Books I Love That Become Movies I Love: Feast of Love

     Feast of Love by Charles Baxter isn't the type of book I usually read.  I'm usually not that deep, to be honest.  I like light, happy, fun books that I can easily gobble up.  However, I have a thing for reading books that I know are going to become movies, so once I found out this was going to be a feature film (with Morgan freaking Freeman!), I had to pick up a copy.
     Feast of Love is one of those books that has several seemingly unrelated plots that are actually all connected with one another.  The main character is a man named Bradley who is a hopeless romantic.  Unfortunately, he is so oblivious that he ends up divorced twice and trying to commit suicide.  He never gives up on believing in true love, and he is rewarded in the end.  My personal favorite plot is the one involving Chloe (pronounced Kloay) and Oscar.  They are two kids in their early twenties who fall madly in love and are trying to just get by.  They love completely and totally no matter what comes their way.  While picturing their future lives, Oscar says of himself, "I'm a big man, and nothin' scares me, and I can pay all the bills because we got plenty of money, and, uh, I'm fearless."  In reality, they are barely making ends meet, but love is all they need.  Harry is kind of watching over it all, administering sage advice and love to those in need of it.
     In the movie, Bradley is played by the adorably oblivious Greg Kinnear who has many misadventures in love.  Chloe is played by the charming Alexa Davalos, and Oscar is played by Toby Hemingway (who I am obsessed with from The Covenant).  Harry is played by the always epic Morgan Freeman (Of course.  Who else could possibly play the care-taker of all of these relationships?).  There are many happy endings in the movie, but there are also setbacks, like Freeman and his wife dealing with the loss of their son to a drug overdose.  Supporting characters are played by Selma Blair, Radha Mitchell, and Billy Burke, and they each give wonderful performances.  This movie does show us many love stories, but watch out because you'll be crying at the end.  You probably won't see it coming.  That is, unless you've read the book.  This movie has many quotable lines (at least in our household), and doesn't lose its effect upon multiple viewings.

Songs I Love: "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls

     To quote Haley from One Tree Hill, "I believe in true love.  I believe in love at first sight.  I believe love conquers all..."  I love romance.  I love the hope that you get when you believe that the romantic, passionate, soulmate love is out there.  So, of course, a lot of the music I love leans toward the mushy, lovey-dovey, and fabulous.  It should come as no surprise, then, that my favorite song of all-time is "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls.
     I'm sure you know about this song.  If you don't, you may be living under a rock, or you may just be one of those young people who believe the world was no in existence until they were born.  "Iris" is in the movie City of Angels starring Meg Ryan and Nicolas Cage.  (Do you think I have a Nicolas Cage thing?  Hmm.  I'm not sure.)  Nicolas Cage plays an angel who falls for Meg Ryan's doctor.  He give up being an angel to be with Meg Ryan only to...well, I won't give away the ending for you.  Let's just say it's definitely a tear jerker, which I love!  Towards the end of the movie, Cage is talking to his friend about his relationship with Ryan, and he says, "I would rather have had one breath of her hair, one kiss from her mouth, one touch of her hand, than an eternity without it.  One."  Swoon!  Anyway, The Goo Goo Dolls' song fits this movie perfectly.  The lyrics are romantic, the music is beautiful, and it's just perfect.

Movies That Scare Me to Death: The Strangers

     I love scary movies!  I enjoy being scared, and I consider myself somewhat of a scary movie expert.  Repeated viewings of a movie usually lead to fewer scares or even moments of hilarity at the ridiculousness of it all.  However, there are a few out there that always make my heart pound.  I have to watch them with the lights on, and I can't watch certain parts because I know I won't be able to sleep if I do.  The Strangers is one of these movies.  I usually think of the classics as being better than what's been put out in the last several years, but The Strangers is a recent release that scares me to death.
     Released in 2008 and starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, I remember seeing this movie for the first time in the theaters.  My sister and I were two of three people that came to see it in the middle of the day.  That evening we were going home to our parents' house who live out in the country.  This made viewing even more unsettling as we thought something like this could really happen to us. 
     Tyler and Speedman play Kristen and James, a couple who don't really know where they're heading in life because of an event I won't reveal to you.  They go to his parents' country home (Maybe?  I'm not really sure where they are exactly.) after a wedding and arrive early in the morning.  This is when things start to get frightening.  A girl comes to their door asking where Tamara is.  Her face is mostly hidden because the outside light is broken (Or is it?).  James goes into town to get more cigarettes for Kristen, and while he is gone Kristen begins to slowly be terrorized.  James returns to find Kristen completely freaking out, and of course he doesn't believe that anything bad is happening.  Why is that always the case?  Anyway, I really don't want to give too much away, but three people (two girls and a man) are slowly causing serious problems for James and Kristen.
     One thing that helps with the scares is the music.  Playing on an old record player are some unsettling songs, including "Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard.  I dare you to not get scared any time you hear that song after watching The Strangers.  It is also scary realizing that James and Kristen seem to be out in the middle of nowhere, but they also seem to be relatively close to civilization.  I've seen this movie several times, and I still can't figure out how the menacing trio got into the house.  Is the sliding glass door open or closed?  What are these evil people thinking?  Why didn't Kristen and James just barricade themselves somewhere with the gun and stay there?  What is Dennis from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia doing here?  Why did Kristen say "no" to James, and why is James pigging out on Blue Bell vanilla ice cream?

Totally Tubular 80's Movies: Valley Girl

     I'm as much of a John Hughes fan as the next person, but one of my favorite 80's movies (There's no way I could pick just one!) is a flick directed by Martha Coolidge called Valley Girl.  Released in 1983, and starring relatively unknowns Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman, it's a love story about two kids who live in very different worlds.  Foreman plays Julie, a valley girl who like totally spends too much time at the mall.  Cage plays Randy, a guy who doesn't want to conform to what the world thinks he should be.
     One thing that makes this movie so awesome to me is the soundtrack.  A great movie should have a great soundtrack and this one does.  Featuring artists such as The Plimsouls, Payola, and The Psychadelic Furs, the soundtrack is just so 80's...and that's a good thing.  It also features Josie Cotton rocking out at the prom to the memorable "Johnny, Are You Queer".  There's also a wonderful montage of Julie and Randy falling in love to Modern English's "I Melt with You".  The soundtrack helps to emphasize the amazing chemistry Cage and Foreman have, and it makes you feel as if you will have a great love like Julie and Randy.
    It seems like these two are perfect for each other.  What, you may ask, is the problem?  Well, that would be the pressure Julie feels from her friends to be with the right guy for her.  They want her to get back with her ex, Tommy, even though he doesn't make her happy.  Julie needs to get some new friends in my opinion.  What kind of friend doesn't want you to be happy?  Of course, Julie's friends have some problems of their own.  One of them is competing with her stepmother for a guy, and another is dealing privately with a betrayal.  Then there's Julie's totally groovy parents who pretty much let her do whatever she wants.  They want her to be happy, but Julie just can't make up her mind.  Without giving too much away, I will tell you that true love conquers all, but who knows what will happen after prom?
   

Guy Movies That Girls Can Like Too: Road House

     If you've never heard of Road House or you have absolutely no interest in watching it, let me give you two words: Patrick Swayze.  That's pretty much all you need to know as a female to be interested in this movie.  Swayze is joined by another of my favorite actors, Sam Elliott.  If Elliott isn't attractive to you, however, just close your eyes and listen.  He's got one of those voices that would sound amazing just reading the phone book.  You may have heard it in a commercial for a Dodge.  Swayze's love interest is played by Kelly Lynch, but let's just face it.  Her hair can't compete with the awesomeness that is Patrick Swayze's mullet.
     Patrick Swayze plays Dalton, a bouncer who is hired to class up a bar.  Of course, he faces adversity at every turn when people refuse to play by his rules.  He's one of those "I'm a lover and a fighter" types, but he only turns to violence, of course, when more amicable means are unpersuasive.  A line from the movie that perfectly sums up who Dalton is would be when he says, "Pain don't hurt."  Don't think about it too much.  Just go with it.
     Road House came out in 1989, so it has plenty of cheesiness to enjoy and laugh about.  There is a scene in particular at the end involving a stuffed bear that makes me laugh just thinking about it.  Like I said earlier, though, don't think too much about it.  It's definitely an action movie made for those who like to watch people getting beat up and Patrick Swayze beating people up.  Let's face it.  What girl doesn't want to watch Patrick Swayze do that?  There's also some pretty horses and Patrick Swayze meditating to pass the time.  Of course, it's got just enough romance and even some sadness to make viewing go down easier for those who aren't big action fans.

Books I Love That Become Movies I Love: The Outsiders

     Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am obsessed with all things 80's.  They will also tell you that I am quite the reader.  Well, I'm now combining two of my favorite things: books and movies from the 80's.  A classic in both areas is The Outsiders. 
     S.E. Hinton's book can be read in just a few hours, but it stayed with me much longer.  The book is about a group of boys who are outsiders because they don't fit in with the norm.  However, they really are just a group of normal kids.  They've got girl issues and problems at home just like any other teenager.  The main thing that sticks out to me about the book is how fiercely they love and protect one another.  They are the Greasers, the dangerous boys, but they aren't afraid to show how much they care for one another.  A saying that is used by the boys quite often in the book is, "Tuff enough."  They knew that fighting wasn't all it took to be tough, although they did a great job of that.  It was about doing what it took to be real men.  The book is from the point of view of Ponyboy, who is played in the movie by C. Thomas Howell.  My favorite character, though, is Johnny Cade, played by the adorable Ralph Macchio.  As Ponyboy puts it, "Southern gentlemen had nothing on Johnny Cade."  These two boys may be the youngest, but they certainly don't act like it.  They often do heroic and brave things without even thinking.  They knew the true meaning of being "tuff enough."  My favorite thing about the book is probably the fact that Ponyboy and Johnny are such big fans of Gone with the Wind.  Who doesn't love that?  Two "bad boys" who enjoy reading a Southern novel.  The Outsiders is also very sad, but I won't spoil the ending for you.
     The movie is also great to me.  Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, it has an amazing cast of male up-and-comers.  They're all so wonderful that it's just too hard to choose my favorite.  There is the always awesome Patrick Swayze, who plays Ponyboy's older brother, Darrel.  Just barely out of high school, he is doing the best to provide for his two younger brothers, Ponyboy and Sodapop (played by the dreamy Rob Lowe).  Another standout is Matt Dillon as Dallas Winston, the somewhat leader of the group.  Diane Lane as Cherry Valance says it best when she said, "I hope I never see Dallas Winston again.  If I do, I'd probably fall in love with him."  Dallas' affection for Johnny is a sweet and touching part of the movie.  He is lost without Johnny.  Once again, I won't spoil the plot for you, but it's definitely worth at least one viewing.
     As a self-proclaimed lover of all things 80's, one might expect me to immediately go on and on about John Hughes.  I'll save that for a later time because I do love John Hughes.  However, the 80's had many other offerings besides his films, and The Outsiders is definitely a great one.

At the Movies: Immortals

If you're doubting how Henry Cavill might perform as the new Superman, Immortals will remove all doubts.  Cavill proves that he can play a leading man and look very good doing it.  He shouldn't be relegated to second-in-command after this.  Yes, it's a bit violent, but, hello, it's an R-rated war movie.  What do you expect?  I can't comment on the 3D effects because I wasn't feeling rich enough to shell out some extra cash, but I can say that this movie is very enjoyable.  Mickey Rourke is, of course, the bad guy.  I'm not a huge fan of Rourke lately since he always seems to be sporting his Russian Iron Man 2 accent.  I prefer him more as Bruiser from The Rainmaker, but that's for another day.  Cavill is obviously on the rise, and this will be just the beginning for him.  When Luke Evans (who does a great job as Zeus) speaks about how Thesius fears no danger, he only fears not being able to protect those he loves, you definitely believe it.  Cavill as Thesius takes things very seriously, especially when it comes to those he cares for.  Stephen Dorff provides the comedy of the piece, and Freida Pinto is very lovely as Phaedra.  There's enough action to get you pumped up and just enough romance for the ladies.  It doesn't take much to please me at the cinema, but it hasn't been done a lot lately.  Immortals is just what I needed to make a great Saturday afternoon.  Hopefully, it will be for you too!