Play like a pro with expert knowledge from a champion of the game

If you don't know the ins and outs of play, bridge can seem like an intimidating game--but it doesn't have to be! Armed with the techniques and strategies in the pages of this book, you'll be bidding and winning hands like a boss! A good book for beginners, it has lots of advanced techniques useful to experienced players, too. This is as  close to an all-in-one bridge book you can get.

 

 

About the Author

H. Anthony Medley holds the rank of Silver life Master, is an American Contract Bridge League Club Director, and has won regional and sectional titles. An attorney, he received his B.S. from UCLA, where he was sports editor of UCLA's Daily Bruin, and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is the author of UCLA Basketball: The Real Story and Sweaty Palms: The Neglected Art of Being Interviewed and The Complete Idiots Guide to Bridge. He was a columnist for the Southern California Bridge News. He is an MPAA-certified film critic and his work has appeared nationally in Good Housekeeping, The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and other publications. Click the book to order.
 

  

 

Wild Mountain Thyme (8/10)

by Tony Medley

102 minutes

PG-13

You want romantic? I’ll give you romantic! Rosemary Muldoon (Emily Blunt) has been carrying a torch for neighbor Anthony Reilly (Jamie Dornan) all her life. He is seemingly oblivious.

Written (based on his play, Tony Award-nominated “Outside Mullingar”) and directed by John Patrick Shanley, lots of things made this movie stand out, not the least of which are the gorgeous Irish countryside, the outstanding cinematography (Stephen Goldblatt), and the wonderful music (Amelia Warner). It was shot over five weeks in County Mayo in western Ireland in and around the towns of Crossmolina and Ballina and they are captivating. Some of the scenes provide a wonderful travelogue about how beautiful Ireland can be. The film also captures the weather, especially the rain, that is endemic to Ireland.

The acting is outstanding; these are characters who are believable, aided by a terrific script. The two leads are greatly helped by the supporting players like Christopher Walken who plays Anthony’s father, Tony, Jon Hamm, who plays Anthony’s American financial genius cousin, Adam, who also becomes smitten with Rosemary, and Dearbhla Molloy, who plays Rosemary’s mother, Aiofe. All the characters are realistic but Aiofe really captured me.

Rosemary is a very strong woman who pursues her man with a vengeance without being emasculating, which is a treat. Anthony, for his part, seems almost doomed by his alexithymia. Dornan captures this brilliantly.

It's not just a story about a woman with what seems to be an unrequited love, but of the relationship between a son and his father. Walken’s performance deserves an Oscar® nomination, at least.

I don’t like to write a lot about good movies. Just see it and enjoy.

 

 

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