Check in for a Wild Night of Action at Hotel Artemis

17 Feb

My husband and I checked out Hotel Artemis available from Hoopla after 2020 was winding down and we were looking for an antidote for overly saccharine holiday specials (love them, but..).  The movie, set in a rioting Los Angles in the near future of 2028 (just 10 years after its 2018 release date) at Hotel Artemis, which is being used as an exclusive hospital for criminals, seemed a good choice.

Jody Foster stars as a jaded nurse with David Bautista as her assistant/bouncer.  Both provide strong and enjoyable performances.  Jodie Foster has always been one of my favorite actresses and it was interesting to see her in a noir cyberpunk action film.  Bautista is able to give a bit more range here than his simple tough guy wrestling and Guardians of the Galaxy persona.

In the film, one evening takes a pivotal turn as they must deal with everyone from a French assassin to an injured cop.  The Nurse is dealing with a loss in her past and events over the night make her question her role at Hotel Artemis.  A variety of other characters also get minor story arcs and part of me wished that the film could have been a series or miniseries to see them all fleshed out a bit more. The film reminded me a bit of the gritty black comedy Delicatessen that I remember impressing me as a teen, though my threshold for violence has lessened overtime, I would recommend checking that out as well if you enjoy this bleak, but intriguing view of the future.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Head of Information and Digital Services

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Black History Month Spotlight on a Great Up-and-Coming Author: Luster by Raven Leilani

10 Feb

As someone who has had a lot of temporary jobs in the past, I was immediately drawn to the main character at the center of Luster. At the heart of the story is a character named Edie. She is a 23-year-old African American woman working at a publishing company in NYC, wishing and hoping that her dream job will work out for her. This is a story that we’ve seemingly heard before. Woman in her early twenties trying to figure out her life in the big city. What’s the big deal, right? Been there, done that, move on, next book.

The reason this book is important and also a must-read is because it dares to go where other books can’t or won’t go. Raven Leilani, the debut author of Luster, takes us into Edie’s head and describes her very real-life experiences in such detail that I couldn’t help but relate to her. She ends up dating a white married man who works in the city but lives in New Jersey with his wife and their adopted African American daughter. The catch is that this guy’s wife is okay with Edie dating her husband because they have an open marriage. Through a series of weird and coincidental events, Edie ends up living in New Jersey with her new lover and her lover’s wife and child. 

Leilani’s writing is what kept me immersed in this book from the get-go.  She has a way of keeping you captivated and also second-guessing about what Edie is going to do next. Edie in this book is her own worst enemy, but I could relate so much to the way that she can see what the safer choice is for her to make, and then immediately runs in the other direction just to see what happens. Anyone who has ever been in their early twenties (or even later in life) and feels like their life is spinning them in circles on a daily basis, then this book is for you.

Written by:
Nicole Marconi
Library Assistant, Children’s Department

Celebrate Black History Month with us; share your favorite Black Authors or books about African American History in the comments!

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