I really, really enjoyed this movie. I felt for Anne and hoped for her happy ending. I fell in love with Captain Wentworth! I was by turns amused, angered, and empathetic towards the other varied characters. In this story Anne and Wentworth are star-crossed lovers who get a second chance at a fairy tale ending. The question is one of having the courage to follow one’s heart in search of true joy and love. I was planning to read Sense and Sensibility next, buy may have to change my plans and read Persuasion instead. All I can say now is GO WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!
This movie stars Sting as Dr. Frankenstein. He brings to life and creates the perfect woman, Eva, played by Jennifer Beals. Will Eva be everything Dr. Frankenstein expects? This was a good movie. It did seem a little slow in places, but still I enjoyed the story. My favorite parts were with Viktor, Frankenstein’s monster, and his new friend, Rinaldo. Rinaldo helps Viktor to love himself and to follow his dream. This will, of course, lead back to Eva and Dr. Frankstein. Has Viktor learned enough to make his dream come true? I’ll leave that for you to discover.
Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight books have made vampires cool. Everywhere you turn, especially this time of year, there are vampires. I admit I’ve been bitten. I went back to one of the earliest vampire stories, Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I am currently reading the book and Wednesday night I watched the movie for the first time. I don’t usually enjoy scary movies and was a little nervous about this one. It was scary in all the right ways and I did enjoy the story. It seemed a bit slow in places and there was a great deal more sexual overtones than I expected, but I enjoyed the love story between Dracula and Mina. This is a very visual movie and takes a good deal of concentration to pick up on all the nuances. I may need to watch it again, just to be certain I didn’t miss anything. Some parts are becoming more clear as I read the book. I am finding some differences between the two and will talk more when I have completed the book. It is an entertaining movie especially if you like a creepy sort of scary.
I don’t normally care too much for scary movies and was apprehensive of this one. Then I discovered that Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in this piece of cinema. I am a big fan of Kenneth Branagh’s work and own nearly all of his Shakespeare films. I decided to face my fear, so to speak, and give this movie a chance. It turned out to be a wonderful drama. Though it was a bit scary, I found myself totally taken in by the story. I had a great time watching this movie and highly recommend it to others. It is perfect for the fan of Frankestein, a great drama, and a wonderful story.
We watched this lastnight and found it to be wholly delightful. It was fun watching Amanda learn the ways of the World of Austen. It was also quite interesting to see some of the characters from another perspective. I even rather found myself liking Mr. Wickham. In this particular version he wasn’t really quite the cad portrayed by Austen. The actress playing Jane did a wonderful job and Mr. Darcy was beautifully portrayed as well. Both were exactly as one would expect them to be. My only complaint was not seeing more of Elizabeth in the modern day. It would be fun, I think, to see her in our world. Perhaps one could go back and make that into a series. I highly recommend this DVD to any Austen fan.
Here are just a few pirate themed goodies I found around the world wide web. I hope you enjoy! First up we have a replica of a 1930’s pirate costume pattern from WearingHistory. Next we have the cutest cupcake toppers from ScrapYourStory. I just adore this clutch from LittleBlackRabbit and this tie from ToyBreaker is absolutely beautiful. These Lego cufflinks from PinkTopHat are fun and quirky. Wall decals seem to be quite the thing right now and these ships from Christianitees12 are perfect for the pirate lover. Lost Mountain Clayworks makes beautiful pirate-worthy wares. What could be more fun than this vintage-inspired pirate dress from VivienofHolloway? With Talk like a Pirate Day looming, I thought this dictionary from Amazon might come in handy. This doll from TheTinderBox reminds me of a doll my grandma made for me once. Isn’t she cute? Everyone knows that a pirate’s makeup is of utmost importance. No pirate lass would dare be caught without her DragonScales eyedust from ModCloth. A Peter the Pirate Jack-in-the-box is a necessity for any pirate-loving kid. This one can be found at Amazon. I’m becoming quite a fan of Hello Kitty and just couldn’t resist this pirate plushie from Sanrio. Isn’t she just the cutest? I couldn’t leave out my fellow readers and booklovers. I have something just for you, bookplates from ModernClassicsKids. I love old school desks. They are the perfect places for little ones to draw, color, and write. This one from Omgurl is full of pirate fun! I have a little something for all of you music lovers. I found this 2 cd set of sea songs and pirate ballads on Amazon. It’s also available in an MP3 format. Looking for a way to make breakfast fun? May I recommend a pirate toast stamper. These can be found in a variety of places online. I found this one on PerpetualKid. I simply couldn’t consider my little gallery of pirate fun complete without a sockmonkey. I found Bad Billy Blart at YackyJan. She has lots of delightful monkeys looking for a good home. Lastly, a little something for the movie lovers among us. I have never seen The Pirate, but with Gene Kelly and Judy Garland its bound to be lots of fun with singing and dancing. A copy is waiting for you at Amazon. I hope you arrrr having as much fun in my little pirate gallery as I had in putting it together. Come back tomrrow and check out all the piratey goodness to be found in jewelry. There are some really pretty pirate-inspired pieces out there. I can’t wait to share them with you.
Recently, while on Goodreads, I discovered that Stephanie of Stephanie’s Written Word had issued an Everything Austen Challenge. The idea is to watch and/or read everything Austen between now and January 1, 2010. She asked that participants choose 6 items to watch/read. I want to take a moment to say a BIG THANK YOU to Stephanie for setting up this challenge and mostly for allowing me to enter. I was a bit late discovering this awesome challenge! I have decided to watch three movies and read three books. Here is my list:
Movies: Mansfield Park
Persuasion
Lost in Austen
Books: Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
Mr. Darcy, Vampyre
I am looking forward to this challenge! It is going to be so much fun!
A couple of weeks ago we went to see the Star Trek movie. We drove to Texarkana (about 30 min away) and paid a total of $22.75 to see the movie and have two small sodas and a shared small popcorn. I should mention that this was the less expensive matinee. Although, we had a wonderful time and truly enjoyed the movie, it was rather expensive. Yesterday, we were driving to Daingerfield (about 45 min away) to visit the state park. We want to do a little camping this summer and were investigating the area. Several people, including my friend, Robyn, have told us about the Dollar movies in Daingerfield. We decided to go check it out for ourselves. They just happened to be showing “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” with Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. The tickets cost $1.50 apiece and although we didn’t get popcorn or sodas (we had just eaten at Outlaw BBQ), we did check the prices and discovered that medium drinks only cost 1.75 and a medium popcorn cost $2. We could have each had a medium popcorn and medium soda plus our tickets for a grand total of about $10.00. Quite a difference! We had just as much fun at this movie as at Star Trek. Ghosts is a funny movie and a cute take on Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” It gets a five star rating from me. Even hubby liked it!
Last Saturday my sweet husband came in and suggested we go into to town and see a movie. “Which one,” I asked? His reply was the new Star Trek movie. I was so excited! Yes, I confess, I love Star Trek. I have long been a fan of the original and the next generation series and always go to see the movies. I had recently read an article that had good things to say about the new movie and was anxious to see it for myself. So off we went to the movies and what fun we had! The movie was in spirit everything the original series had been. It was full of adventure and optimism and hope. It was fun to see old familar characters once again. The new actors did a splendid job of bring these characters to life and being true to their nature. For the trekkies out there, give this movie a chance. The powers that be are finally heading in the right direction. For all others, go see it and have fun!
"....magic belongs as much to the heart as to the head and everything which is done, should be done from love or joy or righteous anger."
--Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
