Frost/Nixon has been nominated for 5 Oscars this year, including Best Picture and Best Actor (Frank Langella as Richard Nixon). This movie certainly deserves these nominations. Frost/Nixon is an entertaining and accurate history lesson.
Filmed in a quasi-documentary style, Frost/Nixon relates the story of the interviews, televised in 1977, of the disgraced Richard Nixon by the British television presenter David Frost. The movie takes us through the background behind this ground breaking series of interviews.
This film is accurate in all the details of the 1970’s-the clothes, the hairstyles, the cars. I got a kick out of a scene where the characters are smoking on an airplane. I haven’t seen that in years! It’s amazing to see how close these interviews came to not happening at all. And who remembers that Diane Sawyer used to work for Richard Nixon?
I think a special mention needs to go to Kevin Bacon, who does a great job playing Nixon’s post-resignation chief of staff, Jack Brennan. Go see this great movie!
Frost/Nixon: Behind the Scenes of the Nixon Interviews
This latest novel by Geraldine Brooks has become very popular. While to my mind it is not as well-written as her previous book, March, People of the Book is quite good.
In 1996, an Australian book conservator, Hanna Heath, is commissioned to conserve the famed Sarajevo Haggadah (which actually does exist-but most of the book is fiction). The war between Bosnia and Serbia has recently ended, and the city of Saravejo bears the scars. This Haggadah is so precious to the people of Saravejo that Hanna must work on it under guard. Her time with the book is limited, as it is scheduled to be displayed in a specially designed room at the National Museum. As she is working with the book, Hanna samples some fragments she finds on its pages: a stain, an insect wing, a hair, a salt crystal. The book revisits the past and describes how each of these items made its way into the Haggadah. There is also an unexpected plot twist near the end of the book, which leads to a further discovery about the Haggadah.
My only complaint about this book is the extraneous plot lines that distract from the compelling story of the Haggadah. Who is Hanna’s father; why is her relationship with her mother so bad; why does she sleep around so much? I don’t really care! The book is long and complex enough.
All that aside, this is a really good book. So go read it!
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Viking 2008
Softcover edition-Penguin 2008
People of the Book: A Novel
Liam Neeson is the new action hero-who knew? In Taken, he plays the father of a young woman who is kidnapped while on vacation in Paris. Sadly for the kidnappers, Neeson is a retired secret agent (CIA?). So, off he jets from LA to Paris to find his daughter and exact his revenge. Fun!
In these uncertain times, it’s great to have a real hero, as well as a real villain (or many of them). Through his network of contacts, Neeson learns that the kidnappers are Albanians whose speciality is abducting young women, addicting them to heroin, and turning them into prostitutes. How dastardly! Fortunately, Neeson has all the skills necessary to take care of these thugs.
He is convincingly expert in firearms, martial arts, and electronics. Neeson is single handedly responsible for the deaths of at least 20 of the bad guys, and we’re cheering him on all the way. Yes, there are other cast members, but Taken is Liam Neeson’s show. It’s not for the squeamish or the kiddies, but fine for anyone else.
Taken 27 x 40 (approx.) Poster
This fun new movie is based on the Shopaholic series of books by British writer Sophie Kinsella. These books (and I’ve read them all) are fun, charming, and uplifting. The heroine of these books, Becky Bloomwood, is played by Isla Fisher in the movie. She is a great choice for this role.
Becky is a writer, whose dream job is to write for the fashion magazine Alette. Through a series of twists and turns, Becky ends up writing for a financial magazine. The irony, of course, is that Becky is in a tremendous amount of debt, due to her shopping addiction. Becky is hired for this job by Luke Brandon, played by the charming Hugh Dancy.
The entire cast of this romantic comedy seems enjoy playing their roles. The result is a movie that is lots of fun, and moves quickly along. The movie is set in Manhattan, and the locations scenes are great. The true stars of the movie, of course, are the clothes. Becky’s wardrobe is fabulous. All the characters are defined by their clothes and they are, for the most, fabulous as well.
This movie has quite a few characters and situations that don’t exist in the books, but it stays true to the spirit of the books. My favorite character who was not in the books is D. Freak, played by John Salley. He is a member of Becky’s shopping addiction support group. He is former NBA star who is addicted to Cartier watches, and he is quite funny.
If you are in the mood for a fun romantic comedy, go see Confessions of a Shopaholic.
Confessions of a Shopaholic
The Gates of the Alamo is an extremely long novel by Stephen Harrigan. It tells the story of the defeat of the Texian patriots by the army of Mexican General Santa Anna at the Alamo in March 1836. The story is told from the viewpoint of three fictional characters who were involved in the famous siege and battle.
For myself, and I suspect for anyone not raised in Texas, not much is known about the Alamo, other than “Remember the Alamo!” So this book can serve as a lesson in Texas history. While very few Texian rebels actually survived the battle, the Alamo was the decisive factor in establishing Texian independence. In April 1836 the rebels, under the command of Sam Houston, defeated the Mexican army at the Battle of San Jacinto, and drove them out of Texas.
The Gates of the Alamo tells the story of Edmund McGowan, Mary Mott and Terrell Mott. McGowan is a botanist, hired by the Mexican government to explore and classify the flora of the Texas territory. Mary Mott is a widow who runs an inn in Texas; Terrell is her sixteen-year old son. There are many other characters in this book, including the famous Alamo fighters Jim Bowie, William Travis, and Davy Crockett.
As with any novel based on a historical event, the events themselves are real and in this case are depicted accurately. Of course the personal situations and conversations are pure speculation. But this novel does bring the characters to life. It is quite detailed and thorough. The only complaint I have is that is far too long. The paperback edition is 577 pages. So, be warned.
The Gates of the Alamo is the sixth book I’ve read for the Book Awards Reading Challenge. It was the Spur Award winner for Best Western Novel in 2001. Four to go!
The Gates of the Alamo
As Hurricane Katrina approaches the Gulf Coast, an elderly woman lies dying in a New Orleans hospital. Amongst her belongings is a diary, which she asks her daughter to read to her. And so unfolds The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This movie is based on the short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1921.To update the film to the present, the filmmakers have taken many liberties with the story. In fact, other than the name of the story and the basic concept of a baby born with the body of an old man who ages backwards, not much remains of Fitzgerald’s story.
The film is actually quite amazing in its use of special effects. We watch Brad Pitt grow younger as everyone around him ages. Most of the film was shot in and around New Orleans, which lends an air of authenticity to the production. As an aged and infirm seven year old, Benjamin meets a young girl named Daisy (played as an adult by Cate Blanchett). Their love story is the crux of this movie. They meet a number of times throughout the years, but their timing is never right until their biological ages meet. They fall in love, have a child together, and then Benjamin must leave because he is growing too young.
The cinematography, the music, and the special effects make this an amazing movie. However, in adapting Fitzgerald’s short story to a two and a half hour movie extravaganza, something has been lost. And I think that it is a spareness that leaves much open to the imagination. The movie seems ponderous and self-important. But-it’s still worth seeing. It has been nominated for 13 Oscars, and is sure to win some. But do yourself a favor-read the story, too.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
