Wish I Was Here is a nice enough movie even if too predictable. It’s surface-good, and there are some great moments and quality, subtle commentaries on issues, but there’s just not enough underneath that can elevate it higher to being more than just good enough. Kate Hudson was less cute than normal, maybe trying to…
Slow and quiet, this movie is; but even the strong acting performances in Ain’t Them Bodies Saints could not grab my attention enough to fight lack of sleep and lingering jet lag. Admittedly, it probably wasn’t fair that I watched the movie on a flight shortly after take-off. Still, I found myself repeatedly dozing off,…
I didn’t plan to see Last Vegas, but when a friend asked at 7:20 pm if I wanted to go see a movie that night, we picked what was showing. Among what was available and what both of us were willing and in a mood to see, we walked into the theater to see Last…
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…
I had to work hard to remember the name of this movie I watched just a couple of weeks ago. If you keep up with my movies, you’ll know that this is not of my normal repertoire. But I agreed to a traditional rom-com. And I was reminded why I don’t see most of them.…
Under other circumstances, I likely would have finished this, but in truth it did not hold my attention enough to get me through life’s distractions. I heard good feedback from my book club members who finished the book. Still, I’m not motivated enough to pursue the remainder. I made it through just under a third,…
An enjoyable enough read, as one would expect from Grisham, but even so, this was not one of his best. This lacked the suspense of some of his more popular novels, and it lacked the depth and character of A Painted House (my fave Grisham novel). Regardless, it provided entertainment and distraction, and for that,…
Basic mystery story with a lawyer protagonist that was not superb, but easily entertaining enough. This was my first Scottoline book (received as a gift). While the subject was interesting enough, I was less than impressed with Scottoline’s portrayal and handling of the romantic relationship involved in the story.
This felt at first like an abridged version, and the settings kept jumping just to the next “important scene,” losing out on some character development that I believe would have added to the story. But toward the end of the book, the action and happenings slowed down enough to enjoy the story. The suspense deepened,…
Actually, I read only about one-third of this book. Between the subject matter and writing that felt a bit directionless, I just could not keep at it. Life’s too short and there are too many enjoyable reads to keep going. 🙂 But since I did not even finish half, I will withhold any rating other…
Interesting story, but rumors of elaboration of the truth partially hindered my enjoyment of that story. (It was written as fact, but several reports exist with strong suspicion of a lot of fiction.) Plus, frankly, this was poorly written. Had her story been penned by an actual writer, it likely would have been much better.…