Yes, I ran out to see Sex and the City on its opening day. It was quite the treat. The movie opens with a brief recap of where the series left off-not necessary for most of us but probably a good idea for those who have never seen the show. Of course everyone in the audience on opening day seemed to be a fan. There was lots of applause; some women even got dressed up for the show.
The story picks up four years after the series ended. Charlotte is the mother of little girl; Miranda is still living in Brooklyn with Steve; Samantha is living in Malibu with Smith; and Carrie is writing another book and preparing to move in with Mr. Big. The movie follows what happens to the girls over the next year.
All of the regulars from the series are here-even Miranda’s nanny, Magda. And, of course, the dresses, shoes, and purses. A great addition to the cast is Jennifer Hudson as Louise, Carrie’s personal assistant. She lends a much needed note of reality because, let’s face it, most people don’t live the fabulous lives of the girls. Yes, Louise has fabulous bags, but she rents them from Bag, Borrow or Steal.
The film is great fun, but there are plenty of sad moments, too. Whether or not you’re a fan of the series, I’d recommend seeing this.
Sex And The City: Music From The HBO Series
Better late than never, I finally got around to reading Alan Paton’s classic novel of South Africa Cry, the Beloved Country. Originally published in 1948, while black South Africans were suffering under apartheid rule, this book is beautifully written and tremendously moving.
Paton tells the story of a black minister from a rural area of South Africa, Stephen Kumalo. After hearing that his sister is ill, Kumalo journeys to Johannesburg to find her, his son, Absalom, and his brother. All have fled to the city to make a better life for themselves. Kumalo finds Absalom shortly after the murder of a white man. Absalom and two other young Zulu men are charged with the crime, with sadly predictable results.
Kumalo’s brother has become a powerful and militant speaker. His sister has fallen on hard times, and is now left with an illegitimate child to rear on her own. The sad fate of Kumalo’s family has afflicted many of South Africa’s rural blacks. Many go to work in the mines, never to be seen again by their families. Many turn to crime. Many simply die of hunger and disease.
The stories are all tragic, and yet this is a novel of hope and redemption. It is written in a deceptively simple, lyrical style. While apartheid no longer legally exists in South Africa, Cry, the Beloved Country has lessons for today, and probably forever.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Scribner-2003
Softcover edition- Scribner-2003
(N.B.-many other editions, but most not as available as the above.)
Cry, the Beloved Country (Oprah’s Book Club)
I really enjoyed Baby Mama. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler make a great team. As with much good comedy, their characters are total opposites, drawn together by unlikely circumstances. The movie is funny and charming in a way I did not expect.
As Kate and Angie, Tina and Amy are humorous and have a number of touching moments. But the supporting cast is great, too. I particularly enjoyed Steve Martin as Kate’s (Tina Fey) boss. There are enough turns in the plot to lift this film above the obvious.
If you have a chance-go see it!
Baby Mama [Theatrical Release]
Philippa Gregory’s book of historical fiction was first published five years ago, but it is enjoying renewed interest due to the recent release of the movie starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johannson. It is quite lengthy (over 660 pages in paperback) and is full of historically accurate details about life in sixteenth century England and the court of King Henry VIII.
The Other Boleyn Girl tells the story of the friendship and rivalry between Henry’s well known second wife, Anne Boleyn, and her sister Mary. Both girls were used to advance the interests of their family. They were raised to be courtiers, and considered family property. They were pampered and sheltered in many ways, and treated poorly in others. It was not an easy time to be born female!
This book is definitely a page turner. As long as you don’t accept any of this as serious history and enjoy it as a time novel, I’d definitely recommend it. This was a selection by my book club; we generally have a 350 page limit on our books. No one knew it was this long, but I think we’re all managing to finish it in time. Anyway-enjoy!
Published in USA:
Hardcover edition-Touchstone-2004
Softcover edition-Scribner-2003
The Other Boleyn Girl
I have been a big fan of the Indiana Jones movies for years. They are always smart and fun and well-written. So of course I had to go see this one on its opening weekend. The great thing about this movie is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
The story begins in Nevada in 1957. There are numerous references to the characters being older; from the start Indiana admits he can’t fight his captors as he once did. There are also many visual references to previous Indiana Jones movies. These start right in the beginning of the movie-it’s lots of fun to try and spot them.
Cate Blanchett makes a convincing villain. Her skill at accents is put to good use here. It’s great to see Karen Allen reprising her role as Marion Ravenwood. She is as tough and argumentative as ever. Harrison Ford has gotten a bit creaky and is outshined by the exuberant Shia LaBeouf.
Yet Harrison Ford IS Indiana Jones, from the hat, the bullwhip, and the fear of snakes to his way with the ladies. So-have fun, go see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Indiana Jones)
In 2000, Judith Matloff and her husband left their jobs as journalists in Russia and moved to New York, Matloff’s hometown. While John stayed behind to pack their belongings and wind down their life in Moscow, Judith moved in with her mother in Queens and began house hunting. Wanting an urban lifestyle but lacking jobs (and the ability to obtain a mortgage), Matloff agreed to purchase a wreck of a brownstone on a dangerous block in West Harlem. The block was, in fact, considered the epicenter of the Dominican cocaine trade in the Northeast.
And thus begins the adventure. While they are hoping for a lively, culturally diverse community, they were ill-prepared for the legions of dealers who made the block their “office”, and for the customers who came to “shop”. Many of the legitimate looking stores on nearby Broadway were actually fronts for conducting drug related business and for wiring drug money.
Then there is the house. It is plagued by bad plumbing, inadequate wiring, termite infestation, rotted windows, cracked plaster, and every other home renovator’s nightmare. In addition, the businessmen on their street use the tiny front yards as dumping grounds for trash and waste. Inevitably, they find used syringes in the back yard.
Judith Matloff is a veteran journalist, and she struggles to maintain an objective viewpoint to Home Girl. While she is sometimes frightened by her neighbors, she never thinks of leaving her chosen neighborhood. She realizes that she and her family are the outsiders, and they maintain a somewhat uneasy peace with their neighbors.
I really enjoyed reading this. Matloff never takes herself too seriously, and her humor and personality shine. Many thanks to LibraryThing Early Reviewer for sending this book to me.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Random House-2008
Home Girl: Building a Dream House on a Lawless Block
Time Bandit is not to be confused with the movie Time Bandits. The book is named for the boat, which in turn was named for the movie. The F/V (Fishing Vessel) Time Bandit may be familiar to viewers of the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch. Time Bandit is one of the crab boats featured in the series. The book is co-authored by brothers, and co-captains, Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand. Many thanks to LibraryThing Early Reviewer for sending me a copy of this book to read and review.
I think this book will appeal to readers who enjoy watching the show. If you’ve been a regular viewer, you probably have some liking for the characters and more than a cursory interest in the work they do. For those who don’t know, the F/V Time Bandit fishes for Alaskan king crab in the Bering Sea. As you can imagine, the Bering Sea is a dangerous place to be, especially during the winter crab fishing season, and most certainly aboard a working fishing boat. The seas are rough, often with very high waves, storms are frequent, and the work is difficult and dangerous. The crew works for days with little or no sleep, thereby increasing the danger. If you wonder why Alaskan king crab is so costly, this book certainly explains it all.
How many times do we have to read that John Hillstrand likes fishing, drinking and women (in that order!)? Why does he fish? Because that’s how he was raised. The Hillstrand brothers are relatively uneducated, and probably not very well-read. Their narrative style seems better suited to a television audience.
The brothers, particularly John, seem to spend an inordinate amount of time cursing, fighting, and performing daring rescues at sea (or being rescued or thrown in jail). The story in Time Bandit is framed by John drifting alone in Cook Inlet on the F/V Fishing Fever. He was aboard the Fishing Fever during off-season for crab, and was fishing for salmon when the engine blew up. So-the book starts with John adrift, and ends, quite predictably with his rescue. Obviously he is rescued or there would be no memoir.
Personally, I did not find this book particularly appealing. I found the writing to be amateurish and repetitive. The co-writer, Malcolm MacPeherson and the editors should have had more input; maybe then the book would have been a fraction as suspenseful and exciting as fishing the Bering Sea.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Ballantine Books-2008
Time Bandit: Two Brothers, the Bering Sea, and One of the World’s Deadliest Jobs
Thanks to the Tribeca Film Festival for premiering this documentary of Fred Lebow and the New York City Marathon. You don’t have to be a runner to be inspired by the story of Fred Lebow (born Fischl Lebowitz in Romania) and the inception and phenomenal growth of the New York Marathon.
For a number of years, Lebow ran the new York Road Runners Club out of his apartment, using his own money. The club grew through the strength of his personality and persistence. He was charismatic and dictatorial, and totally dedicated to running. Using archival footage and interviews with those who knew Lebow, Run for Your Life tells a powerful and moving story.
The director, Judd Ehrlich, was not a runner. He became involved in this story after meeting Lebow’s nephew. Ehrlich brings a very personal touch to the movie, without disregarding Lebow’s flaws. A number of the film’s interviewees were in the audience, some seeing the finished product for the first time. There were quite a few tears and much applause. Since bringing this movie to the Tribeca Film Festival, Ehrlich has been contacted by numerous distributors, so there may be opportunities for many more people to see this film.
To verdener is the Danish title of this film. It is one of this year’s selections at the Tribeca Film Festival. One of the great things about New York and the TFF is the opportunity to see a movie that you would never even hear about. To verdener is quite a popular movie in Denmark. It has been, and will continue to be, making appearances at film festivals around the world. The movie is in Danish, with English subtitles.
It is based on the true story of 17 year old Sara who, along with her family, is a devout Jehovah’s Witness. Sara falls in love with Teis, who is a nonbeliever. If she continues her relationship with him, she will be expelled from the church, and will not be able to see her family again.
The director, Niels Arden Oplev (who also co-wrote the screenplay), was at the screening and commented on the film as well as answering questions afterward. And he sat right in back of me so you can be sure I paid attention during the movie! Oplev wanted to make a film about religious fundamentalism. He chose not to focus on Muslim fundamentalists since he feels it’s so easy to demonize them. Denmark is home to about 200 fundamentalist sects, and there about 15,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country. Oplev read a newspaper article about the real life Sara (who plays a passenger on a train at the end of the film), and turned her story into this film.
To verdener was very interesting and well done. Although I know next to nothing about Denmark or its people, it’s obvious that there are fundamentalists everywhere. They are willing to sacrifice everything (money, family, friendship, personal comfort) for their strong beliefs. Outsiders feel they are brainwashed, while believers feel outsiders are seriously deluded and headed for eternal damnation. Friday night fun at the movies!
I’m grateful to the TFF for bringing this movie to NYC.
The decades long civil war in Afghanistan has provided fodder for numerous bestsellers. Of those that I have read, none is more affecting than A Thousand Splendid Suns. Author Khaled Hosseini takes the title from a poem about Kabul by the seventeenth-century Afghan poet Saib-e-Tabrizi:
One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls
This poem, and this book, sadden me. Kabul was once a beautiful, cosmopolitan city; it was a center of learning and culture. Foreign invasion and internal strife have turned Kabul, and much of Afghanistan, into rubble. The Soviets, the mujahadeen, the Taliban, have repressed and brutalized the Afghani people, particularly the women.
Hosseini writes movingly of the lives of two Afghani women. The elder, Mariam, was born in 1959 outside the city of Herat, in northeast Afghanistan. She is the illegitimate child of a wealthy man (who already has three wives) and one of his servants. Laila was born in 1978 in Kabul, the youngest child of a university-educated teacher and his wife. At the age of 15, Mariam is given in marriage to Rasheed, a 45 year old widower. He brings her to his home in Kabul.
As the Soviet invasion and subsequent civil war make life more and more difficult for the residents of Kabul, the lives of Mariam and Laila intersect in a profound and dramatic way. Afghanis suffer in poverty and ignorance for decades, while their country is used as a pawn by foreign superpowers. Their leaders, in turn, brutalize the people with regressive laws, based supposedly on Koranic principles.
This is a moving story of war, poverty, betrayal, sacrifice and redemption. I’m sorry it took me so long to get around to reading it!
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Riverhead Books-2007
Softcover edition-Bloomsbury Publishing-2007
A Thousand Splendid Suns
