Monday Movie Meme – Keeping up with the Kindliness

(l-r): Eddie Murphy and Louie Anderson in "Coming to America."We never know how much even the simplest gestures such as a smile or “hello” can alter the course of someone’s day, for the better. So, this week’s Monday Movie Meme is all about highlighting the good deeds that create a ripple effect of positive vibes and hope for those around us: Random Acts of Kindness.

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies featuring kind gestures involving the main or supporting characters. This includes scenes where a movie character is either the recipient or the giver of some type of unexpected deed that had a positive impact on one or more people in the film. Here are my selections for this week’s “Random Acts of Kindness” theme.

• A fast food worker gives a pair of ruby earrings to a random subway passenger, after his girlfriend breaks up with him, in the comedy COMING TO AMERICA starring James Earl Jones, Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall.

• An abused and bashful housewife does grocery shopping for her partially blind daughter-in-law who was released from prison only to work a maid for the town’s mayor, in the drama THE COLOR PURPLE starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover and Oprah Winfrey. Although the housewife’s act of kindness was intentional and done for family, her good deed wasn’t exactly planned, so I still consider the gesture in this scene to have a level of randomness to it.

• Townspeople pool their funds to save a local business from folding after $8,000 in missing deposits put a distraught father at risk of going to jail, in the family drama IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE starring James Stewart and Donna Reed.

K is for Kindness

What movies, featuring scenes where random acts of kindness are being performed, would YOU add to this list?

Monday Movie Meme – Pucker Up

Here's hoping you’ve applied your ChapStick and popped a mint, because the theme for this week’s Monday Movie Meme is all about lip-locking scenes:

Best Kiss

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies featuring the best on-screen kiss you’ve ever seen.

Today’s post is going to be short and sweet since my selection for this week’s Best Kiss theme includes just one epic lip-lock that cannot be beat. I mean sure, I could name some faves such as The Notebook or that scene outside of the jazz spot in Love Jones. Even those tender exchanges between Aragorn and Arwen in The Lord of the Rings trilogy are worth a mention. Still, nothing…noootthing is better than this…

Yep, I have to give it to Tobey McGuire and Kirsten Dunst (who I had mixed up with Claire Danes as first, while writing this post. How did that happen?!) for their adrenaline pumping, wet and steamy Spider-Man sugar. Now how are you going to top that!

Who had the best kiss YOU’VE ever seen in a movie?

Monday Movie Meme - The Great Manipulators

The theme of this week’s Monday Movie Meme is all about characters who try to get one over on others: The Great Manipulators.

Share on your blog or in the comments section, some of the most manipulative movie characters you’ve ever seen.

In a film, these are the types of people who play mind games on others or toy around with their target’s emotions. Or maybe they simply get a kick out of taking advantage of the vulnerabilities in a system, community or business. The folks in this category usually have some type of agenda, unless they are just plain evil. Either way, their antics are generally no fun for the people they interact with as the plot thickens and the scenes play out.

Here are my selections for this week’s The Great Manipulators theme.

Kathryn

Played by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the romantic drama “CRUEL INTENTIONS,” this rich private school brat embodies all that is wrong with mean girls and abusing one’s popularity. The saying that suggests keeping your friends close and your enemies closer may not be a good idea in this particular case. She uses her influence to gain the secrets of those in her inner circle and exploit people for her own benefit; tugging at the heart strings of the unsuspecting whose integrity and innocence gets corrupted by this disgraceful, jealous and insecure bitch.

Rowena Price

(aka David Shane aka Katherine aka Veronica…yeah, how about that!)

Played by Halley Berry in the mystery drama “PERFECT STRANGER,” investigative reporter embarks on an undercover operation to solve the murder of her friend. The thing is, this wannabe vigilante who snoops into a wealthy executive’s habit of extramarital affairs starts opening a can of worms that involves all sorts of funny business. She’s not the only one with tricks up their sleeve, which places her among a cast of characters who are each trying to get over on one another in this movie.

Commodus

Played by Joaquin Phoenix in the historical action drama “GLADIATOR,” this poor excuse for a son who stole control of the Roman Empire, is one merciless son of a bitch! He uses threats of violence and death to gain the allegiance of senators, warriors and his own family.

Ghost

Played by rapper T.I. in the crime thriller “TAKERS,” this ex-con puts the freedoms and safety of his crew in jeopardy, all because he has an ax to grind.

Who are the most manipulative movie characters YOU would add to this list?