Movie Trailer Sunday (23)

This weeks trailers are about a kidnapped family, paranormal investigators, lacrosse, a dictator and sex.

The Cold Light of Day
Description: A young Americans (Henry Cavill) family is kidnapped while on a vacation to Spain. He is left with only hours to find the connection between their disappearance and his father's (Bruce Willis) secrets.
Director: Mabrouk El Mechri
Starring: Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver
Trailer: Trailer "The Cold Light of Day"

Red Lights
Description: Two investigators of paranormal hoaxes, the veteran Dr. Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) and her young assistant, Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy), study the most varied metaphysical phenomena with the aim of proving their fraudulent origins. Simon Silver (Robert De Niro), a legendary blind psychic, reappears after an enigmatic absence of 30 years to become the greatest international challenge to both orthodox science and professional sceptics. Tom starts to develop an intense obsession with Silver, whose magnetism becomes stronger with each new manifestation of inexplicable events. As Tom gets closer to Silver, tension mounts, and his worldview is threatened to its core.
Director: Rodrigo Cortes
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, Rober De Niro, Toby Jones and Elisabeth Olsen
Trailer: Trailer "Red Lights"

Crooked Arrows
Description: A mixed-blood Native American, Joe Logan (Brandon Routh), eager to modernize his reservation, must first prove himself to his father, the traditionalist Tribal Chairman, by rediscovering his spirit. He is tasked with coaching the reservation's high school lacrosse team which competes against the better equipped and better trained players of the elite Prep School League. Joe inspires the Native American boys and teaches them the true meaning of tribal pride. Ignited by their heritage and believing in their new-found potential, coach and team climb an uphill battle to the state championship finals against their privileged prep school rivals. Will they win?
Director: Steve Rash
Starring: Brandon Routh
Trailer: Trailer "Crooked Arrows"
Comment: I thinks this is going to be ignored by most people, but this really looks like a great movie.

The Dictator
Description: The film tells the heroic story of a dictator (Sasha Baron Cohen) who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.
Director: Larry Charles
Starring: Sasha Baron Cohean, Megan Fox, Ben Kingsley, Anna Faris and john C. Reilly
Trailer: Trailer "The Dictator"

Conception
Description: A comedy that follows nine very different couples on the night they conceive, showing that sex can sometimes be more neurotic than erotic.
Director: Josh Stolberg
Starring: Julie Bowen, Sarah Hyland, Connie Britton and David Arquette,
Trailer: Trailer "Conception"
Comment: I like movies with multiple storylines.

50 Books Challenge 2012 - # 6: The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

Title: The Lucky One
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Story: When U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt during his third tour of duty in Iraq, his first instinct is to toss it aside. Instead, he brings it back to the base for someone to claim, but when no one does, he finds himself always carrying the photo in his pocket. Soon Thibault experiences a sudden streak of luck—winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat that kills two of his closest buddies. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph—his lucky charm.
Back home in Colorado, Thibault can’t seem to get the photo—and the woman in it—out of his mind. Believing that she somehow holds the key to his destiny, he sets out on a journey across the country to find her, never expecting the strong but vulnerable woman he encounters in Hampton, North Carolina—Elizabeth, a divorced mother with a young son—to be the girl he’s been waiting his whole life to meet. Caught off guard by the attraction he feels, Thibault keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate and all-consuming love affair, the secret he is keeping will soon threaten to tear them apart—destroying not only their love, but also their lives.
Start: february 1st 2012
End: february 4th 2012
Comment: Nicholas Sparks really touched my heart with "The Notebook" and untill now that was the only Sparks novel I read. "The Lucky One" is another lovestory from his hand and I was really loooking forward to reading this. The story focuses on Logan Thibault, a marine who finds a picture of a smiling woman and soon after finding it his luck begins to change. In moments where he should've died he lives, he starts winning poker games, things start turning in his favor. When his friend tells him the picture is his lucky charm, Logan decides to find the woman, not knowing he's going to fall in love with her. This is one of those stories you wished happened to you, at least the falling in love part. This book is different from "The Notebook" because it's written from the perspective of three different people: Logan, Beth and Keith. Because of this, you really get to know each character, understand them, feel them. Logan is a man I would definitely fall for, just like Noah from "The Notebook". I liked him from the start and understood why he wanted to find Beth. I liked Beth too. A loving mom who has been dissappointed by guys many times. In Logan she finds that man she's been looking for and they are perfect for each other. Keith was off course not very likeable. He wasn't a great father, although he wanted to be. And eventhough I didn't sympathize him, I did get him sometimes. Nicholas Sparks has outdone himself and I'm looking forward to reading more of his lovestories.
Rating: 5/ 5

In My Mailbox (33)

Three cards this week. The first card came from Minsk, Belarus. On this shows it shows a monument of the city.

Sent on: january 23rd 2012
Received on: january 31st 2012
Distance: 1,669 km (1,037 miles
Travel time: 8 days

Than I also got a card from Hildesheim, Germany. It looks like a cozy town. The sender told me it's a very old city.

Sent on: january 31st 2012
Received on: february 3rd 2012
Distance: 293 km (182 miles)
Travel time: 3 days

The last card cam from Gdynia,Poland. It's a private swap, which means that i also sent a card to Poland and I got this card in return. I can't register a private swap, but it's nice to add to my collection.

Sent on: january 24th 2012
Received on: february 3rd 2012
Distance: 920 km (572 miles)
Travel time: 10 days

Movie Tip # 51: The Help

Director: Tate Taylor

Starring: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Bruce Dallas Howard, Mike Vogel, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Mary Steenburgen, Chris Lowell, Sissy Spacek, Ahna O'Reilly

Description: Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, Skeeter (Emma Stone) is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends' lives - and a Mississippi town - upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Aibileen (Viola Davis), Skeeter's best friend's housekeeper, is the first to open up - to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community. Despite Skeeter's life-long friendships hanging in the balance, she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories - and as it turns out, they have a lot to say. Along the way, unlikely friendships are forged and a new sisterhood emerges, but not before everyone in town has a thing or two to say themselves when they become unwittingly - and unwillingly - caught up in the changing times.

Review: Kathryn Stockett touched quite a few people in their heart with her novel "The Help". After studying in New York for a couple of years, Skeeter is surprised to see how her high school friends are all married and play the suburban houswewive and keeping up appearances. She's even more surprised when she finds out that the maid that worked for her family for 29 years is gone all of a sudden. She decides to write a book from the viewpoint of the black nannies and gets the embittered Aibileen and her sas mouthed friend Minny for her story. Eventhough "The Help" is a very emotional story, it's also a real feel-good movie. It's a story close to reality, but both Stockett and director Tate Taylor thicken it a bit. Like the characters Skeeter and Hilly, very stereotypical, but Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard are actresses who can make those one-dimensional characters come to life. The best roles are for Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, one demure the other very outspoken. Also Jessica Chastain surprises with her role of Celia Foote, the somewhat naive woman who looks past the skin colors but has her own problems. "The Help" has such a strong female cast, great sentimental moments and also a bit of humor. Fantastic film.

Pic Spam: Olivia Wilde

Olivia Wilde always stands out in the movies she's in, because of her beauty. Here are her best pictures.

Top 5 Thursday: CSI Episodes Centering Nick Stokes

As you all know, my favorite TV shows is "CSI" and my favorite character from that show is Nick Stokes. So I decided to create a list with the best CSI episode centering Nick. Here they are.

5. Stalker (Season 2)
The team is working on a stalker-case. Then they find out that the suspect is also following Nick. We get a glimpse of Nick’s personal life. The scene where the stalker confronts him is very strong and was definitely the highlight of the episode.

4. Targets of Obsession (Season 11)
The second episode with guest star Justin Bieber and slightly better then the first. Jason McCann returns and he's making it personal. I liked the scene where Nick, Catherine, Vartann and Skip the bomb-guy went into that building, which was filled with boobytraps. And Nick shooting Justin Bieber, almost a classic CSI scene.

3. Turn, Turn, Turn (Season 9)
This episode was even my favorite of the season. We see three different cases in a motel, that happened all in one year. Haley (guest star Taylor Swift) is the constant factor in all stories. She even ends up dead herself. It's a sad story, but a very strong one. Wonderfull episode and the end scene with Nick and Ray is beautiful.

2. Gum Drops (Season 6)
You see Nick as the leader of an important case involving a family and one missing child. What I liked most is that this case was investigated by Nick, Warrick, Greg and Sara. Nick is a great leader and for the Stokes fans it's a wonderfull episode.

1. Grave Danger (Season 5)
I think this is the most popular episode ever and I can understand why. As a Nick fan I really enjoy the emotional scenes he did and the race against time is nerve wrecking. It's a two hour episode directed by Quentin Tarentino and it's the most exciting episode I've ever seen.

They almost made the top 5: Boom (Season 1) and Shock Waves (Season 11)

In the Picture: The Characters from "Your Highness"

This movie got a lot of critics, but I think most people take the movie too seriously. Just don't. It's a fun film and its characters are even more fun.

Thadeous
Played by: Danny McBride
Thadeous is the king’s youngest son. He is lazy and ineffectual with both an inferiority complex and poor track record in quest taking. He hates the fact that everyone loves his older brother Fabious so much, but Thadeous doesn’t do anything to make the people love him too. When he meets Isabel, the true hero in him unravels.

Fabious
Played by: James Franco
Fabious is the handsome prince and next in line to be king. He is dashing and skilled and seen as a real hero by the people of his kingdom. Fabious is determined to save his love Belladonna and secretly looks up to his Thadeous’ lifestyle.

Isabel
Played by: Natalie Portman
Isabel is also on a quest when she meets Thadeous and Fabious. First she doesn’t want to have anything to do with them and she uses their information for her own good. When Thadeous tells her he’s looking for his brother, they join forces. Isabel is a very strong woman who’s fearless.

Belladonna
Played by: Zooey Deschanel
Belladonna was captured most of her life and was saved by Fabious. They fall in love and get married, but is then captured again. Belladonna is a pure woman, kind at heart but doesn’t know much of the outside world yet.

Leezar
Played by: Justin Theroux
Leezar is the evil sorcerer in the kingdom and holds Belladonna hostage. He has to mate with her, so he can fulfill a prophecy. Leezar is an evil man, but has his insecurities and Belladonna doesn’t always take him very serious.

Julie
Played by: Toby Jones
Julie is Fabious’ trustee and he can’t stand Thadeous. While on the quest together with the brothers, we find out that Julie secretly works for Leezar and gives him information of the quest.

Boremont
Played by: Damian Lewis
Before Thadeous went on quests with Fabious, Boremont was that guy. After not asking him to be his best man at the wedding, Boremont decides to turn against Fabious and together with Julie he now works for Leezar.

Favorite Character: Isabel