Catching Up on New Releases

I finally saw the movie, the Internship with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. It was about two laid off salesmen who apply for and get accepted as interns at Google. They have little to no tech skills and get in a group with other outcasts. With those two actors I expected a funny movie, but it wasn't as funny as I'd hoped. It also had some inappropriate scenes that didn't add to the movie or plot any. It definitely wouldn't be a movie you'd watch with kids. Against all odds, the group finally gels and they excel on team challenges. In the end, despite all the challenges, the team wins and are offered jobs at Google. Happily ever after.

I've been wanting to see the movie, the Book Thief and I finally rented it. It's set during the time of WW2. It takes place in Germany. A mother takes her two kids by train and on the way the son dies. Apparently, she was taking both kids to be adopted by a German couple in their 50s. The wife is disappointed to not have a son. The little girl, Liesl can't read, so her new dad teaches her. She makes friends with a boy at school who is her neighbor, Rudy. Soon her family takes in a Jewish young man, Max. They do this because the boy's dad died saving the life of the girl's father. The father, Hans has promised to help the family. They nurse Max back to health. He lives in their basement. They barely have enough food to eat.
Liesl loves to read and steals a book from a book burning. Her mother does the laundry for a rich leader and Liesl returns the clean laundry. The wife lets her read books in their giant library. The leader finds out and fires her mom from the laundry job. So, Liesl crawls in their library window and "borrows" books.
Max becomes ill again and Liesl reads to him as he's unconscious. Hans gets sent into war. Max gets better, but realizes he must leave for the safety of the family. His leaving is hard on everyone especially Liesl. All the town has to go for safety to shelters for air raid drills. Liesl tells stories to pass the time to her neighbors. Bombs hit one night while everyone is sleeping in their homes. The whole town is reduced to rubble. People dig in hopes of finding someone alive. Liesl is pulled from the rubble. She soon finds the bodies of her parents who have been pulled from the rubble. Rudy is pulled out. He starts to confess his love for Liesl, but she tells him to rest. He dies.
Two years later, the story picks up. Liesl works in the business of Rudy's dad. One day, Max walks in. The story ends by saying that Liesl had a great life. Such a good movie; I encourage you to see it!