To kick off the first post of the year with some movie inspiration, please welcome the talented and beautiful Stephanie Faris!
Inspired by the Movies
I used to write romance. My specialty was the fun romantic comedies that were popular in the 90s and early 00s but seem to have fallen out of favor in recent years. Except one place. Hallmark’s cheesy movies.
Some writers are inspired to write by the latest superhero blockbuster or dystopian teen angst story, but not me. I’m inspired by idealistic women who have their flaws but always mean well. Think Meg Ryan in just about every movie she did in the 90s. Or Kate Hudson in her romantic comedies of the early 00s. We fall in love with them because they aren’t perfect. We fall in love with them because we can relate.
Find Stephanie at her Blog, Twitter, and Website
25 Roses comes out January 6 – find it on Amazon
Ninja News
This Wednesday, we invite all Insecure Writer’s Support Group members (Bloggers and Facebook members) to post an introduction of yourself. Include it with your regular IWSG post (please keep it to one hundred words or less) or post it Wednesday when prompted at the Facebook IWSG.
You might not know this, but Trisha @ Words and Stuff is a singer and you can hear her on Rotting Apples’ new album, The Falling Sound.
New Books
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Her first - congratulations, Rebecca!
Blogger
Recent changes with Blogger have resulted in a new annoying feature–the I Am Not A Robot button. It appears you can now turn off Captcha (check–many of you still have it on) but that button is always there. I’m not a fan of the embedded comment box (because I have to keep scrolling up and down, answering comments) but it’s the only one without that annoying button.
And speaking of comments–did you know that once you hit two hundred, that’s all that appears on the page? You have to either show the next batch (with a pop-up comment box) or Show More (with embedded) to see the rest. So your comments on my last post weren’t eaten–they were just hidden.
Movie Reviews
The movie wasn’t necessary, but I’m happy with any chance to return to Peter Jackson’s vision of Middle Earth! No, this will not be an unbiased review. I loved the first five Middle Earth films, and I loved this one.
The movie showcases what Jackson does best. The one battle encompasses most of the movie and it’s spectacular. Plus we are so invested in the characters at this point and really care what happens to them.
It’s a bittersweet ending for several reasons, including the fact it’s the last venture into Middle Earth.
Highly recommended!
This Finnish film is what I’d call a hidden gem. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, but it’s done really well.
Set against the backdrop of Viking mythology, the film begins with a quest that that takes a turn for the worse.
The scenery and cinematography are stunning. The acting is solid and the special effects are also very good, especially considering the tiny budget.
A ‘Watch Now’ on NetFlix, with subtitles.
Recommended.
My Favorite Movies of 2014
There were some excellent films last year, especially in the superhero category. Here are my top favorite movies of 2014 and their grosses:
2 – Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($714 million worldwide)
3 – X-Men: Days of Future Past ($746 million worldwide)
4 – Edge of Tomorrow ($369 million worldwide)
5 – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (Currently $723 million worldwide)
6 – Godzilla ($525 million worldwide)
7 – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ($708 million worldwide)
Sadly, Guardians was not the highest grossing film of 2014. For reasons unknown, Transformers: Age of Extinction made $1.087 billion dollars worldwide. Go figure!
What were your favorite films?
Did everyone have a good Christmas and New Year’s? What movies inspire you? Picking up some new books? Annoyed with Blogger? Have you seen the last Hobbit film or Ragnarok? And what were your favorite films of 2014?
