Tags
American Hustle, Amy Adams, books, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Elin Hilderbrand, ensemble cast, escape, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Kate Morton, Kimberly McCreight, movie, secrets
The first movie of 2014 for me was American Hustle. Besides the hair, makeup, & clothes (way to go costume & makeup people – two thumbs up) the ensemble cast makes this movie. Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, & Jeremy Renner – did anyone doubt this would be a good movie?!? This is a story of con artists getting caught, working a con for the FBI, and finally conning their way out of a bad situation. This won’t make my top ten list (even for 2014) but everyone did a great job in their roles and was fun to watch.
The first three books I finished in 2014 were Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand, Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight and The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton.
Beautiful Day was recommended by a fellow reader (one of the books her book club had recently read). It was a good easy read and highlighted the struggles and bonds of one family. Elin Hilderbrand is a new author to me, but I enjoyed her writing enough that I plan to read more. I really liked the descriptions and introduction to Nantucket (I’m adding it to my list of places I want to visit).
I really enjoyed Reconstructing Amelia! Amelia dies in the beginning and her death is ruled a suicide, but her mom isn’t sold on it. She begins to “reconstruct” her daughter’s life after receiving an anonymous text saying Amelia didn’t jump. Many secrets are revealed as the mom gets to know her daughter better. The author does a good job incorporating texts, Facebook, and emails into this puzzle making her search more believable.
The Secret Keeper was a little slow at the beginning (for me), but definitely worth finishing. Time is split between current day (2011) and early 40s (during WWII) with flashbacks to specific times in the characters’ lives. Many secrets are revealing and I definitely didn’t see the end coming.
All in all not a bad start to 2014. I’m looking forward to reading, watching, and escaping often.