The Lone Ranger and...Johnny Depp Being Weird

I just finished watching "The Lone Ranger" with Armie Hammer as the titular character and Johnny Depp as his sidekick, Tonto. (Although, to be fair, in this movie, Tonto is more a partner than a sidekick.) I was a little apprehensive about watching this movie because it got so many bad reviews, but I checked it out anyway. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised.Keep in mind that this is not your grandparents' version of the Lone Ranger. The story is dark at times, yet, there is a bit of humor and a lot of action.

The story is presented as a flashback and the movie opens in the 1930's with a young boy dressed as the Lone Ranger at a fair. He enters the exhibit for the Wild West and finds himself in front of a display with a native American standing in the desert. Thinking it's just a display, the boy takes off his mask and that is when the man with a dead crow on his headdress speaks. "Never take off the mask," he tells the child. And with that, he proceeds to tell the story of how the Lone Ranger came to be and how Tonto became his friend and accomplice.

The movie tended to drag in a couple of places, but once you got to the action sequences, the story progressed a great deal more and was fun to watch. This movie isn't for little children; the action got quite violent in some places. My favorite character was Silver, the noble (I use the term loosely) steed. At one point, the horse winds up in a tree wearing the Lone Ranger's hat. Over all, I quite liked this movie and if you like a little mindless entertainment every now and then; you may like it as well. I did get tired of Tonto feeding the dead bird on his headdress,but, frankly, I just think that was Johnny Depp being weird. Remember Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland? If you want a movie with some humor and a lot of shoot-em-up action, then this might be a good choice for you.

Takedown Twenty!

Janet Evanovich's latest book in her Stephanie Plum series, Takedown Twenty, is another hilarious entry in a very entertaining series!  New Jersey bounty hunter Plum understands the value of family, but her "back is up against the wall" when her job requires her to apprehend mobster Salvatore "Uncle Sunny" Sunucchi.  He has been charged with murder for running over a guy (twice) and no one in Trenton wants to turn him in!  Besides hiding out at various rental properties, girlfriends' houses, and private clubs, Uncle Sunny even takes turns spending the night with the parents of his godson, Stephanie's almost-fiance', cop Joe Morelli. Other than hunting down Uncle Sunny and evading being shot or thrown off a bridge by his bodyguards, security specialist (and hottie) Ranger enlists Stephanie's help in solving the bizarre death of the mother of one of his client's, who plays bingo with Stephanie's Grandma Mazur.  Mix in a giraffe who keeps appearing to Lula and Stephanie on the streets of Trenton and you have the ingredients for another madcap adventure.  This title in the series has some very funny moments and Grandma Mazur is as zany as ever as she goes on dates with some of Trenton's most eligible Senior Citizen bachelor's.  Stephanie even considers changing jobs---and you'll never guess what she tries her hand at next.  It's best to start reading this series at the beginning (One for the Money is the first one) as the characters' stories build on each other throughout the series. Check out what Janet Evanovich is doing by visiting her website at www.evanovich.com, at Facebook/JanetEvanovich or by writing her at P.O. Box 2829, Naples, FL  34106.

A fascinating series in our Children's Department is the 'You Wouldn't Want To' series from Scholastic.  Written by a variety of authors, each one explores a part of history from the viewpoint of how it would have been to have had to live in those times.  We currently have twenty-seven books from this line in our collection ranging from ancient history ('You Wouldn't Want to be a Slave in Ancient Greece! A Life You'd Rather Not Have') to early American history ('You Wouldn't Want to be a Pony Express Rider! A Dusty, Thankless Job You'd Rather Not Do') to more modern times ('You Wouldn't Want to Sail on the Titanic! One Voyage You'd Rather Not Make').

All of the books contain a timeline, handy hints for the era in question and a glossary.  The details they pull out of the daily lives of the everyday people that were a part of history brings the past to life in a way that is as interesting to adults as well as children.

Sycamore Row

Sycamore Row is the latest legal thriller written by Mississippian John Grisham  The novel's events take place a few months after the events in Grisham's popular,  A Time To Kill, and stars Jake Brigance and his crew of lawyer friends, in a fiercely controversial trial once again set in the city of Clanton, MS.  The story revolves around the will of Seth Hubbard, a wealthy man dying of lung cancer who trusts no one.  Before he hangs himself from a sycamore tree, Seth leaves a new, handwritten will that disrupts his family, his business associates and the town of Clanton.  The new will drags Seth's two adult children, his African-American maid and

his estranged brother into a civil trial as complicated as the murder trial that made Brigance a famous lawyer.  As Brigance and the will's interested parties gear up for battle, the central questions arise of why Hubbard changed his will at the last minute and whether chemotherapy and painkillers clouded his judgment when he did.  This novel has been my favorite John Grisham novel in a long time.  The plot is riveting, the characters are intense and there are surprise story twists throughout the entire book.  If you enjoyed A Time To Kill, or enjoy cleverly plotted legal thrillers, then you will enjoy reading this novel.  John Grisham is the author of twenty-six novels, one work of nonfiction, a collection of stories and four novels for young readers.  Find out more about John Grisham by contacting www.doubleday.com, www.jgisham.com or on facebook at www.facebook.com/JohnGrisham.