Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update
Linking up with:
Stacking the Shelves (
details)
Sunday Post (
details)
Mailbox Monday (
details)
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HAPPY THINGS:
1. The 61st SF International Film Festival, April 4-17 (
details) - this post (and next week) is movie heavy and I am loving all the films I've attended so far.
2. Some of the green parrots of Telegraph Hill hang out at the Embarcadero center. I found these guys on the walls of one of the Embarcadero buildings and others across the street in trees of a park with extremely loud chattering amongst themselves.
3. The Stacking Benjamins podcast (
here) - a fun way to learn about money and finance
G I V E A W A Y:
Love in Bloom
sign up to win gift cards and ebooks (here)
offers end: April 30, 2018
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Library:
Happiness
The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After
by Heather Harpham
-Memoir
Amazon | Goodreads
APRIL pick for Reese's book club (details).
Needle In A Haystack
by Ernesto Mallo
-Mystery, Argentina
Amazon | Goodreads
MAY pick for the Foreign Intrigue Book Club (here).
Hotel Brasil
by Frei Betto, Jethro Soutar
-Mystery, Brazil
Amazon | Goodreads
JUNE pick for the Foreign Intrigue Book Club.
AND watched: in theatre
Lean on Pete (2017)
Director/Writer: Andrew Haigh
Based on book by: Willy Vlautin
Stars: Steve Zahn, Travis Fimmel, Chloë Sevigny
-Adventure, Drama | imdb | my rating: 5
A teenager gets a summer job working for a horse trainer and befriends the fading racehorse, Lean on Pete.
GREAT character growth in this one. I want to read some of this author's other works.
AND watched: in theatre - part of the SF International Film Festival
The Third Murder (2017)
Sandome no satsujin (original title)
Director/Writer: Hirokazu Koreeda
Stars: Masaharu Fukuyama, Kôji Yakusho
-Drama, Mystery, Japan | imdb | my rating: 4
Misumi has a criminal record dating back many years and is now under the spotlight again. It looks like an open and shut case, for Misumi has confessed to the new charge. Enter prominent lawyer Shigemori, who harbours other ideas, which could mean the difference between life and death.
TRUTH and lies play back and forth to the point of whether or not it matters.
The Rider (2017)
Director/Writer: Chloé Zhao
Stars: Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau
-Drama | imdb | my rating: 5
After suffering a near fatal head injury, a young cowboy undertakes a search for new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.
BEAUTIFUL film all-around. Loved the scenes outdoors. And, the characters were portrayed in honest heartfelt ways.
THE screening included Q&A with director, Chloé Zhao, and main actor, Brady Jandreau. Great to get some of the behind-the-scenes scoop.
Tully (2018)
Director: Jason Reitman
Writer: Diablo Cody
Stars: Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Mark Duplass
-Drama, Comedy, New York | imdb | my rating: 5
The film is about Marlo, a mother of three including a newborn, who is gifted a night nanny by her brother. Hesitant to the extravagance at first, Marlo comes to form a unique bond with the thoughtful, surprising, and sometimes challenging young nanny named Tully.
INTERESTING take on the motherhood experience after childbirth.
There was a tribute to Charlize and she was present for a Q&A. We basked in her smart and sexy self.
Ulam (2018)
Director: Alexandra Cuerdo
-Documentary, Filipino | website | my rating: 5
ULAM (Main Dish) is a food documentary following the rise of the Filipino food movement via the chefs crossing over to the center of the American table.
Featuring: Alvin Cailan (Egglsut, Unit 120), Nicole Ponseca & Miguel Trinidad (Maharlika, Jeepney), Romy Dorotan & Amy Besa (Purple Yam), Johneric Concordia & Christine Araquel-Concordia (The Park's Finest), Charles Olalia (Ricebar), Chase Valencia & Chad Valencia (LASA), and Andre Guerrero (The Oinkster, Maximiliano, The Little Bear).
GOT food - yeah, so hungry after watching this. The dilemmas that Filipino food restaurants face are discussed.
We The Animals (2018)
Director/Writer: Jeremiah Zagar
Writers: Daniel Kitrosser
Based on book: Justin Torres
Stars: Evan Rosado, Raúl Castillo, Sheila Vand
-Drama | imdb | my rating: 5
Manny, Joel and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah embraces an imagined world all his own.
WITH magical realism and dream sequence scenes this film is beautiful. But there is a tense feeling while watching how this film unfolds.
Q&A with the director was part of this screening which gave more insight about the film's origin story. Of course, I want to go and read the book now.
Claire's Camera (2017)
La caméra de Claire (original title)
Director/Writer: Sang-soo Hong
Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Min-hee Kim, Mi-hee Chang
-Drama, France, South Korea | imdb | my review: 4
LOVED the street scenes in Cannes as it is a place on my travel list. This cute story was fun in how it handled South Korean and French cultures.
AND watched: on DVD
Alexander Nevsky (1938)
Aleksandr Nevskiy (original title)
Director: Sergei M. Eisenstein, Dmitriy Vasilev
Writers: Sergei M. Eisenstein, Pyotr Pavlenko
Stars: Nikolay Cherkasov, Nikolai Okhlopkov, Andrei Abrikosov
-Action, Biography, Drama | imdb | my rating: 4
The story of how a great Russian prince led a ragtag army to battle an invading force of Teutonic Knights.
WATCHED this for research as I am currently in a chorus that will be singing the songs for this in a June performance. Interesting black/white period piece that had a folk tale vibe.
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* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently
Thanks for stopping by :-)
