Maggie Smith

Quartet: A Movies For Grownups Video Review

Posted on 01/25/2013 by | Movies & TV | Comments

EntertainmentDustin Hoffman steps behind the camera to direct his first movie, the warmly wonderful comedy Quartet. In this week’s video review and clips, Bill Newcott marvels at how Hoffman lets his veteran cast do what they do best.   Photo: Kerry Brown/The Weinstein Company

Hey Oscar, You Forgot Something!

Posted on 01/10/2013 by | Movies & TV | Comments

Entertainment  I’m confused. This was a great year for Movies for Grownups. Some of them even made a ton of money. So why is the  85th annual Oscar nominations list such a mixed bag for grownup movie lovers? On one hand, it’s nice to see Amour—a powerful French film about the undying love of an 80-something couple—nominated for Best Picture (and also Foreign Film, which may be a first). And Argo, Les Misérables, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, and Zero Dark …

‘Downton’s’ Season 3 Brings Later in Life Love, Match-up of Matriarchs and More

Posted on 12/30/2012 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Entertainment“Downton Abbey’s” third season rolls out Sunday (Jan. 6) with a fresh batch of episodes that, judging by the first five, are as savory and delicious as ever.  Yes, Shirley MacLaine is aboard as rich, social climbing New Yorker Martha Levinson, mother of Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern).  And, yes, her scenes with Dame Maggie Smith as Dowager Countess Violet Crawley are all fans heard and hoped they would be — a new defining moment in the Anglo American special relationship, class versus crass …