Friday Morning Bookclub

August 15, 2011

Unbroken:The Movie

Filed under: Books Into Movies,Movies,Unbroken — susanbright @ 1:14 pm

Finally, the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption is being made into a movie. For those of you who did not read the book, Zamperini was a former olympic runner whose plane crashed at sea.  He floated on a raft for 47 days only to end up in a Japanese POW camp where he was brutalized by the prison guards. His story is truly amazing.

  Universal Pictures actually bought the rights to Louis Zamperini’s life  as well as his memoir Devil at my Heels in 1957. At that time there were talks of a movie and Tony Curtis was being considered to play Zamperini. The movie was never made amd once again in 1998 discussions began about making a movie based on Zamperini’s life. This time Nicholas Cage was being considered for the star role. Again… no movie!

Laura Hillenbrand’s book has brought new attention to Louis Zamperini and this time it looks like there is actually going to be a movie. Zamperini’s son-in-law Nick Garris is the executive producer.  There are rumors of a 2013 release date. Who would you like to see play Louis Zamperini?

Patty recommends Gerard Butler. What do you think?

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July 15, 2011

Sarah’s Key: The Movie

Filed under: Books Into Movies,Movies,Sarah's Key — audpelta @ 4:42 pm

Here is some thoughts from one of our Arizona  bloggers! Thank you Nancy!

AWESOME movie and they truly stayed true to the book (just like The Help I saw two weeks ago) which is usually my problem when I had read the book prior to seeing the movie. This was amazing and the cinematography made you feel like you were actually in the scene. The acting was terrific and the little girl who plays Sara was fantastic. She has such expression in her eyes. We got the chance after the preview to ask the adorable french jewish director questions and I asked if the author of the book had a lot to do with the movie. His answer was “We kinda gave birth to this movie together!” An interesting fact he told us was that  in this round-up they did not take French Jews, only the foreign Jews living in the French area. Problem they encountered was these foreigners had babies who were actually born in France and they did not know what to do about that situation – so just took them as well. The director said he had lost family in the Holocaust and because there are so many people who don’t know about this horrible event, he wanted to do this movie to bring it to their attention. So it opens July 29th and I believe The Help does not open til Aug 12th…so my recommendation is definitely see both with kleenex ready!!!

July 11, 2011

The Help: The Movie

Filed under: Movies,The Help — audpelta @ 9:32 am

The movie The Help opens nationwide August 12th. My friend Nancy saw an advanced screening last week. Since she knew that our book club had read and enjoyed the book she couldn’t wait to share her review. She loved the movie. The movie stays very close to the book and it has a phenomenal cast: Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Byrce Dallas Howard, Allison Jenney, Sissy Spacek and Cicely Tyson. I for one can’t wait to see it, maybe we can have another dinner and movie night.
Let me know if you want to join me!!

Check out the trailer!

If you haven’t read it yet, get The Help now!

June 21, 2011

The Double Hour (La Doppia Ora)

Filed under: Movies — Esther @ 9:21 pm

Being the “Italophile” that I am, when I learned that an Italian language movie (with English subtitles) was playing at the local arthouse movie theater, I was determined to see it.  “The Double Hour” is a suspenseful thriller.  I spent most of the movie on the edge of my seat…a few times even jumping out of it!

Sonia is a chambermaid in a hotel in Turin, Italy.  At a “speed dating” event one evening, she meets Guido, a handsome ex-cop with a troubled soul.  They form a connection, and Guido explains to Sonia that when the hour and the minutes of the clock are the same, that is “la doppia ora”, the double hour, and that is the moment where you can make a wish.  While the two of them are on a romantic getaway, they are interrupted by a shocking act of violence.  What happens next is a complicated, convoluted psychological thriller with some roller coaster twists and turns.  The characters were so interesting, and the plot leaves you guessing until the very end.  If you get the chance, try to see it.  Non ve ne pentirete! (You won’t be sorry)

March 7, 2011

The King’s Speech…….And More!

Filed under: Movies — susanbright @ 12:24 pm

This weekend I finally went to see The King’s Speech. Assuming that we were the only ones that had not seen this movie yet, we arrived at the last moment only to find that the few seats available were in the front two rows. On the positive side, I did not need to wear my glasses and the seats reclined and were very comfortable.

 I always enjoy the coming attractions and was excited to see that Water For Elephants will be in theaters this April. Water for Elephants  by Sara Gruen was a Friday Morning Bookclub favorite. It  is the story of Jacob Jankowsky, who at the age of 23 loses his parents in a car accident, leaves veterinary school and ends up on the Benzini Brother’s circus train. The story, told in flash backs by the 93-year-old Jacob is an amazing account of his life with the circus. The movie stars Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon and looks like it is going to be really good!  

 Once The King’s Speech began, it would not have mattered where I was sitting. The movie was that good and certainly deserved the four awards  it won for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and of course Best Actor for Colin Firth. In fact, I am surprised that it did not win more awards.  Geoffrey Rush was amazing as Lionel Logue. The Kings Speech is one of the few movies that I would like to see a second time.  You do not want to miss this movie!

 

August 19, 2010

Eat Pray Love: The Movie

Filed under: Eat, Pray, Love,Movies — susanbright @ 4:28 pm

The other night a group of us went to see the movie Eat Pray Love.  First dinner at California Pizza and then a chick flick. What could be better! I have never seen a Julia Roberts movie that I didn’t like and Eat Pray Love was no exception. I loved watching “Liz” eat her way through Italy, scrub floors and meditate in an Ashram in India and finally find love in beautiful Bali. Julia Roberts was wonderful as Liz Gilbert. Richard Jenkins is amazing as Richard from Texas, and you can’t help but fall in love with Felipe, played by Javier Bardem. Although a little long, the movie was thoroughly entertaining and the scenery beautiful. Leave your husbands home, take a girl friend and go see Eat Pray Love. The two or three men in the audience actually got a standing ovation at the end of the movie, and they deserved it!

July 21, 2010

Water For Elephants: The Movie

Filed under: Books Into Movies,Literary Tidbits,Movies — susanbright @ 12:55 pm

I was excited to hear from one of our bloggers (thank you, Ilene) that Water For Elephants is being made into a movie. The filming began in May and the movie is scheduled to be released in 2011. The movie is based on the novel by Sara Gruen. It is the story of Jacob Jankowski and is told by the 90 something year old Jacob, played by Hal Holbrook. Young Jacob, played by Robert Pattinson, ran away from home after losing his parents in a tragic accident and joined the Benzini Brothers Traveling Circus. Water For Elephants is a fascinating story about Jacobs life with the traveling circus during the Great Depression. Also in the cast is Reese Witterspoon as Marlena. Rosie the elephant is played by Tai, a 42 year old Asian Elephant. Tai measures 8’8″ and weighs a measly 9,000 pounds!

July 19, 2010

The Pillars Of The Earth Mini Series

Filed under: Movies — susanbright @ 9:48 am

If you loved Ken Follett’s book The Pillars Of The Earth half as much as I did, you will not want to miss the mini series premiering on Starz this Friday, July 23 at 10 pm. Plan to step back in time to the 12th century to the small town of Kingsbridge. I can’t wait to see Tom Builder, Prior Philip, Aliena and the other many colorful characters come to life!
Check out the trailer.

July 12, 2010

Eat, Pray, Love: The Movie

Filed under: Movies — susanbright @ 9:45 am

I have been anxiously waiting for the premier of the movie Eat, Pray, Love and it is finally here! I thoroughly enjoyed the book, especially the time Gilbert spent in the ashram in India.  The movie stars Julia Roberts as Liz Gilbert and I cannot wait to follow her journey across Italy, India and Indonesia. Check out the trailer!

April 30, 2010

The Friday Morning Bookclub Gives The Pillars Of The Earth By Ken Follett 4 1/2 Omelets

Filed under: Historical Fiction,Movies,Rate The Book — susanbright @ 10:19 pm

Amazon readers gave The Pillars Of The Earth 4 1/2  stars

Barnes and Noble readers gave The Pillars Of  The Earth 4 1/2  stars

The Pillars Of The Earth was an amazing book. It is an epic story of the building of a cathedral in Kingsbridge England in the 12th century and of the many people who’s lives were touched because of it.  Once you finish The Pillars Of  The Earth you will want to read the sequel World Without End, which takes place in the same town two century’s later. Both are long books and you will not want to put them down so don’t plan to get much done once you start reading!

The Pillars Of The Earth has been made into a mini series which will be televised this summer. Check it out!

http://www.the-pillars-of-the-earth.tv/

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