Everybody’s fine. Seriously? Are Frank Goode’s four children, now grown-ups and settled all across the US, truly as fine as they claim to be? When they all cancelled on him for a family reunion, Frank decides to surprise them, turning up at their homes unexpectedly. What starts as a heart-warming dramatic comedy, turns out to be a hectic road movie, taking Frank on trains and Greyhound buses from New York to Chicago, Denver and Las Vegas.
Written and directed by Kirk Jones, Everybody’s Fine is an entertaining remake of Giuseppe Tornatore’s Stanno Tutti Bene, starring Robert De Niro as Frank Goode who tries to live the American Dream and expects his children to work hard to achieve their goals. Since his children thought they did not live up to their father’s expectations, they decide to pretend to be someone they are not to make him proud.
His successful daughter Amy (Kate Beckinsale) pretends to be in a happy relationship, Robert (Sam Rockwell) turns out to be a percussionist instead of a world-class conductor, Rosie (Drew Barrymore) is not the supposed dancer and star of Vegas, and not until the end the audience gets to see artist David (Austin Lysy) who got into serious troubles in Mexico. But since our protagonist is a brilliant observer, and it doesn’t take him long to figure out the truth and what’s really going on.
Filled with numerous clichés, it is a touching and intelligently acted family drama, created about themes such as love, the importance of family and doing what makes you happy instead of living someone else’s dream. The movie is refreshingly open, even though we could have expected more sensitiveness from the actors. Nevertheless, Robert De Niro and his supporting cast did a great job and contributed to making Everybody’s Fine just fine.
I’ve just finished what could become my personal book of the year 2013. I’m practically speechless, but I should write a review here, so I’ll see what I can come up with 😉 Oh, I almost forgot. The book I’m talking about is Life After Life by Kate Atkinson which was shortlisted for the 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction.
What if you could live again and again, until you got it right?
On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war.
Does Ursula’s apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny? And if she can — will she?
My Thoughts:
Life after Life is mainly set in 20th century England and boy does Ms. Atkinson know how to create setting. I lay there in the grass, looking up at the sky. I breathed sun-filled air as well as gas. I saw the clear skies on the mountains and the darkness of muggy cellars. And then I went to war and found myself on top of a collapsed building, searching for survivors, while bombers were still dropping their deadly cargo all over London.
As you can see, Ms. Atkinson not only did a great job describing the setting, she also created a main character that I could easily identify with. This main character is Ursula and I loved to follow her through her many lives. Although follow seems to be the wrong word, as I often became one with Ursula. We simply merged. I seldom thought that one of her decisions was the wrong one. There are many other characters in Life After Life. Each of them is unique. I like how Ursula has a stronger bond with some and a weaker with others. Just like in real life.
I have never read a story like Life After Life and I think it is brilliant. In the beginning, I had no idea how the story is going to work out. The only thing I knew was that Ursula was able to live her life over and over again. I like where Ms. Atkinson takes her and how she let the story end. I love that this book offers so many emotions. Throughout the story there is love, loss, pain, hope, sorrow and happiness. You get the whole package. Life After Life is a book that shows you how much can change by deciding to do something different. I fully recommend this book to everyone!
“New York remains the most fabulous city on earth,” claims travel journalist Graham Boynton, and boy, is he right. Spending ten days in the Big Apple, I could appreciate a great deal of New York’s wonders, starting from juicy burgers to breath-taking Broadway shows. There are numerous reasons for why I made New York City my travel destination: a rich palette of cultural offerings, the ringing tills of Fifth Avenue, magnificent high-rise buildings, and extravagant boutique hotels.
Once the city had whetted my appetite, I couldn’t get enough of it. I enjoyed memorable walking tours through Greenwich Village, Soho, Little Italy, China Town, and the Financial District and experienced two more of New York’s five boroughs: Brooklyn and the Bronx. The city’s constant reinvention makes it an eye-catching venue which I looked at with great admiration.
I appreciated the glittering lights as described by Edith Wharton and dived into the big city’s night life while standing on top of the Rock. The Empire State has it all: from overcrowded and stuffy subway rides to cultural diversity in the various New York neighbourhoods. It’s no secret that life in New York has its price, but there are quite a few things to do which are for free, including spending time in Manhattan’s oasis: Central Park.
Visiting the magnificent Metropolitan Museum, strolling through Washington Square Park to walk off some of my lunch, admiring the New York Public Library and walking all the way up from Battery Park to 42nd Street contributed to making my stay an unforgettable experience. I loved my vacation, I loved the city, but I didn’t like what they call morning caffeine intake. Honestly, New Yorkers have to start taking coffee seriously!
I’ve got news for you. From now on, I won’t be writing on my own, because my good friend Miss Treegarden will join me here on All That Magic. We’ve been studying at the same university for five years now and Miss Treegarden shares my love for English and history, so she studies both like I do.
Miss Treegarden is new to blogging and she wants to see what it’s like. She’ll write reviews of books she read and other things she cares about. Today, Miss Treegarden will start with a travel review of New York City. She just returned from a holiday and wanted to share her impressions with you. If Miss Treegarden really loves blogging, she might even take the big step and write her own blog some day.
Until then, we’ll do the magic together 🙂 Welcome Miss Treegarden!
As I’ve already told you a few days ago, I finished a book that took me a while to read. This book is A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, which is currently shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. I had a copy on my bookshelf from my Book Depository win this spring, so I decided to give it a go.
‘Hi! My name is Nao, and I am a time being. Do you know what a time being is? Well, if you give me a moment, I will tell you.’
Ruth discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox washed up on the shore of her beach home. Within it lies a diary that expresses the hopes and dreams of a young girl. She suspects it might have arrived on a drift of debris from the 2011 tsunami. With every turn of the page, she is sucked deeper into an enchanting mystery.
In a small cafe in Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao Yasutani is navigating the challenges thrown up by modern life. In the face of cyberbullying, the mysteries of a 104-year-old Buddhist nun and great-grandmother, and the joy and heartbreak of family, Nao is trying to find her own place – and voice – through a diary she hopes will find a reader and friend who finally understands her.
My Thoughts:
A Tale for the Time Being is mostly set in the 21st century in Japan and Canada. The dominance of the setting changes with the location. The island where Ruth lives felt very clear to me. However, this could be because I’ve already been to British Columbia and Vancouver Island and know what the landscape looks like. But also the temple in Japan and its surroundings were clear, in contrast to Tokyo, which seemed blurry to me. Ms. Ozeki also uses the weather to create and intensify mood especially in Ruth’s chapters. I really like this concept.
The two main characters are Nao and Ruth. Even though Nao is 16 years old, she often acts like she is 14 or younger but on the other hand, she does things that (in my opinion) don’t fit her childish behavior. Well, let’s say, Nao has problems, which is hardly surprising if you read her story. Nevertheless, Nao’s character wasn’t always very believable throughout the book. I preferred Ruth. Her character seems to lead a steady life, but if you take a closer look, it isn’t all roses. Ruth is fascinated by Nao’s diary and wants to know all about that girl from Japan. I was really able to connect with Ruth, at least until the last few pages. Two other characters that I think were great are Nao’s father Haruki and Nao’s great-grandmother Jiko.
Now on to the hardest part (at least for me). The story. For the first ~125 pages, I had massive problems getting into the book. I was thinking about giving up on reading, because I didn’t care what was going to happen to Nao or to anyone else in the book. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that I hardly give up on a book. So I read on and it did get better. I finally wanted to know about Nao’s (and her father’s) fate. Sometimes, I even felt distracted by Ruth’s story between Nao’s passages. But there were still things that I didn’t like. There was too much talk of Zen Buddhism in the book and, unfortunately, the book started to get quite boring again towards the end (even though I like the main idea of the ending). Maybe A Tale for the Time Being just wasn’t meant for a time being like me.
I hope you are having a nice weekend. 🙂 I just finished a book I was chewing on for a while and you’ll get a new review soon.
More than two weeks ago, my grandpa who lives in Canada had his birthday and I decided to make him an egg warmer and a birthday card. Grandpa loves fishing, so this was the overall theme of my crafts.
For his birthday card, I used all kinds of paper and I got inspired by this post by Scraps and Things and this is what it looks like:
The egg warmer I made for grandpa is a fish. I started making egg warmers this Easter. I make them out of felt and they come in all colors and shapes 🙂 So this is grandpa’s egg warmer, to keep his breakfast eggs warm:
I also sent my grandma a little something. More about that in another blog post 🙂
As I felt pretty crafty today, I thought I’d try to create one of those lovely little guys in Jane Bull’s Crafty Creatures. (I hope you all remember that digital ARC I got from DK Books a while ago) Well, the book was published last week (at least in the US. It will be out in the UK next week), so, if you like what you see, you’ll be able to buy it 🙂
Packed with more than 30 inspiring ideas, from fat felt cats, to dangly octopuses and zany pom-pom pals, Crafty Creatures and author Jane Bull help you create your own world of colorful, cuddly animals, as well as phone pouches, purses, jewelry, and more!
With helpful templates and patterns alongside basic sewing techniques, Crafty Creatures includes simple step-by-step instructions with detailed photographs to make sure everyone can accomplish any project in the book.
My Craft & My Thoughts
When I leafed through the book, I was instantly in love with one creature in particular. It was a little bunny made of an odd pair of old (or new if you like) gloves. The bunny (called Odd Bod in the book) looked so cute and it seemed like the perfect upcycling idea that wouldn’t be too hard to do. So I decided to make one. And after about one hour of work (well, I didn’t work constantly I guess), this is my result:
Now back to the book.
It is divided into 5 chapters: Woolly Animals, Friends in Felt, Sew Cute, Animals in Stitches and Sewing Kit and Useful Know-how
Woolly Animals features the following crafts: Woolly Octopus, Knittens, Koala Bear and Friends, Li’l Ted, Odd Bods, A Box of Monkeys, Ducklings
This is my favorite chapter. I think the creatures in it are big enough to play with. Plus, there is something for every difficulty level. And there are crafts that reuse material that would have otherwise been thrown away.
Friends in Felt includes: Pocket Pets, Big Pets, Mobile Owls, Cozy Cats, Minimals, Templates, Wild Ones, Bees and Bugs
The crafts in this chapter are cute and I love felt. They all are pretty flat though. And I don’t really know what to do with most of them. The mobile is an exception. And there is a tip to turn the small, flat animals into brooches, which is a nice idea.
Sew Cute features: Dog’s Best Friends, Pretty Birdies, Bunny Girls, Doodlephants, Your Little Pony, Jolly Giraffe, Cat’s Bed
This chapter has bigger designs than the last one. The Bunny Girls are made to play with and so is the Jolly Giraffe (which has a great design by the way). I also like the idea of the Doodlephants: They are plain elephants you can draw on, so you can create a unique creature. Great idea for a party!
Animals in Stitches shows you how to do: Pictures in Stitches, Pet Portraits, Stitch a Doodle, Doodle Decorations
There aren’t any real creatures to craft in this chapter. It just shows you how to stitch animals and how to use stitched things in your projects.
And Sewing Kit and Useful Know-how includes the chapters: Creating Creatures, How to Stitch, Spring Chickens, Mice Made Easy, How to Knit, Knit Stitch, Purl Stitch, Knitting Shapes
This chapter is very useful, as it explains steps that are the basis for some crafts.
To sum it up, I think that Crafty Creatures is a very nice book for people who are interested in starting to knit or sew cute little animals. There are some ideas to pick up for experienced crafters, but I think that beginners and less-experienced people will have more fun with this book (especially if they have an interest in knitting!). As I’ve mentioned before, some of the crafts are small and quite flat, so their purpose isn’t quite clear. I think they could make nice decorations for presents (if the gifted person appreciates the effort). So decide for yourself if this is the book for you. I definitely enjoyed making that cute little bunny!
And this week, I really had a craving for chocolate brownies. While I was looking for a decent recipe on the Internet, I found an article by the Huffington Post that told me that there’s only one recipe I’d need and that I’d find it over at the Smitten Kitchen. I thought “Well, this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of the Smitten Kitchen, I’ll give it a try.” Interestingly, the recipe does not contain chocolate. The brownie is made with cocoa powder. And the recipe comes with an explanation as to why this is a good thing (for all the people who have never thought of what chocolate consists of 😉 ). So I was easily convinced not to use my expensive 85% chocolate for baking (okay, at least not all of it) and try the recipe instead.
I did alter the ingredients a little bit. Here’s what I used:
10 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar
2 large eggs, cold
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup almond pieces
2/3 cup coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate pieces
For the instructions and the original recipe click here
The brownies turned out very good. I love them! They are very fudgy. If you like them cakey, this isn’t your recipe. The only thing I’ll make different the next time, is to reduce the sugar some more. I hope this doesn’t affect the consistency.
Today, I’ll review Laurie Frankel‘s novel Goodbye For Now. I have to admit that I’ve read the German translation called Der Algorithmus der Liebe as I’ve received a copy from Lovelybooks and Random House Germany to participate in a book discussion. Nevertheless, my review will be in English, and, if the translator has done a good job, there shouldn’t be any problem. 🙂
Sam Elling works for an internet dating company, but he still can’t get a date. So he creates an algorithm that will match you with your soul mate. Sam meets the love of his life, a coworker named Meredith, but he also gets fired when the company starts losing all their customers to Mr. and Ms. Right.
When Meredith’s grandmother, Livvie, dies suddenly, Sam uses his ample free time to create a computer program that will allow Meredith to have one last conversation with her grandmother. Mining from all her correspondence—email, Facebook, Skype, texts—Sam constructs a computer simulation of Livvie who can respond to email or video chat just as if she were still alive. It’s not supernatural, it’s computer science.
Meredith loves it, and the couple begins to wonder if this is something that could help more people through their grief. And thus, the company RePose is born. The business takes off, but for every person who just wants to say good-bye, there is someone who can’t let go.
My Thoughts:
Goodbye For Now is mainly set in Seattle, Washington but setting isn’t Ms. Frankel’s main focus. She rarely gives detailed descriptions of the characters’ surroundings. Only in the later chapters her writing becomes more pictorial and when it does, many things are left to the reader’s imagination. Either that, or the author expects the reader to know about the geography of Seattle. But I didn’t mind, because setting isn’t that important in this novel. The characters and the story are what make it worth reading.
The three main characters are Sam, Meredith and Dash. The reader sees almost everything through Sam’s eyes. He is a very likable character with a great sense of humor and is therefore easy to identify with. Meredith is a stereotypical woman. At first, she is very nice but later in the book she gets demanding and whiny. To make it short: She doesn’t know what she wants and she really got on my nerves. Dash completes the trio by being very positive and social. He is a funny guy without wanting to be funny. Dash is a wonderful addition to the book as he helps to lighten up the darker parts. In my opinion, this trio of main characters is very balanced. Sam, Meredith and Dash are surrounded by various other characters, each with their own little story to tell.
The plot of Goodbye For Now is new to me. I like that Ms. Frankel introduces the pros and cons of a computer program that enables people to communicate with the “dead”. She shows that this is not something that everyone would think of as good and she also points out that serious problems can arise. Goodbye For Now combines an easy to read writing style with a serious topic. This is not your usual love story. (Even if the German title suggests it) Goodbye For Now is a book that will make you laugh, cry and think.
I’ve just encountered this wonderful trailer of Saving Mr. Banks and I want to share with you. It really looks magical.
Did you see? They even go to Disneyland 🙂 I love Disneyland! We’ve been there last September and I haven’t stopped missing it since then.
I checked the release dates for Saving Mr. Banks on IMDB. It is released between December 2013 and February 2014 depending on where you live. Just click the link.
For me, this movie is a “must see”, what about you?
All That Magic 