PageTurners Read “About Schmidt”

About Schmidt
by Louis Begley
Proud, traditional, and impeccably organized, Albert Schmidt is a buttoned-down lawyer of the old school. But now, after years of careful management, his life is slowly unraveling. His beloved wife has recently died. He stumbles–or is he being pushed?–into early retirement. And his daughter, his only child, is planning to marry a man Schmidt cannot approve of, for reasons he can scarcely admit, even to himself. As Schmidt gropes for resolutions, he finds unexpected hope in an intense passion that comes out of the blue.

*      *      *      *      *

The PageTurners Book Club met on Thursday, October 4 at 6 pm in the Bottom Shelf Room at the Rice Lake Public Library. Seven people attended the discussion. The general consensus was that the dialog was confusing, primarily because it didn’t use punctuation. No one was certain whether Schmidt was speaking to someone or thinking to himself.  Nobody was excited about this novel. The average score awarded to this book was  2.5 out of 5 books; the lowest score was a 2 / 5 and the highest score 3 / 5.

Click on the book graphic below to see a full recap of book club members’ opinions.

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About Schmidt by Louis Begley is available at the Rice Lake Public Library. There are over five copies of this book in the MORE System. Please visit the card catalog website or call us at 234-4861 to reserve a copy today.

Independence Day Films 2012

The Patriot (2000) Rated R

A hero of the French and Indian conflict, Benjamin Martin had renounced fighting forever to raise his family in peace. However, when British troops arrive at his South Carolina home and endanger his family, he takes up arms alongside his idealistic patriot son, Gabriel.

Johnny Tremain (1957) Rated NR

Johnny Tremain, a silversmith’s apprentice, dreams of learning the trade and making his own way. When a terrible injury ends his hopes, he joins the emerging Sons of Liberty and takes part in the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Lexington Green.

1776 (1972) Rated PG

1776 is a delightful musical celebration of the founding of The United States of America. The story centers around the familiar historical characters as they organize a movement for independence from Mother England. All events lead up to that most significant date, July 4, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed.

National Treasure (2004) Rated PG

Since his childhood, Benjamin Franklin Gates has known that he is a descendant of a long line of people whose job it has been to guard a treasure hidden by the Founding Fathers. They hid clues to its whereabouts in the country’s currency and on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Now, Ben has learned of a plot to steal the Declaration, and has only one option: he has to steal it himself. Even if he pulls off this monumental task, keeping the treasure safe is still going to be incredibly hard, especially since the FBI now knows of his plans.

Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) Rated NR

A historical drama that tells the story of a young frontier leader, his spirited wife, and their struggles in the backwoods of New York state.

Best Friends in Movies

Wayne’s World (1992) Rated PG-13

Wayne and Garth have their own public access TV show. When it becomes popular, a local station decides to hire them to do their show professionally. Meanwhile, Wayne meets and falls in love with Cassandra, a bass guitarist, who he helps by getting her career started by using his connections. But the road from basement to big time is fraught with danger and temptation.

The Odd Couple (1967) Rated G

A film about two divorced men who decide to share a New York apartment. One of them is fastidious and the other a slob.

Thelma and Louise (1991) Rated R

Thelma is an abused and neglected wife, while her friend Louise is a bitter, hard-edged waitress. The two decide to take a brief vacation to escape the drudgery of their everyday lives. Immediately, they run into trouble, as Louise shoots and kills a man who tries to rape Thelma in the parking lot of a country bar.

When Harry Met Sally (1989) Rated R

Will sex ruin a perfect relationship between a man and a woman? That’s what Harry and Sally debate during their first meeting and for the next eleven years.

Beaches (1988) Rated PG-13

Traces the friendship of two very different women, who meet on a beach as young girls, through good and bad times, career and marriage changes until together they must face a final challenge as only best friends can.

Playing God in Films

January 9th was playing God day. Here’s some films for your enjoyment.

Bruce Almighty (2003) Rated PG-13

Bruce Nolan is a discontented TV reporter who believes the entire universe is stacked against him. After a bad day, Bruce flies into a rage and blames God for making his life so miserable. God responds by endowing Bruce with all of His divine powers and challenges him to take on “The Big Job” to see if he can do it any better.

Evan Almighty  (2007) Rated PG

Sequel to Bruce Almighty

Newly elected to Congress, Evan Baxter has left Buffalo, New York in pursuit of a greater calling. But that calling isn’t serving in the illustrious ranks of America’s politics, but being summoned by the Almighty himself, who has handed Evan the task of building a new ark. With time passing by and his family belittled by Evan’s newfound realization, Evan will have to do the work that God has given him in what promises to be an unusual adventure for a man who just wanted to serve his country. But, Evan might actually be serving all of humanity instead.

Dogma (1999) Rated R

Two banished angels find a loophole that would get them back into heaven. The only snag? They’ll be destroying existence in the process. In an effort to stop them, the overworked voice of God  taps cynical mortal Bethany to save the world by preventing the angels from reaching their unholy destination.

God is Brazilian (2002) Rated NR

God is stressed and needs a break from the endless toil of minding the Earth and the troublesome human race. But before he can go on vacation, he must find a temporary replacement. To track down the person best suited for the job, God heads to Brazil, a country that, despite being very religious, has never had an official saint. Joined by a conniving fisherman and a soul-searching young woman, he embarks on a spirited road trip in search of his ideal stand-in.

Oh, God! (1977) Rated PG

God picks a supermarket manager to carry His message to all mankind.

Oh God! Book II (VHS)* (1980) Rated PG

Sequel to Oh, God

God asks a young girl to help spread his word and influence with a slogan. -IMDB

Oh God! You Devil! (1984) Rated PG

Third in the Oh, God series.

 The Devil turns talent agent to transform struggling musician Billy Shelton into a superstar rock idol. Naturally, their contract involves possession of the latter’s soul. A deal’s a deal in the eternal scheme of things–unless, of course, God intervenes.

*If you would like a DVD of Oh, God! Book II, please contact the library.

Thanksgiving Films 2011

Home for the Holidays (1995) Rated PG-13

Claudia Larson is a divorced single mom who just lost her job and now has to fly home for the traditional family Thanksgiving in Baltimore. From the plane, she calls for reinforcements–and her brother Tommy makes it down from Boston with a little surprise: a handsome friend named Leo. Between dropping the turkey in their sister’s lap and a few fist fights on the front lawn, Claudia and Tommy recapture their childhood–and Claudia and Leo explore the sweet possibility of romance.

The Ice Storm (1997) Rated R

The story of two dysfunctional suburban families, set in the 1970s. When a self-centered husband’s relationships with his wife and mistress grow cold, it takes a wife-swapping “key party” and a freak ice storm to clear the air–and change their lives forever.

Mighty Joe Young (1998) Rated PG

A fifteen-foot-tall Central African gorilla is brought to America to save him from poachers. But his notoriety makes him a target for an enemy from his past.

Pieces of April (2003) Rated PG-13 

Family outcast April lives in a beat-up apartment in New York’s Lower East Side with her boyfriend, Bobby. In order to spend some time with her dying mother, April invites her conservative suburban family to her place for a Thanksgiving feast. While she frantically tries to complete the meal, the family drives in from Pennsylvania sharing less-than-pleasant opinions about April’s lifestyle. Her dad tries to think positively, while sister Beth flaunts her good-girl status and brother Timmy captures it all on film.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) Rated R

An uptight businessman faces disaster after disaster as he tries to get back home in time for his family’s Thanksgiving dinner, and along the way is joined by an insane traveling salesman that will not leave him alone.

Jeff Conaway

1950-2011

On May 11, 2011, Conaway was found unconscious from what was initially described as an overdose of substances, believed to be pain medication, and was taken to Encino Tarzana Medical Center in Encino, California, where he was listed as being in critical condition and in a coma. On May 26, 2011, Conaway’s family took him off life support after doctors decided there was nothing they could do to revive him. Conaway died the following morning at the age of 60.

Babylon 5 (1994-1998) Rated NR

Babylon 5 is an outer-space way station, a port-of-call for diplomats, entrepreneurs, and scalawags of all species. Commander Jeffrey Sinclair–aided by chief security officer Michael Garibaldi, Lt. Commander Susan Ivanova, and resident telepath Talia Winters–tries to keep apprised of all the intrigues swirling around his little corner of the galaxy, but things invariably spiral out of control.

Taxi (1978-1982) Rated NR

Louie De Palma is a cantankerous taxi dispatcher for a New York City taxi company. He tries to maintain order over the varied collection of strange characters who drive for him. As he bullies and insults them from the safety of his “cage,” they form a special bond among themselves, becoming friends and supporting each other through the inevitable trials and tribulations of life.

Grease (1978) Rated PG

It’s love when a greaser falls for a good girl in this musical depicting young life in the fifties.

Pete’s Dragon (1977) Rated G

A 9-year old boy and his pet dragon (invisible to all but him) run away from his foster parents.

The Eagle Has Landed (1976) Rated PG

Sixteen German paratroopers are dropped on the coast of England in 1943 with orders to kidnap Churchill and bring him back to Hitler.

Information cited from Reuters, May 19, 2011 and Los Angeles Times, May 27, 2011.

Arthur Laurents

 

1917-2011

Arthur Laurents was a famed play and screen writer for 66 years. Arthur passed away on May 5th from complications of pheumonia. He was 93 years old.  He wrote a number of popular plays and movies, some of which are listed below.

Anastasia (1956) Rated NR

An expatriate White Russian general sets in motion a grand hoax after he meets a destitute woman on the banks of the Seine River in Paris. He is amazed at her resemblance to Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas of Russia, rumored to have somehow survived the Bolsheviks’ execution of the Romanoff family in 1918. He trains her to impersonate the missing princess but soon begins to feel she may be the real Anastasia. Ultimately, the truth can only be decided by one person–Anastasia’s grandmother, the Dowager Empress.

Gypsy (1962) Rated NR

The story of burlesque star Gypsy Rose Lee, her rise to stardom from vaudeville and her volatile relationship with her ambitious mother.

Turning Point (1977) Rated PG

Two friends who started in ballet are reunited after many years; one is now a star ballerina, the other a Midwestern housewife/dance teacher whose daughter is embarking on her own ballet career.

Way We Were (1973) Rated PG

The romance and marriage of opposites– the love that binds them together and the differences that tear them apart. A love story from college to Hollywood in the thirties, forties, and fifties.

West Side Story (1961) Rated NR

This musical sets the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet against a backdrop of the rivalry of two street gangs, the Sharks and the Jets, in New York of the 1950s. A young woman who is sister to the Sharks leader has her first taste of love with the former head of the Jets.

Arthur Laurents also wrote a book on directing musicals.

Mainly on Directing

Mother’s Day Films

 

Here’ s a list of films to watch with your mother this Mother’s Day:

Stepmom (1998) Rated PG-13

Anna and Ben, the two children of Jackie and Luke, have to cope with the fact that their parents divorced and that there is a new woman in their father’s life: Isabel, a successful photographer. She does her best to treat the kids in a way that makes them still feel at home when being with their dad, but also loves her work and does not plan to give it up. But Jackie, a full-time-mother, regards Isabel’s efforts as offensively insufficient. She can’t understand that work can be important to her as well as the kids. The conflict between them is deepened by the sudden diagnose of cancer, which might be deadly for Jackie. They all have to learn a little in order to grow together.

Sound of Music (1965) Rated G

As Nazism takes over Austria, a governess and a widowed father fall in love and escape the country with his large family of musically-talented children.

Chocolat (2000) Rated PG-13

When a single mother and her young daughter move to rural France and open a chocolate shop – with Sunday hours – across the street from the local church, they are met with some resistance from the rigidly moral community. But as soon as the townspeople discover their delicious products, their attitudes begin to change.

Divine Secrets of Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) Rated PG-13

Like mother, like daughter. Neither a hard-as-nails New York playwright nor her flaky Louisiana mother will take the necessary steps to mend their long-time rift. No, this is a job for the Sisterhood, sworn life-long friends who stage an outlandish “intervention” to bring daughter and mother back together again.

Calendar Girls (2003) Rated PG-13

When Chris’ best friend Annie loses her husband, Chris derives a scheme to memoralize him. The two women, along with some of their friends–all fiftysomething women–will make a nude calendar to raise money for the hospital where he died. The calendar becomes hugely popular. Based on actual events, this story carefully balances the stories of several women as it follows the media explosion.

Sidney Lumet

Sidney Lumet was a director of many famous films most notable was 12 Angry Men. He also wrote a book on movie making. He passed away April 9th  after a battle with lymphoma. Here is some films to check out:

12 Angry Men (1957) Rated NR

Depicts a jury of men who must decide the fate of a teenage boy who has murdered his abusive father. The jurors are from all walks of life, and bring with them their own opinions, prejudices, fears, and personal demons.

Before the Devil Knows Your Dead (2008) Rated R

A stock broker, who is having financial troubles and in need of extra cash, and his younger brother conspire to pull off the perfect, victimless crime. No guns, no violence, no problem. The only problem is that the owners of the jewelry store are their own parents. But when an accomplice ignores the rules and crosses the line, his actions trigger a series of events in which no one is left unscathed.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) Rated R

 The story of a botched bank robbery that occurred August 22, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York and turned into a bizarre hostage situation lasting all day.

Network (1976) Rated R

A television newscaster’s mental breakdown turns him into a celebrity when the network tries to profit from his illness.

Serpico (1973) Rated R

Adaptation of a true story where a young New York police officer refuses to extort money from criminals as the other officers do. His fellow police officers turn against him when he seeks to expose the situation during a grand jury investigation.

His book:

Making Movies

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor passed away on March 23rd due to complications from Congestive Heart failure. Here is some of her films to remember her by:

Cleopatra (1963) Rated G

Story of the life of Cleopatra, queen of ancient Egypt from her ascension to the throne through her struggle for power and her loves and entanglements with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony.

Life with Father (1947) Rated NR

Anecdotal look at growing up in the Day family in 1880s New York.

Little Women (1949) Rated NR

Louisa May Alcott’s Civil War story of four sisters who share their loves, their joys, and their sorrows.

The Simpsons: Complete Fourth season (1992-1993) Rated NR

The satiric adventures of a working class family in the misfit city of Springfield. Synopsis by IMDB.

Who’s afraid of Virgina Woolf? (1966) Rated NR

A freewheeling, headlong slide into the corrosive hell of a marriage twisted by years of hatred and humiliation.