Movie Review- Home Again

With all of our visitors and our move back to California, I've not seen a movie in over a month. I usually get itchy if I don't see a movie once a week, so over a month was positively soul crushing. This morning, I decided that enough was enough and I took myself to our local cinema.

The Village Theater is small and only had two choices. I really want to see It, but I'm alone in our house for the next week while Dan is away on a business trip, and not only that, but our neighborhood is nearly all rentals, so it's empty around here on week days. My imagination is already overactive and I don't need to add to it with It. My other choice was the latest Reese Witherspoon film, Home Again.

PLOT - Alice Kinney ( Reese Witherspoon) is separated from her husband Austen (Michael Sheen) and has moved back to Los Angeles with her two daughters. On her fortieth birthday, she goes out to dinner with friends and ends up meeting Harry, a handsome younger man (Pico Alexander). Harry and his two friends spend the night partying with Alice's group and they wind up back at Alice's house.

The next morning, Alice's mom (Candice Bergen)  stops by with Alice's daughters and sees the remnants of the party, including the younger men. The men quickly realize that Alice's father was a famous movie director and that her mother was an actress in his films. The men are trying to break into show business and they are blown away to be in the presence of such greatness. Alice's mom is flattered by their attention and convinces Alice to be a patron of the arts by letting them live in her guest house. Alice agrees, but is unsure about her feelings towards Harry and about letting the trio in her messy life. Will the arrangement lead to disaster or can taking a leap of faith change everyone's lives?

LIKE- Home Again made me laugh and left me with the warm fuzzies. It's a sweet story about opening up your heart to possibilities. I was surprised to discover that it wasn't completely predictable, especially in the way that Alice's relationship evolves with the men.

Alice is a wonderful character. What's more, she's relatable. At the start of the film, she's a mess. She is trying to jump start a new business and she feels very conflicted towards her ex-husband, with whom she has not made the leap to filing for divorce. Throughout the film, she slowly grows stronger and more self-assured. These three young men all play a role in getting her back on her feet. I liked that all of the men were flawed, but that they were essentially good people. As Alice mentions multiple times, they are only in their twenties and they are allowed the room to make mistakes. Growing from mistakes and experiences is a central theme of Home Again.

I'm a huge fan of Michael Sheen and he is a scene stealer in Home Again. When Austen decides to show up at Alice's house because he is concerned about the three men who are spending time around his daughters, it leads to some great comedic and tension-filled moments. 

The entire cast really shines, individually and as an ensemble. Particularly well-casted are the two actresses that play Alice and Austen's daughters, Isabel (Lola Flannery) and Rosie (Eden Grace Redfield). No doubt these two girls will go on to bigger careers.

DISLIKE- It's a tad sappy. I like sappy movies. Sometimes they are exactly what you need.

RECOMMEND- Yes. Home Again is a feel good movie. I'm not sure that it needs to be seen on the big screen, but it will definitely be a film that gets tons of repeat airtime on cable networks. It a film I could easily rewatch many times.  

Book Review- Danya Kukafka's Girl in Snow

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing me with an advance copy of Danya Kukafka's debut novel, Girl in Snow, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT - A Colorado suburb is rattled by the mysterious and brutal death of high school student Lucinda Hayes. No one is sure who has committed the crime, but as it is being investigated, suspicion falls on several people in the town. What happens when evidence is flimsy, no one seems to have a real motive, yet odd behavior casts suspicion?

LIKE- Kukafka isn't just a debut author, but she is also a very young debut author. She is currently in her early twenties, but she started writing Girl in Snow at sixteen. I'm blown away and a tad envious of her talent. What stands out the most is her writing style. She writes in a direct manner with amazing sensory descriptions that avoid being flowery. On top of that, her descriptions are unusual and creative. I love the way her mind works. She packs a punch with her prose.

Speaking of her words, the title is pitch perfect. Rather than the obvious "Girl in the Snow", Girl in Snow is succinct and it plays into Cameron's artistic inclinations. His obsession with Lucinda is artistic in nature and when she breaks the third wall to interact with him, he almost doesn't know how to handle her. Girl in Snow sounds like the title of a painting. It's perfect.

Perhaps because Kukafka wrote Girl in Snow as a teenager, she has a knack for writing the teenage characters. Kukafka writes them in a way that instantly brought me back to my high school years. It's affecting and even a little unsettling. Girl in Snow is told through three perspectives : Cameron: an artistic high school student from a troubled family, Jade: a high school outcast who was childhood friends with Lucinda, and Russ: a police officer with connections to Cameron's family.

I was most intrigued by the character of Cameron, who is immediately a suspect because of several factors that are beyond his control. Cameron's father was once a police officer and Russ' partner on the force, but he was put on trial for murdering a woman and when he wasn't convicted, he left town, abandoning his family. Cameron is extra sensitive; a kid who sees and feels everything. He is also very much an outsider, and prior to Lucinda's murder, one of her friends openly labeled Cameron as a kid who would bring a gun to school. Cameron doesn't help himself by exhibiting odd behavior, such as staring into his neighbor's houses at night, watching them, including Lucinda's house prior to her death. Cameron has black-outs, rendering him unsure as to whether or not he may have actually killed her. Cameron is a character who has the weight of the world on his shoulders.

DISLIKE- I don't often read mysteries, but I was disappointed that I could figure out the culprit from the first time they are introduced. I'm not going to spoil it, just to say that it was heavy- handed enough to figure out. I was hoping that I would be wrong, but when it was revealed, it was not a surprise. The best mysteries are the ones that you can't anticipate. 

I thought the plot was a little messy, especially with the character of Russ and his wife. It was all wrapped up in the end, but I wasn't convinced or engaged with where it was heading through most of the story. Perhaps because it distracted from the mystery of Lucinda. I thought it bogged down the pacing. The pacing was very strong for the first 2/3 and then it lagged in the last 1/3.

RECOMMEND- Yes, primarily due to Kukafka's marvelous writing. Girl in Snow is a solid mystery, but beyond this first book, I'm certain that Kukafka will have a bright career as a writer. I will definitely read her next book. 

England 2016- Overnight Trip to Bournemouth

Dan's uncle Barry, his wife Jo, and their daughter, Maria, live in the coastal town of Bournemouth and on our trip, we went to have dinner with them and to see their new home. The drive took a few hours and Dan's mom was with us, so we decided that a night stop would be the best idea.

We stayed at The Applewood Hotel, a very cute, non-chain hotel where the owners were on hand to check us in. They were very welcoming and personable. Here are pictures of the property, which included a sunny breakfast room ( breakfast was included) and a big backyard with a play area. This hotel was a gem.

We had dinner plans with the family, which gave us most of the afternoon to explore the beach. 

First stop? Ice cream, of course. 

Here's a panorama that Dan took of the boardwalk. I noticed a trend that many of the stores and restaurants were named after tropical vacation destinations. The weather was unusually warm for a day at the English seaside, but not exactly the tropics. I appreciated their optimism. 

Less optimistic was this scary bit of headline news. I took a picture because I thought it was odd to feature this at a vacation resort. It's alarming and a disconnect to read this while enjoying ice cream.

We purchased our tickets to walk on the pier and enjoyed our cones while we walked to the end. 

Although the fee is very minimal, I'm not sure that it's worth the money to walk on the pier, unless you plan to eat lunch or you have small kids that would enjoy the rides. None of the restaurants caught our fancy, so we headed back to the boardwalk. 

We didn't have quite enough time to enjoy the aquarium, although that would be a great activity if you plan a vacation in Bournemouth. I've been to a few beaches in England and Bournemouth looked to be the closest to what I think of as a proper vacation beach with its white sand and rentals for beachy-things. They even have a giant multi-story bouncy castle with a slide.

We ate lunch at Harry Ramsden's, which I learned is a famous restaurant chain, notable for their fish n' chips. The restaurant was absolutely packed. Luckily, the wait was short and we were able to sit on the patio with ocean views. The interior of the restaurant was victorian with intricate details. At the risk of sounding ridiculous, it reminded me of Disneyland. I'm from California, so many things get referenced to Disneyland. The fish n'chips were tasty and I was even able to get an iced tea, which is a rarity in England. 

After lunch, we took a one-way train ride over to the Boscombe Pier. The ride took about fifteen minutes and was a mile or so. 

Once we reached Boscombe Pier, we took a few pictures and retraced our steps back to the Bournemouth Pier. 

We found a cool shed with a reflective metal ball. See us in the reflection?

Here are a few silly pictures on the walk back. 

Fancy details of a light pole. 

My favorite part of the beach were these little huts. There were hundreds of them.  I'm not sure if people rent them for the summer or actually own them, but I love the idea of having a stylish storage area for your beach things. I also love how they are painted in a rainbow of colors. It's so cheerful and happy. 

Bournemouth is a beautiful town and a worthy addition to your next England itinerary. I'd highly recommend a stay at The Applewood Hotel and a meal at Harry Ramaden's.