Movies and a book
Because I said I would...
Finished reading Nancy Culpepper for my book club. Not a book I recommend. It was presented on the flap as short stories that explored her life through the "turbulent 60's, the Vietnam War, the eighties and the foreboding death of John Lennon, and the new millenium." Um...yeah...right. Also, they were supposed to be humorous stories about her courtship and marriage to Jack, her relationship with her precocious son, and her interest in her ancestral heritage. Again, um...yeah...right.
One would think that all of these stories would be told from her POV, wouldn't one? One would be wrong. Of the seven short stories in the book, the best one, IMO, was the one about her parents that was told from their POV, and barely included her. And I almost didn't like that one because it started out with her mother being diagnosed with cancer. Just what I didn't need! Why wasn't that mentioned on the flap?! Grr! It turned out all right, but it was touch and go there for a bit as to whether I would even read that story.
I never got a real sense of what her and her husband's relationship was like--other than that she left him twice. Couldn't have been much of a relationship, huh? And humorous? I don't recall smiling once, let alone laughing. Felt more frustrated than anything. If only I'd opened the book and read the first page, I never would have recommended it for book club, or even read any further. (She switched back and forth between present and past tense in the first story, and occasionally in others. I understood the reasoning after a bit, but it was still highly annoying.)
And I'm not even going to get into how someone who is 'interested' in their ancesteral heritage doesn't do anything constructive about finding it, even though their ancestors lived in the same county for generations. AARRGGH! (Check my interests...I research my own family history.)
So, yeah, not a book I'd recommend.
OTOH, I've seen some decent movies in the last week, one at the theater and the others on video.
Hubs and I went to see 'Because I Said So' last weekend. Funny! I giggled madly quite a few times. *g* Admittedly, I can't see me ever having had conversations with my mother like those in the movie, but they were still funny. And, yes, there were some superfluous singing scenes. It's a Mandy Moore movie, what do you expect? *shrug* All-in-all, though, it was a fun movie and I'm glad we went. Maybe I'll get him to 'Music and Lyrics' this weekend...
Rented 'Casanova' because I've been wanting to see it and keep missing it on TV. What can I say? Meh. The costumes were fun, but the plot was too all-over-the-place. Too many mistaken identities and 'Who's on First?' shenanigans. I think it tried to be 'A Knight's Tale' of the Inquistion and failed. Oh, well. Like I said, the costumes were fun, and Heath Ledger isn't too hard on the eyes. *g*
Also rented 'Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School'. The niece and I like to watch dance movies, and we hadn't seen this one. It was kind of spur of the moment so we didn't read what it was about. Her opinion? "It was horrible." Mine? I liked it--a lot.
Turns out, it wasn't really about dancing. Nope. It was about a man, Frank (played by Robert Carlyle), who's trying to recover from his grief over his wife's death. It's not made clear how long she's been dead, but the impression is that it's been a while--maybe a bit over a year or so? Anyway, Frank comes upon a car accident wherein the driver, Steve (played by John Goodman), has been seriously injured. To keep him awake until the ambulance arrives, Frank has to keep him talking. So Steve starts reminiscing about when he was young and attended the "MHBD&CS" (That's too much to write a second time. *g*) and how he made arrangements to meet a girl, Lisa, there on a certain date in the future, which happens to be that day.
As fate would have it *eg*, the school still exists and is run by the original owner's daughter, played by Mary Steenburgen. So Frank goes to keep Steve's appointment. Unfortunately, Lisa's not there. Fortunately, several other women are--including Meredith (played by Marisa Tomei). *g*
From there the movie goes on to explore how Frank recovers from his grief, including scenes with his counseling group, and what happened to Steve and Lisa when they were young, and where they are now. And it did it in a way that I found believeable, and very touching. There were several funny moments, and a few sad ones. I thoroughly enjoyed this little independent movie and am very glad I found it, especially since I've always liked Marisa Tomei.
In other news...I'm still working on that afghan. *g* The end is in sight, though!
Finished reading Nancy Culpepper for my book club. Not a book I recommend. It was presented on the flap as short stories that explored her life through the "turbulent 60's, the Vietnam War, the eighties and the foreboding death of John Lennon, and the new millenium." Um...yeah...right. Also, they were supposed to be humorous stories about her courtship and marriage to Jack, her relationship with her precocious son, and her interest in her ancestral heritage. Again, um...yeah...right.
One would think that all of these stories would be told from her POV, wouldn't one? One would be wrong. Of the seven short stories in the book, the best one, IMO, was the one about her parents that was told from their POV, and barely included her. And I almost didn't like that one because it started out with her mother being diagnosed with cancer. Just what I didn't need! Why wasn't that mentioned on the flap?! Grr! It turned out all right, but it was touch and go there for a bit as to whether I would even read that story.
I never got a real sense of what her and her husband's relationship was like--other than that she left him twice. Couldn't have been much of a relationship, huh? And humorous? I don't recall smiling once, let alone laughing. Felt more frustrated than anything. If only I'd opened the book and read the first page, I never would have recommended it for book club, or even read any further. (She switched back and forth between present and past tense in the first story, and occasionally in others. I understood the reasoning after a bit, but it was still highly annoying.)
And I'm not even going to get into how someone who is 'interested' in their ancesteral heritage doesn't do anything constructive about finding it, even though their ancestors lived in the same county for generations. AARRGGH! (Check my interests...I research my own family history.)
So, yeah, not a book I'd recommend.
OTOH, I've seen some decent movies in the last week, one at the theater and the others on video.
Hubs and I went to see 'Because I Said So' last weekend. Funny! I giggled madly quite a few times. *g* Admittedly, I can't see me ever having had conversations with my mother like those in the movie, but they were still funny. And, yes, there were some superfluous singing scenes. It's a Mandy Moore movie, what do you expect? *shrug* All-in-all, though, it was a fun movie and I'm glad we went. Maybe I'll get him to 'Music and Lyrics' this weekend...
Rented 'Casanova' because I've been wanting to see it and keep missing it on TV. What can I say? Meh. The costumes were fun, but the plot was too all-over-the-place. Too many mistaken identities and 'Who's on First?' shenanigans. I think it tried to be 'A Knight's Tale' of the Inquistion and failed. Oh, well. Like I said, the costumes were fun, and Heath Ledger isn't too hard on the eyes. *g*
Also rented 'Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School'. The niece and I like to watch dance movies, and we hadn't seen this one. It was kind of spur of the moment so we didn't read what it was about. Her opinion? "It was horrible." Mine? I liked it--a lot.
Turns out, it wasn't really about dancing. Nope. It was about a man, Frank (played by Robert Carlyle), who's trying to recover from his grief over his wife's death. It's not made clear how long she's been dead, but the impression is that it's been a while--maybe a bit over a year or so? Anyway, Frank comes upon a car accident wherein the driver, Steve (played by John Goodman), has been seriously injured. To keep him awake until the ambulance arrives, Frank has to keep him talking. So Steve starts reminiscing about when he was young and attended the "MHBD&CS" (That's too much to write a second time. *g*) and how he made arrangements to meet a girl, Lisa, there on a certain date in the future, which happens to be that day.
As fate would have it *eg*, the school still exists and is run by the original owner's daughter, played by Mary Steenburgen. So Frank goes to keep Steve's appointment. Unfortunately, Lisa's not there. Fortunately, several other women are--including Meredith (played by Marisa Tomei). *g*
From there the movie goes on to explore how Frank recovers from his grief, including scenes with his counseling group, and what happened to Steve and Lisa when they were young, and where they are now. And it did it in a way that I found believeable, and very touching. There were several funny moments, and a few sad ones. I thoroughly enjoyed this little independent movie and am very glad I found it, especially since I've always liked Marisa Tomei.
In other news...I'm still working on that afghan. *g* The end is in sight, though!