LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD

Maybe I'm just stuck in a time warp, but I was really excited last year when "Rocky Balboa" came out! And to find out that the fourth "Die Hard" movie was being released this year was too good to be true!! So perhaps my review won't be all that objective, since I knew I would love it before I even saw it!

I went to Sam's Club the week the movie was released, since I knew that I had recently seen the "Die Hard Trilogy" for sale there. My plan was to watch all three movies and then top it off with "Live Free or Die Hard" on the weekend. No such luck. Sam's didn't have it. (and yes, I did the same thing last year with "Rocky Balboa"!). So, off to the theater I went, without refreshing my memories of John McClane's previous adventures. No problem, I got it all...up...here (mental picture: Me tapping my temple...).

"Live Free or Die Hard" was just what "Die Hard" is - suspense, action, witty one-liners, and stunts that you know could've never happened. John McClane is older now, with a troubled relationship with his teenage daughter. He comes across Matt Farrell, a young hacker, played by Justin Long (of "Hi, I'm a Mac" fame) The two get caught up in a terrorist plot that attacks our country's technology, taking down our economic structure. And so McClane and Farrell go on the run to stop the bad guy. Or is that to get away from the bad guy? Bruce Willis is, as always, awesome in his role as John McClane. He's the perfect blend of tough guy, funny guy and not-so perfect guy. Long does a great job with his role - he is really funny. A very cook geek. Kevin Smith also adds some humor to the story - living in the basement at his mothers house, he is referred to as the "Internet Jedi".

With action and suspense from begining to end, "Live Free or Die Hard" was the perfect updated story for all "Die Hard" lovers. In the end, our beloved characters all walk away bruised, bloodied, but safe and victorious. So the only complaint I have is, what happens now with all the chaos in the country from this "virtual" attack? Traffic lights are out, utilities are out, stock market's crashed..and the credits are rolling. I guess...they all lived happily ever after anyway.

THE WILD GIRL - THE NOTEBOOKS OF NED GILES, 1932, by Jim Fergus

I came across this book as I browsed the "New Books" section at our local library. Based on historical fact, this book tells the story of an expedition that was organized to find a young boy that had been kidnapped by Apaches near the small border town of Douglas Arizona. I can't say that I would have chosen this book if it hadn't been for a small detail: I grew up in Douglas, Arizona. Its a town that you've never heard of unless you grew up there.

The story is told through the journals of Ned Giles, just as the title suggests. I can see the town as he drives down the main street, and as he finds a hotel. Our claim to fame in Douglas is the Gadsen Hotel. Not much to look at from the outside, but it's beautful marble staircase has been used in movies from time to time. Ned Giles ends up staying in the hotel, describing it accurately. I was even suprised that one of the locals in the story referred to Douglas as "Dog's Ass" - we did actually call it that in our younger days!

But besides the thrill of finding a novel about my tiny home town, I was sucked into the beautiful story and loved it. It begins with Ned as an old man now, looking back on this life and all the people in it, including the "Wild Girl". I came to love every character and feel what Ned felt. I stayed up into the wee hours of the night, fighting sleep, because I just had to know what was going to happen next.

Since the jacket said that it was based on historical fact, I kept wondering how much was factual and what was fiction. But it ends with an "Author's Note", that explained just that. It is original and refreshing, and I enjoyed it! So glad I accidently found "The Wild Girl".