May in movies and books

To sum up my month of May, here is a list of the movies I've watched and books I've read this month.......first of all, the movies:

The Changeling
Two lovers
Reign over me
Rachel getting married
Earth
State of Play
Everest: Beyond the limits
Elegy
Love song for Bobby Long

I think my favorite of these was The Changeling. I am a little biased by this one however, as it was one I watched on a plane, coming back from England. For some reason, I always seem to cry on planes - usually to the movies I watch - but occasionally to the books I'm reading. Well, the Changeling was my movie on the plane, so naturally I cried - I think my eyes just get dry and so need that moisture! Thus I remember it well and it was quite emotional.....all about a mother losing her son and being given another boy instead and her having to fight to prove he wasn't her son! I do recommend it. Angelina Jolie is great in it.

I also enjoyed Everest - Beyond the Limits. Actually, "enjoyed" is not the best word to describe it. It follows the journey of several men hoping to climb Everest, including a double amputee. It is astonishing to watch what they go through - mainly in terms of dealing with the number of other climbers up there.....At some stages, it's like waiting in line at Disney or at the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa! Totally shocking. Many surprises in this - and a real eye opener. It's a six part series - there is also subsequent seasons which I haven't seen yet but they don't get as good a review as this first one.....

The other one worthy of mention is "State of Play". I first watched the BBC 6 part mini series of this - and absolutely loved it. I was bound to, as Bill Nighy was in it - and I always love spending an evening with him! It was a bit flabby in places and could have been edited down to 4 hours instead of 6...but I was curious to see how the movie would be with Helen Mirram instead of Bill - and only 2 hours! The movie was fine - but I'd recommend the BBC version!


I only finished one book this month and it was "We need to talk about Kevin" by Lionel Shriver. I finished this book on the plane too - so yes, there were tears! It is a tough book - written about a fictional school massacre. It is written from the perspective of the mother of the killer, in the first person, as the mother writing letters to her husband, trying to understand why their son did this and what was her role in it all and was she to blame. A fascinating book. I had bought this book a few years ago and it had sat on my shelf gathering dust. Then one day I decided to donate some old books to the library for their sale. So this book got put in the box and in the trunk of my car to be "donated" the next day. That evening, I was reading a friend's new blog that she just started that day, and on her sidebar, she listed that her favorite book of all time was "we need to talk about Kevin"!!! So how could I give it away now, without reading it!!! So - I grabbed it back and I'm so glad I did. It's a toughie -but worth reading.

So what did you watch or read this month? Give me some recommendations for June......