50 Books Challenge 2013 - # 24: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

Title: The Neverending Story
Author: Michael Ende
Story: The story begins with a lonely boy named Bastian and the strange book that draws him into the beautiful but doomed world of Fantastica. Only a human can save this enchanted place - by giving its ruler, the Childlike Empress, a new name. But the journey to her tower leads through lands of dragons, giants, monsters, and magic - and once Bastian begins his quest, he may never return. As he is drawn deeper into Fantastica, he must find the mysteries of his own heart.
Start: june 25th 2013
End: june 30th 2013
Comment: The movie is something from my childhood. I loved it! Now I thought it was time for me to read the book, finally. I really like fantasy stories, but I think children's fantasy is even better. This books deals with self-discovery: Atreyu's quest and Bastian's limits of physical and mental endurance. This is a novel which respects the intelligence of its reader, it's not your average children's book. It's an adult-sized fairytale. "The Neverending story" is a great journey for every reader, a challenge. And as the title implies, you never want this story to end.
Rating: 4/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (94)

Here are this weeks trailers.

Thanks for Sharing
Description: A group of unlikely friends are brought together through their shared determination to recover from sex addiction and forge meaningful relationships for the first time in their lives.
Director: Stuart Blumberg
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim Robbins, Joely Richardson, Patrick Fugit, Alecia Moore, Josh Gad
Trailer: Trailer "Thanks for Sharing"
Comment: A multiple storyline movie, Always like them.

Escape Plan
Description: One of the world's foremost authorities on structural security agrees to take on one last job: breaking out of an ultra-secret, high-tech facility called "The Tomb." Deceived and wrongly imprisoned, Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) must recruit fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to help devise a daring, nearly impossible plan to escape from the most protected and fortified prison ever built.
Director: Miles Chapman
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Jim Caviezel, Vinnie Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio, Amy Ryan
Trailer: Trailer "Escape Plan"
Comment: Stallone and Schwarzenegger team up, HELL YEAH!

Hell Baby
Description: An expectant couple is forced to enlist the help of the Vatican's elite exorcism team after they move into a haunted fixer-upper in New Orleans.
Director: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon
Starring: Rob Corddry, Leslie Bibb, Thomas Lennon, Riki Lindhome, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel, Keegan Michael Key, Kumail Nanjiani, Robert Ben Garant, Michael Ian Black
Trailer: Trailer "Hell Baby"

Blood
Description: The Fairburn brothers (Paul Bettany and Stephen Graham) are detectives who have lived under the shadow of their police chief father (Brian Cox), a man known for doing whatever it takes to get a confession. When the brothers take an interrogation too far, they raise the suspicions of their colleague (Mark Strong) and suddenly find themselves having to cover up their own crimes.
Director: Bill Gallagher
Starring: Paul Bettany, Stephen Graham, Brian Cox, Mark Strong
Trailer: Trailer "Blood"
Comment: I have a weakness fo Stephen Graham, don't know why...

The Wolf of Wall Street
Description: Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a Long Island penny stockbroker who served 20 months in prison for refusing to cooperate in a massive 1990s securities fraud case that involved widespread corruption on Wall Street and in the corporate banking world, including mob infiltration
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Favreau, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jean Dujardin, Pj Byrne, Kenneth Choi
Trailer: Trailer "The Wolf of Wall Street"

In My Mailbox (103)

Eight postcards this week and one swap. This week started with a blast, because I got this wonderful tiger card from Bad Oeynhausen, Germany. I remember sending it once myself and I always send cards I would like to receive myself as well. So, happy me!

Sent: june 19th 2013
Received: june 24th 2013
Distance: 202 km (126 miles)
Travel Time: 5 days

This happy card says greetings from Dronten, Netherlands. There is this line from the store called Hema, where the those cards.

Sent: june 20th 2013
Received: june 24th 2013
Distance: 150 km (93 miles)
Travel Time: 4 days

I love this vintage postcard. It was send to me from Vidnoe, Russia.

Sent: may 17th 2013
Received: june 28th 2013
Distance: 2,145 km (1,333 miles)
Travel Time: 42 days

Another card from my country, this time Vlaardingen, Netherlands. I think it's a nice card, nothing like any other card I have.

Sent: june 26th 2013
Received: june 28th 2013
Distance: 140 km (87 miles)
Travel Time: 2 days

From Dresden, Germany I got this beautiful landscape. But it's just a white card with a picture glued on it. That's a bit lame...

Sent: june 24th 2013
Received: june 29th 2013
Distance: 542 km (337 miles)
Travel Time: 5 days

A skyline postcard from Singapore, Singapore.

Sent: june 21st 2013
Received: june 29th 2013
Distance: 10,441 km (6,488 miles)
Travel Time: 8 days

What a cute bear family! I got it from Baranovichi, Belarus. I have more cards with cartoons like this I believe.

Sent: june 18th 2013
Received: june 29th 2013
Distance: 1,382 km (859 miles)
Travel Time: 11 days

And a flower card with lots of bright colors. It's from Tarnobrzeg, Poland.

Sent: june 22nd 2013
Received: june 29th 2013
Distance: 1,092 km (679 miles)
Travel Time: 7 days

And a swap from my friend from Gdansk, Poland.

No Top 5 Thursday

Frequent readers might have missed it yesterday, but there was no top 5 thursday. I was such a busy day, we had a summerparty at the school that I work at. I didn't have the time and energy to post a top 5. Next week there will be again, I promise!

In the Picture: The Characters from "The Breakfast Club

One of those 80's movies. Love 80's movies! Not a lot spectacular happens here, but I love the character development. So this movie is perfect for this item.

Andrew Clark
Played by: Emilio Estevez
Andrew is the jock, the athlete, the cool sports guy. His father wants him to do well in sports and thinks this is the only thing Andrew can do.

John Bender
Played by: Judd Nelson
Bender is a rebel or a criminal as many call him. He is feared, but it’s only a shell he’s hiding in. His home life isn’t all that great, his dad is abusive, so this is how he compensates.

Claire Standish
Played by: Molly Ringwald
Claire is called the princess, because she only cares about appearance. But deep inside there is an insecure girl just trying to make it in this world. Claire is actually sick of what other people think of her and having to do whatever her friends do.

Brian Johnson
Played by: Anthony Michael Hall
Brian is the ‘nerd’, but he’s just a very smart guy with a good heart. He gets nervous when he scores under an A and is a member of the chess club, math club and physics club.

Allison Reynolds
Played by: Ally Sheedy
Allison is the invisible girl, the crazy one. She has weird habits, like how she eats a sandwich, but she also has a creative talent. The reason she doesn’t socialize is because her connection with her parents is also very distant.

Favorite Character: John Bender

Weekly Photo Challenge 2013 - Theme 25: Green

Here is this weeks theme.

We made this photo in Bwindi, Uganda last summer. The most beautiful picture from that trip and the most memorable moment too. I have this photo printed on canvas in my dining room.

50 Books Challenge 2013 - # 23: Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

Title: Through the Looking-Glass
Author: Lewis Carroll
Story: The famous sequel to Alice in Wonderland. Alice finds herself yet again in a topsy-turvy world full of fascinating and funny characters, moving her way around a chess board world to try and get back home.
Start: june 16th 2013
End: june 24th 2013
Comment: The first story, "Alice in Wonderland", is a book you can really get lost in. Especially as a girl Alice's age. I was't quite sure if the sequel would have that same effect, you never know with sequels. This one lived up to my expectations and I enjoyed every inch of it. Great and extraordinary characters, fun rhyms and songs, memorable lines. I was in love with the illustrations, just what a good children's book needs. Lewis Carroll takes you on an adventure with his nice writing style and any kid would love this. Absolutely adored this book, I'm glad I finally read it.
Rating: 5/ 5

DVD Collection Update (4)

I bought a lot of new movies this time. In total I purchased 7 movies and 1 TV-show.

First I got a movie that I already saw in the cinema. "Django Unchained" is another great film directed by Quentin Tarantino. I just had to have it when I saw it.

I was in the mood for some Sam and Dean time. Ok, especially Dean, but "Supernatural" is one of my favorite TV-shows and I've bee following this series since its beginning. I'm glad to have season 7 in my possession now.

For some reason this movie was on my wishlist for quite some time now. I just wanted to see Jessica Chastain in a leading role. I saw it just recently and I haveto say that it was pretty good. Better then "The Hurt Locker". And Chastain is fantastic in "Zero Dark Thirty".

My brother keeps telling me I should see "The Road". I bumped into the DVD, when I wan't looking for any, so Lucky me. Not seen it yet, but looking forward to it.

This classic movie was screaming for my attention. I've only seen it once, but I'm glad to add this film t my collection. And it's the redux version, so it has 49 minutes of extra scenes that we didn't see in the original version of "Apocalypse Now".

I was planning in buying it when I walked into the store. I love Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Sean Penn so I have high expectations. Cant wait to see it.

I was on my way to go see it, when I realized it was playing in theatres anymore. That sucked. So when I saw it in the store (I thoughtit was not for another week 'till its release) I grabbed it. "Silver Linings Playbook" is one of those movies that, before even seeing it, I know I will like. Can't wait to see Jennifer Lawrence's Academy Award winning performance.

I finally completed the series! I don't know why it took m this long, but for some reason I never got a hold on it.

Movie Trailer Sunday (93)

Here are this weeks trailers.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
Description: With the 70's behind him, San Diego's top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), returns to the news desk. Also back for more are Ron's co-anchor and wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), man on the street Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner) - All of whom won't make it easy to stay classy, while taking New York's first 24-hour news channel by storm.
Director: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Paul Rudd, Kristen Wiig, James Marsden, Dylan Baker, Meagan Good, Harrison Ford, Greg Kinnear, Josh Lawson, Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, Nicole Kidman
Trailer: Trailer "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues"
Comment: I probably won't see it in theatres, because no one in my social circle sees the humor in this.

The Spectacular Now
Description: This is the tale of Sutter Keely (Miles Teller), a high school senior and effortless charmer, and of how he unexpectedly falls in love with "the good girl" Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley). What starts as an unlikely romance becomes a sharp-eyed, straight-up snapshot of the heady confusion and haunting passion of youth - one that doesn't look for tidy truths.
Director: James Ponsoldt
Starring: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Trailer: Trailer "The Spectacular Now"
Comment: The writers of this movie also wrote "(500) Days of Summer" and you know how much I love that movie.

Drinking Buddies
Description: Kate (Olivia Wilde) and Luke (Jake Johnson) work together at a craft brewery. They have one of those friendships that feels like it could be something more. But Kate is with Chris (Ron Livingston), and Luke is with Jill (Anna Kendrick). And Jill wants to know if Luke is ready to talk about marriage. The answer to that question becomes crystal clear when Luke and Kate unexpectedly find themselves alone for a weekend.
Director: Joe Swanberg
Starring: Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston
Trailer: Trailer "Drinking Buddies"
Comment: Just the kind of movie I like.

Free Birds
Description: Two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history - and get turkey off the Thanksgiving menu for good.
Director: Jimmy Hayward
Starring: Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler,
Trailer: Trailer "Free Birds"
Comment: Noting like a good turkey movie.

JOBS
Description: The story of Steve Jobs' ascension from college dropout into one of the most revered creative entrepreneurs of the 20th century.
Director: Joshua Michael Stern
Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, J.K. Simmons, Matthew Modine
Trailer: Trailer "JOBS"
Comment: Not sure what to think of it or if I will like it. The poster is terrible though.

In My Mailbox (102)

Not a lot of cards this week, only 4. This one came from Nürnberg, Germany. The quote says: "Wait! Were are you going? Luck is here, today and within you".

Sent: june 12th 2013
Received: june 16th 2013
Distance: 409 km (254 miles)
Travel Time: 4 days

This postcard, from Taichung City, Taiwan, is just adorable. I like this kind of drawings.

Sent: may 27th 2013
Received: june 17th 2013
Distance: 9,511 km (5,910 miles)
Travel Time: 21 days

What a creepy cat, but this card made me laugh out loud! It's from Donetsk, Ukraine.

Sent: june 10th 2013
Received:june 20th 2013
Distance: 2,307 km (1,434 miles)
Travel Time: 10 days

And finally this nice and peaceful landscape from Vilnius, Belarus.

Sent: june 14th 2013
Received: june 21st 2013
Distance: 1,337 km (831 miles)
Travel Time: 7 days

Thanks Erika, Cuore, Anna and Tatiana for your postcards!

Top 5 Thursday: Scarlett Johansson Movies

Scarlett Johansson is one of my favorites, she is unique. I can’t wait to see her in “Don Jon”, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. But for now, I made a list of my five favorite Scarlett Johansson movies.

5. The Island
I never tought a Michael Bay movie would make any top 5, but it did. I really like “The Island”. Clever concept, very well executed.

4. The Other Boleyn Girl
I know the book is better, but I saw the film before reading the novel. I loved it, great performances by Scarlett and Natalie. I’m always fascinated by this time period, with all the beautiful costumes.

3. The Avengers
I didn’t think I would love this movie so much. It’s fantastic! Off course great visuals, but the whole thing is just put together very well. And Scarlett is kick-ass!

2. The Prestige
A great, intriguing story with a nice twist at the end. I always like that. Great cast.

1. Lost in Translation
This is actually also one of my all-time favorite movies. It’s beautiful because of its simplicity, great acting by both Scarlett and Bill Murray.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Ghostworld, Match Point, Scoop, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Weekly Photo Challenge 2013 - Theme 24: Signs

Here is this weeks challenge.

It was made in 2010, when me and my friends Irene and Evelien visited Disneyland, Paris. This was actually the last photo we took in the parc. Great times!

Movie trailer Sunday (92)

Here are this weeks trailers.

Diana
Description: The last two years of Princess Diana's (Naomi Watts) life: her campaign against land mines and her relationship with surgeon Dr Hasnat Khan (Naveen Andrews).
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Starring: Naomi Watts, Naveen Andrews, Douglas Hodge, Juliet Stevenson
Trailer: Trailer "Diana"
Comment: Just from the look of the trailer, I can see they made the perfect choice for Diana.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Description: The Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf have successfully escaped the Misty Mountains, and Bilbo has gained the One Ring. They all continue their journey to get their gold back from the Dragon, Smaug.
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Evangeline Lilly, John Bell, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Graham McTavish, Michael Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O'Gorman, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Ken Stott, Aidan Turner
Trailer: Trailer "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
Comment: I'm excited!!

Snowpiercer
Description: after a failed experiment to stop global warming, an Ice Age kills off all life on the planet except for the inhabitants of the Snow Piercer, a train that travels around the globe and is powered by a sacred perpetual-motion engine. A class system evolves on the train but a revolution brews.
Director: Bong Joon-ho
Starring: Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris, Alison Pil, John Hurt
Trailer: Trailer "Snowpiercer"

Pawn Shop Chronicles
Description: We follow three twisted tales all connected by items from a Southern small-town pawn shop. A man searching for his kidnapped wife, a couple of white-supremacist meth heads, and a sad-sack Elvis impersonator.
Director: Wayne Kramer
Starring: Paul Walker, Norman Reedus, Elijah Wood, Brendan Fraser, Vincent D'Onofrio, Thomas Jane, Matt Dillon, Lukas Haas, DJ Qualls, Chi McBride, Ashlee Simpson
Trailer: Trailer "Pawn Shop Chronicles"

Killing Season
Description: Deep in the Appalachian mountains, a reclusive American military veteran (Robert De Niro) and a European tourist (John Travolta) strike up an unlikely friendship. But when the tourist's true intentions come to light, what follows is a tense battle across some of America�s most forbidding landscape proving the old adage: the purest form of war is one-on-one.
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Starring: Robert De Niro, John Travolta, Milo Ventimiglia
Trailer: Trailer "Killing Season"
Comment: Although John Travolta looks like a leprechaun with that beard, this movie looks like a very solid thriller.