Some Great Movies and an Incredible Book

There is nothing I love to do more on a cold winter's day than curl up with a great book or watch a romantic movie with my Mister. He's not much on the romantic part, but he loves movies as much as I do. The following are a few that we have recently seen.   


The Words was recommended to me by #1's dear friend, Ashley.  The Mister and I watched it ON DEMAND.  I don't ever remember seeing a trailer for it when it was in the theatres.

A

This is the story of a struggling writer that discovers a manuscript in an old briefcase that he purchased at a thrift shop and decides to get it published under his own name.  I'm not going to spoil the plot for you so that's all I can tell you.

The Mister and I loved this movie.  Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Irons were incredible in their roles and the story involves love, morality, greed and human nature - the perfect recipe for a great movie.  

A

Guess who picked this one out?  Yup, the Mister.  I didn't expect to like this much but even though this movie is very long, I thought it was great.  The theatre was packed and not one person stirred during the whole movie.  (Not even the Mister who usually uses the restroom at least once during a movie).
Even though I knew the eventual outcome of this story, I still was sitting at the edge of my seat totally riveted by the events.

*C
I know a lot of you (SAG) are going to disagree with this grade, so let me plead my case.  I love musicals (I was a theatre & dance major in college) but I think the majority of  musical plays should stay on the stage.  I just don't think they transfer well to the screen.  I also felt this movie was entirely too long.  I do love the score and I felt Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway were great. 

* Just from the number of nominations this movie has received, clearly I am in the minority about my feelings for this movie.

B

Ok, for all of you who just groaned over the thought of me giving this movie a better grade than Les Mis, I understand.  But it has to do with expectations.  I didn't expect much from this one but the girls wanted to see it.  It had some very funny moments in it.  The stars were good and I loved the house that it took place in. (I never claimed I was deep).  The movie was about a half hour too long and there are a couple of unnecessary scenes that made sitting next to my daughters rather awkward.  It's a good movie to rent so you can fast forward through the dirty parts.

I chose this book for my book club because it was recommended on one of the fabulous blogs I read.  Unfortunately, I can't remember which one.

The story line revolves around an inn keeper in Italy and a beautiful American actress.  It skips around a lot, which normally bothers me in a book but not this one.  It is a beautiful love story that is full of surprising twists and encompasses the characters for fifty years. I think this book would make a great movie.
I'm hosting a luncheon on the 25th, so I'll report back with what the rest of the book club thought of my selection.  

Hope you're reading a great book!