The Crossing Places - An archaeologist dream

The crossing places by Elly Griffiths is a murder mystery about the disappearance of a little girl 10 years ago.  When some human bones are found, Detective Chief Inspector Nelson looks for help in identifying these bones.  He solicits the help of Dr. Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist who lives near the salt marsh where the bones were found for help.  When she finds that the bones go back to the Iron Age, Nelson and Galloway start to unravel and try to put the pieces of this puzzle together when another little girl goes missing.  The Crossing Places is the first book in this series.  Griffiths skillfully takes you into the world of archaeology and puts in a lot of little twists and turns on the way to solve this mystery.  I highly recommend it.  I couldn't put the book down.

Blind Justice - An unusual judge

This book by Bruce Alexander was a surprising  find.  I never heard of this author and then found out that he died in 2003.  Blind Justice is the first in a Sir John Fielding series.  The setting is in London in 1768 when a thirteen year old child named Jeremy Proctor ends up in the court of Sir John Fielding because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  However, Sir John, the founder of the Bow Street Runners and who is also blind finds an  intelligent young lad in Proctor and allows him to work for him.  When a man's body is found in a locked room dead, Sir John asks Proctor to be his "eyes" for him.  The police first suspect suicide until the man's wife says that her husband has been murdered.  Now Sir John and young Proctor need to not only find out how the person got into the room but who did it and why.  These two "men" find out more about themselves when they work together to solve this suicide/murder.  Mr. Alexander has a way of putting you right in the setting of the time and keeps you wanting more.  This reviewer finished this book in two days.  Great series to get into if you like murder mysteries. The writing world lost a talented and expressive historical fiction author.

The Good Earth - China back to basics

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck is a classic and detailed story about a man named Wang Lang and his quest for wealth, peace and happiness during the pre-revolutionary time period in China.  In this story, Wang Lang is a determined young man who realizes the importance of land and family.  He is driven throughout his lifetime and maintains this attitude throughout the book.  O-Lan through her tragic and humble beginnings is the support that binds their family through good and bad times.  Ms. Buck took a beautiful country and its people and made it accessible to America. The way she describes the detail of the land and its people at a time of devastation made it hard for this reviewer to put the book down. Many Asian writers get wrapped up in the culture of their people then the actual story of the characters.  Buck holds on to the integrity of the characters and the country in which she lived and was able to honor this in her novel.  If you read The Good Earth years ago, it's time to read it again and if you have never read it, it is a wonderful book to start.

Hannah - revenge at it's best

Hannah, played by Saoirse Ronan was wonderful.  I like the fact that not only did she play a foreigner but she looked so European as well.  It just made the movie more authentic in my eyes.  The story about a genetically produced child trained to protect herself because she becomes too dangerous to have around anymore.  Hanna is taught through books and fairy tales and wants to get out and experience all she has learned.  She finds out things that make her more dangerous and sad and gives you a feeling that revenge can be sweet.  Eric Bana, who plays her father surprised me with his acting abilities in this movie.  There wasn't that much in the way of dialogue but he was threatening in stature.  Cate Blanchett played a tough selfish agent bent on keeping what she had done for her country and herself secret.  This story is not an "original" story but the acting and the closeup shots were incredible.  I wish there were more shots showing the scope of the countries they shot in, but you can't have anything.

Sucker Punch - Punchless...

The movie Sucker Punch is a fantasy based cgi movie that takes a young girl (baby doll's) life which is tragic and pitiful and is supposed to remove her from her unfortunate circumstances and give her a chance at happiness.  The story gets lost when she goes into this fantasy world kicking butt with her new found friends.  Things start to become complicated when she realizes that this journey is not only about her. The graphics in this movie was terrific, but the story fell short in what it was trying to accomplish.  Too bad the writers or the director didn't work as hard on the direction and the story or give the talented actors  much to work with as they did putting in the time to get the graphics right.

Rango - not a child's story

This animated film starring Johnny Depp started off a little confusing but you eventually realized he was entertaining himself while riding in the back of his owner's car. The story becomes too self-absorbed and too long. Graphic designers and animators will go crazy with the special effects which was absolutely beautiful. However looking at it as a story, it just missed the mark. The analogy was, "why did the chicken cross the road, to get to the other side" and what he finds helps him, helps his new friends and their lives. ILM can learn a thing or two about strong story telling from Disney and Pixar. Johnny Depp is one of my favorite actors and even with his tremendous talent, he could not save this film.

Source Code - a surprising good story

This reviewer went to see Source Code thinking it would be another movie about a heroic unknown citizen saving a train.  Boy...was I wrong.  It was like Inception and Quatum Leap with a twist.  It was a very engaging and thought provoking movie.  Jake Gyllenhaal has impressed me with his talent and he is a joy to watch in this movie.  The story is about a man who has 8 minutes to change a devastating disaster from happening.  Throughout the course of the movie, his motivations change and thereby comes the interesting twist to the movie.  Source Code is highly recommended to see.