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Jennifer MakowskyAbout Jennifer Makowsky Jennifer studied Literature and Creative Writing at The University of Arizona where she received her MFA. Her poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and she has published articles on various pop-culture-related subjects including the night she almost died to the music of 38 Special, her unhealthy teenage obsession with Duran Duran, and an interview with The Shins. In addition to working as a grant writer for a struggling non-profit, she has been employed as an editor of sixth-grade textbooks, video scripts on recycling, a Native American newspaper, and Global Proxy Reports. Columns
A Ghost Story of Dubious OriginsNo matter the vercity of the tale, The Haunting in Connecticut has just enough creep quotient to keep me engaged, especially since I grew up a few miles from the house. [28 October 2009] (more The Box Office Belletrist) The Handmaid’s Tale: Not So Sci-fiThe terrifying, 'it could happen today' message of this story is best told in the Atwood's book, rather than the film version. [24 September 2009] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Not to be Silenced: To Kill a Mockingbird'To Kill a Mockingbird' is more than an enlightening tale of the racial inadequacies in the South during the Depression -- it inspired people to study law. [2 September 2009] (more The Box Office Belletrist) We All End Up in Diapers: The Curious Case of Benjamin ButtonComparing the book to the film, it’s as if Fitzgerald laid just the foundation, and from that Roth built a multi-storied house. [29 July 2009] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Let the Right One In, But Only the Right OneLindqvist’s book and Alfredson’s film adaptation both convey a sweet, dark version of puppy love. We don’t need the American remake. [26 May 2009] (more The Box Office Belletrist) ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’: Check, PleaseI hate it when a film takes a brilliant literary work and turns it into what it thinks the literary work should be. [28 April 2009] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Chok(ing) Onscreen and In PrintWhether served up on the page or on the screen, this is an intimate assessment of a twisted mother/son relationship with plenty of sardonic humor and scathing satire. [31 March 2009] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Woolf at the DoorBoth Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway and Michael Cunningham's The Hours offer an illuminating look at the choices we make, the roles we play, and the hours that hinge our lives together. [1 March 2009] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Twilight TakeoverThe film is a successful adaptation of the book not only because Pattinson is so talented and dreamy, but also because Hardwicke knows a thing or two about filming adolescents. [7 January 2009] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Hughes Oughta KnowThe British Library bought Ted Hughes' literary archive, further inspiring film and literary speculation into his life with Sylvia Plath. [3 December 2008] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Blinded by ScienceWhile Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a wonderful tale of a tortured man and his experiment, I’ll take Hollywood’s version of the block-headed monster any day. [29 October 2008] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Bukowski: What Lies BeneathDuring the rare moments when Charles Bukowski's vulnerable side are shown, they manage to break through the "dirty old man" parody of himself that he had become. [7 October 2008] (more The Box Office Belletrist) He’s Lost ControlThe kids who grew up in the '90s had the haunted Kurt Cobain; my generation had the tormented Ian Curtis. [25 August 2008] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Rebel RebelThe time is ripe for revisiting One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, as we're all aware that individual freedoms are still being suppressed by governments around the world. [29 July 2008] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Love on the RocksWho’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'s dark, witty banter and assessment of human malice made my brain tick and also made me glad I wasn’t married. [30 June 2008] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Living the Dream: The Life Before Her EyesKaisischke's grotesque images of the natural world remind me of Sylvia Plath. She is a master of highlighting the splendor and tragedy working side-by-side in everyday life. [20 May 2008] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Love in the Time of Record ShopsTechnology may have changed the way we obtain music, but as Nick Hornby's High Fidelity reminds us, it can never alter our love affair with the medium. [21 April 2008] (more The Box Office Belletrist) The Escape ArtistThe desire to escape that lives in each of us, and the consequences of acting on that desire, is what makes us care for Chris McCandless (Into the Wild), and what makes his short life such a compelling story. [24 March 2008] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Standing by Stephen KingChildhood and the end of innocence are vividly portrayed in Stephen King's novella The Body, and Rob Reiner's excellent interpretation, Stand by Me. [5 March 2008] (more The Box Office Belletrist) The Sins of the SisterA director can translate a writer’s words to the screen beautifully, but he can never alter their power on the page. The book and film versions of Atonement prove this all too well. [14 February 2008] (more The Box Office Belletrist) The Good ShepherdHis comic look at life in the '50s formed the foundation for a seminal Christmas 'Story'. But there is more to Jean Sheperd than little boys and BB guns. [20 December 2007] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Save the Drama for Your MamaSons and Lovers gave author D.H. Lawrence a chance to work out all his Oedipal issues. Too bad the film adaptations have been less than enlightening. [5 December 2007] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Every Rose Has Its ThornFlowers in the Attic is the perfect example of what happens to a favorite book when it gets pressed through the Hollywood machine. The results are enough to ruin a sly, scandalous thriller - and a reader's rich adolescent memories. [25 October 2007] (more The Box Office Belletrist) One Hit Wonder - The Stone ReaderA favored book from one's past. An elusive author who seemingly never wrote anything since. Sounds like the components for a fascinating documentary? You'd be right. [26 September 2007] (more The Box Office Belletrist) What’s Love Got to Do With It?Circumstances may have brought them together, but a single 'enduring' emotion may be driving Ian McEwan's characters toward a deranged date with destiny. [14 August 2007] (more The Box Office Belletrist) The Lisbon BunchPurposefully ending one's life is often seen as a last act of personal desperation. But in Jefferey Eugenides' poignant, bewitching novel, it may actually be a form of salvation. [14 June 2007] (more The Box Office Belletrist) We Like to WatchFar more prescient today than it was 36 years ago, Jerzy Kosiński’s darkly comic novel of media and politics, Being There, lives on, thanks in part to Hal Ashby's marvelous 1979 motion picture adaptation. [16 April 2007] (more The Box Office Belletrist) SoullessJames Redfield's 'prophetic' novel, The Celestine Prophecy, as manifested in film... maybe it means something. I see soft-focus imagery and swirling colors. I'm getting a feeling. It's...it's... nausea. [21 February 2007] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Stumbling with Nail ClippersIt was one of the most talked about tomes upon its release. Unfortunately, our literary liaison for all things film thinks that Augusten Burrough's mesmerizing memoir was definitely defanged in the cinematic translation. [30 November 2006] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Vamping It UpFrom folklore to fright icon, a certain naughty neckbiter remains one of literature -- and film's -- most fascinating fear factors. [31 October 2006] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Lolita’s Balls!Between the scandalous novel and it's equally inflammatory big screen adaptation, Vladimir Nabokov's classic story of unnatural, obsessive love still has chutzpah. [20 September 2006] (more The Box Office Belletrist) The Da Vinci De-BacleAs I sat there in the theater watching The Da Vinci Code, I wondered how it would be possible to follow the knotty narrative if you hadn't read the book first. [9 August 2006] (more The Box Office Belletrist) “Thunder”‘s BlunderThe Box Office Belletrist -- Thunder's Blunder -- Hyams and company managed to take an excellent metaphor for man's technological hubris and strip it of all importance. [11 July 2006] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Bradbury on FireThough it was written over a half century ago, and the only film adaptation was helmed during the tumultuous and turbulent '60s, Fahrenheit 451 remains a classic sci-fi treasure. Our literary lady of letters believes that now just might be the right time for a remake. [1 June 2006] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Swimming HomeSometimes, the written word can be far more evocative than the most memorable motion picture. Such is the case with John Cheever's classic short story about alienation amongst the sun-drenched swimming pools of suburbia. [25 April 2006] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Sympathy for the Devil: In Cold BloodTruman Capote crafted a masterpiece in human ambiguity with his classic 'nonfiction' novel. Our leading lady of letters argues that the recent cinematic exploration of the book's creation is an equally unnerving experience. [28 March 2006] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Vintage VenomLooking for a classic bit of 'cruelty' with 'intentions' that are all too clear? Our resident literary 'liaison' argues the case for this 1988 masterwork of manipulation. [27 February 2006] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Love Is Risky BusinessWith all the Oscar buzz swirling around Ang Lee's taboo-busting drama, our literary liaison wants us to not forget the stellar short story it's based upon. [17 January 2006] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Austen’s PowersDespite Jane Austen's obvious skill as a storyteller, her novel, Pride and Prejudice, is somewhat asexual. Thankfully, the new film version of the literary classic introduces some much needed physicality into this far too courteous romance. [15 December 2005] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Everything Is (Sort Of) IlluminatedIn the rare case of a book and its cinematic adaptation complimenting each other, Makowsky looks at the link between the literary and celluloid versions of Jonathan Safran Foer's acclaimed novel. [17 November 2005] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Trick or Treat, Trick or Treat, Give Us Something Good to ReadInterested in some chilling All Hallows Eve fare? Our resident lady of literature attempts to glean the thrills from the spills as she searches the shelves -- both book and video -- for a good scare. [11 October 2005] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who’s the Dullest of Them All?In this month's installment, Makowsky wonders why, in either kid-friendly or mainstream motion picture versions, the Brothers Grimm just can't get any respect. [14 September 2005] (more The Box Office Belletrist) ‘Chick Lit’ OverloadMakowsky laments the continuing influence of 'Chick Lit' in both bookstores and movie houses worldwide. [11 August 2005] (more The Box Office Belletrist) ‘WOW’ of the WorldsThe 2005 War of the Worlds may be one of the few times where the credits 'based on the book by...' actually has a legitimate meaning. [13 July 2005] (more The Box Office Belletrist) Re-Judging a Book by Its Cinematic CoverLike most bibliophiles, I often cringe when a favorite book is transformed for the big screen. It doesn't mean I won't give it a chance though. [14 June 2005] (more The Box Office Belletrist) |
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