The Trouble With Angels (1966)

This is a great comedy about two reluctant girls, Mary and Rachel, who meet up and become best friends when they are sent to a convent school. Mary is a very head-strong, mischievous girl and comes up with several 'scathingly brilliant ideas' for her and Rachel to get up to and more often than not these escapades get them in trouble with mother superior. The girls are your average delinquents, skipping out on classes and trying to spice up an otherwise unpleasant experience, but they put their hearts into everything they do, which more often than not ends up in their scrubbing pots.

I guess one of the first things I'd like to say about this movie is that though it takes place in a convent, there's no more religion in it than there is in The Sound of Music. When I attempt to recommend this movie to people, the one who aren't religious don't want to watch it because they think it will be all about religion and the ones who are want to watch it for the same reason. But it's not a religious film at all. There's more focus placed on the trouble the girls get themselves into and the situations they're faced with than there is on this movie try to convert you. Yes they talk about God and how great religion is, but that's how society was back then, and many older films will have religious sentiments expressed... but unless you are very insecure about your own stance on morality, there is no reason to avoid an otherwise pleasant and comedic film.

Onto the film itself. I really enjoyed the characters. Mary was such a headstrong girl and was very reluctant to be sent to the school in the first place, but she never had any malicious thoughts or intentions about anybody. Her schemes that got both her and Rachel into trouble were only thought up out of boredom. She's one of those people in your life that will leave a mark on your memory. She's like a shooting star, a bright, energetic person who will always be proactive and optimistic no matter the situation. Rachel on the other hand was more of a follower, but was just as energetic and rebellious as Mary.

The film is a comedy, but is not slapstick humour, nor is it like present day cheesy Hannah Montana ish comedy either. It's more situational humour, like I Love Lucy. It's not all comedy either. There are a few serious moments, and actually one very sad moment that always makes me tear up. The scene when they're in the old folks home and Mary overhears mother superior consoling an old woman whose family won't be visiting her this Christmas. Gets me every time. But the serious moments make the funny moments that much funnier, and make the film over all that much more memorable.

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (1967)

This is a wonderful film about a couple, Joanna and John, who met on a trip to Hawaii and fell madly in love. It takes only ten days for them to realize that they are meant for each other and decide to marry within the month. The story begins as the couple leave the airport to meet with the Joanna's family. Normally this sort of whirlwind romance is pretty understandable, if somewhat unorthodox, but John is the perfect gentleman, kind, generous, handsome, etc. and the two are very much in love. The issue with the whole arrangement is that Joanna is white and John is black. After Joanna breaks this news to her parents, she invites John's parents over to what will most likely be an already very uncomfortable dinner. The six of them, plus a family friend and the family maid, all come together and make known their views on the issue, some for, some very much against. This is all fine and well, but the problem arises John telling Joanna's parents that if he did not have their approval he would not marry her, and Joanna's father is in no hurry to consent to their marriage.

I'm not up on my history, but I would imagine that this film touched on something of a controversial issue at the time it was released. Interracial marriages have become more accepted since then, but even today there are many people who think that when looking for a life partner, one should look within their own race. And that being the case, I thought that this film handled the issue in a very progressive yet delicate way. When Joey and John told their parents that they were to marry, not one of their parents was immediately happy. Their initial reaction was a sort of uncertain political correctness and then that evolved then later evolved into an actual emotion. Both of the mothers quickly come around to sympathize with their children and approve but the fathers were adamantly against the match. We essentially watch as different characters struggle with their sense of morality. All of the people in this film lived in a society that accepted such things (thought didn't necessarily want it to happen to their children) and therefore were forced to give an initial facade of hesitant, if somewhat forced, acceptance. Only after they had time to digest the situation do their true feelings come out, and whether for or against, all of the perspectives presented are conflicted by both convention and the well fare of the young couple.

Overall this is a great film. It's both controversial and feel-good at the same time. And Sidney Poitier is great.

Dragon's Milk by Susan Fletcher

Dragon's Milk (the first book in The Dragon Chronicles) is the story of a girl named Kaeldra who goes in search of dragon's milk to save her sister from a life threatening illness.

Kaeldra was something of a social outcast, even within her own home. She was adopted into the family and is of a race at war with the race of the family that took her in. She was different both in appearance and mannerisms from the other women in her village and family and because of her 'foreignness' was sometimes blamed behind her back for unfortunate events. Kaeldra was also the owner of green flecked eyes, and it was rumoured that people with green eyes could communicate with dragons, troublesome monsters that stole livestock and killed people.

Kaeldra's young sister Lyf comes down with a life threatening fever, and Grandmyr, the matriarch of the family, tells her that the only hope of a chance they have at saving her life would be to get her some dragon's milk. Grandmyr informs her that one of her own ancestors was also deathly ill and was left for dead at a cave, but after a dragon took pity on her and nursed her, she fully recovered, and received a pair of vibrant green eyes. So Kaeldra goes up the mountain near her home and in exchange for the milk, watches the dragon's children while she goes out to hunt. On one of these outings the mother gets killed by a dragon hunting party and the draclings are left in Kaeldra's care. She then goes on a quest to ensure that they are put into the care of another dragon before they too are slain.

This was a really good read. The writing was surprisingly intellectual for the age group (pre to early teen) and was truly a pleasure to get through. I thought that even though Kaeldra was a very unwilling heroine, she undertook her quest with bravery and strength and thankfully didn't whine her troubles away. This is the first book of a trilogy with a fourth novel soon coming out, and I have to say that this is one of the best dragon books I've read. All who love fantasy and adventure will surely fall in love with this book.

A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer

This a the true story of a boy growing up in an abusive household. The story begins with a series of interactions between an 11-year-old David an his school nurse and teachers, the latter of the two contact the police and have David taken away from his abusive single mother, to a children's home.

The beginning of the book, as if to contrast the introduction, paints the picture of a happy family. He tells the reader how wonderful his mother was (specifically mother because she was the one who later abused him) and how close knit and loving the family had been. His mother, though a little bit of a clean freak, was the glue that held the family together. She was very knowledgeable and was an active sort of person, taking her sons out on field trips, family vacations, was a wonderful cook, and so on. As the years go on however, she begins to change. David's father was a fireman and because of that was sometimes away from home doing a 24 hour shift. In this time David's mother started to act a little bit differently when his father wasn't home. She would sit in front of the tv all day drinking alcohol and would more and more often refer to David as being a 'bad boy' and give him a punishment, seemingly for no reason. As the years progress these 'punishments' get worse and worse. David is starved for most of this book by his mother. She will go to great lengths to see that he does not eat, and if he does she punishes him. She made him drink cleaning liquids, made him stand or sit in one place for long periods of time until she said he could move. She accidentally stabs him at one point, and beats him almost every day. She would also play these games with him, like if he could finish his assigned chores within the allotted time slot, he could eat. He lives a life of unimaginable pain and torture, and no one in his family does anything to help him.

This book isn't in the biography section of the books store, but can actually be found under psychology. Though child abuse does deserve psychological treatment, recounting the experience of such is more of a biographical account than it is a psychological one, and indeed, you can find many other stories like this one in the biography section of your local book store. I think this book is classified as psychology not so much because of David's experience or his mother's (though both are worthy subjects) but more because of his father and his brothers and the neighbours and extended family. The people who knew what was happening to him and either stayed silent, or joined in. The mother was the head of the household. She was a very strong- willed individual and what she said was pretty much happened, and when she started picking on David, his father just sort of stood back and let it happen. From the book's account, the father was a timid man and couldn't really hold his own in an argument, a pushover in the bad sense. While he didn't agree with what was happening to David, instead of changing it he just snuck David food scraps or helped him with the dishes. The father may not have known the extent to which the mother abused David, as she seemed to act nicer when he was home, but at one point in the book he sat and watched as his son ate a half digested hot dog his mother had forced him to throw up earlier. The brothers also behaved disgustingly. David had several brothers, and despite his treatment, they apparently lived the life of normal boys. The first half of the book they merely ignored what their mother was doing to him and welcomed him if he was allowed to play that day, if not they didn't look at him as they weren't allowed to. Closer to the end of the book they start to bully him as their mother did. They would hit him, step on him, make fun of him, etc. It's really disgusting to think that those boys are somewhere in the world right now. The neighbours couldn't have known the details of the situation, but just his appearance or his behaviour would have been cause for concern. It's like that case with Kitty Genovese, the girl who was stabbed to death outside of her apartment with something like 38 witnesses who did nothing to help her.

Despite this very rough beginning however, Dave says at the end of the book that he has moved past all of this and has come to enjoy life very much. He is obviously doing very well for himself, and who else could deserve a worldwide best-seller more than this man. He has two other books documenting the chapters of his life after the events in this book.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)

I really enjoyed this movie. It's been a while since I have enjoyed a movie in theaters this much.

Scott Pilgrim is your average 20-something lay about. He lives with his roommate Wallace in Toronto and is dating a chinese high school girl named Knives Chow (whom he is dating because a painful breakup he had a year ago). So all is normal in Scott's life until he starts having these weird dreams about a girl with short hair, which isn't so distressing as we're all prone to dreams. But when he sees this girl in the library and discovers that she's real, he begins obsessing over her and can't stop thinking about her. He sees her again at a party and discovers that she works as a delivery girl for amazon, so goes home to order a package. When she delivers it he asks her if she would consider going out on a date with him, and she concedes. When he gets home he receives a mysterious letter that he disregards. Scott is in a band and they are entered in a battle of the bands. When they go up to play their set, the band is interrupted by an attack from a guy who wants to fight Scott. He informs Scott that if he wants to date Ramona Flowers, the mysterious girl, he will first have to defeat her 7 evil exes, of which he is the first.

The movie was presented like it was a video game. There were video game sound effects, special effects that mimicked video game special effects, after he would defeat the exes they would explode into money (when you play a video game you can sometimes loot a boss for money) and at the end of the movie they copied an arcade game they played earlier in the film. Making this movie hugely relatable and enjoyable to anyone who plays video/ computer/ electronic games.

I initially thought Michael Cera was too wimpy to play Scott, as he was way more hyper-active and hilariously spastic in the comic, but he did a pretty good job. There were a lot of small details that you'd have to re-watch the movie to catch (I've only seen it once so I'm sure there are lots that I've missed) but for example when he walks into the club for the final battle there are two people talking about the comic book and the movie. I sense a cult classic.

Marigold and the Feather of Hope: The Journey Begins by J.H. Sweet

This is the first book in a delightful series for young readers about fairies.

This book is about a young girl named Beth who is going to spend some time with her eccentric aunt, and she is not looking forward to it one little bit. When she gets there however, her aunt informs her that the both of she and Beth are fairies! Beth has the spirit of a flower fairy in her, and her flower is the marigold, making her a marigold fairy. So after Beth transforms into her fairy form and meets other fairies and gets her very own wand. All of the flower fairies have a wand made out of something different and Beth's is a pussy willow branch. All is going well and Beth is just beginning to learn how to be a fairy when she hears that the brownies have lost the feather of hope, the source of all hope, to the gremlins. Beth, must figure out how to be a fairy as well as her special ability (because in these books each of the fairies have a different ability) while she goes after the feather. She has the help of some new friends and convinces her dog, Peanut, to help out as well.

I thought that this book was a fresh take on an old idea. The author keeps the reader's attention throughout the story and created interesting and dynamic characters in such a short time.

What is also great about these books is at the end of the story there is a little fact section dedicated to talking about some of the things in the book. For example there may be an explanation of certain mythological character or tradition, or it might discuss a certain plant or animal, or a holiday. Each book has something different at the back. Definitely worth looking into.

I Dream Dragon

I have loved dragons all my life. Here are some fictional books that have enhanced my love and have helped to paint the world in which they live.

Harper Hall of Pern Trilogy - Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, Dragondrums- great trilogy about a young girl who lives in a place where music is forbidden to girls and dragons are only for dragon riders, until one day she runs away from home and stumbles upon a clutch of small dragons that bond with her.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles- Dealing with Dragons, Seaching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons, Talking to Dragons- amazing series about a princess who was captured by a dragon... and doesn't want to be rescued. Instead she befriends the dragon and they go off on adventures. The old covers look so much better than the new ones.

The Dragons Chronicles- Dragon's Milk, Flight of the Dragons Kyn, Sign of the Dove - a collection of books about girls who can speak with dragons in a time when dragons are being hunted down and killed. These girls try to save the dragons.

Song in the Silence - story about a young woman who falls in love with a dragon. Not as cheesy as it sounds.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader- chronicles of Narnia. book 5. One of the selfish children gets turned into a dragon.

The Ice Dragon- story about a girl who loves the cold and because of her inhuman tolerance and love of it, creates a bond with the legendary ice dragon.

The Book of Dragons- great collection of short stories by E. Nesbit, a classic children's author.

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher- a young boy escapes some bullies by running into a magic shop and comes out with a dragon egg.

How to Train Your Dragon- story about a viking boy who isn't very good at being a viking, but his strange dragon training techniques may just save his town.

Kira (Shadow of the Dragon)- after the capture of their family, two sisters befriend a dragons and go about fulfilling a prophecy about bring down an unwelcome kingdom.

Dragon Slippers- Taking a few notes from Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles, this is a story about a girl whose aunt offers her to the local dragon so that a prince will come to save and marry her. When the prince comes she blows him off and goes her own way, but takes a pair of shoes from the dragon's cave. She meets with another dragon later on and befriends it.

Dragon's Blood- boy tries to train a dragon

Dragonhaven- boy takes care of a dragon. Not as good as her other books, but not horrible.

The Paper Bag Princess - classic story book about a princess who goes off to save her prince from a dragon. After she outwits the dragon and saves him however, she realizes that he's not worth the trouble and leaves him in the dust. All of his stories are better when you hear him read them, so look up the audio... it might be on his website.

Tell Me A Dragon- This book doesn't really have a plot, it is more a collection of different people saying what kind of dragon they have, and by dragon I would assume they mean imagination. It goes through many different kinds of dragons, fire breathers, ice dragons, big dragons, etc. and is more a kind of book to inspire you to take pride in your own imagination than it is taking you through someone else's.

Eragon- farm boy finds a dragon egg and forms a bond with the dragon when it hatches, they go on adventures.

Dragonheart- Great movie about a dragon who gives his heart to save the life of a prince.. and it backfires. Two words. Sean Connery.

Pete's Dragon- An orphan and his dragon friend, who is invisible unless he so chooses, meets a nice lighthouse keeper and his daughter.

Oh My Teacher

These are some movies I like that either take place in a class room or are about teaching or passing on information.

To Sir, With Love

Dead Poet's Society

The Emperor's Club

Finding Forrester

Mr. Holland's Opus

Dangerous Minds

High School High

Take the Lead

Anne of Green Gables- The Sequel

GTO - Great Teacher Onizuka- there's also a live action drama for this

Karate Kid

Freedom Writers

Blackboard Jungle

Lean On Me

Coach Carter

The Great Debaters

Akeelah and the Bee

Accepted

The Principal

The Substitute

Teachers

Misunderstood Minds