Opening: Killing Them Softly

Killing Them Softly opens today here in the U.S.  The movie based on George V. Higgins  Coogan's Trade stars Brad Pitt as Jackie, a New Orleans hit man. Betsy Sharkey in the LA Times  says Brad Pitt "is smooth but he movie isn't""In all the gritty confusion of the film, Pitt's Jackie is the constant voice of reason. While his last big at-bat, "Moneyball," was a far better movie, there is an effortlessness here in the...

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Will Great Expectations live up to Expectations?

Dear Irish friendsHere in the U.S. we're not expecting Great Expectations, the millionth screen adaptation based on Dicken's classic novel,  until sometime in 2013 - hopefully early - but for in Ireland today is opening day. Will your Irish eyes be smiling at director Mike Newell's screen adaptation? It depends on what review you read!The Irish Examiner is less than enthusiastic with this headline"Newell 's 'Great Expectations' not...

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Have you heard Samantha Barks as Eponine sing On My Own?

Still stuck on my Les Miserables obsession, the classic book and upcoming movie musical I know many (MOST?) of you are as excited about as I am.  As you probably have heard, Taylor Swift, Leah Michelle and even Scarlett Johansson (too old) were on the short list, along with Samantha Barks, to play Eponine. And it looked like a very certain thing that Hoopeer was going with Taylor Swift. I'm so relieved he didn't and went with Samantha Barks...

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Wondrous Words Wednesday : The Words of Les Miserables

I decided to delve into the pages of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo for this week's Wondrous Words Wednesday meme hosted by Kathy at BermudaOnion.net.  It's the weekly meme where we share words from our reading that are new to us. (It's almost 12:30 and Kathy hasn't posted yet so keep checking back; the link above will take you to her site in any case)I haven't read the novel yet and I doubt I will. It's just so long! Although I did read a reader's...

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First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday: The World Without You

For those of you tired of me swooning over Les Miserables, I'm taking a break from gushing over the mesmerizing Les Miz movie to take part in Diane's "First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intro" meme. Today I'm posting the opening paragraph paragraph of  The World Without You by Joshua Henkin."Here," she says, "I'll get you a sweater." She's barely done speaking before she's taking the stairs two at a time, her espadrilles clomping against...

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Dreaming of France: More on Les Miz Screening and Q&A with Eddie Redmayne

Since seeing a screening of Les Miserables on Saturday I can't think of anything but the movie and the music. I've been bursting into semi-song at the drop of a hat - I say 'semi' because I'm not one of those people who know all the lyrics (I want to learn them all now!) - and even if I did know them all, I can't carry a tune. Still that doesn't stop me from belting out a couple of uneven bars here and there. Poor composer Claude Michel Schonberg...

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Les Miserables: You Take My Breath Away

I didn't say anything before because I didn't know if we'd get in but ... I just saw Les Miserables!Tom Hooper was showing his highly-anticipated film today at several industry screenings here in L.A. today;  MLH and I went to a noon screening held at the Aero theatre in Santa Monica. The film took my breath away and I was by no means alone. The entire audience erupted into applause three times during the movie, not just after - I can't think of a movie musical that has ever elicited that kind of response. Certainly...

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Christmas has come to town.

MLH, Russell and I went to see Skyfall at the Grove the other day. When we came out, day had turned to night and Christmas had come to the Grove! It's a little overdone but that's the Grove!It's a popular destination shopping mall a few blocks from where we live in L.A. Looking like a faux European city, (what do you expect from a town that thrives on make believe?) it's a fun place to shop, eat and people watch. Especially since it's attached...

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What are you doing for Black Friday?

  Out shopping for crazy Black Friday deals? Not for me thanks, no way. I prefer to avoid the day after Thanksgiving shopping crowds and chill. Take in a movie? There's so many great movies out right now and I still haven't seen The Silver Linings Playbook or The Life of Pi and now, today, in limited release, comes another one on my must see list.  Hitchcock. The film is based on the book,  Alfred Hitchcock and the Making...

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First the turkey, then the Pi

Happy Thanksgiving!I am thankful for MLH and Russell, Mr. Charlie, the rest of my fab family, friends, my blogging buddies, good books to curl up with, and the fact that for the next few months we will be treated to week after week of exciting new screen adaptations of some of the world's best loved books. Timed for the Thanksgiving holiday period, the movie version of The Life of Pi by Yann Martel is now out at theatres across the country. Check out this featurette with director Ang Lee and James Cameron weighing in on the 3D aspects...

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Wondrous Word Wednesday : A Stinking Pikey!

I only have one word for  Wondrous Word Wednesday, the fun weekly meme hosted by Diane at BermudaOnion.net.Pikey comes from the novel Broken by Daniel Clay. The novel, inspired by Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird has been made into a film starring Cillian Murphy and Tim Roth. And I'm pretty jazzed because Mr. Clay has offered to write a guest post on my blog about the experience of having his novel adapted into a film!!I've...

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FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION                                      This is the time of year the studio sends out thousands of "For Your Consideration" invitations to industry screenings in Los Angeles and New York as well as a smattering in San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas...

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LINCOLN: Required Viewing

Tommy Lee Jones, Sally Field, Daniel Day-Lewis,Steven Spielberg and Doris Kearns GoodwinI read somewhere that Steven Spielberg wanted to make a movie about Lincoln BEFORE Doris Kearns Goodwin even wrote the best selling Team of Rivals.  Kearns Goodwin notes she met Spielberg years ago, that he was obsessed with Lincoln and when he learned she was planning on writing a book about the man, asked her to keep him posted on her progress...

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The Silver Linings Playbook: My Take on the Book

Now that The Silver Linings Playbook film adaptation starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence has been released, I thought I'd repost my book review. I'll catch the movie as fast as I can!The Silver Linings Play BookBy Matthew Quick From the publisher: Meet Pat Peoples. Pat has a theory: his life is a movie produced by God. And his God-given mission is to become physically fit and emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure him a happy ending—the...

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Anna Klostraphobia

There are countless brilliant and beautiful things in the movie Anna Karenina.  The cinematography by Seamus McGarvey,  Jacqueline Durran's costume design, the sumptuous score from Dario Marianelli, even the makeup, all meet the usual expectations of a big budget period piece (it was under $100 million) and soar beyond. I just wonder if the director Joe Wright had wanted to made a film more grounded in the conventional storytelling...

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