Hey everyone! I'm back from vacation.The week before I left, I found out that I have an ulcer on my cornea, which made my vacation at the beach a bit of a challenge. I got virtually no reading done and was pretty sensitive to the sun for most of the week.
I did read two books, In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming, which was brilliant, and Start Me Up by Victoria Dahl, which cemented my theory that there are things that aggravate me about Dahl's writing style. I also tried to read Your Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase, and it ended up being a DNF for me. I just never invested in the characters. The book was almost universally well reviewed and is already considered a classic, but it just didn't work for me.
I also saw a couple of movies: Public Enemies with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.
I mostly enjoyed Public Enemies. It's slow moving, but an interesting character study of John Dillenger. Johnny Depp is pretty good in it, and he has terrific chemistry with Marion Cottillard who is his love interest in it. She's adorable and her English is coming along beautifully. The thing about the movie is that it's not as meaty as it could have been. We never really understand the motivations of Dillinger, or why he's driven to do the things he does. Christian Bale actually has the meatier role, that of Melvin Purvis, the officer deployed by J. Edgar Hoover to raise the profile of the newly formed Federal Bureau of Investigation. But really, neither role was particularly meaty. The movie features wonderful costumes (why can't men still dress like that?!) and the settings are lovely. But in the end, I think it was a missed opportunity to pit two of the finest actors out there against each other. Final grade: C+
I also saw Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. What a really cute movie! I'm newly in love with Young Adult fiction, and this is a book that was very warmly reviewed by Candy at Smart Bitches. I kept meaning to read it, but never got around to it. So when I found that my niece Abby brought it to the beach, I borrowed it one night. I have to say that I saw Juno and never watched Arrested Development, but never really got the Michael Cera thing. But now I do. He's deeply cute in that really smart nerd kind of way. I love slightly awkward guy thing, which he's got in spades. It just makes you want to hug him. I also really liked Kat Dennings, who is also adorable. The movie itself kind of reminds me of old John Hughes movies, portraying much more accurately the way I think teens think and act. It's a sweet story and one that allows that characters a lot of development. Final grade: B+Anyway, sorry I don't have a slew of book reviews for you guys from my week at the beach. I honestly brought about 15 books with me, but it was just too uncomfortable to read. But I'm feeling much better, so hopefully I'll get my reading mojo back.
This week, I'll be posting my favorite UF/PNR books list. Probably on Tuesday. And then I'm thinking about starting a new series on my blog, but I'm still in the planning phase, but some of you guys might end up with an email from me soon about it.
What about you guys? Seen any good movies? What are you reading? How was your week?
16 comments:
What didn't you like about SMU? I thought it was a cute read. I like Lori much better than Molly and that Quinn has a way with the Spanish.
You have to read What Happens in London by Julia Quinn. That book is fabulous.
Didn't see any movies this week :( Looks like Public Enemies would be a better dvd rental.
Did you get a lot of color? I am so full of questions! LOL
KB - I've decided that I don't like her heroines. You may recall that I really disliked Molly (which remains true, she annoyed the shit out of me in this book) and I felt like Lori was um, too reluctant to be believable. I could find no discernible or credible reason why she wouldn't want to be with Quinn. Unsurprisingly, I loved Quinn. I think that Dahl writes some of the hottest sex around and this book was no exception, but once again, I did not connect with the heroine.
Yes, I got some nice color at the beach, but I had to stay in the last day because my eye was bothering me so much. This eye thing is incredibly aggravating!
Victoria can write some great men. I am very interested in Jane's story!
And in a weeks or so we can chat about book face to face.
Sorry about your eye. :( Eye problems are the worst.
What you said on Public Enemies. This is actually my problem with 95% of Michael Mann's films. What should be GREAT movies are instead mediocre or crap movies. What saved it for me was the acting, which I thought was top drawer. I thought all of them did a very fine job - and staring at Depp for 2.5 hours isn't exactly a hardship! LOL
Wendy - I'll agree that Depp looked yummy in this movie. But then, I'm a sucker for a three piece suit. I thought Bale looked good too, and I'm not particularly a fan of his. I think the problem was that there was virtually no character development. You know? Like the fact that Depp was playing Dillinger was enough. Not so much. But I thought he had a ton of chemistry w/Cotillard and the film was visually lovely. I'd have loved for them to develop the friendships between his gang some. I did like all of the cameos though: Sobiesky, Lili Taylor, Giovanni Riobisi. Fun!
Overall a relatively "Meh" movie for me. Not one I'd recommend wholeheartedly.
Hey Kati! Welcome back! Wow, I'm so sorry to hear about your eye. I scratched my cornea once and had to wear an eyepatch of all things (not my best look), so I can't imagine what an ulcer on the cornea entails. Hope you're feeling better soon!
I just watched Australia last night. Thought it was better than I had expected and, hey, you can't go wrong with Hugh Jackman...
Julie - Wasn't it like a romance novel come to life? At least, the second half was. It's kind of like two movies melded together. But I agree, Hugh Jackman was delicious in it. It's a fun, if silly movie, that's for sure. Fun enough for me to buy it, just because, hey, romance novel come to life!
I haven't heard or seen any the movies...I know, I'm sometimes a movie cavewoman! And just wanted to say get well with the ulcer, it sounds painful!
That's what I was afraid of with "Public Enemies". I really have no desire to see it, no matter how good Johnny looks. Now "Australia"? Yeah, loved that movie.
Hope you had a great time at the beach anyway!
Welcome back! That is so terrible about your eye! Is it feeling better? I hope so. My husband ripped his cornea once, and it was really painful. Eye things are hard.
So, aren't you going to tell us what happened in the Depp movie? It's the kind of movie I sort of want to know the ending to. I suppose he must get killed. That sort of character is always doomed, but I like HEAs, even for villain movies.
What's the next step with your eye? Where do you go from here to get rid of the ulcer? I'm so sorry! Hope you still had a great time with the family.
I started Melissa Gilbert's book - very into it already. If she goes at everyone the way she goes at her own mother, it's gonna be a good read. You can tell she really wrote it, too, no ghost-writer, which I appreciate.
No movies but I did watch 2 eps of Nurse Jackie last night, great show. I love Edie Falco!
CJ - John Dillenger was shot and killed outside of the Biograph movie theater. The movie stays true to that. I would have loved it, but I never really understood his motivations. But Johnny is delightful to look at. It was just a missed opportunity to do more with a really interesting story, I think. You can Wiki him, the information is really complete.
Heather - Well, mostly no more contacts for Miss Kati. I can wear them for 4 or 5 hours, but never all day again. I just went this weekend and ordered a pair of prescription sunglasses and another pair of glasses (Hour Eyes had a BOGO event going on), so if I have to wear glasses every day, at least they'll be cute. In the mean time, it just takes time for the ulcer to heal. I just have to wait it out. Can't wait to hear all about the Melissa Gilbert book. I love trashy gossip like that!
Welcome back Kati! I’m sorry to hear about your eye and that you didn’t get in all the reading that you liked.
You’ll have to drop by my blog to read about my Sunday morning. It was quite the experience. But other than that things have been pretty quite and normal :o)
Boo about your eye, so essential to us readers! I saw The Proposal and it was fab. I love the Marriage of Convenience trope, but it is so hard to do in contemps, I thought this was done really well.
But I had a HORRIBLE movie theatre experience here in DC, i wrote an epic blog post about it today, but basically do NOT go to the one in Union Station.
Also I have a question that I might email you about...
Welcome back Kati! Sorry to hear about the ulcer - I hope you're feeling better soon!
I just adored In the Bleak Midwinter! I've read the whole series to date and am impatiently waiting for the next one :) I look forward to hearing what you think of the others!
And I watched North & South over the weekend (while devouring Branded by Fire). It was lovely :)
I'm sorry to hear about your ulcer. I hope it gets better soon.
I heard Public Enemies was pretty bad but then other people liked it. It sounds kind of cheap to me. Apparently Michael Mann directed it using a digital camera? I hate that look. And using it for a movie set in the 1930's is just wrong.
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