|
|
|
 “Writers
Present” Author Series
The Mission Viejo Library is offering a new series of nationally acclaimed
author talks. All events are free, open to the public, and include a short
reception with refreshments. This series is sponsored by the Friends of the
Mission Viejo Library. Reservations are requested, as seating for
these events is limited and fills up fast. You can reserve a seat by calling
the library at 949-830-7100 ext 5105.
The next authors in our series are:
Congressman Barry
Goldwater Jr.
Thursday, May 22nd at 7
p.m.
City Council Chamber
Join us for a lecture/book
signing with former Congressman Barry M Goldwater Jr. (R) CA (son
of Senator Goldwater) who will present a discussion for his new book,
Pure Goldwater (co written with John Dean). A question and
answer session and book signing will follow the event. Books will be
available for purchase at the event.
With unprecedented access to
Senator Goldwater’s correspondence, interviews, and behind-the-scenes
conversations, Dean and Goldwater shed new light on this political figure.
From the late Senator's honest thoughts on Richard Nixon to his growing
discomfort with the rise of the extreme right, Pure Goldwater offers
a revelatory look at an American icon--and also reminds us of a more hopeful
alternative to the dispiriting political landscape of today.
Barry M. Goldwater, Jr.
is a former Congressman from
California, and is the son of Senator Barry Goldwater. In April of 1969
Goldwater ran his first race for Congress representing northern Los Angeles
County. He won that race for the 91st Congress and was reelected for six
consecutive terms. During his time in Washington Goldwater served on several
committees such as the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, the
Joint Committee on Energy, the Committee on Science and Technology, and also
served on the Special Committee that reviewed the Space Shuttle Challenger
disaster.
Non-Fiction
Books to Film Festival
The Mission Viejo Library sponsors an ongoing film festival series, which is
held quarterly. Every 3 months, four movies will be shown on the large
screen in the City Council Chamber on selected evenings and afternoons at
2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. These screenings will be free and there are no
reservations required.
Into The Wild – Rated R
(140 min)
Friday April 11, 6:30 PM
Jon Krakauer's bestselling nonfiction book about the
life of Chris McCandless is finally brought to the big screen in INTO THE
WILD. Directed by Sean Penn, the film opens in 1992, when Chris (Emile
Hirsh) is a promising college graduate. Shortly after graduation, Chris
gives his life savings to charity, burns all of his identification, and
begins hitchhiking across America, his ultimate goal being Alaska. Citing
passages from his heroes, Thoreau and Jack London, he is determined to
escape society and get back to nature. He blows from town to town like a
tumbleweed, hopping trains, camping with aging hippies (Catherine Keener and
Brian Dierker), working briefly with a farmer (Vince Vaughan), and
befriending a widowed leather worker (Hal Holbrook). He revels in his
newfound freedom, but meanwhile, his parents (Marcia Gay Harden and William
Hurt) have no idea where he is, and are sick with worry. While their
relationship with Chris was already troubled, they are nonetheless
devastated by his disappearance. Chris's sister, Carine (Jane Malone),
narrates much of the film, offering her reflections on the effect Chris's
absence has on his family. Chris finally makes it to Alaska, where he hikes
out to a remote campsite and discovers an abandoned bus. INTO THE WILD
bounces around chronologically, jumping back and forth from the start of
Chris's journey to his weeks living aboard the bus. This works to great
effect as the storylines begin to merge and the tension mount, and we see
the fate that will eventually befall Chris. Penn obviously had great
admiration for his subject, and while the film appears to differ from the
book in places, it nevertheless paints a heartbreaking portrait of this
young man's fascinating life.
All The Presidents Men –
Rated PG (138 min)
Saturday April 19, 6:30 PM
With ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, director Alan Pakula
adapts the best-selling book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. The focus
is on the 1972 investigation of the break-in to the Democratic Party
headquarters, otherwise known as the Watergate burglary. Through a
complicated web of intrigue and secrecy that eventually involves the highest
levels of government, hungry young journalists Woodward (Robert Redford) and
Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) of the Washington Post aggressively examine the
incident, uncovering information that ultimately leads to the resignation of
President Richard Nixon. Exceptional performances by Redford and Hoffman are
complemented by Jason Robards as the dubious but supportive executive editor
at the Post, and Hal Holbrook's celebrated characterization of mysterious
informer Deep Throat. The pacing of the film is quick and exciting, drawing
viewers into the action of one of the most intriguing mysteries in all of
American political history.
Catch Me If You Can –
Rated PG-13 (141 min)
Friday April 25, 6:30 PM
Leonardo Di Caprio ("What's Eating Gilbert Grape,"
"Titanic") and Tom Hanks ("Philadelphia," "Forrest Gump") engage in a game
of cat and mouse in the real-life crime drama "Catch Me If You Can," under
the direction of Steven Spielberg ("Saving Private Ryan," "Schindler's
List"). Frank Abagnale, Jr. (Leonardo Di Caprio) worked as a doctor, a
lawyer and as a co-pilot for a major airline -- all before his 18th
birthday. A master of deception, he was also a brilliant forger, whose skill
gave him his first real claim to fame: At the age of 17, Frank Abagnale, Jr.
became the most successful bank robber in the history of the United States.
FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) had made it his prime mission to capture
Frank and bring him to justice, but Frank is always one step ahead of him,
baiting him to continue the chase.
-- © DreamWorks Pictures
Charlie Wilson’s War –
Rated R (97 min)
Saturday May 3, 6:30 PM
Charlie Wilson's War is the true story of how a playboy
congressman, a renegade CIA agent and a beautiful Houston socialite joined
forces to lead the largest and most successful covert operation in history.
Their efforts contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the
Cold War, with consequences that reverberate throughout the world today. Tom
Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman team with director Mike
Nichols and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin to bring George Crile's best-selling
book to the screen.
Charlie Wilson (Hanks) was a bachelor congressman from
Texas who had a habit of showing up in hot tubs with strippers and cocaine.
His "Good Time Charlie" exterior, however, masked an extraordinary mind, a
deep sense of patriotism and a passion for the underdog, and in the early
1980s the underdog was Afghanistan--which had just been brutally invaded by
the Russians.
Charlie's longtime friend and patron and sometime lover
was Joanne Herring (Roberts), one of the wealthiest women in Texas and a
virulent anti-communist. Believing the American response to the Russian
invasion was anemic at best, she prods Charlie into doing more for the
Mujahideen.
Charlie's partner in this uphill endeavor is CIA Agent
Gust Avrakotos (Hoffman), a blue-collar operative in a company of Ivy League
blue bloods. Together, the three of them--Charlie, Joanne and Gust--travel
the world to form unlikely alliances among the Pakistanis, Israelis,
Egyptians, arms dealers, law makers and a belly dancer.
Their success was remarkable. Funding for covert
operations against the Soviets went from $5 million to $1 billion annually.
The Red Army retreated out of Afghanistan. When asked how a group of
peasants was able to deliver such a decisive blow to the army of a
superpower, Pakistani President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq responded simply,
"Charlie did it."--© Universal Pictures
|
|
|
Events
for Children