Daily Mish Mash

I hope you will join us as we discuss our love of movies.

To participate, all you need to do is write a movie-related post. Here are some ideas (but feel free to be as creative as you would like, just as long as you stick to the theme): a movie review, a list of your favorite movies in a genre, a video clip of your favorite movie scene, etc..

The post could be something you wrote today or one you may have done recently that you would like to highlight.

 All I ask is that you please mention the Movie Madness Carnival in your post and link back to this post here at Daily Mish Mash.  Feel free to grab the banner for your site if you’d like.

A little about spoilers…I think it goes without saying that you don’t want to include spoilers in your post. If you must include them, please give fair warning that you are doing so by putting a bold MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS at the beginning of the post.

Please leave your movie post title and url below. Here is how to do this:

Your Name: A Month of McAvoy (Daily Mish Mash)
Your URL: please paste the post url here
Hit Enter and like magic your link will appear on this page.

**Don’t forget to go around visiting and commenting on the other blogs.

This summer I embarked on a mission: to see every James McAvoy movie ever made.  Can you please tell my husband that I really do have goals.

Prior to this little McAvoy Film Festival (Yes, I know I’m a dork for calling it that) I had already seen Becoming Jane, Narnia, and Atonement, and I was hooked.  I needed more McAvoy and I needed it badly.  Here is what I thought of the movies I saw this summer:

Starter for 10:  I’d like to thank John for recommending this movie to me.  He said it would be perfect for my “McAvoy fix” and I have to agree.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much with this one.  It appeared to be a ”B” movie (even though one of the producers was Tom Hanks) and it didn’t get much praise or hype when it came out. 

I’d have to say this is the one that I enjoyed probably the most out of all his movies.  I’m a sucker for a good romantic comedy, and although this isn’t the cream of the crop in that genre, it was fun to watch.

It was about a guy who is starting his first year in college and is obsessed with starring on a television quiz show.  There is a lot of romance and plenty of cute moments like this:

If you like romantic comedies, and more importantly British humor, you will probably enjoy this one.  The soundtrack was really good too, since it has a ton of really fun alternative rock 80’s music.   

My overall rating would be 4 STARS ****

 The next McAvoy movie that I saw this month was Wanted.  I had high hopes for this movie since I had heard so many great things about it.  Don’t you just hate when a movie is over-hyped. Most hardly ever live up to the expectations put on them and this movie was no different. 

I knew going into it that it was an action/adventure movie, and although this isn’t typically my favorite genre I knew what was coming and I wasn’t expecting Becoming Jane.  I was just hoping for a fun, fast-paced movie with lots of scenes like this:

Sadly, even this scene couldn’t save this movie.  There was way too much violence in it for my taste.  I don’t like to see my McAvoy being beaten to a bloody pulp and that was a BIG part of the movie.

Plus, it was one of those movies where certain scenes are just plain ridiculous.  You know what I’m talking about.  The scenes where everyone should be dead but surprisingly the two or three main characters in the movie somehow miraculously survive.  I really can’t stand when that happens.  My husband and I found ourselves laughing hysterically during some of the more serious action sequences because they were that absurd. (My apologies to anyone who may have been distracted by our cackling.)  Truly, this movie is just beyond stupid. 

I would give Wanted 2 STARS ** (Ok, maybe 2 1/2 because now that I’m thinking of it there was this sequence of the movie with James in a pullover sweater (I love pullovers on guys because they just look like they are inviting you to hug them.  I know that is very weird.) and he just looked amazing for a good chunk of the movie, so 2 1/2 STARS.

Here is the pic of said sweater but he doesn’t look very cuddly in it here:

Our McAvoy movie watching took on a more serious mood with the next flick.  We finally got around to seeing The Last King of Scotland.  I say “we” but I really mean that “I” finally got around to seeing this movie and my husband agreed to sit next to me after much begging and pleading.  Surprisingly, he isn’t a big fan of movies like this even if they do star adorable Scottish actors.

Although I didn’t love this movie, I am glad that I took the time to watch it because I really didn’t know a whole lot about this period in the history of Uganda. I guess that makes it sound like it took place a long time ago, but it was really just the 1970’s. 

Although James did a phenomenal job in his role as the fictitious personal physician to dictator Idi Amin, I’d have to say that Forrest Whitaker completely blew me away with his performance.  He was able to make you like the character of Amin while at the same time fearing him.  He deserves all the praise and awards that he received for this role.

Like Wanted, this movie has its share of violence and torture.  It was very difficult to watch in parts and there are a few scenes that wil stay with me forever (although I wish they didn’t).  I wouldn’t say this movie was as good as Hotel Rwanda or Blood Diamond (other depressing Africa movies) but I did enjoy it enough.  In keeping with the trend, here’s a pic of McAvoy from the film:

My final rating would be 3 STARS ***

Lastly, we watched the much lighter and family friendly Penelope.  I liked this movie for what it was-fluff. 

I guess it was trying to be a modern fairytale about liking yourself for who you are. 

I probably would have never watched it if it wasn’t for this:

His eyes just looked extra gorgeous in this movie. I’m not sure why. Was it good lighting? Was he wearing contacts?   I don’t know but I was just mesmerized by them.  Not too crazy about the hair, though.  (James, please don’t ever wear it like that again, ok?  Thanks.)

Anyway, if you are in the mood for something light and romantic, this movie fits the bill.  My kids just thought it was ok.  I guess there weren’t enough talking animals doing kung fu in it for their liking, but I really did find it an enjoyable watch.  I only have one complaint (other than his hair).  Why didn’t he have his Scottish accent in it?  There were a lot of people with accents in the movie.  Why did he have to put on a fake American accent.  It annoyed me the whole time. 

I’d still give it  4 STARS ****

Well, you would think that I’d be all McAvoy’d out after watching all these movies but I’m not.  I think that is the problem with cute (and talented) actors, they just leave you wanting more and more.  Kind of like a drug, or Coke Zero.  Good thing I have this videoto keep me from going into withdrawl.

I put a new poll up in my sidebar.  Vote and then leave me a comment letting me know your favorite McAvoy movie. 

Just call me Julie McCoy, your friendly cruise blog director.

I though I’d remind you of a couple of fun-filled events going on here and around the blogosphere this week.

Here’s the scoop:

Monday (tomorrow), August 11–Make a Difference Monday 

Write about a cause you feel passionate about or something you did this week to make the world a better place.

If you would like to participate but aren’t sure what to write about, may I suggest you check out Goodies for Mom and their Blogging for Blood Cancer Week.  Throughout the week, post on your blogs about the importance of the LLS mission, share your personal stories of those you have come to know who have been affected by blood cancer, or share some of the stories you read on the Friends of Heroes site during the week that have touched your hearts

By the way, I’m thinking of making Make a Difference Monday a monthly feature, rather than every week.  I have enough trouble trying to remember to switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer, let alone figure out how to save the world every week.  I’m just thinking making it monthly might be more doable for everyone.  What do you think?  Good or bad idea? 

Tuesday, August 12th–Movie Madness Carnival

Get your popcorn ready!  We are talking about the movies.  

Write a movie-related post and come back here to link up.  It could be a review, a list of your favorite movies in a genre, a video clip of your favorite movie scenes, etc..  

Come back here on Tuesday to link up! 

Other fun events going on in BlogLand:

It’s a Bloggy Dinner Party!  Auds at Barking Mad came up with this really fun idea.  The idea is simple. 

You create a post that describes which ten bloggers you would like to come to your dinner party.  Of course the idea is to invite people you you think would be intriguing, funny and interesting to share a meal with.  

This will be going on the entire month of August.  Head on over to Barking Mad for more details. 

Have I forgotten anything?   Do you have a fun blog event planned?  If so feel free to email me or leave a comment.

I wasn’t really planning on doing another post so soon, but I saw this fun little meme over at Supernanny Where Are You and since I was looking for something to do to avoid going to the grocery store I just had to participate. 

It’s about movies (Top 5 Favorites) and since I love lists and I love movies, I just couldn’t resist. 

Plus, I thought this would be a great post to promote my Movie Madness Carnival.  I finally picked a date for next month.  It is going to be on Tuesday, August 5th.  Click on the little banner on my sidebar for more information. 

Anyway, back to my list.  My husband says I have about twenty movies in my top five, but I disagree.  There are twenty in my top ten, but only five in my top five.  So there!

These are the absolute favorites, the movies I could watch over and over again and never get sick of.  These are the ones I choose to watch when I’m feeling sick for comfort (especially #2) and the ones that will make me laugh and cry no matter how many times I see them. 

I thought I’d list them in the form of youtube videos just to be annoying for fun. 

1.  The Notebook-It’s hard to pick just one scene.  The kiss scene is of course my favorite, but I really love this one too:

 

2.  The Burbs–A classic dark comedy. Yes, it is extremely cheesy, but I love it!  Plus, it is nice to watch a Tom Hanks movie where he doesn’t have a fake accent.

3.  Titanic–Again, the kiss scene trumps all but this is another good one:

4.  Meet the Parents–I laughed from beginning to end with this movie.  It is hard to pick a scene that stands alone as being the funniest because they build off of each other, but here is one that sort of stands alone:

5.  Pride and Prejudice–I have to post this scene of Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth unexpectedly running into each other at Pemberley. It is law. No other scene will do. Great, great movie!!

Looking at this list, I just can’t believe there isn’t even one traditional romantic comedy on there.   I love romantic comedies, so my honorable mentions include Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, Only You, and many more.

No, I am not the winner of the fabulous Movie Madness basket from The Obsession Box Company.  Sadly, I’m going to have to part with it and send it out to one lucky winner. 

(I did have to threaten my kids’ with the promise of living the rest of their lives without hands if they so much as even thought of opening it.  Luckily, they are young enought to take these threats seriously because the basket is still intact.)

Anyway, I did a random drawing of all the comments on the contest page, as well as the added participants from Movie Madness.   Here is what came up:

Here are your random numbers:

44

Timestamp: 2008-07-03 16:58:50 UTC

Congratulations to Bookroomreviews!  I sent you an email requesting your address.  Once I hear back from you,  I’ll be sure to get this lovely basket out to you in the next week or so.

I would also like to mention that I was given this Arte Y Pico award from Two Dogs Running South.  

How exciting!  Thanks, Emily!

Here are her reason for giving me this award:

 Jen at Daily Mish Mash because of her Friday Eye Candy. THAT alone is worth   many, many awards. Remember Mateo’s BOOTAY? Yeah, that was Jen.

Well, since I am in no way responsible for the cuteness of Matthew McConaughey’s butt, I would like to pass this award along to the rightful recipients:

1.  God

2. His Parents (for having great genes)

3. His Trainer (See pic-right)

4. And of course, Mateo, himself!!!  Keep on keeping on with your cute self!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for Friday Eye Candy.  It’s Jenny’sturn to pick the guys.  And she has some really interesting picks and a few old favorites.  You’ll see (If you visit tomorrow.  I know it is a holiday and everything, but I say it’s your patriotic duty to come by and pay tribute to some really hot American men.  Ok, a few are not American, but whatever.)

Welcome to the July Movie Madness Carnival!

I hope you will join us as we discuss our love of movies. 

To participate, all you need to do is write a movie-related post.  Here are some ideas (but feel free to be as creative as you would like, just as long as you stick to the theme): a movie review, a list of your favorite movies in a genre, a video clip of your favorite movie scene, etc..  

 The post could be something you wrote today or one you may have done recently that you would like to highlight.  Please mention the Movie Madness Carnival in your post and link back to this post here at Daily Mish Mash.  Feel free to grab the banner for your site if you’d like.

A little about spoilers…I think it goes without saying that you don’t want to include spoilers in your post.  If you must include them, please give fair warning that you are doing so by putting a bold MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS at the beginning of the post. 

I FINALLY figured out how to put up a Mister Linky and I can’t tell you how happy this makes me.  Please leave your movie post title and url below.  Here is how to do this:

Since I haven’t seen a movie in a long time that is worthy of writing a review for,  I thought I’d make a list of my Top 5 Movie Kisses.  They really aren’t in any particular order, but you can probably guess my absolute favorite:

1.  The Notebook–Ok, if you hadn’t guessed by now, what took you so long??  This kiss is my absolute favorite.  Actually, I love every kiss from this movie, but this one is the best.  How can it not be?  There is really no comparison when it comes to this kiss. 

2.  Serendipity- A cute movie, a sweet kiss, and of course, John Cusack (again in some sort of precipitation).

3.  Gone With the Wind–A classic kiss!  I just watched it on youtube and I love how Scarlett’s all “Fiddledeedee” and Rhett’s all “None of the fools you’ve known have kissed you like this—have they? ”  I just love the way he takes hold of the situation and puts her in her place.  Not that I’m about men putting women in places, but it works in this scene.

4.  Titanic-The color of the sky, the costumes, LEO!!!  This is a truly magical kiss. 

 5.  Sixteen Candles–Ahh, Jake Ryan.  Didn’t every girl who grew up in the 80’s want to kiss Jake Ryan.  Gosh was he was dreamy.    Anyway, this is a great kiss:

So, what famous movie kiss do you think should be added to this list?

This post is part of Movie Madness.  If you haven’t already entered the giveaway, go here.

It’s almost that time again.  Are you ready for some Movie Madness fun?  This month’s carnival will be held this Tuesday, July 1st.  So, get working on your movie related posts. You may do a review of a movie you saw recently, but if you really haven’t seen anything lately worth writing about you may do a review of one of your all-time favorite movies.  Or you may simply make a list of movies that you love in a certain genre.   There are no rules, as long as your post is related to the theme of movies. If you are still unsure of how to play along, head on over to last month’s Movie Madness page.

Now on to the important news–the snacks!  How can we have Movie Madness without the snacks.  Here is this month’s giveaway:

It was generously donated by The Obsession Box Company.  They have over 500 quality gifts to choose from for any age and occasion.

This Movie Madness gift basket includes:

One $5.00 Blockbuster Gift card, 5 bags of microwavable popcorn, and  4 large 8-9oz boxes of Theater candy. Everything you need for a fun Movie Night! All the items are packed in a large popcorn bucket and wrapped with ribbon! A gift the whole family can enjoy!

I’m going to give you the opportunity to enter this contest four times.  Each time you leave one of the following comments your name will be entered to win:

1.  Leave me a comment letting me know your favorite type of movie candy.

2.  Take a look at The Obsession Box Company’s website and leave me another comment letting me know your favorite gift item.  (Leave the comment on this post, but make it separate from any others so it will be counted again.)

3.  Write a little blurb about the Movie Madness Carnival and giveaway on your blog and leave me another comment (on this post) letting me know that you did this. 

4.  Participate in Movie Madness on July 1st.  All comments from participants in the MMC will be entered. 

So, the more times you comment, the more times you win.  Can you tell how much I love comments?  The maximum amount of entries you may receive is four.  I tried to give opportunities for those of you who don’t have blogs to be able to play along.  The contest will be open until Thursday, July 3rd at 12pm (noon) EST and is you must be a resident of the US and Canadian to enter.

Good luck and I’ll see you back here on Tuesday for Movie Madness!

Anyone who knows me or reads this blog knows that I love movies.  I just don’t like to spend what seems like our entire life savings on a ticket.  And don’t even get me started on the snacks.  They are so out of control with their prices.

This is why I have mastered the art of scoring free passes.  It is actually easier than you may think. I’ll share some of my secrets with you.

First, check out the following local (to you) websites:

• Radio Stations
• Newspapers (large and small publications)
• Local TV stations

This is how I get most of my passes.  These sites are the best resource because for whatever reason, they are constantly giving them away.

Next it is time to check out some other more national websites:

• Volition
• Film Metro
• Miramax
• Entertainment Weekly
• Fox Searchlight

In addition to the above sites, there are a couple of blogs and forums with great info on screenings:

• Wild About Movies
• Brevity is…Wit
• Fat Wallet
• Movie Jungle
• Slick Deals

Of course if you live near a big city (especially NY or LA) you’re more likely to have more screening opportunities.  You really don’t have to check the sites daily.  I have them bookmarked in a folder and I look to see if there are any interesting screenings that I might want to see about once a week or so. 

Good luck!  If you score any free passes, let me know.  You could maybe even review the movie you saw for my Movie Madness Carnival on July 1st.  Click here to learn more about this and leave me a comment on this post to let me know if you will be participating.

For more Works for Me Wednesday, visit Rocks in My Dryer.

(I would have put this up last night but I fell asleep on the couch after wasting two hours of my life watching I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.  Although there were a couple of funny parts, I spent more time rolling my eyes at the screen than laughing.  I’d say skip it!)

Before I announce the winner of the giveaway, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the Movie Madness Carnival.  I hope that you all enjoyed reading the different posts.  I know that I did. 

I have now officially decided to sign back up for Netflix after reading all the different movies mentioned on your blogs.  There are so many movies that I still haven’t seen.  I feel like a kid in a candy shop adding the flicks to my queue-it’s so exciting!

The next Movie Madness Carnival is planned for Tuesday, July 1st.  So mark your calendars and make sure to come back to participate.  There may just be another giveaway! 

Speaking of giveaways, enough of the chit chat.  Let’s get on with the show! 

The winner of the Movie Lover’s Gift Basket from Gourmetgiftbaskets.com is…

Amy in Ohio

Her number comment was chosen from a Random Drawing:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

20

Timestamp: 2008-06-05 04:43:08 UTC

Congratulations Amy!  I will get in touch with you to get your address so they know where to send your prize.

Thanks again to everyone who participated and helped spread the word about the Carnival!  I’m looking forward to next month!