Saturday movie review: 'The Armstrong Lie'

Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics

I don’t remember exactly where I was when I first heard that Lance Armstrong had finally admitted that the allegations about his doping activity were true, but I do remember exactly how I felt. I was saddened. Saddened far more by the truth than I expected I might be when the allegations first began swirling years before.

I’ve never really followed the sport of cycling, and Lance Armstrong was no hero of mine. But he was a hero to many, including many youngsters and many affected by cancer. Learning Armstrong was yet another to fall from the pedestal and into disgrace hurt my heart. His admission was, to me, final proof that heroes in American sports simply do not exist. Proof, too, considering how long he'd held out on revealing the truth, that Armstrong was a big fat liar.

There’s been so much in the news for years now — too much, really — that I fully understand those who have followed his story closely being fed up, filled up and done had enough of Armstrong, for better or for worse. As someone who quickly tires of the 24/7 rehashing of bad news, good news and all things celebrity, I purposely steered clear of much of the news and eventual over saturation on all things Armstrong, though. So I hadn’t heard the entire story and looked forward to seeing it through the lens of award-winning documentarian Alex Gibney in his film THE ARMSTRONG LIE.

Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics

I had the opportunity to screen THE ARMSTRONG LIE this past week in advance of it being featured at the Starz Denver Film Festival. Bottom line: I found it a compelling tale of one man's blatant and boorish refusal to fess up to his wrongdoings despite irrefutable evidence against him. Ultimately, his fixation on power and winning no matter what, no matter who he destroyed, brought him down. I found myself shaking my head again and again throughout the viewing, wanting to just grab Armstrong by his famed yellow jersey and shake some sense and remorse into him.

What I liked most about THE ARMSTRONG LIE:
I appreciated the explanation of the film's title. Sure, we all know Armstrong lied, so it seemed an obvious choice of a title. But knowing that the title comes straight from front-page headlines of French newspapers — "le mensonge Armstrong" — emphasizes the world-wide disgust with Armstrong's defiant refusal to admit the truth. As mentioned in the film, doping was unfortunately commonplace in cycling, but it's Armstrong's adamant and repeated lying that was and is the story.

I also appreciated the filmmaker's honesty throughout the film. It's difficult to not get caught up in the hype and hope of Armstrong's attempt at a comeback. Gibney admits the challenge it was to not be lured in by the hope, the charm. Perhaps those moments of wanting to believe, to cheer Armstrong on are what made the betrayal all the more distressing to Gibney, who in turn expected and eventually received the on-camera apology.

Plus, I just really liked the filming of the races. During race scenes, I wondered again and again how the heck they filmed such footage. The music selections for the racing scenes (and others) were a perfect complement. The impressive filming and winning soundtrack made the incredible story far more enjoyable than one might expect such a frustrating, maddening tale to be. 

What bothered me most about THE ARMSTRONG LIE:
Nothing about the film itself, just the lies, really. And Armstrong's unbelievable inability to admit the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Worse yet? His lack of remorse.

A woman who viewed the film at the same time I did said to me afterward that she thinks Armstrong is truly a psychopath. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it sure seems to me that some sort of psychological issue led to Armstrong's downfall as a hero and champion. What's most disheartening about that, I told my fellow film goer, is that eventually Armstrong's children will learn the same ugly truth the rest of the world has and will no longer consider their dad a hero and champion either.

THE ARMSTRONG LIE, rated R for language, opens in NY, LA and Austin Nov. 8, 2013. Learn more from Sony Pictures Classics.

Disclosure: I screened this film as a member of the media covering the 36th Starz Denver Film Festival.

Local photos from a long-distance grandma

I am a long-distance grandma. A long-distance grandma who likes to take pictures. Mostly pictures of of my long-distance grandsons.

Every once in a while, though, I'm reminded that I don't need to travel 812 miles to my grandsons' house to get photos that warm this grandma's heart. I don't even need to leave my house for that at all, as I have incredible photo ops right outside my windows, from morning til night.

I often start my day with sunrises that look like this...

End my day with sunsets like this...

And in between the sunrise and sunset are animals of a squirrelly sort galore. Just yesterday, in fact, I had the pleasure of photographing a mama brown squirrel taking a break from her ever-hungry babies — a mama who was none too pleased with my intrusion on her momentary peace.

When the months between visits with my grandsons stretch long and lonesome, I must remember to focus on what I have right here in my own back yard.

And in my east- and west-side yards, too.

Today's fill-in-the-blank:

This week I was reminded that __________.

Predictable me

If you have kids in your circle of influence, you're likely well acquainted with Gru, Vector and minions of myriad mannerisms.

Yes, I'm talking about the characters from Despicable Me.

While I had no familiarity with the Gru crew until Despicable Me 2 came out and I had the pleasure of viewing it at the theater with Bubby and Mac, I'm far more familiar with a similar sort I like to call... Predictable Me.

That would be, ahem, me. Try as I might to be mysterious and unpredictable in hopes of living a life large and thus worth writing (and reading) about, I'm pretty boring. And predictable.

A few examples:

Predictable Me's Proof of Predictability

• When visiting my grandsons, we always read bedtime stories together.

• I sit in the same general area — preferably the exact same seats — each time I go to church or the movie theater. (I blame it on Jim, but that's only half true.)

• Frittatas are my go-to meal when I don't know what to make for dinner.

• Talk of having a million dollars always includes mention of a monkey. And a dress any color but green.

• My feelings are hurt each time I ask Megan about experiences Bubby and Mac recently had with their other grandma and great-grandma — the fun, active grandmas who get to do more than just babysit.

• No matter how much or how little my mealtime glass has been filled, I will not finish the entire glass. And I don't drink until I'm done with the meal — which is perhaps why I don't finish it.

• My gift wish list always includes candles, books, cool socks and coffee.

• When in a conflict or argument with a family member, once things simmer down and I've walked away, hung up or stopped texting, I will inevitably return moments later with, "There's one last thing I just have to say about this and then I'm not saying anything else!"

• If I get up early so I have plenty of time to prepare before leaving for an event or trip, I always end up running behind... because I fritter away all the extra time I built in as I assume I have so much extra time.

• I tear up every time I hear Adele sing Someone Like You. Or Sinead O' Connor sing Three Babies.

• And I weep a tad every time I watch The Voice. Not because my favorite "voices" lose battles but because there's always at least one voice in each episode so passionate it brings me to tears.

• I strain my head to look out the vehicle's passenger side window when I'm not the driver. Not because there's anything interesting out there but because everyone else's driving scares the <cuss> out of me.

• When dining on restaurant food with friends or family — whether at the restaurant or carry out — I ask those with me, "How is your ______." Maybe I'm a pig who wants a bite of theirs. Or maybe I'm a Mom who wants to ensure everyone is satisfied.

• I take it personally when no one responds to me during Twitter chats and parties even though I tell myself not to and promise myself I won't.

• When I'm at a loss for something wise and witty to write about, I compose a list.

• I always end conversations, phone calls, emails, letters and texts with the folks I care most about with some version of I love you. Plus an emoticon/graphic/emoji goodie, when possible.

That's it. End of list. Thanks for reading.

Love ya! ♥

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

Today's question:

In what ways are you predictable?

My grandson the hypnotist

Look into Mac's eyes, if you dare.

Hypnotic cuteness or biased grandma?

I say YES on both counts!

Today's question:

Have you ever been hypnotized? Do share!

Oh, how my grandsons swear

I didn't let my daughters swear when they were young. I didn't allow them to swear in my presence when they were older, either. For the most part. When they were teens, I did allow them one curse word — that word being crap — that they could use when they rilly, rilly, rilly needed to let loose with exclamations of an unsavory sort.

My daughter Megan is more strict than I am. Sometimes surprisingly so. She has a far more restrictive expected code of behavior than I ever did with my girls. That's mostly, I think, because she's a teacher and sees the horrid lack of respect many school kids have for others (and themselves) nowadays.

Because Megan is so strict — and I say that with genuine admiration, dear Megan — I'm pretty sure Bubby and Mac will never, ever be allowed to say crap.

That said, though, there is one exclamation the boys are allowed to say, and it cracks me up each time it comes out of their mouths. During my visit with my grandsons a few weeks ago, I caught Mac on camera uttering the mighty words of frustration when I was trying to get him to say fire engine or fire truck (and, no, it's not that mangled curse word):

Oh, nuts! Just makes me chuckle every time.

Bubby says it, too, and it's always so unexpected coming out of the mouths of those little boys that I can't help but laugh.

What's especially funny is that, as you can see from Mac's face when I chuckle in the video above, my grandsons have no idea why Gramma finds that so funny.

Truth be told, I'm not exactly sure either.

Oh, nuts!

Yeah... it's just funny to me.

Oh, nuts!

I admit it: It doesn't take much to amuse this grandma.

Today's question:

What chuckle-worthy pseudo curse words come out of the mouths your little ones?

Spooky science experiments plus GRAND Social link party No. 76

With only a few days left until Halloween, it's time to squeeze in a bit more holiday fun with the kids before the creepy occasion has come and gone.

I received some Halloween treats from Kiddie Academy and with their permission, I'm sharing one with you today. It's a booklet of Spooky Science experiments using items you likely have around the house. Click on the following graphic to access the .pdf file (you'll need the free Adobe reader), then print it — or save to your computer — and try one or more  of the Halloween-themed experiments with the kids at your place.

Because my grandsons are far away, I've not tried these experiments with them, so please do share your success stories with me once you sample the spooky science fun with your kiddos. Enjoy!

Time now for GRAND Social No. 76. Thank you for participating!

How it works:

• All grandparent bloggers are invited to add a link. You don't have to blog specifically about grandparenting, just be a grandparent who blogs.

• To link up a post, copy the direct URL to the specific post — new or old — that you want to share, not the link to your blog's home page. Then click the blue button marked with "Add your link" below and follow the directions.

• You can add up to three posts, but no duplicates, contests, giveaways, or Etsy sites, please.

• Adding a mention such as This post linked to the GRAND Social to your linked posts is appreciated. Or, you can post the GRAND Social button anywhere on your page using the following code:

<a rel="nofollow" href="/" target="blank"><img src="http://grandmasbriefs.squarespace.com/storage/GRANDsocialbutton.jpg " alt="Grandma’sBriefs.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

• The GRAND Social linky is open for new posts through Wednesday evening, so please come back to see those added after your first visit.


• If you're not a blogger, you have the pleasure of being a reader. Bloggers who link up would be honored to have one and all — other bloggers as well as readers — visit, read and, if so moved, comment, even if just a "Hey, stopping by from the GRAND Social."

Coming next week: Monsters University and Last Vegas

Welcome back to a Saturday post on Grandma's Briefs. I've taken weekends off from blogging since the beginning of summer. During that time, I most missed sharing movie trailers with you — which were often the primary subjects in my The Saturday Post posts because I love movies so.

In light of that, Grandma's Briefs is back on Saturdays, with a movie double feature!

Going forward (at least until we all tire of it), each Saturday I'll share with you my picks of the upcoming week's movie releases — one on DVD and one opening in the theaters. Some I've seen, some I plan to see. Either way, I count them as the best bets of the week's releases for Grandma's Briefs movie lovers.

MY PICKS OF NEXT WEEK'S MOVIE RELEASES 

Out on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday, Oct. 29:

Monsters University
2-Disc Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy
Rated G
$24.99
www.MonstersUniversity.com

Opening in theaters Friday, November 1:

Last Vegas
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Michael Douglas, Kevin Kline, Morgan Freeman
Rated PG-13
105 minutes
www.LastVegasMovie.com

Enjoy your Saturday!