BOOKS & MOVIES * MOVIES & BOOKS

While renting a game for my son at Blockbuster, I asked if there were any specials, and sure enough, for $15.00 for a week, we could rent 2 at a time games and movies. So we're taking them up on it and watching movies every night. There are so many good ones, but as always, some particular standouts.
Milk - Nominated for the Best Picture oscar, in another year, this would have won, but against Slumdog and Benjamin Button, the competition was amazing. Milk is the true story of Harvey Milk, the San Francisco City Supervisor who was shot and killed with the mayor of SF in 1978. Sean Penn plays Harvey, and takes us back to the Castro, in San Francisco in the 1970s. Excellent.
He's Not That Into You - This was the first movie I chose, because I didn't realize how great Milk would be. Steve and I both enjoyed this fun chick flick. Very current, very witty watching. Lots of stars show up for the fun.
Swing Vote - With Kevin Costner is a another fun movie. He's a great actor, and I love it when he plays these cranky sarcastic old guys. In this case, it's about a hypothetical situation that could occur if the vote for president camethisclose. Glad I waited for the DVD. Could have waited for free On Demand.
Risky Business - I've been waiting for my son to be old enough to see this one, so we had a family movie night. I've only seen it about a million times, and will probably watch it a million more. The best of the average kid wants to go to a good college movie genre. There are so many good lines in this movie; "Princeton could use a guy like Joel" is my personal favorite.
Made of Honor - Patrick Dempsey is so darling, and this is a great little movie. Steve liked it so much that he said it wasn't a chick flick, but yeah, it is. We really enjoyed it.
Blow Up - We watched this 1966 really really bad movie On Demand last week. It couldn't have moved more slowly. Everyone involved with this must have been high. It was awful. About a photographer in London who sees a dead body in the blow up of one of his photos. Blah Blah Blah. Was there even one good movie made in the sixties?
I'll try to report on this later. There must have been.
Today I want to watch W and Changling, unless Gran Torino is in, then I'll get that and we'll see where we are. This has been a fun week.

Show Of Hands by Anthony McCarten is a novel about a group of people in London who decide to join a contest to win a Land Rover. The person who keeps their hand on the car the longest wins it. I enjoyed this immensely. The characters, the story, the twists and the ending were all so satisfying. Not emotional, just satisfying.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay - I like to save the best for last. So if you're still reading, it was worth your while, because I couldn't put this book down. Read it in one of my two day reading marathons. Takes place in Paris and outskirts in 1942 and 2002. I won't say one more thing. Just read it.