Dahlia DeWinters - Author

Quirky Heroines, Happy Endings

5 Fandom Friday – 5 Films I'm Excited for in 2017

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time and followed it through all its iterations, then you know how much I love movies.  Not just horror movies, but movies in general.  Usually these movies are a couple years old, if not older, but today you have a special treat.  Since I’m doing Five Fandom Friday, come with me to the future as I discuss the films I’m looking forward to this year.

 

Get Out

From Wikipedia: A young African American man visits his white girlfriend’s family estate where he learns that many of its residents, who are black, have gone missing, and he soon learns the horrible truth when another frantic African-American warns him to “get out”. He soon learns this is easier said than done.

Written and directed by the Jordan Peele, the shorter half of the comedy duo Key and Peele, this film truly presents an interesting premise. What is happening to the Black residents of this town?  And will our protagonist be able to fight against it?  What is IT anyway? I can’t wait to find out!

 

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Alien: Covenant

 

From Wikipedia:  Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant find what they believe to be an uncharted paradise. What the crew discover is a dark, dangerous world, inhabited by the “synthetic” David (Michael Fassbender), the sole survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition, and monstrous creatures that are hunting them.[3]

 

Okay, so Prometheus was a mess.  Even when I watch it again, I am amazed at the actions of the characters, especially the scientists in the cave.  I mean, I don’t bend over to put my face in a strange dog’s face, and I like dogs, so for those who saw it…yeah.  Don’t do that, stupid.  However, the movie had great special effects and Idris Elba, so there you go. Ridley Scott is directing, so it can’t be all bad.  Can it?   We shall see.

 

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John Wick 2

From Wikipedia:  Legendary hitman John Wick is forced back out of retirement by a former associate plotting to seize control of a shadowy international assassins’ guild. Bound by a blood oath to help him, John travels to Rome, where he squares off against some of the world’s deadliest killers.

Oh, my goodness. Keanu Reeves, guns and a gray pit bull?  How does it get better than that?  I loved the crazy shoot ’em up of the first John Wick and am looking forward to this one. And Laurence Fishburne too!

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Kong:  Skull Island

From Wikipedia: In the 1970s, a team of explorers and soldiers are brought together to venture deep into an uncharted island in the Pacific Ocean – as beautiful as it is treacherous – unaware that they are crossing into the domain of monsters, as well as the mythic Kong, the “king” of the island.

I just realized that I dig monster movies, Godzilla, King Kong, Gamera, Rodan…I’m looking forward to this one.  It takes place in the 70s too, which is reminiscent of the times I’d watch all these films on the 4:30 movie. John Goodman! Sam Jackson! Tom Hiddleston! Also, King Kong himself!!

 

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The Dark Tower

From Wikipedia: Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor) is a young 11-year-old adventure seeker who discovers clues about another dimension called Mid-World. Upon following the mystery, he is spirited away to the land Mid-World where he encounters the lone frontiersman knight Roland Deschain (Idris Elba) who is on a quest to reach the “Dark Tower” that resides in End-World and reach the nexus point between time and space that he hopes will save Mid-World from extinction. But with various monsters and a vicious sorcerer named Walter Padick (Matthew McConaughey) hot on their trail, the unlikely duo find that their quest may be difficult to complete

 

I never read The Dark Tower series by Stephen King, but just the fact of Idris Elba in a long, black trenchcoat sporting a pair of revolvers is enough to see this film.  I’m also intrgued by the fact that it’s a sci-fi, western, fantasy.  You really can’t get any better than that.

Roland Deschain (Idris Elba) in Columbia Pictures’ THE DARK TOWER.

 

So there you have it!  The films I’m excited about for 2017!

What are the movies you’re most anticipatign for this year?

 

Peace, Love, Unity.

Dahlia

 

Music Monday – Top 5 Songs – The Police

There were five Police studio albums released between 1978 and 1983.  I know this because I owned them all.  For Music Monday, let’s take a trip down memory lane and name my favorite track from each of these studio albums.

Outlando D’Amour was the first album released by The Police.  They “broke out” with the hit “Roxanne”.  I don’t need to go into the whole story now, everyone knows what the song is about.  However, while I did like Roxanne, my oh-so-favorite track from this album is “So Lonely”.

 

Reggatta de Blanc

Released in 1979, the hot “hit” from this album was Message in a Bottle. While I do love Message in all its iterations (the acoustic version is especially stirring), here’s my go to from this album:

 

Zenyatta Mondatta

The song “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” hit the U.S. charts with a bang and spent three years there.  I guess….people liked it? 😉  The songs did have staying power.  My personal favorite, because I know you’re waiting for it is…Shadows in the Rain.  Who can resist a song that begins “Woke up in my clothes again this morning/Don’t know exactly where I am…”

 

 

 

Ghost in the Machine

Their fourth studio album.  My pick:  Secret Journey

 

Synchronicity

The final studio album before Sting broke out on his own, although after listening to some of the early “demos” on YouTube, it seems that The Police was mostly Sting and two guys.  Regardless of who wrote what when and where, my pick from this album is Tea in the Sahara.

 

There you go, there it is…my five favorite Police songs!

Peace, Love, Unity

Dahlia

 

 

Terrific Tuesday – Best Book to Movie Adaptations

Greetings and salutations!

Today I’m going to talk about some of my favorite book to movie adaptations – just like it says on the tin.  I love books and I love movies, and when the two come together, it touches a chord in me that cannot be duplicated.  I won’t tarry on a long-winded introduction:  let’s get to the meat of the post, shall we?

 

What makes a book to movie adaptation terrific?  If the movie captures the essence of the book, the characters and offers the same or improved ending from the book.  Mind you, a terrific adaptation doesn’t necessarily mean the movie sticks as close to the book as white on rice, nor does it mean the movie leaves you with a terrific feeling. It just means that as a reader of the book, you’re satisfied with the spirit of the movie.

Here, in no particular order, are my top ten terrific movie adaptations.

We Need to Talk about Kevin – Tilda Swinton can make anything good.  If you haven’t read the book yet, watching the movie gives you a taste of the awful foreboding of the book.  You know something is going to happen, the question is just. when.  This movie will not make you comfortable.

Jurassic Park – Now this movie was a bundle of fun for me.  Yes, the book was a lot more techincal and dense to get through, but the screen writers managed to sprinkle in the genetics along side the breathtaking spectacle of the dinosaurs on scree.  An excellent film that I watch every time it comes on television.

The Godfather – The book was good, but it did include a few side stories that detracted from the main narrative. The movie slashed and burned enough of those side stories and emphasized the family saga.  It helped that the author, Mario Puzo, had a hand in writing the screenplay.

The Silence of the Lambs – What more can be said?  The movie made me read the book, and I wasn’t disappointed.

To Kill a Mockingbird – The actors (Robert Duvall’s first screen role as Boo Radley), made the book come alive.  The only person I missed in the movie was Calpurnia.  Her part in the book seemed to be larger and wittier.

No Country for Old Men – The Coen Brothers helped bring Cormac McCarthy’s story to life. Both movie and book complement each other.

The Remains of the Day – I went to see this in the movies and I did have tears.  Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson really bring Kazou Ishiguro’s story to life.

Wiseguy – I never met a gangster movie I didn’t like.  Re-titled “Goodfellas”, the movie actually improves on the newspaper style reporting of the book and brings the characters to life in blooming color.

The Shining – While I did not care for the character death in movie, I really felt that Kubrick’s adaptation captured the essence (yes, that word again) of the book and the frightening visuals and hidden clues are quite effective.

Requiem for a Dream – This is a film that I never wish to see ever again.  A gut-wrenching odyssey of three separate stories of drug addiction, Requiem for a Dream is a visceral experience that leaves the viewer stunned. The book is a little more “in your face” than the movie is, but both are effective.

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption – Renamed as The Shawshank Redemption….well, I’m pretty sure that you’ve all heard of the movie, yes?

Into the Wild – Written by Jon Jon Krakauer, who freaked me out with Into Thin Air, about folks climbing Mt. Everest, Into the Wild is the story of a young man who wanted to live off the land in the wilds of Alaska.