Lots of Movies

I haven’t posted for a while, so I’m going to break it up into 2 posts, one for movies, one for books. Also, I want to post more so as to enter some more to win the give-away!

Watched:

Assassin in Love - Funny British movie about an assassin who has to go into hiding and pretends to be a baker in a small village; the villagers somehow find out that he’s an assassin and think that when they ask him to “bake a cake” for someone (wink, wink) that he’ll bump them off. It was on Netflix instant play for a while, but it’s gone now. I think I missed a little at the beginning, but what I did see was pretty hilarious.

Maverick - Nothing to say here.

The Man with One Red Shoe - kind of silly, kind of obnoxious Tom Hanks movie from the 80’s involving a bumbling CIA mix-up. I wouldn’t recommend it.

The Avengers - pretty fun action flick. Less about Iron Man than I thought it would be from the previews, which was fine by me. I liked seeing all the other superhero characters also.

Dark Shadows - What a weird movie. I knew it would be weird, but it was a little more than I expected. Also, I don’t understand what’s up with the vampire obsession. Oh well.

Brave - This was a fun movie, not my favorite, I thought I would like it more, and I was surprised at the story they ended up telling here. My resident expert on horses was impressed with the animation of the horse in it.

The Trouble with Angels - I watched this a while ago, and for some reason never got it up here. Not much to say, it’s an older movie with Haley Mills, I didn’t love it.

The Damned United - This is about Leeds United, the British football team, during the 70’s and mostly about the coach. It’s pretty fun and interesting the way it’s presented, but it’s very British, as in, it’s okay that they say the “f” word a bajillion times, so if that bothers you, don’t watch it. 

My first post here as well.

So it's August and I haven't posted anything here. But the person who posted just before me said what I was feeling. As early in the year, I got behind on my reading and movies, I became self conscious. But today I post regardless.
I want to first give a review of Batman: Dark Knight Rises. Good movie. Well made and interesting. It is dark though, of course, as you can imagine. So if you are looking for a thriller then go for it.
Next if you want to enjoy a little something extra with some movie watching try the attached picture. Harry Potter workout. There are loads of these out there too! I did it a week ago and it's a pretty decent workout!

Six more books, but fifty movies to go!

Hi Everyone,

I have resisted posting on the blog until now. Heather has finally convinced me that you all won't laugh at my 2012 book list but I think she means that you will be polite enough to do it behind my back. My tried and true explanation for my preferred genre is that after a full day of reading about the trials and tribulations of Civil War veterans (infected wounds, poisonous pus, "gums so rotten that chunks are falling out" etc.) I like to escape to a romance or suspense thriller. So here it is-so far.

The Secret Mistress                                        Mary Balogh

The Proposal                                                  Mary Balogh

Beginnings and Ends                                       Suzanne Brockmann

When Tony Met Adam                                   Suzanne Brockmann

Future Perfect                                                 Suzanne Brockmann

Shane’s Last Stand                                          Suzanne Brockmann

Born to Darkness                                            Suzanne Brockmann

Lethal                                                             Sandra Brown

The Bride Wore Scarlet                                  Liz Carlyle

Backfire                                                         Catherine Coulter

If the Slipper Fits                                            Olivia Drake

Explosive Eighteen                                          Janet Evanovich

Savor the Danger                                            Lori Foster

The Ideal Man                                                Julie Garwood

Prey                                                                Linda Hioward

The Duchess Diaries                                        Jillian Hunter

The Surrender of Miss Fairbourne                    Madeline Hunter

Winning the Wallflower                                     Eloisa James

Midnight Jewels                                               Jayne Ann Krentz

Scandalous Lord Dere                                     Stephanie Laurens

The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae                 Stephanie Laurens

Beautiful Sacrifice                                            Elizabeth Lowell

Big Sky Country                                              Linda Lael Miller

McKettrick’s Heart                                         Linda Lael Miller

The Bargain                                                     Mary Jo Putney

Marriage Spell                                                 Mary Jo Putney

No Longer a Gentleman                                   Mary Jo Putney

One Perfect Rose                                             Mary Jo Putney

Angel Rogue                                                     Mary Jo Putney

Shattered Rainbows                                          Mary Jo Putney

River of Fire                                                      Mary Jo Putney

Diabolical Baron                                                Mary Jo Putney

The Bartered Bride                                            Mary Jo Putney

Silk and Secrets                                                 Mary Jo Putney               

Silk and Shadows                                              Mary Jo Putney

Veils of Silk                                                        Mary Jo Putney

Petals in the Storm                                             Mary Jo Putney

Dancing on the Wind                                          Mary Jo Putney

Thunder & Roses                                               Mary Jo Putney

Crystal Gardens                                                 Amanda Quick

A Night Like This                                               Julia Quinn

Celebrity in Death                                               J D Robb

The Witness                                                        Nora Roberts

Ravishing the Heiress                                          Sherry Thomas

Have a Little Faith, Tuck Everlasting, Brave, How to Marry a Millionaire, Addam's Family, Into the Woods

I read Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom, which I really liked!  It's a true story about Albom who was asked by the rabbi from his childhood to do his eulogy when he dies. "Feeling unworthy, Albom insists on understanding the man better, which throws him into a world of faith he left long ago. Meanwhile...Albom becomes involved with a Detroit pastor...who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof." (I got the words from the sleeve cover of the book.)  The book tells the fascinating stories of the Jewish rabbi and Christian pastor. The book is a fast read and has lots of good thoughts in it.  I really liked it.

I also read Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt.  It was interesting, but I was not a big fan of it.

I watched Brave last weekend, which I liked.  It was cute and I liked that it wasn't a love story. It was different than most Disney shows.  I saw How to Marry a Millionaire with Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Grable.  It was cheesy, but funny!  I watched Addam's Family Values and it was highly entertaining. (On a side note, if you've never seen The Addam's Family musical (as a play), it is hilarious and worth it to go and see).  I watched Into the Woods, which is a Sondheim musical and I liked it.  It is funny but a little depressing at the same time.

4 movies and 1 book

Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, was a bit complicated but still enjoyable. I like both Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law. I liked when Holmes would imagine how a fight would go, which was demonstrated for the viewers in slow motion, then we would see the fight not quite work out that way when it actually happened.

I went to see The Avengers with Leslea and her family. Even though we spent the first five minutes of the ride home commenting on all the things that were wrong with it -- apparently Hawkeye had about a hundred arrows in that quiver before it finally ran out and a bunch of beautiful people would fight for 10 minutes and end up with token scratches on their faces. That being said, we all agreed that it was a fun movie.

I can understand what Leslea said about the resemblance of The Artist to Singin' in the Rain. I felt The Artist used the earlier movie as an inspiration and jumping off point. I really loved it. It was beautiful and well done. Well worth watching.

I watched Disney's John Carter last night. I was expecting it to be really terrible, so I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't the best movie in the world, but it was pretty good. The dialogue could have been written better. But it was filmed beautifully and the special effects were great.

I read Alan Mendelsohn, The Boy From Mars by Daniel M. Pinkwater. I found it on the shelf when I was storing some old kids books. I must have considered reading it in high school, because I found a ninth-grade class schedule in it. It was an interesting book and a clever idea. Leonard Neeble moves to a new school and everybody hates him until he meets Alan Mendelsohn. Together the boys go on crazy adventures in which they learn mind control, visit other planes of existence and save the Waka Waka people from their oppressors. I like weird books where weird things happen and normal people have solve difficult problems. But I didn't love this book. It was very creative and the characters likable, but it wasn't great. I did like that by the end Leonard had grown as a person and learned how to confront all the problems he was having in school. And maybe, he'll get to visit his friend at home on Mars.

Lotsa Books

In the last few weeks I've had time to read for some reason. It's been great!

Here's my list: Fame, Glory and Other Things on My To-Do List and It's a Mall World After All by Janette Rallison (who is pretty much becoming my favorite author with her hilarious YA clean-reads); Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo; Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke; Life Rocks! by John Bytheway; The Dreamer Volume 2 (a graphic novel that's available online too! Check out this blending of modern day high school and the Revolutionary War and a romance, yeah!) by Laura Innes; The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler, which I can imagine Humphrey Bogart starring in--good noir fun.

Brave, 17 Miracles, The Amazing Spiderman

For date night we went to see The Amazing Spiderman. It is a parallel movie to the earlier series, and comic book people have told me it’s because this story is from a parallel comic book series. Instead of Mary Jane, there’s a different love interest, Gwen Stacey, a high school science girl. I really enjoyed it. Even though some elements were identical (and therefore not the surprising and satisfying plot elements they would’ve been had I not seen the earlier movies) the acting was great, I loved the casting, and the romance was fab. Best of all (to me) was Rhys Ifans, the “bad guy.” How do they always pick my favorite character actors as bad guys for the Spiderman movies? I don’t know. Good times.

My son went on a pioneer re-enactment trek last month, so this Sunday after church the kids and I watched 17 Miracles, which DVD my mom had given us the week before. Wow! It’s the story of the Mormon handcart companies, the final two, and their ill-fated journey across the plains from Iowa to Utah when they left late in the season and an early winter hit. It was both emotional and inspiring, and by the time it was over, my mascara was pretty much shot. There were 65 deaths, all told, and that is one of the greatest miracles. I loved seeing a live reenactment of this oft-told story of my forebears history, and I think anyone with an interest in the westward migration would find it engrossing.

Brave. We watched it a few weeks ago, and it was one of those stories where I found myself thinking, “You could’ve gone any direction with this story and you chose what?”

I don’t know. It was cute, and the heroine was plucky and the overall story was a good feel-good show, which is great. The animation was gorgeous. I could have followed the will o’ the wisps all day long. And I think my kids would love it. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for that many bears.