Five on Friday!

I'm taking part today in a bloghop that I learned about through the charming Cici of Cici's Corner...Five on Friday.

 Basically, it's just any five things you want to talk about on Friday.

 Here I go:

 1)  Farewell...for now...to a precious friend

 On Monday, a sweet friend came to the end of her struggle with cancer. I attended her memorial service yesterday. Lori was only 35 years old. She was a teacher who loved her students deeply, married to a wonderful young man named Jason, and always so full of life and joy.

We'll dearly miss her.  We're heartbroken, but  we know we'll see her in heaven someday.

 After the service there was a balloon launch. Hundreds of pink ribbons--fittingly symbolic of the fight against breast cancer--floated skyward. It was a beautiful farewell.

2) I've been reading some really terrific fiction lately...from the library.

I do enjoy reading Kindle books on my Nexus 7, but sometimes it's nice to just hold a book in your hands...and not worry about whether your battery is charged enough!

I recently finished this really enjoyable one:

This is from Goodreads:

Twenty-five-year-old Julie Jacobs is heartbroken over the death of her beloved Aunt Rose. But the shock goes even deeper when she learns that the woman who has been like a mother to her has left her entire estate to Julie’s twin sister. The only thing Julie receives is a key—one carried by her mother on the day she herself died—to a safety-deposit box in Siena, Italy.
This key sends Julie on a journey that will change her life forever...

The book was well-written, intriguing, romantic, and full of exciting twists and turns...in other words, right up my alley!

Are you on Goodreads? I've found I enjoy being a part of the site, because before, I never kept track of what books I read or how many I was reading.

3) My husband's doppelganger...

Even when we were dating back in the 70's, I thought my husband looked like actor Jeff Bridges.  But since Jeff has gone bald in the Iron Man movies, the resemblance is uncanny.

We staged a re-enactment of a photo from Iron Man to illustrate it:

What do you think?  Separated at birth, or what?

4) Can I talk about the weather?

We have had an extraordinarily mild, lush, green, often quite cool summer here in Northern Illinois.  I, for one, am not complaining!

Last summer was horrendously hot and dry.  I've been thoroughly enjoying the mildness.

Here's a picture of the Rock River (I often stop and take pictures of it on my way home) just before a downpour the other day:

I must admit I love rivers, lakes, oceans, creeks, ponds...pretty much all bodies of water!

5) If you've been following my fingernail fiasco:

I blogged not long ago about the saga of my poor fingernails.  I've struggled with keeping them healthy and a decent length...then went and ruined it all by getting what I thought were gel nails, but actually were acrylic nails.

My nails have been taking forever to recover, but I'm happy to report that they're finally showing some improvement:

Well, that's my Five on Friday! Feel free to join in the fun.  And please don't leave without dropping me a comment.

Have a fun, safe and happy weekend!

True Grit (2010): A movie worth watching

"You must pay for everything in this world, one way and another. There is nothing free except the grace of God."




Every once in a while, a movie comes along that doesn't make me regret I spent a couple of hours of my time watching it...in fact, I regard it as an uplifting experience.

Such was the case with True Grit.

From the moment I saw a verse from Proverbs on the screen, listened to the soft piano notes playing "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,' and heard the female narrator utter the quote above, I knew this was going to be a special movie.

I had never seen the 1969 version of the movie, starring John Wayne, Glenn Campbell and Kim Darby. And I'm actually glad I hadn't. I had nothing with which to compare this movie, and I have a feeling I might find the original movie lacking. One reviewer called the new version "not so much a remake as a masterly re-creation."

Hailee Steinfeld as 14-year-old Mattie, who is determined to capture her father's killer and avenge his death, is a marvel. From the moment she appears on the screen, we're charmed.

Mattie's young face is a canvas for emotions ranging from stubbornness and coolness to fear and excitement. Her articulate intelligence and naive but confident courage are wonderful to see.

Apparently, Joel and Ethan Coen (the producers) wanted to be faithful to Mattie's characterization in the Charles Portis book on which both movies were based.

According to Wikipedia:

Mattie Ross "is a pill," said Ethan Coen in a December 2010 interview, "but there is something deeply admirable about her in the book that we were drawn to," including the Presbyterian-Protestant ethic so strongly imbued in a 14-year-old girl. Joel Coen said that the brothers did not want to "mess around with what we thought was a very compelling story and character". The film's producer, Scott Rudin said that the Coens had taken a "formal, reverent approach" to the Western genre, with its emphasis on adventure and quest. "The patois of the characters, the love of language that permeates the whole film, makes it very much of a piece with their other films, but it is the least ironic in many regards."

Jeff Bridges is wonderful as the gruff, eye-patched Marshall Rooster Cogburn who initially doesn't want anything to do with Mattie's quest. In a very moving climactic scene, though, Cogburn becomes the father Mattie needs when she needs him most.

Ultimately we realize that although Mattie wanted Cogburn's help because she heard he has "true grit," it's Mattie that has that quality, in spades.

The ending was a bit anticlimactic (not sure, but I think I might have preferred the way the original movie ended it). And I wouldn't watch this with younger children; there are a few violent scenes, one in particular that's fairly grisly.

True Grit received 10 Academy Award nominations, but didn't win a single one. It also was snubbed by the Golden Globes. World Net Daily's Jack Cashill speculated that the Golden Globes, run by the European press, "likely slighted 'True Grit' for its unapologetic celebration of republican virtue. I refer here to those virtues necessary to build a successful republic: self-reliance, resourcefulness, strength, competence, charity, piety."

For me, these virtues were what made the movie worthwhile. Along with terrific acting, a compelling story, and the welcome realization that the great Western isn't dead yet--and that good movies can still be made.