The OTHER Lady of Iron

By "Other" Iron Lady, I mean not the Statue of Liberty!

Settling into this bio pic, I knew next to nothing about Margaret Thatcher. Thank God for Wikipedia at my fingertips during the first bit of the film! Honestly desired to see this film more-so for the sake that Meryl Streep finally pinned Best Actress for her role. She did not disappoint.

I'm not British, nor was I "up" on current affairs while Thatcher was active, so I have an unbiased point-of-view of this film. She comes off as strong but delicate, eager while overwhelming, brilliant but stubborn. The film itself is very interesting and I have to say "kudos" to the reflective nature of the film. I enjoyed it very much: 4/5 Stars.

...And a Bad Movie

There doesn't seem to be a whole lot floating about the new releases. I even settled on watching Bad Teacher just to kill time and get some of my challenge accomplished. What watching this film accomplished: It murdered my time and made me care very little for Cameron Diaz. It does, however, point out precisely what is wrong with some school districts.

Yes, I know! It's my own fault for settling! Can't blame the film I did get like a chuckle in there (I think). 2/5 Stars

RE: Surfacing

The description of this novel read as "Part detective, part psychological thriller..." I was psychologically on the edge through the majority of the text. Something about being alone on an Island... with your three other friends... and you have no name. I felt vulnerable. ME. Creeped out! I half expected a bear to pop out of nowhere and slaughter everyone. Or Miss No-Name's father would turn up while everyone was playing bridge or gutting fish, and gun everyone down. BrrrrRRRrrrR!

Non of these things happened. There was a lot of awkward silence, sun-bathing, detective novel reading, canoeing, fishing (or lack-there-of,) and Anti-American ("Yankee") notions. Since I was such a fan of the writing, (and who would't love Atwood?) I'm progressing onto Life Before Man. On the dust jacket of this next read, the text points out that Atwood continues on with her gender role bending writing, which wasn't something I noticed in Surfacing until I read this comment. Other than an occasional slip of the word "groovy," its easy to forget that this novel was written in the 70's. Women's suffrage is ever-evolving, so nothing struck me as "out of the ordinary" about the protagonist's wilderness skills, life goals or attitude. I now see what I had missed during my reading experience and I just know I would have had a different outlook on this novel had I read it in the 1970's or early 80's (yes pre-dating my birth!) verses reading now in 2012.

I didn't think the book felt dated. I kind of reminded me of traveling to my hometown in Maine. The novel is relatable, even with the lack of technology. I connected with the protagonist, even though I never even knew her name. What I found so off-putting was something that probably could have been worked out through spacing, or the use of dig-bats: there were moments when the placement in time was difficult to decipher. The protagonist reminisced (often,) but the text just meshed together as one, so it could be difficult to place what was happening "now" and in memory. 3/5 stars.

A Philosophical Detour

I'm going to say I had the pleasure of reading The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery. Be forewarned (and this is also the reason for my scoring,) that this novel is thick with philosophy and not so much a plot-driven book. It. Is. Dry... at times. This is essentially what you get when a philosopher consciously decides to write a novel about the preciousness/lack-there-of qualities of life. The novel exists to provoke thought, and that it does well.

Listed as one of the 1,001 books to read before you die, I liked the premise of the novel and thought, "hey I'll like this!" I do, but it's most certainly one of the toughest books I had to wade through for the sake of personal enlightenment. The best excuse I could have for picking this book up at this time, is that I wanted to participate in a book club discussion on GoodReads... and I happen to own a copy of the novel. The better half of the group's discussion is an opinion pole on whether or not the book is classified as "pretentious". It's philosophical - the end.

At first I too rolled my eyes at the "Profound Thoughts" of a 12-year-old girl, but I got over that when I actually found Paloma relatable and struck by some of her notions. Renee was a much easier character to digest from the get-go, but every now and then, her tangents would put me to sleep. It's actually the overwhelming nature of the THOUGHTS that I ended up rating this novel a 3/5. I loved the ending, but I hardly see this as a novel I would want to pick up again and again.

France & Food Porn

Be forewarned: bits of Julia Child's bio are a little pornographic... food-wise. Another way to put it: DO NOT READ if you are on a strict diet. This isn't just a story about Julia's love for France, it's her life as told through food.

This was a tough book to get through because you have to stop and smell the bouillabaisse, and crudités, and boeuf bourguignon. Oh, great! I'm hungry again. Though My Life In France was incomplete upon Julia's passing, her voice is so authentic, one would hardly guess it was actually completed by her grandnephew. Julia's animated personality rings true from page to page, and at times a little much to digest.

Her life is far from boring, even though she drones on about politics frequently, as her husband was very active with the government while they thrived in France. Julia has a passion for France/the French that cannot be met by anyone I've ever met. There's a lot of "Frenchness" in my heritage, so I learned a lot through Julia, about myself in relation to food. I now know I can blame my chronic hunger on my genetic roots.

Julia's story is lovely and sweet, so I do recommend this for anyone interested in biographic reads. Enjoyable enough, though my frequent pauses pushed my interest in and out. 3/5 Stars.

Parody Films Count

I'm not going to sit here and admit that I sat through Breaking Dawn without laughing. I cheated, and watched this with RiffTrax commentary because I read the novel and I wasn't all that interested in watching the film itself. For my Memorial Day weekend I was in need of a little pick-me-up and this hit all the right funny notes!

If you like gushy love stories, then I do suggest this to you... without the snarky commentary. If if you love snarky commentary, I HIGHLY recommend this to you as I watched it. The pacing of the actors' lines are broken up so much that the comments are neatly nestled into the film as it rolls. The movie itself, I would give a 2/5... it's boring (to me,) and there was just a whole-lot of nothing going on. The funny part of me gives it a 4/5 - with parody commentary, it's a classic I'll watch again for giggles. And for archiving sake: 3/4 Stars.

The end of a series

This is a double-book review double-whammy. Within a week and a half I polished off Catching Fire and Mockingjay, which is what I'm calling the grand finale to my sudden interest in Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games world. The books are rated differently. As the reader, there are people and events you root for, but in the end, I'm also glad Collins didn't fall into clichés or take the stories on predictable paths. Read well. Written well. The end.

Upon single book-by-book reviews: Catching Fire gets 4/5 stars for the addictive qualities of the plot and drive. The best term to use here: it's a page-turner. It was a tough book for me to put down every evening. I found myself constantly fighting off fatigue just so that I could get through the next chapter... and then the next! What I applaud Collins for doing in this novel, is that she didn't fall into a "now everyone just work together"during the Quarter Quells. I wanted it, but at the same time, you think that would be too boring or logical. The story rides on conflict and removing that battle for life would have really flat-lined the series. As much as I said I didn't care for Katniss in the first book of the series, I felt for her more here.

Katniss lost me as the Mockingjay. In contrast to the light and airy feeling of the cover, this book was very violent and depressing. At times a bit "trippy", the novel reads as a giant nightmare. I was a bit disappointed in the ending of the novel and there were very few likable characters. The whole love-triangle completely flat-lined. The only hint of there still being any emotional attachment within Peeta, Katniss or Gale was towards the end of the novel. Even then it sounded more like a choice Katniss had to make, as she overheard Peeta and Gale chatting during very Twilight-esque scene in hiding. If there were to be a fourth novel in the series, it would be about Katniss's struggle against PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). This book receives 3/5 stars from me.

To rate the series as a whole, I would push closer to a 3 than a 4, but a 3.5 nonetheless. The ending leaves a very lasting impression on the reader (at least it does on me). Though it ends on a note of hope, it is still a very depressing series which makes it difficult to reflect on all the good that was within it.