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ChristianFictionQueen
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Name: Ruth
Country: United States
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Birthday: 9/21/1980
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Interests: Reading - Christian Fiction - Writing Reviews - Talk Radio - Being an "Evil Conservative" - Frank Sinatra - MGM Musicals - BBC - Chris Botti - Broadway - World War II History - Jane Austen - Middle Tennessee Christian Writers - Books & Literature Editor for The Bridge
Expertise: Books in general, especially Christian fiction...and I'm considered something of an expert on Frank Sinatra in certain circles.
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| Two quick reviews...  Confessions of a Shopaholic: Shopaholic is a cute little movie, I have to own that I liked it way more than I expected. Based on two of Sophie Kinsella's novels about shopaholic Rebecca Bloomwood, Rebecca is a wannabe reporter who holds the dubious distinction of having maxed out 12 - yes, twelve - credit cards. Somehow she manages to get a job at Successful Saving magazine, and miracle of miracles, her unorthodox advice strikes a chord and takes readers by storm. However, Rebecca's credibility and budding romance with her boss is all put in jeopardy when her creditors catch up with her.
Yes, it's completely predictable but I didn't care. I thought Shopaholic was just what the doctor ordered after a HIGHLY stressful work week (Seriously why are short weeks so LONG? But I digress...). It's a fluffy, funny, surprisingly clean little rom-com that shockingly enough had some moments of real depth - particularly when Rebecca starts to learn that she doesn't need to be defined by her "stuff."
Isla Fisher plays Rebecca and I thought she was just terrific. She's got a lot of potential ahead of her in these type of roles. The #1 reason I wanted to see this movie, though, was Hugh Dancy as Rebecca's boss, Luke Brandon. I've had a crush on him since he played David Copperfield (Speaking of, WHY OH WHY isn't his version of David Copperfield on DVD? It's my favorite!!). He & Isla have great screen chemistry, and he's just so stinking adorable, well I'd watch him read the alphabet so maybe I'm biased...  I also really enjoyed Joan Cusack and John Goodman's appearance as Rebecca's parents. Kristin Scott Thomas also had a small role and she looked so scary I didn't even recognize her (HA!) until I looked her up on the IMDB.
 Also recently watched New In Town, starring Renee Zellwegger and Harry Connick Jr. It was...eeehhh. Cute, but I think overall I preferred Shopaholic. I would definitely watch the latter again at any rate. New was an okay way to burn an hour and a half on a lazy evening, but that's about it. It really, really reminded me of the musical/movie Pajama Game (I've only seen the movie so that's what I'm comparing it to). Only in this movie the boss/union rep roles are reversed between the male & female leads.
I think my biggest problem with this movie was that I just couldn't get past how freaking awful and caveman-like Harry Connick Jr. looked every time he was on-screen. Also, I HATE AND LOATHE TAPIOCA with every fiber of my being. And since it plays kind of a large role in the movie...well that's just stomach-turning in my world. LOL!
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| Summer of Hitchcock: Rear Window
Spoilers… Rear Window is not only one of my favorite Hitchcock films, it’s one of my favorite films, period. It’s also the third film up for discussion in My Friend Amy’s Summer of Hitchcock. A bit about the story…
James Stewart plays magazine photographer L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries, sidelined to a wheelchair for several long, boring, HOT weeks thanks to a broken leg. Out of sheer boredom, he takes to “observing” his neighbors, getting to know them through the glimpses of their lives afforded through their apartment windows. His high society girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly), best friend police detective Thomas Doyle (Wendell Corey), and nurse/physical therapist Stella (Thelma Ritter) are all exasperated with his voyeuristic pastime. All that changes when Jeff discovers that the nagging, invalid wife of a salesman living across the way has suddenly disappeared. The more Jeff sees, the more he becomes convinced that he’s discovered a murder – but how can he possibly prove it from the solitary, limited vantage point of his living room window?
I have a very distinct memory of the first time I watched Rear Window – AMC aired the film 2 or 3 times after it was remastered several years ago (perhaps around 2000?). I was sitting on my parents’ sofa and I watched the film all the way through twice in a row. I was thoroughly absorbed by the story and fascinated by the sheer amount of storytelling and information that Hitchcock crammed into each frame of film. The first time I watched the movie, you focus on Jeff, Lisa, and the murder. The second time, though, I allowed myself to focus on each of the “mini movies” playing out in the apartment windows within Jeff’s view. Those little “slice of life” vignettes are one of my favorite aspects of the film. I especially love how “Ms. Lonelyhearts” goes through some wrenching experiences but eventually finds happiness with the Songwriter. It’s the romantic in me, I know. :) I love, love, love James Stewart and Grace Kelly in this film. Their chemistry is – surprisingly – off the charts. Their banter as they work through their relationship issues, over Jeff’s penchant for traveling and dangerous jobs, her image as a “fragile” high society flower, is both hilarious and tons of fun to watch. Stewart is absolutely fantastic in this picture. He’s a lot edgier than what you get in his sweeter (I need a better word, only one I can come up with at the moment), more “wholesome,” all-American roles (think Harvey or Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation). Grace Kelly is absolutely terrific as Stewart’s foil. Her looks and poise make it abundantly clear that she was born to privilege, but she balances that out with a ton of humor and outright spunk. I love how she refuses to give up on Jeff and she’s more than game for the challenge of catching the bad guy, and so much the better if she gets it through Jeff’s thick head that she’s more than just fancy society window-dressing. The supporting cast is tremendous, particularly Thelma Ritter as Stella. She’s funny, sarcastic, and completely fearless when it comes to speaking her mind. I also enjoy seeing Wendell Corey make an appearance as Jeff’s friend Thomas – he is always a solid character actor, and he gets extra points for appearing in another one of my favorite films, Holiday Affair. Perhaps the biggest casting shock is Raymond Burr as the villain, Lars Thorwald. It’s quite jarring to realize that the man playing this cold-blooded, creepy killer is best known as the paragon of justice & virtue that is Perry Mason. Underrated actor, no? I’m so glad for the excuse to view Rear Window again and blog about it. Grace Kelly embodies all the wit, charm, and sophistication you could wish for – with backbone to boot! – and James Stewart is funny, humorous, and endearing as our scruffy voyeur. I do wonder, though, what Hitchcock would think of society today. Rear Window still provides food for thought on society’s penchant for voyeurism, how far is too far, etc. With the explosion of the 24-hour news cycle, growing penchant for a “cult of celebrity,” and social networking on the internet, voyeurism has come a long way since 1954. Or is it more accurate to say that the more things change, the more things stay the same – people and their motives haven’t changed, just the voyeuristic methods? All that aside, the one thing Rear Window guarantees is a thoroughly absorbing, fascinating viewing experience. It's a movie I never get tired of watching. The movie is available in single disc and double disc DVD editions (I recommend the latter, the 2nd disc is loaded with tons of special features). | | |
| Love's Pursuit by Siri Mitchell
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Love's Pursuit
Bethany House (June 1, 2009)
by
Siri Mitchell
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
 Siri Mitchell graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she has lived all over the world, including in Paris and Tokyo. Siri enjoys observing and learning from different cultures. She is fluent in French and loves sushi.
But she is also a member of a strange breed of people called novelists. When they’re listening to a sermon and taking notes, chances are, they’ve just had a great idea for a plot or a dialogue. If they nod in response to a really profound statement, they’re probably thinking, “Yes. Right. That’s exactly what my character needs to hear.” When they edit their manuscripts, they laugh at the funny parts. And cry at the sad parts. Sometimes they even talk to their characters.
Siri wrote 4 books and accumulated 153 rejections before signing with a publisher. In the process, she saw the bottoms of more pints of Ben & Jerry’s than she cares to admit. At various times she has vowed never to write another word again. Ever. She has gone on writing strikes and even stooped to threatening her manuscripts with the shredder.
A Constant Heart was her sixth novel. Two of her novels, Chateau of Echoes and The Cubicle Next Door were Christy Award finalists. She has been called one of the clearest, most original voices in the CBA.
ABOUT THE BOOK
 In the small Puritan community of Stoneybrooke, Massachusetts, Susannah Phillips stands out both for her character and beauty. She wants only a simple life but soon finds herself pursued by the town's wealthiest bachelor and by a roguish military captain sent to protect them. One is not what he seems and one is more than he seems.
In trying to discover true love's path, Susannah is helped by the most unlikely of allies, a wounded woman who lives invisible and ignored in their town. As the depth, passion, and sacrifice of love is revealed to Susannah, she begins to question the rules and regulations of her childhood faith. In a community where grace is unknown, what price will she pay for embracing love?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Love's Pursuit, go HERE | | |
| Summer of Hitchcock: North by Northwest
North by Northwest was the first film up for viewing as part of My Friend Amy's Summer of Hitchcock. I have no idea what I was thinking in yesterday's post on Dial M for Murder, when I stated that film was in my top five Hitchcock favorites - top ten, certainly, but not top five. That honor belongs to the likes of North by Northwest. It's one of those films that feels very nearly perfect to me - perfect cast, perfect direction, perfect script. Hitchcock caught lightning in a bottle back in 1959 with this jewel of a film that's held up remarkably well in the ensuing decades. Cary Grant plays successful advertising executive Roger Thornhill in this is fourth and final Hitchcock film (following Suspicion, Notorious, and To Catch a Thief). He's plunged into the world of international espionage when foreign agents mistake him for government agent George Kaplan. Soon he's being kidnapped, framed for murder, chased, crop-dusted, and forced on the run, taking on a job he never sought out trying to outwit and outlast the bad guys. Cary Grant is at his most debonair as the embattled Roger Thornhill. Grant just oozes class, even when his life is on the line. I love it when he first meets Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), the undercover spy "forced" to seduce him when they meet on the train to Chicago. Their exchange about his "nice face" - like Grant's looks are anything but extraordinary, LOL - makes me smile every time I watch the scene. And yes, the seduction/kissing scene is unbelievably long - but you've got to give Hitchcock credit for the rather inventive ways he implies passion in his films rather than showing a lot of skin (which he couldn't have done due to the production code, anyway). A while back I read somewhere that Grace Kelly was one of Hitchcock's favorite leading ladies, and if she hadn't married Prince Rainer of Monaco in 1956 I have no doubt she would've been a strong contender, if not the 1st choice, to play the Eve Kendall role. James Mason and Martin Landau both turn in excellent performances as the villains of the piece - Mason as the coldly calculating mastermind Philip Vandamm (sounds like a James Bond villian IMO) and Landau as his stooge in Leonard. I've never had a problem buying Mason as a creepy bad guy, but Landau's performance is always a bit jarring for me to view. I tend to view him as a kindly grandfather-type, like his turn in The Majestic. I also love Jessie Royce Landis's performance as Cary Grant's mother - though in real life she was too young to play Grant's mother, the two play off each other so well their scenes never fail to crack me up. And though he's only in one scene, I love the fact that Edward Platt as a small role as Grant's lawyer. There's a Get Smart episode, if memory serves, that echoes how Roger Thornhill gets sucked into the world of espionage. It's a tenuous connection, I know, but hey that's how my mind works - randomly! For me North by Northwest is the perfect balance of suspense, action, humor, and romance. There's something incredibly scary about the idea of being lost in a life-threatening plot where your whole identity means absolutely nothing because everyone else is convinced you're someone you're not. Roger Thornhill's journey is an interesting one. As an advertising exec he's the king of fakes and sleight-of-hand, and he is sent on this journey quite unwillingly where he must shed self-absorption and put his life on the line for others. A far cry from the posh executive's life he's been used to leading! Three other points - one, this movie sort of makes me wish train travel was still the norm, and two, I wish the Mt. Rushmore set piece didn't look so horribly fake. Oh well, can't have everything, can we? *sigh* Which leads me to point three - I think the crop-duster scene totally makes up for the cheesiness of Mt. Rushmore being all styro-foamy. Currently North by Northwest is only available as part of the Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection. However, if you can track down a DVD copy it's so worth adding to your collection IMO! One of the special features is a featurette hosted by Eva Marie Saint entitled "The Making of North by Northwest" which is a nice, informative look at the making of the film. | | |
| Summer of Hitchcock: Dial M for Murder
I’m two weeks late to joining My Friend Amy’s Summer of Hitchcock blogging extravaganza, but I am finally getting the chance to catch up. I’ve needed a good excuse to re-watch some of my favorite Hitchcock films. Last week’s move was Dial M for Murder, starring Grace Kelly, Ray Milland, and Robert Cummings. Dial M has always been one of my favorite Hitchcock films – off hand I’d say it’s solidly in my personal top five. It’s been several years since I’ve watched this movie, so while I remembered the basic storyline the presentation and details all felt very “fresh” to me.
First off, a bit about the story…
Margot (Grace Kelly) is married to washed-up former tennis player Tony Wendice (Ray Milland), and has been having an on-again, off-again affair with crime novelist Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings). She’s burned all of Mark’s letters but one, and that one was stolen several months back. There were blackmail threats, but the promised threat of revealing her indiscretion to her husband never materialized. Little does she realize that Tony is the blackmailer, and he’s been plotting the perfect murder to get his hands on her money. Let the game of cat-and-mouse begin…
This movie is based on a play by a Frederick Knott, and it shows – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Yes, the movie feels staged, but the performances are terrific across the board and action is so tightly plotted that the “stagey” aspect of the movie works really well. There’s an absorbing amount of drama going on at the Wendice apartment. I would love to see this story on stage! I also have to comment on how I love the use of color in this movie. Between the richness of the color and the smartly paced action, the movie feels reminiscent of the drawing room style mysteries Agatha Christie plotted so well.
I’d forgotten that this movie was originally filmed in 3-D. Generally speaking I’m not a fan of watching movies in 3-D, watching programs in 3-D always seem to give me a headache. However, since I was reminded of the 3-D technology used when filming the movie, I was very conscious of how each frame of film was presented. Hitchcock was very deliberate about filming in “layers,” so to speak. There are certain moments – especially when Tony’s stooge, Swann (Anthony Dawson) is trying to kill Margot and her hand just reaches out in desperation from the screen to grab something, anything in an attempt to defend herself – and finds a handy pair of scissors. (Death by scissors is surprisingly neat…just sayin’…) Thankfully this movie is filmed so well that you aren’t distracted by the 3-D formatting, or lack thereof when watching it in “flatscreen.”
Since there are really only three players in this drama (four if you count Inspector Hubbard played by John Williams), the movie wouldn’t work nearly as well as it does if any one of their performances faltered. In my opinion Grace Kelly did some of her best work in the three Hitchcock films she appeared in, Dial M being the first (followed by Rear Window and To Catch a Thief). Her opening scene sets the stage – wearing white she’s a dutiful, affectionate wife greeting her husband at breakfast, and moments later she’s a passionate cheater looking drop-dead gorgeous in a flaming red gown. She’s a great balance of fire and surprising innocence in this movie - an arresting screen presence that would only grow more powerful in her next two pictures with Hitchcock. On to the husband – it always gives me a start seeing Ray Milland playing this despicable, smarmy role. My first image of Milland was formed by watching his performance in The Major and the Minor, and because that movie is such an old favorite, and he plays such a sweetheart in it, seeing him play a coldly calculating blackmailer feels like a sort of betrayal. LOL! When it comes down to it, I think my strong reaction to this performance is a mark of the quality of Milland’s acting in this film. Of the three leads I have the hardest time taking Robert Cummings seriously – he’s so boyish when compared to Milland that I don’t quite buy him as the third party in an extramarital affair. However, he gains some good guy points when he starts to figure out Tony’s plot. And since Tony was obviously going to kill Margot anyway for her money, Mark proves to be a much better, more sensitive and supportive romantic interest for Margot who goes from being an adulteress to a wrong wife (nice done to satisfy the cultural mores of 1954 BTW). I also have to comment on how much I love John Williams’ performance as the Inspector. He was such a classy actor, and here he manages to imbue the Inspector with just the right balance of smarts, saavy intuition, and humor.
I’m so glad I got a chance to revisit this classic. You can purchase the DVD of Dial M for Murder here. It comes with two short, but interesting featurettes: “Hitchcock and Dial M” and “3D: A Brief History.” | | |
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