Alex J Cavanaugh - Top Ten Movie Countdown Blogfest

TOP TEN MOVIES - IMPOSSIBLE TASK. I'm just listing the first 10 amazing movies that pop into my head, not in any particular order, well, except for Number 1..

1. GONE WITH THE WIND (1940) - Unforgettable (to me) characters. Scarlett, Rhett, Mammy, Mellie, and that milksop Ashley Wilkes - they are a part of my life. So intense was the storyline, so human were the actions/reactions of those caught up in the war against slavery and the war against themselves. It was a huge project, probably too broad for modern producers/directors, but the romantic elements were there and added extra suspense and colour to the powerful story.

Rhett Butler: With enough courage, you can do without a reputation. 

Rhett and Scarlett as we remember them

2.  MOONLIGHT AND VALENTINO (1995) - A realistic look at a wife's life/regrets on losing her husband in a freak accident. Heartwarming role of Whoopi Goldberg as the best friend. A great look at women helping women. Strong female cast - Gwenyth Paltrow is wonderful in her role as the depressed engenue, and Kathleen Turner...she just wants to be loved. Jon Bon Jovi ain't half bad as the house painter either!

3.  SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION - (1994) - How many times have I watched this movie? Lost count. Love its ironical storyline and the actors are awesome. Morgan Freeman is perfect in his role as the friend and confidante of the wrongly-accused Tim Robbin's character. The ending is truly inspiring.

4.  POWER OF ONE - (1992) - I adored the Bryce Courtney book - and I usually dislike movies based on long books, as the director has to cut too much. Even though the movie didn't give enough air time to one of my favourite characters, Grandpa, a book can't delight with amazing, soulful Zulu singing or portray the gun-trucks blazing their way through the townships quite as well. The young Peekay is adorable, and Morgan Freeman delights again as the boxer trainer. Peekay's passion to change the world still runs throughout the movie.

5.  GIRL, INTERRUPTED - (1999) - Woah! Angelina Jolie blazed through her role in the mental institution and made everyone else look drab. She stole the show from Producer, Winona Ryder. A realistic-looking portrayal of life in a mental institution. I usually get my senior students to watch it when they're studying One Flew Over the Cockoo's Nest.

Susanna: You know, taking us for ice creams in a blizzard... makes you wonder who the real whack jobs are. 

6.  CROCODILE DUNDEE - (1986) - A send-up of the great Australian stereotype of the bronzed Aussie yobbo okker. Well, if you go to a pub in Western Queensland or parts of the Northern Territory, you'll find Mick Dundee alive and well and wrestling crocodiles once he's got a full stomach of XXXX beer. Mick, er Paul Hogan ended up winning the leading lady, the American Lynda Kowzlski and they're still living happily ever after in the States.

This is a crocodile!

This is a knife!

7. LES MISERABLES (2012) - Loved Victor Hugo's French historical novel, it was unforgettable on stage, and the film was every bit as inspiring. Loved Hugh Jackman in the lead role of Jean Valjean. Anne Hathaway's portrayal of Fantine and her rendition of I Dreamed a Dream can still bring tears to my eyes. But who will ever forget the little kid! The ending was superb.

8. THE MATRIX - (1999) Love this series of movies, but I like the first one best. Loved the concept, loved the costumes, loved the actors - Keanu Reeves was perfectly cast, as was Hugo Weaving as the bad guy. Loved the syncronated fighting. Was more like ballet. Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss - great!!

9. UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN - (2003) - I adore reading travel narratives, and it is great to see the occasional movie made from one. This is one of the best adaptations INMO. Diane Lane is believable in her role of the American expat. However, like all travel memoirs, the location is the best character. I adored it cuz I've been there. Great to spot places you've visited. Tuscany has got to be one of the most glorious settings on earth - who really cares about the story? Although Sandra Oh from Grey's Anatomy was amazing.

20. SAFE HAVEN - (2013) - I realise I've manily chosen 1990's movies - is that because, like books, the old ones have that extra something that affects you more than the modern? Or is it just because I had more time in the 90s to watch movies? But I do try to see the latest ones -- this movie is based on the Nickolas Spark's novel. He's one of my favourite authors - he can be corny, but her always has great stories. This one is predictable, explores some contemporary issues, but all the big guns come out for a super-duper climax. 

There it is. Hope you enjoyed your trip through my memory lane of movies...

All images copied from Google Images, so I'll be whipping them down in a few days...

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If you're up for a bit of March Mayhem, how about writing a murder story/poem up to 1,000 words? RomanticFridayWriters are inviting you to write for them. You can submit your name in my top right hand sidebar or visit RFW. Submissions close March 24.

Bad Boy Blogfest entry

I'm sorry I'm a bit late for the blogfest. I got my dates mixed up. I didn't have time to conjure up a new bad boy for this entry, so I'm using a story I jotted down last week and it was the only one that came close to the criteria. I haven't had time to polish it, but I had to get something down quickly. I  hope no-one is offended by the subject matter. It is Flash Fiction, a complete story as it stands...

Lost Treasures

I was dreaming of the sea again. It happens every night. I open my eyes and watch the moonlight creep across my bed with a soft lover’s caress. The sheets are tangled and fall over the bed like waves. I kick off the covers and throw myself across the bed like a beached whale.

The moonlight dancing on my bare skin makes me look beautiful. Its gentle light overlooks the angry welts criss-crossing my legs. Instead, it hovers over my belly like a benediction. The welts throb, but I have no ointments to ease the pain. But that is his intention.

I hear his loud breathing coming from the next room. Loud snuffles and snorts as he sleeps the sleep of the damned. I hear him tossing and turning. I pray he stays asleep. For a long time.

***

‘You will not marry that infidel!’ he’d screamed.

‘Ahmed? An infidel?’ I’d begged. ‘He is of the same religion as we are.’

A vicious fist across my mouth.

‘You will marry who I say,’ he had spat in contempt.

His eyes had turned red with rage and he’d reached for his belt. I couldn’t believe what had happened. My father had always been the gentlest of men.

‘Father!’ I’d screamed, ‘don’t do this!’

My pleas were ignored.

The hard leather bit into my soft skin. The pure force of his anger made the blows harder to bear. My heart broke afresh with every slap of the tough hide.

‘I will kill you!’ he’d screeched in his rage.

‘Mumma, help!’ I’d pleaded to the black-clad figure cringing in the dark corner. She remained silent but I could feel her pain for me.

***

Night after night. Night after night. The beatings continue. Only the moonlight and the night sounds are my friends. My door is bolted against the outside world. The food is passed in, served without love, eaten without relish. No-one speaks to me. I am a prisoner. Just me and the new life growing in my belly. I’m sorry.

The crashing waves are coming closer and closer as high tide is reached. Soon the water will be just below my window. I hear its relentless pummelling. The sound and rhythm reminds me of my father’s blows which continue without mercy. He will not be denied his will.

There was a big storm earlier in the night. Tomorrow there will be rubbish lining the beach below the dunes. My father will leave his bed early to collect it before the tide snatches it back again. He loves to find treasures that someone else has lost.

He will be surprised at the treasure he will find tomorrow.

The open window draws me. The moonlight bathes me. The sea calls my name.

Sex and the City 2 - so not the review

Hey, I'm no Sex and the City gal, I'm Moonlight and Valentino all the way, but I'm very much a going-out-with-my-daughters kind of mum, so when my girls invite me along for a girlie experience, I'm there. So off we trot to see the latest effort from the Awesome Foursome and I'm still gagging at the crudeness and laughing myself silly at the ugly clothes. Really! High heels in the desert? Seriously...Sorry anyone if you actually enjoyed  this latest Hollywood/Abu Dhabi combo where the girls go from the Empire State to the Emerati States. For those who are intending to attend, I'll try not to drop too many spoilers...hah!

Anyone who reads my blog knows I'm a positive person, so I thought long and hard about this experience. It is nice to know Carrie is only human and is cut when she gets a bad review on her newly-published book, but what else did I learn? Nothing is wasted, right? So I've compiled a list of positive/useful/useless info I've learned from my Sex and the City 2 experience:

1. If I hold my head a certain way, flick back my long locks, then spritz just so, I can have hair everywhere just like Sarah Jessica Parker. Wow!
2. If I'm 52, facing menopause, and I take a bucketload of hormones I can be turning 30 when my daughters are turning 50! (I think I heard right! I swear it was something like that!)
3. At a gay wedding between 2 guys, Liza Minelli is de rigeur. Unfortunately she is just plain embarrassing! Give me Beyonce's Single Ladies anyday!
4. To survive marriage, (even to someone as hunky as Big) I need 2 days away from him occasionally (to write!! we know that's a given, although how Carrie can afford to keep her apartment in NYC is a mystery!) Unfortunately he'll cotton on and want 2 regular days away PER WEEK so he can be a slob, lie on the couch and shock! horror! bring home gourmet fast food! 
5. The pampered, your-own-personal butler experience at a top Abu Dhabi hotel comes at a price - $22,000 per night for the room and service, while your butler comes from India and only sees his wife when he can scratch together the plane fare home - every 3 months or so.
6. In the Arabian Desert they ride 4WDs, as well as camels, over the sand dunes.
7. The UAE is made up of 7 states, but I only got to learn 4, as Carrie's ex boyfriend Aiden found her too kissable to relate the other 3! I had to look them up on google! But I can't spell them!
8. Hollywood thinks it's okay to mock the Saudi Arabian culture, especially the women who have to eat French Fries from under their veils. The Saudi women have the last laugh, though, but I won't spoil that!
9. Further to the above, in a culture that requires its women to wear the burkha, apparently belly dancers are allowed! Strange, but can we believe everything Hollywood tells us?
10. Sorry, I've run out of inspiration. I was really reaching to get the last couple! Oh, that's right, if you have sex on the beach you'll still get arrested! Yeh, probably the cocktail, too, will do it!

Long story short, the movie is cringe-inducing, but a day out with my lovely single ladies makes it enchanting! Especially the shopping trip afterwards where I shouted us all a scarf so we can re-live the experience of floating through the Arabian Desert together! Come to think of it, I could hold it over my face when I want to sneak some fatty chips...no, bad idea...just like Sex and the City 2.