I’m a sucker for underdog sports movies: Remember the Titans, Invincible, and yes, Facing the Giants. That said, We Are Marshall is less about football than it is about tragedy, triumph, honor, and letting go. Based on the true story of the Marshall University plane crash in 1970, the film depicts the aftermath of the devastating loss that shattered the town of Huntington, West Virginia. Matthew McConaughey plays Jack Lengyel, the ever so slightly eccentric yet charismatic head coach who comes to Marshall to help the town begin to pick up the fragments of their former lives. Matthew Fox backs him up as assistant coach Red Dawson, the only returning coach for the 1971 season. The dialogue is pure and honest, punctuated with mirthful moments that will leave you laughing even as your cheeks are still wet. Cinematographically savvy, the two hours moves at the perfect pace with class and without irrelevance. Sprinkled with footage and photos from the original team, We Are Marshall is an absolute gem.

Watch it: on a big screen with people you love, comfy pillows, lots of popcorn, and peanut M&Ms.

Book: Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

If I flirted shamelessly with The Kite Runner, then I am a love slave to A Thousand Splendid Suns. Like Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns is a raw and gritty story tied together with poignant writing. Suns follows the lives of two Afghani women, Laila and Mariam, whose lives inevitably become intertwined amongst the political and economic violence engulfing their world. Set almost entirely in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion and civil war, neither woman escapes the atrocities unscathed. Hosseini has, once again, created a masterful work that sets meaningful characters again the backdrop of Afghanistan’s history. A Thousand Splendid Suns is, quite simply, a beautiful and heartrending story. Happy ending? Not quite, but it resounds and stays with you, which I think is more important. My friend Wikipedia has informed me that Columbia Pictures has acquired movie rights, so I personally will be waiting impatiently for the next few years.

Read it: In the early morning before anyone is awake, with the sun shining into the room, sitting on a leather easy chair with a fleece blanket and hot chocolate.

Music: These Friends of Mine by Rosie Thomas

What is there to say about this? This is my “It” cd for the fall. Rosie’s fourth album is a sort of collaboration with Denison Witmer and Sufjan Stevens, and for a few seconds on “Why Waste More Time?” we get to hear a little bit of their witty banter. Accompanied by an absolutely darling jacket with whimsical drawings to match the tone of the album, These Friends of Mine need(s) to be in your cd player/laptop/ipod. Self described as inspired by springtime in New York City, it’s my humble opinion that this can and should go anywhere at anytime. Thomas’ (actually, I think I want to call her Rosie) voice has that ethereal quality that few can achieve, and it is sweetly complimented by the harmonies of Stevens and Witmer. Though my personal favorite is “Kite Song” (in which Rosie wistfully asks, “Tie me to the end of a kite / So I can go on, I can go on with my life”), her cover of “The One I Love” should replace the original everywhere.

Listen to it: At dusk/night time when you’re driving alone in your car thinking.
AND
Next Wednesday @ 10 pm in the Union when she’s here for B-sides!!! (I’m SO excited!)

Strength, Honor, & Love,
Natalie