Movie Trailer Sunday (78)

Here are this weeks trailers.

The Colony
Description: Set during the next ice age, an outpost of colonists struggle to survive below the world's frozen surface. Short on supplies, and plagued by illness and internal conflict, the colonists suspect the worst when they mysteriously lose contact with their only other known settlement, Colony 5. When Colony 7's leader Briggs (Laurence Fishburne) decides to lead an expedition to discover what happened, he is challenged by Mason (Bill Paxton), his former comrade-in-arms, who has his own ideas of what is best for the colonists. Briggs takes two volunteers on the mission, the young Graydon, and Sam (Kevin Zegers), a strong-willed mechanic who seizes the opportunity to confront the icy wasteland that orphaned him. When they reach their destination, the team discover a threat much worse than nature and must battle to save themselves and protect their fellow colonists in what might be humanity's last stand.
Director: Joe Renfroe
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Kevin Zegers, Bill Paxton
Trailer: Trailer "The Colony"

Tomorrow You're Gone
Description: Charlie Rankin (Stephen Dorff) is out of prison, but not out of trouble. Indebted to the man who saved his life behind bars (Willem Dafoe), Charlie must now carry out a murder to settle the score. But things start to change for Charlie when he meets Florence (Michelle Monaghan), a mysterious and beautiful lost soul who sees the good hidden beneath his tough exterior. When the hit goes bad, it's Charlie's life that is on the line, and he'll have to figure out how to settle his debts and keep Florence out of danger before his past catches up to him.
Director: David Jacobson
Starring: Stephen Dorff, Michelle Monaghan, Willem Dafoe
Trailer: Trailer "Tomorrow You're Gone"

Hummingbird
Description: Living homeless after going on the run from a military court-martial, Joey Jones (Jason Statham) is a damaged ex-special forces soldier trapped in London's criminal underworld. But when opportunity enables him to assume another man's identity, he is transformed into an avenging angel.
Director: Steven Knight
Starring: Jason Statham
Trailer: Trailer "Hummingbird"
Comment: Not a Jason Statham fan, but I have to admit that this looks pretty good.

Girl Rising
Description: The movie tells the stories of nine girls from different parts of the world who face arranged marriages, child slavery, and other heartbreaking injustices. Despite these obstacles, the brave girls offer hope and inspiration. By getting an education, they're able to break barriers and create change.
Director: Richard Robbins
Starring: Cate Blanchet, Freida Pinto, Selena Gomez, Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayek, Liam Neeson, Kerry Washington, Meryl Streep, Chloë Grace Moretz, Alicia Keys (all narrators)
Trailer: Trailer "Girl Rising"
Comment: This looks amazing, inspiring and almost gave me tears already.

The Look of Love
Description:The life of Paul Raymond, the controversial entrepreneur who became Britain's richest man
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Starring: Steve Coogan, Imogen Poots, Anna Friel, Stephen Fry,
Trailer: Trailer "The Look of Love"

50 Books Challenge 2013 - # 9: Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Divergent # 2)

Title: Insurgent (Divergent # 2)
Author: Veronica Roth
Story: One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
Start: march 11th 2013
End: march 23rd 2013
Comment: I devoured the first book in this series, so I was really expecting a lot from "Insurgent". Always dangerous. The book picks up where "Divergent" left off and Tris and Tobias are left running for their lives. We are still trying to figure out what the big mystery is everyone has been hiding and how this will play a role in the coming war. The reason I gave it a three star rating is because it's a bit bland and not much happened until towards the end of the book. That's where things started unfolding, revelations, action, betrayal, help when you least expected. I'm glad the ending was good, which makes me want to read the next book. I didn't enjoy reading about Tris and Four together, that relationship lost its spark, but I liked them seperately. Although Tris acts before she thinks and that's annoying, she is an interesting character to read about. What I liked the most is learning about all the different factions, but I still want to know why there are those factions. Although "Insurgent" wasn't as fast paced as its first installment, I did enjoy it and I can't wait for the third book in this series.
Rating: 3/ 5

In My Mailbox (89)

I got eight official postcards and one swap. Happy me! The first was alreadt gorgeous. This is from Witten, Germany. A beautiful Alaskan Malamute.

Sent: march 14th 2013
Received: march 18th 2013
Distance: 97 km (60 miles)
Travel Time: 4 days

Another dog from Germany, this time it's Cologne. The dog looks like a mop, so funny.

Sent: march 16th 2103
Received: march 20th 2013
Distance: 51 km (32 miles)
Travel Time: 4 days

A card from Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The sender is originally from Pennsylvania and she lived in 10 different states! Pretty awesome. She also lived in Korea as a teacher.

Sent: march 13th 2013
Received: march 22nd 2013
Distance: 7,120 km (4,424 miles)
Travel Time: 9 days

This is my weekly favorite, from Taipei, Taiwan. I love this card, the look in this cute cats eyes. This postcard screams out adorable! The sender recommended me to visit the night market and to drink pearl milk tea whenever I visit Taiwan.

Sent: march 16th 2013
Received: march 22nd 2013
Distance: 9,487 km (5,895 miles)
Travel Time: 6 days

From Herisau, Switzerland I received this movie card. I'm not a James Bond fan, but I'm glad the sender picked out a Bond postcard with Daniel Craig as James Bond. I actually like this card very much.

Sent: march 16th 2013
Received: march 23rd 2013
Distance: 485 km (301 miles)
Travel Time: 7 days

The third dog card this week came from Swan Hill, Australia. I like the matching stamp.

Sent: march 18th 2013
Received: march 23rd 2013
Distance: 16,200 km (10,066 miles)
Travel Time: 5 days

Another favorite came from Langfang (funny name), China. i love the colors and the lighting of this postcard. The sender wrote about her favorite movie "Titanic" and she asked if I liked it. I felt bad to tell her I hate it, so I didn't answer that question....

Sent: february 21st 2013
Received: march 23rd 2013
Distance: 7,917 km (4,919 miles)
Travel Time: 30 days

And here a card with character who can always cheer me up. "The Muppets"!!! Love 'em. Great card. I already have a similar card with Kermit and Miss Piggy. It's from Schoonebeek, Netherlands.

Sent: march 20th 2013
Received: march 23rd 2013
Distance: 187 km (116 miles)
Travel Time: 3 days

And a private swap, again from my postcrossing friend Anton in Gatchina, Russia. This card is actually in 3D, but it's hard to tell on the picture. Wonderful creatures, whales.

Thanks Reinhard, Alex, December, Sammi, Elena, Isaac, Ma, Caroline and Anton for the wonderful postcards this week.

Quotables: "50/ 50"

I saw this movie for the first time last year. It has become one of my favorites of all-time. I just love how this movie deals with this complex theme in a light hearted way, even with humor. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick are all amazing in this movie. Here are my favourite quotes.



Adam: See, but... that's bullshit. That's what everyone has been telling me since the beginning. "Oh, you're gonna be okay," and "Oh, everything's fine," and like, it's not... It makes it worse... that no one will just come out and say it. Like, "hey man, you're gonna die."

Adam: You should go.
Rachael: [Kissing him] I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you.
Adam: No, seriously... you need to get the fuck off my porch.

Adam: What were you doing when I called? Were you on facebook?
Katherine: You know... umm... stalking my ex-boyfriend actually isn't the only thing I do in my free time.
Adam: I wish you were my girlfriend.
Katherine: Girlfriends can be nice. You just had a bad one.
Adam: I bet you'd be a good one.

Rachael: Why am I the bad guy?
Kyle: Because you're his girlfriend, you cheated on him, and he has fucking cancer, you lunatic!

Adam: Why didn't we go to a barber?
Kyle: That would have been a good idea if we paid someone to do it.
Adam: Using your fucking balls trimmer instead of going to the barber.
Kyle: I never washed them, ever. It's not my balls, it's my asshole. I'm joking.
Adam: You're not joking.

Top 5 Thursday: Actors Who Deserved an Academy Award

While wathcing the Academy Awards it happened many times that the one I wanted to win, didn't. And I was actually mad about it. Sometimes the actors had already one an Academy Award, but that doesn't matter. Here are my five actors who I think Deserved an Oscar.

5. Tom Cruise in "Born on the 4th of July"
He has been in many great film, but his role in "Born on the 4th of July" is simply the best. Cruise was so convincing and he touched me.

4. Edward Norton for "American History X"
Norton was fantastic in this film, a great performance. And also one of the best films made.

3. William H. Macy for "Fargo"
He was nominated for his supporting role and I think he did a tremendous job. Macy is a master in playing men who you feel sorry for.

2. Russell Crowe for "A Beautiful Mind"
Denzel Washington won that year, and that's fine, but I'm mostly mad that Crowe won for "Gladiator" and didn't for "A Beautiful Mind". I think it's pretty obvious that his performance as John Nash is much better and tougher to play.

1. James Franco for "127 Hours"
I was raging mad when I found out James didn't win the Oscar. This is one of the best performances I've seen in the past 10 years. Amazing. Colin Firth won that year, but he played a British king with a speech problem... come on!

They Almost Made the Top 5: Leonardo DiCaprio for Blood Diamond, Kevin Costner for Dances with Wolves, Samuel L. Jackson for Pulp Fiction

Weekly Photo Challenge 2013 - Theme # 11: Red

I know I'm a day late, but it's but so busy lately. But here's this weeks challenge.

It's my favorite color and I wanted to do something original. So I was looking at all my DVD's and i just selected the once with a red cover. This is the photo I made.

Movie Trailer Sunday (77)

Here are this weeks movie trailers.

Generation Um...
Description: The world is downtown New York City, present day - from the point of view of a driver for an escort service. John (Keanu Reeves), a quietly sexy withdrawn guy, is finally aging out of his young, trendy neighborhood, dealing with the beginnings of the next chapter of his life. John's friends are the party girls he works for - Violet (Bojana Novakovic), an unstoppable entertainer whose weathered beauty and self-proclaimed wisdom are matched only by her lack of audience; and Mia (Adelaide Clemens), the new girl with the dark past, whose traffic-stopping sensuality has brought her nothing but victimization. Both survive on their ability to manipulate men, and don't know how to live any other way. But John, they trust. And through their relationship, all three find a comforting and humorous refuge from the downward spiral of their self-destructive but entertaining lifestyles. The end of another night out for this odd family of circumstance sets the stage for an all too familiar day spent coming to terms with and reveling in the lives they have unintentionally created for themselves. When John impulsively steals a camcorder, he decides to capture the sights, sounds, and senses of New York - or rather, his sights, sounds, and senses. He records nature, people, himself. Today. John's experiment takes a new turn when he pans the camera's attention to his Party Girls. Violet is gung-ho, ready at a moment's notice to become the center of attention before the focus fades away. Mia is less enthused, but finds herself opening up to the promise of a spectator. John's camcorder unravels the girls' lives, as both Violet and Mia find themselves attempting to outdo one another's secrets and opinions.
Director: Mark Mann
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Adelaide Clemens, Bojana Novakovic, Daniel Sunjata, Jake Hoffman, Johnny Orsini, Sarita Choudhury
Trailer: Trailer "Generation Um..."

Leonie
Description: In the lush tradition of the glorious films of Merchant and Ivory, comes the true life story of Leonie Gilmour (Emily Mortimer), whose life crossed continents, wars and cultures, embodied with courage and passion in search of art and freedom. As an independent young woman seeking to overcome the restrictive female roles in turn-of-the century America, she is retained by the famous Japanese poet, Yone Noguchi, as his editor. Their relationship evolves romantically, however Yone abruptly leaves when she shares with him that she is pregnant. Following him to Japan, she is cast alone to raise their son in a society with few opportunities for women.
Director: Hisako Matsui
Starring: Emily Mortimer, Christina Hendricks, Shido Nakamura, Nichole Hiltz, Jay Karnes, Mary Kay Place
Trailer: Trailer "Leonie"

Kick-Ass 2
Description: When we last saw junior assassin Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) and young vigilante Kick-Ass Aaron Taylor-Johnson), they were trying to live as normal teenagers Mindy and Dave. With graduation looming and uncertain what to do, Dave decides to start the world's first superhero team with Mindy. Unfortunately, when Mindy is busted for sneaking out as Hit Girl, she's forced to retire leaving her to navigate the terrifying world of high-school mean girls on her own. With no one left to turn to, Dave joins forces with Justice Forever, run by a born-again ex-mobster named Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). Just as they start to make a real difference on the streets, the world's first super villain, The Mother F%&*^r, assembles his own evil league and puts a plan in motion to make Kick-Ass and Hit Girl pay for what they did to his dad. But there's only one problem with his scheme: If you mess with one member of Justice Forever, you mess with them all.
Director: Jeff Wadlow
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Morris Chestnut, John Leguizamo, Donald Faison, Jim Carrey
Trailer: Trailer "Kick-Ass 2"
Comment: I think Jim Carrey is a great addition. Can't wait to see this.

Penthouse North
Description: Sara Taylor (Michelle Monaghan), a photojournalist blinded in Iraq, is forced to play a deadly game of cat and mouse with the sadistic criminal Hollander (Michael Keaton), a man who will stop at nothing to get a fortune of stolen diamonds hidden in Sara's penthouse apartment. Although Sara claims to not know where the diamonds are, Hollander utilizes psychological and physical torture in an effort to break Sara's resistance. But Sara fights back. As the suspense builds to a shattering climax, Sara gains the advantage. But will it be enough to save her?
Director: Joseph Ruben
Starring: Michael Keaton, Michelle Monaghan, Andrew Walker
Trailer: Trailer "Penthouse North"

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
Description: Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan) has had many ups and downs in his life. National television broadcaster. Responsible for killing a guest on live TV. Local radio broadcaster. A nervous breakdown in Dundee. His self-published book, "Bouncing Back," subsequently remaindered and pulped. "Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa" portrays the events of the greatest low-to-high-ebb spectrum in his life to date, specifically how he tries to salvage his public career while negotiating a potentially violent turn of events at North Norfolk Digital Radio.
Director: Declan Lowney
Starring: Steve Coogan
Trailer: Trailer Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa"
Comment: I love Steve Coogan, especially as Alan Partridge.