Wow. As The Imposter begins, it takes a bit of time watching to understand the depth of the ruse carried off by Frédéric Bourdin (called by some a “serial imposter”). I rented this movie months ago, it sitting in its Netflix envelope on my table for the longest time. And I had forgotten it was…
“If enough of us make small changes in our lives, we will see big changes.” “Change doesn’t require heroics. Change begins when we practice ordinary courage.” I learned about this author, Brené Brown, from several people. It’s almost as if I was *supposed* to read her work, but the Universe knew that I didn’t pick…
The Untethered Soul has good things to say. And they are pretty basic. Admittedly, for the researcher/scholarly writer I am, I had difficulty at times with the lack of references, research, data, etc. But this isn’t about that. This book, instead, is about depth and getting along in life. As I read this book, I…
Enough Said was a joy to see. The film displays a beautifully sweet honesty with its look at dating during midlife. The insecurities, the excitement, the laugher, the discoveries, and the ability to have fun, pure fun, with another, no matter your age—these things come together to create a feeling that it was more like,…
What a gifted writer! Ron Rash brings to life a compelling story in his novel “Serena.” It is unlike most of the novels I read, this being set in depression-era North Carolina. But its language paints so detailed and so colorful the setting that no matter the topic of the story, I am certain I…
Anger. Grief. Victimization. Joy. Hope. Helplessness. Shame. Trust. Outrage. Support. And love. Love. Short Term 12 is a movie that moves through the above things with the heart and openness needed to truly get a glimpse into the lives shared in the film. I laughed. I cried. I ached deeply inside at the hurt portrayed…
I didn’t like Sutter, the character who is the male lead in The Spectacular Now. But I got him. I didn’t want Aimee, the female lead, to like him as much as she did. But I understood her doing so. And the path he takes her on is anything but spectacular in the positive way.…
If I Stay brings a deep, poignant look at a life on the edge—the edge of living and the edge of ending. Although written to cover just a day or so in Mia’s life, most of the story involves Mia thinking back on her past, brief as it is for this girl, just a high…
What started many of these Summer 2013 coming of age movies? It was Mud, which opened early this past summer. I got around to watching it only this past week. When I think of Matthew McConaughey, I tend to think Rom-Com. But in retrospect, I suppose that’s not completely fair. He was in The Paperboy,…
There is something to be said for a book when you finish a chapter and turn the page and realize only then that you just finished the final chapter in the book. Upon turning that final page of Crazy Rich Asians, I exclaimed out loud at that moment. I’m still debating whether I feel good…
The World’s End, to me, wraps up a summer of Apocalyptic-themed and “coming-of-age” movies quite nicely by blending the two genres. You’re probably saying, “But isn’t The World’s End about a lot of middle-aged men? How can this be coming-of-age?” I reply, “Who said everyone comes of age in their late teens? Sometimes it takes…
It seems that so many people have strong feelings about Woody Allen. I do not—in either direction. Even without any bias, I was intrigued with his latest film, Blue Jasmine. And I’m glad I saw it. Like so many of my other movies this summer, this was on my radar based on it being “on…
A Hidden Madness, a memoir of a law professor with bipolar disorder, rambles a bit too much, grossly overuses exclamation marks, and fails to show that many of his professional struggles are simply part of legal academia and not necessarily mental illness. However, it also provides a great service of highlighting the problem of stigma…
Moving. That’s the best word to describe my perspective of The Butler. (Lest it be confused with anyone else’s The Butler, I’ll call it Lee Daniels’s The Butler at least this once. There. Done. (Alas, Lee Daniels is only one person and not multiple people named Lee Daniel, so I will not call it Lee…
Too many big comedies with trailers shown for months before the movie’s release reveal too many, if not all, of the truly laugh-out-loud moments. And yet sometimes, something looks funny enough—with enough talent—that I’m willing to take that risk. My gamble paid off as, thankfully, We’re the Millers does not fall into that camp. Although…