"The book is a film that takes place in the mind of the reader." ~ Paulo Coelho

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Movies I watched in 2017

Hello!
2017 was a big success for movie watching! I will only be listing the movies that I saw for the first time in 2017, as I re-watch WAY to many movies to keep track of. I do not like all of these, in fact I watched my least favorite movie this year, but they are all here. I will be listing them in the order that I saw them in. If you are interested, here is my list from 2016.

Clarifications:
Ones with a ~ means I saw it in a theater.
Ones with an asterisk I saw more than once.
To be on this list I must have seen more than half of it, the ending, and cannot have missed more than half an hour of it.

Movies:

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966) {Wait, what? This is the first movie you saw in 2017, MC? Yeah, I wasn't really watching, but I don't want to watch it again so I'm counting it.}
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
The Man From Laramie (1955)
Beauty and the Beast (2017) ~*
3 Ring Circus (1954)
Candleshoe (1977)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Princess Mononoke (1997) {One of the strangest movies I have ever seen. My sisters and I sat there with our mouths open for the whole thing. We were thinking, "What in the world is this?"}
E. T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
Moana (2016) {My sisters convinced me to watch this. I wasn't going to.}
Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) *
The Lady in the Van (2015)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Grease (1978) {You guessed it, this is my least favorite movie EVER. It is sssooo bad. It doens't deserve a picture.}
The Penguins of Madagasgar (2014)
West Side Story (1961)
Amadeus (1984) {Not what I expected...}
Minions (2015) {Sigh. I did not watch this by choice. I was babysitting a little boy and this was the only movie he wanted to watch.}
My Favorite Brunette (1947) *
Father Goose (1964)
The Swan Princess (1994)
The Proud Rebel (1958)
The Good Dinosaur (2016)
The Man From Snowy River (1982)
Albion: The Enchanted Stallion (2016)
Man Without a Star (1955)
High School Musical (2006) {Once again, my sister convinced me to watch it. I was not impressed. Especially because she started singing the songs non-stop.}
Descendants 2 (2017) {I really like fairytale retellings/continuations so I had to watch this.}
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
The Illusionist (2006) *
Libeled Lady (1936)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
The Sting (1973) {I am breaking the rules here. I don't think I saw even half of it, but I got the general idea.}
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000) {This was actually really hilarious.}
Roxanne (1987) {I agree with my grandma's statement after watching it. "It was good, but I don't need to see that one again."}
Snow Dogs (2002)
The Founder (2016) {Didn't like this one, Michael Keaton wasn't funny.}
Harvey (1950)
Rango (2011)
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Murder on the Orient Express (2017) ~
Splash (1984) {Blah, even though I look like Daryl Hannah, I didn't like this one.}
Shorts (2009)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) {Yes, I know it's weird, but my sisters and I might have a little bit of an obsession with them.}
The X-Files (1998) {On this one I wasn't really watching either, but I'm counting it anyway.}
Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)
STAR WARS: The Last Jedi (2017) ~
By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953)
Richie Rich (1994)
Finding Neverland (2004) {I didn't like this as much as I thought I would.}
A Christmas Carol (1984)
Total: 53
Actually, I just realized that I forgot to write down that I also saw Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. It was actually pretty funny.
Grand Total: 54

Short films:

The Golf Specialist (1925)
The Dentist (1932)
{These were W.C.Fields shorts.)
Malice in the Palace (1949) {Three Stooges}

Total: 3

Series:

Robin Hood BBC (2006-2009) [REWATCH for my Robin Hood BBC Watch-Along)
Downton Abbey, Season 4, episode 4-Season 6, episode 2.
Call the Midwife, 1 episode
Once Upon a Time, 1 episode

My Ten New-to-me Favorites:

1. Beauty and the Beast (2017)
2. STAR WARS: The Last Jedi (2017)
3. Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
4. The Man From Snowy River (1982)
5. The Illusionist (2006) {There is an "iffy" part, but the rest is ssoo great!}
6. Chariots of Fire (1981) {Isn't this the best name!?}
7. Sherlock Holmes (2009)
8. Father Goose (1964)
9. E. T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
10. Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

This was the first time I really have had trouble deciding which is my favorite, because all these movies are so different!

Because it is a new year, I decided I needed a new header.
These are my five (current) favorite movies from left to right: Singin' in the Rain, STAR WARS: A New Hope, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Son of Monte Cristo, and Beauty and the Beast!

Thank you all for reading! Have a great 2018!

MovieCritic

Monday, January 1, 2018

Books I read in 2017

Happy New Year!!!!
I read so many books in 2017, so I want to share them with you all! They will be listed in the order I read them. If it has an asterisk (*) it means I read it for a challenge. I do not like all of these books, or recommend them. If you are interested, here is my list from 2016. One day, I hope to review all of them!

New to me reads:

A Study in Scarlet - by Arthur Conan Doyle
Story's End - by Marrisa Burt
Inside Out and Back Again - by Thannha Lai
The Q - by Beth Brower
Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children - by Ransom Riggs (shudder)
Pride & Prejudice - by Jane Austen (Parts One, Two, Three, and Four)
Travels with Gannon and Wyatt: Botswana - by Patti Wheeler and Keith Hemsteer
Faithful - by Janet Fox
Real Food/Fake Food - by Larry Olmsted
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - by J.R.R.Tolkien
Walk Two Moons - by Sharon Creech
Finding Love in Sun Valley, Idaho - by Angela Ruth Strong
Liffey Rivers and the Mystery of the Sparkling Solo Dress Crown - by Brenna Briggs
Sage Paints the Sky - by Jessie Haas
Meet Josefina: An American Girl - by Valerie Tripp
The Georges and the Jewels - by Jane Smiley
Naya Nuki: Shoshoni Girl Who Ran - by Kenneth Thomasma
Framed - by Frank Cottrell Boyce
The Tail of Emily Windsnap - by Liz Kessler
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - by J.K. Rowling
Five Little Peppers And How They Grew - by Margaret Sidney
The Sign of the Four - by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - by J.R.R.Tolkien
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood - by Howard Pyle
Dave at Night - by Gail Carson Levine *
The Teen's Guide to World Domination - by Josh Shipp
An Autobiography - by Agatha Christie
Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy - by Tui T. Sutherland
Liesl & Po - by Lauren Oliver *
The Journal of Jesse Smoke, A Cherokee Boy - by Joseph Bruchac
Five Glass Slippers - by Elisabeth Brown, Emma Clifton, Rachel Heffington, Stephanie Ricker, and Clara Diane Thompson.
The Land of Stories: Worlds Collide - by Chris Colfer
The Jungle Book - by Rudyard Kipling
Just Ella - Margaret Peterson Haddix
Esperanza Rising - by Pam Muñoz Ryan *
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - by J.R.R.Tolkien
Balto of the Blue Dawn - by Mary Pope Osborne
Saturdays at Sea - by Jessica Day George
Silent to the Bone - by E.L.Konigsburg (My least favorite book)
Snow in Summer - by Jane Yolen
National Velvet - by Enid Bagnold
Peter Pan - by J.M.Barrie
2010: Odyssey Two - by Arthur C. Clarke
Cloaked - by Rachel Kovaciny
The Princess Bride - by S. Morgenstern (aka William Goldman)
Summer of the Monkeys - by Wilson Rawls *
The Tiger Rising - by Kate DiCamillo
Pegasus - by Robin McKinley *
Five Enchanted Roses - by Kaycee Browning, Savannah Jezowski, Jenelle Schmidt, Dorian Tsukioka, and Hayden Wand.
Twelfth Night - by William Shakespeare
The Hound of the Baskervilles - by Arthur Conan Doyle
Swordbird - by Nancy Yi Fan
Wonderland Creek - by Lynn Austen *
Five Magic Spindles - by Rachel Kovaciny, Kat Medill, Grace Mullins, Michelle Pennington, and Ashley Stangl.
January Joker - by Ron Roy
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes - by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (mini review)
The Return of Sherlock Holmes - by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Headless Cupid - by Zilpha Keatley Snider
Throne of Grace - by Cecily Wolfe
Crown of Beauty - by Cecily Wolfe
The Valley of Fear - by Arthur Conan Doyle
His Last Bow - by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes - by Arthur Conan Doyle

Total: 65

Rereads:

The Pink Motel - by Carol Ryrie Brink
Pride & Prejudice - by Jane Austen. (I reread this for Amber's Pride & Prejudice read-along!)

Total: 3

My 10 Favorite New to Me (No specific order):

1. Pride & Prejudice - by Jane Austen
2. Peter Pan - by J.M.Barrie
3. The Sherlock Holmes Canon - by Arthur Conan Doyle
4. The Lord of the Rings - by J.R.R.Tolkien
5. Summer of the Monkeys - by Wilson Rawls
6. The Q - by Beth Brower
7. Rooglewood Press's contest books:
Five Glass Slippers,
Five Enchanted Roses,
and Five Magic Spindles.
8. Five Little Peppers and How They Grew - by Margaret Sidney
9. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood - by Howard Pyle
10. Cloaked - by Rachel Kovaciny
I just realized that five was my lucky number this year.

Thank you so much to Heidi for hosting the Adventure of Reading Challenge this year!!

This year I am going to join the Mount TBR Challenge 2018 hosted by My Reader's Block!
I am going for: Pike's Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s.

Thank you for reading about my book craziness!

MovieCritic

Sunday, December 31, 2017

A Memorial for Actors and Authors~2017

Hello.
2017 was a great year in some ways, but a lot of great people died. This post is as memorial for some of my favorite actors and authors that are close to my heart.

Mary Tyler Moore: Actress
December 29th, 1936 - January 25th, 2017
Though she is most famous for her television show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the only movie I have seen her in is Thoroughly Modern Millie. She plays the sweet, gullible Miss Dorothy. She had me laughing. She really was a great actress, I look forward to watching more of her movies.

Robert Osborne: TCM Television Host
May 3rd, 1932 - March 6th, 2017
I know that all the others on here are actors and authors, but I do want to write a word or two about Robert Osborne. For as long as I can remember I have been watching Turner Classic Movies. And for as long as I can remember, Robert Osborne's voice has introduced each movie. I will miss hearing his voice, and hearing his thoughts.

Peter Sallis: Voice Actor
February 1st, 1921 - June 2nd, 2017
We all have cartoons that we love. Ones that we have watched since we were tiny and still enjoy watching today. Mine are the Wallace and Gromet cartoons. The amazing claymation tells the story of Wallace, and his dog Gromet. Peter Sallis played the unmistakable voice of the cheese loving Wallace.

Michael Bond: Author
January 23rd, 1926 - June 27th, 2017
Michael Bond is the creator of one of the most lovable bears: Paddington. Though I have never read the books, I love the character, and I cannot wait to read the books. The movie is excellent, and there is a number two coming out in 2018. Thank you, Michael Bond.

June Foray: Voice Actress
September 18th, 1917 - July 26th, 2017. (She was almost 100!)
Talk about a voice! The movies I heard her in are: Cinderella as Lucifer the Cat, Peter Pan as Squaw, The Snow Queen as Court Raven/Old robber/Old Fairy, Thumbelina as Queen Tabitha, Mulan as Grandmother Fa, and Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas as Cindy Lou Who. She was also the known voices of: Witch Hazel, Granny in Tweety Bird Cartoons, and Rocky J. Squirrel. We will miss her.

Glen Campbell: Actor and Singer
April 22nd, 1936 - August 8th, 2017
I know your thinking, "Wait, he was a singer. Why is he on a movie blog?" Well, to tell the truth, I don't know his songs, but I do know that he played Le Boeuf in the 1969 version of True Grit. I really do like that character and I think he did an excellent job.

Jerry Lewis: Actor and Comedian
March 16th, 1926 - August 20th, 2017
I have actually only seen him in one movie: 3 Ring Circus. Everyone always loves Dean Martin, which is good, but Jerry Lewis deserves some love too. It's hard always playing the one who gets laughed at, but he was marvelous at it. I cannot wait to see more of his movies.

There you have it. Do you miss these actors as much as I do?

I hope you all had a fabulous 2017, and are ready for an even greater 2018!!!!

MovieCritic
"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, where you stop your story." -Orson Welles