Is this not the cutest mailbox ever??? Adorable! So creative. I wonder where this is located.This week I received 2 books in my own mailbox (which is considerably less cute):
Hunter: A Novel by Campbell Jeffreys
Thanks to Bostick Communications
June 29, 2009
Mailbox Monday
Is this not the cutest mailbox ever??? Adorable! So creative. I wonder where this is located.This week I received 2 books in my own mailbox (which is considerably less cute):
Hunter: A Novel by Campbell Jeffreys
Thanks to Bostick Communications
Monday Movie Meme: Action Heroes
This week's movie topic is all about Action Heroes...Summer is in full swing and that means it is time for the blockbuster releases. You know, big budget flicks where things get dicey, blow up, burn down, and in the end - saved - by those quintessential action heroes. Here are some that we feel best represent the genre. Share the movie action heroes that have saved your day on your blog and link back here at The Bumbles.
Indiana Jones, of course!
Sarah Connor of Terminator and T2
Murtough and Riggs of Lethal Weapon 1-4
Lara Croft, quintessential female action hero
Jason Bourne of the Bourne Trilogy
William Wallace in Braveheart gets my vote for historical action movie hero
Antonio Banderas as El Mariachi in DesperadoWho do you think is a quintessential action hero?
Musing Mondays- Mid-Year Reading
Musing Mondays is hosted by Rebecca at Just One More Page.Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about mid-year reading…
Now that we’ve come to the middle of the year, what do you think of your 2009 reading so far? Read anything interesting that you’d like to share? Any outstanding favourites?
Great question. I will love reading everyone's responses. I like doing recaps of what books were brilliant and where you feel you are as far as your reading goals.
Every Wednesday I now do a short "report" on how my goals have progressed for the week. You can find them here. I also do a monthly round-up. Some weeks and months are better than others, but overall I am pretty satisfied with how my year has gone so far. At the halfway mark I have read 51 books and completed 2 challenges. I have a loooong way to go, but at least I have made good progress. :) Who knows what will happen in the second half of the year. I hope to have a job, so that will take some time away from reading, but you will not hear me complaining!
My favorite books so far this year:
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Notes from My Travels by Angelina Jolie
Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother Who Gave Her Away by June Cross
Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler
Shattered Reality by Kimberly Cheryl
Coffee with the Buddha by Joan Oliver Duncan
Here is a list of all of the books I've read and reviews written this year.
My goals for the second half of 2009 are just to complete the rest of the challenges I signed up for (or as many as I can) and to find some great new authors and more favorite books!
June 28, 2009
Shots of Short on Sunday
SHORT STORY #: 27TITLE: The Last Leaf
AUTHOR: O. Henry
FOUND @ The Literature Network
SUMMARY: Pneumonia strikes a young artist in Greenwich Village. She decides that when the last leaf falls off of the vine outside of her window, she too will let go and die. Her friend is determined not to let this happen.
RATING: 5 StarsTHOUGHTS: This is quite possibly the sweetest short story I have ever read. I highly recommend this story. If this story doesn't touch your heart, I don't know what will.
TSS: Mini-Reviews
Happy last Sunday in June! Can you believe it? Halfway through 2009 already. How did that happen? Remember when time used to drag when you were a child? The older I get the faster the clock, I'm telling you. I can't imagine in 20 years how I will feel if I think time is flying by now!Well, today (in the interest of time, perhaps?) I am offering some mini-reviews of the books I have recently read and finished. Two of the books are about Fibromyalgia, which I have, so I have included them here since they may not be of interest to some readers.
Book #: 48The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Challenges: Banned Books Challenge, Colorful Reading, Summer Reading List
Rating: 3.5 Stars
30-Second Thoughts:
I listened to the audio version of this book. It was read by Morrison herself, although I did not think she added anything to the story in her reading. This is my 2nd Morrison novel (Beloved being the first) and while I think that her awards are much deserved based on the importance of her messages and what the reader comes away with knowing, her writing does not flow to me. I find it slow, choppy, and almost tedious. I do think audio was the way to go, though, because I don't think I would have finished this one reading it myself and, like I said, I thought the message was an important one.
Book #: 49From Fatigued to Fantastic: A Proven Program to Regain Vibrant Health...for Fibromyalgia
Challenges: None
Rating: 3 Stars
30-Second Thoughts:
Although this one is a bit old for a health book, it is one of the foremost books on FMS and it still had some bits of wisdom to offer. A couple of things were outdated, for example FMS is now considered a neurological disorder, but here are a couple of things I did pick up: 1. The book had a nice table of the types of tests you have the right to ask for if you are experiencing certain symptoms. Interestingly, many of them I had not known about. 2. It also had information on co-morbid diseases (diseases that come with the main joy of FMS), some of which I had not known about and found interesting to read. Overall, a decent reference book, but needs updating again.
Book #: 50Maximum Ride Series (Book 1): The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
Challenges: Triple 999 Challenge, Genre Challenge, Summer Reading List
Rating: 4.5 Stars
30-Second Thoughts:
The idea for this series came from 2 of Patterson's previous novels, When the Wind Blows and The Lake House, which I adored. Max is the main character and the children were created as experiments and had escaped. However, that is about where the similarities end. Two of my favorite characters in the other books, Frannie and Kit, are not in this series. I missed them. But I still thought Patterson wrote a great fantasy thriller that can satisfy both teens and adults. I will continue with the series. :)
Book #: 51Your Personal Guide to Living Well with Fibromyalgia by The Arthritis Foundation
Challenges: Triple 999 Challenge
Rating: 4.5 Stars
30-Second Thoughts:
This book has gotten a bad rep on Amazon.com but I thought it to be a pretty good guide.
The Pros:
~How to set and follow realistic goals (a problem with the overachiever personalities that overwhelmingly tend to get FMS)
~Tables, diagrams, and illustrations making information easier to locate and consume.
~"Ask the Doctor", "Pain Management Plan", and "Holmes Scales" worksheets to help the patient keep better organized and find correlations between activities, environments, and symptoms.
~Personal stories from a variety of people with FMS
~How to overcome the grief post-diagnosis and get back your life by using modifications to continue enjoying things you always did.
The Cons:
~No information on legal disability issues, a major concern for those with a disability
~Not much information concerning new findings about the disease, but that wasn't really the point of this particular guide, either.
Overall, a great guide and resource for fibromyalgia patients.
Other Reviews of The Bluest Eye:
Other Reviews of From Fatigued to Fantastic:
Other Reviews of The Angel Experiment:
Other Reviews of Your Personal Guide...:
Other Reviews of From Fatigued to Fantastic:
Other Reviews of The Angel Experiment:
Other Reviews of Your Personal Guide...:
June 27, 2009
Take Me Away to Kenya
Take Me AwayAs a lover of books that take place in different cultures and are about different cultures, Take Me Away is a way to share this love with you, my readers and friends!
Each week I will feature a different country or culture (ex. Cherokee, Jewish, etc. that do not have a specific country per se) and list some books that can transport you there.
I am keeping a map of the countries we visit and a list of the specific cultures, which you can see at the bottom of this post. Here is a list of where we've been so far:
Norway
Taiwan
Turkey
Chile
This week we are visiting the country of Kenya. Click on the titles of the books to go to Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com to read reviews and/or purchase the book.
Here is an easy to see map of Kenya:
To learn more about Kenya click here.
A Woman's Worth by Tracy Price-ThompsonEmbracing the shattered pieces of the soul and championing the resilient nature of the heart, A Woman’s Worth takes readers on a journey of startling depth. From a speakeasy whorehouse in the bottoms of Alabama to a luxurious high-rise apartment in Kenya, acclaimed author Tracy Price-Thompson crosses boundaries of sexuality, gender, and culture to accentuate the core of black identity: the enormous strength of family.
The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood by Elspeth HuxleyIn an open cart Elspeth Huxley set off with her parents to travel to Thika in Kenya. As pioneering settlers, they built a house of grass, ate off a damask cloth spread over packing cases, and discovered—the hard way—the world of the African. With an extraordinary gift for detail and a keen sense of humor, Huxley recalls her childhood on the small farm at a time when Europeans waged their fortunes on a land that was as harsh as it was beautiful. For a young girl, it was a time of adventure and freedom, and Huxley paints an unforgettable portrait of growing up among the Masai and Kikuyu people, discovering both the beauty and the terrors of the jungle, and enduring the rugged realities of the pioneer life.
Mama Panya's Pancakes: A Village Tale from Kenya by Mary and Rich ChamberlainK-Gr 3-Mama Panya and her son, Adika, are all ready for market day where Mama is planning on using her few coins to buy the ingredients to make pancakes for dinner. Adika is so excited that he can't help inviting all of their friends and neighbors. Mama Panya is worried that his generosity may be more than her few coins and their meager supplies can provide. Luckily all of the guests arrive with gifts, and a Kenyan cross between "Stone Soup" and the story of the loaves and the fishes is realized. A recipe, map, details about daily life, and facts about Kiswahili and Kenya are included. With their bold colors, vivid patterns, and lush scenery, the illustrations will transport readers into this country to walk alongside Mama Panya and Adika on their way to market. Details from animals to foliage are depicted clearly and provide more than just a backdrop to the story; they're a great introduction to the landscape and people of East Africa.
Green City in the Sun by Barbara WoodSet in Kenya, in 1919, this book is of a British family, the Trevertons, who settle on an estate on the homeland of Kikuyu and the antagonism that develops between them and the tribe's own medicine woman, whose powers they disregard.
Desire by Lindsay Ahl "A dense, dreamlike novel. You wake with a sense that your own world has changed because of this foray through the wilds of Africa, New Mexico, and family life."-Susann Cokal, author of Mirabilis. In 1975 the price of ivory was on the rise, Bob Dylan released a seminal album, and nine-year old Elena Monroe witnessed a brutal murder in the Kenyan river valley. Sixteen years later, Elena must journey from Albuquerque to Africa before her increasingly unreliable and volatile memories unravel her ties to her mother and cause her to lose the man she loves.
Away from You by Melanie FinnEllie Cameron, heroine of this well-crafted debut novel of self-discovery, is living aimlessly in New Mexico when she receives a letter from Nairobi, Kenya, informing her that her father, John Cameron, has died and left her his fortune. She flies to East Africa, where she was born and raised until she was 12, when her mother, Helen, fled, taking Ellie with her. Ellie arrives to find her old home gone and a mini-mall erected on the grounds. But the white house next door still stands, where she'd seen Mrs. McMullen, "the cord of her pink bathrobe around her neck." Ellie's father was accused of murder, but the death was ruled a suicide. The slow-paced but engrossing narrative shifts back frequently, sometime too much so, from Ellie's childhood with her expat parents, who indulged in alcohol and infidelity and abused their children and their native servants, to the present, with finely wrought details of white and black lives that are fascinating and authoritative.
Petals of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong'oPrimary schoolteacher Godfrey Munira requests a posting at a far-away, rural location, hoping to escape his feelings of failure, his disappointment with himself. He is sent to the village of Ilmorog, where he crosses paths with Wanja, a beautiful bargirl come to live with her grandmother; Abdullah, a former freedom fighter who now runs a small shop and bar; and later Karega, a former student expelled from a prestigious secondary school for participating in a strike, then reduced to selling petty wares to tourists. These four friends (and sometimes lovers and sometimes rivals) participate with the native residents of Ilmorog through ups and downs, through drought and urbanization. The principal theme of the book is disillusionment with independence, which replaced a few elite whites tightly holding power and money in Kenya with ... a few elite blacks holding power and money in Kenya. And as Ilmorog develops, just as in Kenya's post-independence transition, those who fought longest for change aren't those who see the benefits. The theme is not a happy one, and the novel holds out no clear solution (one character finds religion, another finds alcoholism, a third finds labor unions - and incredible hostility towards them by those in power) but it reflects true frustration on the part of many unable to climb out of abject poverty. (from reviewer Magic Man on Amazon, which was best synopsis I could find.)
This is by no means an exhaustive list. Do you know of some books that take place in Kenya that you want to share? Or do you want to share other thoughts? Please leave a note in the comments! And be sure to check back next week for a trip in books to Haiti in the Caribbean!
The Take Me Away Map of Countries Visited:
create your own visited country map
June 26, 2009
Finding FOL Sales with New SIte
Yesterday, I received an e-mail about a new site that helps people find Friends of Library sales that are going on. I checked it out. It found several library sales going on here in NC, including one in November of this year. Hopefully this could help other readers. Here is her e-mail with all the information:
Hello,
I recently came across your book blog and though I just thought our site might be of interest to you (and possibly your blog readers).
All across the nation, many Friends of the Library organizations hold book sales that feature cheap books that were either donated or removed from circulation. Typically these sales sell books, CDs, magazines, and DvD's for rock bottom prices. A typical sale will sell most of their items for under 3 dollars.
Being charity organizations, these Friends of the Library organizations often have limited resources to advertise and promote their sales. As such, many people are never made aware of the excellent deals they are missing within their own communities. That's where booksalemanager.com comes ins. We are attempting to bridge the gap between Organizations looking to more effectively advertise their sale, and people looking to find more places to get good deals on books and media.
Friends of the Library organizations and other non-profit groups can freely advertise their sale on our site. People looking to find sales can use our powerful search tools to find these sales. They can search by state, zip code, sale size, and date ranged. Furthermore, people can create an account and save sales to their calendar to help them better track the sales they want to go to.
Our site is in a late beta stage, so our database of sales is expected to grow dramatically over the next few months. We are also looking to add additional features such as premium sales and better email notifications people can sign up for. All for Free.
I believe book sales are a great way to find bargain books and media while at the same time supporting the local libraries we all know and love. It's a total win-win. Thank you for your time and if you have any other questions, please let me know.
Jessica
Friday Finds: 9
The Wonder Singer by George RabasaFound @ Unbridled Books
The Wonder Singer is an operatic literary caper about one young writer's manic ambition. The ghostwriter's best chance at fame almost disappears when his Diva dies suddenly in her bath. His solution is to steal the tapes, liberate the Diva's aging husband, and write the autobiography on the run. Abetted by the beautiful but scrupulous Perla, the Señora’s nurse, and by a female impersonator who considers himself the diva’s greatest fan, Lockwood locks himself into his study, endlessly plays the tapes, and begins to craft his greatest book. Once the three conspirators rescue the Señora’s husband from the home she put him in, Lockwood’s sense of his own heart begins to expand beyond his considerable imagination.
The Belly Dancer by DeAnna Cameron
The Wonder Singer is an operatic literary caper about one young writer's manic ambition. The ghostwriter's best chance at fame almost disappears when his Diva dies suddenly in her bath. His solution is to steal the tapes, liberate the Diva's aging husband, and write the autobiography on the run. Abetted by the beautiful but scrupulous Perla, the Señora’s nurse, and by a female impersonator who considers himself the diva’s greatest fan, Lockwood locks himself into his study, endlessly plays the tapes, and begins to craft his greatest book. Once the three conspirators rescue the Señora’s husband from the home she put him in, Lockwood’s sense of his own heart begins to expand beyond his considerable imagination.
The Belly Dancer by DeAnna Cameron Found @ Wendi's Book Corner
At the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, the modern, the exotic, and the ground-breaking collide. But Dora Chambers has more pressing matters to consider. Hoping to begin a life of wealth and privilege in Chicago, she sets out to earn the approval of the Fair’s Board of Lady Managers to appease her ambitious, aloof husband. Unimpressed, they give Dora the distasteful task of enforcing proper conduct at the Egyptian belly dancing exhibition. But Dora’s sensibilities are not so easily flustered. She finds herself captivated by these exotic women, and by their enigmatic manager, Hossam Farouk, who makes his mistrust of her known—although his lingering glances hint at something else. As Dora’s eyes are opened to the world beyond a life of social expectations and quiet servitude, she finds the courage to break free of her self-imposed bondage, and discovers the truth about the desire and passion in her own heart.
The Lacuna by Barbara KingsolverFound @ she reads and reads
Set in Mexico and the U.S. during the 1930s, '40s and '50s, the novel tells the story of fictional Harrison Shepherd, who works for Mexican painter Diego Rivera," notes Bookseller. "Shepherd becomes the confidante of Rivera's artist wife, Frida Kahlo, and then secretary to her one-time lover, Trotsky, until his assassination. Shepherd later flees Mexico for the U.S., where he becomes a bestselling author before coming under a McCarthy-style investigation. The Lacuna is told through Shepherd's diaries and letters, as well as newspaper cuttings," notes the publication.
The Forest Lover by Emily Carr
Found @ Tea Leaves
Valeria's Last Stand by Marc Fitten
Found @ The Boston Bibliophile
The End of the Alphabet by C.S. Richardson
Found @ Books and Needlepoint
Tone Deaf in Bangkok by Janet Brown
Found @ Missy's Book Nook
The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright
Found @ Books and Needlepoint
Run by Anne Patchett
Found @ Ready When You Are, C.B.
What did you discover this week?
June 25, 2009
Blog Awards
This is an award I had not seen much around but one that I am so excited to receive. I got it from the lovely Kaye from Pudgy Penguin Perusals. If you haven't been to her blog, shame on you, get over there! This "B-I-N-G-O" BEAUTIFUL BLOG AWARD means that this blog is...
B: Beautiful
I: Informative
N: Neighborly
G: Gorgeous
O: Outstanding
Here is what Kaye had to say about my blog. It was just so sweet that I had to share it: Rebecca of Lost in Books has an extremely informative blog. In fact she has a new feature called Take Me Away Saturday that is so well researched and interesting, I look forward to the next segment as soon as I read the current one. If you haven't read this feature, you are truly missing something unique. I love the maps she creates too showing the featured country and it's writers. Great job, Rebecca!
Here is how getting this award works:
Please look carefully at as many blogs as you can to find the top FIVE blogs that YOU think also exemplify these standards and pass it along to them. Please don't break this chain of FIVE! If you are someone who doesn't want awards or doesn't pass them on, please tell the person who is giving it so they can share it with someone who would want it. Thank you. Also, link your award to the person who gave it to you so when people link on the person's name or blog name, it will take them there to see that person's BINGO-RIFFIC BLOG.
It is always so hard to narrow down the fabulous list of blogs that I adore, but I have done what I can.
1. A High and Hidden Place
2. Find Your Next Book Here
3. Musings of a Bookish Kitty
4. Book Addiction
5. Confessions of a Bibliophile
Thank you again Bingo and Kaye!
I also have recently received this award from The Dangerous Pages Review!
This award is also a meme, but the rules are simple. If you accept it, you are supposed to list seven of your favorite things and nominate seven blogs that deserve this award. And of course copy the award to your site and link back to this post or my blog.
Here are 7 of my favorite things:
1. Taking walks in the park
2. Having my hair washed
3. Upbeat jams on a long car trip
4. Helping others
5. My 12-year-old cat, Kali. She's been there with me through everything.
6. Mint chocolate chip ice cream
7. Coca-Cola (I'm an addict.)
Here are the 7 blogs I nominate for this award/meme:
1. Ms. Bookish
2. Shannan Loves Books
3. Worducopia
4. 1330v
5. In the Shadow of Mt. TBR
6. Savvy Verse & Wit
7. Kiss a Cloud
I also have recently received this award from The Dangerous Pages Review!
This award is also a meme, but the rules are simple. If you accept it, you are supposed to list seven of your favorite things and nominate seven blogs that deserve this award. And of course copy the award to your site and link back to this post or my blog.
Here are 7 of my favorite things:
1. Taking walks in the park
2. Having my hair washed
3. Upbeat jams on a long car trip
4. Helping others
5. My 12-year-old cat, Kali. She's been there with me through everything.
6. Mint chocolate chip ice cream
7. Coca-Cola (I'm an addict.)
Here are the 7 blogs I nominate for this award/meme:
1. Ms. Bookish
2. Shannan Loves Books
3. Worducopia
4. 1330v
5. In the Shadow of Mt. TBR
6. Savvy Verse & Wit
7. Kiss a Cloud
Linking to Other Reviews
I have seen the participants of Weekly Geeks do this, but did not take up the idea myself- linking to other reviews of the same book on the review post.
I honestly just thought 'it's too much work' and that I 'didn't review enough of the same books as the more established bloggers', but the whole idea behind it is basically community. I love the book blogging and reading community and want to be a part of it as much as I can. So now that I have blogging more under control (6 months in July!) and I'm connected on Twitter and Goodreads and Book Blogs. I am on Blogged and Blog Catalog and Library Thing and I am subscribed to the most entertaining book blogs.
What's next seems obvious to me: to connect to other bloggers via our book reviews. Those at Weekly Geeks had the right idea. So I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to let me know if you've reviewed a book I have reviewed or one that comes up in the future. Send me the link and I will add it to my post.
Thanks for all the great reviews, too- reviews that inspire my Mt. TBR. It is my absolute pleasure to link to your stellar reviews and I am glad that I have made time to do this.
I honestly just thought 'it's too much work' and that I 'didn't review enough of the same books as the more established bloggers', but the whole idea behind it is basically community. I love the book blogging and reading community and want to be a part of it as much as I can. So now that I have blogging more under control (6 months in July!) and I'm connected on Twitter and Goodreads and Book Blogs. I am on Blogged and Blog Catalog and Library Thing and I am subscribed to the most entertaining book blogs.
What's next seems obvious to me: to connect to other bloggers via our book reviews. Those at Weekly Geeks had the right idea. So I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to let me know if you've reviewed a book I have reviewed or one that comes up in the future. Send me the link and I will add it to my post.
Thanks for all the great reviews, too- reviews that inspire my Mt. TBR. It is my absolute pleasure to link to your stellar reviews and I am glad that I have made time to do this.
Congratulations, Jen!
Congratulations to Jen of Devourer of Books who welcomed son Daniel Alexander into the world this morning! He's too cute!
June 24, 2009
My Month in Movies
My Month in Movies is a new monthly feature I started in May to bring you one of my other loves- movies. I am late getting this up this month, but here are the movies I watched in the past month. I watched quite a few as I was sick for most of the month.
Goya's Ghosts
The painter Goya becomes involved with the Spanish Inquisition when his muse, Ines, is arrested by the church for heresy. Her father, Thomas, comes to him hoping that his connection with Brother Lorenzo, whom he is painting, can secure the release of his daughter.
Rating 3 Stars (would have been 4 but I did not like the ending)
He's Just Not That Into You
In Baltimore, five women and four men try to sort out the signals that the sexes exchange. Gigi imagines every man she meets is Mr. Right; she gets reality checks from Alex, a sweet but cynical saloon keeper. Janine and Ben seem solidly married until he chats with Anna in a market checkout line; meanwhile Anna is indifferent to the pursing Connor. Neil and Beth have been together seven years; she dumps him when she realizes he really and truly isn't going to marry her. Does he love her? And Mary sells advertising while searching on line for a man. Will those in love stay in love? Will those searching figure out who is and who isn't into them? Are men all that different from women?
Rating 4 Stars
Lost in Austen
After a dispute with her boyfriend, Amanda lands in the 19th-century world of author Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. While helping the Bennet sisters find husbands, Amanda accidentally causes problems that could alter the course of the tale. Throughout this British series, Amanda must balance her feelings for Mr. Darcy (Elliot Cowan) with her responsibility to the one of the world's greatest love stories.
Rating 3 Stars (I don't know if I liked the ending but I don't know if any ending would have been completely satisfactory to me.)
The Visitor
Widowed professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins, in an Oscar-nominated role) discovers an immigrant couple, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira), squatting in his Manhattan flat and becomes wrapped up in their lives when Tarek is thrown into a detention center. A wonderful Hiam Abbass co-stars as Tarek's mother, who forges an unlikely connection with Walter. Thomas McCarthy won a Best Director Independent Spirit Award for his touching drama.
Rating 5 Stars (This movie was recommended to me by another blogger. I loved it! The movie is a little slow to start but stick with it.)
Godzilla (1998)
When a freighter is viciously attacked in the Pacific Ocean, a team of experts -- including biologist Niko Tatopoulos (Matthew Broderick) and scientists Elsie Chapman (Vicki Lewis) and Mendel Craven (Malcolm Danare) -- concludes that an oversized reptile is the culprit. Before long, the giant lizard is loose in Manhattan, destroying everything within its reach. The team chases the monster to Madison Square Garden, where a brutal battle ensues.
Rating 4 Stars
The Orphanage
With fond memories of the seaside orphanage where she was raised, Laura (Belén Rueda) persuades her husband (Fernando Cayo) to help her revamp it as a facility for disabled children. But once they move in, their son Simón (Roger PrÃncep) begins to exhibit dark and disturbing behavior. As Laura tries to understand Simón's increasingly malevolent actions, she becomes drawn into the house's terrifying secrets in this gothic chiller.
Rating 4 Stars (It reminded me of the ghost story The Others with Nicole Kidman, which is one of my favorite movies because of the twist.)
Becoming Jane
A passionate romance with roguish barrister Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy) serves as the inspiration for the works of budding novelist Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) in director Julian Jarrold's prismatic drama set in late 18th century England. After rejecting a proposal from a neighbor's rich but stolid nephew, Austen becomes increasingly drawn to impoverished young lawyer Lefroy -- even as relatives and circumstances conspire to separate the couple.
This was the better of the two Austen films I watched. I loved this one. Rating 5 Stars
Casino Royale
Martin Campbell (GoldenEye) directs this film adaptation (the 21st of the Bond franchise) of Ian Fleming's first novel. Daniel Craig debuts as the new Bond who takes on a corrupt financier (Mads Mikkelsen) in a showdown of Texas Hold 'Em. You'll learn Bond's back story as the action-packed film takes you to the Bahamas, Madagascar and other exotic locales. Eva Green stars as Vesper Lynd, and the sublime Judi Dench reprises her role as M.
Rating 3 Stars (I just can't get into the Bond movies, but they are still okay.)
My Mom's New Boyfriend
Calling it a conflict of interest would be a serious understatement when up-and-coming federal agent Henry Durand (Colin Hanks) is ordered to spy on his mom (Meg Ryan) and her new boyfriend (Antonio Banderas). Director George Gallo also penned the screenplay to this romance-drama with a comedic twist inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock classic To Catch a Thief.
Rating 4 Stars (Predictable but has some very funny lines and scenes)
Four Brothers
John Singleton directs Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Garrett Hedlund and André "3000" Benjamin as Bobby, Angel, Jack and Jeremiah Mercer, four tight-knit brothers who look nothing alike but who know the true meaning of family. Returning home for their adoptive mother's funeral, the grieving siblings learn she may actually have been murdered. Resolving revenge, they band together to make sure the killer pays.
Rating 3 Stars (Could have done without the bathroom scene. I feel like this is done a lot in recent movies and tv shows. It is a trend that should come to a screeching halt.)
Outbreak
As take-charge Army virologist Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman) strives to thwart a global biological meltdown in the form of a killer virus that has infested a California community, he must also battle those who say the only way to stop the disease is to firebomb the town. Silver-screen luminaries Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland and Kevin Spacey join Hoffman in this edge-of-your-seat, doomsday thriller.
Rating 4 Stars (This was a re-watch that was on TV one night. Still a good movie.)
W.
Academy Award winner Oliver Stone directs an all-star cast in this satiric retrospective of the life and political career of George W. Bush (Josh Brolin), from his troubles as a young adult through his governorship of Texas and all the way to the Oval Office. Among the key supporting players are Richard Dreyfuss as veep Dick Cheney, Elizabeth Banks as first lady Laura Bush and Thandie Newton as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Rating 3.5 Stars (The actors personification of the politicos were all uncanny. Josh Brolin had W.'s accent down pat and Richard Dryfuss made a totally convincing creepy Cheney.)
Pumpkin
When perfect, perky Carolyn (Christina Ricci) and her Alpha Omega Pi sisters decide to coach mentally challenged athletes for the regional Challenged Games, Carolyn's assigned to coach Pumpkin, a young disabled man. She's terrified at first, but soon sees in Pumpkin a gentle humanity and honest clarity that touches her soul. To the horror of her friends -- and Pumpkin's overprotective mother -- Carolyn starts to falls in love. …
Rating 3 Stars (Could have been so much more if it had better direction.)
Lost Season 3
This is the most addictive show EVER. Does anyone know of a more addictive show? I blame this completely on Amy of My Friend Amy. :)
DNF:
A Scanner Darkly
I couldn't take the rapidly flashing Keanu Reeves. It gave me a headache.
Persuasion (1995)
It was too slow to start. Having not read the book yet, this did not make me want to keep trying with the movie, either.
The Fortune Cookie
I thought it would be great considering this was the first pairing of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matheau, but I didn't care about the characters and it wasn't funny like I thought it would be.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
A good film but it was way too long. It got very slow and I lost interest because it had already been two hours. How do you take a short story and make it a 3-hour movie???
What did you watch recently? Was it worth it?
The painter Goya becomes involved with the Spanish Inquisition when his muse, Ines, is arrested by the church for heresy. Her father, Thomas, comes to him hoping that his connection with Brother Lorenzo, whom he is painting, can secure the release of his daughter.
Rating 3 Stars (would have been 4 but I did not like the ending)
He's Just Not That Into You
In Baltimore, five women and four men try to sort out the signals that the sexes exchange. Gigi imagines every man she meets is Mr. Right; she gets reality checks from Alex, a sweet but cynical saloon keeper. Janine and Ben seem solidly married until he chats with Anna in a market checkout line; meanwhile Anna is indifferent to the pursing Connor. Neil and Beth have been together seven years; she dumps him when she realizes he really and truly isn't going to marry her. Does he love her? And Mary sells advertising while searching on line for a man. Will those in love stay in love? Will those searching figure out who is and who isn't into them? Are men all that different from women?
Rating 4 Stars
Lost in Austen
After a dispute with her boyfriend, Amanda lands in the 19th-century world of author Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. While helping the Bennet sisters find husbands, Amanda accidentally causes problems that could alter the course of the tale. Throughout this British series, Amanda must balance her feelings for Mr. Darcy (Elliot Cowan) with her responsibility to the one of the world's greatest love stories.
Rating 3 Stars (I don't know if I liked the ending but I don't know if any ending would have been completely satisfactory to me.)
The Visitor
Widowed professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins, in an Oscar-nominated role) discovers an immigrant couple, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira), squatting in his Manhattan flat and becomes wrapped up in their lives when Tarek is thrown into a detention center. A wonderful Hiam Abbass co-stars as Tarek's mother, who forges an unlikely connection with Walter. Thomas McCarthy won a Best Director Independent Spirit Award for his touching drama.
Rating 5 Stars (This movie was recommended to me by another blogger. I loved it! The movie is a little slow to start but stick with it.)
Godzilla (1998)
When a freighter is viciously attacked in the Pacific Ocean, a team of experts -- including biologist Niko Tatopoulos (Matthew Broderick) and scientists Elsie Chapman (Vicki Lewis) and Mendel Craven (Malcolm Danare) -- concludes that an oversized reptile is the culprit. Before long, the giant lizard is loose in Manhattan, destroying everything within its reach. The team chases the monster to Madison Square Garden, where a brutal battle ensues.
Rating 4 Stars
The Orphanage
With fond memories of the seaside orphanage where she was raised, Laura (Belén Rueda) persuades her husband (Fernando Cayo) to help her revamp it as a facility for disabled children. But once they move in, their son Simón (Roger PrÃncep) begins to exhibit dark and disturbing behavior. As Laura tries to understand Simón's increasingly malevolent actions, she becomes drawn into the house's terrifying secrets in this gothic chiller.
Rating 4 Stars (It reminded me of the ghost story The Others with Nicole Kidman, which is one of my favorite movies because of the twist.)
Becoming Jane
A passionate romance with roguish barrister Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy) serves as the inspiration for the works of budding novelist Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) in director Julian Jarrold's prismatic drama set in late 18th century England. After rejecting a proposal from a neighbor's rich but stolid nephew, Austen becomes increasingly drawn to impoverished young lawyer Lefroy -- even as relatives and circumstances conspire to separate the couple.
This was the better of the two Austen films I watched. I loved this one. Rating 5 Stars
Casino Royale
Martin Campbell (GoldenEye) directs this film adaptation (the 21st of the Bond franchise) of Ian Fleming's first novel. Daniel Craig debuts as the new Bond who takes on a corrupt financier (Mads Mikkelsen) in a showdown of Texas Hold 'Em. You'll learn Bond's back story as the action-packed film takes you to the Bahamas, Madagascar and other exotic locales. Eva Green stars as Vesper Lynd, and the sublime Judi Dench reprises her role as M.
Rating 3 Stars (I just can't get into the Bond movies, but they are still okay.)
My Mom's New Boyfriend
Calling it a conflict of interest would be a serious understatement when up-and-coming federal agent Henry Durand (Colin Hanks) is ordered to spy on his mom (Meg Ryan) and her new boyfriend (Antonio Banderas). Director George Gallo also penned the screenplay to this romance-drama with a comedic twist inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock classic To Catch a Thief.
Rating 4 Stars (Predictable but has some very funny lines and scenes)
Four Brothers
John Singleton directs Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Garrett Hedlund and André "3000" Benjamin as Bobby, Angel, Jack and Jeremiah Mercer, four tight-knit brothers who look nothing alike but who know the true meaning of family. Returning home for their adoptive mother's funeral, the grieving siblings learn she may actually have been murdered. Resolving revenge, they band together to make sure the killer pays.
Rating 3 Stars (Could have done without the bathroom scene. I feel like this is done a lot in recent movies and tv shows. It is a trend that should come to a screeching halt.)
Outbreak
As take-charge Army virologist Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman) strives to thwart a global biological meltdown in the form of a killer virus that has infested a California community, he must also battle those who say the only way to stop the disease is to firebomb the town. Silver-screen luminaries Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland and Kevin Spacey join Hoffman in this edge-of-your-seat, doomsday thriller.
Rating 4 Stars (This was a re-watch that was on TV one night. Still a good movie.)
W.
Academy Award winner Oliver Stone directs an all-star cast in this satiric retrospective of the life and political career of George W. Bush (Josh Brolin), from his troubles as a young adult through his governorship of Texas and all the way to the Oval Office. Among the key supporting players are Richard Dreyfuss as veep Dick Cheney, Elizabeth Banks as first lady Laura Bush and Thandie Newton as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Rating 3.5 Stars (The actors personification of the politicos were all uncanny. Josh Brolin had W.'s accent down pat and Richard Dryfuss made a totally convincing creepy Cheney.)
Pumpkin
When perfect, perky Carolyn (Christina Ricci) and her Alpha Omega Pi sisters decide to coach mentally challenged athletes for the regional Challenged Games, Carolyn's assigned to coach Pumpkin, a young disabled man. She's terrified at first, but soon sees in Pumpkin a gentle humanity and honest clarity that touches her soul. To the horror of her friends -- and Pumpkin's overprotective mother -- Carolyn starts to falls in love. …
Rating 3 Stars (Could have been so much more if it had better direction.)
Lost Season 3
This is the most addictive show EVER. Does anyone know of a more addictive show? I blame this completely on Amy of My Friend Amy. :)
DNF:
A Scanner Darkly
I couldn't take the rapidly flashing Keanu Reeves. It gave me a headache.
Persuasion (1995)
It was too slow to start. Having not read the book yet, this did not make me want to keep trying with the movie, either.
The Fortune Cookie
I thought it would be great considering this was the first pairing of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matheau, but I didn't care about the characters and it wasn't funny like I thought it would be.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
A good film but it was way too long. It got very slow and I lost interest because it had already been two hours. How do you take a short story and make it a 3-hour movie???
What did you watch recently? Was it worth it?
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