Mirkwood Reflections

Film Feedback Week of 2/21 Cities of the Underworld - watched a few more of these while I was working. Love the show! State of Play - Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams in a political thriller that I really didn't follow very closely. I Hate Valentine's Day - That actress from My Big Fat Greek Wedding in a rom-com that I liked better than My Life in Ruins , but not as well as Greek Wedding . Post G rad - Recommended by one of the librarians, and rather cute. About a recent college grad whose life isn't going quite how she planned. Moo n - Odd, odd, odd! Not quite sure I followed it all - the hazards of having a movie on while doing other things. Read a review that recommended it, but not sure *I* would give it the thumbs up. Vegg ie Tales Pistachio: The Boy Who Woodn't - Cute! Love the silly song, and the Pinocchio parallels fit the story well. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Book club movie! The book was better, but Toby Stephens is worth a watch!

Northanger Abbey My favorite Austen film! Probably because it's light-hearted and comic. Tilney is all that a gentleman should be, plus he's amusing and likes to banter. None of that smoldering broodiness that Darcy is so known for. It's also short, which is nice to be able to fit in an evening, unlike the very long Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth. You have to make an appointment with that one. (though it is an oh-so-enjoyable undertaking!) IMDB Cities of the Underworld This History Channel TV show on DVD caught my eye at the library. I've always been fascinated with underground relics and ruins, especially after having toured the Underground Seattle as a teen. I find it almost unbelievable that all that can be underneath the pavement of modern cities. I watched 4 episodes - the first disc - and can't wait to watch the rest. You can watch some online at the History Channel website. IMDB Valentin e's Day The star-studded cast was the attraction here, not th...

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Nope, I'd never watched this. HERESY WARNING - I am not a Sean Connery fan. (Apologies to all of you who just gasped aloud.) And the print ads I'd seen didn't interest me. But someone mentioned to me the other day that the "extraordinary" in the title really refers to super-hero-type qualities. Oh really? Like the X-men? Kind of. OK, then, I'll give it a watch. 'Twasn't bad! IMDB Whiteout Chose it because I couldn't find anything else new at the library that I hadn't already watched. Premise - 1st murder in Antartica and female US Marshal has to investigate quickly or be left behind for 6 months of Antartic winter. I sort of stopped paying attention about halfway through. IMDB Castle Finished watching Season 1 and I liked the latter episodes better than the first ones. Sometimes a season needs some time to get going. I really like how involved of a dad Castle is, I like the fact he's an author, and I do...

I know I see a lot of movies, but even I missed a few in 2009. More than a few, actually, since I didn't go to the theater very often. I've starred the ones I am really looking forward to viewing. NOTE: I wrote this list a few days ago and since then, I've seen four movies from it. Bright Star - Loved it and would like to watch again Duplicity - Not my thing really Extract - Even more not my thing Star Trek 11 - Not usually my thing, but really well done! Have you seen any of these? What'd you think? I've starred** the ones I really want to see. Aliens In The Attic Amelia An Education Avatar 3D The Blind Side** Bright Star Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs Couple's Retreat Dance Flick Duplicity Earth Extract Fame 2009 Fantastic Mr. Fox The Hurt Locker Ice Age 3 Inkheart It's Complicated The Lovely Bones Me And Orson Welles** New Moon** New York I Love You** Pippa Lee** Precious The Road Sherlock Holmes**** Star Trek 11 Terminator 4 Up in the ...

I've divided this post into several categories, ranking the movies I've seen that were released in 2009. (updated 2/12/10 with 4 additional movies) LOVED IT - Multiple Viewings 17 Again Confessions Of A Shopaholic Management The Proposal Wolverine (X-men Origins) ENJOYED IT - Would recommend Adam Bright Star Julie & Julia Monsters vs Aliens 3D Star Trek 11 The Soloist The Time Traveler's Wife Up 3D ENJOYED IT - Not necessarily for everyone (or guilty pleasures!) Adventureland The Hangover Night At The Museum 2 Sunshine Cleaning INDIFFERENT - Not a lot of feeling one way or the other Easy Virtue Hotel For Dogs The Princess And The Frog Race To Witch Mountain Sugar MIXED FEELINGS - Liked some parts, disliked something about it (500) Days Of Summer All About Steve Bride Wars Duplicity Extract Fanboys Gamer He's Just Not That Into You Madea Goes To Jail My Life In Ruins New In Town Taken The Ugly Truth DISLIKED MOVIE - But you might like it. Not my thing. Or it was ju...

Eight books in January and most of them very satisfying! The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde - 1/7/2010 Good - Sci-fi Thursday Next, a British literary detective, has to track down the thief of a stolen Dickens manuscript. Darlene told me about this series and it sounded intriguing. I enjoyed it, mostly because of all the literary references and how the story sets itself on its ear. Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - 1/8/20 10 Good - Fiction Twelve years after Nan was fired, Grayer comes back into her life as a troubled sixteen-year-old who asks her to help his seven-year-old brother. I chose this because I'd read The Nanny Diaries and found it horrifyingly mesmerizing, mostly because of the way the family treated their son. Now the family has two sons, but I found this story much less believable, though still in teresting. A Bride in the Bargain by Deanne Gist - 1/11/2010 Excellent - Inspirational Romance Joe Denton needs a wife to keep his land in 1860's ...

Since I tend to watch quite a few movies, I thought it'd be productive to review them briefly here. My schedule doesn't often allow for long reviews as I have done in the past (though I adore writing them) but I can at least give you a quick reaction to each one. Hope you enjoy! Extract - Looked funny from the previews I saw on another DVD. Jason Bateman h as made sort of a comeback and I liked him in Juno. This one was heavy on the drugs and sexual situations and left sort of a bad aftertaste. Don't bother with it . www.imdb.com/title/tt1225822/ Duplicity - I don't normally like movies where the bad guys are the protagonists a n d this one had the added problem of me doing something else while I was "watch ing" it. So, I missed some key points I am sure, but I didn't really enjoy it. However, Clive O wen is nice. :-) www.imdb.com/title/tt1135487/ Star Trek - I am not a Trekker. Not by a long shot. But I was told I had to watch this, and it was very watc...

A librarian at one of the libraries I frequent heard me mention that I wanted to watch Gamer because Gerard Butler stars in that violent action flick. Not my normal type of movie. Hers either, but she is a rabid Butler fan and so we discussed his various movies for a few minutes. The next time I came into the library, I found this note affixed to my stack of requested items. "Lisa - For my Gerard Butler fan. Check out Dear Frankie and Attila the Hun DVDs. Good Chick Flicks! Christine, The Library's Gerard Butler Fan" Are you giggling? I was! LOL We then had a chance to talk about those films in particular, which I'd already seen (of course!) and loved. Dear Frankie is a lovely movie and Gerard is particularly charming in it, especially because of his Scots accent shining through. Too many movies don't feature that. Attila the Hun is not a particularly good movie, but I enjoyed Gerard in that one as well. And Gamer ? Interesting premise. Pretty gory, in a vide...