Monday, March 26, 2012

Movies...Reely? No Book Chatter?

We all have movie and TV villains we love to hate, but this past weekend, I began a list of movies I hate to love. They aren't exactly guilty pleasure movies, because they do have some redeeming qualities. However, in the great continuum of movie goodness, they probably fall short.



The Birds...who doesn't love the silly expressions on Tippi Hendren's face, the fear in her eyes, as she dashes away from plastic birds picking at her stylish up-do? We all know they are wind-up birds, and that in many cases, they are flying into a plexiglas shield, still we flinch. We cringe. We hope that Tippi will be able to save the children, keep her purse secured, and not break an ankle as she rows a boat, or runs on gravel roads in her high heels, and business suit.








Topping my list of L2H movies are A Clockwork Orange, and The Handmaid's Tale, both dystopian society films. Over the top violence toward women, and extreme egotism, propel the main characters to commit unspeakable acts with great joy. However, these are skillfully crafted films with fascinating, provocative storytelling.








The French Lieutenant's Woman...probably my favorite movie of all times. This just makes my list because I love to torment my book group with references to this movie. Most have seen it, and don't come close to sharing my respect for the artistry, or for the performances of Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons. I will admit that Irons comes off creepy in many movie roles, but not in this case. He is quite sympathtic, actually. As a heartbreaking, sob inducing movie, it ranks up there with Love in the time of Cholera...another title I am forbidden to mention at our meetings!





Last weekend I saw The Hunger Games. That's what got me thinking about this whole topic. I'm still shaking my head in disbelief that I have no explantion for why I find this violent book and movie so captivating. Kids kill kids, for pete's sake. How can that be entertaining? Maybe it is a warning that I, like many, have been desensitized. Sure, there are many, many other issues worthy of discussion in this story of rich v. poor, government v. the masses, but the fact remains that the draw is the distasteful theme of kids fighting to the death. I believe it will be a long time before I understand my relationship to this story.

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Did you happen to catch "Harry's Law" last weekend? There was an evil shoe store manager who showed no iota of humanity or compassion toward her workers, and they eventually rebelled. Her name? Chua. Yes, just like the evil Amy Chua, he woman who wrote The Battle Hymn of the Dragon Mother - the woman who will never be named mother of the year. **********




I can't close without mentioning the tragedy that took the lives of two teens last week. I didn't know either of these kids, but they, and their families have been on my mind. Also on my mind... the many, many people I have heard commenting on the parents' part in the events, throwing stones, blaming. Surely the parents' minds are filled with these same questions, and don't need the help of idiots who use public soapboxes such as the HTR forums to stick their noses into a private situation. Will we ever return to the days in which thoughtfulness and compassion are the norm or are we permanently stuck in a place where anyone can say anything cloaked by anonimity?



Of course, there were many heartfelt comments shared as well. Classmates, friends and relatives posted thoughts on the HTR obituatry page. Many sweet, sad words were written directly to the two kids. I hoped that those same words had been shared when they kids were alive. The greater lesson for me is to not pass up an opportunity to thank people, the tell them how lucky I am to know them, and to share laughter. Thank you all.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Not Albee's Zoo Story



Driving through downtown last week, I notice that the Lakeshore Cinema was showing We Bought a Zoo. That book has been on my To-Read pile for months, and the marquee, along with the fact that I was between books...well, that's all I needed to coax me to dig in.


I'm not a fan of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. In fact, before Emily Trask set out to parts hither and yon, finally landing in New York via Yale, she worked here at LaDeDa. On the rare occasions when we ran out of book or theatre talk, Emily would pick up a random Chicken Soup volume and do an over the top reading. She usually picked up one of the CS books filled with animal stories...my cat saved my life....my dog could see into my soul...my hamster warned me that the man I was dating was no good....that sort of thing. I often thought we could do an entire evening - ET Presents CS - but then I didn't want to insult all the good people who find comfort and inspiration in those books.


We Bought a Zoo has some of those same elements, making it predictable, to say the least. Beginning with grieving father, thrown into parenting a pre-school daughter, and a moody pre-pubescent son, and ending with - well - happiness, revitalizing a neglected zoo becomes the obvious metaphor for bringing a family back to life. Very CS-ish!


What saves this book is the writing. Benjamin Mee is a journalist. His style is clean. He reports the facts and allows the emotion and sentimentality to grow out of the real life struggle. And unlike the evil Amy Chua (see previous post for clarification!) he doesn't dwell on himself, but rather shares the spotlight with his children, his employees, and of course, the animals.


I liked this book except for a difficult scene with a tiger. Who would have thought that tiger-on -cover pretty much ends up like dog-on-cover books. Go ahead and read it anyway. It's fast, and there are some nice animal photos including one of a capybara, a huge rodent. You want me to admit to anything, no matter how big, or awful, even if I didn't do it - just waltz any rodent past me, and I'll sign a confession on the spot. Just imagine what a capybara, a rat, and a basket of snakes will get ya!


***Other bits of tid (tidbits for those of you who don't speak John Lennon) ......


Our guest blogger, Steve, has been teasing you with hints about his novel. Well, I hope to make you all jealous by telling you that he sent me the first four chapters to read, review and comment. When I agreed to look over the chapters, I forgot how much I hate not knowing things. So, here I am, stuck in the beginning stages of a mystery; there's a body in car, and a cast of colorful characters lining up to investigate, or to be identified as persons of interest, YIKES! - red herrings.


If you're reading this, Steve, my goal this week is to do some detailed feedback, and send the pages back to you. Hope you'll still speak to me after I put my two cents worth on your work.


Other updates of significance:


Heart-A-Rama is coming along nicely. Get your tickets now at the Pig or at Inman's. We have an accordion player and banjo player in the show this year. Now, how can you resist that. Banjo player is rehearsing her at 5:30 tonight. Drop by.


DWTH starts tonight!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Refreshing Change!

After reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by the evil Amy Chua, I was thrilled to dig into Alice Ozma's The Reading Promise.


Here's what the back of the book will tell you: When Alice was in 4th grade, she and her father, an elementary school librarian, made a promise to read aloud together for 100 consecutive nights. Upon reaching their goal they celebrated with pancakes, but it was clear that neither one wanted to let go of what had become their reading ritual.

I won't go into detail about how revolting I found Amy Chua and her totalitarian control of her children's lives , or how her back peddling on TV talk shows, and her transparent justification on her website are all too insincere. Besides being a crazy coot of a mom, she's a crappy writer, but, boy did she stir up a great evening for our discussion group. For that I am grateful. Her book inspired us to talk about discipline, being average, the plight of education, abortion, selfishness, wisdom, choice....on and on we went - from 5:30 to almost 10:00.


Of course, we began with Valerie's fashion report, detailing who wore what at the Oscars, and a brief sharing of movies that we had seen since last month. but, the majority of the night was filled with discussion on topics generated from the book by the evil Amy Chua.


In contrast, I read the wistful, gentle book you see at the top of this page. Smiles and happiness rise from every page, as Alice tells the story of reading, sharing and growing with her dad through books. The story is warm and sincere, and invites comparison to the aforementioned memoir, but...read them both. You be the judge. Would you rather have lived in the the Ozma home, or the Chua facility?


I also cruised through Angel by Elizabeth Taylor...no, not that Elizabeth Taylor. The movie "Mrs. Palfry at the Claremont" is based on one of her novels. She's not easy to read...rather dry, in fact, but her stories have an infectious charm. The melodramatic Angel spend her days spinning outrageous stories of a life she never lived, turning them into tawdry novels that are spoken of in hushed tones throughout drawing rooms in the early 1900's. All too soon, Angel's life takes a dramatic turn, and she finds herself a captive in a scenario not unlike one of her novels. Angel's dreams came true, dreams that carried with them hidden secrets. Unlike her fictional heroines, Angel could not turn the page and find respite from the agony. A bit over the top, but a fun soap-opera like diversion just the same.


Oh...FYI...there's a sequel to A Dog's Purpose called A Dog's Journey. I will not be reading it. If you follow this blog, you know why.


The Family Fang is beign made into a movie. Can't wait! I doubt that it will have wide appeal, but, theatre folk are sure to embrace it.


What am I reading? A wedding In Haiti by Julia Alverez.


Thanks for stopping by. I'll try to get back to writing once a week!