Movies

Pearl Harbor
By Margaret
It seems a little late for me to give my take on this Titanic-wannabe, but due to all of its hype as the ‘summer blockbuster event’, I thought I’d go ahead.
Pretty-boy Ben Affleck stars as Rafe McCawley, a cocky, talented pilot, and the wonderfully under-stated Josh Hartnett is his best friend, Danny Walker. Since all is going wonderfully and the movie has a few months to kill before the attack, romance must make its entrance to satisfy the vast teeny-bopper crowd that this film is sure to draw.
Enter Evelyn Stewart (Kate Beckinsale), a Navy nurse. After a little bantering with Rafe and an embarrassingly corny incident with a needle and vaccine, Evelyn and Rafe fall in love. It is here that I begin shifting in my seat and checking my watch, realizing how long this movie is.
While the love triangle sets up for a good 105 minutes of the film, we are allowed brief snippets of the Japanese and of those in Washington at the time. Thankfully, the Japanese are not portrayed as the shallow, one-dimensional enemy. They are given faces. They are shown as laying out military strategy. Jon Voight is excellent as FDR, though I didn’t realize it was Voight in the wheelchair until a later scene in Rose Garden.
Other small treats in this washed-up flick are the performances of Alec Baldwin as Doolittle, Cuba Gooding Junior as Dorie Miller, and Mako as Yamamoto. Having read a book on the Doolittle mission several months before this film came out, I was able to recall what would come next after the bombing, as the US begins to lay out plans for revenge.
The drama does not begin until later in the movie, so I suggest you bring a good book and a pair of night-vision goggles for the first half.
Bottom Line? Go rent ‘Saving Private Ryan’ if you want a good World War II story.

Books

The Witness (Sandra Brown)
By Jen
Kendall Deaton is a successful public defender in a small South Carolina town, married to one of the most influential young men. The book begins with Kendall dragging herself out of a submerged car with her infant son and a man she identifies as her husband to local law enforcement. What comes next is an intriguing web of evil, secrets and power, and Kendall has to do all she can to keep herself and her child safe.
This was the first Sandra Brown book I have read, and she was a popular romance novelist for many years, which initially turned me off her books. Recently she's been delving into more of a romance/mystery/adventure vein, and this book is a great combination of all those genres. Brown manages to weave a convincing tale of a woman who knows too much, plagued by secrets and the need to protect her son.
The romantic aspects of the book may turn off readers who aren't interested in the genre, but it's worth it to stay with the book, as the intriguing plot and interesting characters are enough to stand out beyond that. Kendall herself remains a closed off protagonist, which makes her very interesting throughout the entire book. I recommend The Witness to anyone that wants a more mature read, and is ready for a wild and exciting adventure.


Television

Awaiting a television review from another writer.