SUMMER TIME! CATCHING UP WITH WHAT I MISSED: MOVIES

The English Teacher (2013) - I know it may sound crazy, but I really like watching movies (and reading books)  about school and teachers. As if I haven't got enough in real life!  But I was punished this time,  and  as eager as I was before seeing this film starring Julianne Moore, Michael Angarano, Greg Kinnear and  Lily Collins,  I was pretty disappointed after I managed to do it. 

I wanted to like it and forget its weak, ill-conceived script. Only it really was rather inconsistent and unconvincing with its feeble plot and unrelatable  (at least to me) characters. However, strangely enough, I have to recognize the cast delivered quite sharp performances. For instance,  Julianne Moore tried her best, with both charms and talents, but the story-line and the hardly funny situations didn't help her in the effort. The same is for the rest of the cast, they were not bad at all,  it was what they were given to perform which was rather poor.


Directed by Craig Zisk,  the film tells the story of Linda Sinclair, a high school English teacher in Kingston, Pennsylvania. She is passionate about literature and teaching, (like me!) she's popular with her students, (no comment)  but lives alone (unlike me!),  leading a very simple life (yeah, me too) . When her former pupil Jason Sherwood  returns after failing as a playwright, Linda convinces him to produce his play in their college. Jason's overbearing father, Dr. Tom Sherwood , wishes him to attend law school instead. Trying to help her former student, Linda  finds herself involved in big troubles.
My favourite feature in the film: the voiceover commenting the action with an ironically Austenesque tone. 3 out of 5 stars.

The Help (2011) Impossible not to love this movie, no matter if you have or haven't read the book. It's a great moving story of ordinary women,  who become extraordinary thanks to their bravery and to their talent at writing and  telling stories. Words that change the world, revolutionary weapons. Skeeter (Emma Stone),  a young white journalist aspiring to become a writer and  two African-American maids (Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer) decide to write a book exposing the hypocrisy, racism and cruelty of the wealthy white community living in Jackson, Mississipi. In the Civil Rights Era, these three women  face hardship and  ostracism  in their fight for justice and equality.  Sisterhood and friendship beyond racial prejudices.
In 2012 Viola Davis won a well deserved Academy Award for her performance as Aibileen Clark in this film.

THE GREAT GATSBY? NOT QUITE, BUT THERE IS GOOD TO BE FIND

Baz Luhrman's latest movie is still in some  theaters and has so far divided audiences - as expected - and overcome any promising financial plan. Either you love it or you hate it. This is   what usually happens after you watch one of Luhrman's films. Lisa Keys has seen The Great Gatsby and wants to share her musings with us, here at FLY HIGH. Do you agree with her? Did you like Leonardo Di Caprio's Gatsby? 

Having seen the trailer for The Great Gatsby, which plays like a pretentious R&B/Rap video, one can be forgiven for entering the cinema with fairly low expectations of this adaptation of the American literary classic. Was this to be another flashy, CGI laden, piece of film making folly, all style, no substance? It teeters on the brink at times, as the occasionally over the top set plays threaten to drown the heart of the movie in a soup of visual trickery, modern music and rather out of place slow motion violence. However, the film does manage to remember that at it's heart is the 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, constantly referring back to the book almost word for word at times. This, combined with some notable lead performances, serves to save the film from itself.       

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - MATT ARCHER LEGENDS (TRILOGY) BY KENDRA C. HIGHLEY

Matt Archer: Legend 

When Matt Archer was fourteen, he was chosen—by a magic, spirit-inhabited knife—to hunt monsters with a special paranormal division of the Army. When he was fifteen, he was thrown into a global war the rest of the world didn’t know existed. Now Matt’s sixteen and the war has cost him more than he ever thought it would. He’s also learned that the knife-spirits have an agenda he doesn’t totally agree with. The only problem? The spirits have the upper hand, and they plan to control the fight—and Matt. Then things get worse: the next lunar eclipse cycle is starting, a prominent physicist has gone missing, and Matt’s best friend is thinking about quitting the team. If he loses Will—after everyone else he’s lost—Matt’s not sure how he’ll fight alone. As the source of his nightmares starts to creep out of the shadows, Matt knows he’ll need all the help he can get…because being alone could prove deadly.   

BOOK BLITZ - CLASS OF 85 SERIES - FOUR FREE DOWNLOADS ON AMAZON

Class of '85 Series by The Wild Rose Press FREE DOWNLOAD (18-22 June) 

Exclusively on Amazon 

Genre: Contemporary/Reunion Series

The Lonely Road to You by Jannine Gallant

Amazon

Kate Abbott isn’t looking for excitement and is perfectly content with the secure life she’s built in Seattle, even if her son thinks she’s in an uninspired rut. Former rock star Tyler North has no intention of shaking up his life on the Montana ranch where he fled years before to escape the ravages of fame and fortune. Neither plan to attend their 25 year high school reunion in Summerville, but fate throws them together on a lonely road, leading them on a journey of discovery.

From the majesty of Yellowstone to the shores of Lake Ontario, Kate and Tyler fight unexpected attractions and old insecurities. Their journey is full of surprises and odd twists. From bison and bears to a deep crevasse and a crazy old man, they work together to overcome the obstacles in their path. But will these two opposites be able to put aside fear of change and rejection to take a chance on the promise of love?

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT BY PHILLIPA ASHLEY - BOOK REVIEW

“Sophie MacBride hated horses. Her dad was right. They were dangerous, smelly and only kept by rich people who had more money than sense. She especially hated the horse whose hooves were dancing feet above from her head and as for its rider … “

This is the opening of this cute love story,  the newly released novel from best selling romance writer,  Phillipa Ashley.  Just to get you into the right mood… Imagine this meeting between a young girl and an attractive rider something like Jane Eyre meeting Mr Rochester for the first time,  but less creepy and more modern. OK?   Have you got a younger version of Michael Fassbender in your head?  Perfect! You’re ready for the ride into IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT.

_____________________________________

If they are not star-crossed lovers Sophie and Adam have their lives complicated  by the animosity  between their families. Hate coming from the past and from unkown reasonsm unknown to Sophie and Adam, that is.

This hate has also led to the terrible, unexpected event that brought about  a painful split-up.

REVOLUTIONARY ROAD AND THE AMERICAN DREAM

Leonardo di Caprio & Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road

(by guest blogger Lisa Keys) American fiction went through several noticeable phases in the twentieth-century. Naturally, there were those writers who strayed from the trend, but key movements can be identified that appeared from social, political and economic changes.

The century began with explorations of modernity, with the likes of Henry James discussing the foibles of modern society, before writers stepped excitedly into the world of the American Dream. This rapidly gave way to a less hopeful tone, following the Wall Street Crash of 1929, after which literature became awash with depression. From this depression emerged works such as Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949), which used the Loman family as a microcosm through which to explore the anti-climax of the American Dream. Finally, writers began to rebel a little and question the importance of this capitalism that they had all been fighting for. Leading this rebellion was Jack Kerouac, and the Beat Generation. Finally, in 1961 came Richard Yates' debut novel: Revolutionary Road. The book was recently made into a film starring Kate Winslet, (who also stars in Sense and Sensibility) and her now two-time on-screen lover, Leonardo Di Caprio.

THE WAR OF THE ROSES IN A MAJOR BBC DRAMA SERIES: THE WHITE QUEEN

I'm really excited for this new BBC drama series based on Philippa Gregory's novels  set during what she calls The Cousins' War , that is The War of the Roses.  THE WHITE QUEEN debuts tomorrow Sunday 16 June at 9 p.m. on BBC1 and will go on for 10 episodes. 

The 10-hour production blends in one series three of the novels by Ms Gregory: The Red Queen, The White Queen and The Kingmakers' Daughter. 

I've actually read only two of the three books and only liked the last one telling the story from Anne Neville's point of view. I'm a Ricardian, you know, and I'm really looking forward to my first Richard III in a TV series after a glimpse of him in an very old period drama I saw on Italian TV when I was a child, "La freccia nera", which was an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Black Arrow." I really hope they do him justice. We need to see him differently from what the Tudor propaganda made up and Shakespeare portrayed in his  eternal lines.

PRISONERS OF TIME AND ROLE, VICTIMS OF LOVE: ANNA KARENINA & CAROLINE MATILDA

(I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because even good English teachers aren't perfect!)

I've been watching (or re-watching) several different movies lately, some very good ones too.
After depressing hard-working days, wrecked and exhausted, I've found some solace in very beautiful stories ( or in shallow romances if not in silly comedies!)
I've chosen a couple of good ones to share with you and write about: A Royal Affair and Anna Karenina.  They are both costume movies and stories of women prisoners of a male-oriented world.  For similar  reasons the two heroines suffer exclusion, condemnation and solitude before their lives end tragically.  I was touched, moved and emotional most of the time while watching, but grateful for the great emotions they gave me. I could deeply relate with the protagonists and forget myself for a while.

THE GOLDEN AGE OF WOMEN IN ENGLISH LITERATURE

Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen in Becoming Jane

(Guest post by Maria Kruk, an author for Books.so)

The treasury of English literature is full of many remarkable authors and authoress. In particular, the names of Jane Austen, George Eliot and Bronte sisters still hold popularity in literature and, more notably, in cinematography. In the 19^th century female writers could undermine their male opponents in some way, which is probably associated with women feature of overacting and perceiving life events more closely. In very deed, the problem of a woman state in the society was widely discussed in the Victorian Age.

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS - MY LATEST READS

The Shifu Cloth (The Chronicles of Eirie) by Prue Batten

Back to Eirie everything seems so familiar and extraordinary at the same time. My latest journey to  that land of magic and fantasy was last year with Lalita and Finnian (A Thousand Glass Flowers) . Such a beautiful, gripping love story with surprising twists and a poignant epilogue!  They have lingered somehow in this story too, THE SHIFU CLOTH, since the protagonist is Nicholas, Nico, their son. 

After his beloved cousin Isabella is kidnapped while with him, his sense of guilt or the shock leaves him dumb, unable to express his loneliness and sadness. His only aim in life since then is to find Isabella and to bring her back home.

Isabella, however, now a slave living in the relatively comfortable residence of her masters but destined to live in a harem, has become an expert weaver of rare skills. What she can't do is to renounce her freedom   forever. This is why she has never surrendered to the idea of going back home and she bravely plans her own escape.

The two separate paths of Nico and Isabella meet after a series of fortuitous encounters and discoveries. They will get back home for a bittersweet, unforgettable finale.

Best Places To Travel Based On Classic British Literature

(by guest blogger Marcela De Vivo) England is full of literary history and culture, much of which is not only available via the printed word, but can also be visited as popular travel destinations.

For those who are interested in classic British literature, who might be planning on visiting England in the near future, it’s worthwhile to do some research on what locations are inspired by classical writings, and then plan to visit them accordingly. 

Whether you’re a fan of Shakespeare, Charles Dickens or Agatha Christie, there’s probably a touristy destination for you based on your favorite British classic novel.