CityView Magazine

38 November 2023 GOOD READS BOOKS TO MOVIES: Can we talk? BY DIANE PARFITT O ne of the great things to do over the holidays is to go to the movies. And I mean actually go to a movie theater, eat popcorn and candy along with a big drink, and watch a newly released movie. I do not mean sitting at home! I do mean the ambiance of a real movie theater with a real big screen and all the yummy junk food. Yes, I know, movies have become expensive and streaming at home is a lot cheaper. But for goodness' sake, treat yourself to the real thing once and a while. No one is going to find that Ziplock baggie filled with popcorn and a candy bar in your purse. If you think I am an advertisement for the "big screen," then OK, I confess. I love going to the movies at a theater almost as much as I love reading books. So here are a few of the recent movies adapted from books. But read the book first and be the judge of which you like best. 1. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON by David Grann (theater) Grann tells the little-known story of the Osage Reign of Terror in Oklahoma, which lasted from 1921 to 1926. e Osage Indian reservation sat on top of one of the largest oil deposits in the country. Once that oil was discovered, members of the tribe with a share of the mineral rights became some of the wealthiest people in the United States. To regain control, the federal government deemed the Osage to be "incompetent" and forced tribe members into guardianships, thus taking away access to their own money. As more white people learned of the Osages' wealth, they became enraged with envy and resorted to trickery, cruelty, and outright murder to inherit their fortunes. At least 20 members of the tribe were murdered in cold blood for their shares of oil money. Grann also presents an excellent story of the beginnings of the FBI when the U.S. government sends agents to find out what is going on. e movie promises to be an exciting telling of this terrific book. 2. ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr (Netflix) One of the most popular World War II novels in the past few years, "All the Light We Cannot See," centers around Marie- Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl, and Werner Pfennig, a bright German boy. Marie-Laure learns to navigate her world thanks to the persistence of her father, who builds a model of Paris to help her learn her way around. Werner grows up in an orphanage and learns to build radios and listens to broadcasts from around the world. He eventually is accepted into military school because of his skills with radio technology. When Paris is invaded by the Nazis, Marie-Laure takes refuge in her uncle's home in Saint-Malo and eventually crosses paths with Werner. e author imbues both characters with a great deal of humanity and shows how they lean on each other and their own inner strengths to survive the horrors of war. 3. LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmin (Apple TV) When chemistry major Elizabeth Zott is rejected from a doctoral program, she goes to work at the Hastings Research Institute. Probably the smartest chemist in the lab, she still faces prejudice by the male- dominated department. Aer several years with no chance of promotion, she quits and begins working at home, where she is oen sought out by the chemists from her former job for help with their research. Her love for cooking is eventually noticed by a local TV producer, who offers her a job as a cooking show host. Elizabeth turns her cooking show into a lesson in chemistry that drives the TV producer nuts at first, until he realizes how much the audience adores it. 4. THE COLOR PURPLE by Alice Walker (theater release Dec. 25) e new "e Color Purple" differs from the 1985 Steven Spielberg movie in a number of ways. e cast is obviously different — sorry, no Oprah. Instead, the 2023 version will bring many fresh faces to the story. Also, this adaptation is based on the Broadway play, and it is a musical. Still, like the 1985 version, it is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Set in the 1930s in rural Georgia, the story follows Celie, an African American teenager who is poor, uneducated, and a victim of abuse by her father. She begins 2 1 3 5 6 4 LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND

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