Morning Glory

Hey what can I say, this movie actually didn't suck as much as I thought it would, after seeing its trailer. And for a person who has no tolerance what so ever, when it comes to romantic comedies, I quite enjoyed Morning Glory. It's not that it had a great story line, or incredibly funny parts that made me laugh out loud, it was because it lacked sappy romanticism, gooey and clichéd scripts and the fact that it had some reality injected into the story, was what made the movie believable and gave audiences a chance to root for the lead actress, Rachel McAdams.

Becky Fuller is a headstrong, 'i-have-no-life-what-so-ever' workaholic. Her entire life revolves around her work, and nothing more. In fact, she likes working so much, and is so desperate to not be without a job, that she doesn't even mind moving miles away from a quiet suburban neighborhood to a noisy, smack-in-the-middle-of-the-city-apartment for a chance at a new career. Oh, yeah … Becky gets fired in the beginning of the movie (when she actually was expecting a promotion) and is later hired by Jerry Barnes (Jeff Goldblum) as a producer for a morning 'news' talk show called Daybreak. Little does she know however, that Daybreak is on the verge of being closed down and replaced by reality TV shows. So Becky goes on a mission to safe the talk show and does everything possible, in or out of her capacity, and far from expectations, to keep the ratings up.

In the meantime she also deals with firing one of the news anchors and hiring the new guy, who literally turns out to be the world's third worst person (Harrison Ford). Oh boy … I'm not sure how Mr. Ford felt about playing this role. Somehow, to me it seemed like the character he played in Morning Glory, could also have been the way he felt about being asked to play in a romantic comedy with not so great ratings like this one. It was a tad weird seeing Ford in such a role after seeing him play in action roles like he always has. Of course he delivered a wonderful performance and his character play was magnificent, still it was rather amusing coupled with a handful of weirdness to see Ford in this role.

Morning Glory is like a TV series threaded together and made into a movie. The good news is that it brought a delightful blend of humor and empathy, thus making the flick more watchable than you'd think. The bad news however is that it ends as the movie ends, and there's no continuation, as it leaves you with a feeling of wanting more, or wondering, “Hey, I wonder what happens in the next episode.”

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

This book is a literary classic. It has been used in so many schools, colleges and universities. Written with such passion, humor and tenderness, this book takes you on a journey of endearing adventures of two children, seen mostly through the eyes of a 6 year old, Jean Louise Finch, better known as Scout.

The tale is about Scout and her brother Jem’s (Jeremy Finch) little adventures throughout their childhood. The children meet another character, an out-of-towner called Dill, who quite often tells tall tales that are sometimes bought and sometimes not bought by Jem and Scout. Later in the story, Dill who acts completely differently towards Scout when her brother is around and the complete opposite when they are alone promises to marry Scout someday, leaving the girl even more confused. The three however go on wild adventures together, meet interesting and mysterious characters, and encounter more than one miss adventure having them end up in either trouble, or simply hilarious results.

The story is told during the era before the Civil Rights, where the discussion of racial prejudice takes control in almost every situation. Through the inquisitive mind of Scout Finch we follow a story full of racism, rights and wrongs, heart ache and growing up to fit in a world with very little justice. We soon come to the heart of the story, where a black man called Tom Robinson is convicted of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, daughter of Bob Ewell. Tom Robinson’s case is then defended by Atticus Finch.

Atticus Finch is the unsung hero of the entire novel and the father of Jem and Scout, who struggles to bring his two children up, trying to protect them from what the world really is, answering their questions carefully, not to lie and mislead their little minds. He is admired by some, and sneered by others, but remains a hero in the eyes of both his son and daughter.

The story is often funny, sweet and heart wrenching. I laughed, and cried all at the same time. It is a must read and a must told story for generations and generations to come.