Seeing the Story – Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Poster for film: Killers of the Flower Moon | Movie Poster Source: IMDb.com

Seeing the Story/ Review of Book to Screen Adaptation

Released in 2023.

All screen adaptations will be referred to in the following format “Title (Date).”

4.75/5 When I read Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI in 2021 as my Oklahoma entry in the Across the U.S.A. Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC), it thrilled me to anticipate the screen adaptation in the capable hands of Martin Scorsese. By the way, I highly recommend both the book and film to Gnomies taking on the Regional U.S.A. (RUSA) Tour SRC and seeking a book set in Oklahoma. So, when Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) hit theaters, I soon set aside the time to view it on the large screen.

Click here to read my SBR of David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon.

Click here to learn more about the SRC Regional U.S.A. (RUSA) Tour.

“When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one – until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.” – IMDb.com

After Scorsese introduced the film, I fell under the spell of Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). The scene where the Osage discovered oil at the beginning almost left me teary-eyed. It pleased me that Scorsese ultimately chose to focus on the plight and tragedy of Mollie Burkhart and her relatives rather than FBI’s perspective. Lily Gladstone portrayed Mollie much the way I imagined her while reading Grann’s book. Both DiCaprio and De Niro became Ernest Burkhart and his uncle, William “King” Hale, respectively.

I must say that Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) isn’t for the faint of heart. The atrocities suffered by the Osage are shown in this film. Click here for the MPAA info page regarding Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).

Just a caveat, though, this film lasts nearly 3 ½ hours. Also, bear in mind that De Niro portrays a character who was 45 years old.

I will probably watch this again… and perhaps post additional thoughts.

Quotes come from description on IMDb and are featured on color blocks. Click here to access this webpage.

Seeing the Story – Callie Khouri’s Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)

Poster for film: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood | Movie Poster Source: Wikipedia

Seeing the Story/ Review of Book to Screen Adaptation

Released in 2002.

All screen adaptations will be referred to in the following format “Title (Date).”

4/5 Just a week ago, I posted my Starlight Book Review (SBR) of Rebecca Wells’ Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, a book I read twenty years after I saw the screen adaptation which it inspired. While the film factored into my opinions while reading the book, I felt my memory of the Callie Khouri’s Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) movie somewhat faded enough to separate the two. Of course, I recently re-watched the film in planning for this post <smile>.

Click here to read my SBR of Rebecca Wells’ Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

Click here to learn more about the Back in the Day SRC.

“Siddalee Walker (Sandra Bullock), a famous New York City playwright, is quoted in Time Magazine and infuriates her dramatic, Southern mother. A long-distant fight wages until her mother’s friends (and members of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood) kidnap Siddalee and take her “home” to the South, where they hope to explain her mother’s history and to patch up the rift between mother and daughter.”—kzmckeown

I enjoyed watching Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002). I felt Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, and the rest of the cast made their respective characters and roles their own. Both the book and the film possessed the same flavor, somewhat of a neighbor to my own experience with the chief setting of Louisiana. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) stands quite well on its own but reading Wells’ book enriched my second viewing of the film. With that being said, my brain accepts that changes in adaptations must happen but my heart ached at these plot alterations. As to not spoil too much here, I only mention the one where Vivi’s Ya-Yas come up to New York City to “bring” Siddalee down to her hometown at the beginning of the film. So, for this and other switches in the plot, I knocked off a star in my rating.

Quotes come from description on IMDb and are featured on color blocks. Click here to access this webpage.

Seeing the Story – Errol Morris’ A Brief History of Time (1991)

Poster for film: A Brief History of Time | Movie Poster Source: Wikipedia

Seeing the Story/ Review of Book to Screen Adaptation

Released in 1991.

All screen adaptations will be referred to in the following format “Title (Date).”

3.7/5 Last week, I shared my Starlight Book Review (SBR) of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. As I strategized my reading for the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC), I noticed a screen adaptation of sorts of A Brief History of Time existed. Then, I read that Errol Morris’ A Brief History of Time (1991) not only talked of Hawking’s book but focused on Hawking himself. I also seized the chance to watch and review a documentary on my blog.

Click here to read my SBR of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time.

Click here to learn more about the Back in the Day SRC.

“A film about the life and work of the cosmologist, Stephen Hawking, who despite his near total paralysis, was one of the great minds of all time.” (IMDb) … “Unlike the book, this film is really an anecdotal biography of Stephen Hawking. Clips of his lectures, interviews with friends and family and a little physics are thrown together.”—Jim Sadur <jsadur@keyflux.com>

I nearly considered bestowing A Brief History of Time (1991) with more than one rating. Approaching this as a biographical documentary about Hawking, I felt Morris deserved more stars. I appreciated learning about Hawking’s stellar life (please forgive the pun) and how Hawking and others viewed him. As an adaptation, though, A Brief History of Time (1991) seemed lacking. I enjoyed the visuals but felt this worked better as a short film rather than a ninety minute or so back and forth between Hawking’s life and this particular book.

Quotes come from description on IMDb and are featured on color blocks. Click here to access this webpage.

Seeing the Story – Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980)

The Shining Behind the Scenes Movie Poster is a mixed media by Martin Rois which was uploaded on March 31st, 2021 centered on a light turquoise background | Movie Poster Source: FineArtAmerica

Seeing the Story/ Review of Book to Screen Adaptation

Released by Warner Brothers in 1980

All screen adaptations will be referred to in the following format “Title (Date).”

4.2/5 I recently posted my Starlight Book Review (SBR0 Stephen King’s The Shining as my “Back in the 1970s” Book for the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC) in anticipation of watching a screen adaptation. Mostly due to availability and recommendations from others, I chose Stanley Kubrick’s movie The Shining (1980) featuring unforgettable performances by Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, and the young Danny Lloyd.

Click here to read my SBR of Stephen King’s The Shining.

Click here to learn more about the Back in the Day SRC.

“Haunted by a persistent writer’s block, the aspiring author and recovering alcoholic, Jack Torrance, drags his wife, Wendy, and his gifted son, Danny, up snow-capped Colorado’s secluded Overlook Hotel after taking up a job as an off-season caretaker. As the cavernous hotel shuts down for the season, the manager gives Jack a grand tour, and the facility’s chef, the ageing Mr Hallorann, has a fascinating chat with Danny about a rare psychic gift called “The Shining”, making sure to warn him about the hotel’s abandoned rooms, and, in particular, the off-limits Room 237. However, instead of overcoming the dismal creative rut, little by little, Jack starts losing his mind, trapped in an unforgiving environment of seemingly endless snowstorms, and a gargantuan silent prison riddled with strange occurrences and eerie visions. Now, the incessant voices inside Jack’s head demand sacrifice. Is Jack capable of murder?—Nick Riganas“

As with King’s book, I also prepared for The Shining (1980) to scare me silly. Yet, I felt the mental pictures I formed while reading The Shining more frightening than the film. Yes, I was on edge and a bit anxious as I watched the movie but I didn’t flinch as much as I expected. Nicholson easily dominated his scenes in this film with his electrifying performance. I still liked Hallorann as portrayed by the charming and seemingly affable Crothers. I found some of the changes necessary — Danny showing the audience that he and the invisible Tony were talking by moving his finger being one — I wished for a little more adherence in other spots. A few things, such as more about the horrific topiary and more of Hallorann’s struggle and outcome, deserved more air time. I do realize that the former might be due to the limitations of special effects in 1980 but The Shining (1980) could have somehow nodded more to this. On its own, The Shining (1980) excels as a film but… I ultimately preferred the book I read for the SRC.

Quotes come from description on IMDb and are featured on color blocks. Click here to access this webpage.

Starlight Book Review – Stephen King’s The Shining

Cover of The Shining by Stephen King centered on a dark blue-green background | Cover Image Source: Goodreads

Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 1970s

Published 1977

4.25/5 I determined to return to adult literature for my 1970s entry for the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC). Still, I wanted to read something a little different from my usual fare and I chose a book from the Horror genre. While I have read several books by Stephan King, a few of his Horror books even, I had yet to read The Shining.

“Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote…and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.”

I must note that one reason it took me several months to read The Shining was that I had to check in the book several times. Another would be that it was scary enough that I restricted my reading to certain times of day. King’s an amazing writer, providing evocative descriptions of characters and settings. I especially liked Dick Hallorann and I greatly cared about what happened to Danny Torrance. Several other characters were empathetic, too. I took off a partial star, though, for some of the rough parts, (yes, I know that this is definitely Horror) and an abundance of gratuitous details (again, I know). Will I read Doctor Sleep, the next in the series? Maybe after I read some lighter, cozier books. Still, I get why Stephen King reigns supreme. Also, I appreciated being able to step out of my reading comfort zone for this SRC.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Seeing the Story – Marcus Cole’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1995)

Cover of the 2000 DVD release the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler in the center of a brown background | Cover Image Source: Wikipedia

Seeing the Story/ Review of Book to Screen Adaptation

Released by ABC Network in 1995

All screen adaptations will be referred to in the following format “Title (Date).”

3/5 I continued to read children’s literature with the “Back in the 1960s” Book for the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC). As with One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), I watched From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1995) when ABC ran in the 1990s. In fact, I remember thinking Jean Marie Barnwell looked much like a friend and classmate of mine. Yet, I held off on reading the source material until this year. I sought out The Hideaways (1973) but From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1995) was what was available to me.

Click here for check out my Starlight Book Review (SBR) of E.L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Click here to learn more about the Back in the Day SRC.

“Two runaway kids hide in a museum. Once they are locked inside overnight, they try to solve a mystery about a statue supposedly carved by Michelangelo, known as “The Angel”. Will they solve the mystery in time?” – IMDb.com

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1995) achieved a close adherence to Konigsburg’s original work. Lauren Bacall charmed in the titular role and I enjoyed most of her parts. I found Mrs. Kincaid a bit thoughtless in this screen adaptation which I didn’t like at all. I also wished From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1995) kept the movie in the 1960s rather than the 1990s; this pre-World Trade Center tale lost some of its whimsy in this adaptation. All things considered, this film made for a light ninety minute or so diversion.

Quotes come from description on IMDb and are featured on color blocks. Click here to access this webpage.

Starlight Book Review – Julie Powell’s Julie & Julia…

Cover of Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell on a beige background | Cover Image Source: Goodreads

3.75/5 I recall the fascination which gripped me when Julie & Julia hit theaters in 2009. In a previous blogging stint, I watched the film and the read the book which inspired the pic. Gnomies, if you watched the movie, Amy Adams’ character, Julie Powell, wrote Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. While my first impression of Powell and her book in that prior review never achieved my top shelf status, I admired how she brought much attention to blogging as well as luminaries such as Julia Child and Samuel Pepys. Both Powell and I share the distinction of being from Texas and being born on the same day (Powell had that birthdate first). With her recent and unexpected passing, I decided to offer Julie and Julia… the Starlight Book Review (SBR) treatment.

“With the humor of Bridget Jones and the vitality of Augusten Burroughs, Julie Powell recounts how she conquered every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and saved her soul!… Julie Powell is 30-years-old, living in a rundown apartment in Queens and working at a soul-sucking secretarial job that’s going nowhere. She needs something to break the monotony of her life, and she invents a deranged assignment. She will take her mother’s dog-eared copy of Julia Child’s 1961 classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and she will cook all 524 recipes. In the span of one year… At first she thinks it will be easy. But as she moves from the simple Potage Parmentier (potato soup) into the more complicated realm of aspics and crépes, she realizes there’s more to Mastering the Art of French Cooking than meets the eye. With Julia’s stern warble always in her ear, Julie haunts the local butcher, buying kidneys and sweetbreads. She sends her husband on late-night runs for yet more butter and rarely serves dinner before midnight. She discovers how to mold the perfect Orange Bavarian, the trick to extracting marrow from bone, and the intense pleasure of eating liver… And somewhere along the line she realizes she has turned her kitchen into a miracle of creation and cuisine. She has eclipsed her life’s ordinariness through spectacular humor, hysteria, and perseverance.”

Powell gave me my first true introduction to Pepys and deeper insight into Julia Child. She showed me a way that a writer might embrace the blogging medium with such a DIY attitude. Some of the events Powell mentioned in her book, such as Hut’s Burgers, and watching “The French Chef,” made me smile. Based on my initial read of Julie and Julia…, I didn’t find Powell all that likeable. Yet, I must mention that when I heard her speak at a library conference about her experience with Julie and Julia…, I appreciated both her grace and kindness in answering questions. Ultimately, I recommend this book to any writer and blogger of any level.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – E.L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Cover of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg on a purple background | Cover Image Source: Goodreads

Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 1960s

Published 1967

4.15/5 I enjoyed reading a work of Children’s Literature so much for the previous decade in the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC), I decided to continue in this fashion for the Turbulent Sixties. One of my colleagues recommended E.L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler as my 1960s read for this SRC. While I watched a screen adaptation, I never read this book and decided to change that.

“When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully. She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation. And she would go in comfort-she would live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She saved her money, and she invited her brother Jamie to go, mostly because be was a miser and would have money. Claudia was a good organizer and Jamie bad some ideas, too; so the two took up residence at the museum right on schedule. But once the fun of settling in was over, Claudia had two unexpected problems: She felt just the same, and she wanted to feel different; and she found a statue at the Museum so beautiful she could not go home until she bad discovered its maker, a question that baffled the experts, too…The former owner of the statue was Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Without her-well, without her, Claudia might never have found a way to go home.”

I enjoyed From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The whole situation seems rooted in a bygone era. In fact, the copy I read provided Konigsburg’s note upon the anniversary edition of the book. She stated that the Kincaid siblings could have pulled this off in 1967, a time not only before 9/11 but also before the World Trade Center itself. I appreciated the kids’ sense of wonder and felt Konigsburg understood the stark, black and white views of children. I questioned the point of view and sometimes the author talked down in a condescending way about Claudia and Jamie, coming off as didactic. My rating reflects that yet I appreciated reading From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler at this time for this SRC.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Seeing the Story – Walt Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

One Hundred and One Dalmatians movie poster on a blue-green background | Poster Image Source: Wikipedia

Seeing the Story/ Review of Book to Screen Adaptation

Released by Walt Disney in 1961

All screen adaptations will be referred to in the following format “Title (Date).”

3.75/5 In search of something lighter and more whimsical, I chose The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith as “Back in the 1950s” Book for the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC). I admit I saw this movie way back in my own day along with many of my peers in elementary school, well before I cracked the cover of the book. Still and all, the details of my first viewing of the adaptation are vague. I only recall associating super villain Cruella de Vil with a substitute teacher who wouldn’t let any of us kids in class near her fabulous white fur coat (I can laugh now). Anyway, after reading the book, I treated myself to watching One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) in 2022.

Click here for check out my Starlight Book Review of Dodie Smith’s The Hundred and One Dalmatians.

Click here to learn more about the Back in the Day SRC.

“Pongo and Perdita have a litter of 15 puppies. Cruella De Vil takes a fancy to the pups, and wants to get hold of them, as well as more pups, to make herself a lovely Dalmatian skin coat. Cruella hires some thugs to kidnap the pups and hold them at her mansion. Pongo and Perdita enlist the help of the local dogs London to find and rescue them.”—Colin Tinto cst@imdb.com

I actually liked One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) on its own. Pongo, Perdita, and all the pups held true appeal for me. The animation charmed me as well. The fascination of the characters — canines, humans, other creatures — with the “Telly” seemed… forgive me for saying so in a review of media featuring dalmatians… spot on. The music delighted me; Roger Radcliffe’s ditties remain in my head. As a friend of a number of felines, I appreciated the camaraderie of the pups with Sergeant Tibbs. Cruella lived down to my girlhood nightmares of the villainess. I sliced off some stars on my rating because, while I get the challenge of screen adaptation, I wished some of the characters of the book appeared in One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). In addition, Missis and Perdita became merged into one character in the film. Besides that, this fun romp brought about something simultaneously old and new for me. Other readers of the book may enjoy One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), recalling that author Smith herself delighted in this film.

Quotes come from description on IMDb and are featured on color blocks. Click here to access this webpage.

Starlight Book Review – Dodie Smith’s The Hundred and One Dalmatians

Cover of The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith on a gray background |
Cover Image Source: Goodreads

Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 1950s

Published 1956

4.1/5 After some serious, thought-provoking reads for the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC), I determined I wanted lighter fare. I discovered that Dodie Smith’s The Hundred and One Dalmatians hit shelves in the 1950s. I saw a Disney adaptation of The Hundred and One Dalmatians as a child but had yet to read the book. I determined to remedy that by reading Smith’s book to satisfy my Back in the 1950s entry for this SRC.

“When Missis and Pongo’s puppies go missing, the two Dalmatian parents know the scary Cruella de Vil has had something to do with it. After all, she adores furs, and the Dalmatians have such beautiful coats… The dogs’ pets, Mr and Mrs Dearly, don’t understand them, so it is up to Pongo and Missis to rescue their pups.”

I consider The Hundred and One Dalmatians a charming delight. I imagine readers in the 1950s loved the whimsy of dogs possessing fantastic infrastructures and humans lacking. I enjoyed how The Hundred and One Dalmatians resolved, too. Cruella de Vil dazzled in a deliciously wicked way as the demented villain of this piece. If Smith wrote this book in the 2020s rather than the 1950s, I think she might approach some of how Pongo’s talk and address of Missis in a different way. I deducted a partial star for some parts that took the “scenic route” through this canine caper fantasy but regard this a a worthwhile classic to read in the Twenty-first Century.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.