Five Friday Favorites: Five Favorite Films

It's been awhile since I've done five Friday favorites but since I'm back and at it blogging I'm excited to do it again. :) Five Friday Favorites is hosted by Amanda at Book Badger. The theme this week is five favorite movies and thank goodness I was just talking with my cousin about this the other week or I don't know if I could have come up with these on the spot like this. To start off, hands down my favorite film is the 1995 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice but I have been informed by people that it is not a movie but a miniseries so it doesn't count. Whatever! Therefore, without further ado, here are my five favorite films (not miniseries) in no particular order (and I really hope I didn't miss something obvious). :)

1. Charade- Considered the most Hitchcock like non-Hitchcock, Charade is a hilarious, fast paced mystery film starring Cary Grant and Audery Hepburn. 
2. National Treasure- An action adventure movie which I do not recommend you learn your history from but is tons of fun. It stars Nicolas Cage and Diane Kruger searching for a hidden treasure while being thwarted by the villain played by Sean Bean. 
3. Mclintock- A western film with one of my favorite duos John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara married and at each others throats. :) 
4. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers- My favorite musical starring Jane Powell and Howard Keel that draws from the Roman legend of the Sabine women. 
5. Singing in the Rain- My second favorite musical about when films turned from silent to talkies starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Conner. 

Honorable Mentions

1. Arsenic and Old Lace- A hilarious dark comedy with Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane
2. The Lord of the Rings films- If you're not familiar with these films I'd be surprised. Based off of the epic fantasy trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien and starring a lot of people but the first that come to my mind are Ian Mckellen, Viggo Mortenson, John Rhys-Davies, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean.
3. The Avengers- Again, if you're not familiar with this film, I'd be surprised. Probably my favorite superhero film with lots of fun lines, a solid plot and good action scenes. Stars, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlette Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Ruffalo. 
4. Star Wars: A New Hope- The classic science fiction film starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford. 
5. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back- The sequel to the classic science fiction film starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisehr and Harrison Ford. 

Just as I mostly read older books, I mostly watch older movies, though there are many newer movies I enjoy. These movies are some of the most quoted in my household and I pretty much never would grow tired of watching them over and over again. :) In fact, whenever someone suggests we watch a movie, almost 100% of the time I say "Let's watch National Treasure!" I'm a sucker for that movie. :) Everyone one of these, except The Lord of the Rings I suppose, is a comedy and has made me laugh countless times. Try them out! I promise you that you'll laugh at least once. ;) 

So what are your favorite films?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Five Friday Favorites: Favorite Books of 2014 So Far

I've read some great books so far this year so it was very hard to chose my five favorites but here they are (in no particular order)! :)

1. Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card... I loved the science fiction, the twist and turns that were always popping up in both books and the great characters.
2. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz... I know I've mentioned this book in previous posts but I really enjoyed this quirky book about a man who sees dead people and uses that to solve crimes. 
3. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.... A very fascinating book that gives lots of food for thought about sin, art and beauty. 
4. The Warden by Anthony Trollope... Much like a Jane Austen novel, this book talks about money and marriage as well as the church. A fun book but with deep themes woven into it. 
5. The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien... What list is complete without Tolkien? This is a great addition to the Middle Earth saga, expanding on the story of Túrin Turimbar and his sister and their tragic lives. 

I'd highly recommend all of those books as fun and edifying books. :) Links will take you to my reviews of them.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Five Friday Favorites: Favorite Book Covers

I don't normally judge books by covers, mostly because in my family we had library bound books that we got from library book sales. However, there are some book covers that I am quite fond of. :)
Linking up with Book Badger.

This just has an epic feel about it. A very Lord of
the Ringish feel. :) Mysterious, and magical.

                     

I know there is nothing fancy about this but when I look at this cover
it envokes a feeling that I am about ready to read an epic tale of legends and mythology.

My favorite cover of the Redwall series.
There is nothing cooler than a squirrel in
a kilt and with a scottish accent. :)

I adore this cover of Anne of Green Gables. It think
it so well captures the story. With Matthew driving
Anne to Green Gables, quiet and flustered, and Anne,
talking and optimistic with her red braids. :)

This is the cover for Little Women that I grew
up with and I've always loved it just for the
sentimentality I associate with it. 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Five Friday Favorites: Favorite Contemporaries

I'm linking up with Book Badger to bring you a "Five Friday Favorites". The theme this week is "favorite contemporaries". As you well know, I tend to be a fan of the classics however, I do enjoy some contemporary novels so this isn't a hard list. :)

1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling... all of them, I don't think I have a favorite. 
2. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak... a great book and a great movie. :)
3. Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz... I've read two of Koontz's books so far and this is my favorite. It's fun and thought provoking as well as a good mystery. :)
4. Redwall series by Brian Jacques... I cannot express how much I loved these books as a kid and how much I still love them as an adult. 
5. The Binding of the Blades series by L.B. Graham... A great christian fantasy series. I like it in that it doesn't try to copy other franchises (LOTR) but it is fairly original (you can only be so original anymore). It has a good story, good fantasy and good christian values. 

Special mention for Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card. They aren't exactly contemporary but they're not classics so...
P.S. I knew I just changed my blog layout. I tend to do that every random once and a while. For someone who hates change, I do change that quite a bit. :) 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin