because of Flowers’ musical prowess, but Flowers is thankful for the Surry Arts Council helping him discover it.

“I am thankful the arts council reaches out to young people to learn how to play and carry on local traditional music. They also help young people to realize their dreams and are willing to help and to encourage them along the way,” said Flowers.

Applying for this grant was not an easy task for Flowers as he had to go through multiple stages and meet multiple different requirements.

“I submitted three different songs that I recorded. On one of those songs, I played all five instruments mentioned above, and sang lead and backup vocals,” said Flowers. “I had to respond to a lengthy questionnaire that detailed my music background and future goals. I was awarded the grant to help develop my songwriting and music production abilities.”

Flowers hopes to start his own recording studio with the money he received for the grant and one day his own radio station.

He continues to be a big part of the Surry Arts Council as well as continuing to play and make music.

“I would like to personally thank the TAPS program and everything they’ve done for me. I wish more kids would take advantage of the wonderful opportunities that the Surry Arts Council provides,” said Flowers.

The Surry Arts Council is partnering with comedian John Floyd — better known as The Mouth of Mayberry — in a new comedy club series featuring regular performances by Floyd and an open mic for local residents with a few jokes to share.

“John Floyd, known as ‘The Mouth of Mayberry,’ is a seasoned comedian who has entertained folks in all 50 states, as well as on the high seas,” the arts council said in announcing the series. “John has opened for legendary performers including Frankie Valli, Chubby Checker, and Martina McBride. With his family-friendly clean comedy, his show is guaranteed to give folks a night they won’t forget.”

Locally, area residents may recognize Floyd as a regular entertainer at Mayberry Days, as well as appearances in Mount Airy at other times.

The series will open on Thursday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. at the Historic Earle Theatre, 142 N. Main Street in Mount Airy. Tickets are available online at www.surryarts.org. Anyone wishing to participate doing a stand-up routine during the open mic session of the show should email Tyler Matanick tyler@surryarts.org in advance to ensure a place in the show.

The next performance in the series is set for Thursday, Dec. 2. Afterward, council officials hope to make the series a monthly event, or “as John’s schedule allows.”

For more information or tickets, visit www.surryarts.org, call 336-786-7998, or email tyler@surryarts.org. Tickets are $10 per person and may be purchased in advance or at the door prior to the show.

Sometimes when opportunity comes to call, it calls in the form of a giant chair turning around to reveal Blake Shelton or Kelly Clarkson choosing you for their team.

For local amateur singer Jackie May, that opportunity may be calling in the near future.

Virtual open calls for the twenty-second season of NBC’s singing reality show “The Voice” are beginning and May has been selected to participate in the auditions on Wednesday.

May has been signing around town at places such as the Mountain Man Auction House and Ayers Trading Post while also having lifted his voice in song at church as well. Now the lights will be a little brighter and the stage a bit bigger than one of his solo gigs on Pine Street.

“The Voice” audition is already a tough thing to achieve, with May reflecting that “a lot of people don’t get this opportunity.” So May has been practicing and getting ready for what will be an intense 90 seconds. In a short span, May will have to introduce himself, show off his southern charm and then dazzle the judges with a musical number of his choosing.

Picking the song is proving to be a difficult thing for May as there are so many choices.

“I am open to suggestions because I can’t really choose right now. I will definitely pray on it,” May said with a smile.

“I come from struggle and I’ve been told I wouldn’t accomplish anything,” May said. Shaking off the naysayers is not always an easy thing to do, but May is aiming to do just that. “Just go with your heart and prayers because some people will put you down but, like me, I’ve always gone by my heart and prayers.”

As the audition is growing nearer May is narrowing his song selection down to “Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)” from country group Alabama, or perhaps “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” made famous by the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

No matter what he picks, Jackie May is going to give it his all because he believes in himself. To those out there wondering if they have the right stuff to audition for a show like “The Voice” May advised, “If you start listening to what others say you will never know what may come out of life.”

“The Voice” airs on NBC and season 22 will premiere in 2022 with judges Kelly Clarkson, Arianna Grande, John Legend and all time winningest coach Blake Shelton.

The Surry Arts Council Summer Concert Series continues this week with two concerts at the Blackmon Amphitheatre.

On Friday the Carolina Soul Band will take to the stage at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, also at 7:30 p.m., the Will Jones Band will be in concert. Tickets will be on sale at the gates one hour prior to the concerts. Dairy Center and Thirsty Souls Community Brewing will be on hand with concessions.

Those attending are encouraged to take lounge or beach chairs or a blanket. For more information, visit www.surryarts.org

After a year-long COVID-19 related hiatus, the Surry Arts Council Summer Concert Series is returning with three shows at the end of April.

The popular series, which features regional and national musical acts in concert at the Blackmon Amphitheatre, has more than 50 shows on the slate for this year, a welcome return to normalcy for area fans after all 52 of last year’s concerts were cancelled.

But there will be a few corona virus-related restrictions this year, at least during the first three shows set for April 29-May 1.

The Embers featuring Craig Woolard will open the 2021 Summer Series at the Blackmon Amphitheatre on Thursday, April 29, followed by Legacy Motown Revue and Cat5 on Friday and Saturday of that weekend, all operating on a modified schedule.

“Due to COVID restrictions and guidelines, the arts council’s choice was to cancel opening weekend or open with a modified schedule and they chose the latter,” said the council’s Tanya Jones in a statement announcing the return of the series.

The modified schedule will include a 7 p.m. show and a 9 p.m. show each night during the first weekend. Patrons will choose which show they wish to attend each night. Gates for the 7 p.m. Early Show will open at 6 p.m. The Early Show audience will leave after the show ends at 8 p.m. and patrons for the 9 p.m. Late Show will be admitted.

“Season ticket holders will need to specify their preferred showtime in advance for the three opening weekend shows by emailing courtney@surryarts.org or calling 336-786-7998 and speaking with Lucas or Courtney,” Jones said in the statement. Others may purchase individual tickets online at www.surryarts.org for their preferred show times at these opening weekend shows or call or go by the Surry Arts Council office. If available, tickets will also be on sale at the gates but patrons are encouraged to get tickets in advance.

Patrons must follow CDC guidelines that include placing their chair groups six feet apart and wearing masks except when eating or drinking. Dancing must be limited to that space as well.

“The number per concert will be limited and we will be following state guidelines regarding the number per concert. Children will not be admitted free on the first weekend and will be guided by the same rules as adults.”

Legacy Motown Revue will play on Friday, April 30, following the same schedule and guidelines, as will the CAT5 band on Saturday, May 1.

”The arts council had a choice of cancelling the first weekend this year or trying this schedule and hoping that the Governor opens up outdoor venues at an increased capacity so that the remaining concerts can return to the regular schedule,” Jones said in the statement. “The arts council requests that patrons check Facebook.com/surryartscouncil for updates. “

She said many of the series’ past bands are returning along with some new ones. The Dairy Center and Thirsty Souls Community Brewing will be on hand for Summer Series concerts with hot dogs, sandwiches, snacks, beer, and wine available for purchase. No outside alcohol or coolers are permitted to be brought into the Amphitheatre area. There will be no exceptions.

Annual passes are on sale for $125 plus tax. In addition to the Summer Series, the Annual Pass also includes admission to the weekly WPAQ Merry-Go-Round at the Historic Earle Theatre.

Summer Series rack cards with the season schedule are available for pick up at the Surry Arts Council, the Historic Earle Theatre, and the Andy Griffith Museum. The series may also be accessed online at www.surryarts.org. Annual Passes are available online www.surryarts.org, at the Surry Arts Council office, 218 Rockford Street, or at the gates prior to shows. Individual tickets for the Summer Series shows are $15 plus tax. Patrons are asked to have correct change as gate staff will not have coins at the gates. Again, advance purchase for the first weekend is encouraged.

“The arts council is excited to be opening up the series and is grateful to all patrons as we work through this together,” she said.

For additional information on the Summer Series, contact Courtney Thompson at courtney@surryarts.org or call 336-786-7998.

Mount Airy police are investigating an incident involving shots being fired into a city residence earlier this week.

The shooting occurred shortly before 1:45 a.m. Monday at a house in the 1200 block of Brooklen Avenue, located east of U.S. 601 (Rockford Street) in the vicinity of Highland Park Baptist Church.

Two rounds were fired into a window of the single-family residence by an unknown party who then left the scene, according to Mount Airy Police Department reports.

No injuries resulted to two residents of the home who were there at the time: Peggy Owen McHone and Ronald Matthew Speaks.

However, damages totaling $250 occurred to a TCL television set inside the residence and the window that was shot into.

“We’re unsure as far as if it was a handgun or long gun,” Police Chief Dale Watson said of the weapon used in the shooting. “But we do believe it’s a small caliber.”

Police are continuing to investigate the incident, with no breakthroughs registered as of Tuesday afternoon.

“We’re trying to follow up with leads, but the leads are few and far between at this point,” Watson said.

The party responsible for the shooting would face charges of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling and discharging a firearm within the city limits if identified.

Monday’s incident marked the second case of someone shooting into an occupied residence in the same part of town within about a three-month period, although there has been no indication that these are related.

During the afternoon of Nov. 12, multiple shots were reported to have been fired into the residence of Tevon Jarmel Parsons on Grove Lane, which runs into Brooklen Lane, the scene of the shooting Monday.

Several persons inside the Grove Lane structure suffered lacerations as a result, none of which were life-threatening.

In the aftermath of that shooting, city police indicated a suspect had been identified, but no charges were reported.

A decades-long fixture in the Mount Airy and greater old-time music world soon will be returning after a COVID-19 hiatus.

WPAQ’s long-standing Merry-Go-Round live radio broadcast will return to the Historic Earle Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 24, with several performances, beginning at 11 a.m.

The performers at 11 a.m. are Surry Arts Council Ukulele Retreat musicians led by George Smith. Once the ukulele musicians are finished, The Java Brothers will take to the stage to entertain, from noon until 1:30 p.m.

A week later, on Halloween, the Merry-Go-Round will feature The Goodfellers at 11 a.m. and Flint Ridge from noon until 1:30 p.m.

“It will be great to get back live on the stage at the Earle with these favorite bluegrass and bluegrass/gospel bands,” said Jennie Lowry, a weekly host of the WPAQ Merry-Go-Round.

According to Tanya Jones, Surry Arts Council executive director, WPAQ and the Surry Arts Council are working together to safely and slowly reopen this popular weekly live broadcast. Masks and social distancing will be required and attendance will be limited to remain in compliance with state guidelines.

WPAQ Merry-Go-Round is the second-longest continuously running live radio broadcast in the nation, second only to the Grand Ole Opry. COVID-19 closed down the public performances earlier this year, and the Merry-Go-Round had to broadcast from the WPAQ Studio.

Admission to the Merry-Go-Round is $8 and can be purchased at the door. Admission to the Merry-Go-Round also includes admission to the Andy Griffith Museum at 218 Rockford Street and the Siamese Twins Exhibit.

Anyone holding a 2020 Surry Arts Council Annual Pass or Merry-Go-Round Annual Pass can use those for admission through Dec. 31. The weekly show runs from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each Saturday.

For additional information, www.surryarts.org or www.WPAQ740.com

The Rhonda Vincent and the Rage concert at the Historic Earle Theatre has been rescheduled for next year.

The concert will be held Friday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets purchased for the original show, which was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will still be valid for the March 2021 show.

A fifth-generation musician, Vincent’s career began at age 5, singing gospel songs with her family’s band, The Sally Mountain Show. Her father bought her a snare drum for her sixth birthday and at the age of 8 she started playing mandolin. She began guitar lessons at age 10 and later added fiddle.

Vincent released her first solo album in 1988 and followed with two more in the 1990s. In 2000, Vincent released the bluegrass album “Back Home Again” with the goal of expanding both the musical reach and accessibility of the genre. It was enormously successful and Vincent hasn’t looked back since.

The Rage is Hunter Berry on the fiddle, Brent Burke on dobro, Mickey Harris playing bass, Aaron McDavis on banjo and Josh Williams with the guitar. Rhonda Vincent and The Rage have been nominated for numerous Grammy Awards and won the 2017 Best Bluegrass Album. Vincent was named IBMA’s Female Vocalist of the Year an unprecedented seven consecutive times from 2000-2006 and won again in 2015; they have won the Entertainer of the Year award twice (2001 and 2013); and Vincent was part of three Recorded Events of the Year (2001, 2004, and 2008) in addition to many more IBMA awards.

The band has won 89 awards from the Society of Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America including multiple Female Vocalist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year awards, Album of the Year, and individual musician awards for the members of The Rage. Vincent was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry earlier this year.

Tickets are $35-$55 and are available online at www.surryarts.org. They will also be sold at the door, if any are available at that time. Those who have purchased tickets already and cannot attend may contact Courtney Thompson at Courtney@surryarts.org or 336-786-7998 for a refund.

We love to see the soft side of tough guys. Therefore it’s a successful formula for action heroes to star in movies where they are babysitting kids. Nothing like seeing cute li’l kids getting the best of towering musclebound hulks. Yes, some big stars allow this self-deprecating humor in return for a big paycheck.

Here are the Top Ten Tough-Guy Babysitter Movies:

10. “Three Men and a Baby” (1987) – What’s better than one though guy and a kid? Three, of course. Tom Selleck, Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg star in this comedy about three eligible bachelors who wind up caring for a baby. It’s not as off-the-wall as this genre would soon become.

9. “Kindergarten Cop” (1990) – Arnold Schwarzenegger is the perfect foil for pre-school kids. Watching his frustration with children in this action comedy reminds you that muscles don’t help much when dealing with an unruly classroom.

8. “Cop and a Half” (1993) – A buddy comedy where Burt Reynolds plays a cop who takes an 8-year-old boy (Norman D. Golden. II) on a ride-along. Zaniness ensues.

7. “Mr. Nanny” (1993) – Wrestler Hulk Hogan plays an oversized babysitter whose wards set traps Home-Alone-style to get him to leave.

6. “The Pacifier (2005) – Muscleman Vin Diesel plays babysitter, armed with juice boxes instead of guns.

5. “Are We There Yet?” (2005) – Ice Cube takes on the role of a guy who goes on a road trip with two bratty kids to impress their mom. Bad move.

4. “The Game Plan” (2007) – Following in Hulk Hogan’s footsteps, wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson plays a football MVP who dresses up in a tutu to entertain the daughter he never knew he had.

3. “The Spy Next Door” (2010) – Chopsocky star Jackie Chan has clever moves as a retired spy who protects kids from Russian spies with a frying pan.

2. “Playing with Fire” (2019) – Another wrestler, John Cena, is cast as a firefighter who must look after three kids he saves from a burning building.

1. “My Spy” (2020) – Newly released, this latest foray into the tough guys vs. kids arena gives us Dave Bautista as a CIA agent whose cover is blown by a 9-year-old girl.

Needless to say, all of these unlike pairings are comedies. My favorite that’s not on the list? “Adventures in Babysitting” (1987) with that tough gal Elisabeth Shue.

Shirrel Rhoades, a Wilkesboro native, is a former vice president of Marvel Comics and present owner of the publishing house Absolutely Amazing ebooks. He writes movies reviews from his home in Key West, Florida.

With movie houses closed down and social distancing in full force, what do movie lovers do? We turn to streaming videos on TV. My 65-inch 4K high-def smart television is pumped up with dozens of apps offering Netflix, Amazon Prime, AT&T TV Now, Acorn, Britbox, Pluto, HBO Now, Comedy Central, Amazing Classics, Disney +, and several others.

You may not have as many on your TV set, but it’s easy to subscribe to Netflix or Hulu, or buy an Amazon Firestick or whatever.

And the studios are moving those feature films that were in theaters directly to TV. On Amazon Prime, I can watch “Upward” or “Emma” or “The Hunt” just as if they were playing at the Regal or Carmack or your local emporium. The price is about the same as two movie tickets or sometimes half as much or other times free.

So, this week I decided to take a critical look at “Parasite,” (original title: “Gisaengchung”), the South Korean film written and directed by Bong Joon Ho. It’s notable since it won this year’s Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature. I found it on Prime, Apple TV, Fandingo, and several other services for $5.99 – all I had to do was pop my own kettle corn and press the red button on my remote.

“Parasite” has subtitles, having been filmed in Korea. You might call it a drama or black comedy or thriller. Even a horror film. But the concept grabs you, f’sure.

There’s an echo of “Heartbreakers” or “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” – con men out to pull a fast one.

In this case, it’s a lower-class family (son, daughter, dad, mom) who ingratiate themselves intro the household of a wealthy family. With forged papers Kevin gets a job as an English tutor, recommends his sister Jennifer as an art therapist, sets up the family’s chauffer to get Dad the job, bamboozles the family into hiring Mom as housekeeper. All is well; everybody is happy. Our family of tricksters are living large. And the wealthy family is pleased with the great service that makes their life easier.

However, things go awry when the old housekeeper returns to reveal a secret.

No spoilers here, but blood will flow.

I’d put this into the same category as Jordan Poole’s “Get Out,” a family setting where something is off kilter, danger lurking just below the surface.

Will you like it? The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences did. So, did the judges at Cannes, awarding it the Palm d’Or. It also scored win with the Golden Globes, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild.

What’s not to like?

… other than you had to see it at home and not in a plush theater seat.

They say there are no new ideas, and “The Hunt” proves the point. If you’ve ever seen “The Most Dangerous Game” on Turner Classic Movies” you’ll know what I mean.

In 1932 Joel McCrae starred in a film based on a short story called “The Most Dangerous Game,” the frightening tale about big game hunters on an island who hunt humans for sport.

And then in 1993 Jean-Claude Van Damme starred in “Hard Target,” a film about ruthless businessmen who arrange the hunting of homeless men as a form of recreational sport.

Now, in this latest incarnation titled “The Hunted,” 12 strangers mysteriously wake up in a clearing with no idea how they got there or where they might be. As they soon discover, a group of rich hunters in a nearby manor house have chosen them as the prey in a hunt.

Needless to say, one of the hunted fights back – or else there wouldn’t be much of a story here.

Betty Gilpin (TV’s “GLOW”) is the feisty blonde who won’t give in. She does some pretty deadly hunting herself.

The cast includes some better-known names: Emma Roberts, Amy Madigan, and Hilary Swank.

This is another horror film from Jason Blum, the guy who gave you “The Purge,” “Get Out,” “Us,” and the new “Halloween.”

The original title for the film was “Red State Vs. Blue State,” and the hunters referred to the hunted as “deplorables.” But given the divisive nature of today’s politics, someone thought better of it and changed the name.

At an early audience screening, “The Hunted” received negative reactions, and at a second screening “audience members were again expressing discomfort with the politics.”

Universal, the studio that released the film, feigned surprise at the audience’s turn-off by the political overtones – although other studios had turned down making the film for that very reason.

Even Donald Trump tweeted about the film, saying: “The movie coming out is made in order to inflame and cause chaos,” adding “They create their own violence, and then try to blame others.”

However, The Atlantic and National Review argued that the film actually had a “right-wing, anti-liberal tone” that was misinterpreted by conservative critics of the film.

Rotten Tomatoes comes closer to the truth when it describes “The Hunt” as a “darkly humorous action thriller, but it shoots wide of the mark when it aims for timely social satire.”

In short, you can see “The Hunt” through either a red filter or a blue filter, depending on your personal politics.

It sounds like a novel by John D. MacDonald, but this heist film is actually based on a 1971 book by MacDonald’s contemporary, Charles Willeford.

“The Burnt Orange Heresy” is an elegant and erotic noir-ish caper in which a suave art critic and a cool blonde set out to steal the paintings of a reclusive artist.

Danish actor Claes Bang masters a vague British accent and clothes himself in a “Cary-Grant-on-vacation” wardrobe as he teams up with an enigmatic drifter (played by French-born Elizabeth Debicki). Shortly after meeting at a lecture in Milan where the critic convinces his audience that a mediocre painting is a masterpiece, they hop into bed. The chemistry is great between these two con artists.

Bang and Debicki engage in lots of clever banter before the plot turns dark.

They travel to a posh estate on Lake Como to meet with a noted art collector (played by British rocker Mick Jagger) in hopes of securing an interview with a legendary-but-elusive artist (played by Canadian Donald Sutherland). The goal is to rob the painter.

Willeford’s novel has been relocated from Miami to Italy, not surprising since this Italian-American thriller was directed by Italian-born Giuseppe Capotondi. He was trying to channel Hitchcock, it seems. Think: “To Catch a Thief.”

Charles Willeford’s writing career began with eight pulp paperbacks in the ‘50s and early ‘60s. In them, he fashioned his own brand of hard-boiled prose.

After retiring from the Air Force in 1956, Willeford held jobs as a professional boxer, actor, horse trainer, and radio announcer. He studied painting in France and Peru, returning to the US to get a Master’s Degree in Literature at the University of Miami. His writings focused on noir fiction about hardboiled detectives and down-and-out losers.

In all, Willeford wrote more than two dozen books, not counting collections, novella, and the like.

“The Burnt Orange Heresy” is considered his best noir novel, something of a satire on the art world. As a caper film, I’d put it right up there with “The Thomas Crown Affair.”

Charles Willeford was a master storyteller. But his knowledge of painting comes across in this plot. And in the title.

It’s a common trope for a moviegoer to quip “The book was better.” But sometimes a movie gets it right.

We got to thinking of the ten best movies based on books – and just to make sure we were on the right track consulted with Bookbub, an expert on the subject. Here is their list:

10. “Doctor Zhivago” (1965) – David Lean’s sweeping film is faithful to Boris Pasternak’s plot. With the Russian Revolution as the backdrop, we get a touching love story between Zhivago (Omar Sharif) and the married Lara (Julie Christie).

9. “Persepolis” (2007) – Bringing the Irani8an Revolution to life, this black-and-white animation is based on Marjane Sastrapi autobiographical novel.

8. “Forrest Gump” (1994) – This picaresque saga about a simpleton (Tom Hanks) was based on the novel by Winston Grooms.

7. “Sense and Sensibility” (1995) – Directed by Ang Lee, this Jane Austen adaptation tells of two British sisters (Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet) who find themselves destitute.

6. “The Remains of the Day” (1993) – James Ivory’s direction of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel told from the viewpoint of the English butler (Anthony Hopkins).

5. “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) – L. Frank Baum’s imaginative novel about Dorothy (Judy Garland) and her dog Toto’s adventures somewhere over the rainbow was mainly directed by Victor Fleming.

4. “The Color Purple” (1985) – Alice Walker’s novel was turned into a stellar movie by Stephen Spielberg, thanks to a wonderful ensemble black cast (Oprah Winfrey et al.).

3. “Little Women” (2019) – Greta Gerwig makes her mark with this masterful adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age story about the March sisters (Saoirse Ronan and other).

2. “The Godfather” (1972, 1974) – Francis Ford Coppola transformed Mario Puzo’s novel into the ultimate gangster saga (with Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, among others).

1. “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962) – Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a Southern lawyer (Gregory Peck) and his children becomes one of the best films ever made under the steady hand of Robert Mulligan.

Runner-ups included “The Princess Bride” and “Hidden Figures.”

How about your list? Read any good movies lately?

As a boy I read “The Call of the Wild,” Jack London’s 1903 novel about a dog named Buck. Stolen and sold as a Yukon sled dog, Buck shakes off “the veneer of civilization, and relies on primordial instinct and learned experience to emerge as a leader in the wild.”

It’s a thrilling story.

At playtime I used to reenact parts of this tale about the Klondike Gold Rush with my docile cocker spaniel, Shanango. Very happy to have a home with steady meals, my dog didn’t quite get the “call of the wild” part.

Now Harrison Ford – between his last “Star Wars” movie and next “Raiders of the Lost Ark” movie – is acting out the Jack London story in a new adventure film.

The book has been adapted to the screen many times before – starring (or narrated by) such names as Clark Gable, Charlton Heston, Richard Dreyfuss, Rick Schroder, Christopher Lloyd, and Rutger Hauer.

This latest version is the first live-action film to be directed by Chris Sanders (“Lilo & Stitch,” “How to Train Your Dragon”) — if you can describe a film starring a computer-animated dog as “live.”

But you can certainly put an emphasis on action. This gritty, sub-zero outing involves wolves, trappers, mountainous terrain, icy waters, packs of sled dogs, and grizzly bears.

A white-bearded, grizzled Harrison Ford plays a prospector named John Thornton who crosses paths with the big-hearted dog.

Mostly a CGI creation, Buck was modeled after a pooch named Buckley that the director’s wife adopted from a shelter in Kansas. Buckley is a cross between a St. Bernard and a Scotch Shepherd (a herding dog similar to a border collie), the same mixed breed as Buck in Jack London’s book. This is the first film to correctly reflect the dog’s breed.

Harrison Ford says, “I don’t have to be a leading man anymore.” At 77, he’s happy to play supporting actor to a dog.

He was always a reluctant superstar, he tells us. “I think of the people that go to my movies more as customers than I do as fans. ‘Fans’ feels kind of weird to me, always has.”

This is the first film released by Disney since it bought Fox. The new logo drops “Fox,” branding it as 20th Century Pictures. Ironically, a 1935 version of “The Call of the Wild” was the last film released by 20th Century Pictures before it merged with Fox.

What is old is new again.

This film was not shot on location. CGI technology has turned the Los Angeles studios and environs of Santa Clara, California, into the frozen Yukon. You can thank Moving Picture Company (MPC) of Montreal for the great computer graphics work.

Actor and stunt coordinator Terry Notary was the stand-in for the CGI creation of Buck.

As the studio says, “In the grand scheme of things, it’s probably best to make a movie like ‘The Call of the Wild’ with a digital dog. For one thing, since the dog is pretty much the main character, making him animated allows the filmmakers to better to control him. There’s no need to hire animal trainers and several different dogs just to get things done. And there’s the added factor of safety: having a digital dog ensures that a real animal (or animals) won’t end up exploited, or injured, or abused (even by accident).

Jack London wrote another book titled “White Fang.” As he explained in a letter to his publisher, this book was “Not a sequel to ‘Call of the Wild.’ But a companion to it.”

If 20th Century Pictures decides to do a second film, it won’t have to inconvenience septuagenarian Harrison Ford. It can easily render both Ford and the dog as CGI. Who needs live actors anymore?

“Ze Plane, ze plane!” Those words always signaled the start of another episode of “Fantasy Island,” the TV show than ran on ABC-TV from 1977 to 1984.

That was 3-foot-11 Hervé Villechaize shouting to Ricardo Montalbán that this week’s guest stars were arriving, about to begin a warm-and-fuzzy adventure. Here on this palm-covered island in the middle of the Pacific, guests were granted their “fantasies” for a price.

Now Blumhouse Productions has turned the television show into a feature-length movie.

Keep in mind, Jason Blum has given us such shutter-worthy fare as “Ouija: Origin of Evil,” “Happy Death Day,” “Halloween,” “Get Out,” and “Us.” So don’t be surprised that “Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island” is a horror film.

Instead of friendly visitors like Georgia Engels or Ed Begley Jr. or Bernie Kopell, the island is now inhabited by more sinister characters.

Michael Peña takes on the role of Mr. Roarke, the enigmatic host. There is no Tattoo in this movie version.

Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, Austin Stowell, Portia Doubleday, and Jimmy O. Yang are among the movie’s lesser-known cast.

The story is a simple frightfest: Mr. Roarke makes the secret dreams of his lucky guests come true. But when the fantasies turn into nightmares, the guests have to solve the island’s mystery in order to escape with their lives.

Shot in Taveuni, Fiji, the setting is a real fantasy island.

But don’t go there if you don’t want a good scare.

As the movie’s trailer says, “I hope you’re ready.”

“When you watch the movie,” says Michael Peña, “it’s gonna be about a bunch of beautiful young smart people doing dumb things.”

In the TV series. Mr. Roarke would warn guests requesting a particularly risky fantasy that he was powerless to stop the adventure once it had begun and that they must allow the fantasy to play out until its ultimate conclusion.

Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected folk tales, which they published in two volumes called “Children’s and Household Tales.” You heard many of these cautionary stories as a child – “The Frog Prince,” “Rapunzel,” “Cinderella,” and “Hansel and Gretel,” among them.

The first recorded version of the Hansel and Gretel story is Wilhelm Grimm’s hand-written manuscript from 1810.

Now, it’s been made into a movie with the flipflopped title, “Gretel & Hansel.”

“It’s awfully faithful to the original story,” says Osgood “Oz” Perkins, the film’s director and co-writer of the screenplay.

Perkins explains that the title was reversed because this telling focuses more on Gretel.

“We tried to find a way to make it more of a coming-of-age story. I wanted Gretel to be somewhat older than Hansel, so it didn’t feel like two twelve-year-olds – rather a sixteen-year-old and an eight-year-old. There was more of a feeling like Gretel having to take Hansel around everywhere she goes, and how that can impede one’s own evolution, how our attachments and the things that we love can sometimes get in the way of our growth.”

In truth, Perkins has given us more of a horror film. Here, a young girl (Sophia Lillis) leads her little brother (Sam Leakey) into a dark wood to search for food, “only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil.” That would be the wicked witch (Alice Krige).

“Hansel and Gretel” has always been seen as a cautionary tale. But as my old friend Dr. Bruno Bettelheim wrote in his book “The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales,” that these stories deal “with oral and oedipal conflicts, with violent and phallic fantasies, with fear of sexuality or castration, with humiliation, self-destruction and separation anxiety.”

Fairy tales – or horror stories?

They can be both, Dr. Bettelheim told me.

“Children need fairy tales,” he said. “Fairy tales help children cope with the psychological problems of growing up.”

I had the opportunity of hearing Bruno Bettelheim’s Freudian analysis of fairy tales first hand. The late doctor served on two different advisory boards for me, first at Cricket Magazine, later at Scholastic.

He once confided to me that “Hansel and Gretel” was his favorite fairy tale. He saw it as a story about parental separation anxiety and the journey from childhood to adulthood.

The children make the mistake of taking a bite out of the witch’s gingerbread house. “Hansel and Gretel soon learn that there are dangers to gluttony and they are in danger because they can’t control their urges,” he said. “Part of becoming an adult is overcoming unhealthy urges.”

Most horror films are disturbing and bloody. But Oz Perkins says he wanted to make a movie that was mournful at its core.

“Mournful sadness is very real,” he points out.

So he created a PG13 film that “younger audiences will be intrigued by. Someone doesn’t need to be lunging at the camera for it to be really scary.”

Oz Perkins knows the horror genre. As an actor, he starred as young Norman Bates in “Psycho II.” There he was stepping into his father’s shoes. Anthony Perkins scared the pants off us in the original “Psycho.”

As the late Bruno Bettelheim said, “Each fairy tale is a magic mirror which reflects some aspects of our inner world, and of the steps required by our evolution from immaturity to maturity.”

Maybe so. At 45, Oz Perkins feels like he’s finally growing up. “I’m just starting to have an impact now as a writer and director,” he says.

You know Guy Ritchie even if you think you don’t. He’s the British film director who used to be married to Madonna. You’ve bought tickets to some of his hit movies – “Sherlock Holmes” with Robert Downey Jr. and Disney’s live-action “Aladdin” with Will Smith. But he’s best known to his hardcore fans for his gangster films.

This time around Ritchie set out to make another rock-em-sock-em crime action in-your-face tongue-in-cheek caper comedy gangster film with much of the same vibe as his previous cult classics, “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch.”

This one he calls “The Gentleman.” But in it, he takes the gloves off.

I remember being dragged by my friend Terry Stewart to see “Snatch” back when I didn’t know who Guy Ritchie was. At the time Terry was vice chairman of Marvel Comics and he knew his pop culture. “This guy is good,” he said of Guy Ritchie. “He’s going to be a big deal.”

In it, we have Matthew McConaughey as a former Rhodes Scholar trying to sell his British-based marijuana-growing empire to some unsavory characters.

Mickey Pearson (McConaughey) hopes to do business with an American billionaire (Jeremy Strong) but the deal goes awry when a newspaper baron (Eddie Marson) hires a private eye (Hugh Grant) to dig up dirt on Mickey after being snubbed by him. This involves a heroin-addicted daughter (Eliot Sumner) of an impoverished British Lord (Samuel West) who rents out his castle to Mickey as a pot farm.

Things take a twist when a Chinese gangster (Tom Wu) sends in his henchman (Henry Golding) to make a counter offer. Next thing you know, a gang of amateur boxers led by their coach (Colin Farrell) raids the farm, Mickey’s wife (Michelle Dockery) is attacked, his right-hand man (Charlie Hunnam) steps into the fray…and lots of people die.

“This is a return to my roots,” says Guy Ritchie.

He adds, “It’s a good cast … I didn’t have to explain things to them. They got the joke.”

I talk to animals. But my cat rarely answers back. I don’t seem to have the linguistic abilities of Dr. Dolittle.

As a kid, I used to read the Dr. Dolittle books by Hugh Lofting. There were about 15 of them. The illustrations made the good doctor look more like Stubby Kaye in a top hat than Rex Harrison or Eddie Murphy or — now — Robert Downey Jr.

As you’ll recall, if you read the books or saw the movies, Dr. John Dolittle was a “doctor who shuns human patients in favor of animals, with whom he can speak in their own languages.”

And you’ll likely remember Rex Harrison singing “Talk to the Animals,” the song that won an Oscar at the 40th Academy Awards in 1968. That having become Dr. Dolittle’s “signature song,” it was used again in Eddie Murphy’s 1998 remake (Louis Armstrong sings it during the end credits).

Here we have a remake of a remake. Having wrapped up his successful run as Marvel’s Iron Man, Downy Jr. has gone to the dogs. And cats. And ostriches. And giraffes. As the new incarnation of Dr. Dolittle, he speaks their language.

Downey takes on the title role. His live-action co-stars include Antonio Banderas as the king of pirates and Martin Sheen as Dolittle’s nemesis.

The lifelike CGI animals are voiced by Emma Thompson (a macaw), Rami Malek (a gorilla), John Cena (a polar bear), Octavia Spencer (a duck), Ralph Fiennes (a tiger), Selena Gomez (a giraffe) and Tom Holland (as a dog who wears glasses), among others.

The film’s working title was “The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle.” It’s mostly based on the Hugh Lofting book of the same name, the second in the popular series.

In it, Dolittle (Downey) “becomes a hermit, hiding himself away behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor, with only his menagerie of animals for company. But when Queen Victoria falls gravely ill, a reluctant Dolittle is forced to set sail on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure.”

The fantasy adventure film’s release was delayed from last May to now. Trying to get it right, director-writer Stephen Gaghan went back for 21 more days of expensive reshoots when audience test scores didn’t ring any bells. The tinkering better matched up the comedy with the animation, Gaghan says. He’s happy with the final results.

Downey Jr. tells us he got the inspiration to do this movie about a veterinarian who prefers animals to people because he lives on a ranch that was an old dog-and-cat rescue in Malibu, where he’s surrounded by alpacas, pigs, goats and chickens. “And it was like, oh, you know what? Maybe there’s something there.”

As the movie’s tagline aptly says, “He’s not just a people person.”

If you’re a horror fan, you’ve probably seen “Ju-On: The Grudge,” a 2002 Japanese film written and directed by Takashi Shimizu.

This genre is known as J-Horror, noted for its focus on psychological fear, building tension and such supernatural elements as ghosts (yurei) and poltergeists.

“Ju-On” not only launched a spate of scary films in Japan, it spawned an American series also. Starting off in 2004 with “The Grudge,” there have been three films in the U.S. franchise.

Now there’s a new one, also titled “The Grudge.” It was meant to reboot the American series, starting fresh. But it wound up being a “sidesequel,” taking place concurrently with the events of the three other films.

Thus, in effect, this is the fourth film in Hollywood’s “The Grudge” franchise.

Here, a supernatural curse created by the violent murder of a housewife in Japan goes abroad. A nurse (Tara Westwood) returns to a small town in Pennsylvania after seeing a couple of ghosts in Tokyo. Little does she know she’s carrying the virus-like curse of the Grudge. Going mad, she kills her family.

The detectives investing the murders (Demián Bichir Nájera and William Sadler) also are touched by the curse; as are the real estate agents (John Cho and Betty Gilpin) who are trying to sell the house where the murders took place. So are the new owners of the property (Frankie Falson and Lin Shaye).

No, it doesn’t stop there. A rookie detective and her son (Andrea Riseborough and John J. Hansen) find themselves infected by the curse when they move to the town.

No spoiler alerts needed; you know a horror film is not going to turn out well for the people in it. That’s what makes it a horror film.

Being that this is a J-Horror film, the plot is not linear. It’s as though director Nicolas Pesce put his self-scribed story into a blender and turned it to high.

“That’s something baked into every ‘Grudge’ movie,” says Pesce. “It’s always multiple storylines. The franchise itself is an anthology, but even within each movie it’s an anthology. The nature of the curse is that it spreads to everyone who touches this house, so you have so many stories of people who’ve just interacted with this thing.”

Pesce’s 2016 debut, “The Eyes of My Mother,” scared audiences with its horrifying premise and esoteric construction. His 2018 follow-up, “Piercing,” was in some ways even weirder, what’s been called “a kinky marriage of Italian giallo to Japanese horror.”

For this new version of “The Grudge” Pesce teamed up with producer Sam Rami of Ghost House Productions. Not only has Rami given us such films as “Evil Dead” and “Spider-Man,” he also produced that 2004 U.S. edition of “The Grudge.” Turns out, Rami had been searching for a new director “whose vision could reimagine the franchise for modern audiences.”

He picked the right man.

Pesce agrees. “There was just no way I was going to make an easy, fun ‘Grudge’ movie,” he says. “It was always going to be this intense, brutalist sort-of nightmare.”

That pretty well describes it – although Pesce rejects the J-Horror attribution.

“J-Horror had such a splash in America in the early 2000s … a lot of the imagery and stylistic notions have been spoofed so many times that they’ve become a different thing. … There are 12 ‘Grudge’ movies out there. If you like J-Horror, go watch one of them.”

As for this new take? “I wanted to take all the folklore from my town growing up, stories and rumors, and put a Grudge-y spin on it … What resulted was this really charming, super realistic ghost story.”

You saw the story play out on the evening news. You saw the TV movie starring Russell Crowe. So, why bother to see another telling of Fox TV honcho Roger Ailes’s fall from grace?

Well, the casting if reason enough.

Here, we have John Lithgow in full-blubber makeup as Ailes. Charlize Theron is a dead ringer for Megan Kelly. Nicole Kidman channels Gretchen Carlson. And Margot Robbie as a composite character called Kayla Pospisil.

Plus, we encounter Malcolm McDowell as Rupert Murdoch, Ben and Josh Lawson as Murdoch’s sons, Spencer Garrett as Sean Hannity, Marc Evan Jackson as Chris Wallace, P.J. Bryne as Neil Cavuto, Tricia Helfer as Alisyn Camerota, Allana Ubach as Judge Jeanine Pirro, and Richard Kind as Rudy Giuliani.

Also, a supporting cast that includes Allison Janney, Kate McKinnon, Mark Duplass, Connie Britton, Holland Taylor and Stephen Root.

Despite the dazzling lineup of stars, there’s a message here worth repeating. It’s as old as Greek Tragedy — how hubris brings about a fall from grace.

This familiar story recounts the series of sexual allegations against Ailes by Fox News personnel. In addition to settling a lawsuit with Fox News anchor Carlson, the company reportedly made separate settlements with at least two other women who made complaints about Ailes.

Think of the film as a remnant of the #metoo movement. The title comes from the explosive nature of the events, the toppling of Ailes, CEO of Fox News and the Fox Television Stations Group.

This was a biggie, perhaps larger than Harvey Weinstein, Louis C.K., Kevin Spacey and Matt Lauer put together. A major media figure, Ailes molded Fox News into one of the most powerful, influential television networks in history. A diehard conservative, he acted as a consultant to Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Rudy Giuliani and Donald J. Trump.

On July 21, 2016, Ailes resigned from Fox News, receiving a $40 million exit package. He passed away the following year at 77.

Ailes once said, “I don’t care about my legacy. It’s too late. My enemies will create it, and they’ll push it.”

But maybe he created it himself.

Jingle, bells. Jingle bells. It’s that time of year again – Christmas! A colorful swirl of sugar plums and light-strung fir trees and flying reindeer and glowing nativity scenes and fat, jolly old elves. And holiday movies to put us in the mood.

I’ve compiled my Top 10 Christmas movies list before, but tastes changes, reappraisals are made and my lists shift slightly. So here is this year’s list:

10) “Holiday Inn” (1942) — OK, parts of this Bing Crosby-Fred Astaire classic may be un-PC by today’s standards. But it still puts me in the holiday mood to hear Der Bingle crooning “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” At this point we will also throw in “White Christmas” (1954), not perfect, but perfectly touching when Crosby and company sing the title song.

9) “A Christmas Carol” — This too will be a catch-all for Scrooge movies. I prefer the 1951 British version with Alastair Sim, a telling that follows the Charles Dickens story closely. Here, we also will add the cartoon versions “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” (a 1983 short) and “Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol” (1962). Then we’ll top it off with “Scrooged,” an updated version featuring a grumpy Bill Murray.

8) “Home Alone 1 & 2” (1990, 1992) — Yeah, I’m a sucker for cute kids who thwart burglars at Christmastime. Macaulay Culkin was born to play the role of an overlooked child with a resourceful nature.

7) “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989) — Family at its worst and Christmas at its best in this Chevy Chase comedy classic. I want to light up my house like the Griswold home … but with less chaos!

6) “Christmas in Connecticut” (1945) — Barbara Stanwyck finds love with Dennis Morgan during the holidays while passing herself off as a Martha Stewart-type homemaker. I love the Connecticut setting and romance blooming in a horse-drawn sleigh.

5) “The Bishop’s Wife” (1947) — Cary Grant is a suave angel in this inspirational holiday story. I love Cary’s skating scene with Loretta Young, David Niven’s indignance,and the rediscovery of belief.

4) “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947) — Proof that Santa is real. And Edmund Gwenn won an Oscar to confirm it. While we’re at it, let’s throw in “The Shop Around the Corner” (1940), another classic about gift-giving and love at Christmastime.

3) “Love, Actually” (2003) — This modern British classic takes place during the Christmas holidays. With a great repertory cast (Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, et al.), it is, in fact, several intertwined love stories that will make your heart sing: “I feel it in my fingers/ I feel it in my toes/ Christmas is all around me/ and so the feeling grows.”

2) “A Christmas Story” (1983) — Based on Jean Shepherd’s memoirs, this movie captures the nostalgia of childhood at Christmastime like no other. Ralphie wants to find a Red Ryder air rifle under his tree but everybody warns, “You’ll shoot your eye out!” What’s a boy to do to get on Santa’s list?

1) “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) — How can you not love Frank Capra’s holiday tale about George Baily, a man who wished he’d never been born … until an angel-in-training shows him what life in tiny Bedford Falls would have been like without him. If you don’t cry at the end — when George is surrounded by all the lives he changed – and an angel gets its wings — then you might need to take up residence in Pottersville.

We cheated, squeezing in some 15 Christmas movies. Even so, there wasn’t enough room for many other favorites — like “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (the 1966 Boris Karloff version), Tim Burton’s “A Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993), and “The Polar Express” (2004) with lovable Tom Hanks. No, “Bad Santa” (2003) didn’t make the list … but it’s still naughty but nice.

We’ve deliberately ignored those trillion Hallmark Christmas movies in that they were made for TV. And the annual television showing of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

That aside, have you got a favorite Christmas movie to add to my overstuffed stocking?

With “Ford v Ferrari” burning rubber on movie screens, we got to thinking about racing films.

First, let’s disqualify all those “Fast & Furious” movies in that they are about street racers. And we will likewise eliminate movies like “Bullitt” and “Vanishing Point,” because car chases don’t qualify as official track events. We have included NASCAR stories as well as Formula 1 epics.

So here are the Top 10 movies that made it across our finishing line:

10) “Speedway” (1929) — We’ll start with an oldie, this late-period silent movie starring William Haines as a wannabe racing driver who hopes to win the Indianapolis 500 and woo flapper Anita Page in the process. The landmark film features scenes shot at the actual Indy 500, and cameo appearances from racing drivers of the day.

9) “Stoker Ace” (1983) — “Cannonball Run” aside, this Burt Reynolds action comedy features him wearing a chicken suit for a sponsor of his NASCAR bid. But the underlying theme is about “winning at all costs.”

8) “Red Line 7000” (1965) — Director Howard Hawks swaps his usual westerns for a speedway movie. James Caan stars in this story of three drivers and their girlfriends waiting at trackside. Fake-looking racing scenes mar this otherwise OK film.

7) “Driven” (2001) — Sly Stallone plays a former racing star brought in to coach a talented but hot-headed rookie driver. An oft-overlooked movie, but it’s worth a viewing for racing fans.

6) “Winning” (1969) — In real life actor Paul Newman drove for the Bob Sharp Racing Team for nearly 20 years, co-founded his own IndyCar series team, and was still competing at a high level just a year before his death in 2008. He developed his love for the sport after being trained as a racer for director James Goldstone’s Indy 500 film “Winning.”

5) “Senna” (2010) — Ayrton Senna was a Brazilian Formula 1 phenom whose short career is documented in period footage, from his time in karts to the drama between him and Alain Prost.

4) “Grand Prix” (1966) — Director John Frankenheimer used genuine on-track footage provided by a rig attached to the side of a camera car that captured the 180-mph footage of the Monaco Grand Prix. Star James Garner was a dedicated racer in real life, too.

3) “Le Mans” (1971) — A Steve McQueen classic, the footage was shot during 1970’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. McQueen fit into his Porsche 911 as easily as he did his Ford Mustang GT Fastback in “Bullitt.” A true racing buff, when I interviewed the actor back in 1968 all he wanted to talk about was car racing.

2) “Days of Thunder” (1990) — Noted for introducing future husband-and-wife Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, this racing film was directed by Tony Scott. Cruise exudes a brooding star quality as the stock-car racing driver who must “learn how to control something that’s out of control.”

1) “Rush” (2013) — Director Ron Howard focused on the rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt during the 1976 Formula 1 season. Emphasizing the dangers of the sport, it included real footage of Niki Lauda’s Nürburgring crash, which left him disfigured for life.

So, you ask, where is Pixar’s “Cars” or “Speed Racer”? C’mon, get real. Those are cartoons, not a rubber-burning, gears-gnashing lap around a speedway track.

I met Fred Rogers at an American Library Conference. Having watched “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” on TV for years, I recognized the lanky, almost shy man at a distance. He stopped by the booth I was manning for Cricket, the Magazine for Children to say hello. (I helped launch the publication back in the mid-1970s.)

Fred Rogers was warm and friendly, with the same delicate mannerisms you saw on TV. He put his arm around my shoulders as if I were an old friend from the neighborhood. His smile was wide as he talked about children and his fondness for his youthful audience.

His preschool television series ran from ran from 1968 to 2001. He won a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 1997 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1999. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.

Inspired by a 1998 Esquire article — “Can You Say … Hero?” — by Tom Junod, the film follows a fictional Esquire reporter as he interviews Mr. Rogers. Cynical and skeptical, the reporter expects to unmask the television icon’s goody two-shoes facade, but the encounter transforms his perspective on life to a more positive one.

Yes, it’s a pretty flattering profile of Fred McFeely Rogers. You might get a sugar high from seeing the film.

Nonetheless, there are two reasons you’ll want to buy a ticket: 1) because you grew up watching “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood;” and 2) because it stars Tom Hanks as Rogers.

Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks (“Forrest Gump,” “Philadelphia”) is almost as beloved as the character he plays. And he slips into the role as easily as Mr. Rogers slipped into his red cardigan sweater. When he invites, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” you’ll be nodding your head.

And Matthew Rhys (you’ll remember him as the duplicitous Russian spy in TV’s “The Americans”) is properly jaundiced as the Esquire journalist.

Notable cameos include family and friends of Fred Rogers — his wife, Joanne, Mr. McFeely actor David Newell, Family Communications chief Bill Isler and TV show producer Margy Whitmer.

As Jarod sums up the movie: “A long time ago, a man of resourceful and relentless kindness saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. He trusted me when I thought I was untrustworthy, and took an interest in me that went beyond my initial interest in him. He was the first person I ever wrote about who became my friend, and our friendship endured until he died.

“Now a movie has been made from the story I wrote about him, which is to say ‘inspired by’ the story I wrote about him, which is to say that in the movie my name is Lloyd Vogel and I get into a fistfight with my father at my sister’s wedding. I did not get into a fistfight with my father at my sister’s wedding. My sister didn’t have a wedding.”

But the parts about Mr. Rogers are pretty true.

“The Good Liar” is a new movie with Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren as a confidence man and his mark. It got us to thinking of other movies about swindlers, tricksters, hustlers, grifters and mountebanks.

We found an interesting list concocted by ScreenRant, which we’ve excerpted for you here. We had to renumber their ranking, since they apparently declined to select a No. 1.

See how it stacks up with your favorites.

10) “Focus” (2015) — A movie centered on deception and misdirection, “Focus” stars Will Smith as Nicky Spurgeon, a very accomplished con man who takes an amateur con artist, Jess (Margot Robbie), under his wing. The duo quickly realizes the difficulties involved with balancing their criminal life with their personal life, and before long, love seems to only get in the way.

9) “The Grifters (1990) — Starring John Cusack as Roy Dillon, a small-time con man, this film portrays the pull of personal and criminal life in a very dysfunctional familial relationship. Roy finds himself stretched thin between his estranged mother (Anjelica Huston) and his current girlfriend (Annette Bening), both of which are grifters who happen to be playing their own angles.

8) “Inception” (2010) — Perhaps one of the most innovative con artist films on this list, “Inception” adds an unreal, almost unbelievable element to the trope that makes it stand out above all else. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a thief who uses new, dream-stealing technology to steal from large companies. In his latest con, he must pull off the biggest heist yet by planting an idea inside a big-time CEO’s mind.

7) “Matchstick Men” (2003) — One of the Nicolas Cage films that’s without a doubt worth watching, “Matchstick Men” follows Roy Waller (Cage), a neurotic, phobia-prone con artist, as he and his protégé are just about to pull off a con when Waller’s teenage daughter unexpectedly shows up, foiling everything.

6) “Ocean’s 11” (2003) — A remake of the 1960 film starring an all-star cast, including Frank Sinatra, James Dean and Sammy Davis Jr., 2001’s “Ocean’s 11” was without a doubt worthy of the title. Following in the original’s footsteps, the all-star cast for the remake includes George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon, and that’s only including a few. The film follows the same general plot, as Danny Ocean and his team of con men (all skilled in different areas) team up to steal money from a chain of Vegas casinos — at the same time.

5) “Snatch” (2000) — Another star-studded con artist film starring Jason Statham, Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro, “Snatch” takes place in the world of match boxing, where two, simultaneous stories occur including an underdog boxing story and an elaborate diamond heist. These two stories converge somewhere along the way, leaving the audience with an action-packed con film.

4) “The Sting” (1973) — Starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, “The Sting” takes place in Chicago, Illinois, September of 1936 in the age of mobsters. Two con men (one with experience and one without) have a mutual friend who has just been killed by a mob boss, and they must team together to avenge his death by pulling off a large-scale con on him.

3) “Trading Places” (1983) — The John Landis film starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd is yet another spin on the con man movie, taking it a direction that you don’t see very often. In “Trading Places,” a wealthy investor and a street con artist who live very different lives are transplanted in the other’s life as part of a bet made by two millionaires.

2) “Wall Street” (1987) — The original Oliver Stone film starring Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen and Tamara Tunie follows Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), a Wall Street stockbroker in New York in the early 1980s. All Bud wants is to get to the top, so he spends his spare time working with successful, greedy broker Gordon Gekko (Douglas) and quickly learns his philosophy: “greed is good.”

1) “Catch Me If You Can” (2002) — A film starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio should be enough to convince you that you need to watch, but just in case it’s not, here’s a little bit more: the film tells the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr. (DiCaprio). For those unfamiliar with his story, before the age of 19, Abagnale conned (successfully) millions of dollars in checks, posing as a pilot, a doctor and an attorney. And Tom Hanks plays the FBI agent who attempts to bring him down.

Hard to believe “American Hustle” (nominated for 10 Oscars) didn’t make the Top 10. Neither did that comedy classic “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” with Steve Martin and Michael Caine. Also, where was the Sigourney Weaver-Jennifer Love Hewitt vehicle “Heartbreakers.” Or the similarly titled French film “L’amacoeur”? And, yes, I still like the George C. Scott comedy, “The Flim Flam Man” (I knew the author of the book it was based on).

Do you ever have reoccurring nightmares — scary dreams that resurface to terrify you?

That’s Stephen King’s “Doctor Sleep.”

The new movie takes up the scary story of King’s “The Shining” several decades after an ax-wielding Jack Nicholson shouted “Here’s Johnnnny!” while going uproariously insane at the snowbound Overlook Hotel, a hostelry infested with ghosts and evil spirits.

However, “Doctor Sleep” focuses on Danny Torrance. You will remember him as the kid who rode his trike around the hotel and muttered “REDRUM!” — “murder” spelled backward.

Having survived the story told in King’s 1977 novel (and Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 movie), Dan has migrated to New Hampshire where he works in a hospice. He uses his inborn psychic abilities (known as “the shining”) to provide comfort to dying patients. He is assisted by a prescient cat. Because of his ability to give comfort, he becomes known as Doctor Sleep.

But Dan’s peace is shattered when he encounters Abra, a teenager with her own powerful “shine.” Now they are both being pursued by The True Knot, a malevolent group of quasi-immortals who feed off the shine.

In this spooky sequel, Dan (Ewan McGregor) and Abra (Kyliegh Curran) engage in a life-or-death battle with Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson). This psychic struggle reawakens the ghosts of the past. Once again, we meet Dick Hollorann, the cook from the Overlook Hotel (Scatman Crothers in the original film, now played by Carl Lumby). We also encounter those eerie Grady twins from the first movie (originally Lisa and Louise Burns, now portrayed by Sadie and Kk Heim).

Dan’s mother Wendy is also back (Shelley Duvall from the first movie is replaced by Alex Essoe).

King got the idea of writing a sequel to “The Shining” at a 1998 book signing when somebody asked him what happened to Danny. King started thinking about where Danny and his mother, Wendy, would be now. So, he wrote “Doctor Sleep” to find the answer for himself.

When it came to the movie version, director Mike Flannagan had to convince King that it had to pay homage to Stanley Kubrick’s famous film. Despite that movie’s universal acclaim, it’s well known King never liked Kubrick’s take, preferring the later television mini-series. But Flannigan pointed out that audiences were more familiar with Kubrick’s film.

Thus, Flanagan went to great lengths to recreate elements of Kubrick’s horror classic, but he’s also deviating from it in some big ways, such as the return of Hallorann, who died in “The Shining.”

Yes, “Doctor Sleep” answers the question of what happened to Danny Torrance, but many moviegoers are asking what happened to Danny Lloyd, the 6-year-old actor who played him in Kubrick’s “The Shining”? Turns out, Lloyd retired after making only one more film, stating that he wasn’t interested in an acting career. He grew up to become a biology professor at a community college in Kentucky.

Scottish actor McGregor (“Star Wars,” “Moulin Rouge”) is roughly the same age as Danny Lloyd. He beat out Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner for the new role.

Back when filming “The Shining,” young Danny Lloyd didn’t know he was acting in a horror movie. Although Stanley Kubrick was notoriously rough on his adult actors, he was protective with Danny. “He wanted me to act scared, but he didn’t want me to be scared of anything,” Lloyd says. “There were days when I wasn’t allowed on set because of something they were shooting.”

He admits that he never saw the complete movie until he was a teenager.

Now, based on viewing the trailer for “Doctor Sleep,” Lloyd confirms: “It looked really good. I was curious since there is a fine line they have to walk with Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick. It looks like they found a way to pay tribute to both.”

In “Doctor Sleep,” moviegoers with sharp eyes will catch Danny Lloyd doing a cameo as “Man in Stand.”

Even hybrid cyborg humans can get long of tooth. That’s a bit of the problem with “Terminator: Dark Fate.” You can’t have a Terminator movie without Arnold Schwarzenegger and the former Governator is now 72.

However, the best thing about this sixth entry in the Terminator franchise is the return of Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor. And she is 63.

Of course, Hamilton is no longer the fit Lara Croft-style action star we remember, but in this new Terminator movie she holds her own admirably. An actress named Jessi Fisher served as Hamilton’s stuntwoman and as the body double for a younger Sarah Connor. In addition, new CGI techniques were applied to recreate Hamilton’s facial likeness from the early 1990s for the flashback scenes.

Also, Arnie has a body double (Brett Azar) for him as a young T-800. And CGI recreated Schwarzenegger’s facial likeness from the flashback scenes.

To add an additional youth factor, “Terminator: Dark Fate” features 32-year-old Natalia Reyes as Dani, a young woman targeted for termination by a new advanced Rev-9 android assassin. Also 32-year-old Mackenzie Davis joins in as Grace, a soldier converted to a cyborg and sent from the year 2042 to protect her younger self from the deadly Rev-9.

In this latest episode we find that T-800 Model 101 (Schwarzenegger) has gained autonomy from his original programming and integrated himself into human society. Now known as Carl, he joins forces with Sarah and Grace to help protect Dani against the Legion’s futuristic killing machines.

Having been transported from the future to kill Daniella “Dani” Ramos, the Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna) infiltrates a factory where she works alongside her brother Diego. This Terminator attempts to kill her but is thwarted by Grace. But as we know, these killing machines are like the Energizer Bunny … they “keep going and going and going. …”

The film was directed by Tim Miller (“Deadpool”). James Cameron (“Titanic,” “Avatar”) returns to produce and co-write this latest film, his first involvement in the franchise since “Terminator 2” back in 1991.

Cameron convinced Hamilton (his former wife) to reprise her role of Sarah Conner.

She says the triple Oscar-winner emailed her a list of pros and cons about returning to the series. “All I remember were the cons,” she grins. “If it’s not a good movie, it’s going to look like a shameless money grab. Like, oh, she’s just back because they offered her a ton of money.”

But Hamilton insists she made up her own mind, deciding that the time was right for a reunion with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Her face lights up when her co-star and longtime pal Arnie is mentioned. “I just had this rush of affection for him that was unexpected,” she says. “I just hugged him the entire time. I was really surprised by how happy I was to be with him again.”

Hamilton says she was mostly concerned about people comparing her to a younger version of herself. “A lot of the fan base cannot accept anything that is a departure from what you’ve done,” says Hamilton. “But 28 years have passed. I don’t have the same body I did back then!”

And a Terminator action movie is physically demanding. “My elbow hurts and my left shoulder hurts,” she says, rubbing them.

But mission accomplished: Sarah Conner is back. “Obviously, the baton will be handed to Natalia Reyes,” nods Linda Hamilton. “She’s such an important component of this new version and we’ll see where it goes from here … but as long as I can do my job well, I’m in.”

Some say this is a role Angelina Jolie was born to play, a wicked witch known as Maleficent. Ex-husband Brad Pitt is offering no comment.

The original “Maleficent” film was Disney’s live-action retelling of its classic “Sleeping Beauty” animated film as seen from the perspective of the villain. This new movie picks up the story five years later.

Here, the fairy queen Maleficent (Jolie) finds her peaceful life disrupted when Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson) proposes to Aurora (Elle Fanning) and she accepts. Turns out, Phillip’s mother (Michelle Pfeiffer) plans to use the wedding to divide humans and fairies forever. As protector of the Moors, Maleficent finds herself facing off against Aurora. This is a difficult position, in that Maleficent has become Aurora’s fairy godmother. This forces them to re-examine their complex family ties.

As Maleficent says, “What an awkward situation.”

Directed by Norwegian-born Joachim Rønning (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”), we find Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville returning in their original roles. For this second time around, Dickinson replaces Brenton Thwaies as the Prince. And Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ed Skrein and Pfeiffer join the cast as new characters.

Although Disney claims a trademark on Princess Aurora, the character, in fact, is based on the princess in Charles Perrault’s 1697 fairy tale “The Beauty in the Sleeping Wood,” as well as the heroine who appears in the Brothers Grimm’s retelling of the story, “Little Briar Rose.”

Perrault added the witch to his story. He did not give her a name, but Disney called her Maleficent.

To Jolie, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” is more than a chance to wear wings and sport horns again. She see it as a story about being a good mom.

“Maleficent doesn’t believe that she’s a good mom. She doesn’t see herself as a mom,” says Jolie. “I questioned when I was first a mother whether I was good enough. And I think that a lot of good moms questioned whether or not they’re good enough.”

But she concludes, “For Maleficent, considering she is the mistress of evil, I think she’s doing a pretty good job.”

Moviegoers are calling it “a visually mesmerizing fantasy,” “a wicked ride” and “instantly iconic.”

Jolie merely calls it “a really strong sequel.”

Note: “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” is being released to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Disney’s original animated classic “Sleeping Beauty.”

Talk about Walking Dead. In the original “Zombieland” movie, those undead ghouls didn’t shuffle along like senior citizens with arthritis; they ran like banshees … straight into Woody Harrelson’s baseball bat.

This post-apocalyptic horror action zombie comedy starred Woody Harrelson as a gun-toting drifter known as Tallahassee, Jesse Eisenberg as a determined survivor known as Columbus, Emma Stone as Wichita, Abigail Breslin as Wichita’s kid sister, Little Rock, and Bill Murray as himself.

The premise was that Mad Cow Disease had mutated into Mad People Disease, turning almost everyone into zombies. An unaffected college student (Eisenberg) is trying to get to his hometown of Columbus to check on his parents. Along the way she hooks up with a zombie killer (Harrelson) and two sisters (Breslin and Stone). They head to Pacific Playland amusement park in Los Angeles, an area supposed free from zombies — not! There they invade the mansion of actor Bill Murray, accidentally killing him when they mistake him for a zombie.

Columbus has a list of 33 survival rules: No. 2 is “Double Tap,” a technique of quickly placing two bullets into a target.

That’s the name of the movie’s sequel, “Zombieland: Double Tap.”

It’s been 10 years since the first movie, but all the stars return — adding Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch, Luke Wilson, Thomas Middleditch, Avan Jogia and Dan Ackroyd to the mix.

In this Part II, they travel to the Midwest, where they face off against “evolved zombies, fellow survivors and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family.”

Talks of a ”Zombieland” sequel began before the release of the first installment, even though its $102.3 million worldwide box office (versus a $23.6 million production budget) made that a sure thing.

Columbus is still the narrator and he does have some new rules.

Director Ruben Fleischer (“Venom,” “Gangster Squad”) says, “We really just tried to harness as much as possible the feeling of the original. Which is ultimately about the chemistry of these four people together and how they relate and how funny they all naturally are.”

There’s still plenty of zombie bashing.

“But I think our heroes are a little complacent because the zombies don’t present much of a challenge anymore,” says Fleischer. “They’ve started to categorize them into different groups. There’s ones that they call Homers, who are kind of the dumber zombies. There are the Ninjas, who are a little bit more crafty and they might sneak up on you. And then there’s the Hawkings, who are smarter zombies. Then there’s a new kind of zombie that they haven’t met before called a T-800, a name for the infamous Terminator. These T-800s are much more dangerous, threatening form of zombie. For the first time, I think our heroes feel like they’re in true jeopardy because of this newly evolved form of zombie.”

But this time around, expert zombie killer Tallahassee has a like-partner named Nevada (Rosario Dawson), so don’t worry too much.

Charles Samuel Addams (he signed his art as Chas Addams but his friends called him Chill) was a New Yorker magazine contributor whose macabre Addams Family cartoons appeared in the magazine from 1938 to 1988. Addams was said to have been inspired by his hometown of Westfield, New Jersey, an area full of ornate Victorian mansions and spooky graveyards.

Addams started his career retouching photos of dead bodies for True Detective magazine. In 1934 he sold a gag cartoon about a window washer to New Yorker magazine. Readers took to his off-kilter brand of humor and the magazine signed him to a contract.

Of some 1,300 published cartoons, only 150 depicted a rich, eccentric family who lived in a creepy mansion. These characters became known as the Addams Family. But they didn’t even have names until producer David Levy optioned them for a TV sitcom in the 1960s.

According to Levy, “Addams never conceived of them as a family. He never called them that. They were just foils for his humor. They were … simply his outrageous comment on society.”

However, Levy saw the Addams Family as a new breed of “Father Knows Best” for the Beatnik Generation. Although ghoulish figures, Levy wanted to depict them as “tender and loving with a husband and wife who really have a romantic liaison and children who love them.”

Thus were born Gomez and Morticia Addams with their kids Wednesday and Pugsley, lightbulb-loving Uncle Fester, and Morticia’s semi-senile Grandmama. Never mind that they live in a scary old mansion on Cemetery Lane, replete with a frightening giant butler named Lurch, a hairy dwarf named Cousin It and a disembodied hand called Thing.

Addams had based the character of Gomez on actor Peter Lore. His wife, Morticia, was inspired by Gloria Swanson.

Weird-but-romantic Gomez was played John Astin in the TV show (1964-1966), Raul Julia in the early movie spinoffs (1991 and 1993), Tim Curry in a direct-to-video movie (1998), Glenn Taratino in a Canadian sitcom (1998-1999), and Nathan Lane in a Broadway musical (2010).

Svelte witch Morticia was played by Carolyn Jones, Anjelica Huston, Daryl Hannah, Ellie Harvie and Bebe Neuwirth.

Now we have a feature-length animated version of “The Addams Family.”

Released by MGM, the studio hopes that “The Addams Family” will reboot the film franchise.

Co-directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan (they did “Sausage Party”), the animation is handled by Cinesite Studios. You might say the result is properly creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky and altogether ooky.

The voices are well cast: Oscar Isaac as Gomez, Charlize Theron as Morticia, Chloë Grace Moretz as Wednesday, Finn Wolfhard as Pugsley, Nick Kroll as Uncle Fester, Bette Midler as Grandmama, and Snoop Dogg as Cousin It. Director Conrad Vernon adds his grunts and groans as Lurch.

The supporting cast includes Allison Janney as arch nemesis Margaux Needler, Elsie Fisher as her daughter, Martin Short as Grandpa Frump, and Catherine O’Hara as Grandma Frump.

The movie contains several Easter eggs that pay homage to Charles Addams. The family moves to “some place so horrible,” “some place you wouldn’t want to be caught dead in” — Westfield, New Jersey, where the cartoonist himself was born. A license plate reads CHAZZ-38, the year the Addams Family cartoons first appeared.

As they say about their new mansion …

However, thanks to machinations of arrogant TV host Margaux Needler, their lives begin to unravel while preparing for their extended family to arrive for a major celebration. Audiences must ask themselves, are these quaint out-of-step oddballs ready for the 21st Century?

Urban legend has it that Charles Addams slept in a coffin, drank martinis with eyeballs in them, and collected torture instruments. Probably not true.

Addams divorced his first two wives (the second was said to be a Morticia clone). He married his third wife, Te,e in a ceremony at a spooky pet cemetery, then moved to an estate they dubbed The Swamp. And when he died from a heart attack in his parked car, his wife noted: “He had always been a car buff, so it was a nice way to go.” His ashes were interred in a pet cemetery.

The Joker first appeared in a 1940 “Batman” comic book. This deranged villain was the creation of Bob Krane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson.

As Krane told it: “The Joker looks like Conrad Veidt – you know, the actor in ‘The Man Who Laughs,’ the 1928 movie based on the novel by Victor Hugo … Bill Finger had a book with a photograph of Conrad Veidt and showed it to me and said, ‘Here’s the Joker.’”

Thus, the insane villain with a clown’s smile was born.

The Joker has been listed among the greatest comic book villains and fictional characters ever created. In 2006, the Joker was number one on Wizard magazine’s 100 Greatest Villains of All Time. And in 2011, Wired magazine named him Comics’ Greatest Supervillain.

When I consulted at DC Comics, the editors saw The Joker as Batman’s main nemesis. “The Clown Prince of Crime” he was called.

Caesar Romero played The Joker on the old “Batman” TV show. Jack Nicholson took on the character in Tim Burton’s first “Batman” movie. And Heath Ledger won an Academy Award as The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.”

Now Warner Bros. (the parent company of DC Comics) is spinning off a “Joker” movie starring Joaquin Phoenix.

Good casting, Phoenix himself is a slightly crazy actor. Remember his 2008 charade about quitting movies to become a rapper?

In this so-called psychological thriller directed by Todd Phillips, we get yet another origin story. The film follows Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), a failed stand-up comedian who turns to a life of crime.

Joaquin Phoenix saw the role as a “character study.” He says, “I always felt, like, there were characters in comics that were really interesting and deserve the opportunity to be kind of studied.”

He wanted to create a character that audiences could not identify with. So rather than studying the performances of previous Joker actors, he read a book on political assassins to get a sense of how killers think. He lost 52 pounds for the role and developed a laugh based on videos of insane people.

In the film, Dante Pereira-Olson plays Bruce Wayne/Batman. Douglas Hodge is cast as Alfred, the Wayne household’s ever-present butler. Francis Conroy is Arthur Fleck’s mother, and Zazie Beetz is his love interest. Robert De Niro appears as a talk show host who has a part in Arthur’s downfall.

As Todd Phillips describes his movie: “No one is going to fly in it. No buildings are going to collapse. It’s just going to be on the ground, so to speak.” No fancy CGI, no capes, no high-speed chases. It’s 45 minutes into the movie before anyone fires a gun. “It’s a slow burn,” says the director.

Phillips pitched the idea for “Joker” to Warner Bros. as a low-budget stand-alone film – costing only $55-million, about a third of most DC superhero movies.

Jared Leto, who currently portrays the Joker in the DC Extended Universe movies, was displeased with the idea of “multiple different contemporary Joker characters.” However, after the success of the stand-alone “Wonder Woman” film, Warner Bros. decided to create a new series of comic book films under the rubric of DC Black. These new movies will have non-traditional takes on the heroes and villains of DC.

Joaquin Phoenix liked the idea that this would be an intimate, small-budget movie. And being a one-shot film, he wouldn’t have to repeat the role like with a Marvel blockbuster.

The actor got so wound up in his role as a deranged psychopath that he sometimes had to walk off the set to compose himself. As Robert De Niro tells it, “Joaquin was very intense in what he was doing, as it should be, as he should be.”

“Joker” is the first live-action “Batman” film to receive an R-rating due to its “strong bloody violence, disturbing behavior, language, and brief sexual images.”

ComicBook.com found the film to be “scarier than most 2019 horror films.” IndieWire called it “potentially toxic.”

No, this is not your kid’s comic book movie.

Not since Luke Skywalker discovered his true parentage have we had such an interesting science-fiction film about the search for a long-lost father. That’s the main thrust of “Ad Astra,” the new sci-fi film starring Brad Pitt.

The actor himself was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, the son of William Alvin Pitt, the proprietor of a trucking company. After a bunch of lackluster TV and film roles, Pitt eventually came to moviegoers’ attention as a handsome drifter with great six-pack abs in “Thelma and Louise.” And his appearance with Robert Redford in “A River Runs Through It” has been called “a career-making performance.”

He also stood out in “Seven,” got noticed in “Legends of the Fall,” and created a cult classic with “Fight Club.” The rest is Hollywood history.

Along the way he married Jennifer Aniston, America’s sweetheart who starred on TV’s “Friends.” But he left her for Angelina Jolie, his co-star in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” hence, that tabloid fame as Brangelina. Now they, too, have split.

Following on his recent success in Quintin Tarantino’s crime comedy “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” he has set his sights on outer space.

“Ad Astra” is Latin for “to the stars.” This is often shorthand for “Ad Astra per Aspera,” which means “To the stars through difficulties.”

“Ad Astra” tells about astronaut Roy McBride (Pitt) who is sent on a mission to the outer edges of the universe to find his father who has been missing for 30 years. This is more than family reunion, for his father’s mysterious experiment now threatens the survival of humans on Earth. As the film’s teasers say, “His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and its place in the cosmos.”

A great cast, Tommy Lee Jones (“Men In Black,” “No Country for Old Men”) takes on the role of Clifford McBride, Roy’s lost father; Liv Tyler (“The Lord of the Rings”) plays Eve McBride, Roy’s wife; and Donald Sutherland (“The Hunger Games,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”) is Col. Pruitt, one of the men behind the interstellar assignment.

Produced, co-written, and directed by James Gray (“The Lost City of Z”), Gray says he wanted to feature “the most realistic depiction of space travel that’s been put in a movie.”

He partway succeeded: Although technical aspects of the film are on the mark, and the cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoyterna is outstanding, the plot turns out to be complex and sometimes confusing.

One fan described it as “a very stylistic movie,” noting that “it is more for the critics and lovers of cinematic art, and less for a general public wanting some space sci-fi epic.” Another called it “a pretentious Armageddon.”

Gray says it’s “sorta like, if you got ‘Apocalypse Now’ and ‘2001’ in a giant mash-up and you put a little Joseph Conrad in there.”

My friend Paula loves all things royal. She stayed home from work to watch the wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles on TV. She did the same for Meghan and Harry. When Kate married Prince William, she bought herself a fascinator. She even named her children William, Andrew and Philip after members of the royal family.

She’s quite the unaware anglophile.

You can imagine how excited she is that TV’s “Downton Abbey” is coming to the big screen as a movie. She followed all six seasons on PBS.

And even better — the movie’s plot has to do with a visit to Downton Abbey by the British royal family.

Of course, set in 1927, the royal visitors to the Yorkshire country estate of Downtown Abbey are King George V and Queen Mary.

As we all know, “Downton Abbey” depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family, the hereditary Earls of Grantham, and their domestic servants in the post-Edwardian era. It tells how an old-money family struggles to cope in the modern age.

The movie (like the television series, which ran from 2010-2015 on Britain’s ITV) is the brainchild of Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford Deputy Lieutenant. Fellowes is an English actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter, and a Conservative peer in the House of Lords. He won an Academy Award for his screenplay for “Gosford Park,” a 2001 British murder mystery film. The Gosford Park country estate is mindful of Fellowes’s future Downton Abbey.

Fellowes wrote the screenplay for the new “Downton Abbey” movie. An American, Michael Engler (best known for various television series and TV movies) directed this historical drama. The collaborative results were quite successful, staying true to the highest-rated drama series ever shown on PBS.

Highclere Castle, a magnificent Jacobethan-style country house in Hampshire, once again stands in for the fictional Downton Abbey.

Much of the original television cast returns, including Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern as Robert Crawley, 7th Earl of Grantham, and his American-born wife, Cora. Also, Laura Carmichael is back as Lady Edith Pelham.

Other familiar faces include Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery, Brendan Coyle, Allen Leach, Sophie McShera, Henry Hadden-Paxton, Kevin Doyle, Penelope Wilton, Matthew Goode … and, of course, Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Simon Jones and Geraldine James play the visiting king and queen.

Downtown Abbey offers a glimpse into another time, another social hierarchy that Americans have enjoyed observing from afar. We encounter the familiar footmen and valets, butlers and maids, but this time around (thanks to the royal tour) Downton Abbey is besieged by royal staff, ranging from the Royal Page of the Backstairs to the Queen’s Royal Dresser.

The storyline delivers the prerequisite drama, romance, jealousy and intrigue among the Crawley family and its staff. Like the TV series, the movie is both elegant and witty. The scenery is spectacular, the settings lavish, the acting precise and the social interplay fascinating.

Toward the end of the movie, the Crawleys’ daughter Mary asks her husband, Henry, if they should keep Downton Abbey, to which Henry replies “We’re stuck with it, aren’t we?”

Note: Like my friend Paula, Queen Elizabeth is said to be a big fan of “Downton Abbey.”

Dale Earnhardt was a legendary NASCAR driver who died at the wheel. His son Dale Jr. took up his dad’s mantle as a race car winner.

A few weeks ago, we breathed a nervous sigh when Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s private airplane made a crash landing, bursting into billowing flames. We watched the newscast video as Dale Jr., his wife, 1-year-old daughter and dog made a narrow escape, along with both pilots.

Death in an airplane was not to be for Dale Jr. A wrecked stock car seemed more likely. That’s the risk of driving at high speeds.

“Blink of an eye” is a phrase that describes the zoom-zoom-zoom life of a stock car driver. It refers to the speed of these high-power racing cars. (Dale Jr.’s qualifying speed at Dover was 161.849 mph for the Aug. 31 Xfinity race).

It also refers to how fast a race can become deadly.

“Blink of an Eye” is also the title of a documentary about the 2001 Daytona 500 in which the senior Earnhardt died. This inside look at the race features Earnhardt Jr. along with other racers such as Michael Waltrip, who won that race, and Richard Petty.

The tragic event occurred in the final lap of the Daytona 500. As Earnhardt Jr. and his teammate Waltrip raced to the finish line, his father crashed in Turn 4 when another racer clipped his rear bumper. Earnhardt Sr. hit the outside wall and died of a skull fracture.

Earnhardt Jr.’s long-term success at Daytona International Speedway earned him the nickname “Pied Piper” of Daytona.

After driving for his father’s team for much of his early career, Earnhardt Jr. moved to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. He remained with that team until his retirement as a full-time driver in 2017.

Earnhardt Jr. clocked 26 wins in the Cup Series, a total that ranks him in the top 40 in NASCAR history.

I grew up in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, home of the Wilkes Speedway — the birthplace of NASCAR. So, it’s required that I love stock car racing.

But you don’t have to be a NASCAR fan to find this documentary fascinating. What drives someone to drive fast? What drives someone to drive faster than anybody else?

The answer? It takes skill. It takes courage. And you have to be driven to live up to your dad’s legacy.

Stephen King definitely doesn’t work for the Maine Tourism Association. His horror novels have featured such Maine locations as Castle Rock and Derry. I don’t want to go there.

Derry, as you will recall, is home to Pennywise the Clown.

To non-readers, that’s a centuries-old creature known as It.

An ancient cosmic evil that preys upon children, It is a shapeshifting monster who visits Derry every 27 years.

In the recent movie version of “It,” ol’ Pennywise took on a group of kids known as the Losers’ Club. But these determined rug rats managed to defeat It.

Turns out, 27 years have now passed and It has returned to Derry. So do the members of the Losers’ Club, now grownups, but still determined to put an end to this nightmare.

This movie is not considered a sequel, but simply the second half of the original story. The Losers’ Club as children; the Losers’ Club as adults.

We get flashbacks to the younger kids (Jaeden Martell as Bill, Sophia Lillis as Beverly, Jeremy Ray Taylor as Ben, Finn Wolfhard as Richie, Chosen Jacobs as Mike, Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie and Wyatt Oleff as Stanley).

But now we get to meet their grown-up selves (in the same order: James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Jay Ryan, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, James Ransome and Andy Bean).

Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård reprises his role as Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

As this movie begins, most of the members of the Losers’ Club have left Derry. But when Pennywise shows up again, Mike phones up his childhood pals and insists they come back to defeat It for good.

King says he came up with the idea for Pennywise after asking himself what scared children “more than anything else in the world.” The answer was clowns.

Then he combined the idea of a malevolent clown with the concept of a troll as in “Three Billy Goats Gruff,” but instead of being found under a bridge, Pennywise inhabits the sewers of Derry, Maine.

Is there a message behind the horror? According to the movie’s director, Andy Muschietti, “We live in a world where there’s a culture of fear, where some leaders have a strong pull on people, which is exactly what Pennywise does.”

Muschietti continues, “You can take it as an analogy: If you are separated, you’re more vulnerable, you’re more weak, and you’re easier to conquer … That’s exactly what Pennywise does, and that’s what’s going on. That’s what’s happening in this world right now.”

Guess we’ll need to tune into Fox or CNN to look for modern-day trolls. Or clowns.

Think of this as Huck and Jim floating along on their watery journey, but in this telling instead of Huck and Jim, it’s George and Lennie from “Of Mice and Men.”

In “The Peanut Butter Falcon” we meet Zak (played by Zack Gottsagen, an actor with Down Syndrome). In the story, Zak lives in a state nursing home where he spends his time watching over and over and over a video of a wrestler known as Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church). This drives his roommate (Bruce Dern) batty, so he helps Zak escape so the boy can go study wrestling with his video hero.

Now on the run, Zak hooks up with a crab fisherman named Tyler (Shia LaBeouf) who agrees to help his new buddy go find the fabled wrestler, so they set off on a raft. A kindly nurse named Eleanor (Dakota Johnson) gives chase to protect Zak from her hard-hearted supervisor who wants to lock him away again.

Teaming up, the trio floats along the coast of the Outer Banks on their mythic outlaw journey. Zak chasing a fantasy; Tyler an aimless drifter; Eleanor a softhearted do-gooder.

Co-written and co-directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, this is a feel-good movie, a modern-day retelling of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” But you can think of it as “Forrest Gump” meets “Mud.”

The cinematography by Nigel Bluck enhances the telling of this odd-couple buddy flick. You can “smell the salt and pollen and mold in the air. The waves, cornfields, marshes, crab pots … bluegrass, country songs, gospel hymns punctuate the narrative.”

In truth, the story echoes Zack Gottsagen’s own quest to become an actor (changed to going to wrestling school in the movie). The disabled young man has been studying acting since middle school.

The directors met Gottsagen at a camp for disabled kids. As Mike Schwartz recalls, “Zack told us he wanted to be a movie star. We were honest with him and told him there weren’t many opportunities in the industry for people with Down Syndrome, and of course his response was, ‘Well, why don’t you guys make a movie with me?’”

As for the rest of the cast, bad boy LaBeouf needed this film to save his wobbly career. Even so, he got arrested for public drunkenness during the filming in Savannah, Georgia. But his performance may just turn things around.

Dakota Johnson shows there’s thespian blood in her veins (she’s the daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith). This dramedy displays an acting range beyond what we saw in those “Fifty Shades of Grey” eroticas. The camera loves her.

Needless to say, Bruce Dern is a national treasure, great in anything he does. And Thomas Haden Church is always capable, even playing an eccentric character like Salt Water Redneck. John Hawkes, Jon Bernthal, and rapper Yelawolf show up too, adding to the fun.

The theme of the movie is summed up in a line by Zak’s nursing home roomie: “Friends are the family you choose.”

Your word of the day: Agoraphobic.

Definition: A disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives his or her environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape.

In “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” Bernadette Fox is agoraphobic. She dreads leaving her home even to go to the school her daughter attends.

A successful architect, married to a brilliant Microsoft exec and a proud mom, you’d think Bernadette has it all. But she is wracked with anxieties. She is struggling to adjust to her life in Seattle. She hates all the mothers of her daughter’s friends (“gnats,” she calls them). She’s exasperated by the way the streets in Seattle are laid out. And she dislikes Canadians.

When her daughter reminds Bernadette of a deal they’d made — if Bee got straight As, her parents would take her on a trip to Antarctica — Bernadette’s anxieties increase. Wow! Talk about leaving the house.

So why be surprised when Bernadette disappears just before the proposed trip? As the title asks, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?”

Her daughter Bee is determined to discover her mother’s whereabouts.

One of our favorite actresses, Cate Blanchett takes on the neurotic persona of Bernadette. Blanchett has proven she can play wonky characters with “Blue Jasmine.” And she treads a similar path in “The Gift.” We suspect Blanchett could play an elf … or a snake … or even Bob Dylan. (Oh, wait, she did play all that in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle” and “I’m Not There.”)

“Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” is ably directed by Richard Linklater, the guy who gave us “Dazed and Confused,” “Boyhood” and the “Before Sunrise, etc.” films.

He based this outing on the same-named novel by Maria Semple. She’s the daughter of legendary Hollywood screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr. The novel spent a year on the New York Times bestseller list, won the American Library Association’s Alex Award, and was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. A good pedigree.

In addition to Blanchett as Bernadette, Linklater selected Emma Nelson to play daughter Bee. And he rounded out the cast with a strong lineup: Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig, Judy Greer, Steve Zahn, Megan Mullally and Laurence Fishburne.

The mystery of Bernadette’s disappearance is told from the viewpoint of her bright and endlessly curious daughter.

Depending on your mindset, you will find Bernadette’s idiosyncrasies delightful … or just plain crazy.

A recent article in a major publication delineated “11 of the best movies about real-life space exploration …” In honor of the recent Apollo 11 anniversary.

But space fiction is important too. However, in making some space films, movie producers have shunted aside science fiction authors such as Ray Bradbury for some of the most gosh-awful and unimaginative special effects, and miserable scripts.

My movie pal Sheldon Davidson helped me compile this list of space movies to avoid.

10) “Abbott & Costello Go to Mars” (1953) — The boys accidentally blast off in an experimental rocket, go to New Orleans and eventually to Venus. They find that all the Venusians are gorgeous contestants from the Miss Universe Pageant. This might be the bottom of the barrel of all the A&C movies.

9) “Have Rocket, Will Travel” (1959) – The Three Stooges (Moe, Larry and Curley-Joe) work at a spaceport when they accidentally take off and land on Venus. Their space adventure involves a talking unicorn, a giant fire-breathing tarantula and an alien computer that creates images of bad Stooges. Yikes — three more?

8) “Plan 9 From Outer Space” (1959) — An invasion of Earth spearheaded by space soldiers Eros and Tanna, and aided by Bela Lugosi. When the populations of Hollywood and Washington, D.C. see flying saucers in the sky, the good guys try to stop the aliens. Is this movie the worst of the worst?

7) “Road to Hong Kong”(1962) — Perhaps the least funny of the seven “Road” pictures, with lame comments passing as comedy. Bob and Bing go to Hong Kong, India, and eventually the planet Plutonium, where the “boys” meet up with Sinatra and Martin, wearing space suits. Warning: Misogynist language by Hope and Crosby about Joan Collins and other women are sprinkled throughout the movie.

6) “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” (2002) — Eddie Murphy plays a dual role: he is both Pluto Nash, a nightclub owner, and his clone, villain Rex Crater. The movie takes place in 2080 on a colony on the Moon called Little America. No further details regarding the “plot” need be stated. A major critical and box-office flop.

5) “Death on Saturn’s Moon” (2000) — In 2057 an agent is sent out to investigate the mysterious death of a scientist stationed on Titan, a moon of Saturn. The plot goes nowhere and the sets are amateurish. The three-person cast offers little with respect to movie action or comprehension.

4) “Wing Commander” (1999) — Circa 2026 the Terran Confederation is at war with the Kilrathi Empire. With Terran reinforcements scheduled to arrive two hours after the Kilrathi hit Earth, the star fighter carrier must keep the Kilrathi busy. One reviewer wrote: “Wing Commander is based on a video game and has roughly the same degree of character development. That is all most moviegoers will need to know.”

3) “Cat-Women of the Moon” (1953) — Astronauts Victor Jory and Sonny Tufts land on the Moon in a space ship outfitted with wooden tables and rolling chairs. They encounter a race of Cat-Women dressed in black tights with telepathic minds. Why not?

2) “Queen of Outer Space” (1958) — Astronauts befriend alien women living on Venus, now devoid of any male inhabitants and ruled by Zsa Zsa Gabor (who else?). The film has been called “an incredibly lazy piece of schlocky science fiction that steals ideas and visual cues from older, and far superior, movies …”

1) “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (1964) – The Martians seek help from their sage for insights on how to help the Martian children have fun. To do this, Mars needs a Santa Claus figure, like on Earth. So, Martian leaders decide to abduct Santa Claus and bring him to Mars. Verdict: One of the most unimaginative and terrible space movies. Ever.

What’s on your list? Don’t get too spacey in compiling your picks.

Think of Dora the Explorer as a pint-sized Lara Croft, Tomb Raider.

Dora has her own movie now, “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.” Luckily, she grabbed that title before the next Indiana Jones movie got it.

You’d think they could get it right, this movie based on a children’s animated cartoon. The tagline on the poster says, “Explorer is her middle name.”

Not really. It’s the last name for Dora the Explorer by my reckoning.

Here we have a goofy adventure tale about a teenage explorer named Dora Márquez, who is out to save her parents and discover a lost city in the jungle. Dora has been sent to the United States to attend high school with her cousin Diego, but her problems at the snobby school are put on the back burner when her parents go missing on an expedition to discover Parapata, Peru’s famed Lost City Of Gold. Naturally, Dora and Diego and a cadre of classmates head into the jungle for the inevitable rescue.

This film is an interesting concoction: Nancy Drew meets Where’s Waldo and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego with a dash of Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones.

This is the kind of movie you would have cast with a younger Miley Cyrus (in her adorable Hanna Montana days) as Dora. But Miley is now grown up and taking a wrecking ball to that gentler image, so director James Bobin (“The Muppets,” “Muppets Most Wanted”) went with 18-year-old, 5-foot-tall Isabela Yolanda Moner. You might not recognize her name, but Moner is an experienced actress, voice-over professional, singer, songwriter, dancer, and (yes) ukulele player. You may have seen her in “Transformers: The Last Knight” or “Sicario: Day of the Soldado.” She also starred in the Nickelodeon TV series “100 Things to Do Before High School.”

As it happens, Isabel’s long black hair, brown eyes and Peruvian ancestry make her perfect for the role of Dora. Her athleticism doesn’t hurt either. A little older than the cartoon Dora, she’s sure to become the dream queen for a large audience of teenage boys.

“Maybe it comes down to how I’m always traveling,” Moner says. “I guess I’m going to make my dad happy by not dating till I’m 30.”

TV’s Dora the Explorer has already become a mini franchise, with foreign adaptations, stage plays, DVDs and video games, books, board games, apparel, handbags, action figures and loads of toys.

For the movie version, Moner is backed up by an impressive Latino cast: Michael Peña as Dora’s dad, Eva Longoria as her mom, Danny Trejo as the voice of Boots the Monkey, Benicio del Toro as the voice of Swiper the Fox, and Eugenio Derbez as the prerequisite villain.

Jeff Wahlberg (the nephew of Mark and Donnie Wahlberg) joins the fun as Dora’s best friend, Diego. Jeff’s mom is Dominican.

This family-friendly film takes you to Machu Picchu to explore Incan culture and tosses in its share of Spanish words.

Moner says “Dora is very cultured and she knows everything about everything,” but that she “doesn’t have a defined ethnicity.”

The Dora character was created for the animated television show by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes and Eric Weiner.

The TV Dora was voiced by Kathleen Herles (2000–2007), Caitlin Sanchez (2008–2011) and Fátima Ptacek (2012–2019). These actresses represent Peruvian, Cuban, Ecuadorian and Colombian heritages.

According to Nickelodeon, Dora the Explorer “was developed to be pan-Latina to represent the diversity of Latino cultures.”

We’ll take their word for it. What does a kid know?

I enjoyed watching the British telly series “Broadchurch.” A noirish detective drama, it starred both David Tennant and Jodie Whittaker. I found that notable because, at separate times, Tennant and Whittaker have played that famous time traveler, Doctor Who.

“Doctor Who” first appeared on BBC in 1963. The sci-fi program has remained popular, now featuring Whittaker as the 13th actor to play the eponymous Time Lord who travels about the universe in a stolen time machine that looks like a blue British police box (a telephone booth for the use of policemen).

Called a TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), the word has found its way into the Oxford English Dictionary because of the show’s popularity.

The transition from one actor to the next is written into the scripts, allowing the Time Lord to transform into a new body when the old one gets badly injured.

The 10th actor to play the part, Tennant was a well-liked incarnation of Doctor Who. He says it was his ambition to play Doctor Who ever since he was a little boy.

“The End of Time” was a two-part storyline broadcast between December 2009 and January 2010. In it, Doctor Who learns that his archenemy, a renegade alien known as the Master, has returned, marking the end of time. The Doctor must destroy a diamond in order to sever the link and make the Master disappear. But in doing this he hears the prophesized “four knocks” that signal his own demise. Making way for the 11th Doctor Who.

This marked the final appearance of David Tennant in the role. The story has been described as “huge and epic, but also intimate.” It is considered a classic.

So, it’s no surprise that Fathom Events is celebrating the 10th anniversary with a one-night presentation of “Doctor Who: The End of Time.”

You Whovians (as Doctor Who fans are sometimes called) will want to catch this special showing Aug. 7 at the Regal Grande Stadium 16 in Greensboro at 7 p.m.. It also features a new interview with Tennant.

Doctor Who fans have included Stephen Hawking, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, Tom Hanks, Michael Chabon, Mark Hamill and David Duchovny. Steven Spielberg said, “The world would be a poorer place without ‘Doctor Who.’ ”

TV Guide ranked “Doctor Who” as the No. 6 sci-fi television program, and No. 18 among the Top Cult Shows Ever.

Yes, I admit it. I’m a Trekkie, a Warsie, an Avatard, a Gater, an Achiever, a Buffista and an aspiring Baker Street Irregular. Add to that resume that I’m also a Whovian.

‘Hobbs & Shaw’ is new ‘Fast & Furious’ spinoff

Movies steal concepts from TV. Take spinoffs, for instance. “Lavern and Shirley” was a spinoff from “Happy Days.” “Knots Landing” was a spinoff of “Dallas.” “Phyllis,” “Rhoda” and “Lou Grant” spun off from the “Mary Tyler Moore Show.” “Star Trek” begat a number of TV series. “JAG” spawned “NCIS,” which spun off “NCIS: Los Angeles” and “NCIS: New Orleans.” The “Law & Order” series has given us a total of 10 spinoffs.

Radio did it too. “Fibber McGee and Molly” gave us our very first spinoff when a supporting character got a comedy program called “The Great Gildersleeve.”

The “Fast & Furious” movie franchise has done the same thing. After eight films (and two more in the works), this series about street racing, spies and heists has its first spinoff, an action adventure titled “Hobbs & Shaw.” It is alternately called “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.”

The earlier “Fast & Furious” films starred (off and on) Vin Diesel and Paul Walker as a couple of just-outside-the-law street racers who did impossible car stunts while taking on the bad guys.

Along the way ex-wrestler (and even-bigger movie star) Dwayne Johnson appeared in “Fast Five” as Luke Hobbs, a DSS agent and bounty hunter. Martial artist (and popular antihero movie star) Jason Statham joined the fun in “Fast & Furious 6” as a British Special Forces assassin and mercenary named Deckard Shaw.

With this new film — “Hobbs & Shaw” — Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw become unlikely allies as they team up to protect Shaw’s sister Hattie (Vanessa Kirby), an MI6 agent who is being pursued by heavily armed thugs led by a rogue spy named Brixton Lore (Idris Elba). They are assisted in their fight by Madam M (Eiza González), a mysterious billionaire black arms dealer.

Given the physicality of the two stars, the film offers more fisticuffs than fast cars, although racing buffs won’t be disappointed.

The spinoff is fortified by some familiar faces. Dame Helen Mirren reprises her role as Shaw’s mother. Charlize Theron returns in the role of Cipher. Eddie Marsan appears as Professor Andreiko. Kevin Hart and Ryan Reynolds do an end-cap cameo.

“Hobbs & Shaw” will be busting heads and burning rubber starting tonight at Creekside Cinemas with showings at 7 p.m., 7:45 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.

As it happened, this spinoff bumped the ninth “Fast & Furious” film from the 2019 schedule. That caused “tensions” between Vin Diesel and Johnson, with Diesel posting an Instagram dissing Johnson.

“Fast & Furious” fans don’t mind the controversy between the two brawny stars. They would love to see a smackdown between the former bouncer and the 10-time world wrestling champion.

Meanwhile, “Fast & Furious” engenders still other spinoffs: A future film that will focus on the female characters; an animated TV series called “Fast & Furious: Spy Racers;” Universal theme park attractions, one of them called “Fast & Furious: Supercharged.” Even “Fast & Furious Live,” a road tour that combines stunt driving, pyrotechnics and projection techniques to recreate scenes from the films.

“Fast & Furious” is ranked as the 10th highest grossing film series of all time, raking in a combined gross of more than $5 billion. And that’s not counting this “Hobbs & Shaw” spinoff … and more movies to come.

With “Hobbs & Shaw,” the new movie that’s a spinoff from the “Fast & Furious” series, I got to thinking about other movies that had been spun off from another one.

I mean movies that took a character(s) or other elements from the original film, then went in a new direction — not simply being a sequel.

Here are my Top 10 favorite movie spinoffs:

10) “Minions” (2015) — These little yellow sidekicks of softie villain Gru in the animated “Despicable Me” flicks stand on their own tiny feet in this story about how they met their master.

9) “Puss In Boots” (2011) — The fairy tale cat (voiced by Antonio Banderas) in those animated “Shrek” movies gets a swashbuckling story of his own.

8) “Get Him to the Greek” (2010) — This silly comedy with Jonah Hill and Russell Brand is actually a spinoff from that cute rom-com “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” Here, Brand reprises his role as Aldous Snow, an obnoxious British rocker who is running late for a big performance.

7) “This is 40” (2012) — That sneaky comedy king Judd Apatow brought back two minor characters (Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann) from “Knocked Up,” giving us a spinoff that nobody noticed was a spinoff.

6) “Creed” (2015) — Is this a spinoff or a sequel to the “Rocky” films? We will go with spinoff as Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) turns over the boxing gloves to Apollo Creed’s son (Michael B. Jordan).

5) “The Lego Batman Movie” (2017) — I’m not big on movies based on toys, but the Lego folks pulled it off, especially when they did that spinoff featuring a toy version of Batman, the caped superhero. Credit the voice acting of Will Arnett, Ralph Fiennes and the rest of the cast.

4) “Night Train to Munich” (1940) — The comedy team of Caldicott and Charters (Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford) were so popular in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lady Vanishes” that they appeared in five other films in the same roles.

3) “A Shot in the Dark” (1964) — The original “Pink Panther” film was about a cat burglar (David Niven) of that cuddly nickname, but bumbling Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) was so funny, the producers brought him back for more films.

2) “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” (2016) — In this charming spinoff from the Harry Potter blockbusters we meet Newt (Eddie Redmayne), who is kind of a cryptozoological zookeeper in the same wizarding world.

1) “Deadpool” (2016) — A spinoff of Marvel’s “X-Men” movies, this sarcastic, self-aware anti-superhero was a hit as portrayed by Ryan Reynolds. After Reynold’s poorly received “Green Lantern” movie, this was a welcome comeback for him in the comic book world. I admit I’m biased in that I gave Deadpool his first self-titled comic book back when I was publisher of Marvel.

Your favorite spinoffs? There are plenty of others to choose from. Movies never hesitate to take a side trip when audiences demand it.

Long Product Life

Recommend Environmentally Friendly Packaging To Customers

Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Excellent Product Quality And Good Reputation

Music at the Market: Wood Family Tradition | Mt. Airy News

Featured Products

News & Blog

Homagic - Professional and Advanced Integrated Prefab Construction

Homagic - Professional and Advanced Integrated Prefab Construction

How about the cost of a Modular House

How about the cost of a Modular House

Trial in dismemberment case continues with details about accused killer’s home | News | herald-dispatch.com

Trial in dismemberment case continues with details about accused killer’s home | News | herald-dispatch.com

Notes for High Vacuum and Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) Practices

Notes for High Vacuum and Ultra High Vacuum (UHV) Practices

StackPath

StackPath