You know that feeling when you see amazing actors in a role that they totally rock at and then you see them as characters in a treasured book? We all have our favorite books and “see” how they should look in our minds. This doesn’t happen in my head very often so when it does, I take notice. This time I am going to share.

I was impressed to see that Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) from Rogue One is also playing the notorious RBG  – Ruth Bader Ginsberg, current Supreme Court Justice in On the Basis of Sex. I also enjoyed her role as Jane Hawking in The Theory of Everything .

As I admire her from afar, I so want her to play Phedre from Kushiel’s Dart (6 books worth actually) and I think David Berry from Outlander should play Jocelin (Lord John Gray is AWESOME!) Love the Outlander books, (and the Lord John Grey Books too!) I think he would make an excellent nobleman’s son/Warrior Priest.

Could you see Ewan Mcgregor play Delauney? Just a thought, he seems the right type and could pull off the right age for a time span. He has enough polish to be quirky, witty and brilliant, all at the same time.

Now, who should play Hyacinthe?

Comparing WWZ to I am Legend and The Girl with all the Gifts.

Should I add 28 Days Later? I did see that. Perhaps this is an opportunity to compare the history of zombie movies and how they have changed over time. Not to mention the Walking Dead phenom. Zombies are a thing! (Even on Disney channel!)

So I haven’t seen Walking Dead yet, not one episode, though I have many friends who love it and say I will love it too. I haven’t seen Girl with all the Gifts yet either, though I did read the book. (It’s on my list, I am pretty slow at seeing movies, even though I enjoy them!) Resident Evil is still on my list, but I am making progress!

So I did read World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks and enjoyed it immensely. Finally saw the movie, World War Z which came out in 2013 so I am hardly on the front lines of popular culture, but I thought it was well done. Different than the book, but respectful of the general perspective and content.

Brad Pitt does a nice job as the main character with the family playing an important role. It isn’t like he is the only one with the answers, like in some movies where the hero just has everything go his way. The movie makes a point to follow breadcrumbs and though the hero does take risks, there are reasons for characters actions and a perspective that seems honest. If he gets lucky, he acknowledges that.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, was it like the book at all, would Brad Pitt’s star power overwhelm the role?

I am glad to report that if you haven’t seen it, you should. It is well done and full of interesting characters. Follow those breadcrumbs. As always, let me know what you think!

Ah, I thought I published this a while ago, but the technology gods were against me and I lost it before I could get it printed. I did see the movie and I really enjoyed it. I want to see it again, maybe many times, and try to catch all of the details I missed in the first viewing. The music is awesome too. This movie is an homage to easter eggs in technology and popular culture.

Have you ever seen a movie that was radically different from the book but still honored the spirit/essence of the book? That is this movie. The cast and main characters are excellent. The details of the book, the challenges, the clues – all different. It works!

Also, I listened to Ready Player One- Audiobook on audiobook. I usually hate audiobooks, but this one, narrated by Will Wheaton, is excellent! I highly recommend it and have been telling everyone I know about it.

Are you a child of the 1980s? Did you appreciate the mind-blowing meta cognition required by Steven Spielberg to direct it? The 80’s movie master directing an 80’s tribute, excellent job!

When you think of creating a “Bucket List”, what types of things do you put on your list?

Visiting faraway places? Jumping out of airplanes or climbing mountains?

Trying exotic food or learning to make a beloved family recipe from scratch?

I wanted to create a bucket list, just for fun, and put some travel spots on my list, but they ended up being about half work related.

I also ended up with things like “finally clean out my car”. (A monumental task perhaps, but not what I would consider Bucket List level aspirations.)

This got me thinking. Should everything on a Bucket List be aspirational? Should the list be a lifelong thing or something to shoot for every few years? Should it push you to try new things, adopt new habits or ideas to reflect on and things to appreciate?

A high percentage of things on my list were learning new things (a musical instrument, a new language, college-level classes, etc.), making things from scratch (sewing, knitting, cooking, brewing, etc.) and self-care – trying new types of massage, getting a manicure/pedicure – just because, buy some great shoes.

I am, apparently, really bad at most of this.

So if you have suggestions, let me know!  What types of things have you added to your list, or if you have ideas on what great things we should all do please share?

Live! Live! Live! Reminds me of Auntie Mame

Some things I have added –

• Watch the first season of Downton Abbey ( I hear it’s quite good!)
• Contribute to my IRA (yeah, I know)
• Make bread from scratch
• Make cookies from scratch

and of course… publish something!

Did you see A Wrinkle in Time? What did you think?

Did you read the book before you saw the movie?

When I first heard that A Wrinkle in Time was in production and was for real, going to become a feature film, I was excited. Sounded like a great idea! I had read the book ages ago, many times, and I own the whole series. Good writing and great storytelling are what I remembered from the books. I decided to reread just to catch up.

Time passes and the movie comes out. Then the reviews come rushing in… I was puzzled by the reviews, people were angry at the casting changes, the lack of overt Christianity and a whole host of other things.

So now that I have seen the movie I feel that I can comment. Transforming a book into a movie always requires change. Something has to go at a bare minimum and in some circumstances; a lot is edited out and replaced by something else. Changing some of the cast – biracial, white, black, changing the creatures and even gender of some characters in the book did not bother me at all. I thought the actor who played Meg did a great job! All of the actors did quite well. They did a solid job creating their characters on screen. No objections here. Calvin did great too, though he is often overlooked. (Just like his character.)

I did object to a few changes from the book but they were not major ones. If you look at A Wrinkle in Time as a stand-alone book, they are fine. However, if you look at the movie as book one in a series… then there may be some issues. In addition, a few things added to create drama, I felt, were unnecessary.

Were these terrible additions? No. Were they helpful additions? No.

Did the costumes, and costume/hair changes of the three Mrs. get a bit much? Yes. Were they terrible? No, a distraction perhaps.

Mrs. Whatsit was different and that was a bit of a rub the wrong way. I did like her character and I understood the changes but “Mrs. Whatsit loves me.” would be out of place in this story. I was a bit bothered by that.

Overall, high marks. My expectations were originally all over the map, high at first, then low from reading the news, then met. I am glad I saw this movie and know for myself.

(And that is a bit about what the movie is about. Be yourself. Own it. Even your faults.)

Apparently, this is a controversial statement these days. Overall I enjoyed the movie and found it thoughtful for a Star Wars movie.

(((((SPOILERS AHEAD)))))

This movie reminded me of a story I heard about George Lucas deciding whether to make a “kids” movie or not. I hadn’t thought that Star Wars was a kids movie before I heard that story, but I don’t completely disagree with that designation. I think kids movies were different in 1977 than today and I do think The Phantom Menace really was a modern kids movie.

The Last Jedi was not a kids movie in the same way. I didn’t love the whole thing but found the Luke and Rey storyline compelling. It made the viewer question and think a bit. Does a moment of weakness on Luke’s part make him evil? Can Kylo Ren maintain his grip on the First Order? What are Lukes responsibilities/obligations? What are Rey’s? Do we really need to know who Rey is and understand her whole backstory to follow her story? How big does the Resistance need to be?

There were a lot of competing storylines in The Last Jedi and I found some of them less compelling. Tracking Poe and his actions, then tracking Finn, then back to Rey and Luke and finally seeing how the storylines (eventually) come together.

I read a post the other day that having Poe save Finn instead of Rose would have strengthened the story and I agree.  I will try to find where I read it and link to it here.

Until then, Happy Holidays!

Thanks for reading!

Just read Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke for the first time. I am shocked that I had never read this before, it is a great read. A classic if you will. Anything by Arthur C. Clarke is on my list and considered a must read. I have read much of his work, but not this one until now.

An alien “craft” is discovered, now what?

Not much to report here but I wanted to share about some movies coming our way in the near (relatively) future.

The Wonder Woman movie sounds awesome, but I didn’t get to see it in the theater. Will get to it soon, I loved the trailers and the reviews seem very positive.

Just found out about the new Wrinkle in Time movie opening soon. I had no idea that one was in the works! Did you love the books? I did. May have to go reread before I go see it.

Interesting…very interesting.

Will you go see the new Blade Runner 2049 in the theaters?

How about The Last Jedi? Coming in December.

Did you see the movie The Circle? It looked interesting though I am debating on reading the book first. Anyone read the book first?

Are there any movies that you recommend? I am always looking for additional movies to add to my list. I get there eventually, even if I miss some movies in the theater.

Life has gone off the rails a bit but I am getting back to normal. Sometimes it is good to think about something else, so right now I choose movies!