City Island (DVD)

Posted on May 17, 2012 by myersj

If you liked Meet the Parents, chances are you’ll enjoy City Island, with its somewhat different twist on the dysfunctional family theme.  Andy Garcia plays Vince Rizzo, a native of a little-known section of New York City known as City Island.  With two teenagers, life is not very peaceful in the Rizzo family.  When Vince, who works as a prison guard, discovers his son by a former girlfriend among the prison population, he is seized with guilt.  He has never told his family about the baby he abandoned before its birth, but feels he must now do something to help rescue the young man.  His solution is to take custody of the prisoner, who has no idea Vince is his father, and install him as a temporary laborer to help build a bathroom in the Rizzo’s outbuilding.  It’s not long before the young man realizes the Rizzo family has some serious relationship problems.  How the family resolves its conflicts makes for an interesting, funny plot.

Also starring:  Steven Strait, Julianna Marulies, Emily Mortimer, Dominik Barcia Lorido, Alan Arkin. 

Note:  This movie is R-rated and contains adult themes and language.

 

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Conversations with Other Women (DVD)

Posted on May 16, 2012 by novotnyr

Conversations with Other Women is not your typical film. Shot entirely in split screen, the story follows a woman (Helena Bonham Carter) and man (Aaron Eckhart) as they meet at a wedding. As the night progresses, it becomes clear that this chance meeting might not be all that it seems.

I picked up Conversations with Other Women after a friend suggested it to me. The subject matter is not light, as it deals with failed relationships, emotionally exposing yourself, and former expectations that may not have come to fruition. I found the story to be engaging in the way it unfolded between these two anonymous individuals. But, what really worked for me was the split screen, which allowed for each character to represent their reactions, thoughts, and at times, emotions that were hidden just beneath the surface.

If you need more to a film than an in-depth look at a relationship, or if you like to focus on one screen, this film may not be for you. However, if you are looking for a realistic exploration of two lives with interesting camera-work, give this film a try.

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The Sibling Effect: What the Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us by Jeffery Kluger

Posted on May 15, 2012 by bornm

 The premise of this non-fiction book is that sibling relations are among the most important relations in our life. Kluger tried to prove that what we are is  governed not only by our parents (who unavoidably play favorites, causing their children to struggle from birth to establish their own identity to catch parents’ attention), but most particularly by our siblings.  However, the book discusses much more than the mere birth order effect. Our siblings teach us about all aspects of relationships: they teach us about getting along and fighting, letting go, favoritism, competitiveness and compaction. The relationship among siblings is also the longest relationship we will maintain.

Kluger presents intriguing studies of identical twins. He discusses the consequences of China’s one child policy, and explains the unusual preferences of historical Japanese society for the first born child to be a girl.  Kluger talks about the damaging results of divorce on children and provides guidance how to soften the impact.

Jeffrey Kluger is a science writer but this book combines scientific research with  components of an autobiography, as Kluger has multiple siblings and reflects many times on observations from his own childhood. 

This book does not use any incomprehensible scienctific language or medical terms. It is an entertaining as well as educational read for anybody who is trying to resolve lingering childhood questions or dilemmas.  The Sibling Effect is also a good resource for parents who want to learn more about their  children’s unique qualities and temperament.   

 

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Assignment to Hell The War Against Nazi Germany with Correspondents Walter Cronkite, Andy Rooney, A.J. Liebling, Homer Bigart, and Hal Boyle by Timothy M. Gay

Posted on May 14, 2012 by grigsbyb

Assignment to Hell The War Against Nazi Germany with Correspondents Walter Cronkite, Andy Rooney, A.J. Liebling, Homer Bigart, and Hal Boyle by Timothy M. Gay, is the inside story of the journalists who covered the European Theatre during World War II.

Reporters had to deal with censors, bullets and bombings in order to send news from the front back home.  Hal Boyle, native to Kansas City, was quite creative working his way around censors.  Instead of writing that there had been a discouraging retreat, which would not have been allowed, he wrote, “Out into the long valley and into the hills they marched and rolled on wheels-thousands of American soldiers fighting mad because they had to march backward toward New York instead of forward toward Tunis and Sfax.”

Extensively researched, Assignment to Hell brings to life stories of heartbreak and horror with a sprinkling of humor.

Meet author Timothy M. Gay on Thursday, May 17 at 7:00 p.m.
Central Resource Library – Gallery Area
9875 W. 87th St., Overland Park, KS 66212
This event is co-sponsored with Rainy Day Books

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John Huston: Courage and Art by Jeffrey Meyers

Posted on May 13, 2012 by shawverv

If you like movies like The Maltese Falcon, Key Largo, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Asphalt Jungle, The African Queen, Moulin Rouge, Moby Dick, The Misfits, Night of the Iguana, and The Man Who Would Be King, you’re probably going to like this book.

When told as a child by his doctor that he would be bedridden for the rest of his life, John Huston jumped into the rapids for a swim. Going for broke and defying the odds was a common theme of his films and of the life of the director who made great films and bad films, who made fortunes and lost them, and who had several marriages and mistresses. A master of the screenplay, direction, and camera work, and who can forget his acting performance in Chinatown? Meyers spends considerable length comparing Huston to Hemingway in the opening chapter.  A must read if you like that sort of thing.

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The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot

Posted on May 11, 2012 by johnsonk

The Tale of One Bad Rat is a very special story. In this graphic novel, Bryan Talbot tackles the serious subject of child sexual abuse and its after-effects. “Once upon a time, there was a very bad rat …” thus begins the story of Helen Potter, an abused English teenager, who runs away from home with her beloved pet rat and finds herself begging on the streets of London. Helen, an artist herself, has always found solace in the books of (Helen) Beatrix Potter and found similarities between her life and the life of her favorite author. Beatrix Potter’s courage and success provide a very powerful inspiration for Helen, who decides to leave behind the semi-homeless life in London and head north to Hill Top Farm, Beatrix’s home in the English Lake District. The journey is not easy, but it is the beginning of her recovery. Upon reaching the Lake District, Helen is fortunate to find a safe place to live and work at an inn run by a kind couple. This is where she takes active steps to understand the harm that has been done to her and to rebuild her life. Eventually, she finds the strength to confront her abuser and frees herself from her past.

The graphic novel format makes Helen’s story accessible to a wide audience. It can offer guidance and hope to the abused as well as help the rest of us to understand what such victims go through. It is a very timely novel and it is hard to believe that it was first published in 1995. It is clearly visible that the topic was well researched and crafted with great responsibility and tact. As it deals with the aftermath of child sexual abuse, the author states on his website that the novel has been used in several child abuse centers in Britain, America, Germany and Finland.

 

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Lunatics by Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel

Posted on May 10, 2012 by kazmim

The story begins at a girls’ 10 and under soccer game in New Jersey, refereed by Phillip Horkman, a happy mild-mannered owner of a pet store called the Wine Shop.  Phillip calls a foul on a girl who would have made the tying goal in the championship game; the daughter of Jeffrey Peckerman a foul mouthed blowhard (as described by a neighbor). Peckerman doesn’t seem to have a good day unless you’re having a bad day. Lunatics lives up to its name by consistently escalating from one crazy happening to another. Terrorists to humanitarians, a political satire that doesn’t let you know what will happen next, with plenty of superior potty jokes.

Dave Barry, a bestselling Pulitzer Prize winning humorist says “Lunatics is geared toward the older not terribly mature reader”. The novel was actually a tag team effort written with TV writer Alan Zweibel. They said they actually wrote each chapter separately and tried to make it as hard as possible on each other with each introduction into a new adventure.

This is not one of his better books but a very funny one that leaps over the line of taste and wallows.

I really enjoyed listening to this book.  The narrators really did use very good New Jersey accents. If you can overlook some of the bad language coming out of Peckermans’ mouth you will enjoy this book.

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Ghost Hero by S.J. Rozan

Posted on May 9, 2012 by sorioh

The latest in the Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series, Ghost Hero has Lydia and Bill investigating a rumor about new paintings from a dissident Chinese artist, who was to have died at Tiananmen Square, 20 years ago. Lydia & Bill discover that their client is not who he claims, in addition to learning that another PI, Jack Lee, (who is also Chinese-American and an art expert to boot) is also investigating the rumored paintings. All three are in pursuit of Ghost Hero Chau’s paintings and end up teaming up to solve this mystery.  Lydia’s cousin Linus makes a few appearances by proxy, helping Lydia smoke out the bad guys with some sophisticated technical subterfuge. Lydia, Bill, and Jack must tread lightly, as they untangle the threads leading to a US government office, a Chinese government office, several art dealers as well as budding artists and galleries. As usual, what seems like a simple and straightforward case becomes dangerous as the PI’s learn the true nature of their quest. 

 

 

 

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Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Posted on May 8, 2012 by jordanl

A debut novel by Harkness, this is a grown-up tale about witches, deamons, and vampires living among humans.  Reluctant witch Diana Bishop is a professor and historian at Oxford University where she is researching the history of alchemy.  Diana has refused to use magic since her parents, who were both very powerful witches, were killed when she was a child.  However, when one of the tomes she requests from the library archives turns out to be an enchanted alchemical text that hasn’t been seen for 150 years, her magic triggers a response from the text that has the witch, deamon and vampire communities all stirred up, as each wants the manuscript for themselves.   Diana, spooked by the magic stirred by the manuscript, returns it to the archives without knowing what she has set in motion.

Vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont steps in for the vampire community and tries to gently encourage Diana to reacquire the manuscript.  He also provides protection from the witches, deamons and vampires who would use force to try to get at Diana and the manuscript.  Of course Matthew and Diana fall in love and encounter difficulties due to the fact that different species have not been allowed to mingle, let alone inter-marry.

Intertwined amid the suspense and danger of keeping Diana safe and discovering the mysteries held by the manuscript and the budding romance between witch and vampire are the themes of the possibility of  peaceful co-existence of the four species:  human, witch, deamon, and vampire and the inter-mixing of these species. 

This is a long book but has many delightful aspects as well as being very well told.  This is a grown-up story with more serious grown-up themes for those who liked the romance of Twilight and the political aspects of the Hunger Games.  Don’t miss it or the sequel coming out soon!

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The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater

Posted on May 7, 2012 by taylorb

After a half decade of werewolves, vampires, ghosts, fallen angels and faeries, I assumed there was nothing new under the paranormal sun—at least, nothing new that would capture my interest.  But Maggie Steifvater, author of the Shiver trilogy, proved me wrong with her latest young adult stand-alone, The Scorpio Races.  

Races takes place on a cold island in the North Atlantic at some point in the past.  The capaill uisce—vicious and wild water horses—emerge from the ocean each year, and are raced along the beaches of Thisby on the first of November.  Orphan Kate Connolly finds her family and livelihood at risk, and the race is her only solution, even though a girl has never dared to ride in the November races.  At the same time, fellow orphan Sean Kendrick sees the race as his final chance to claim the horse he loves as his own—until he realizes there may be another he cares about even more.

The familiar world and horse-driven story make this book a good fit for readers seeking an accessible fantasy, and Steifvater’s language and atmosphere is more than enough to draw in a reluctant reader.  That being said, there are several instances of disturbing violence and gore when the horses fight each other or their humans, and this may not be the right book for anyone with a delicate stomach.

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