Current Film & Books

The Great Man (read the article)

This book won the 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction for good reason. I started the “The Great Man” on Saturday morning and had to finish it by lunch the next day. When it started to rain I traded my lawn chair for the couch and kept on reading. This novel is fabulously funny, mischievous, and easy to read.

by Kendra RickerbyScorpio

Film & Books Archives (total entries: 25)

cancer 08

Son of Rambow

A quirky look at boyhood and film-making in the 1980s, “Son of Rambow” is a welcome diversion from the current deluge of blockbuster remakes and super hero epics in theaters this summer. Written and directed by Garth Jennings and produced by Nick Goldsmith, I like the way this film spins a standard, winning movie formula at a slightly awkward angle.

Gemini 08

The Maytrees

Although “The Maytrees” by Annie Dillard is marketed as a novel, it reads from beginning to end as a poem. Like body surfing, the poetry will move emotions in directions that the mind may not understand. When this wave brought me to shore, I needed air and I wasn’t quite certain where I had been or where I had landed, but I was, in the truest sense of the word, in awe of the experience I just had.

Taurus 08

The Best Films of 2007

April and May are notoriously bad months to go to the movies. The Academy Award hopefuls of 2008 won't be released until the fall, and the summer blockbusters won't be out for a few months. So what is a film reviewer to do when all the movies in the theaters are lame? This reviewer is going to suggest that you catch up on the best movies of 2007!

Aries 08

Three Cups of Tea

After an unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, Greg Mortenson stumbled into the village of Korphe in Pakistan’s Karakoram Himalaya region. The generosity and hospitality of the Korphe villagers inspired Mortenson to establish the Central Asia Institute (CAI). Since the establishment of CAI ten years ago, the organization has built 55 schools serving Pakistan and Afghanistan’s poorest children, especially girls.

Pisces 08

Persepolis

Based on Marjane Satrapi's books, the film “Persepolis” tells the poignant story of a young girl coming of age in Iran in the midst of revolution and war.

 

Aquarius 08

On Beauty

This book grabs the reality of life with two hands and shakes it upside down. Those who appear to be physically beautiful and those whose eloquence is often over-beautified, are the most repulsive characters. “On Beauty” is about being real, about dealing with life, and about the need to reexamine what “living” really means.

Capricorn 07

The Echo Maker

The “echo maker” is the Ojibwa-Anishinabe American Indian name for the endangered sandhill cranes. Kearney, Nebraska is the setting of this novel. The only reason one would go to this rural town would be to see these magnificent birds, which are, in many ways, the identity of this community and a hub for various story lines throughout.

Sagittarius 07

Sisters in Law

Don't miss the national broadcast premiere of Sisters in Law, a captivating and often humorous documentary film about two brave women dispensing justice in Cameroon. Sisters in Law will air on the Emmy-Award winning PBS series, Independent Lens, November 27 at 10 pm on most PBS stations.

Scorpio 07

On Chesil Beach

This book rests in your hand with a comfort and ease that makes it one that cannot be put down until finished. Though it is literally small in shape, McEwan’s literary talent is large in capacity. His plot is tight, and his technique is so riveting that it is difficult to review this title without giving away the juicy parts. Really, you will read the book faster than I can write this review.

Libra 07

The 45th New York Film Festival September 28 – October 14

Joel and Ethan Coen’s "No Country for Old Men" will be the centerpiece of this year's festival. Based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize-winner Cormac McCarthy and adapted by the Coens, the film is a thriller starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, and Kelly MacDonald. 

 

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