April 4, 1979 - January 22, 2008
Gone too soon
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Sunday, January 22, 2023
Monday, January 24, 2022
Yearly Remembrance - Heath Ledger
Gah! I'm two days late this year! Sorry, Heath.
April 4, 1979 - January 22, 2008
Gone too soon
Saturday, January 23, 2021
Yearly Remembrance - Heath Ledger #gonetoosoon
I'm a day late! Sorry, Heath.
"I'm not good at future planning. I don't plan at all. I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow. I don't have a day planner and I don't have a diary. I completely live in the now, not in the past, not in the future."
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Yearly Remembrance - Heath Ledger #gonetoosoon
April 4, 1979 - January 22, 2008
Another year has passed with you gone from this earth. It's evident I'm not the only one who misses you.
“I'm standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor, Heath Ledger, so, thank you.”
Joaquin Phoenix, in his acceptance speech for Best Actor Screen Actor's Guild award for Joker.
“I'm standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor, Heath Ledger, so, thank you.”
Joaquin Phoenix, in his acceptance speech for Best Actor Screen Actor's Guild award for Joker.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
A Reading Life (49) - Fall Reading! #RIPXII #FrightFall #GothicSept #WitchSeasonCM
Here we are again...coming up on my favorite time of year (well, one of them anyway)! Fall, which leads into winter with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yay! Right now though, it's time to focus on the fun, spooky fall reading events starting with...
R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril XII
Hosting are Heather at My Capricious Life and Andi at Estella's Revenge. Head over to either blog to sign-up. From the sign-up post:
The purpose is to enjoy books that could be classified as...
Mystery
Suspense
Thriller
Dark Fantasy
Gothic
Horror
Supernatural
The emphasis is never on the word challenge, instead it is about coming together as a community and embracing the autumnal mood, whether the weather is cooperative where you live or not.
There are two simple goals for R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril XII:
1. Have fun reading.
2. Share that fun with others.
There are multiple levels. Read more at the sign-up post.
My levels...
Peril the First:
Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (our very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Shirley Jackson or Tananarive Due…or anyone in between.
Between reading for this, my other fall reading events, and my FrightFall readathon, which is the entire month of October, I'm hoping to get a lot of horror reading done. I may not get to all of them, but I'm sure going to try. This is the list I will be working on:
Exorcist Falls (including the novella, Exorcist Road) - Jonathan Janz
We Are Always Watching - Hunter Shea
Becoming - Glenn Rolfe
The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned - Anne Rice (read-along at Gather Together and Read)
The Witch of Ravensworth - George Brewer (novella...for Season of the Witch at Castle Macabre)
Hunter of the Dead - Stephen Kozeniewski
Savages - Greg F. Gifune
The Awakening - Brett McBean
Vyrmin - Gene Lazuta
Renovation - Sara Brooke
Dream Woods - Patrick Lacey (novella)
Peril of the Short Story:
We are fans of short stories and our desire for them is perhaps no greater than in autumn. We see Jackson in our future for sure! You can read short stories any time during the challenge. We sometimes like to read short stories over the weekend and post about them around that time. Feel free to do this however you want, but if you review short stories on your site, please link to those reviews on our RIPXII Book Review pages.
Edgar Allan Poe short stories (for Gothic September):
Berenice: A Tale
William Wilson: A Tale
The Imp of the Perverse
A Descent into the Maelstrom
Short stories for Season of the Witch at Castle Macabre:
Ancient Sorceries - Algernon Blackwood
The Witch - Shirley Jackson
Peril on the Screen:
This is for those of us who like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious gothic fare during this time of year. It may be something on the small screen or large. It might be a television show, like Dark Shadows, or your favorite film. If you are so inclined, please post links to any R.I.P.-related viewing you do on our book review pages as well.
There are a ton of new scary movies I'm looking forward to this fall, not to mention scary shows...one of which I'm watching right now as I type this up..American Horror Story: Cult.
The two movies I'm most looking forward to are IT and Mother! I'm going to see the former this weekend and the latter next weekend. Can't wait!
Join me for my fun, and scary, fall reading events!
Coming in October to Castle Macabre
What's going on in your reading life?
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
A Reading Life (42) - Read-a-Thon wrap-up and more
So, yesterday ended my Spring into Horror Read-a-Thon. I'm happy to say that I was able to complete two books! I read...
I also participated in Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon on Saturday (for about 10-11 hours). I actually managed to stay up all night, but only read half of The Troop. My wrap-up post is here.
What I'm reading now...
Finishing up The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James
Continuing with Roots and Akhenaten by Naguib Mahfouz
Coming up next...Children of Darkness by Jonathan Janz, The Great Mortality by John Kelly
What I've been watching...
Mom and I took my boys to see The Jungle Book on Saturday. They are 13 and 14 years old and I was so thrilled that they wanted to see it. They loved it. The Jungle Book is Gabe's (my older son) favorite since he was little. I'm hoping I can get him to read the book this summer. Mom and I loved the movie too. It was visually stunning, exciting, scary in parts...just an all around great film. I highly recommend it.
Two of my favorites characters...
Raksha voiced by Lupita Nyong'o
Bagheera voiced by Ben Kingsley
Game of Thrones! I was SO excited for the new season. A lot of revelations in this first episode. Don't ask me what, or who, this is...I'm not telling (If you saw it, you'll know). I don't do spoilers. lol
Honestly, I love the Game of Thrones show so much, and the A Song of Ice and Fire series, that I'm seriously thinking about starting book 3, A Storm of Swords, just because I know I'll have to read it slowly (due to other reading obligations) and so will prolong my Game of Thrones euphoria after the season ends. I think I might be addicted. ;-)
I've been watching Doctor Foster: A Woman Scorned on Lifetime. It's a three part "mini-series" that originally aired in the UK and it is EXCELLENT (like most British offerings, I've found). I'm finishing Part 3 tonight (as I type, actually) and can't wait to see how it ends. Her husband is such an ass.
Recent book acquisitions...
For review (next month) from Henry Holt & Company
Worlds Elsewhere: Journeys Around Shakespeare's Globe, Andrew Dickson
(Don't miss the giveaway!)
from Dollar Tree
- The Good Inn: an Illustrated Screen Story of Historical Fiction, Black Francis and Josh Frank (co-written by the Pixies front man...one of my favorite bands!)
- Gameboard of the Gods, Richelle Mead
What's going on in your Reading Life?
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wednesdays on the Trail(er)--Scrooge (4)
***You will find the music player in the right sidebar and there you may turn off the auto play music before enjoying the trailer***
New feature showcasing a favorite or newly discovered book trailer every week. Also, cross hosted over at Castle Macabre with the only difference being that horror movie trailers will also be featured since CM is technically a horror book/movie review site. Please feel free to join in every week, if you would like. I hope you enjoy it!
Not a book trailer this week, but this is a clip from one of my favorite A Christmas Carol adaptations. My favorite song in the movie. My husband and I are always singing this every year. =O)
Scrooge (1970), starring Albert Finney
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
HARRY POTTER NOSTALGIA
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| They were so cute, especially Ron. |
When and Where (when you first discovered the series): I was almost 30 when the first book was released. In fact, it came out two weeks before my birthday. I'm pretty sure my young cousins were the ones that told me about it. They were around 8 and 11 years old so they were right at the age for the books. I'm not sure when I actually got the first book, but I read it well before the first movie came out. A bit of trivia for you. My older son was born two weeks before the first movie came out in 2001. We went to see it Thanksgiving weekend (I think) and took him with us. It was his first movie! Granted, he was an infant in his infant carrier and he slept straight through, but still.... (Incidentally, his second movie was The Fellowship of the Ring, which came out that December!)
Favorite Character: What a hard one! I love Sirius Black, but he's in the books such a short time. Probably Hermione is a favorite and I have to say Snape (for anyone who has ever been misunderstood). And then there's Ron....Oh, I could go on and on!
Most Hated Character: Lord Voldemort and I have a special dislike for Lucius Malfoy.
Favorite Book: Order of the Phoenix not many people liked this one, but it was my favorite. I think it was because it showed Harry finally taking charge and growing up. I read this one really fast!
Rank the Books (1 = favorite, 7 = least favorite):
1. Order of the Phoenix
2. Prisoner of Azkaban
3. Goblet of Fire
4. Half-Blood Prince
5. Deathly Hallows
6. Chamber of Secrets
7. Sorcerer's Stone
Most Memorable Scene: My most memorable scene is a sad one. When Sirius Black gets killed in Order of the Phoenix. A happy one I loved was when Harry caused Lucius to give Dobby a sock, therefore freeing him. Priceless!
What You Will Miss the Most: looking forward to reading the new books and to the movies coming out. =O(
What You Are Looking Forward To (even despite the end): I'm not quite sure how I feel about Pottermore yet, but I am looking forward to what Rowling will write next. She is going to write more (not Harry Potter, I know) books, isn't she? I hope so! I'm also looking forward to seeing what Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson do next in their careers. I heard Emma is doing Beauty and the Beast with Guillermo Del Toro.
What are your favorite Harry Potter memories?
Thursday, May 26, 2011
CAT THURSDAY
Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! (share your post in the Mr. Linky below)
In my intro post for Armchair BEA, I mentioned how I love horror...I love to be scared. One of my favorite horror movies is The Ring
(which is also based on a book, Ring...also good, but a bit different from the movie). One of the creepiest movies ever made! So today I'm sharing this lovely lolcats image with you. Those of you who have seen the movie will get it immediately. And those of you who haven't seen it, if you can tolerate some genuine creepiness and not too much gross out then check it out.
Here's the linky:
Thursday, February 10, 2011
RANDOM MAGIC TOUR: TOP FIVE UNCONVENTIONAL COUPLES
Tour organization: Lyrika Publicis
Contact the tour: @RandomMagicTour
Random Magic...many great things can be said about this book, but one thing that really stands out about it is that it is a very unconventional story. While not a love story, per se, there are some very memorable and unconventional couples in the book.
Winnie and Henry--Winnie is the wild, adventurous type...bold and brave and not afraid to speak her mind and be loud about it. Henry is the quiet, reserved type...but persistent in his quest to find his love, Winnie.
Callie and Nevermore--Callie, the muse of writing, is colorful and brilliant. Nevermore, a shapeshifter, is quiet and brooding. Together they are a reflection of the combination of sun and shadow in the world.
Lady Jolie Witherspoon and Tony--Lady Witherspoon is elegant, eccentric, and vain. Tony is far from elegant, but like Lady Witherspoon, he is worldly. Their long-lasting love for, and admiration of, each other makes for a relationship that works.
In honor of these unconventional couples in Random Magic, I give you my top five unconventional couples in books and movies (and some with a possible music tie-in). These are not necessarily in any particular order.
1. Heathcliff and Cathy (Wuthering Heights)--many people have disagreed with me on this, but I view Heathcliff as one of the most romantic figures. His love for Cathy and her love for him make for a very unconventional couple indeed. Heathcliff, a foundling, taken in by Cathy's father is treated like a stable boy after the death of Cathy's father. Cathy is a girl born into privilege. Heathcliff is a brooding and dark character, while Cathy is wild and whimsical. Somehow, despite their differences, they fall in love. Cathy is like the wind and Heathcliff, the rain. Two elements that often go hand and hand, but are equally tempestuous. And that is their relationship. Unfortunately, they are too different, and so are destined to be apart until joined again in death.
Here is a video of clips from my favorite version of Wuthering Heights starring Ralph Fiennes (so far, my most favorite Heathcliff portrayal) and Juliette Binoche, set to the beautiful song, Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush (there is also a version of this song by Pat Benatar that is a favorite). Enjoy!
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| movie version-Eric Bana & Rachel McAdams |
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| 1997 version-Samantha Morton & Ciaran Hinds |
4. Jack and Rose (Titanic)--Jack...a Midwestern scrapper who is also a talented artist and poor. Rose...a privileged, proper, and wealthy girl locked in a loveless engagement. Chance brings them together and so begins one of the most unconventional love stories, not only because of their different backgrounds, but also because of the backdrop of their story. Also one of the best, and tragic, love stories of all time. Who can forget Rose clutching Jack's hands as he dies in the icy water and sinks to his death and Rose stating repeatedly, "I'll never let go." The movie is almost impossible for me to watch because of this devastatingly sad moment.
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| Cary Elwes & Robin Wright |
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For you...a lovely poem chosen by Random
Magic author, Sasha Soren
Bonus: Sweet treat--Classic Love Poem
“Hymne” by Charles Baudelaire
To the most lovely, the most dear,
The Angel, and the deathless grail
Who fill my heart with radiance clear —
In immortality all hail!
Into my life she flows translated
As saline breezes fill the sky,
And pours into my soul unsated
The taste of what can never die.
Text translations: Original French, English
Listen online: Hear this poem
*Poet Charles Baudelaire also appears as a character in
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Feel free to play the Queen of Hearts tour game
for Random Magic Tour: Vive L'Amour (Feb. 1-14)
- just collect more candy hearts like the
one above the poem and you might win a sweet prize!
See prizes or Check out sample post
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About Random Magic:
View the trailer HERE
Buy it on AMAZON
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Do you have any favorite unconventional couples from books or movies? If so, who and why? Feel free to share in the comments.
Check out more romantic fare in the other romantic features on the Random Magic Tour: Vive L’Amour Browse the full tour schedule HERE.
Friday, September 3, 2010
BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY (2)
Even though it’s usually a mistake (grin) … do movies made out of books make you want to read the original?
When I see a movie, I always watch the beginning credits to see if it's based on a book. Then I add it to my list and end up obtaining the book and reading it, especially if it was a movie I liked because...guess what? The book is usually better! Well, duh!
Here are a few standouts where I watched the movie first and then read the book:
The Reckoning based on the novel Morality Play by Barry Unsworth
Sense and Sensibility based on the novel by Jane Austen
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The Reckoning was a good movie and the subject was very interesting to me...Medieval morality plays intertwined with a murder mystery. When I saw that this movie was based on a book, I read it almost immediately. Both the movie and the book were very good. I reconcile this to the fact that the novel was very short and so was much easier to adapt into a movie.
I saw Sense and Sensibility back in 1995 and I fell in love with the story and Jane Austen. Shamefully, this is how I was introduced to Jane. This movie still remains one of my favorites. However, I just read the book a couple of weeks ago and I have to say that I agree with what people have said about all the actors being too old for the ages that Jane wrote them. That was a mild annoyance. In all, I still love the movie, but the book was wonderful!
I first saw Rebecca when I was a teen. I have always loved old movies, going back as far as watching old Shirley Temple movies when I was little. I think I read the book not too long after seeing the film. My mom really encouraged me to read it and while the film was good and very well acted, there is just no comparison to the book.
So...what about you? Do you seek out the book if you find out a movie is based on one?
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