Tag: Pride and Prejudice

First February Friday Film Footnotes

I know I have mentioned a few films in my past few posts, but thought I’d do a full-fledged Film Footnote.  It is Friday the First of February, after all.

“The Impossible” – Saw this with Marissa at the late-late show on a Wednesday.  Before going, I read a bit about the family the movie is centered on.  It  would be interesting to read the book that they wrote, as it is very amazing how they came though the horrific situation as whole as they appear.  Having lived through a national disaster, as well as spending time thinking about a crisis response to a disaster, it is hard to imagine the response needed to a disaster of this magnitude.  The underwater scenes were painful to watch; the search for family was painful to watch; the difficult hospital situation was painful to watch.  I guess, it was painful to watch!  The middle son broke my heart when he said, “But I’ve never taken care of anyone before” after he is asked to take care of his younger brother.  Wow.  I cried throughout the movie and thought that the flashback underwater scene was a bit much.  I can recommend this movie, even as it isn’t the kind of movie that I would usually be drawn to.

“Silver Linings Playbook” – I just can’t say enough about this movie.  I saw it a second time last week and can’t wait for its next viewing!  I will refrain from purchasing another ticket and will wait until it comes out on DVD, but it is truly my favorite movie from 2012.  I’m glad it is nominated for so many Oscars and I hope that it takes a few!  Although it tackles the serious subject of mental illness, it is happy and light and funny.  It is sooo feel-good.  The first time I saw it, I was surprised by some of the plot.  No spoilers here.  It is just a clever story.  I ordered the book and will see if it lives up to the movie!

From Netflix:

“What to Expect When You’re Expecting“ – a second viewing for me.  I saw this in the theatre and was pleasantly surprised.  It isn’t great literature or film, but it is a cute movie, well-done.

“The Ides of March“ – political intrigue, not my usual cup of tea, but this was well-done as well.  Ryan Gosling and George Clooney, oh my!  But aside from being easy to look at, it had a good story.

In Honor of Pride & Prejudice being 200 years old:

Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice (Photo credit: elycefeliz)
A scene with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy after a ...
A scene with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy after a swim in a lake is recognized as “one of the most unforgettable moments in British TV history”. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Pride & Prejudice- BBC version” – I own this and thought it deserved a viewing upon finishing reading “Persuasion” by Austen and in honor of the 200th year since publication of the book.  It is just so delightful.  Colin Firth is a perfect Darcy; watching him play disagreeable and prideful and then seeing the love in his eyes when Elizabeth plays piano… amazing.  Ah…. such good stuff.  All 5 hours of it.   I’ll watch the most recent version sometime soon, too.

Coming next from Netflix: “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “Ruby Sparks.”  Can’t wait to see what the Oscar buzz is about for Beasts and think that Ruby will be a fun one to watch.  

What about you? What have you seen lately?

 

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What’s Making Me Happy This Week 1/9/13

Joy! NYC New York City
Joy Joy Joy!

I hope that I will remember to post about the Things Making Me Happy at least every other week… it’s been a few weeks (busy weeks) since I last wrote about this, but it’s such a good thing to focus on that I hope I will make it a habit!

  • Days off!  I had a great Christmas and New Year‘s with family and although I worked last weekend, it has been bracketed by wonderful days off!  I’ve been productive and relaxed; reading, entertaining, singing, watching movies, with just a little cleaning and organizing.  Good stuff.  
  • My Blu-Ray player for Christmas is so exciting… so easy and smart to use.  Just a breeze.
  • Reading Jane Austen is always so relaxing. I’m reading “Persuasion” as a readalong and although it isn’t living up to “Pride and Prejudice” level of love from me, it is still enjoyable to read.  I’m wondering if Jane Austen is NOT meant to be read on an electronic device, though. That has been a struggle.  
  • I spilled a big old glass of water on my stove top a few weeks ago, which prompted a deep clean under the stove.  Felt kinda good!
  • Taco Soup – Wow!  Mom made this and it was so delicious, and then I whipped it up at Dana and Koni’s last night and it was so easy!  The best flavor  and a fast feast!  Ingredients: 1 can black beans, 1 can pinto beans (both drained and rinsed), 1 can petite diced tomatoes, 1 can sweet corn (both drained), 1 can white chicken breast, drained, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can green enchilada sauce, 1 can chicken broth, 1 packet taco seasoning. Mix, heat, serve.  Excellent with tortilla chips!  Yummy!
  • The game Telestrations brought us many laughs on New Year’s Eve – what a fun family group game!
  • A mild sunshiny day today is certainly making me happy!
  • Looking forward to the weekend off – with nothing planned feels pretty great!
  • I love having my Christmas tree up – to think I almost didn’t do it this year! – but it does feel good to put it away.  I really don’t have many seasonal decorations aside from Christmas – maybe I need to add that to one of my lists… Mix it up a little.
  • Reflecting on 2012 has been such a Joy (see above pic!).  I continue to feel grateful for the people in my life and the adventures that they bring. 

I feel like I could go on and on, which is a good thing, but I’d better move on and get some more stuff done!  Enjoying the day!

What’s making you happy this week??

LOGO Give Joy Get Joy

Joy Joy Joy!
Joy Joy Joy!

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40 Things… (2)

[St. Stephen's Green Park, Dublin. County Dubl...
Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

Following Boof at Book Whisperer, I’m participating in her 40 day book challenge leading up to her birthday.  Her second question is:

2) A book I wish I could live in

Well, bouncing off yesterday’s post of my favorite book of 2011, I’m going to say anything by Maeve Binchy.  Those quaint little Irish villages are so seductive (as are some of the villagers!).  I would love to live in Ireland for a bit…

And reviewing my list from my 40 things… My #2 was

2) Read “Persuasion” by Jane Austen
and I did!  In August of 07 (reflecting my belief that Austen is best read in the summer!).  Again, no great shakes, but a purposeful wish to do important things.

Off to read!

40 Things…

My Year in Lists
Image via Wikipedia

Boof at the Book Whisperer turns the big 4-0 this year and is counting down to her birthday in October (shortly after mine!) with a 40 Day Book Challenge!  I think I’ll play along (when I can) and also will write about my own list of “40 things to do before I turn 40” from a few years ago!

Her first question was:  1) A favourite book of 2011 (so far)
When I looked through my Goodreads “read” shelf, the books that had five stars include all the Harry Potter books, which I listened to on audio this year, two Maeve Binchy books, and “The Girl Who Fell From the Sky”.  So I’m going to say my favorite of the year is “Finding Frankie” by Binchy.  I’ve expounded on my love of all things Binchy before, so I’ll just leave it at that.

My friend Deadra and I were both looking at turning 40 in 2008 and wanting to commemorate it in some way.  We love lists so decided to each write our own list of 40 things to do before turning 40.  We wrote the lists in late 2006, giving us plenty of time to accomplish them.  Looking at my own list of 40 Things Before 40, my #1 started out simple –
1)  Re-read “Pride and Prejudice.”
And I did.  To me, Austen is a great book to laze away the summer with, absorbing each word, paragraph and page.  It’s relaxing and a lovely way to spend time.

My list of Things was a lot of fun to write and accomplish, even though they were pretty small feats, for the most part.  Some of them were more about a way of thinking than doing.  It’ll be fun to relive it a little here…

Off to read!