Top 5 Thursday: Characters from "Toy Story" series

"Toy Story" isn't just for kids!! I love it. And that's mainly because of its cute, funny, great and amazing characters. Here are my five favorites.

5. Buzz Lightyear
He's one of the two leading characters and in the beginning the most ignorant. Buzz really thinks he's an astronaut and not a toy. I liked him in the third installment, where he's set to Spanish mode.

4. Hamm
A talking piggy bank... Hamm is funny and knows much about the world outside. I like how he feels uncomfortable when his cork is out.

3. Aliëns
They are adorable. Especially when they see Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head as their parents. And how they say, ooooh.....

2. Mr. Potato Head
His humor is priceless and he can change his face in one second. And then I mean literaly change it. And the burrito version of him is also funny.

1. Rex
The number one was easy! Rex is such a loveable dino, although he is supposed to be a scary tyrannosaurus. He is constantly worried about the fact he isn't scary enough and that his arms are to short. We love his naive view on the world.

They almost made the top 5: Slinky, Weezy and Mr. Pricklepants.

50 Books Challenge 2012 - # 49: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Title: The Da Vinci Code
Author: Dan Brown
Story: An ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci. A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe. An astonishing truth concealed for centuries ... unveiled at last.
Start: november 19th 2012
End: november 28th 2012
Comment: I read this book not long after it was released. So many people talked about it, it was so popular. With this theme I found the perfect opportunity to reread "The Da Vinci Code". This books has also been very much critized, mostly by Catholics. Understandable, but maybe because of the controverse I like it even more. I'm not very religious and I believe more of a scientific believer. Things don't 'just happen', there's always an explanaition. Dan Brown is a very clever writer, without making things too complicated. His books are definitely not for just any reader. You need to have an affinity with the subject. But it's pretty certain you getted sucked in this story. It's a rush and you go on the adventure with Langdon and Sophie. Both lead characters are likeable in their own way. It's really hard to dislike them. They have enough backstory to understand them and I like the bond they develope throughout the story. I didn't give it a five star rating because then it would be eually as good as "Angels & Demons". Well, I think that one is a little better, but I love "The Da Vinci Code" very much!
Rating: 4,5/ 5

Pic Spam: Andrew Garfield

I haven't seen many of Andrew Garfields movies, but he is very cute. And in "The Social Network" he showed us that he's a good actor. And he's with Emma Stone, come on!! Here are some of his best pictures.

Movie Trailer Sunday (61)

This weeks trailers are about a magical universe, a father fighting for the rights of his son, Jack the giant slayer, aliën presence and a young woman with her life at a crossroads.

Epic
Description: When a teen age girl finds herself magically transported into this secret universe, she must band together with a rag-tag team of fun and whimsical characters in order to save their world, and ours.
Director: Chris Wedge
Starring: Beyonce Knowles, Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Knoxville, Aziz Ansari, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Steven Tyler
Trailer: Trailer "Epic"

Snitch
Description: A father's (Dwayne Johnson) teenage son is wrongly accused of a drug distribution crime and is looking at a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years. Desperate and determined to rescue his son at all costs, he makes a deal with the U.S. Attorney to work as an undercover informant and infiltrate a drug cartel on a dangerous mission- risking everything, including his family and his own life.
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Susan Sarandon, Benjamin Bratt, Barry Pepper
Trailer: Trailer "Snitch"

Jack the Giant Slayer
Description: A young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack (Nicholas Hoult), into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess (Eleanor Tomlison), he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend, and gets the chance to become a legend himself.
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy, Eleanor Tomlinson, Ewan McGregor
Trailer: Trailer "Jack the Giant Slayer"
Comment: I shared it before, but that was when it was still called "Jack the Giant Killer".

Dark Skies
Description: A suburban couple lives become a nightmare when a terrifying alien presence enters their home each night to prey upon their children. Increasingly isolated from skeptical friends and neighbors, the couple is forced to take matters into their own hands to save their family
Director: Scott Stewart
Starring: Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton
Trailer: Trailer "The Dark Skies"
Comment: Looks really great and terrifying.

Flying Lessons
Description: With her life at a crossroads, 25 year old Sophie Conway (Maggie Grace) returns home to the small town she always wanted to forget. Once home, she is faced with the friends and lovers she left behind, a tangled relationship with her Mother (Christine Lahti), and Harry Pleasant (Hal Holbrook), an Alzheimer's Disease patient who, in an opposing way, shares Sophie's struggle to remember.
Director: Derek Magyar
Starring: Maggie Grace, Christine Lahti, Cary Elwes, Jonathan Tucker, Hal Holbrook
Trailer: Trailer "Flying Lessons"

In My Mailbox (73)

Five postcards this week and one private swap. The first card came from Newport, North Carolina, US. It's a long pine leaf, the national tree of the state.

Sent: november 10th 2012
Received: november 19th 2012
Distance: 6,610 km (4,107 miles)
Travel Time: 9 days

From Taipei, Taiwan I received this beautiful, misty view. This is such a beautiful postcard.

Sent: november 14th 2012
Received: november 21st 2012
Distance: 9,477 km (5,889 miles)
Travel Time: 7 days

A lioncard always makes me happy. It's from Minsk, Belarus. Such a gorgeous creature.

Sent: november 15th 2012
Received: november 22nd 2012
Distance: 1,551 km (964 miles)
Travel Time: 7 days

This adorable cat postcard came from Taipei, Taiwan. It looks like one cat is stroking the other one with its tail.

Sent: october 28th 2012
Received: november 23rd 2012
Distance: 9,477 km (5,889 miles)
Travel Time: 26 days

And I received a pretty ballet card. I like it a lot. It's from Beverwijk, the Netherlands but the sender is Lithuanian.

Sent: november 22nd 2012
Received: november 24th 2012
Distance: 170 km (106 miles)
Travel Time: 2 days

From my penpal Patricia from Gdansk, Poland I received this perfect tiger postcard. Yes, another one for my collection.

Thanks Carolina, May, Dasha, Ivy, Sandra and Patricia.

Top 5 Thursday: Girl Crushes

I like guys, men, males, gentlemen. But, if I were a man, who would I go for? Here's a list of my girl crushes.

5. Jennifer Aniston
Still, after so many years, she is one of the prettiest actresses in Hollywood. She's so natural. And I always enjoy her films.

4. Mila Kunis
She is definitely the sexiest woman on this list. It's really hard to overlook this fabulous woman.

3. Amy Adams
Such a gorgeous woman in an extraordinay way. And a brilliant actress. Amy Adams is both good in comdies and dramatic movies.

2. Rachel McAdams
She used to be number one, but I still love her. She is mostly the girl next door in movies, but gets more challenging roles nowadays. I'm happy about that. Rachel McAdams is great.

1. Emma Stone
Emma Stone is a fantastic actress, she's funny, charming and beautiful. I would definitely marry her if I was a man. And as a woman, I would like her as my friend.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts, Elizabeth Harnois, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence and Natasha Bedingfield

In the Picture: The Characters from "Zombieland"

Zombie movies are always fun to watch, especially with a big dose of humor. And some cool characters. Here are the characters from “Zombieland”.

Columbus
Played by: Jesse Eisenberg
Columbus is a very kind and loyal guy, who might seem a bit whimpy but he isn’t. He has a list of rules to follow in order to survive zombieland. He is trying to get to his parents and to find out if they’re still alive.

Tallahassee
Played by: Woody Harrelson
Tallahassee is a tough guy and he decides to travel together with Columbus. Deep inside he isn’t all that tough, because he lost someone important. And Tallahassee has a week spot for Twinkies.

Wichita
Played by: Emma Stone
Wichita is a girl you don’t want to mess with. All she wants is to protect her sister and she will stop at nothing. Wichita isn’t your average girl, she knows her way around a gun and she can be quite manipulative. She was a con artist before the catastrophe.

Little Rock
Played by: Abigail Breslin
Little Rock is Wichita’s sister and she leans on her. She wants to go to “Pacific Playland” with her big sister, because it’s supposed to be zombie free. Little Rock is a nice girl, but she did learn some tricks from her sister.

Favorite Character: Tallahassee

50 Books Challenge 2012 - # 48: A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire # 2) by George R. R. Martin

Title: A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire # 2)
Author: George R. R. Martin
Story: A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. And from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.
Start: november 2nd 2012
End: november 18th 2012
Comment: I'm a fan of the first book. Loved it so much. I was very excited about the second book, but unfortunately it didn't met my expectations. But it's still an awesome sequel. Like the first, Martin tells the story from various points of view. This time the story of Theon is added and we continue to follow Arya, Sansa, Catelyn, Jon, Tyrion and Daenerys. In the first book we read a lot about Daenerys, I kind of missed that here. She only has a couple of chapters dedicated to her, I was hoping for more. I did like to read about the split Stark clan. Especially Arya. She is though and also very likeable. I already liked her in the first book, but she was more present in "A Clash of Kings". Her arc was very adventurous. So different from her sister Sansa. One character I truly dispise is Joffrey. Ever single time I just wanted to slap him in the face and kick him in the jewels. Aaargh!! Tyrion is one of the more interesting arcs. He has to prove himself, this time to his dad. Tyrion kind of grew on me in this book. I like his sharp tongue. The second book in the series was just too big and it wasn't as fast paced as its prequel. But overall the stage is set nicely for the next book. In particular, the battle at Blackwater is a great literary scene. "A Storm of Swords" is already waiting for me on the shelve, so I can't wait to see how it all continues.
Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (60)

This weeks trailers are about invaders who take over human bodies, shadowhunters, an admissions officer, two totally different female cops and illusionists.

The Host Description: Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact. Most of humanity has succumbed.
Director: Andrew Niccol
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger, William Hurt, Frances Fisher
Trailer: Trailer "The Host"
Comment: I was always kind of sceptic, but this trailer makes me want to read the book.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Description: Clary Fray (Lily Collins) discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother, Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures.
Director: Harald Zwart
Starring: Lily Collins, Jaime Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Jemima West, Kevin Segers, Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Godfrey Gao, Aidan Turner, CCH Pounder, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Trailer: Trailer "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones"
Comment: I love the books, didn't even know there was a movie in the making.

Admission Description: Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) is an admissions officer at Princeton University. Evaluating thousands of hopeful college students, the exceedingly bright and driven woman lives her life by the book, both at work and in her relationship with a faculty colleague, Mark (Michael Sheen). Visiting an experimental New Hampshire high school submitting applicants, Portia is caught off guard when its co-founder John Halsey (Paul Rudd) turns out to have attended college with her. She is then floored when reminded of the life-altering decision that she made while still a student herself; she had a son, who she gave up for adoption, and who she now realizes may be one of John's students, the precocious misfit Jeremiah. As Portia's emotions surge forth, she finds her life turning upside down in embarrassing ways and begins to bend the admissions rules, in the hopes of getting Jeremiah on the best path while perhaps righting her own as well.
Director: Paul Weitz
Starring: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Michael Sheen, Gloria Reuben, Wallace Shawn, Lily Tomlin
Trailer: Trailer "Admission"

The Heat Description: Uptight and straight-laced, FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is a methodical investigator with a reputation for excellence-and hyper-arrogance. Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy), one of Boston P.D.'s "finest," is foul-mouthed and has a very short fuse, and uses her gut instinct and street smarts to catch the most elusive criminals. Neither has ever had a partner, or a friend for that matter. When these two wildly incompatible law officers join forces to bring down a ruthless drug lord, they become the last thing anyone expected: buddies.
Director: Paul Feig
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport
Trailer: Trailer "The Heat"
Comment: Fun combo.

Now You See Me Description: We follow a crack FBI squad in a game of cat and mouse against a super-team of the world's greatest illusionists, who pull off a series of daring bank heists during their performances, showering the profits on their audiences while staying one step ahead of the law.
Director: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Melanie Laurent, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman Michael Caine, Dave Franco
Trailer: Trailer "Now You See Me"
Comment: Of all the great trailers this week, this ones my favorite. Looks so awesome, it really surprised me.

In My Mailbox (72)

Eight official postcards and one private swap this week. That's more like it. The first postcard of the week came from Tychy, Poland. Wonderful dogs.

Sent: november 7th 2012
Received: november 13th 2012
Distance: 925 km (575 miles)
Travel Time: 6 days

From the capital of Great Brittain I received this bird postcard. I really liked it.

Sent: november 9th 2012
Received: november 14th 2012
Distance: 425 km (264 miles)
Travel Time: 5 days

This fantastic watercolor came from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. It's so pretty.

Sent: november 3rd 2012
Received: november 14th 2012
Distance: 2,535 km (1,575 miles)
Travel Time: 11 days

From Yekaterinburg, Russia I received this really adorable angel petting a crow. I don't know, but there's something about this postcard. It looks so.... kind. I really love it.

Sent: november 1st 2012
Received: november 16th 2012
Distance: 3,534 km (2,196 miles)
Travel Time: 15 days

This fairy card came from Ylökärvi, Finland. Real cute.

Sent: november 9th 2012
Received: november 16th 2012
Distance: 1,575 km (979 miles)
Travel Time: 7 days

I got this cornfield from Kiev, Ukraine.

Sent: november 12th 2012
Received: november 17th 2012
Distance: 1,722 km (1,070 miles)
Travel Time: 5 days

What a beautiful view. Istanbul, Turkey. The sender is a (young) man, that is so rare in postcrossing.

Sent: november 7th 2012
Received: november 17th 2012
Distance: 2,092 km (1,300 miles)
Travel Time: 10 days

From Assen, Netherland came this wonderful autumn postcard featuring a hedgehog. Love it!! The sender is also a huge fan of this season.

Sent: november 16th 2012
Received: november 17th 2012
Distance: 205 km (127 miles)
Travel Time: 1 day

And the private swap came from Gdansk, Poland. The sender agreed on a swap an we might also become penpalls. Great huh! And she send me another autumn postcard, how wonderful!

Thanks Agata, Helen, Yelena, Svetlana, Kaija, Mari, Yazgan and Patricia for this great week full of wonderful postcards.

Top 5 Thursday: James Franco Movies

Because James Franco is in almost every movie coming out in 2013, I just had to make a list of my favorites. I did that in the item “Best of…” but here I made a top 5.

5. Spider-Man 2

The best in the trilogy, mainly because of the villain. Off all the Spider-Man movies I enjoyed this one the most.

4. The Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I was a bit sceptic about this film, but very surprised when I saw it. Amazing film, especially Andy Serkis as Ceasar.

3. Milk

It’s a good story and the movie is full of great actors. Not just James Franco, but also Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch and Josh Brolin. 

 

 

2. Pineapple Express

Definitely the funniest role he ever played and he’s the star of the film. Saul Silver is one of my favorite movie stoners.

 

 

 

1. 127 Hours

I don’t need to explain why, but I’m gonna do it anyway. James Franco’s acting is fantastic and one of the best performances I’ve seen in years. Great film.

They almost made the top 5: Howl and Spider-man