Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Crazy Rich Asians

I loved the book that this movie is based on when I read it several years ago.  Made into a sumptuous movie, I am glad that it had enormous success.  Rachel agrees to go with her boyfriend Nick back to his family home, where he is to be the best man at his friends wedding.  Unaware of how rich and famous he is in Singapore she is overwhelmed by his family and friends, many of whom are not welcoming to her.  But like all good love stories, we know that love will prevail.  So many scenes made me smile and I think we all understand the duck out of water type story line and are suckers for a good old fashioned romance.  4/5

The Library Book - Susan Orlean

In 1986 a fire at the Los Angeles Public Library destroys thousands of books, but was not written about a lot as other things were happening in the world, and the story was forgotten about by many.  Susan Orlean has written about the fire, and in exploring the history of the library includes many stories about other libraries around the world, and the history of the library in Los Angeles.

I found the beginning of the book interesting, but as it went on it did drag on a bit.  I cared little for the battles between the librarians in the 1800s.   I also found the story about the man accused of lighting the fire a little tedious and not very interesting.  It ended up being not very memorable and a bit of a bore. 3/5

The Huntress - Kate Quinn

Kate Quinn is an author who can draw you into her stories, whether it be her ones set in Rome or now the last two set during or after the Second World War.  This story introduces us to Jordan, who is suspicious of the new woman who enters her fathers life with a secretive past.  There is also the story of Ian and his partner Tony who are hunting down Nazis in post war Europe.  Joining them on the hunt is Nina, another woman whose past that even her husband doesn't know about it.

While I wanted to enjoy the book, I found that there wasn't enough back story for me.  Ninas story with the Russian Night Witches was the most compelling part of the novel, although she was not the most likable character at least she seemed somewhat real.  The pacing of the book felt wrong to me with the  middle of the story just dragging and  the end was predictable and rushed.  A week after reading it, it has become a bit forgettable.  2/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - On Chesil Beach

I wasn't really bothered about seeing this one at the cinema as slow simple dramas are sometimes better watched at home on a quiet evening.  I hadn't read the book it was based on either, although I did attempt to start reading it, I gave up after several pages.  Man Booker books seem to earnest and serious for me, and are not the usual type of fiction I would choose.

The movie is about newly married young couple Florence and Edward are on their honeymoon in 1962 at a quiet hotel.  Nervous around each other, their attempt at sex is a bit disastrous and the couple end up fighting.   It is interesting thinking about relationships and how they have changed so much in a couple of generations.  How marriage for young people was often an escape from living with their parents, and how couples must have had much to learn about each other once they were married and in their own home.  I can only imagine how my own parents at age 17 and 19, and with my mother pregnant must have been together.

Now in New Zealand, the majority of young couples live together for some time before marriage is considered and how old fashioned the movie must seem to them. It was ok, if somewhat slow and I was glad to watch it on the couch at home while finishing my dinner.  3/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - The Meg

I know it would be silly cheesiness before I chose to sit down to watch this movie.  I do like a good scary movie where you know there will be one big final fight/crash/disaster scene and then the hero will save the day.  This one is a particularly formulaic movie with Jason Stratham as the bad boy who you know is going to save the girl.  I think though that he is a man who is more geared for action than for a lot of dialogue.  From the first half hour I could tell that this one focused more on the visuals and action than the writing or storyline.

The good thing is that watching it in the summertime won't make me afraid to go into the water.  I have been swimming with sharks in Tahiti years ago, and I was glad that this move wasn't around then.  3/5

The House Across The Street - Lesley Pearse

Katy has left a quiet life living at home in a quiet town  with her parents.  She dreams of leaving though to go to London and have a life of her own away from her bickering nagging mother.  Meanwhile she watches the comings and goings of the house across the street, where glamorous shop owner Gloria lives and and wonders what is going on.

When she discovers the reason for the late night visits, she becomes a bit engrossed in the drama.  The first half of the book I enjoyed a lot, but I felt it became a bit unbelievable at the end and I sped through the second half.  3/5

All Is True

Oh it was a bit of a chilly day today, but sunny which made having a day out feel special.  I decided to head off to the cinema to catch the lunchtime  showing of All is True.  William Shakespear  heads home to his wife and children after the Globe theatre is burnt down.  After spending little time at home, his relationships are strained and he seeks to find some solitude building a garden dedicated to his late young son.

I loved so many things about this morning, the clothes were just devine with wigs, hats, tights and dresses galore although nothing too fancy and dandy, I love seeing a good corset and a man in knickerbockers.  The homes and shops seemed perfect full of red bricks and roughness and one can imagine how bad it all smelled.  Simple furnishings and decors seemed like they were appropriate for the period.  Some things did niggle though.  I was unsure if one would see large piles of oranges in a bowl, I am sure they would have been a treat as they would not grow so well in England.  Apples, pears or plums would have been more in abundance.  Also the token ethnicity of some people in the village, when I am sure that 1613 rural England would not have had many Asian or African faces.  London maybe, but not where the family lived.

Kenneth Branagh was awesome in his strange Shakespear wig,  and I love a movie with Judi Dench, although she is a bit old for the role of his wife Anne Hathaway who in real life was only 8 years older than him, not 30.  She was too old to have such young children and it felt like such a stretch to believe her.  She would have been more appropriate as his mother, rather than wife. 

Anyway it was a delightful movie, I was charmed by thinking of how their private life may have been like, and would love to travel back in time for a week to have seen their lives together (minus the plague and lack of proper bathrooms).  4/5

Music Monday - The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be

I was so excited to get tickets to see these guys - The Proclaimers play live on last Friday night.  I saw them play live about 24 years ago in London at a festival.   My friends and I had a nice dinner and wine and then went to see them.  They were awesome, and although our local is a bit of a dud with sedated seating, when people got up and started dancing down the front it woke up and became more fun.  The guys had great voices and although we didn't know a lot of the songs, the ones we did know we sung as loud as we could and our ears were ringing as we were leaving.  A sign of a good concert. 

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Ladies in Black

Sweet and charming is how I would describe this one.  16 year old Lisa arrives to work at an upper class Department store in 1959 Sydney.  Here she meets a group of young women and Magda a European refugee, and this is the story of this group of women and how all their relationships are changed by knowing each other. 

Watching this one the evening before Mothers Day I thought how I would have loved to take my mum to this one, or watched it at home with her.  She would have enjoyed the dresses and hairstyles as she was a beautiful young thing.  4/5

Death And The Elephant - Raz Shaw

The author Raz Shaw looks back at the age of 50, to when he was 28.  Struggling with a pretty intense gambling addiction he is diagnoses with Non- Hodgkins Lymphoma and undergoes a year of chemotherapy, treatments and hospital visits.  How being ill forced him to make changes to his self destructive lifestyle and lead him into a new career.  Now an award winning  theatre director, it is interesting to read about his experiences and at times I did have a good laugh and enjoyed his humor. 4/5

We Must Be Brave - Frances Liardet

In the little village of Upton,  the locals are not immune to the affects of the war.  As bombs fall on nearby Southampton,   bus full of burnt and bombed refugees rolls into town, and Ellen finds herself left with a wee girl left alone on the bus.  It is such a beautiful story of wee Pamela and Ellen, that I could picture their idyllic wee cottage filled with sunshine. 

I did struggle with the last half of the book as it was somewhat slow and part of me wanted such a different way for it to end, although the ending it came with was what maybe made it different and original.  Surely this book is ripe for a movie adaption.  4/5

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Book Club

This middle aged lady liked the look of this movie when it came out, but thought it would be rather cheesy.   I was happy to see it pop up on last weeks 99c special on Apple Itunes.  4 friends - Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen  have had a book club for the past few decades.  When they decide that this months special is Fifty Shades of Grey, they all find their lives changing.

Less cheesy than I thought it would be, I found myself smiling throughout and aspiring to be Diane Keaton when I get older (cool grey hair and trendy wardrobe).  It almost made me want to crack open a bottle of wine and start reading about Christian Grey.  4/5

War Doctor - David Nott

Dr David Nott is one of those special people who is not only having a  busy life working in three London hospitals as a General and Vascular surgeon, but spends weeks each year volunteering to go into war zones to share his expertise.  His experiences especially in Syria are pretty harrowing to read, as his descriptions of the wounded and injured are pretty descriptive.  Putting himself at immense risk,  you have to admire these brave  who doctors and nurses who enter these war zones to help civilians injured.   At times I had to put the book aside for a few hours after reading about some of the sad stories of women and children hurt and killed as it was all a bit much for me.

There is some balance in the story, and I loved the stories of him meeting and falling in love with his wife and his two daughters.  The story of his meeting the Queen is one that I will remember for a long time too. 

This is the type of man we should all know about, not c grade actors or one hit wonder singers or sports stars.  But someone who spends their career in service helping those abandoned and hurt.  Someone who sets up a charity to help train surgeons in war torn areas and increase their skills.  5/5