A Series Of (Un)Fortunate Reviews

License To Wed is a romantic comedy that stars Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, and Jon Krasinski. In this movie a newly engaged couple wants to get married in Father Frank's (Williams) church, except the only opening is in the next two years is in three weeks. On top of throwing a wedding together in just 21 days, the couple must also successfully complete Father Frank's wacky pre-marriage counseling course. This couple is in for a wild ride throughout this unconventional, unorthodox course that will put them through the ringer as it tests their love and faith in each other with several off-the-wall tasks and exercises. Can this couple's love survive Father Frank's course in tact? The hi-lights of this movie include Krasinski's role as the fed up groom and Williams' unlikely antics as the clergyman. The groom's pal, Joel, is also amusing... what is not so amusing is Mandy Moore's acting in this movie. It's often grating and annoying and sappy an...

The library has posted a new video on our YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/matthewslibrary . It's entitled "All in The Golden Afternoon, Full Leisurely We Glide ...." It spotlights some Alice In Wonderland themed illustrations and graphics. We hope you enjoy it!

"It's been thirteen years since I last saw Neil--and fourteen years since we both nearly drowned in the river--and I still dream about him every night, and because he told me once that he believed that we could visit each other in our dreams, I always have the feeling that that is what he's doing--coming to me in my dreams each night. And what really frightens me ... is that a part of both of us was left behind at the bottom of the river ..." page 5, The Drowning Tree The Drowning Tree by Carol Goodman finally arrived for me here at the library. There is only one copy in the county, and you can request it from Palmyra Public Library if you wish to read it; I recommend you do so--that is, read this book or any book by Carol Goodman. She is a fine writer. The thing I like the most about Goodman's novels is that they always have a strong literary influence that figures heavily into the plot of the novel itself. Her first novel was heavily influenced by the Latin lan...

I was updating the library's official webpages on the county library site earlier this evening, and there were some issues that were really frustrating. I decided to post a review to cheer myself up. Only this review isn't about a comedy, it's about a drama with subject matter that is only a little disturbing. FYI: if you go to our page on the county site, and there are issues with font size, etc. please bear with me... I will prevail and make that site bend to my will! Insert evil cackle here. Yes, the frustration with the website has finally sent me over the edge. Zodiac stars the very talented and always cute, Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey, Jr. The DVD is available upon request from Annville Free Library. I am always most annoyed when a DVD comes without any special features... and this is one of those DVD's because apparently they are saving them all for the director's cut. And do you know what else? I am also always annoyed when a DVD does ...

The movie 300 stars Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Rodrigo Santoro, and Dominic West; it is based on the graphic novel of the same title by Frank Miller (also of Sin City fame, I believe). When I put this DVD in the player, I really didn't think I would like it as much I did. I didn't even expect to get through the entire movie. There have been one or two movies (remember The New World ? I don't think I made it past the opening scenes before I stopped the DVD for that one) that I haven't been able to finish watching (and many more books that I've never been able to finish reading), and I thought this movie might be number three. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The movie tells the tale of the legendary Battle of Thermopylae. I know. Legendary? I never heard of the battle until this movie, but it is inspired by an actual battle that was fought many--many--years ago. Ancient Greece is threatened by the invading legion army of Persia's King Xerxes who f...

This is the third book by Carol Goodman that I've read... and I'm not really sure how many others there are. So far all three books have in some way incorporated the elements of a struggling writer trying to solve the mysteries that haunt her or her family's past. In this case, The Seduction Of Water , tells the tale of a struggling writer/professor who is drawn to her childhood home to unravel the mysteries of her murdered mother's (who also happened to be a writer) past and her death. The journey to find these answers is both suspenseful and thrilling, not to mention twist filled. Along the way, she finds love with an unlikely (and some would say ill-advised) person. The themes of this book include writing, teaching, a daughter's search for the mother she never really knew, and the idea that stories and knowledge are passed down through the generations from a mother to her daughter and how these stories are often interlaced with elements of our own stories as well...