Meth cooking hillbillies and a log splitter-what could go wrong? Actually quite a bit. This story centers on 17 year old Ree Dolly, played by the highly talented Jennifer Lawrence. Ree lives with her mother and two younger siblings in rural Missouri. The family manages to get by with some help from their neighbors and relatives. Ree’s mother is severely depressed; she sits in her chair all day leaving Ree to tend to Ashlee and Sonny. She takes them to school (from which she has obviously dropped out), cooks for them, and teaches them to hunt and prepare squirrel.
Ree’s father has been arrested on various drug related charges and is awaiting trial. He has put up the Dolly’s house and property for his bond, and has disappeared. Ree has ten days to find him or the property will be forfeited and the family will be homeless.
Winter’s Bone take Ree from one dangerous situation to another in her quest to find her father. She receives help from some people, but is mostly thwarted by her own relatives and neighbors.
This movie has a constant undercurrent of violence, and I was constantly on edge, wondering how things could get worse for Ree. Jennifer Lawrence really carries this entire movie splendidly. It is only playing in smaller independent theaters so you really have to seek it out, but it’s definitely worth the effort.
The geniuses at Pixar have done it again. Toy Story 3 is not just a really good animated movie. It’s a really good movie! In addition to the fine animation, TS3 is a movie with a good story and great characters.
Most of the characters are familiar to anyone who has seen the previous movies in the Toy Story franchise, but there are a few newbies. Most notably there is the villain, a pink strawberry scented stuffed toy named Lots-O’-Huggin Bear. And of course there is Big Baby. What house with children has not had a soft-bodied baby doll with vinyl limbs and eyes that open and close? The new toys are residents of the Sunnyside Day Care Center.
As Andy prepares to leave for college, he cleans out his room. His toys are either consigned to the attic or placed in the box to be donated to Sunnyside. While the toys are apprehensive about their destination, the family is very busy and some of the toys end up in the wrong place. The toys that end up in Sunnyside at first seem quite happy as they believe that in day care they will be played with constantly.They soon realize that the toys in Sunnyside are subject to the whims of Lots-O’, who forces all the new toys into the toddler room, where the children do not know how to play properly with the toys.
Will the toys be able to escape from Sunnyside and end up in Andy’s attic where they belong? With Woody (still Andy’s favorite and the calm and reasonable leader of all the toys) in charge we can hope that things will work out just fine.
TS3 is not just for kids. There are subtleties that will be lost on the youngest viewers. Many adults will be nostalgic for toys that have not so popular lately. I will say that this movie is for nearly everyone, except perhaps for some sensitive young children who might be frightened by some of the scarier moments. I saw TS3 in 3D, but I don’t think it’s necessary. If you get motion sickness from 3D or just don’t like wearing the glasses, you won’t miss anything by seeing Toy Story 3 without the 3D. It’s more important to see this movie. And if you don’t shed a tear or two, there is something wrong with you!
Well, the girls are at it again. Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha are groomed, dressed, shod and bejeweled and ready to prove to us that New York City is the true center of the universe and shopping is the only activity with meaning. What fun! Or not.
Sex and the City 2 is overly long and with a rather silly plot. After attending the wedding of Anthony and Stanford the girls head for Abu Dhabi. They are the guests of a sheik who has opened a new luxury hotel and hopes that Samantha is the right publicist to promote it. Unfortunately the girls, who seem so sophisticated in New York, act like bumpkins in the United Arab Emirates. They are surprised that even moderate Muslims are upset and shocked by their dress and behavior. Samantha particularly would like to convert this uptight conservative society to her free and easy ways. Not gonna happen!
I knew that SATC2 would be a silly movie, but I had hoped for fabulous outfits and scenery. Sadly, most of the clothes in this movie are ridiculous and outrageous. The scenes in the Middle East were filmed in Morocco, with very little fabulous desert scenery, and even fewer great New York scenes. The best thing about this movie is the soundtrack.
It’s almost shocking that this fine movie has received such a limited release. The cast is stellar: Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Samuel L. Jackson, Cherry Jones, Jimmy Smits, Kerry Washington, and a host of other accomplished actors. The writing and the acting are superb. The story is intelligent, moving and believable.
The plot centers on Karen (Bening), a middle-aged single woman who lives with and cares for her elderly mother. At the age of 14, Karen gave birth to a baby girl who she gave up for adoption. We meet 37 year old Elizabeth Joyce (Naomi Watts) as she is interviewing for a position with a law firm led by Paul (Samuel L. Jackson). Meanwhile Lucy (Kerry Washington) and Joseph are looking to adopt a baby through an agency and are being interviewed by Sister Joanne (Cherry Jones).
Through the years, Karen has been keeping a journal consisting of letters written to her unknown daughter. When her mother dies, Karen is finally free to pursue a relationship with Paco (Jimmy Smiths) who she has met at work. Paco encourages her to try and find her daughter. Meanwhile, Lucy and Paul are hoping a young woman will approve them as adoptive parents of her unborn child.
The lives of these characters intersect in unpredictable ways. There is a tremendous amount of sadness in this movie, as well as redemptive and transformative moments. If you get the opportunity, go see Mother and Child.
Well, I guess to count this as a review I do. Michael Caine plays the title character in this British film. Harry Brown is a widowed pensioner living in a high-rise in London. His neighborhood is under assault by a gang of ruthless and violent youths. When his best friend is murdered, Brown decides to take justice into his own hands.
It would be easy to compare this film to Death Wish or the more recent Gran Torino. However, Harry Brown is grittier and more frighteningly realistic than either of those. Michael Caine is quiet, unassuming and heroic. I don’t think Harry Brown has gotten a very wide release, so see it while you can.
I have never paid attention to Christopher Reich or any of his books. However, I went to CVS to buy some sunscreen that I could take in a carry-on for my recent trip to Florida, and I was looking for an airplane book. Rules of Vengeance seemed to be the most promising of the sad and tiny selection.
It is the second book about Dr. Jonathan Ransom, a physician with Doctors Without Borders who is married to a woman who calls herself Emma. That, of course, is not her real name. Emma is an operative with Division, a secret (fictional) Pentagon department devoted to black ops. Emma has gone rogue after foiling an attempt to blow up a passenger airplane, and is now on the run from Division. Jonathan meets her briefly in London, where he has been invited to speak at a medical conference.
Most of the action in this thriller takes place in London. Lord Robert Russell is murdered, and the hunt for his killer begins. The investigation is headed by Detective Chief Inspector Kate Ford, of the London Metropolitan Police. The next day, a car bomb is detonated. Emma and Jonathan are now being hunted by Division, MI5, and FSB, the Russian secret intelligence agency.
This book is fast-moving, intelligent and interesting. I would definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good thriller.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Doubleday-2009
Softcover edition-Anchor Books-2010
Be warned: If you can’t abide an abundance of graphic sex scenes, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! Otherwise, go right ahead. This novel by Oscar Hijuelos is a companion piece to his 1990 Pulitzer Prize winning book The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.
Beautiful Maria of My Soul tells the story of Nestor Castillo’s great, lost love Maria Garcia y Cifuentes. In 1947, at the age of seventeen, Maria leaves her small, poor, farming village in the west of Cuba for Havana. She is poor and illiterate, but stunningly beautiful and ambitious. She mourns the deaths of her sister, Teresita, and her mother. Her papito has taken a new wife, and Maria feels out of place in her own home.
Upon her arrival in Havana, Maria finds a room in a cheap boarding house. She eventually finds work as a dancer in one of Havana’s second-rate night clubs. She meets Ignacio, a small-time gangster who takes her as his mistress. She also meets Nestor, a musician with whom she conducts a steamy love affair. It is after the affair ends that Nestor begins composing The Mambo Kings most famous song, “Beautiful Maria of My Soul.”
In the wake of the Cuban Revolution, Maria and her young daughter,Teresa, make their way to Miami. Starting a new life with no money and no knowledge of English, Maria makes a home for Teresa and a life for herself in America.
The parts of this novel that I enjoyed the most were about daily life in pre-Castro Havana. Hijuelos is the son of Cuban immigrants and there seems to be great nostalgia for their lost life. I don’t consider myself prudish, the sex scenes and constant descriptions of body parts is a bit much.
Many thanks to LibraryThing Early Reviewers program for sending me this book.
In USA:
To be published in hardcover-Hyperion Books-June 2010
At every movie I went to see last year, one of the previews was for Shutter Island. The trailer looked too scary for my taste so I refused to see it, despite the assurances of a friend that it wasn’t really that bad. Hah! This novel by Dennis Lehane is one of the most complex and frightening psychological thrillers I’ve read. I’m sure the movie would have been too much for me.
The story begins with a prologue written by Dr. Lester Sheehan in 1993. I re-read this a few times throughout the novel, and it was somewhat helpful in figuring out what was happening. The action in chapter one returns us to 1954, where the real drama occurs. Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule are U. S. Marshals. They have been sent to Shutter Island, in Boston Harbor, the home of a hospital for the criminally insane. A patient has escaped, seemingly vanishing through the walls of her cell. She is considered extremely dangerous. There is no way off the island except by boat, but there are many places to hide. A powerful hurricane is approaching, so there will be no boats for days.
When Teddy contracts a migraine headache, he takes some pills given to him by the chief of staff, Dr. Cawley. Thus begin his strange dreams and hallucinations. Teddy is no longer sure if anyone is who they say they are. But he is becoming increasingly sure that he will never leave Shutter Island.
Is there a conspiracy? Shutter Island is experimenting with new psychotropic drugs. Has Teddy been drugged? Is he an experiment? Why? Does he know too much? All important questions.
This book takes many twists and turns. I’m certain that it will leave even the most avid reader of mysteries perplexed until near the very end. Remember-nothing is what it seems to be. Trust no one. Good advice when reading this book, which I highly recommend.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-William Morrow-2003
Softcover edition-Harper-2009
This movie is not playing in too many theaters. It is in Swedish with English subtitles, so I imagine it’s not going to break any U.S. box office records!
It is a very interesting adaptation of the book of the same name. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was quite a lengthy book. The movie has been simplified, and some of the details have glossed over and the order of events changed, but it is definitely faithful to the spirit of the book. This movie is in no way a Hollywood production. The actors are ordinary looking people. The scenes of sex and violence, while not numerous, are raw in a way rarely seen in Hollywood (the film is not rated).
Reading the book first would be helpful, since I think otherwise the movie might be confusing. Or, you can wait until the Hollywood version is released, scheduled for 2012. But if this is playing in a theater near you, I recommend seeing it.
The Girl Who Played With Fire is the second book in The Millennium Trilogy, by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson. This continues the story of Lisbeth Salander, begun in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It picks up her story about two years after the end of the first book. Lisbeth has spent the past year abroad, much of it in the Caribbean reading books about mathematical theories.
When she does return to Sweden, it is to an expensive apartment in Stockholm which she has purchased with some of the money she diverted from the account of the late billionaire Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Soon after her return, she begins to make contact with some of her acquaintances from the past. She continues hacking into the computers of nearly everyone she knows. Soon, however, she is recognized by someone from her past, and she is accused of the murders of three people.
This book follows the manhunt for Lisbeth by the police, as well as those trying to kill her and, of course, Mikael Bloomkvist, the journalist who befriended her and believes in her innocence. As the plot unfolds, we learn about the events and traumas of Lisbeth’s childhood, and why she is being hunted by some of Sweden’s most powerful people.
Lisbeth Salander is a complex character and totally sympathetic, despite her often violent behavior. She is often victimized, but always fights back. Lisbeth has a powerful instinct for survival, which she needs. It’s actually difficult to discuss Lisbeth and this book without giving too much away. Needless to say I am looking forward to the imminent publication of the final installment in the Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. I highly recommend this book.
In USA:
Published in hardcover- Knopf-2009
Softcover edition-Vintage-2010
