No one is quite sure why, but somehow July 30th has become National Cheesecake Day. I am certainly not complaining, as cheesecake is one of my all-time favorite indulgences! What better place to get the very best than The Cheesecake Factory? They have begun a tradition in recent years of offering any cheesecake from their amazing variety for half price on this day. An added bonus is that today also marks the addition of a brand new pie to their famous line up - Reese's® Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake. It contains layers of Chocolate Fudge Cake and Original Cheesecake with chunks of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and layers of Creamy Peanut Butter Salted Caramel, finished with Hershey’s Chocolate cream cheese icing. Sound divine? Well, here is your chance to be among the first to try it! I was fortunate enough to get a slice of this magnificent confection yesterday during their preview, and can tell you it is well worth the trip!
Don't have a Cheesecake Factory nearby? Perhaps one of your local bakeries is offering a deal that is just as sweet!
Although thinking of these things is wildly unseasonal at the moment, I somehow find joy in it. I often find myself doing a bit of Christmas dreaming every year around this time...certainly by August or September. I've come to realize that I enjoy reminiscing about Christmas almost as much as I enjoy celebrating it! Perhaps it's the fact that the holiday season is so out of reach and far removed from our collective mindsets. Those shiny decorations and cold winter nights are but a wistful memory.
The fact is, many people are quick to push thoughts of Christmas from their consciousness and don't end up getting to do all the things they wanted. Even if they do, it usually accompanies a large amount of debt, which they end up having to pay off well into the next year. Christmas shouldn't be a time of pressure and stress, and yet somehow it has become that in our Western culture. Why not avoid this hassle by joining me in a little Christmas in July pre-planning? Here are some things we can start doing now:
The hit Broadway musical by Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards became the basis for this 1972 film about America's first congress and the nation's declaration of independence from Britain. Most of the original cast members are aboard, including William Daniels as John Adams. The film is a little stodgy and moves stiffly from scene to scene--the adaptation to the screen is not a smooth success. But it is nonetheless captivating, considering that so few films have dealt directly with America's birth. Directed by Peter H. Hunt.
Return to the days that sparked the American Revolution, now on Disney DVD for the first time! Meet young Johnny Tremain, a silversmith's apprentice with dreams of learning the trade and making his own way. When a terrible injury ends his hopes, he joins the emerging Sons Of Liberty. The Redcoats are coming as you journey back to the Boston Tea Party, the midnight ride of Paul Revere, and Lexington Green, where tyranny was vanquished by an idea -- freedom for all! Based on the classic novel by Esther Forbes, you won't want to miss one historic moment of Disney's classic adventure and liberty's rising light.
James Cagney thrills in a rare (and limber) song-and-dance performance as composer-entertainer George M. Cohan. This nostalgic biography is told in flashbacks, covering Cohan's formative years becoming Broadway's brightest star and touching upon his loves, musicals, and artistic triumphs. Director Michael Curtiz (The Adventures of Robin Hood) offers Cagney ample opportunities to invent an utterly charming performance in what is practically a one-man show. If you've never seen Cagney as a hoofer, you're in for a treat: his dancing is as dynamic as anything else he's ever done on screen.
When trouble's afoot no one stamps out evil like the fastest, strongest and most nimble bunny of all time Rob the Rabbit! Join Rob on a special journey where he discovers the value of teamwork and the belief that there is a hero waiting to be born in all of us. Rob is not your average bunny. He's the legendary American Rabbit a star-spangled superhero who fights for justice! When Rob learns about a city being taken over by a gang of nasty jackals, he wastes no time in trying to stop them. But he soon discovers something far more sinister is going on and he'll need more than just his superhero strength to save the day!
Mel Gibson stars in this action-packed historical drama. Gibson portrays Benjamin Martin, an unassuming South Carolina widower who is forced to join the American Revolution when the British threaten to take his farm away from him. Together with his patriotic son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger), the pair faces the vicious Redcoats with a heroism that reflects the stubborn pride of a young country's most dedicated supporters. THE PATRIOT is a sweeping epic adventure that sheds light on America's past, and at the same time entertains audiences.
A critically acclaimed film that won a total of eight 1970 Academy Awards (Including Best Picture), Patton is a riveting portrait of one of the 20th century's greatest military geniuses. One of it's Oscars went to George Patton, the only Allied general truly feared by the Nazis. Charismatic and Flamboyant, Patton designed his own uniforms, sported ivory-handled six-shooters, and believed he was a warrior in past lives. He outmanuevered Rommel in Africa, and after D-Day led his troops in an unstoppable campaign across Europe. But he was rebellious as well insight and poignancy, his own volatile personailty was one enemy he could never defeat.
History comes alive in the unforgettable epic motion picture PEARL HARBOR, the spectacular blockbuster brought to the screen by Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay. Astounding visual and audio effects put you at the center of the event that changed the world -- that early Sunday morning in paradise when warplanes screamed across the peaceful skies of Pearl Harbor and jolted America into World War II. This real-life tale of catastrophic defeat, heroic victory, and personal courage focuses on the war's devastating impact on two daring young pilots, Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnet, and a beautiful, dedicated nurse, Kate Beckinsale. PEARL HARBOR is extraordinary moviemaking -- a breathtaking reenactment of the "date which will live in infamy" and a heartfelt tribute to the men and women who lived it.
Disney celebrates the legends that inspired a country with classic stories of real American heroes in this all-new, full-length animated collection, DISNEY'S AMERICAN LEGENDS! You'll meet the doers and dreamers who made America great -- including John Henry, the railroad builder, who proved the value of believing in oneself. John Henry was created using rough-style animation over a scratchboard background, a technique that dates back to Disney's 101 DALMATIANS! This artistic style was chosen specifically by the director in order to convey the power and emotion of the story. Journey with the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan as he clears the land for American settlers. Follow the trail of the beloved American icon Johnny Appleseed, whose peaceful planting of apple trees blossomed along the new frontier. Then take an unforgettable ride with Casey Jones, The Brave Engineer, who never failed to deliver the mail, no matter how difficult the route! Each story is introduced by celebrated actor James Earl Jones, and filled with unforgettable characters, adventure, and memorable songs. Gather the family together and enjoy these timeless tales, an experience no childhood should be without!
From Jerry Bruckheimer and Jon Turteltaub, comes NATIONAL TREASURE. It's the thrilling, edge-of-your-seat adventure starring Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage as Benjamin Franklin Gates. Ever since he was a boy, Gates has been obsessed with finding the legendary Knights Templar Treasure, the greatest fortune known to man. As Gates tries to find and decipher ancient riddles that will lead him to it, he's dogged by a ruthless enemy who wants the riches for himself. Now in a race against time, Gates must steal one of America's most sacred and guarded documents -- the Declaration of Independence -- or let it, and a key clue to the mystery, fall into dangerous hands. Heart-pounding chases, close calls, and the FBI turn Gates's quest into a high-stakes crime caper and the most exciting treasure hunt you've ever experienced.
One of the biggest box office hits of all time delivers the ultimate encounter when mysterious and powerful aliens launch an all-out invasion against the human race. The spectacle begins when massive spaceships appear in Earth's skies. But wonder turns to terror as the ships blast destructive beams of fire down on cities all over the planet. Now the world's only hope lies with a determinded band of survivors, uniting for one last strike against the invaders - before it's the end of all mankind.
The Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Best Director Robert Zemeckis, and Best Actor Tom Hanks, this unlikely story of a slow-witted but good-hearted man somehow at the center of the pivotal events of the 20th century is a funny and heartwarming epic. Hanks plays the title character, a shy Southern boy in love with his childhood best friend (Robin Wright) who finds that his ability to run fast takes him places. As an All-Star football player he meets John F. Kennedy; as a soldier in Vietnam he's a war hero; and as a world champion Ping-Pong player he's hailed by Richard Nixon. Becoming a successful shrimp-boat captain, he still yearns for the love of his life, who takes a quite different and much sadder path in life. The visual effects incorporating Hanks into existing newsreel footage is both funny and impressive, but the heart of the film lies in its sweet love story and in the triumphant performance of Hanks as an unassuming soul who savors the most from his life and times.
Long ago the Lady Borealis placed the evil Winterbolt under a magic spell, and put the last of her magic into the nose of a newborn reindeer: Rudolph. But now Winterbolt's awake. He gives Frosty's family magic amulets to keep them from melting until the Fourth of July so that Frosty and Rudolph can help Lilly's circus and Milton can marry his girlfriend on the high-wire, and Santa will use his sleigh to make sure everybody gets back to the North Pole in time,which leaves Winterbolt alone at the North Pole on the Fourth.
The heart-stopping story of the first black regiment to fight for the North in the Civil War, Glory stars Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes and Morgan Freeman. Broderick and Elwes are the idealistic young Bostonians who lead the regiment; Freeman is the inspirational sergeant who unites the troops; and Denzel Washington, in an Oscar® - winning performance (1989, Best Supporting Actor), is the runaway slave who embodies the indomitable spirit of the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts.
Director Steven Spielberg's World War II tour de force chronicles the journey of a GI squad on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines. Led by Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), the unit is under orders to track down a soldier, Private Ryan (Matt Damon), so he might return home to his mother in America, where she is grieving the unimaginable loss of her three other sons to the war. The first unforgettable 20 minutes of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN realistically and horrifically depicts the Normandy invasion as Miller. his second-in-command, Sergeant Horvath (Tom Sizemore), and the others in the unit land at Omaha Beach. Before the film began shooting, Hanks and the actors in his squad went through a one-week boot camp in the woods. 
A U.S. soldier is dead, and military lawyers Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee and Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway want to know who killed him. "You want the truth?" snaps Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson). "You can't handle the truth!" Astonishingly, Jack Nicholson's legendary performance as a military tough guy in A Few Good Men really amounts to a glorified cameo: he's only in a few scenes. But they're killer scenes, and the film has much more to offer. Tom Cruise (Kaffee) shines as a lazy lawyer who rises to the occasion, and Demi Moore (Galloway) gives a command performance. Kevin Bacon, Kiefer Sutherland, J.T. Walsh, and Cuba Gooding Jr. (of Jerry Maguire fame) round out the superb cast. Director Rob Reiner poses important questions about the rights of the powerful and the responsibilities of those just following orders in this classic courtroom drama.
Don Bluth's An American Tail is based on the story of a young Russian mouse who is separated from his family in America and who later heads with his reunited kin out to the American West. It's pleasant, though not spectacular, and has its greatest problems in story development. Steven Spielberg produced with an eye toward creating animation hits outside of Disney, and he and Bluth certainly took a big step in that direction here. Kids like it a lot, and adults will warm to the sound of various familiar voices, such as Dom DeLuise as Tiger and Madeline Kahn as Gussie Mausheimer. It's also the source of the pop single "Somewhere Out There."
One of those rare films that grabs you by the gut and never lets go, Men of Honor was inspired by the life of Carl Brasher (Cuba Gooding Jr.), an African American who dared to dream of becoming a U.S. Navy Master Diver. Despite a bigoted training officer (Robert DeNiro) and a tragic shipboard accident, Carl never gives up and achieves the impossible in an incredible finish that will leave you cheering.
Nominated for nine Academy Awards , including Best Picture, Apollo 13 is now available in an incredible 2 -Disc Anniversary Edition with never-before-seen bonus materials. Produced by Academy Award winner Brian Grazer and directed by Oscar winner Ron Howard, Apollo 13 stars Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise and Ed Harris in the inspiring and riveting story of the real-life space flight that gripped a nation and changed the world.
Naive and idealistic Jefferson Smith, leader of the Boy Rangers, is appointed on a lark by the spineless governor of his state. He is reunited with the state's senior senator--presidential hopeful and childhood hero, Senator Joseph Paine. In Washington, however, Smith discovers many of the shortcomings of the political process as his earnest goal of a national boys' camp leads to a conflict with the state political boss, Jim Taylor. Taylor first tries to corrupt Smith and then later attempts to destroy Smith through a scandal.
Professor Harold Hill likes a challenge and when the other salesmen on the train west tell him that Iowa is the biggest test of all of sales ability, he gets off at River City. We know it's the 20th century there, only because of a reference in one of the songs to Gary, Indiana. Marian the librarian doesn't buy the professor's line but he convinces many of his other potential customers that the new pool table that has just been placed in the billiard parlor could mean "trouble in River City." How to keep the youngsters "moral after school?" Form a boys marching band.
The second film in Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy moves from the brutality of war in Platoon to its equally traumatic aftermath. Based on the memoir of combat veteran Ron Kovic, the film stars Tom Cruise as Kovic, whose gunshot wound in Vietnam left him paralyzed from the chest down. He is deeply embittered by neglect in a veteran's hospital and by the shattering of his patriotic idealism because of the horror and futility of the Vietnam conflict. While painfully and awkwardly adjusting to his disability and a changing definition of masculinity, Kovic joins the burgeoning movement of antiwar protest, culminating in a climactic appearance at the 1976 Democratic national convention. A powerfully intimate portrait that unfolds on an epic scale, Born on the Fourth of July is arguably Stone's best film (if you can forgive its often strident tone), and Cruise's Oscar-nominated role is uncompromising in its depiction of one man's personal anguish and political awakening
Two worthy Academy Award® nominees from 1950's Sunset Boulevard – actor William Holden and director Billy Wilder – reteamed three years later for the gripping World War II drama, Stalag 17. The result was another Best Director nomination for Wilder (his fourth), and the elusive Best Actor Oscar® for Holden. Holden portrays the jaded, scheming Sergeant J.J. Sefton, a prisoner at the notorious German prison camp, who spends his days dreaming up rackets and trading with the Germans for special privileges. But when two prisoners are killed in an escape attempt, it becomes obvious that there is a spy among the prisoners. Is it Sefton? Famed producer/director Otto Preminger tackles a rare acting role as the camp's commandant; actor Robert Strauss won a Supporting Actor nomination for his role as "Animal." Here's Wilder's powerful, acclaimed film classic -- now packed with never-before-seen special features, including audio commentary and "behind-the-scenes" featurettes.
Intensely personal and yet universally appealing, AVALON follows immigrant Sam Krichinsky and his extended family as they seek a dream called America in a place called Avalon. From poverty through prosperity, the Krichinsky family faces their changing world with enduring humor and abiding love. Even when squabbling over a failed business or adjusting to a new land, Levinson never fails to find the comedy and immediacy of their immigrant experience. A superb cast, led by Armin Mueller-Stahl, Aidan Quinn and Elizabeth Perkins, perfectly captures the vibrant love and laughter of this quintessentially American family. The coming-of-age story of an entire nation, AVALON is a "tapestry of American life so rich and perfect it could hang in a museum.
There's magic in the memories as great Disney moments are captured right here for you and your family to enjoy in THE ONE AND ONLY, GENUINE, ORIGINAL FAMILY BAND -- a large slice of Americana set to music and dance. This is the captivating saga of a musical family that homesteads in the Dakota Territory of the 1880s and becomes embroiled in the presidential battle between Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison. A robust, song-filled movie for those who enjoy a good love story, admire a family that sticks together through thick and thin, or respond to rousing, Broadway-style music, composed by the Academy Award(R) winning Sherman Brothers.
