Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Big Thanks, Releases, and Movies

Big thanks to everyone who participated in the It’s All Fun & Games Blogfest – all 111 of you! (And the awesome people who left comments.) Seems a lot of you like to play. The list is still up HERE and all links go directly to the blogfest post. Keep browsing – I found several new games to add to my list!

I also hit 800 followers on Monday. Wow! Never imagined that when I started blogging a year and a half ago. Welcome new followers! I am here for your amusement.

Special congratulations to Elizabeth – her book, Finger Lickin’ Dead, came out on Tuesday! I have the honor of hosting Elizabeth on her blog tour, so look for an awesome guest post in the future. Congratulations to Elana – her book, Possession, came out Tuesday as well. And Raquel Byrnes is holding a great giveaway to celebrate the release of her book, Purple Knot!


Now for some Ninja-fast movie reviews-

X-Men: First Class – Fun movie! Enjoyed the characters and watching the relationship between Charles and Eric unfold. Had a cool Cold War – James Bond vibe to it. And a cameo from Wolverine produced the best line of the movie!

The Tourist – For you Depp fans! A slow paced thriller with a huge cast. Some twists and turns and great settings. I enjoyed it more than anticipated.

A Perfect Getaway – Psychopaths are killing Hawaiian tourists – who are the real killers? Played its hand early, but it was a decent film. Featured Thor’s Chris Hemsworth as well.

And tonight, I’m watching Troll Hunter on HDNet!

Seen any good movies lately? Discover some new games during the blogfest? Any ideas for the next blogfest!? My brain has turned to tapioca...

87 comments:

The Happy Whisk said...

800 holy cow. That's fantastic. Wait, I see 805 now. Even more amazing. Go you. Rah.

Emily White said...

Congratulations on reaching 800! I recently saw a VERY good movie, recommended by aspiring_x: Shiver. Very creepy and also instantly available on netflix. You can't beat that!

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Once again I am sorry I missed the blogfest I enjoy them, congrats to those who have books published,

Have a good day.
Yvonne.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Alex, I enjoyed participating in all four of your blogfests, and I can't wait for No. 5!;)

Congrats on hitting 800 (and five) followers! 1000 is so close now ;)

I'm watching X-Men: First Class next week, and I can't wait!

The Tourist was mediocre at best.

I hated everything about The Perfect Gates except for the stunning scenery.

I'm so glad you'll be finally able to see "Troll Hunter". Looking forward to your review of it.

Laura Pauling said...

Awesome! Congrats on 800. :)

Liz P said...

Congrats on 800!

Another great blogfest in the bag - it's always fun to see what people are into, finding things in common. Good times.

Suze said...

Alex, thank you for hosting the blogfest. I really enjoyed participating. And congratulations on exceeding 800 followers. May each connection bring about something truly wonderful.

Gail said...

Now, that's a lot of followers!!! Congratulations.

I am still dreaming of reaching three hundred...but then I am not a Ninja.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Thanks, Whisk!

Emily, I saw that and will check it out on NetFlix.

Yvonne, really wished you could've participated!

Thanks, George. I went into The Tourist with really low expectations, which helped I'm sure. Really stoked about Troll Hunter!

Thanks Laura and Liz!

Suze, I hope so!

The Happy Whisk said...

Sure thing. And I got to be the first to comment, for once. Woohoo. I rock. So you do. Heck, we both rock.

Ha.

Matthew MacNish said...

It was an awesome festival, even if I screwed my entry up again.

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Congrats for 800 followers. And Congratulations to all the new book releases. E.X.C.I.T.I.N.G.

Old Kitty said...

800 plus souls have joined Cap'n Ninja Alex's Army of cool ninjas!! Yay!! More please!!!!!! Let's make it an even cooler 1000 +!!! Wooo-hoooo!!!

Congratulations to Elana and Elizabeth and yay for Raquel's giveaway!!!

Now off I go to drool over x-men! Take care
x

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Congratulations on reaching 800 followers, Alex! And thanks so much for the mention!

May have to check out X-Men...

Laura Eno said...

Congrats on the 800+ and to all on the book releases!

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Sorry to bother you Alex, since my return I have sent comments to various followers, have had to put my email address then my comment comes up as anonymous do you know the reason?
Yvonne.

Sarah Ahiers said...

ooh you'll have to tell us how Troll Hunter is! We still havent' had time to watch it And we won't this weekend either.
Are you hitting Super 8? Cuz i am excited!

Golden Eagle said...

Congratulations on 800 (now 805) followers!

I found a LOT of new games in the blogfest, and I have't even finished going through the list. :D

Liza said...

800 followers! Wow. You have done a great job sharing your interests and blogger wisdom. I read compliments about you all over the bloggerdom. Congratulations Alex!

Charles Gramlich said...

I'll definitely see the X-men movie. My wife is a big fan.

N. R. Williams said...

We saw the new pirates movie in 3-D...amazing. My life is insane right now so no blogfest for me for awhile. You could have a, 'Silly is as Silly gets.' No idea what that would encompass though. LOL
Nancy
N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium

Eli Ashpence said...

Congrats on breaking 800!

Here's a few blogfest ideas...(Pardon if you've already done them. I'm a newbie to your blog, but the last blogfest was a lot of fun.)

Top 3 fav movies.
Top 3 dream careers.
When I was a kid, I collected...
Top 3 phobias.
Top 3 bucket list choices.
If I could live in a fairytale, I'd be....

Talli Roland said...

Congrats on all the followers, Alex! Very well deserved.

Carol Kilgore said...

800! I'm humbled. Hubby saw the X-Men movie - loved it. I want to see The Tourist.

Anonymous said...

Congrats! on the 800 followers. A thousand is right around the corner. ANd looking forward to your review of Troll Hunter!

Bossy Betty said...

Hey, Big Shot! 800 followers! Congrats!

Chris Phillips said...

Sometimes when I come to your blog I feel like I'm only follower #464 to you. I mean... congrats on 800. Next blogfest should be about food, you could do two separate ones, like a top 3 favorite home-cooked and a top 5 favorite restaurants. Also I watched Moon with Sam rockwell last night, don't know if you've seen it, but it seemed up your alley.

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

The games in the fest brought so many memories.
800!! Way to go. When do you find time to write and work out with all that socializing? :)

Meagan Spooner said...

Congratulations on reaching 800 followers, wow!!

I haven't seen the other two, but I just saw X-Men yesterday and looved it. So nice to see a bit of a different approach, one that doesn't bank on the recognizable-ness of the cast. Plus, we get to see Jennifer Lawrence (young Mystique!)and see what an awesome Katniss she'll be in the Hunger Games movie!

Dafeenah said...

Congrats on 800 followers! I can't imagine the pressure of 800 pairs of eyes staring at you waiting for you to write.

Thanks for hosting the blogfest even if I am late in getting to it. I actually did find quite a few games I had never heard of before and am certain as I make my way through the list I will find so many more.

Tonja said...

That is really a lot of followers in a short amount of time. Good for you!

Sylvia Ney said...

WOW, 800 - congratulations! BTW, you've been tagged... http://writinginwonderland.blogspot.com/2011/06/ive-been-tagged_08.html

Sangu Mandanna said...

I've always loved the relationship between Charles and Eric, so I'm really looking forward to X Men First Class. Glad it's good!

Jeff Beesler said...

Congrats on the 800 followers, Alex! I really want to see all the comic book movies that have come out or are coming out this summer. As for your next blogfest, how about favorite foods? Your tapioca comment seems to indicate that as a good direction to go.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Gail, we need to do some Ninja training!

Matthew, at least you played along - thanks!

Kitty, I'm ready!

You're welcome, Elizabeth.

Yvonne, it may be an issue with your browser. Can you switch to another one, like Firefox?

Sarah, you bet - can't wait for Super 8.

Liza, really? I feel so humble...

Nancy, glad you got out to see pirates. And I do need to think of something for the next blogfest.

Eli, did the Movie Dirty Dozen last year, but bucket list is an idea.

Carol, I enjoyed it.

Stephen, I'll send out a Tweet, but full review will have to wait until Monday. Double bill with Super 8!

Betty, would you like me to sing some Billy Joel now?

Chris, haven't seen it yet. And no one here is just a number!

Mary, I have no idea.

Meagan, it did have a different approach and feel.

Dafeenah - oh crap! Now I do feel the pressure.

Sylvia - uh-oh!

Jeffrey, a couple people have mentioned food. Still tossing around some ideas.

Susan Kane said...

How about a 'fest that looks at the song, "summer time..." from Porgy and Bess. The bloggers have to finish out the song/story with their own take:
Summer time, and the livin' is easy..."

Jennie Bailey said...

I can hardly wait to see X-Men this weekend! We were at the movies for The Hangover 2 on Monday - we opted for that because people were lining up three hours early (ON a MONDAY) for X-Men. We're hoping to catch an early show Sunday.

LOVED A Perfect Getaway. But I love Tim Olyphant so maybe that played into a little. I just thought it was a great cast all around. "He's REALLY hard to kill."

-E- said...

i'm thinking about a blog fest where we surreptitiously switch blogs and try and copy the style of each other and see if anyone notices.

Helen Ginger said...

Congratulations on all your followers. Clearly, they all know a great blog when they read one.

Raquel Byrnes said...

Thank you so much, Alex! Congrats to Elana on her new release too.

Cheeseboy said...

Congrats on 800! Officially 100 behind you.

Saw Kung Fu Panda 2 with the boys and I thought it was even better than the first.

Planning on seeing X-Men on vacation with them. Can't wait!

Empty Nest Insider said...

Congratulations on 800 followers and I'm glad your blogfest was a big success! I also want to congratulate the authors on their new releases! Julie

M Pax said...

It was a fun blogfest, Alex. Congrats on 800.

Biff Tanner said...

Wow 800 way to go keep up the great work.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Susan, as long as it's something all bloggers can do, as many of my followers aren't writers.

Jennie, three hours? That's nuts. Two hours early is my limit. And Olyphant was really good in that movie, wasn't he?

Karen, I was surprised as well!

E, you may be on to something!!

Helen, either that or I amuse them!

Abe, are you at 700 now? Too cool! Glad you got out and saw Kung Fu Panda 2.

Thanks everyone!

Michael Di Gesu said...

ALL RIGHT ALEX! Congrats on 806 followers! GO NINJA ALEX...

I'll never catch up...lol. I haven't gotten half way yet, but almost...

Thanks for the great reviews. I definitely want to see XMEN.

Julie Musil said...

Yay for Elana, Elizabeth, and Raquel! *throws hot tamales*

Ciara said...

I almost hit all the blogs that day. I was about 35 short. I tried, but lost internet that afternoon. :( Oh well, I might go back an hit the rest once I catch up. Great blogfest, Alex!

Leovi said...

My congratulations on the success of this magnificent Blogfest!. I have received many visits and I've heard many games he did not know, some of them interesting. I'm already thinking about next. Greetings.

Lydia Kang said...

I had a lot of fun reading those blogfest entries. :)
I didn't know about Elizabeth's and Raquel's books--going over now!

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Wow. Psychopaths killing Hawaiian tourists sounds like quite a plot. Don't see the movie and then go on a trip...

Thanks, Alex, and congrats on over 800 followers. You've earned them!!!

Monti

Len Lambert said...

I will be watching X-Men First Class!!!! Thanks for this good review :) I've seen Splice - a sci-fi film which was good. I enjoyed it! Makes one think! Also seen the films Date Night which was so funny and Seven which was so weird and gory!

Karen Lange said...

But tapioca is a good thing! I know, I've been pondering some kind of blogfest too, but nothing has hit me yet. I suppose there's no deadline for ideas...Will let you know if anything remarkable hits me.

Anne R. Allen said...

Major congrats on the 800!

(And to Elizabeth on her new Riley Adams mystery! She'll be blogging over on my blog on Sunday.)

Copyboy said...

hey it's all fun and games 'til all of us get entertained. whoo hoo!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Thanks Michael!

Julie - Hot Tamales, yeah!

Thanks, Ciara. I managed to visit all, but then, I was hosting.

Leovi, I am so glad you joined in the fun! Your angle was so unique.

Monti, that's probably good advice.

Len, enjoy X-men, and Splice will stay with you a long time...

Thanks everyone!

anthony stemke said...

Enjoyed your post, Congrats re:800.
I'm not a johnny depp fan but thoroughly enjoyed "Thee Tourist".

Ella said...

Congrats on reaching 800; amazing!
I finally saw True Grit tonight; you were right about the young actress Hailee Steinfeld. She stole the show; she was amazing! I enjoyed the movie~

Thanks for the X-men tease!

Ella said...

Blogging challenge Ideas:
How about 5 people you would like to have dinner with dead or alive and why and what would the menu be.
Or
Sharing work related stories with the Boss movie coming out; terrible, funny or wacky work moments.
Or
Fame-Have you ever met anyone famous or been told you look like a celebrity? Who are you some of your favorite famous people and who would you select to play you, if your story became a motion picture~

that's all folks~

Maurice Mitchell said...

Talk about a meteoric rise! Congrats on the followers Alex! Tourist woulds have ben good but the twist ending doesn't make sense if you watch it again. Say no more.

Unknown said...

Congrats on 800! The blogfest was awesome and I had a great time.

I, too, enjoyed The Tourist. What a great, undeservedly panned movie. Depp was fantastic.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

The blogfest was fun and brought back happy memories of games I used to enjoy but forgot about.
Congratulations on, now, 806. You're amazing.
xoRobyn

Robert Guthrie said...

KIND OF A FUNNY STORY was kind of a low-key decent film. Especially liked the final montage.

Mel Chesley said...

First, thanks for the blogfest! Love having new followers.

And congrats on hitting 800!! Woot!

And finally, OMG!!! LOVED Wolverine's line. X-Men rocked, baby!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Ella, Steinfeld did steal the show! And thanks for the suggestions.

Mel, wasn't his line awesome?

Thanks everyone!

A.J. Walker said...

Keep the good posts coming!

Summer Ross said...

I want to see the new X-men. The Tourist was a great movie- I really enjoyed not knowing exactly by the end which made me enjoy the movie more. Have a great day Alex!

Unknown said...

Congrats on all your followers. You are a great blogger. I am going to watch X men first class tomorrow. I can't wait. Good News-I'm finally back to Blogger for Good! :)

Tara Tyler said...

you get so many comments!
thanks for putting up the fun blogfest
i'm finally getting around to visiting, summer is busier than school was!

Tara Tyler said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Paul Joseph said...

I'm sorry I missed that blogfest; I always enjoy participating, but life got in the way this time. It was great reading other entries though; so many great games I forgot about.

Toyin O. said...

I love "The Tourist and Perfect getaway:)

Beth Zimmerman said...

I love Tapioca! It's my favorite thing on the Chinese Buffet! :)

Abby Minard said...

I loved the Xmen movie! And yes, the wolverine cameo was awesome. Everyone I've talked to says its the best line in the movie. I'm hoping Cyclops will be in the next one, since he's Havoc's brother. Cyclops is my favorite- always has been since the cartoon.

Yay for all the books coming out too!!

Laura said...

CONGRATULATIONS on your followers! Yay the army grows vast - must rule the world mwahahahahaha!
great bloggyfest :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Tara, glad you enjoyed it!

Beth, that's funny.

Abby, wasn't that a great line?

Laura, don't tell anyone...

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Huge congrats for your 800 followers How brilliant!

Susan Fields said...

It was a great blogfest, Alex - thanks so much for hosting! And congrats on 800 followers - wow!

Leovi said...

I like your way of criticizing the movies. That short list that matters is The Tourist masm, because I see you got more than they thought. Greetings.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Congrats on 800. I heard the movie, Super 8, is going to be good. Someone dared compare it to The Goonies.
I didn't see Xmen First Class but my kids did and Wolverine's line was their favorite part.

Jemi Fraser said...

I'm so happy for Elizabeth & Elana - 2 great people who deserve all kinds of success! :)

The blogfest was a huge hit - lots of fun!!

Can't wait to see the new X-Men :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Susan, glad you enjoyed!

Thank you, Leovi.

Susan my review of Super 8 will be up Monday!

Anonymous said...

Blogfest was da bomb!!!!

Thank you so much for hosting it. I can only imagine the amount of time you put into it.

Can't wait for the Super 8 review! It's the only movie on my must, must, must, must see list.

Course, I have a lot of others on my must see list.

Arlee Bird said...

Congrats on the 800 and the highly successful Fun and Games Fest. I think I'm going to have to step back from blog fests for a while and just get caught up. I think I may just stop keeping up with movies as well. I need more time so I can do everything.


Lee
Tossing It Out

Rhonda at Laugh Quotes said...

Wow 800! That is awesome. Congratulations!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Bryce, my review will be up first thing Monday. Glad you enjoyed the blogfest.

Lee, a little overwhelmed?

Rhonda, thanks!