Life Itself | Stolen

I cannot believe it is January already.  This month I thought we would do a theme we have not done yet: documentaries.  The first is "Life Itself", a 2014 film about the film critic Roger Ebert (I always liked him although I did not always agree with his critique of certain films).  This film contains a little bit of everything; outtakes with his partner Gene Siskel and appearances on other TV shows.  It is based on Ebert's 2011 memoir.  It had  limited release, and will air publicly on CNN on Sunday, January 4, 2015. Click here for more information.

The next film really intrigues me.  It is called "Stolen".  Now, there are several films by that name but this is the 2005 documentary about the Isabella Gardner Museum art heist of 1990.  The main character is the Art Detective Harold Smith.  He worked for Lloyds of London and solved many important cases (what an amazing life). He was born in the Bronx and went to the Maritime Academy.   He developed a skin problem and allowed doctors to use him as a subject to experiment on.  He lost a lung, an eye (hence the eye patch) and a rubber nose.  He takes you step by step how he traced what happened.   This year the FBI has announced that they know who has the paintings and with cooperation, would like to have them returned.  Stayed tuned, there is more to this true story to come and it may happen this spring.

I hope to be back in Maine the last week of January.  I will let you all know where and when we will be meeting.   Movielynne 


Click here for Life Itself in IMDB.com

Click here for Stolen in IMDB.com