I took my mother to see Mother!

Disturbing. Shocking. Disgusting. Leaving a seismic wake in its aftermath.

In this day and age, it is very difficult to cause these sort of deep responses to a film.

Which Male Authors Flip Your Switch?

After running across an old 2010 blog titled "Hot (and talented authors" by one of my favorite book blog, Maggie Galehouse's Bookish, I just had to revisit this topic.

So here's my list, in no particular order:

1. Michael Connelly--he is definitely the strong, silent type!


2. Harlen Coben -- btw, he just has a cool name, right?


3. Stephen King--I know, I know. There is no accounting for taste ...


4. William Goldman--any man that knows the 3 magic words is aces in my book!


5. Oscar Wilde--yes, he would have ignored me as I probably would have just tittered and blushed around him but he was so damned smart and funny.

And for the record, I've met three of these guys and their pictures DO NOT do them justice.

So who are yours? Come on ... 'fess up!

Julie & Julia - Amy Adams, Meryl Streep (2009)

I thought I was going to have to sit through GI Joe since my friend had brought her husband along with us to the movies.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had bought tickets for Julie & Julia.

Oh, what a wonderful movie. And Meryl Streep--what an astounding actress. She surprises me over and over again.

The story of a 29 year old's quest to "make something of herself" before she hits 30, Julie test her limits by cooking all of the famed American cook Julia Child's 536 recipes in 365 days.

Telling the tale of two stories--Julia's and Julie's--the film flips between the young New York Julie chronicling her year-long adventure on her now famous blog, The Julie/Julia Project, and Julia Child's 10-year development of her now classic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

A movie as much about writing as it is about cooking, the parallelism was undeniable; the manner in which each accomplished their missions were indicative of the times.

Both women were blessed with a gifts of cooking, writing and loving husbands.

Amy Adams held her own against the strength of Meryl Streep's performance. I have heard some critics call her performance as "whiny" but, too me, she acted as most 29 year old women act.

And, I must add, Stanley Tucci, as Julia's husband, gave an excellent performance.

But the movie is not only for foodies or females. It is an amazing character study of a 2 women determined to mark their place in this world; be they 50 or 30. Both women, Julie and Julia, a little lost and brimming with intelligence, take a natural gift and human desire and turn it into a career. Julie's melodramatic melancholy is a smart counterpoint to Julia's bubbling good humour and earthiness, and embodies the their respective decades--the 50s and the 00s.

So go. Go hungry. Imbibe and enjoy.

Bon Appetite!