Try this one:
"Margo Channing is a star of the theater. She made her first stage appearance at the age of four in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' She played the fairy and entered, quite unexpectedly, stark naked. She has been a star ever since."
On Netflix:
Warrior - Nick Nolte was nominated for best supporting actor for his role in this film and after seeing it, I can see why. It is a "Rocky" type movie. Two brothers who are estranged and their alcoholic father meet in the world of mixed martial arts combat. The background is not fully developed as to why everyone is so mad at each other, but the fighting scenes are exciting. Didn't know the two stars Joel Edgeton and Tom Hardy as they are Australian and English respectively, but it is always good to see Nolte in a meaty role. Jennifer Morrison of "House" and "Once Upon a Time" co-stars. It is over two hours, but kept my interest throughout.
On Netflix and Instant Streaming
Snowflower and the Secret Fan - I read this book by Lisa See and was anxious to see the film adaptation. They added a modern day side story paralleling two friends in modern day Shanghai. Needless to say the movie did not go into the depth of the novel and in fact if you did not read the book, you might be lost in the ancient story. Don't really understand why they felt they could not simply tell the novel as written, but needed to add the other story. The same actresses played the girts in present day and ancient time. I found it good, but not the best adaptation of the book.
On Netflix and HBO
Day One - This film starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess is When Harry Met Sally without the comedy and depth. Boy and girl meet at graduation and the action is seen on the same day each year, July 15, from 1988 to 2007. They are best friends, but each time they meet they make each other a better person. They take a circuitous road to come to the end you expect. The ending though was a bit of a surprise,. This story has been done before and much better, but it kept my interest.
Good Reads:
Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow - I took a four week class discussing this book. It has made many best novels of the 20th century lists. At first I did not like the writer's style. The first part of the book is written with chopped sentences; short, not much description.. Also his characters except for two have no specific names, but as we discussed it and why he wrote as he did, I found it made sense. The choppiness of the writing is mimicking the way ragtime is played; chopped on one hand and smooth on the other. Although the story takes place in the 20's his themes are ones from the 60's; civil and women's rights. He integrates real life people like Henry Ford, Harry Houdini and Emma Goldman into this novel. It is a quick read and many of you know it was made into a successful musical a number of years ago which lost out for best musical to The Lion King.
In the Garden of Beasts By Erik Larson - This true story recounts the term of American Ambassador William Dodd and his family in Germany from 1933-1937. It is a fascinating read and shows how blind or how much we, America, wanted to stay out of the affairs of Europe and chose not to believe what was happening in Germany. There was so many times the United States could have stepped in and prevented at least some of the horrible atrocities that occurred, but didn't. Dodd's daughter Martha plays a starring role in this book as she consorted with many high ranking Nazi's as well as a member of the Russian Soviet Party. I learned a lot from the book and was very sad while and after reading it.
DWTS Update:
Last night Katherine Jenkins fell. Unless the viewers came to her aid, I believe she will be eliminated tonight. What a shame as she is a beautiful dancer. Turn in tonight to see what happens.
Roberta
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