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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

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!




Preppy Empty Nester
Preppy Empty Nester

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4 comments:

  1. Great list! Markus and I loved This is 40. I am typing this as he drives to our therapy session and our arguments usually end up like this couple's when we try to use our therapy rules! Made me laugh. I am finally joining a book club this year (getting so close to being a good trophy wife like you) and this looks like an exciting read!

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  2. Great rundown....hope this becomes a regular feature:) OK...Le Mis, I did love it BUT I do agree it does not translate nearly as well on a big movie screen as it does the Broadway stage. Long musical numbers can appear monotonous when on the screen. I cannot wait to see zero dark 30, in fact we are hoping to see it tomorrow night.
    I really wanted to see The words, but too slow for my husband..so happy to hear its out on dvd!
    And finally thanks for the book recommendation, adding it to my list, sounds like a book right up my alley.......enjoy your day Kate:)

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  3. Thanks for sharing these. I'm a huge reader, so my book list is about 50 pages long. I'll add this one too.
    Hugs,
    Laura

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  4. JUST finished Beautiful Ruins and now I'm starting SNOB (I think I'm up next for book club and may use this).

    Thanks for your wonderful critique!

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