10 Great Movies That Take Place in Autumn

November 17, 2013November 14, 2013 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

Summer may be a time for huge blockbuster action flicks, but as the kids settle back into school, autumn is a time for more peaceful reflection. Grab a cup of hot chocolate, some fresh-baked cookies, your favorite warm blanket, and curl up with one of these films that take place in the fall. You’ll be glad you did!

Dead Poet’s Society – Robin Williams as an inspiring teacher in a prep school. One of his best roles.

Rudy – Sean Astin in a true story about a boy who wanted to play football for Notre Dame.

On Golden Pond – Henry Fonda’s Oscar-winning role as a family tries to come back together before it’s too late.

The Four Seasons – an all-star cast leads this sweet Alan Alda film about a group of friends vacationing through a year. Gorgeous autumn scenery set to a soundtrack of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

Hannah and her Sisters – Woody Allen directs this film about a family, beginning and ending with Thanksgiving.

The Big Chill – A group of old friends gather together for the funeral of one of their own, accompanied by a fabulous soundtrack.

Sweet November – a sweet little love story starring Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron.

The Trouble with Harry – Alfred Hitchcock’s frightful comedy about a body that won’t stay buried.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles – a John Hughes comedy starring Steve Martin as a man trying to make it home for Thanksgiving, when the world seems out to get him.

Far From Heaven – Connecticut in the fall of 1957, and the prejudices that existed.

Susan vs. the Wizards + Warriors

November 7, 2013November 7, 2013 / Susan O. / 1 Comment

The long-bearded ancestor of all wizard, warrior, and chivalrous knight stories is arguably Le Morte d’Arthur, compiled by Sir Thomas Mallory and first published in 1485 – not bad, considering the printing press was only invented in 1450. These tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Roundtable was later worked by T.H. White into The Once and Future King, published in sections between 1938 and 1958, and taken up by Disney in 1963 as The Sword in the Stone. In the same time period (1937-1954), J.R.R. Tolkien was busy pounding out The Lord of the Rings, his infinitesimally detailed trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King) that set the bar for most fantasy novels to come, so massive in scope that ten hours of movie magic can’t encompass it all.

Tolkien helped shape Dungeons and Dragons (1974), the endlessly successful fantasy game – wizards, warriors, dwarves with their battle axes, elves, orcs, checking for traps and spells – they all started with Tolkien. Dungeons and Dragons, however, is directly responsible for creating several lines of worthy novels, perhaps the best being the two original Dragonlance trilogies, Chronicles (Dragons of Autumn Twilight, etc) and Legends (Time of the Twins, etc). While some have complained that “you can hear the dice rolling in the background,” these are the novels that set my brain on fire. I had the misfortune to read them as they were being released, having to wait anxious months for each delicious installment. While Chronicles sets up the characters and sends them off on a very D&D-type adventure, Legends runs with the developed characters and explodes with adventure. These trilogies are clean enough for the 11-15 year old crowd, and a great place to send them after (or in preparation for) Lord of the Rings. There are more than 200 novels under the Dragonlance umbrella (and a film), so let them read!

The modern crown of medieval fantasy, however, must go to George R. R. Martin (what’s with all those R’s?). His Song of Ice and Fire series, better known as Game of Thrones, the first title of the series, is Tolkien grown up dark and twisted (yes, darker than Mordor, where evil is only ever alluded to). Dragons, kingdoms, sex, murder, warfare, dwarves, incest, murder, swords, traitors, child brides, sex, murder, backstabbing, murder, sex, murder – Game of Thrones is nothing short of a massive soap opera set in a fantasy world of medieval powerstruggles. While the HBO series consists heavily of nudity and violence, it is not a tenth of the amount of extreme brutality and sexual depravity of the books – these are NOT chivalrous tales for the young, but bloody and too-realistic horror stories of warfare. Yet, they will suck you in with compelling characters in a story that is too painful to read further, and too engaging and dramatic to ever put down. Each volume runs 800-1200 pages, so unless you can clear your schedule (you won’t want to stop), you may want to check out the audiobooks instead.

Read them. Savor them. Imagine them. Then go beat up a tree with a sword. Just make sure it’s not an Ent first.

Fifty Shades of Grey’s New Lead Actor

October 25, 2013June 5, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Jamie Dornan

Jamie Dornan will portray Christian Grey in the movie version of Fifty Shades of Grey. The 31 year old actor currently stars on ABC’S “Once Upon A Time”. He was also a former Calvin Klein underwear model. The role originally called for a salary of $125,000 – which is quite low for this type of high profile part. Negotiations are still underway, so time will tell if Dornan will be able to command a higher salary.

Back to the Drawing Board? Charlie Hunnam Drops out of “Fifty Shades” Movie

October 13, 2013October 13, 2013 / cheshirelib / Leave a comment

Actor Charlie Hunnam is no longer on board to play Christian Grey in the highly anticipated movie adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey. Mere weeks after announcing Hunnam’s casting in the role, the studios behind the film, Universal Pictures and Focus Features, have released this statement:

“The filmmakers of “Fifty Shades of Grey” and Charlie Hunnam have agreed to find another male lead given Hunnam’s immersive TV schedule, which is not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey.” Hunnam is best know for his role on the FX drama “Sons of Anarchy“. No word yet on whether this will affect the casting of Dakota Johnson as the female lead, Anastasia Steele.

Author Tom Clancy Dead at Age 66

October 2, 2013June 5, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Tom Clancy

Prolific writer Tom Clancy died Tuesday night, Oct 1st, at the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. The cause of death has not been released.

He was best known for his technically detailed espionage and military thrillers. Several were made into movies including The Hunt for Red October, The Sum of All Fears, Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger. The first Net Force book was made into a television movie and the first Op-Center book was made into a mini-series.

He was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1947. He attended Loyola College as a physics major, but switched to English in his sophomore year. Before becoming an author, he ran an independent insurance agency.

In 1979, he began writing Patriot Games where his hero CIA agent Jack Ryan was introduced. In 1982, he set aside that book and started The Hunt for Red October which was based on a real incident in November 1979 about a Soviet missile frigate attempting to defect.

Seventeen of his novels have appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list. Besides his stand-alone novels, he has written several series available in paperback format. They are: Op-Center, Net Force, Net Force Explorers, Power Plays, Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six, and EndWar.

He was a part owner of a baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles, author of several non-fiction books, developed three board games, and co-founded the video game developer Red Storm Entertainment. He is one of only three authors to sell two million copies on a first printing (other two – J.K. Rowling and John Grisham).