Movies Books

Richard Buller's knowledge seems to have no bounds. With clarity and confidence, the author presents key moments in the life of Lois Moran. He also spends a third of the book exploring her relationship with F. Scott Fitzgerald. Buller had a vast amount of information at his disposal: Moran's journal and autobiographical notes, her son Tim, and Moran herself. Plus, he researched numerous books and contemporary newspaper articles. Intimidated? Don't be. Buller pulls all the pieces of the puzzle together for us, in a seemingly effortless flow of historical events. Don't know the works of Moran or Fitzgerald? Buller provides clear summaries. Then, he takes us to the next level by analyzing how Moran influenced Fitzgerald. In addition, the book provides many pictures with helpful captions. Even if you've never heard of Lois Moran, this is a "must have" for anyone interested in F. Scott Fitzgerald, movies, or the Jazz age.

I suppose I first encountered Lois Moran as most people did, via Scott Fitzgerald's portrayal of her as Rosemary Hoyt, the ingenue in his tragic 1934 romance TENDER IS THE NIGHT. Since Arthur Mizener identified Lois Moran as Rosemary's "original" in his 1950s biography of Fitzgerald THE FAR SIDE OF PARADISE, her name once again became recognizable, and we began to think of her as a silent film star who must have beeen cute, but surely without talent otherwise wouldn't her performances have survived? Now Richard Buller steps forward with this biography of the actress herself, both in and out of her relationship with the great novelist, and his book shows us that she's perhaps even more interesting when considered as an actress alone, and not just a Lolita-like playtoy.

Buller explores the bond between Gladys (Lois Moran's mother) and her daughter, and rebuts the myth that Gladys was a conventional stage mother who disliked her daughter's interest in married men. Gladys is worthy of a book all of her own! She took Lois from their settled life in Pittsburgh and brought her to Paris as a teen to escape the repressive US climate of the day, and to show her daughter life in big beautiful capital letters.

Stardom in the movies was only a sort of lagniappe to Lois, who abandoned Hollywood when she married in 1935. And she was signally a free-lance player, one who evaded the contractual obligations of any one studio (except for a brief and not too happy contract with Fox). That may have precipitated her withdrawal from cultural memory, however, for I think in the classical cinemaa the studio really built their stars up, and the ones who played it free-lance aren't as well remembered today. (We know Clark Gable, for example, better than we know, say, Irene Dunne.)

Buller has uncovered three short stories that Lois Moran wrote about Scott Fitzgerald, it's a shame that his publishers couldn't have authorized their publication in an appendix, for the excerpts he quotes are fascinating. Just as tantalizing are his descriptions of some of Moran's movies. I for one am going to go on a hunger strike until Turner Classic Movies schedules a showing of WEST OF BROADWAY with John Gilbert--the ultimate "bad luck" movie from Buller's description.

Lois Moran went to Broadway and starred in two Gershwin musicals (OF THEE I SING and LET 'EM EAT CAKE), then married an industrialist who ran Pan Am, Clarence Young. In the Youngs' luxury apartment here in SF's North Beach, on Vallejo Street, they hosted a secret wartime conference with FDR, Lindbergh, and other luminaries. I'm going to go there later today and try to talk my way into the graces of the current owners of the building and photograph the room where it all took place. After Clarence and Gladys died, Moran's later struggles with alcohol make for sad reading. What a story! And what a woman!

Lois Moran's life and body of work, so carefully portrayed by Richard Buller, are a living tribute to the wonderment of Lois Moran, the person. Here is a portrait of some eighty years of giving without reservation to the people of this planet.

The author's insightful and diligent research, coupled with some memorable findings in her journals, papers and photographs, have made this book a true and masterfully constructed literary achievement.

I had never heard of Lois Moran - now I am a fan! Richard Buller's fascinating account of this remarkable woman is brilliantly researched and beautifully written. Why more has not been made of this shining Hollywood star is a curious mystery. Happily, Mr. Buller fills us in with style. He describes the era adroitly and offers surprisingly intimate historical nuggets, sly humor, and a deep poignancy that moved this reader to tears. I felt as if I were walking with Lois every step of the way. Like meeting an old friend for the first time. Her gleeful, almost childlike kinship with life attracted sparkling people and events; yet her "grown-up" values guided her to always hone her gifts and to help others. A unique example that despite our heartaches, we can indeed create a "beautiful fairy tale" of our lives. A delightful, revelatory read. Inspiring.

"Bella" was one of last year's indie film surprises, winning over audiences with its warmth, emotion, and deceptively simple snapshots of family, pregnancy, grief, and redemption. My wife and I loved the movie, shared it with our teen daughters, and told others about it.

When I heard the movie was being turned into a short novel, I was skeptical. Would it capture the same feelings conveyed in the actors' faces and in the beautiful script? When I heard Lisa Samson was the one doing the novelization, my worries were laid to rest. This lady can write--and she writes from the heart.

"Bella" is a wonderful book, bringing back to mind all the nuances of the film, while providing deeper backstory and motivation. With turns of a phrase, Samson adds new dimension to an already touching story. This can be read before seeing the film or after. Either way, it's sure to be enjoyed by those who like the romance of life in the midst of all its messiness.

Jose, a famous soccer player, has been burned. At the peak of his career, a tragic accident has left him with deep scars. But this tragedy has also brought him back to God. Now a recluse, he battles his demons and works in his brother's store as a cook

Soon an opportunity to partially right the wrongs he has committed is presented to him-and Jose must decide to seize it. Nina cannot believe that she has been careless enough to get pregnant without being married. A waitress at the same restaurant that Jose cooks at, she turns to him for help. Can Jose convince her to do the right thing?

Bella is a beautiful story of love and hope and about finding beauty in the ashes of sorrow. It follows the lives of two broken souls. I really enjoyed this novelization. I especially enjoyed the characterization of Jose's family - a true Mexican family, with the family dinners, and the laughs.

At times it is a struggle to keep track of the names and dates, particularly when more than one person has the same name. Ample footnotes help guide the reader. More than a novel, this book is a historical depiction of important and relevant events.

Armchair Interviews says: Lisa Samson has done a wonderful job in writing this touching novel

In New York, Jose was once a famous Mexican soccer player, but since the tragic accident four years ago he is not the same person. His career and his social life died along with another person, whom he visits at the cemetery all the time. That is when he is not cooking at older brother Robert's restaurant El Callejon.

Nina is a waitress at the restaurant. She and the boy next door law school student Ryan exchanged emails that led to drinks and action; now one week after a lonely twenty-fifth birthday, she spends time throwing up. Her life besides being pregnant is cheap videos and cheaper take-out.

Nina plans to get rid of the baby; Jose wants to help her anyway he can except support an abortion. Can these two lost souls help each other; Jose is determined that this is God's test of him while Nina remains in denial except for morning sickness.

This is a well written novelization of the 2007 film. The story line is an entertaining contemporary drama starring two wounded warriors struggling with life. The support cast is powerful as the audience obtains a close look at a Mexican-American family. Fans of inspirational tales will appreciate BELLA as each of the lead couple sees the unborn in a different light; redemption or damnation.

Harriet Klausner

This adaptation from the original screenplay of Bella was excellent. I actually like the detail in the book better than the movie...it explained much more and the ending much clearer.

I am a big fan of Lisa Samson's novels and I feel that she did a great job of capture the essence of the screenplay, yet adding her own touch to it.

Even if you watch the DVD, you should read the book. In fact, I feel you should read the book first then watch the DVD.
This is a book that will make you think and affect your life.

Our children caught the commercial bug. Try as we might, we couldn't explain the concept to a 4-year old and a 5-year old. They saw kids enjoying cereal, toys and other stuff and figured it had to be good.

The Berenstain Bears book allowed our kids to discuss the bears' problem first before relating it to their own challenge. We bring this book out about 1-2 times per month at bedtime and revisit the concept.

We own several Berenstain Bears books and they have worked very well in helping us instill good values and manners in our children.

My kids love these books. They are fun to read, and at the same time they teach them about daily values of life.
Very nice books for parents to share with their children.

Sister and Brother bear want EVERYTHING they see on the TV Commercials. Whether it is a new cereal or a new candy or a new toy or whatever. They want it and they HAVE to have it.

Mama Bear thinks she should unplug the TV, but then she would miss her show and Papa Bear would miss his.

The cubs keep pestering her to get the things in the Advertisements. So one day Mama decides to let them have everything they want off the TV commercial. They have to eat every bit of cereal and candy and play with all the toys for a month.

The cubs find out the cereal is gross, the candy is too sour, and the toys are lame.

They stop asking for things off the TV.

Children love the Berenstain Bears-- the Berenstain bears have been a source of comfort before dentists' visits, shared important information about safety, and helped in times of transition like new schools or moves. This time, the friendly bears tackle the problem with commercials. Young children are exposed to commercials on TV, the radio, even at school-- this book deals with the "I need that because I saw it on TV" syndrome in a very clever, gentle, and clear way. Highly recommended.

SpongeBob finds a perfect way to celebrate Halloween. As usual, SpongeBob finds a way to amaze everyone, including the reader, and offer a funny, scary Halloween tale for us all to enjoy. My 6 yr old is a big SpongeBob fan, as is my 10 year old. They both have enjoyed this book over and over, even past the holiday.

My son LOVES this book. He had me read it to him several times in a row the first day then just about every night for weeks now. My son is at a level 2 reading & this is a good fit for him to read alone. Of course he still loves for me to read it to him.

Any kid will love this book. This book is so funny that you should not even think twice about buying it- it is a guaranteed hit! There is no doubt that you would not like this book.

I'm sharing this with my students. They will think it is great fun and will probably remember the cartoon.

Do you like building things? This book is about Bionicles. Bionicles are weird looking legos that you connect together. WIll the Bionicle Toa beat the evil Vakama? Maybe or maybe not. Read it to find out! Recommended for 8-13.

by
Marcus

If your tv's jammed and you really want to watch it your backup will always be your book. Bionicle Adventures #4: Legends of Metru Nui,has more lines than the movie. I read it more than 10 times and it never gets boring. It's like reading a movie. And it doesn't waste electricity for 1 hour and about 30 min. Great gift for girls and boys!

The book I'm reviewing is BIONICLE Adventures #4: Legends of Metru Nui by Greg Farshtey. It is based on a movie with a similar name. It is about six Matoran villagers of the island city, Metru Nui, that have been transformed into Toa, protectors of the island. They must figure out why so many Matoran are vanishing. They must also escape the Vahki enforcers and the Dark Hunters, Nidhiki and Krekka. I give this book four stars because I am very familiar with BIONICLE and have liked it for a while. There's also lots of action in the book. I would recommend this book to a friend.

Emerson, NJ, 5th grade student

Hi. My name is Nicholas (I feel I should express my first name)and I purchased this book. This is an AWESOME BOOK! It is based on the new Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui movie. I rate it 5 stars because well, it is such a cool book! This is a real great job for Greg Farshtey (writer).

From a true Bionicle fan, Nicholas

On the side, the eight pages of "Exclusive movie pictures" are not all movie pictures. The first 6 pictures (The first 3 pages) are regular Toa Metru pictures. Pages 4-8, though, are movie pictures.

I got a number of these books for my 4-year old nephew for his birthday, and he has absolutely loved reading them.

I purchased this book for my son (almost 4) and he loves it. He asks me to read this every night and also requested that I prepare the snacks from the book (they're actually healthy snacks and could help to influence picky eaters). This was a very good choice.

My son is 2 1/2 and love Blues Clues, so this book was a win. It is interactive: lifts & flaps, and searches for "blues clues." Very colorful and exciting for a young child.

Blue is having a snack party. All her friends are bringing snacks. We discover what each is by lifting flaps that show the ingredients and recipe with the finished dish underneath. These are healthy snacks made by Steve, Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, Mailbox, Tickety Tock, Shovel & Pail, and Magenta. In the meantime we help Steve solve Blue's Clues to discover what snack Blue will bring. A final picture of everyone with their snacks suggests the upcoming party will be festive indeed.

A nice addition to the Blue's books.

Poor Blue but he has a happy ending. My daughter loves Blue

I liked this book because of how it was just like on of the TV episodes. Like how they try to interact with you. Having you look for certian things on the page i thought it was really cute.

And she's been under the weather for a few days. She definitely is rather miserable and her friends in the Blue's Clues house have missed playing with her. They decide to try to help her out.

They have a lot of great ideas as to how they can help Blue. Shovel and Pail decide to give her a pretend checkup. it doesn't help cure her cold, but it's fun. Other idaes include hot soup and reading a story. With all this help, Blue actually starts to feel better.

The events of this story resemble the TV episode "Steve Has the Sniffles," except in this story, it's Blue that is sick. Either way, this is a wonderful and identifiable "Blue's Clues" story. This is book #9 in the "Blue's Clues" series.

My son *loves* this book!

Steve wants to see if Blue would like to come out and play, but Blue is still feeling under the weather. Nurse Shovel and Dr. Pail open up their pretend doctor bag, but they soon realize that this isn't going to help Blue feel better.

Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper get in on the action by offering to make Blue chicken soup. This story is interactive in that the child is asked to interpret the recipe card, point out what ingredients are needed, find the biggest bowl on the page, locate the orange cup, etc.

This is a brief book, but long enough to satisfy a child's desire for a bedtime story (without wearing Mom or Dad out!), as well as providing learning opportunities as Steve and the gang try to help Blue feel better.

This was a gift to one of my little cousins who is seven or eight and learning to read on his own. This is a fun filled book that even had me interested! I liked the fact that it was a big book so the words were easier for him to follow.

Thanks!

We just gave this book to my son for his 4th birthday. He was so excited. The book plays four different stories, and alerts him as to when to turn the pages. He went straight to bed so he could listen to it, and we didn't hear a peep out of him. He actually asked us to leave his room so he could listen to his book. He really loves this book, and it's a great value.

My son really enjoys listening to this CD. The voices are the same ones you hear on the show and the signal for turning the page is fairly clear. There are 4 stories in this book....they may not be the most interesting stories to me, but he seems to enjoy them. It's a great activity for him to do quietly on his own without my help.

My 4yr old son loves this book so much he took a nap with it! The character voices are the actual ones from the TV show. This was my son's first read-along book and he was able to follow along with the narration. I think this will help him with his reading. And, this book is a great deal because there are four stories in one book. I wish there were other Bob the Builder 4-in-1 story collections.

I was given a copy of this book by a friend, because i'm always nagging her about omens and synchronicity. I wasn't sure about the whole movie star angle at first, but as I started to read I found i could relate, to everything in this book and see the parallels in my own life. Forget about Harry Potter, real magic is right here in our daily lives and it doesn't take much training to start to see it... Great book! Also the DVD that came with the book is great fun, witches in New Orleans, more of a fantasy, than the book, but it was totaly fresh, better than the Craft or Practical Magic. (naughtier too)

If you are pursuing dreams in your life, this book is for you!

I found this book to be an excellent and refreshing read. The Hollywood stigma is that you either survive or die, and Jacobs definitely supports the theory that you can do-it-yourself. His amazing collection of work and insightful abilities to craft a good story are truly masterful.

READ THIS BOOK. BUY THIS BOOK. DELIGHT IN THIS BOOK.

...

Wow! What a fun read! It's smart, funny, inspiring, a quick read, everything you could expect from a great book! The book includes a special DVD of the author's cult film classic film Lucinda's Spell, starring Jon Jacobs and model Kristina Fulton. The DVD alone is worth the price of addmission, baby!

The book itself is wondrous. The DVD is just the icing on the already marvelous cake? So! Are you getting the impression I liked it? Mr. Jacobs has a new comedy called HEY DJ that's coming out soon. If it's half as good as this book HEY DJ will be the film to watch for this movie season!

The Book Of Omens: The Magical True Adventures Of A Self-Made Movie Star is the amazing autobiography of Jon Jacobs, a British-born actor who followed his own dreams to stardom and who has appeared in (or directed) over two dozen feature films. Jon's marvelous life and his deep belief in omens as signals from the universe itself to guide him to his ultimate destiny, mark this original, attention engaging, and reader enriching narrative. Enhanced with the inclusion of a 105-minute DVD of the movie "Lucinda's Spell", The Book Of Omens is truly exceptional and confidently recommended.

It is amazing how much fun information that the author has packed in this book!

This book is great! It's a perfect book for parties, car trips, etc. There are questions for everyone at all levels of Brady knowledge. It's so much fun watching others in angst as they desperately try to remember the answer to a question, and even more fun watching someone rushing to answer a question when they swear they don't remember much about the show! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Hilarious - I haven't watched the "Brady Bunch" in years, but I was a bit startled by the way it all came back after reading a few questions. Why do I remember this stuff? Why does the author? As absurd as it is, the memories of such a dumb TV show are great fun.

When I got this book I figured I knew every trivia question there was for the Brady's. I was wrong. Where did she come up with this stuff? There is so much detail in this book and it's organized in a way that makes it something you can browse or pass around for trivia questions. I was also impressed with how everything tied back to the episode with all the details from each show. A cool book for any Brady fan.