Friday, June 22, 2018

"Ocean's 8" and The Week in Reviews

[I review "Ocean's 8" as well as one of last year's Oscar nominees for Best Documentary Feature  - the intergenerational road trip "Faces Places" - now out on DVD.  The Book of the Week is "The Geraldo Show: A Memoir." I also bring you up-to-date with "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project" with "Le Samourai."]




Ocean's 8


Yet another installment in the "Ocean's" franchise, but this time it's all about the ladies.

Based on the 1960 Rat Pack film "Ocean's 11," this franchise now boasts four spin-offs anchored by the trilogy directed by Steven Soderbergh that was released between 2001 and 2007.  The "Ocean's" films are all about fast-paced intricately plotted heists with lots of humor, cheeky repartee and fun.  And this film is no exception.


How could a heist movie starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Rhianna, Mindy Kaling and someone named Awkwafina, NOT be fun?  Well, it is fun if you can overlook some pretty far out logistics.  We've seen movies like this before where the heist plan is so complicated and specific to things happening a certain way that our credulity is stretched to the limit and our disbelief must be suspended, but the film is still fun and kind of mind blowing.  And with this all female cast - it really was fun and kind of mind-blowing.


Debbie Ocean played by Sandra Bullock is just out of prison (Debbie is Danny Ocean's kid sister which will mean absolutely nothing to you if you haven't seen any of the other films but that's OK - it also doesn't really impinge on your enjoyment of the film).  She has had a lot of time to think about what her next move will be. In fact, she has had exactly five years, eight months and 12 days to think about her next move. She convinces the parole board that she is going to go straight and they believe her.  She does go straight.  She goes straight back to planning a big heist because "That's what I do best."  Oh, and she also plans to get revenge on her old boyfriend.  He framed her and he was the reason she had been in prison.


Debbie's big heist plan?  To rob the Met Gala.


Well, not the entire Met Gala.  Just a necklace worth $150,000,000.

First she contacts her old friend, Lou (Blanchett), who is running a liquor scam. and shares her plan and to steal the necklace and to do that they need to get a gang together who all have special skills.


First, they need someone to deal with hacking the security (Rhianna as the tech savvy and dread-locked Nine Ball); a fashion designer to insist that the necklace is a necessary part of a celebrity's ensemble (Bonham-Carter as Rose Weil, a famous but washed-up dress designer); and a fence.  So enter Tammy (Paulson), an ex-fence who is now a soccer mom living in suburbia but who also manages to do some fencing out of her garage.

Debbie and Lou take advantage of the fact that Rose Weil's fashion career is not going well and she owes a bunch of money to the IRS.  So she's in.  They also bring Amita (Kaling) on board because she is a jeweler who is able to turn a necklace into several pieces of other kinds of jewelry in just an hour or two (I told you you had to suspend disbelief). There is also Constance (Awkwafina) who is a brilliant pick-pocket.


Now we just need a big enough celebrity to warrant getting that necklace out of the vault and who will also want Rose Weil do her clothes.  But who?


Enter Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway) whose ego is such that when she hears that Rose Weil might be dressing another actress who she feels competitive with (something manipulated by our heisters), she demands that Rose Weil must dress her instead and not that other actress.


And we are off and running!


Now you might be like me and count the number of actresses who make up the heist gang.  It bugged me while I was watching that I only counted seven.  But that little detail is handled nicely with a bit of a twist.


In fact, the film had several fun twisty little aspects, but my favorite part was early on in the film when Debbie is just out of prison.  She has no money but some inventive ways to get what she needs. For example, at Bergdorf's, she gathers some expensive perfumes and walks up to a store assistant and says she wants to return the items.  The assistant says she can't return them without a receipt.  After a bit of back and forth and Debbie huffing a bit, she says, "Oh, alright, but can you give me a bag to put these in?"  And off she goes out the store with the perfume.  Later we see her with several bags from various high-end stores.  Later she scams herself a free hotel room.  I never in a million years would have thought to do what she does but I guess that's why I'm not a scammer or a writer of screenplays!


Another favorite aspect of the film was the fact that these women didn't need a man.  Adding men to the group was briefly mentioned but quickly cast aside with the line:

"A Him gets noticed; a Her gets ignored."

That's for sure especially when you get to my age!

Written by Gary Ross and Olivia Milch and directed by Ross, this is a fast-paced romp with lots of glitz and glamour that will make you smile, especially if you are a woman.  All of the actresses do their thing but I have to say that the surprise was Rhianna.  I would guess this was her film debut and she was really, really good.  I also have to say that I am probably one of the few people who doesn't rave about Cate Blanchett.  I find her very icy even in movies like this.  Not a huge fan though I give her props for her acting chops.  Bonham-Carter is about what you would expect.  She is wearing her usual odd attire but it works here because she is supposed to be a fashion designer.  Mindy Kaling doesn't really have that much to do, and I am still laughing about Jimmy Kimmel talking about Awkwafina and asking "Isn't that the name of sparkling water?"

But Anne Hathaway runs away with it, because it seems like she is making fun of herself.  At times she has been considered one of the most hated actresses in Hollywood so she seems to be parodying that here.  


Rosy the Reviewer says...a great addition to the "Ocean's" franchise, a fun theatre experience and a wonderful depiction of female friendships. Highly recommended!





***Some Movies You Might Have Missed***
(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)!


On DVD






Faces Places (2017)


An unlikely road trip around France with then 89-year-old director Agnes Varda and her companion, 35-year-old photographer and muralist, JR.

I remember seeing my first Agnes Varda film, her 1985 film "Vagabond," and I was hooked.


Agnes Varda was a key figure in the French New Wave when there were few women. JR is a young photographer and installation artist who began his career as a graffiti artist.  The two embark on a road trip around France  in a van that looks like a camera and the plan is to create art together.  The van is actually a photo booth and they travel to French villages and take giant pictures of the people and then paste them onto walls there.  


The two meet amazing people by chance.


In one village, they meet the last person living in a row of abandoned miners' houses so they pay homage to him by taking his picture and pasting it onto a house. There is also Emilie and Emile.  Emile kidnapped Emilie to marry her because her parents disapproved of him.  Next they visit a factory where they take pictures of employees from each department and then paste the portraits on the walls of the long entryway. They also visit a village that was half built and then abandoned so they bring people together, take their pictures and then paste the pictures all over the walls of the village to give it life.

Agnes says, "Each face tells a story."


You could say that this is a quirky little travelogue where both share their memories of places they have visited but from the different vantage points of age and experience. They travel to places with meaning to Varda and she reminisces.  They visit Cartier-Bresson's grave, and they talk about death (JR asks Agnes if she is afraid.  "Not yet.").  They discuss Godard (oh, god) - she liked Godard, but she liked her own films better.  They actually go to his house to visit him but he doesn't open the door. Godard was a friend but Agnes is forced to realize that everything changes. And then JR pushes Agnes around the Louvre in a wheelchair.  Like I said, it's quirky.


And a statement on aging and the power of memories.  It's ironic that Varda, someone whose whole career was based on visual images and who now in later life is traveling and working with a photographer, has an eye disease that threatens her sight


Nominated at last year's Oscars for Best Documentary Feature, JR and Varda seem like an unlikely duo but Varda is a true eccentric and so is JR.


"The point is the power of imagination.  We've given ourselves the freedom...to imagine things and ask people if we can express our imaginations on their turf.  But our idea has always been to be with people at work.  Hence the group photos.  So we want to have an exchange with you and also try out our quirky ideas.  We enjoy it and hope you do too."


Rosy the Reviewer says...a fascinating film if you know who Agnes Varda is and was, if you are a Francophile or if you are a photographer, but this film is not for everyone.
(In French with English subtitles)



***My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project***


138 to go!

Have YOU seen this classic film?




Le Samourai (1967)


Professional hit man Jef Costello (Alain Delon) may be at the end of his run when he is seen by witnesses after a hit and has trouble getting an alibi.

The film begins with a quote from "Bushido (The Book of the Samurai): 


"There is no greater solitude than that of the samurai unless it is that of the tiger in the jungle...Perhaps..."

And so begins the tale of Jef Costello, a hard-boiled hitman who seems to have no home, no commmitment to a girlfriend, no life except killing people on command. 


We see him do a hit and seek his usual alibi - visiting his lover, Jane (Nathalie Delon, Delon's ex-wife)) and telling her to say he was with her.  But this time there were several witnesses to the murder of a nightclub owner, including the piano player, Valerie (Cathy Rosier).  Based on the witnesses accounts, the investigating officer believes it was Costello who killed the nightclub owner but is hampered by the fact that Jane tells him that Jef was with her all night.


But things don't go well for Jef.  When he goes to collect his money for the hit, his employers shoot him.  Though bleeding and wounded, Jef manages to return to the nightclub and goes on a ride with Valerie while in the meantime the police bug his room and his employers are still after him.  Things don't look good for our Jef.


This is film noir at its best but as Derek Malcolm said in "The Guardian" in 2000, "It has all of the best virtues of American film noir but with a European sensibility." Director Jean-Pierre Melville, whose real last name was Grumbach but changed it to Melville after reading "Moby Dick, had a love of American film noir and this film reflects that.


And, ah, Alain Delon.  I remember when I first became enamored of him.  Those cheek bones! In my Midwestern town of 80,000 people we actually had an art house, so I and my high school friends would take our fake IDs to get into the 18 and over only theatre so we could see the latest foreign films.  They were called art films back then and an art film usually promised some sex and some nudity, something our little high school libidos craved though we couched it all in our being intellectuals. 


Delon was one handsome guy and though in this film he is handsome, his character is expressionless, silent and enigmatic.  In fact, the entire film has a silence about it as we watch Jef move closer and closer to his tragic end.


Why it's a Must See: "[Le Samourai" is a breathtaking work, stylized to the point of asphyxiation, in which the imaginary world of cinema beats reality hands down. No wonder filmmakers from John Woo to Paul Thomas Anderson via Quentin Tarantino and Walter Hill have plundered it as the veritable Bible of cool movies."

---"1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die"

Rosy the Reviewer says...and it was very cool...and sad.

(In French with English subtitles)




***The Book of the Week***




The Geraldo Show: A Memoir by Geraldo Rivera (2018)


Geraldo Rivera recaps his life but concentrates here more on his work as a war correspondant.

The title of this memoir is apt.  Yes, Geraldo had eponymous TV shows but the title of this book could also be a metaphor for Geraldo's life.  If you are familiar with him, you know he isn't shy about tooting his own horn so every time one encounters Geraldo it's the "Geraldo show." And it's also no surprise that he is friends with Trump because both of those guys like hyperbole.  What is shocking however is that Geraldo has become an apologist for Trump and is best friends with Sean Hannity.  How does a long-time supporter of liberal causes like Geraldo end up besties with those conservative dudes?


But I have been a fan of Geraldo's ever since his very first late, late night show and on through his stint on 20/20 and his later afternoon talk shows.  He has written memoirs before which I have read but there is an old saying, "If you are not a liberal when you are young, you have no heart and if you are not a conservative when you are old, you have no brain," or something like that.  Here is what I say, "When celebrities who are known to be brash, macho dudes get old they often become sentimental old dudes who have many regrets, so I thought it was worth checking back in with Geraldo to see where he is at now.


And yes, he is now an old sentimental dude with many regrets, mostly regretting having bragged in his first book about all of the women he had shagged.  


His earlier memoir was all about his sexual conquests. He even called it "Exposing Myself."  Basically he couldn't keep it in his pants, resulting in four divorces.  But now he is older and wiser, or so he says, and his fifth marriage is the exception and he has managed to remain faithful, probably helped by the fact that he is now 74 and lives in Cleveland.  Who knew Geraldo would end up in Cleveland?  I guess that's what happens when you marry someone 32 years younger than you.


However, this one skirts his personal life to concentrate more on his work, mostly war reporting.  But don't think he doesn't talk about being on "The Apprentice" and "Dancing with the Stars."  He does.  Geraldo is still tooting his own horn as he has always done but he has always been so open about it, and he is actually quite vulnerable and feels hurt if someone doesn't like him.   


Rosy the Reviewer says...so Geraldo, I still like you.




Thanks for reading!

See you next Friday 

for my review of 

the documentary about Fred Rogers



"Won't You Be My Neighbor?"

 and
  
The Week in Reviews
(What to See or Read and What to Avoid)

 and the latest on

"My 1001 Movies I Must See Before 
  
I Die Project." 








If you enjoyed this post, feel free to copy and paste or click on the share buttons to share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, email it to your friends and LIKE me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer

Check your local library for DVDs and books mentioned.

Next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). 


Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll down below the synopsis and the listings for the director, writer and main stars to where it says "Reviews" and click on "Critics" - If I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list.








Friday, June 15, 2018

"Adrift" and The Week in Reviews

[I review the movie "Adrift" as well as "Suburbicon" - on DVD - and "A Fantastic Woman," last year's Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, now available On Demand.  The Book of the Week is a novel by Frances Mayes - yes, you heard me, a novel. "Women in Sunlight."  I also bring you up-to-date with "My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project" with "Fireworks."]



Adrift


Based on Tami Oldham Ashcraft's memoir, this is a true story of survival, adrift in the ocean on a disabled sailboat for 41 days.

You might think that a story of survival on a boat in the middle of an ocean would be boring but this is anything but that.  Director Baltasar Kormakur with the help of a screenplay by Aaron Kandell, Jordan Kandell and David Branson Smith (based on Ashcraft's book) creates tension by shifting back and forth between the horrendous 1983 hurricane event (Hurricane Raymond) that disabled the boat and the love story leading up to Tami Oldham (Shailene Woodley) meeting Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin), falling in love with him and taking that fateful sailing trip.

The film begins with Tami waking up below deck, disoriented and alone, and through a series of flashbacks that alternate between Tami's reality at sea with her meeting and falling in love with Richard and taking that fateful trip, the film moves inexorably toward the big finale - the hurricane.

But first, it's 1983 and it is established early on that Tami is a free spirit making her way around the world taking jobs on boats here and there with not a care in the world. When she passes into Tahiti and is asked by the passport control agent how long she plans to stay she says she doesn't know.  When he asks her what she plans to do, she says whatever. You could say that Tami herself is already "adrift."


She finds work on a dock there where she meets Richard Sharp, a young Brit with a beautiful boat, the Mayaluga, and over time they fall in love.  He asks her to sail around the world with him, and they spend idyllic months at sea.  But when the opportunity arises for Richard to sail another boat, the Hazana, back to California for some friends, he asks Tami to go with him and it's a fateful trip.  They are hit by 145 mph winds thanks to Hurricane Raymond. 


When the hurricane hits, Richard yells at Tami to go below where she is knocked out and when she awakens, Richard is gone.   But then after a couple of terrifying days alone, she sees something out in the water...and it's Richard.  Or is it?

Woodley produced this film and it certainly is an opportunity for her to show her acting chops.  Up until now, she has mostly starred in films aimed at young adults (the Divergent series, "The Spectacular Now," "The Fault in our Stars"), but this film now gives her the opportunity to play a full-fledged woman, and she proves her ability to do that.  It's a tour de force for her.

Sam Claflin made a splash (pardon the pun) in "My Cousin Rachel" and "Me Before You."  He is a handsome guy and as Richard spends much of the film laid up on the deck with an injury with Tami doing most of the work to get them out of there, but as an actor he carries his weight which is not easy when you are lying down most of the time.  He and Shailene have chemistry and create a believable love story.


Cinematographer Robert Richardson also deserves mention as his aerial shots of the boat at sea creates a sense of isolation and the filming of the storm itself is exciting.  Likewise, the special effects created a terrifying Hurricane Raymond. 


Why are we drawn to movies like this?  Because we can vicariously live through something that hopefully will never happen to us but gather hope from it that the human spirit somehow prevails despite all odds against it.


Rosy the Reviewer says...a perfectly enjoyable love story coupled with a tense lost at sea story.







***Some Movies You Might Have Missed***
(And Some You Will Be Glad You Did)!


On DVD





Suburbicon (2017)


In a picture perfect 1950's community, a home invasion leads to tragic results for not only one family but for the whole neighborhood.

Matt, Matt, Matt.  I know I have been giving you a hard time lately ("Downsizing") but you really must start making some better choices when it comes to your movie roles.  This one didn't do you any good.  I know George is your friend (George Clooney directed), but he hasn't really been doing that well lately either. And though the Coen Brothers have written some really great films, this is not one of them, though it has some of their signature stuff all over it as in it's very strange and quirky.

When the movie starts, the music makes you feel like you are going to watch an episode of  "I Love Lucy."  It's classic 1950's happy music.  And the neighborhood is a seemingly happy one, that is until the first black family moves in.  You see Suburbicon is a manufactured city that started in the 1940's and it appears it was meant for just white folks.  But all is not well in Suburbicon and it's not just because of the black family that moved in, despite the neighbors wanting to blame everything that happens on them.

Julianne Moore is back and once again playing two characters (see last week's review of "Wonderstruck") - twin sisters, Rose and Margaret. Gardner Lodge (Damon) is married to Rose (Moore) and they have a son, Nicky (Noah Jupe).  Margaret (also Moore), Rose's sister, lives with them to help take care of Nicky because Rose is in a wheelchair.  Margaret is, however, taking care of more than just Nicky.  She is - ahem - taking care of Gardner too. 

One night there is a home invasion, and the bad guys chloroform the whole family, including Nicky but only Rose dies.  Later, at a police line-up, Gardner and Margaret say they don't recognize anyone in the lineup despite the fact that the bad guys are right there.  Nicky, who has snuck into the lineup room, is horrified because he sees the two guys right there.  Why doesn't his Dad say something? Well, Nicky, as you soon find out..something fishy is going on.

Much of the film is seen through the eyes of young Nicky and when it becomes clear that Rose's death involves Margaret's and Gardner's affair and insurance fraud, all hell breaks loose.  At the same time, the neighborhood is rioting about the arrival of the black family.  But when all is said and done, it's the black family wondering what the hell they have gotten themselves into by moving to this crazy neighborhood.

This is the kind of classic story we see on Dateline all of the time (the husband did it), except I hate to say it, Dateline does it better.  Yes, there are some quirky Coen brothers touches and the acting is fine, but it all doesn't add up to a satisfying film experience. The funny dark humor we expect from the Coen Brothers just isn't there.  Yes, the film is dark but it's not funny.

The story line about the black family moving into the neighborhood and outraging the neighbors doesn't go anywhere.  It doesn't seem to have anything to do with the plot about Gardner and the murder mystery. Those two stories never come together and you can't help but wonder why that part of the film is even there. Supposedly, the Coen Brothers had a script about a murder mystery and Clooney had a script about a black family moving into an all-white neighborhood, so Clooney put the two together to make this film and that's what it feels like: a film where two disparate scripts were cobbled together.  I'm sure Clooney was trying to make a statement about the whole "Make America Great Again" thing and the myth of the good old days but the film as a whole just didn't work.

However, what did work was Noah Jupe as Nicky.  I must be getting soft, but that little child actor was the best part of the film. 


Rosy the Reviewer says...I liked what I think the movie was trying to do and say - quit yearning for the good old days because they weren't so good and it's the younger generation that will save us - but it just didn't do it very well.






Available On Demand




A Fantastic Woman (2017)
("Una Mujer Fantastica")


The story of Marina, a transgender woman, living in Santiago, Chile.  Life ain't easy for transgender women in Chile.

Marina (Daniela Vega) works as a waitress and sometime singer and lives with her much older boyfriend, Orlando (Francisco Reyes).  When Orlando has a stroke she experiences what many unmarried partners experience, whether gay, straight, transgender...they have no rights. And not only does Marina have no rights when it comes to Orlando, she is also treated like a suspect, as if she had something to do with his death.  Then Orlando's family kicks her out of Orlando's apartment, and she isn't even allowed to go to the funeral.  She experiences all of the indignities of not only not being married to Orlando but of being a transgender person. A member of Orlando's family who doesn't approve of her kidnaps her and tapes up her face, puts her through some other abhorrent indignities and then leaves in a very raw and uncomfortable scene. One indignity follows another but Marina is able to keep her head up and keep going.

Directed by Sebastian Lelio (who also directed the wonderful "Gloria") with a screenplay by Lelio and Gonzalo Maza, this film is gorgeous to look at but it is not a particularly new plot line, and in fact is very similar to Lelio's other film "Gloria," which I reviewed four years ago and loved. "Gloria" told the story of a middle-aged woman who refused to be invisible but instead claimed her independence and respect.  Here Marina is doing the same as a young transgender woman.  Both films succeeded because of the strength of the actresses.  Daniela Vega, a transgender woman herself, is in every scene and has a face that is so compelling and poignant as she shows what it is like to try to get respect and live life with dignity as a transgender woman.

Rosy the Reviewer says...this film won last year's Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and deservedly so.  Worth looking for.
(In Spanish with English subtitles)




***My 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Project***


139 to go!

Have YOU seen this classic film?





Fireworks (1997)
("Hana-Bi")


Nishi leaves the police force under a cloud and while fighting depression makes some bad decisions.

This film won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice International Film Festival in 1997 during a time when the Japanese film industry had been written off.  This film is considered to be director Takeshi Kitano's masterpiece and the first of his to receive widespread distribution in North America.

Kitano not only directs, but also stars as Nishi who is a very depressed guy. And he has reasons to be. He has never gotten over the death of his young daughter and has to deal with his wife Miyaki's (Kayoko Kishimoto) terminal illness.  He also feels guilt about his part in a routine police assignment that went wrong resulting in his partner's paralysis. And that's not all. He also owes money to the yakuza.  Nishi has reason to be depressed and his life seems hopeless.  So...What do you do when you are depressed and your life seems hopeless?  Why you rob a bank, of course.

But Nishi is also full of rage.  His face reveals nothing, no emotion, but he could go off at any moment and he does in some shocking, violent scenes.  Nishi may seem like the quiet type but there are some fireworks going off inside of him, so don't mess with Nishi.


On the other hand, Nishi's paralyzed ex-partner, Horibe (Ren Osugi), also has reasons to be depressed - his wife and daughter left him when he was injured - but unlike Nishi, he is able to fend off his suicidal thoughts when he discovers painting.

The film could be written off as a bloody Japanese cop film and, though there is some violence and blood, there is also humor and quiet, poignant moments. It's a spare film where little is actually explained and where silence is also a theme. In fact, Nishi rarely speaks nor does his face give away his emotions and yet Kitano's very presence in the film exudes emotion.

Why it's a Must See: "...Kitano's finest work, satisfying both as a genre piece and in bringing together...disparate narrative strands."
---"1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die"

Rosy the Reviewer says...much more than a Japanese gangster/cop film with an astonishing performance by director Kitano.

(In Japanese with English subtitles)





***The Book of the Week***





Women in Sunlight: A Novel by Frances Mayes (2018)


Four American women living in Tuscany form a bond.

Actually, three of the women of a certain age live in the U.S. and meet when touring an assisted living facility. Camille and Susan are both widows and Julia's husband is a cheater so they are all at that stage of life where one thinks either of downsizing and entering an over 55 community or grabbing life by the horns and trying to eke out every bit that's left of one's life.  And that's what these three decide to do. They form a bond and come up with the idea to rent a villa in Tuscany together to find out what their options for the future are.

When they arrive in Italy, they meet writer Kit Raine who is their neighbor and who has already set up a life there.  Now there are four friends.

Kit's story is told in first person in alternating chapters and one can't help but wonder how much of Kit is the author, Frances Mayes.  Mayes famously wrote her story in her first book "Under the Tuscan Sun," a memoir where she chronicled her buying and restoring a villa in Tuscany.  But it was more than a book about restoring a villa.  It was also a book about Italy and food and love (there was also a popular movie starring Diane Lane loosely based on the book). Mayes was one of the first to also include recipes in her memoir.  Now that's become a thing, especially if the book is about Italy.

So this book, though a novel, continues the story from the viewpoint of a woman, like Mayes, who has been living in Tuscany for several years, but this time adds the element of three other women of a certain age discovering Italy for the first time.  Ironically, however, the chapters where Kit talks about her life and observes the other women are less successful than the third person accounts about the other women.  Kit is writing a book about a friend and her chapters are all very professorial as if Mayes wants us to know she herself is an educated academic type.  Lots of literary name dropping and I found that those chapters stopped the story in its tracks.

But the book does not disappoint when it comes to food and a narrative about the Italian countryside and its cities and towns.  Mayes is a master at description. One particularly wonderful chapter is when the four go to Venice.  Kit says she doesn't quite trust anyone who doesn't like Venice and I'm with her there.  It's one of my favorite cities in the world.

Though Mayes writes beautifully and is a master of description, she can also be a bit stuffy.  And don't expect much of a story.  This is not
a novel with an intricately woven plot like those of Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins.  But it's a lovely depiction of women's friendships, a love letter to Italian life, and how getting older doesn't have to mean giving up on life.

Rosy the Reviewer says...though not as much fun as "Under the Tuscan Sun," and not entirely successful as a novel, if you love Italy, art, food and gardening, you might enjoy this. 



Thanks for reading!

See you next Friday 

for my review of 



"Oceans Eight"

 and
  
The Week in Reviews
(What to See or Read and What to Avoid)

 and the latest on

"My 1001 Movies I Must See Before 
I Die Project." 






If you enjoyed this post, feel free to copy and paste or click on the share buttons to share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, email it to your friends and LIKE me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer

Check your local library for DVDs and books mentioned.

Next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). 


Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll down below the synopsis and the listings for the director, writer and main stars to where it says "Reviews" and click on "Critics" - If I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list.