It had been some time since I read the book, Gone Girl. I talked briefly with a friend or two about it before seeing the movie, only then remembering the depths of the diabolic nature of the characters. Worried, as we often are when a great story from print is brought to cinema, I went…
August: Osage County presents a painful, bitter, sad look at family dysfunction without much hope or goodness involved. It is a harsh look at a family struggling through addiction, death, manipulation, divorce, infidelity, suicide, and mental illness. The raw nature of the emotional journey of the family picked with sharp nails at the scabs of…
Big. Loud. Fast. Vulgar. Cheap. Depressing. Flashy. Pathetic. Ambitious. Empty. Yes. I saw The Wolf of Wall Street. And yes, it was all that and more. Late last summer when I was looking for new books to read, I decided to check out those due out soon as movies. Wolf was one such book. But…
Having loved the book, I was intrigued to see how the movie would tell Liesel’s story. As with most adaptations, pieces were left out, blended, added, discounted, and hidden. But my experience reading the book was so recent, I was easily able to fill in many of the gaps (e.g., I giggled when Mama first…
Dame Judith Dench delivers a performance that amazed me at her ability to show how deep shame can run and how strong a grasp it keeps on a soul. Her quiet looks, her grimaced face, her bright glimpses of getting past, only to see her shrink back beneath the suffocating covers of inflicted and ingrained…
Fun. Flashy. Frivolous. I wanted to see this when it came out—on the big screen. But time slipped past. Sitting on a non-nighttime seven-hour flight created in me a captive audience, delighted to find this film on Delta’s “on demand” list. (I also watched Water for Elephants, but no review will be here as it’s…
Movies have made me cry, weep, and hide my head in angst. Before watching this film, none had made me want to vomit at the level of disgust at humanity 12 Years a Slave evokes. Many cultures in the past have enslaved, imprisoned, and suppressed and oppressed others. (Many still do. Human trafficking, alas, is…
The Book Thief is another book I picked up to “read before the movie,” and I’m delighted I did. The genre (1940s Germany) isn’t what I typically turn to, but the story is told from a perspective of a young girl that allowed me to slip into this time and tragic period and settle into…
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…
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…
Beautifully written story, capturing your heart with Pi’s struggle for survival. I read this in anticipation of the movie, and having done so, seeing the movie the week after I finished the book, was perfect. I saw things in the story on the screen I had not picked up on in the book, as their…
Fabulous! It was all I could do not to read this again as soon as I finished it. No, actually, half way through, I wanted to start it over, reading it in a different order. (I have one friend who’s read this three times in the past nine months.) I dare not say too much…
I cannot help but wonder how much of an effect the many movie trailers for the upcoming new film version of this book had on my reading of it. The movie trailer dazzles with glam and speed. In reading, the story seemed much quieter, reserved. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I suspect strongly I would…
Yes, it took me four months to finish this tale. And yes, I finished it only because I listened to the last forty percent of it during a long road trip. It’s an epic tale, and it’s good. But it was several stories in one. The writing is phenomenal, painting an amazing picture of Russia,…
The Help was a thoroughly enjoyable read. The story is inspiring and moving and sets a scene many people would rather forget. As much as I enjoyed the story, though, it did not speak to me in ways it did to other friends. Perhaps that involves my background of growing up as a minority, or…