100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 49: Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Director: Justin Chadwick
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 146 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Idris Elba, Naomie Harris

Description: A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's (Idris Elba) life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

Review: The British Justin Chadwick got the honors to direct the story of Nelson Mandela’s life. Mandela’s life was extraordinary: from a boy in a village he grew out to be a lawyer, was called a terrorist, a convicted criminal and eventually became president. The perfect story for a Hollywood film. Maybe “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” was a little bit too ambitious.
Autobiographies lend themselves for documentaries, it’s much harder to make it into a feature film. “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” often feels a bit messy, but it’s saved by the actors. Idris Elba is fantastic, with a convincing South African accent and a believable transformation from a short-tempered man to guru. And Noamie Harris touches you with a heart ripping performance as wife Winnie Mandela.
Because I idolized Mandela, it’s easier to see pass all the flaws. It’s an ode to the man who made such a difference in the world. Although it’s not the one people hoped for, it’s a warm ode to Nelson Mandela.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

In My Mailbox (143)

I received seven postcards this week. The first card came from Harlingen, Netherlands. A very funny card, those dancing buildings.

Sent: april 3rd 2014
Received: april 8th 2014
Distance: 223 km (139 miles)
Travel Time: 5 days

From Zwolle, Netherlands I got this Jackolope postcard. It's a creature that was never captured in the wild. It was very interested to read about this animal.

Sent: april 3rd 2014
Received: april 8th 2014
Distance: 146 km (91 miles)
Travel Time: 5 days

The sender of this card, from Lelystad, Netherlands, is just as big of a fan of "The Walking Dead" and "Prison Break" as I am. Really cool to talk about it with her. I really love this bear postcard! It's my favourite of the week.

Sent: april 6th 2014
Received: april 8th 2014
Distance: 151 km (94 miles)
Travel Time: 2 days

I already have this card, but I don't mind. It's such a beautiful postcard. It's from Arkhangelsk, Russia.

Sent: march 27th 2014
Received: april 8th 2014
Distance: 2,475 km (1,538 miles)
Travel Time: 12 days

A city view from Hong Kong.

Sent: april 1st 2014
Received: april 11th 2014
Distance: 9,279 km (5,766 miles)
Travel Time: 10 days

Another lovely autumn postcard, this time from Minsk, Belarus.

Sent: march 16th 2014
Received: april 11th 2014
Distance: 1,482 km (921 miles)
Travel Time: 26 days

And finally a gorgeous postcard from Bejing China. What a lovely tree!

Sent: april 3rd 2014
Received: april 11th 2014
Distance: 7,847 km (4,876 miles)
Travel Time: 8 days

Thanks Joke, Blauwvinger (nickname), Elke, Masha, Ema, Dasha and Feuille for your amazing postcards this week!

Top 5 Thursday: Movies from 2011

This was an incredibly good movie year, at least for me. It gave me some of my favorites, that I also own on DVD and I can watch over and over again.

5. Warrior
Only saw it once, but it left a big impression on me. Such a good film, that was overlooked if you ask me. And the music in the last scene was just perfect.

4. The Help
A total guarantee to make me cry every time. The book is great and the director captured it very well. A movie carried by women.

3. Drive
It’s really hard to explain this movie to people who haven’t seen it. It’s just such an amazing movie experience.

2. 50/ 50
The difficult theme is brought to us with such wit and heart without it ever being a sob story. Fantastic acting by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

1. Midnight in Paris
I’m in love with Paris, but also with this film. Woody Allen did such a great job and Owen Wilson was the perfect guy to play Gil Pender.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Jane Eyre, Bridesmaids, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, My Week with Marilyn, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Muppets

Movie Trailer Sunday (133)

Here are this weeks trailers.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Description: A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.
Director: Matt Reeves
Starring: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Enrique Murciano, Kirk Acevedo and Judy Greer
Trailer: Trailer "Dawn of the Planet of te Apes"
Comment: I loved the "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and this looks great as well.

Sex Tape
Description: When Jay (Jason Segel) and Annie (Cameron Diaz) first got together, their romantic connection was intense, but ten years and two kids later, the flame of their love needs a spark. To kick things up a notch, they decide to make a video of themselves trying out every position in The Joy of Sex in one marathon three-hour session. It seems like a great idea, until they discover that their most private video is no longer private. With their reputations on the line, they know they're just one click away from being laid bare to the world... but as their race to reclaim their video leads to a night they'll never forget, they'll find that their video will expose even more than they bargained for.
Director: Jake Kasdan
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, Rob Corddry, Ellie Kemper and Rob Lowe
Trailer: Trailer "Sex Tape"
Comment: Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel are both at their best in comedies.

Palo Alto
Description: Palo Alto weaves together three stories of teenage lust, boredom, and self-destruction: shy, sensitive April (Emma Roberts), torn between an illicit flirtation with her soccer coach (James Franco) and an unrequited crush on sweet stoner Teddy (Val Kilmer); Emily (Zoe Levin), who offers sexual favors to any boy to cross her path; and the increasingly dangerous exploits of Teddy and his best friend Fred (Nat Wolff), whose behavior may or may not be sociopaths.
Director: Gia Coppola
Starring: James Franco, Emma Roberts, Jack Kilmer, Nat Wolff, Zoe Levin, Claudia Levy, Chris Messina and Val Kilmer
Trailer: Trailer "Palo Alto"
Comment: James Franco wrote the novel. I never read it, but it seems like a great story.

The Drop
Description: When lonely Brooklyn bartender Bob Saginowski (Tom Hardy) uncovers a drop of a different sort in the form of a battered pit bull puppy that he rescues from certain death, he comes into contact with Nadia (Noomi Rapace), a mysterious woman hiding a dark past.
Director: Michael R. Roskam
Starring: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Matthias Schoenaerts, John Ortiz, Ann Dowd and James Frecheville
Trailer:Trailer "The Drop"
Comment: This was James Gandolfini's last film.

Lucy
Description: Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) is accidentally caught in a dark deal who turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.
Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman
Trailer: Trailer "Lucy"
Comment: Scarlett kick butt!

In My Mailbox (142)

I've recived 8 postcards this week. The first card is already a winner. What an adorable chimpanzee! It's from Bremen, Germany.

Sent: march 26th 2014
Received: march 30th 2014
Distance: 284 km (176 miles)
Travel Time: 4 days

Who is hiding behind that tree? A little bear cub! I love this card, it was send to me from Jyväskylä, Finland.

Sent: march 26th 2014
Received: april 2nd 2014
Distance: 1,708 km (1,061 miles)
Travel Time: 7 days

Somehow I Always liked these pretty and special looking mailboxes. I just have a slide in the wall.... I got this card from Erica, Netherlands.

Sent: march 30th 2014
Received: april 2nd 2014
Distance: 187 km (116 miles)
Travel Time: 3 days

What a gorgeous white hare! It's from Melk, Austria.

Sent: march 26th 014
Received: april 2nd 2014
Distance: 747 km (464 miles)
Travel Time: 7 days

This piece of art came from Shanghai, China.

Sent: march 19th 2014
Received: april 2nd 2014
Distance: 8,896 km (5,528 miles)
Travel Time: 14 days

Viva Las Vegas!! The card wasn't send to me from Vegas, but from Indiana, Indianapolis, US. Cool card!

Sent: march 11th 2014
Received: april 2nd 2014
Distance: 6,812 km (4,233 miles)
Travel Time: 22 days

This is just so adorable! I really think this is such a sweet postcard! It's from Changhua County, Taiwan.

Sent: march 23rd 2014
Received: april 2nd 2014
Distance: 9,506 km (5,907 miles)
Travel Time: 10 days

From Orenburg, Russia I received this wonderful postcard. I love this ballon postcard! I also got two Russian teabags from the sender.

Sent: march 26th 2014
Received: april 5th 2014
Distance: 3,335 km (2,072 miles)
Travel Time: 10 days

Thanks Andrea, Minna, Jeanette, Nicole, Brella, Allison, Apple and Eugene for your gorgeous postcards!

Top 5 Thursday: Movies I Watched for My Challenge (March 2014)

I didn’t have as many choices as the previous two months, because the amount of movies I watched that I haven’t seen before was minimal. I rewatched a lot of films this month. Here are my favourites of the month march for my challenge.

5. Hesher
A little weird, but a good kind of weird. I really loved both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman in this film and was surprised by Rainn Wilson. “Hesher” was surprisingly good.

4. Chimpanzee
Such a heart-warming documentary. Oscar is such an adorable chimpanzee. My brother actually interviewed the maker of the film when “Chimpanzee” came out.

3. Cloud Atlas
It’s really wonderful to see how amazing this book was made into a movie, because that wasn’t easy. Sure, the movie had its flaws, but still it was executed very well and I enjoyed it.

2. Captain Phillips
AS you might now, Tom Hanks can hardly do anything wrong in my eyes. His performance is phenomenal and it’s one of his best. “Captain Phillips” is an amazing film that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

1. The World’s End
I’ve already told you a couple of times, on my blog, how great this film is. I was really happy that “The World’s End” met my expectations and that it was as funny as I hoped. My brother and I really enjoyed every minute of it.

They Almost Made the Top 5: The Last Stand

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 48: Thor: The Dark World

Director: Alan Taylor
Genre: Action/ Fantasy/ Adventure
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Renee Russo, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgård

Description: When Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is possessed by a great power, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) must protect her from a new threat of old times: the Dark Elves.

Review: A year after the happenings in “The Avengers”, Thor has to face a new enemy: Malekith. He’s the leader of the Dark Elves and out for revenge.
“Thor” was in 2011 a pleasant surprise and the superhero got even more popular after “The Avengers”. Alan Taylor took over the role as director from Kenneth Branagh. Taylor keeps the balance between action, drama and humor, but you also feel it all could have been a bit better.
The main antagonist, Malekith, doesn’t really shine and you hardly learn anything about the Dark Elves. Only the confrontation between him and Thor is a spectacle to look forward too.
Chris Hemsworth is starting to feel more comfortable as Thor. He really manages to shine and he’s a joy to watch in every sense of the word. His chemistry with Natalie Portman is still there, I like them together. And Tom Hiddleston, as Loki, does a solid job as well.
“Thor: The Dark World” is, like part one, a good Marvel film. Very entertaining and enough to keep me quiet for two hours.

Rating: 3,5/ 5