My Football Hero November 3, 2011
Posted by Rosemary in Movies, Non-Fiction, Thoughtful Ramblings.add a comment
Some of my favorite movies are sports movies; I love Hoosiers, Rudy, and Breaking Away. I recently watched The Blind Side, which is based on the life of Michael Oher, an offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. Michael’s life from birth to his early high school years was one of hardship and poverty in Memphis. His mother was addicted to crack, and he never knew his father. These are the facts that could have made Michael just another statistic. How did he lift himself out of the life that seemed destined for him? The Blind Side was so inspiring that I wanted to know more about this young man; so I turned to his memoir, I Beat the Odds from Homelessness to the Blind Side, and Beyond. What impressed me throughout the memoir was that no matter what life threw at him, Michael was determined to succeed. When he was about eight or nine, he realized that sports could be his way out of poverty. He assumed it would be through basketball, but once he was accepted at Briarcrest Christian School, he started playing football and playing it very well.
Michael loves and respects the Tuohy family who took him in and helped him achieve his dreams, but it was his own courage, personal responsibility, and perseverance that brought him to a successful life.
Other books you might want to read are In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving by Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy and The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis.
You can read more about other books and movie connections in Dori’s post and Megan’s post.
~Rosemary
Movie Monday October 24, 2011
Posted by Dori in Movies, Thoughtful Ramblings.add a comment
“Movie Monday” is a new addition here at Read it or Weep that will focus on the stellar DVD collection at RRPL. I’m hoping to include a weekly list of new DVD releases, highlight movies I’ve seen or want to see and maybe chat about any other movie related items that strike my fancy.
This week is a little barren for new DVD releases. For you comic book movie fans, there’s Captain America: The First Avenger, Marvel’s comic adventure set during World War II about Steve Rogers’ transformation from scrawny kid into superhero. It’s supposed to be action packed and full of period details and will help prepare you for The Avengers coming out in May of next year (and partially filmed in Cleveland!). Also here this week is family favorite Winnie the Pooh Movie, a trip back in time full of gentleness and charm.
Of course, All Hallow’s Eve and Dia de los Muertos are fast approaching and you may want to check out a horror movie, turn down the lights and scare the pants off yourself! I’m not a big fan of movies that threaten death and dismemberment, but I do like scary films like The Birds or The Shining. Check out our display of “Eerie Movies” and celebrate the season.
Happy Watching.
~ Dori
Freedom to Read 2011 -Even More! September 28, 2011
Posted by stacey in Movies, Thoughtful Ramblings.Tags: Freedom to Read
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So how did you do on your Banned Book Week quiz? If you haven’t taken it yet? What in the world are you waiting for? Don’t you want to see how wise and learned you are?
Or maybe you’d like to do a little more learning first? Is that the hold up? Would you like to consider the five best books turned into films? Or maybe you’re hoping to keep the visually imagery of the day going? Why not look to see how the Virtual Read-Out is going?
Either way, keep on reading those fabulously discussable, challenged titles! And I will too!
— Stacey
Summertime and the Movies are Easy… July 16, 2011
Posted by Dori in Movies.add a comment
What movies to watch this summer with two adults and two teenagers in the house? I know a lot of folks go to the local multiplex for the latest blockbuster, but we’re looking for a few DVDs to watch from our comfy couch. I’ve thought about a series – last summer, my brother, son and I watched all the Alien movies over a week. My son enjoyed the action and aliens, and my brother, of course, Sigourney Weaver. And now that the last Harry Potter movie has been released, I know that it’s been popular to
make a night or two (or three) of it and revisit all the past films, but we’ve seen all the films fairly recently. Maybe The Matrix? Or Back to the Future? We watched the first Planet of the Apes, but I’m not sure I can sit through the rest (can you believe that they actually made four more movies?!).
In the meantime, we’ve watched a few oldies but goodies: Harold and Maud, The Shining (my son wanted to watch some classic horror films) and Breaking Away. Next up are a few Hitchcock films and some Bill Murray classics like Stripes and Meatballs.
Another month and late nights of movie watching will end, but at least we’ll have a few fond memories of screaming, laughter and lots and lots of popcorn.
~ Dori
More Harry Potter July 15, 2011
Posted by Evelyn in Movies, Non-Fiction.Tags: Children's Books, Deathly Hallows movie, Harry Potter
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Seen The Deathly Hallows Part 2 and still looking for more Harry Potter? Check out these books from the library.
Harry Potter, Magic Eye Book : 3D Magical Creatures, Beasts and Beings 
The Science of Harry Potter, or even The Sorcerer’s Companion: A Guide to the Magical World of Harry Potter. ~Evelyn
Wallander April 22, 2011
Posted by Dori in Movies, Mystery.add a comment
I just finished reading the new Henning Mankell book, The Troubled Man , his final book about gloomy, depressive police inspector Kurt Wallander. Mankell is Swedish and his books are set in his native land. In this latest, Wallander is 60, has a new granddaughter, and is obsessing about his past and his future, his relationships and his mortality. As he searches for a his future father-in-law, a former submarine captain who has mysteriously disappeared, and broods about the failures of Swedish society, he also struggles with health issues and episodes of memory loss. I’ve only read a couple of other Wallander mysteries and this one was not my favorite – it’s a bit scattered and oh so somber. I may go back to the first in the series, Faceless Killers, to compare.
I have, though, watched both PBS series about Wallander that the library owns, Wallander: Sidetracked, Firewall
and One Step Behind and Wallander: Faceless Killer, The Man Who Smiled and The Fifth Woman. Each series includes three episodes that are condensed from individual books of the series. Starring Kenneth Branagh as Wallander, they are dark, moody, beautifully filmed mysteries.
~ Dori
Festival de Cannes April 16, 2011
Posted by Dori in Movies, Music.add a comment
To all you film fans out there:
Care to spend a couple of weeks in France watching movies (oh and maybe take a dip in the Meditteranean as well)? Check out the lineup of films that are showing at the Festival de Cannes. Here’s a look at the trailers for some of the the films as well. While sadly I can’t make the trip, there are a couple of titles I’m looking forward to seeing when they’re released here: Pedro Almodovar’s new film La Piel Que Habito (The Skin that I Live In) and The Tree of Life, directed by Terrence Malick. Sean Penn even shows up in glam rock regalia in This Must be the Place directed by Paolo Sorrentino – David Byrne wrote the music and the title is one of my favorite songs of all time by, of course, David Byrne’s Talking Heads. Have a listen here .
Au Revoir.
~ Dori
Elizabeth Taylor, 1932-2011 April 7, 2011
Posted by Dori in Movies, Uncategorized.add a comment
As I’m sure most of you know, screen star legend Elizabeth Taylor recently passed away at the age of 79. Turner Classic Movies is having a Memorial Tribute to Elizabeth Taylor on April 10th and featuring 11 of her films, from relatively unknown titles such as Raintree Country and Ivanhoe to classics such as Cat on A Hot Tin Roof and Lassie Come Home.
Or you can visit Rocky River Public Library to check out a few of her films in our collection, including Cleopatra, Giant and National Velvet.
~ Dori
Beauty and the Beast March 1, 2011
Posted by Donna in Movies, Thoughtful Ramblings, Young Adult.Tags: Books into movies, Young Adult
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The movie Beastly will be coming out in early March. This movie is based on the young adult novel by Alex Finn that came out in 2007. Check out our Reading Room review of the book. I, for one, loved this retelling of the fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast and really recommended this book to friends and family. When news came out this novel was being turned into a movie, I was excitedly looking forward to seeing the movie. However, having seen some of the early trailers on the television, I wonder how much of the movie stays true to the book. Hmmmm….one wonders when the original cover looked like this:
and the new paperback version that is out now for the movie looks like this: 
In the book, Kyle is changed into a beast…one with fangs, claws and lots of hair! Kyle in the movie is turned into a beast but he certainly doesn’t look too hairy to me! I’m also having a hard time picturing Mary-Kate Olsen as Kendra the witch who puts Kyle under her magical spell. I also wonder how the Unexpected Changes chat group that Kyle goes to online will be portrayed. I hope the ending won’t be changed!….I’m sure glad that I have read the book first and once again, I think the book will be much, much better than the movie! We’ll see….
Happy Reading! ~Donna
Of course, they have been many other novels based on the fairy tale, The Beauty and the Beast. If you’re interested, check out these titles from our Reading Room:
Beauty: A Novel by Susan Wilson, A Moment in Time by Judith Gould and The Bride Finder by Susan Carroll.
Remember….I’m the reader who loves Happy Endings….well, I just finished another novel based on The Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. It is the new historical romance paperback by Eloisa James titled When Beauty Tamed the Beast. I loved it! There’s the Beauty and naturally, there’s the Beast and a happy ending for all! Yeah!
Rosemary Sutcliff February 16, 2011
Posted by Donna in Adventure, Historical Fiction, Movies.Tags: Adventure, Current Events
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The new action movie, The Eagle, is based on Rosemary Sutcliff’s classic novel, The Eagle of the Ninth. Have you ever heard of the author, Rosemary Sutcliff? She was known primarily as a British children’s historical fiction author. She won the prestigious Carnegie Medal for her novel, Lantern Bearers, in 1959. She lived from December 14, 1920 and died while still writing on the morning of her death on July 23, 1992. As a child, she suffered from a children’s form of arthritis that forced her to spend most of her life in a wheelchair where she spent a lot of time listening to her mother retelling the old Celtic and Saxon legends. She would later use these legends in her books. Her first book written in 1950 was The Chronicles of Robin Hood. She is best known for her books that were set in Roman Britain in the early second century with her Eagle of the Ninth series. These books were The Eagle of the Ninth (1954), The Silver Branch (1957), the Lantern Bearers (1959) and Dawn Wind (1961). In The Eagle of the Ninth, Marcus, a Roman soldier sets off on a quest to find out what happened to the legendary Ninth Legion that mysteriously disappeared while under his father’s command in Northern Britain. He wants to find the lost eagle standard of the Ninth and to return the lost honor and respect back to his family’s name.
As a prolific historical fiction reader growing up, I thoroughly enjoyed the adventurous stories of Rosemary Sutcliff. Unfortunately, most of her books are out of print and you won’t find too many of her books still in school or public libraries. Hopefully, with this new movie, there will be a renewed interest in her historical books to bring them back in print so that more readers will be able to enjoy her wonderful stories.
To find a complete list of her books, check out the Fantastic Fiction website.
Happy Reading! Donna
