Pick the Next Movie Category Contest

Hey, you!  Yes, you. 

I need your votes on which movie category I should write about next.  That's right.  You get to pick what you want to read about.

Book – The Eight

If I told you about a woman who had been a model, a computer expert who worked with IBM, Honeywell, OPEC, and the U.S. Dept of Energy, an executive with Bank of America, a painter, a photographer, and a writer, you’d probably be thinking, “Yeah, right.  In a James Bond movie maybe.”  Well, I just described author Katherine Neville, whose first book was The Eight.

Long before The Da Vinci Code was a glimmer in Dan Brown’s head Neville published The Eight and it makes The Da Vinci Code look like a quick knockoff.

Hike – The Beehive and Champlain Mountain

Sand Beach and Great Head from a ledge on the Beehive

There are over 100 miles of official hiking trails in Acadia National Park in Maine.  This hike traverses three of them: the Beehive Trail, the Bowl Trail, and the Champlain South Ridge Trail.

As of this writing I have hiked about a quarter of the trails in Acadia National Park.  Of all of them, this hike provides the best coastline views available in the entire park.  It also provides a bit of a challenge for those looking for it.  For those not wanting a challenge, the hard part can be bypassed.

Movie - The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

This movie stars Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins.  Jodie Foster is one of the few child actresses that made a successful transition into adult roles.  She had already won one Oscar for The Accused before winning again for this movie.  Anthony Hopkins had been making movies since the late 60s, but this is the one that made him a household name.

It was directed by Jonathan Demme, who went on to do Philadelphia.  It was adapted by Ted Tally, who also adapted the prequel Red Dragon.

Movie - One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

This movie stars Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher.  Nicholson needs no introduction.  Louise Fletcher has worked constantly in both movies and TV since winning the Oscar, but she never again had a role like this one.  Trekkies/Trekkers will recognize her as Kai Winn on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

It was directed by Milos Forman, who went on to do Amadeus.  It was adapted by Lawrence Hauben, who never wrote another movie, and Bo Goldman, who went on to write Scent of a Woman.

Movie - It Happened One Night (1934)

This movie stars Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert.  If the names are not familiar then this is an excellent movie to introduce them to you.  Gable would go on to do Mutiny on the Bounty and Gone with the Wind.  Colbert would go on to do The Palm Beach Story.

It was directed by Frank Capra, who went on to do Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It’s a Wonderful Life.  It was adapted by Robert Riskin, who went on to write You Can’t Take It with You and Meet John Doe.

Movies that won all five major Oscars

“And the Oscar goes to…” – numerous hosts, Academy Awards Broadcasts

The five major Oscars are considered to be Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay (either original or adapted.)  Even though the Oscars have been handed out for over eighty years, there have been only three movies that have won all five of these awards.

Those movies are It Happened One Night (1934), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), and The Silence of the Lambs (1991.)

Coincidentally, none of these three movies won any Oscars beyond these five.  Another thing they have in common is that all three screenplays were adapted ones.

You can find my posts for these movies here:

It Happened One Night
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Silence of the Lambs

On to the reviews....

Welcome to my Blog

The tips that I intend to offer will be concentrated on movies, hikes, and books, with occasional articles on websites, TV shows, or other things that catch my interest.  Tips that you will not find here are:

1. Financial – other than “buy low, sell high”
2. Weight Loss – other than “eat less, exercise more”
3. Clothing – other than “when you go out in public wear some”

My goal is to write reviews for three to five movies a week, all of which have something in common.  I will also include an article on a hike and/or a book each week.  The movie groupings I will create are intended to be fun ways of linking films.  These groupings will be in “Labels” at the bottom of each post.  Since I will revisit groupings from time to time, and since movies will fall into more than one grouping, the Labels will allow you to click on them and see all movies that fall into that grouping.

What can you expect from the movie articles?