Snow Cake Movie Review

I will admit that I had never heard of Snow Cake when I picked it up and that I picked it up purely because I saw Alan Rickman's name on the cover. It was interesting then that it turned out that this film was shot in Canada not very far from where I live and that the cashier who rung up my sale actually had a friend who appeared in the movie.

Anyway, we put the movie in one evening to watch even though we had little idea of what it was about. Pretty much what we knew is what you see on the cover - that it stars Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Anne Moss. We later discovered that the movie stars two Canadian actors,  Moss and another Emily Hampshire who is not named on the cover.

The story tells the tale of a new friendship between a high-functioning austistic woman played by Weaver and a man played by Rickman who has just survived a car accident.

Take a peek here at the movie trailer:




It turns out that the movie is really about the man's journey and not about autism though one of the main characters is autistic. It's a quiet movie, with lots of funny moments. Weaver and Rickman both give solid performances and I would love to join them for a game of Scrabble, a verson of which they play in which you can use non-existent words so long as you can use them in a story.

This movie is rated 14A. In terms of what to watch out for or be aware of, there's a tragic car accident though it is not overly gory, a man recently released from prison and a woman who receives male callers. Sex is discussed and there is a scene of the couple in bed after ward but no actual sex on screen.  A four-letter curse word is heard a few times.  I think most adults would be comfortable with the content and I see that Common Sense Media recommends it for those 15 years of age and up and that seems reasonable to me.  I am sure it would be too quiet a movie for children, anyway.

RECOMMENDED? Yes, I would recommend this movie to those who want to see Alan Rickman in another film. I feel like I learned something about how autistic people or at least about how one individual with autism might function in the world. Don't miss the extras, they were informative.

See you
at the movies!
Brenda

Quick Links:

Buy Snow Cake on Amazon.



Dobby and Hedwig Art Print by Mellowattage

Dobby and Hedwig Art Print

NEARLY WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

As a nearly worldess Wednesday, I bring you Harry Potter's Hedwig and Dobby. This picture is a limited edition art print from artist mellowattage on Etsy.  It features a very well loved quotation from Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix and reads, "Dobby has your owl, sir!" I think it is an absolutely fabulous image. However, as I write this, it does not appear to be available. Hopefully, when you stop by the artist's Etsy shop, she will have made it available again. You can see if she has made this Dobby and Hedwig image available on Etsy again by clicking right here. In the meantime, this image can make you smile as it did me. We loved Dobby!

See you
at the movies!
Brenda

Visit mellowattage's store on Etsy.





Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Script Book


Well, it is official and the world is abuzz with the news. J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany's London play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be released as the eighth book in the Harry Potter series.  That news is exciting and very welcome for the legion of fans who grew up with the boy wizard and his world and who continue to want more.  Hopefully, the book will live up to the reputation of its predecessors. However, according to J.K. Rowling herself, it is the SCRIPT that is being released and not a novel.

Anyway, the Cursed Child will be released shortly after midnight on July 31, 2016. That date is set to come together with Harry's birthday and is the day after the opening of the new play of the same name in London's west end.

In the new script-formatted book we will have 320 pages to learn about Harry Potter's adult world in which we find him a father to three children. His current reality, set nineteen years after the last book, finds him struggling with the past and finds his son Albus struggling with an unwanted family legacy.

"Sometimes darkness comes from unexpected places."

As you can see by the image shown here, the official artwork has not been released but that is no problem. I expect most of us will trust Rowling and her team to come up with a suitable cover. Besides, most of us are not really concerned about the image. We are just plain excited at the fact that there is a new book coming.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is available for pre-order on Amazon by clicking right here. Note that if you choose to pre-order the book, you are protected by Amazon's price guarantee. If the price goes down between now and the release date, you will pay the lower price. Once again, be sure to note that this is a SCRIPT and not a novel. I am sure that it will come as no surprise to you that this book is already on top of Amazon's best seller list and ranked "HOT." I hope many will not be surprised at the format.

How about it? Are you excited? Will you be ordering the book as soon as possible? Would you like the cover to be as shown here on this page or would you choose something a bit different?  Are you disappointed that it is going to be a script and not a novel?

See you
at the movies!
(Or at the book store...)
Brenda

Quick Links:

Pre-order your copy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child from Amazon.




Harry Potter Coloring Books


NEARLY WORDLESS WEDNESDAY POST:


I have followed with a bit of interest the adult coloring trend but never really felt the desire to do any coloring myself. However, that all changed when I saw these Harry Potter-themed coloring books from Scholastic. While they are recommended for those as young as 8 years of age, I think they would be a fine beginning to my return to coloring. How about you?

See you
at the movies!
Brenda

Quick Link:




Austenland Movie Review

Visit Jane Austen's World Via The Movie Austenland


The movie version of the book Austenland by Shannon Hale was released on August 16, 2013. I really enjoyed the book so I was anxious to see the movie but, alas, the movie turned out to be somewhat limited in distribution. It never made it to my local movie theatre although it did have a short run in another area of my home city, Ottawa. Anyway, I missed it at the movie theatre and it was not until after it was released on blu-ray disc and DVD on February 11, 2014 that I had the opportunity to watch it.

I wound up watching it while my husband was away. It would definitely not have been his first choice of movie and your man might not be keen on seeing it either. Anyway, I found it quite entertaining.

Austenland is a lightweight comedy starring Keri Russell, J.J. Field and Jennifer Coolidge. It shares the story of a young American woman who is unlucky in love and who embraces all things to do with Jane Austen and her books. Finding no real man who meets her standards, this young lady has even managed to fall in love with the fictional Mr. Darcy.

Desperate to make a change in her life, she books an expensive vacation at a Jane Austen getaway in England. At this resort, she will don clothing authentic to the period of Jane Austen's books and give up all modern conveniences and devices. Yes, she must even turn in her cellphone. She will live exactly as the women in the books did...more or less and the proprietor of the resort, played by Jane Seymour, guarantees that each guest will experience a love affair. Each women who visits Austenland has an actor assigned to fall in love with her.

The movie is funny and, like the book, it is light entertainment but if you love stories like Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma, you ought to like this movie. If you think it would be fun to try out living in the time frame of Jane Austen's England by enjoying fine dinners, going to balls and being swept off your feet, you ought to try out this movie first! Don't forget that life was not all good food and parties in that time period it also included things like corsets, endless hours of needlework and rules, lots and lots of rules about how a young lady must behave.

Here's a peek via the official two-minute movie trailer:


In terms of what to watch out for in this movie, there is some suggestive content and innuendo, some language, drinking and drunkenness. However, as an adult viewer, I was never uncomfortable watching this film and I would RECOMMEND it to my female friends who enjoy period fiction and romantic comedy.


Will you watch the movie Austenland? 

See you
at the movies!
Brenda

More Jane Austen and Period Drama Reading:

John Keats' Bright Star Movie Review
Bright Star is a period drama and romance based on three years in the life of the poet, John Keats.

Lost in Austen Movie Review
Another contemporary Jane Austen story.

Masterpiece Theatre's Jane Austen Review
This 2006 miniseries starred Ruth Wilson.

Period Dramas on Pinterest
If you're on Pinterest and you love period drama movies, be sure to follow this board!


Author's Note: Originally published on another website in 2014.




NEARLY WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Harry Potter Love Potion for Valentine's Day

Harry Potter Love Potion for Valentine's Day

NEARLY WORDLESS WEDNESDAY:


Just in time for Valentine's Day I discovered this bottle of love potion. It was originally from Diagon Alley at Universal Studios' Wizarding World of Harry Potter but is available now on Amazon by clicking right here. It holds 1.5 ounces of love potion.

If your Valentine is in love with you and with Harry Potter, she'll likely thrill to receive this as a fun Harry Potter-themed Valentine's Day gift. Note the reviews, which state that this Love Potion does not taste good, LOL. I am not sure if love potion normally does...

Anyway, it made me smile. How about you?

See you
at the movies!
Brenda

Buy your Love Potion on Amazon.


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