Movie Trailer Sunday (119)

Here are this weeks trailers.

Draft Day
Description: The General Manager of the Cleveland Browns (Kevin Costner) struggles to acquire the number one draft pick for his team.
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Tom Welling, Ellen Burstyn, Frank Langella, Sean Combs
Trailer: Trailer "Draft Day"
Comment: Another Kevin Costner movie to look forward to and it's not even baseball related.

Million Dollar Arm
Description: Sports agent J.B. Bernstein (Jon Hamm) stages an unconventional recruitment strategy to get talented Asian cricket players to play Major League Baseball.
Director: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Jon Hamm, Bill Paxton, Lake Bell, Suraj Sharma, Aasif Mandvi, Madhur Mittal, Alan Arkin, Pitobash
Trailer: Trailer "Million Dollar Arm"
Comment: WHat is this, the week of sports movies? I like this trailer.

Transcendence
Description: A terminally ill scientist (Johnny Depp) downloads his body into a computer. This grants him power beyond his wildest dreams, and soon he becomes unstoppable.
Director: Wally Pfister
Starring: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Cole Hauser
Trailer: Trailer "Transcendence"
Comment: Looks cool.

The Best Offer
Description: A master auctioneer (Geoffrey Rush) becomes obsessed with an extremely reclusive heiress (Sylvia Hoeks) who collects fine art.
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Sylvia Hoeks, Donald Sutherland, Jim Sturgess
Trailer: Trailer "The Best Offer"
Comment: Sylvia Hoeks is a Dutch actress!

Stranger By the Lake
Description: Summertime. A cruising spot for men, tucked away on the shores of a lake. Franck falls in love with Michel. An attractive, potent and lethally dangerous man. Franck knows this, but wants to live out his passion anyway.
Director: Alain Guiraudie
Starring: Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou, Patrick d'Assumçao
Trailer: Trailer "Stranger By the Lake"
Comment: Reminds me of Hitchcock.

In My Mailbox (128)

Only six cards this week, but it was Christmas so there were a couple of days were they didn't deliver any mail. From Canton, Georgia, US I received this postcard. I don;t know exactly what this building is.

Sent: december 7th 2013
Received: december 22nd 2013
Distance: 7,161 km (4,450 miles)
Travel Time: 15 days

This old add card came from Kazan, Russia.

Sent: december 2nd 2013
Received: december 23rd 2013
Distance: 2,859 km (1,777 miles)
Travel Time: 21 days

A cute Disney postcard, always a good choice! I especially love Eeyore. It's from Emmeloord, Netherlands.

Sent: december 19th 2013
Received: december 23rd 2013
Distance: 169 km (105 miles)
Travel Time: 4 days

What a beautiful peacock card, from Roosendaal, Netherlands. The sender wrote a very long story, real kind words. She just started postcrossing.

Sent: december 11th 2013
Received: december 23rd 2013
Distance: 113 km (70 miles)
Travel Time: 12 days

From jiaxing, China I received this Christmas card. She was affraid it wouldn't reach me before Christmas, but it did!

Sent: december 8th 2013
Received: december 25th 2013
Distance: 8,915 km (5,540 miles)
Travel Time: 17 days

My favorite of the week came from Minsk, Belarus and off course they have bunnies on it. I adore rabbits!

Sent: december 16th 2013
Received: december 27th 2013
Distance: 1,486 km (923 miles)
Travel Time: 11 days

Thanks Carolyn, Olga, Agne, Esther, Jiau and Anna for your postcards this week!

Pic Spam: Favorite People of 2013

I did this back in 2011, so I decided to share with you my eight favorite people of this year. Pretty hard by the way, because I had to eliminate some of my favorites because they didn't do anything memorable this year. But here are my favorites of 2013.

DVD Collection Update (10)

The first three Dvd's I'm going to share I bought myself, the others I received for Christmas from my brother and my parents. Very proud of them!

First I got the two new "Star Trek" movies. I already saw the first movie before, but "Star Trek Into Darkness" is going to be a surprise. I have to be honest that I especially want to see Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain.

I recently watched this movie and I'm glad I bought it. I heard so many great things about it. It's a Belgian movie and it touches your heart.

This is probably not going to be one of his best movies, but I like Clint Eastwood and also Amy Adams. I think they are going to be great together, I still have to see it.

This was my first Christmas gift. I never would have bought "Rango" myself, because I own hardly any animated movies that aren't Disney. But I saw it once and I thought this was a fun movie. I really like this gift!

How I got this TV-show, "Waking the Dead" season 3, is actually a very funny story. I don't know it and I've never seen a single episode of this show. I asked for season 3 though, but from "The Walking Dead". My mom made a mistake, haha. But since this is an Emmy winning BBC detective, I might even like this show. It sure sounds good. So, I'm still a happy girl.

The cutest robot ever is probably "Wall-E". This edition is actually very cool, the disc slides out of its cover. And the cover is embossed and very shiny.

And my last present was "Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter", a movie I almost bought myself a week ago. I put it back, because I thought this could be a movie my brother could buy me for Christmas. Do I know my brother or what?

Top 5 Thursday: "Love Actually" Storylines

Last week I shared my favourite Christmas movies, so one of them is the centre of this week’s top five. I decided to share with you my favourite storylines from the movie “Love Actually”.

5. Jamie & Aurelia
Jamie’s girlfriend cheated on him with his brother and he goes to France to write his novel. The Portugese Aurelia is his new housekeeper there and they don’t understand each other. When Jamie has to leave, Aurelia kisses him. When back in England, Jamie learns Portugese and travels back to see Aurelia. He asks her to marry him and she says yes.

4. John & Just Judy
John and Judy meet while acting as stand-ins for a sex scene in a movie. They get along immediately. They get in all sorts of weird sexual positions, but they start talking about everyday things. Eventually John asks her out and Judy says yes.

3. Daniel & Sam
Daniel just lost his wife and is left alone with her son Sam. Sam isn’t talking and Daniel is worried about him, but when he starts to talk Daniel finds out he’s in love. He’s trying to help Sam to win over the girl of his dreams.

2. Mark & Juliet
Although Juliet just got married, the grooms best friend Mark is actually in love with her. Juliet always thought Mark hated her, because he never talked to her, but it was just self-preservation. Because it’s Christmas he decides to tell Juliet the truth and he does that with the help of cue cards.

1. David & Natalie
David is the new Prime Minister of England and when he meets his household staff, he also meets Natalie. She leaves an immediate impression on him and he falls for her. It’s very inconvenient. But eventually they both tell each other how they feel. They are trying to keep it a secret, but it’s revealed very soon.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Billy Mack, Harry & Karen

Movie Battle: Love Actually Vs. New Year's Eve

It’s that time of the year! I’m not going to compare two Christmas movies though. It’s “Love Actually” Vs. “New Year’s Eve”, one is set during Christmas and the other during, well the title says it, New Year’s Eve, and they are both multiple storyline movies.

CAST

Love Actually: It’s filled with amazing British movie stars: Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Emma Thompason, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley, Martin Freeman, Rowan Atkinson and Liam Neeson! It’s just a wonderful group of performers. Need I say more?

New Year’s Eve: Also filled with great stars, but this time American: Michelle Pfeifer, Zac Efron, Halle Berry, Robert De Niro, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx, Hilary Swank, Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl and for some reason Jon Bon Jovi. Besides Pfeifer and De Niro, they all don’t do it for me like the cast of “Love Actually”. And practically any movie with Sarah Jessica Parker in it is just simply ugh…

STORY

Love Actually: As I said in the beginning, it’s more storylines in one movie. This one is filled with wonderful stories, like Hugh Grant as the new Prime Minister falling for his assistan, Liam Neeson trying to help his stepson to win over the love of his life and Martin Freeman working as a stand-in during a sex scene while talking about everyday things. And that’s just three of them!

New Year’s Eve: I especially liked the storyline with Jessica Biel and Seth Meyers, a couple who’s having a baby. I just adored them together. The story of Michelle Pfeifer and Zac Efron was also fun, but that’s it. I can’t remember any special things about the other stories, only that some of them where just very predictable.

EFFECTS

Love Actually: The flow between the different storyline goes very smoothly, it’s never abrupt. And I love how they sometimes overlap. I think the opening scene at Heathrow Airport was shot beautifully.

New Year’s Eve: The crowd scenes at Madison Square Garden are shot very well, I liked those and it made me want to celebrate New Year’s Eve too.

WINNER

This is not going to be a surprise, because I think I gave it away already. “Love Actually” is one of the sweetest, loveliest and greatest love stories ever. And when I saw “New Year’s Eve" in the theatre it felt like a waste of money. Why did I even compare these two? It wasn't a fair fight.

Best & Worst: Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts is a brilliant actress, who can hardly ever do anything wrong. So I’m not sure if I can pick a worst. But I have to, so I will. She is my favourite and here is my choice of best & worst Naomi Watts movie.

This is the movie that introduced me to her. Since then I wanted to see everything with Naomi Watts in it. She plays such a fragile role, so sublime! It’s that my other favourite Charlize Theron took home the Academy Award that year, but it’s definitely an oscar worthy performance. This movie is such a masterpiece.
Honorable mentions: “King Kong”, Mulholland Drive”, “The Impossible”, “The Painted Veil”

A very disappointed movie, not a lot happened here. Naomi Watts didn’t get enough screen time, maybe that’s why I didn’t like it. The plot sounded more interesting then the actual movie eventually was.
Dishonorable mentions: “Movie 43” (This seemed like the easy choice, because no one likes it)

100 Movie Challenge 2014

I'm not going to do a new book challenge next year or a photo challenge. I decided that I’m going to watch a hundred movies in 2014. It doesn’t matter when I watch them as long as I haven’t seen it before 2014. They don’t nececerally have to be new, because there are still a lot of classics or movies from last year that I’ve never seen. After watching a movie, I will give you a review and every month I will update you on my challenge. I’m very excited and can’t wait to start his challenge on January 1st 2014!

If there are movies you recommend to me, please let me know. Maybe I haven't seen it yet and I can watch it.

In the Picture: The Characters from "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

A movie filled with experienced Brittish actors and actresses, a perfect mix of drama and comedy. And also full of great characters worth talking about. Here are the characters from “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”.

Evelyn Greenslade
Played by: Judi Dench
Evelyn is a housewife who just lost her husband. She has to sell her house to pay off her husband’s debt. Evelyn’s son wants her to stay with him so he can take care of her, but instead she starts writing a blog and travels to India.

Douglas Ainslee
Played by Bill Nighy
Douglas is an optimist. He wants to see more of the world and likes to explore. Douglas is very loyal and that’s how he kept his wife for 39 years. He invested all of his lifesavings in his daughter’s internet business, so they can only afford a small beige bungalow.

Jean Ainslee
Played by: Penelope Wilton
Married to Douglas, Jean is the opposite. She is a pessimist. Jean hates everything about India, the poverty, smell, food, noise. Instead of exploring like Douglas, she stays inside the intire stay and just wants to return to England.

Muriel Donnelly
Played by: Maggie Smith
Muriel is an ex-housekeeper. She needs a new hip and although she is a bitter racist she decides to travel to India for a quick treatment. There Muriel discovers a different life and also learns to respect the culture.

Graham Dashwood
Played by: Tom Wilkinson
Graham is a retired High court judge. He’s been to India before and he finally returns. And he returns for a reason, because he had found love there the first time around. He is determined to find the man he loved for so many years.

Norman Cousins
Played by: Ronald Pickup
Norman is a womanizer, he likes his girls young. He can’t accept his own age, so he decides to make a new start in India.

Madge Hardcastle
Played by: Celia Imrie
Madge has been married several times and isn’t going to stop. She thinks she won’t find a man in England so she decides to travel to India to find fun, adventure and a new husband.

Sonny Kapoor
Played by: Dev Patel
Sonny is the owner of the Marigold hotel. Although it doesn’t look like a succeful business, Sonny is very ambitious and he sees his future in the hotel. His determination makes him unwilling to ask for help.

Favorite Character: Douglas Ainslee

Movie Trailer Sunday (118)

Here are this weeks trailers.

White Bird in a Blizzard
Description: Kat Connors (Shailene Woodley) is a young woman whose life is turned upside down by the sudden disappearance of her beautiful, enigmatic mother (Eva Green).
Director: Gregg Araki
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Eva Green, Christopher Meloni, Shiloh Fernandez, Gabourey Sidibe, Thomas Jane
Trailer: Trailer "White Bird in a Blizzard"
Comment: The trailer doesn't show much, but it does look like something I would like.

3 Days to Kill
Description: A dying Secret Service Agent (Kevin COstner) trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Hailee Steinfeld) is offered an experimental drug that could save his life in exchange for one last assignment.
Director: McG
Starring: Kevin Costner, Hailee Steinfeld, Amber Heard, Connie Nielsen
Trailer: Trailer "3 Days to Kill"
Comment: It's probably a shitty movie, but I love Kevin Costner and I'm glad he's back in action.

22 Jump Street
Description: After making their way through high school (twice), big changes are in store for officers Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) when they go deep undercover at a local college. But when Jenko meets a kindred spirit on the football team, and Schmidt infiltrates the bohemian art major scene, they begin to question their partnership. Now they don't have to just crack the case - they have to figure out if they can have a mature relationship. If these two overgrown adolescents can grow from freshmen into real men, college might be the best thing that ever happened to them.
Director: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Starring: Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Ice Cube,
Trailer: Trailer "22 Jump Street"
Comment: This is just too cheesy, really, "22 Jump Street"? I thought the first one was bareable to watch, but I probably won't see this. Maybe when it's on TV in three years...

Blended
Description: After a bad blind date, a Jim (Adam Sandler) and Lauren (Drew Barrymore) find themselves stuck together at a resort for families, where their attraction grows as their respective kids benefit from the burgeoning relationship.
Director: Ivan Menchell, Clara Sera
Starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Joel McHale, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Kevin Nealon
Trailer: Trailer "Blended"
Comment: Adam Sandler hasn't done any memorable movies for a while and I don't think this is going to be one either. But when I see him together with Drew Barrymore I just want to rewatch "The Wedding Singer" again.

The Other Woman
Description: After realizing she is not her boyfriend's primary lover, a woman (Cameron Diaz) teams up with his wife (Leslie Mann) and plots mutual revenge.
Director: Nick Cassavetes
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Kate Upton, Nicki Minaj, Taylor Kinney, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Trailer: Trailer "The Other Woman
Comment: This is not going to be the best movie ever, but it does look like a lot of fun!

In My Mailbox (127)

I received eight postcards this week. First I got this pretty postcard from West Linton, Great Brittain. It's the train from the Harry Potter movie. I recognized it when I first saw it, but when I read the back the sender told me.

Sent: december 9th 2013
Received: december 16th 2013
Distance: 799 km (496 miles)
Travel Time: 7 days

This really adorable and colorful bunny came from Kiev, Ukraine.

Sent: december 6th 2013
Received: december 16th 2013
Distance: 1,722 km (1,070 miles)
Travel Time: 10 days

From Herne, Belgium I got this beautiful dolphin card.

Sent: december 12th 2013
Received: december 17th 2013
Distance: 147 km (91 miles)
Travel Time: 5 days

I don't know exactly what it is, but I do recognize a rabbit. I got this from Moscow, Russia.

Sent: november 30th 2013
Received: december 17th 2013
Distance: 2,139 km (1,329 miles)
Travel Time: 17 days

From Brest, Belarus I received this vintage card. It's a writer I believe.

Sent: december 12th 2013
Received: december 20th 2013
Distance: 1,225 km (761 miles)
Travel Time: 8 days

Sunsets are always pretty, so this card was really welcome. I got it from Bejing, China.

Sent: november 29th 2013
Received: december 20th 2013
Distance: 7,866 km (4,888 miles)
Travel Time: 21 days

From Zoutleeuw, Belgium I got this really cool "Fantastic Four" postcard. Although I'm not a fan of the movie, I'm Always happy to add movie cards to my collection.

Sent: december 17th 2013
Received: december 20th 2013
Distance: 74 km (46 miles)
Travel Time: 3 days

The last one I got is also my favorite of the week. It came from Wolfsburg, Germany. How adorable!

Sent: december 15th 2013
Received: december 20th 2013
Distance: 357 km (222 miles)
Travel Time: 5 days

Thanks Valerie, Annette, Arno, Olga, Julia, Timmy, Inge and Samara for your great postcards this week!